WO2008031573A1 - Load carrier for receiving and transporting objects - Google Patents

Abstract

A load carrier (1) for receiving and transporting objects (3) and a method for processing objects (3) which are situated on a load carrier (1) are to be made available and to afford, in particular, a simple and precise solution, in order to make possible the rapid identification and object localization for the automatic gripping, in particular for the purposes of palletizing and depalletizing, on a load carrier.

Description

"Carrier for picking up and transporting objects"

The invention relates to a charge carrier for receiving and transporting objects and to a method for processing objects located on a charge carrier.

In the context of the use of automatic handling devices, for example in the palletizing and depalletizing of piece goods, the automatic storage or picking of objects and the like. , it is necessary to know the position of the individual objects to be treated in order to process them automatically. For secure detection of the objects with the automatic handling devices information, in particular the position and the size of the objects must be known.

Here are different systems known. Thus, the position of the objects, for example on a charge carrier, can be detected by optical methods and the necessary data for the handling device can be generated. For reliable detection of the object dimensions, position and orientation as well as possibly the type of the object complex sensor arrangements, such as image processing systems, are necessary. This problem is further complicated if several objects with possibly different dimensions and properties are arranged on a common charge carrier.

It is furthermore known to provide the individual objects with storage units, for example in the form of RFID tags (WO 01 / 51369A1). This can be used to detect the type and number of objects on a carrier. From JP 2004090099 a method is also known, in which the RFID tags located on the objects are used to store the relative coordinates of the object in relation to a handling unit of a robot arm.

In addition, it is known to stack objects on a charge carrier according to a predetermined scheme and unstack them, so that at least if the number of objects located on a charge carrier is known, their arrangement on the charge carrier is automatically determined (DE 20 2005 011 513 Ul). Electronic pallet identifications are shown in DE 10 2005 004 839 A1 or JP 11035038 A).

A disadvantage of the known solutions is particularly their low flexibility and their high cost. Especially when several different objects are arranged on a carrier, the methods with predetermined arrangement schemes reach their limits. The labeling of each individual object with its own RFID tag is complex and thus costly. An integration into existing systems is also difficult due to the high cost.

The object of the invention is to provide a charge carrier for receiving and transporting objects as well as a method for processing objects located on a load carrier, which avoids the disadvantages described and, in particular, provides a simple and precise solution to the rapid identification and Object localization for automatic gripping, especially for palletizing and depalletizing purposes on a load carrier.

The invention achieves this by a charge carrier with the features of claim 1.

In this way, the problems described in the Solve the prior art in a particularly advantageous manner. On a data carrier which is located on the load carrier, for example a euro pallet, data about objects located on the load carrier can be stored, in particular their position and dimensions. If the objects or a single object are to be removed from the carrier by an automated system, the position of the object can be read from the data carrier and the removal system can be controlled to the appropriate position. In particular, it is not necessary for each individual object to have its own data carrier. Also, the complicated management of the information of many volumes and the assignment of many volumes to the objects on the carrier can be avoided. Elaborate sensor technology to determine the position of the objects on the charge carrier is superfluous. Since the information about the position and dimensions of each individual object with the readout of the data carrier are immediately known, the object to be extracted can be controlled quickly and safely without, for example, colliding with other objects.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims.

Thus, with changes of the objects on the carrier, the information about this can be quickly updated, for example, after an object has been removed. In this way, the current occupancy of the charge carrier is constantly available. It can easily be determined whether, for example, there is room for further objects and how this can be controlled in the simplest and most secure manner, which has considerable advantages in the context of automatic palletization, for example by picking robots. An advantageous embodiment is that the data carrier is designed as an RFID transponder.

Such transponders are wirelessly readable, robust and provide the necessary storage capacity for the records to be stored. By using a single RFID transponder, as stated, the provision of a separate transponder on each individual object can be avoided. Since an appropriate data medium is provided on each load carrier, the data required for automatic picking is always available at the location of the load carrier. Problems that occur with a central storage of this data for each disk, so in particular to bring the corresponding data in the context of worldwide branched material flows to the respective location of the current picking operations, completely eliminated.

The invention is also achieved by a method for processing objects on a charge carrier according to claim 3.

