Variable-Height Conveyor Palletization for Stable Mixed-Item Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current palletization systems struggle with efficiently stacking dissimilar items on pallets due to variations in size, weight, and stability, often requiring manual intervention and leading to unstable pallets.
Innovation Solution
A robotic system equipped with 3D cameras, force sensors, and a library of item types and attributes, which uses cost functions and machine learning to optimize the selection and placement of items on pallets, ensuring stability and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual stacking is used by human workers, then item selection and placement can be done with human judgment, but productivity is low and consistency is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system autonomously performs item selection and placement without human intervention. The robot uses sensors to identify items, determines optimal placement locations based on pallet stability criteria, and executes stacking operations automatically, replacing manual human labor while maintaining decision-making capabilities through programmed algorithms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual human stacking with an automated robotic system equipped with sensors, controllers, and actuators. The robotic arm with gripper mechanism substitutes human hands, while the control system with stability algorithms replaces human judgment, achieving both high productivity and intelligent decision-making
2Device complexity
If items are stacked in arrival order, then the process is simple, but pallet stability is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The robot performs preliminary analysis of incoming items using sensors to detect weight, dimensions, and other properties before placement. The control system pre-calculates optimal stacking sequences and locations that ensure pallet stability, rather than simply stacking items in the order they arrive. This preliminary planning enables stable pallet construction while maintaining automated processing
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors pallet stability during the stacking process using sensors that detect item placement, weight distribution, and pallet structure. The control system uses this feedback information to adjust subsequent stacking decisions, ensuring that each item is placed in a location that maintains or improves overall pallet stability
3Extent of automation
If robotic systems are used with fixed conveyor height, then automation is achieved, but adaptability to different item types and pallet configurations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system incorporates adjustable height capability, allowing the conveyor to dynamically change its vertical position based on different item types, pallet sizes, and stacking requirements. This dynamic adjustment enables the robotic system to adapt to various configurations while maintaining full automation, rather than requiring fixed infrastructure
Data Source
AI summary
A robotic palletization/depalletization system is disclosed. In various embodiments, data associated with a plurality of items to be stacked on or in a destination location is received, and a plan to stack the items on or in the destination location is generated based at least in part on the received data. The generating the plan includes determining a source location from which to pick the item based at least in part on (i) an attribute of the source location, and (ii) a state of a platform or receptacle on which one or more items are to be stacked.