Universal Component Supply Apparatus with Vision-Guided Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional component supply apparatuses face issues with versatility, high costs, and inefficiencies in aligning bulk components due to reliance on specialized jigs and hands, leading to increased maintenance needs, stock wastage, and limited adaptability to components with complex shapes.
Innovation Solution
A component supply apparatus utilizing a combination of three-dimensional vision sensors and multiple robots with parallel chuck hands to align components without dedicated jigs or hands, enabling precise positioning and orientation through depth map measurement and pipeline processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If dedicated parts feeders are used to align bulk components, then alignment precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a universal hand design that can handle multiple component types without requiring dedicated hands for each component type. The hand is equipped with sensors and control systems that enable it to adapt to different component shapes and sizes, achieving alignment precision comparable to dedicated parts feeders while avoiding the complexity and cost of multiple specialized devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical alignment mechanisms with a combination of sensors (vision sensors, touch sensors) and control systems. The sensor-based detection and control system identifies component positions and orientations, then guides the hand to achieve precise alignment, substituting mechanical complexity with intelligent control.
2Manufacturing precision
If specialized hands are designed for each component type, then alignment precision is improved, but adaptability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a universal hand that can handle multiple component types through sensor-based identification and adaptive control. The hand incorporates vision sensors and touch sensors that detect component characteristics, allowing the same hand structure to achieve precise alignment across different component types without requiring specialized designs for each type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic adaptation through sensor feedback and real-time control adjustments. The hand can modify its gripping force, positioning strategy, and orientation based on sensor input about the component being handled, enabling a single hand design to adapt to various component types while maintaining alignment precision.
3Device complexity
If bulk components are handled without isolation mechanisms, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity decreases due to entanglement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical isolation mechanisms with sensor-based detection and control. Vision sensors and touch sensors identify individual component positions and orientations in the bulk, allowing the hand to selectively grasp and align components without mechanical separators or conveyors, maintaining productivity while reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables the system to automatically identify and handle individual components from the bulk through sensor feedback. The sensors detect component positions and the control system autonomously determines grasping strategies, allowing the system to service itself without complex external isolation mechanisms.
4Ease of operation
If suction pads are used to pick up components, then ease of operation is improved, but adaptability to complex shapes decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic gripping strategies that adapt to component geometry. The hand can switch between different gripping methods (suction, mechanical grasping, pinching) based on sensor input about component shape and surface properties, maintaining ease of operation while achieving versatility across different component types including those with complex shapes that suction pads cannot handle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs a universal hand that incorporates multiple gripping mechanisms including suction pads, mechanical fingers, and other gripping elements. This multi-functional hand can select the appropriate gripping method based on component characteristics, achieving both ease of operation and adaptability to various component shapes and sizes.
Data Source
AI summary
A component supply apparatus capable of aligning components of various shapes, which are supplied in bulk, within a short period of time with general means. The apparatus includes a three-dimensional vision sensor measuring a depth map, a bulk component box, a robot picking up a component from the bulk component box, a temporary placing table onto which components are rolled, a two-dimensional vision sensor measuring a profile of the components, a robot group picking up the component rolled on the temporary placing table, and changing a position and orientation of the component into a position and orientation that involve an error of a certain level or less with respect to a position and orientation that are specified in advance, while changing the position and orientation of the component, and a control device controlling those portions.