As stated, the storage of the dimensions and positions of objects located on the carrier in a carrier arranged on the carrier offers a number of advantages. If, in the course of a picking or stacking process, an object is to be removed from or supplied to the load carrier, the corresponding positions and dimensions can be taken from the data carrier.

Advantageous embodiments of the method will become apparent from the other dependent claims. Thus, by storing changes in the position and / or dimensions of objects on the charge carrier in the data carrier, a current image of the occupancy of the charge carrier in the data carrier can be continuously displayed. Tronic form be carried on this. For example, in the case of large, widely branched material flows at each picking location, the necessary data is available in order to be able to carry out the addition or removal of objects quickly and reliably.

It can be advantageous if additional information about weight and / or gripping points or special properties of the object are stored on the loading carrier.

In this way, the picking operations can be made faster and safer, for example, if overloading a picking robot can be prevented from the outset or fragile objects are used only at the designated points. In addition, other particular properties of the object can be stored, such as information on the maximum weight, which can carry the object itself, to prevent it from being damaged by objects stacked too heavy or information on fragility of the content, need for cooling, Durability data and the like. Storage of this data on-site on the load carrier can make the handling and processing of the objects on-site faster and safer, even though this data may also be stored in centralized warehousing systems.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings with further advantages and features. This shows in

1 is a schematic three-dimensional view of a charge carrier according to the invention in a manual data acquisition, 2 shows a three-dimensional schematic view of a load carrier according to the invention in an automatic picking system,

3 is a schematic three-dimensional view of a charge carrier according to the invention at the beginning of a de-stacking process,

4 shows a three-dimensional schematic view of the charge carrier of FIG. 3 in the middle of a de-stacking process, FIG.

5 shows a three-dimensional schematic view of the charge carrier from FIGS. 3 and 4 at the end of a destacking process and in FIG

Fig. 6 to 8 is a schematic view of a charge carrier according to the invention with the coordinate system used in different stages of loading.

An inventive carrier designated generally by 1 is shown in more detail in FIG. The charge carrier 1 is designed as a Euro pallet and has on one side a rewritable data carrier 2 in the form of an RFID transponder. Such a transponder is wireless readable and writable by means of designed transmitting and receiving devices.

On the carrier 1 objects to be transported 3 are arranged.

The position of the objects 3 is detected in a first embodiment of the invention by means of a hand-held device 4 and wirelessly transmitted to the disk 2 by means of this. Subsequently, the data carrier 2 contains information about the position and the dimensions of the objects 3 on the charge carrier 1. In an embodiment of the invention, further information about the objects 3 can be stored on the charge carrier 2.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the charge carrier 1 is again provided with the wirelessly rewritable data carrier 2, as shown in more detail in FIG. Here, the objects to be transported 3 are controlled by a storage computer 5 in the work area of a picking robot 6 delivered. This contains from an electronic control unit 7 information about the delivered object 3, which are provided by the storage computer 5 available, and at the same time information about the current load state of the carrier 1, from the control unit 7 by a wireless transceiver 8 from the Disk 2 were read out.

In the case shown in FIG. 2, the charge carrier 1 is still empty. The control unit 7 instructs the picking robot 6 to deposit the object 3 on the charge carrier 1 at a predetermined location. The exact position can be decided on the basis of the further expected loading of the load carrier 1. If, for example, the object 3 is a particularly large and heavy unit, it is expediently placed in the middle of the load carrier 1. If a number of further objects are additionally to be placed on the charge carrier 1, the object 3 is expediently deposited in the edge or corner region.

Following the placement of the object 3 on the charge carrier 1, the storage position is stored by the control unit 7 via the wireless transceiver 8 on the disk 2 on the carrier 1, so that on the disk at any time a complete image of the positions of the objects located on the carrier 1 is present , Alternatively, it is also possible to conclude the picking process of further objects first and then to deposit the complete data record with all positions and dimensions of the objects stacked on the load carrier 1 on the data carrier 2.

Another exemplary picking process is shown in more detail in FIGS. 3 to 5. By means of a conveyor 10, a charge carrier 1 according to the invention with an object 3 located thereon in the form of a packaging unit is brought into the working area of a further picking robot 11.

