Virtual Frame Reference for Manufacturing Component Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing manufacturing processes for consumer goods, such as disposable absorbent products, face challenges in ensuring consistent component placement, leading to variations in product quality and consumer acceptance, often requiring additional sensors and manual adjustments to maintain consistency.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a virtual frame of reference is implemented, where electronic images of components are analyzed by processors to determine location values, compare them to setpoints, and generate phasing commands for manufacturing machines, thereby automating the positioning process and reducing human error.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If additional sensors and manual adjustments are used to maintain consistency in component placement, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the physical frame of reference by capturing images of reference markers and computationally determining the frame's position and orientation. This virtual frame serves as a digital twin that enables precise component location without requiring additional physical sensors or complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms, thus improving manufacturing precision while avoiding increased device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical sensing and adjustment systems with an optical-computational system. Instead of using additional physical sensors or manual adjustment mechanisms, the system uses cameras to capture images of reference markers and computationally determines component positions through image analysis and coordinate transformations, thereby achieving high precision without increasing mechanical complexity
2Extent of automation
If a virtual frame of reference system is implemented to automate positioning, then extent of automation is improved, but measurement precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by capturing images of reference markers at known positions before component placement. These pre-captured images establish the virtual frame of reference in advance, allowing subsequent automated positioning to proceed without requiring high-precision real-time measurements. The reference frame is built beforehand, reducing the measurement precision burden during actual component placement operations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces reference markers as intermediary elements that bridge the physical world and the computational model. These markers serve as mediators between the physical component positions and the virtual frame of reference, enabling automated positioning through image analysis. The markers translate physical positions into detectable optical signals that can be processed to determine precise locations without requiring direct high-precision measurement of components themselves
3Manufacturing precision
If manual adjustments are used to ensure consistent component placement, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling the system to automatically adjust component positioning based on image analysis of reference markers. The system performs its own calibration and positioning without requiring manual intervention, using computational algorithms to determine correct component locations and generate adjustment commands. This automation maintains high manufacturing precision while significantly improving productivity by eliminating manual adjustment time
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes a feedback loop where images of reference markers are continuously captured and analyzed to determine the current position and orientation of the frame. This information feeds back into the system to compute coordinate transformations and generate real-time positioning adjustments. The continuous feedback mechanism ensures consistent component placement while operating at high speed, replacing manual adjustment with automated real-time correction
Data Source
AI summary
System and method to use a virtual frame of reference to evaluate and control a manufacturing system. Electronic images from a vision system may be analyzed using the virtual frame of reference to control the phasing of devices in the manufacturing system and to generate alerts.