To remove the object 3 from the charge carrier 1, the content of the data carrier 2 located on the charge carrier 1 is read out wirelessly by means of the transmitting / receiving unit 12 and the received data record is transmitted to the control unit 13. The position of the charge carrier 1 is either based on a known stop position or by detecting the position of the data carrier 2 by means of a bearing or the like. determined. In this case, the positions of the objects 3 located on the charge carrier 1 relative to the position of the data carrier 2 are indicated on the data carrier 2, so that with knowledge of the position of the data carrier

2, the absolute positions of the objects 3 thereon can be determined.

By the control unit 13 is in the sequence of the gripper 14 of the picking robot 11 to the gripping point of the object

3 controlled. For this purpose, first the measured Position of the data carrier 2 and the read information about the position of the object 3 on the charge carrier 1 determines the absolute position of the object 3 in space. On the basis of additional information stored on the data carrier 2, it is also known at which point the object 3 can be gripped securely by the gripper 14 and, in an embodiment, also the weight of the object 3, so that overloading of the picking robot 11 is avoided. After grasping the object 3 by means of the gripper 14 of the picking robot 11, the packaging unit can be lifted off the load carrier 1 and, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, placed on a transport device 15.

Since, as stated, in addition to the position of the object 3 on the carrier 1 and the dimensions of the object 3 are stored on the disk 2, they can also be used by the robot controller 13 in design, for example, the orientation of the object 3 when weaning on the transport unit 15 to choose such that a safe transport and the desired processing is easily possible.

Subsequent to the successful filing of the object 3 on the transport device 15, an updated data record with the information about the current occupancy of the charge carrier 1 is transmitted to the data carrier 2 by the control unit 13 via the wireless transceiver 12, so that the latter in turn remains current.

The structure of the data records on the data carrier 2 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 6 to 8. This involves a three-dimensional coordinate system with zero point, for example at a fixed corner of the charge carrier 1 or the knew position of the disk 2, used. For each object 3 deposited on the charge carrier 1, a data field with the position of a defined corner in relation to the charge carrier coordinate system is stored and the dimensions of the object 3 in its three dimensions. This is continued for each further object 3, so that the position and dimensions of all objects in three dimensions are stored on the data carrier 2 in the entirety of all data. In the case of changes in the occupancy on the charge carrier 1, for example by feeding or removal of an object 3, the data record is adjusted accordingly by adding or removing the changed data.

In this way, in particular a predetermined screening or the like. unnecessary, so that objects of any size can be arranged in any number on the carrier. In an embodiment, additional fields with additional information about the objects can be stored to the data fields, for example the relative coordinates of the correct point of attack or information about weight and other properties of the object or the goods contained therein.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the present embodiment, but in many ways modifiable without departing from the spirit. In particular, the type of objects, charge carriers and data carriers can be modified in both areas. In principle, any rewritable data carrier is suitable for the invention, with special advantages resulting from wireless readability and writability. The type of stacking and EntStopelsysteme, order picking, transport equipment and the like., Just like the Lagerhaitungs- and control systems, can be varied in many ways.

Claims

Claims: 1. charge carrier (1) for receiving and transporting objects (3), with a charge carrier (1) arranged on the disk (2), wherein the data carrier (2) rewritable and for storing the dimensions and position of on the charge carrier (1 ) located objects (3) and special object properties is formed. Second charge carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that the data carrier (2) is designed as an RFID transponder. 3. A method for processing objects (3) on a charge carrier (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the dimensions and the positions of on the charge carrier (1) located objects (3) in one on the charge carrier (1) arranged data carrier (2) are stored, and at a removal and / or addition and / or rearrangement of an object (3) whose dimensions and / or position on the charge carrier (1) are read. 4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that changes in the position and / or dimensions of objects (3) on the charge carrier (1) are stored in the data carrier (2). 5. The method according to claim 3, characterized that the position of an object (3) as relative distances of a point of the object (3) from a fixed point on the charge carrier (1) and / or the dimensions of the object (3) as dimensions of the object (3) with respect to the fixed Point are stored. 6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that on the data carrier (2) additional information about weight and / or gripping point and / or special properties of the object (3) are stored.