Patent Abstract:
An article inspection and orientation adjustment assembly is generally provided. The assembly is generally characterized by a primary subassembly operatively linked for travel with a secondary subassembly. The primary subassembly includes a vision system for visually inspecting conveyed articles, and an array of actuators, actuators thereof responsive to detections of the vision system and selectively energizable for conveyed article engagement in furtherance of altering an orientation of the conveyed article. The secondary subassembly includes a friction bar extending along a travel path for the conveyed articles, energization of an actuator of the array of actuators resulting in frictional engagement of an actuated article with the friction bar so as to rotatingly orient the actuated article.

Full Description:
This is a United States national patent application filed pursuant to 35 USC §111(a) claiming priority under 35 USC §120 of/to U.S. Pat. Appl. Ser. No. 61/582,976 filed Jan. 4, 2012 and entitled ARTICLE ORIENTER &amp; ATTENDANT ORIENTATION OPERATIONS, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention generally relates to an article orienter, more particularly, to a mechanism, or assembly/system so characterized, for automated visual article inspection or, such inspection and article manipulation in furtherance of selectively orienting the article, for instance, in advance of packaging the article, as well as operations associated with such article orientation in advance of article packaging. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     For some packaged articles, whether individual or grouped, a select and/or particular orientation relative to the package, e.g., case, carton, etc., is believed advantageous, or even necessary. By way of non-limiting example, particular label content of the article may be intended for consumer viewing via a carton adaptation which defines a viewing “window” or the like. Thus, in advance of carton formation and article housing or retention therein, a check or inspection of the article orientation is desirable to properly or advantageously place/position the article in relation to the carton for same, e.g., a article may be rotated about an axis of elongation so as to “present” what is intended to be readily discernable indicia for/of the packaged article to a consumer or the like. To the extent that an unacceptable orientation is detected, article manipulation is undertaken until an acceptable orientation is obtained. 
     While article inspection, via a vision system, and manipulation/orientation, e.g., rotation via a powered belt for article engagement, is known and commercially practiced, it is generally believed that such systems are less than advantageous owing to a general cumbersomeness, less than stellar throughputs, a lack of precision and maintenance difficulties/maintenance frequency rates resulting in unplanned and unwanted processing line downtime. Thus, is believed desirable and advantageous to rethink the current approach to article inspection and manipulation, and to provide an elegant, precise, high throughput operation characterized by a novel device, apparatus, or assembly characterized by initial article observation, and manipulation responsive to a detected status, condition, or orientation, or lack of any one of same, with continued constant or intermittent observation or inspection. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An article inspection and orientation adjustment assembly is generally provided. The assembly is generally characterized by a primary subassembly operatively linked for travel with a secondary subassembly. The primary subassembly includes a vision system for visually inspecting conveyed articles, and an array of actuators, actuators thereof responsive to detections of the vision system and selectively energizable for conveyed article engagement in furtherance of altering an orientation of the conveyed article. The secondary subassembly includes a friction bar extending along a travel path for the conveyed articles, energization of an actuator of the array of actuators resulting in frictional engagement of an actuated article with the friction bar so as to rotatingly orient the actuated article. 
     It is contemplated that the subject article inspection and orientation adjustment assembly stand alone, or be part-and-parcel of a larger processing system or line. For example, article inspection and orientation adjustment operations may be advantageously undertaken subsequent to threshold or preliminary article manipulation operations, for the sake of non-limiting illustration, operations such as metering and/or flight bucketing. Moreover, downstream operations such as inspected article packaging, cartoning, etc. is likewise contemplated. More specific features and advantages obtained in view of those features will become apparent with reference to the drawing figures and DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  depicts, in perspective view, process flow right to left, an illustrative processing line for selectively orienting articles characterized by process segments/stations I-IV as indicated, namely, article ingress (I), initial article manipulations (II), article inspection or article inspection and orientation adjustment (III), and inspected article egress (IV); 
         FIG. 2  depicts a detailed view of operations attendant to segments I &amp; II of the processing line of  FIG. 1  wherein initial article manipulations are undertaken and/or executed in section II, namely, vertical to horizontal article positioning (IIA) and article collating/grouping (IIB); 
         FIG. 3  depicts, in isolation and with select structures omitted for the sake of clarity, article inspection and orientation adjustment station III of the processing line of  FIG. 1 , article flow generally right to left; 
         FIG. 4  depicts, upstream end view, the article inspection and orientation adjustment station of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  depicts, overhead plan view, the article inspection and orientation adjustment station of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 6  depicts, below plan view, the article inspection and orientation adjustment station of  FIG. 3 ; and, 
         FIG. 7  depicts area  7  of  FIG. 3 , enlarged with an article omitted to reveal underlying details. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     An advantageous, non-limiting processing line is generally depicted in  FIG. 1 . For the sake of non-limiting context, the processing of cylindrical containers, namely, elongate cylindrical containers  10  characterized by a body  12 , an axis of elongation  14 , a shoulder  16  and a capped neck or end  18  are generally shown (e.g.,  FIGS. 2 &amp; 7 ), with paired and oriented grouping contemplated in advance of packaging the paired and oriented containers. In advance of a discussion of process line and/or processing particulars, a general immediate overview of the processing line and drawings will facilitate same. 
     Conveyed article processing as depicted in relation to processing line  20  of  FIG. 1  commences figure right, segment or station I, article ingress, and concludes figure left, segment or station IV, grouped and oriented article egress. Initial article manipulations are undertaken in/at segment or station II, with grouped article inspections and, as warranted, article orientation adjustment undertaken in/at segment or station III. 
     As to the initial manipulations, articles  10  may preliminarily be positioned (i.e., repositioned (IIA)), for example and as shown via a handler assembly  30 , so as to assume a horizontal orientation  10 ″ from a vertical, i.e., upright, orientation  10 ′, and/or collated or grouped, in article pairs  10 A as shown ( FIG. 2 ), and advantageously transferred to a container or flight bucket  24 , i.e., “bucketed” (IIB;  FIGS. 1 &amp; 2 ). Subsequent processing proceeds via an inspection and orientation adjustment assembly  40  (see e.g.,  FIG. 3 , and the alternate views thereof with regard to each of  FIGS. 4-6 ) generally characterized by operatively united primary  50  and secondary  100  subassemblies which jointly and cooperatively engage articles ( FIG. 7 ) requiring an oriented adjustment. 
     Notionally, each article of the conveyed, spaced apart article groups undergo real time inspection with select on-the-fly orientation adjustment (e.g., as by article rotation) via the inspection and orientation adjustment assembly  40  ( FIG. 4 ). The assembly advantageously travels synchronously downstream with a first select set of conveyed article groups, all-the-while inspecting, and, as may be necessary, adjusting via the subassemblies thereof, and thereafter quickly returning to an upstream starting point/locus for inspection and, as circumstances warrant, adjustment of a second select set of conveyed article groups, the second select set immediately adjacent and downstream of the first select set of conveyed article groups. 
     With general reference to  FIGS. 1 &amp; 2 , articles  10  are infed via a conveyance system  22  towards and to an initial article manipulation station characterized by handler assembly  30 . Handler system  30  generally operates upon the infed articles so as to establish an advantageous article spacing and/or article metering, and a preferred article travel orientation. The system generally includes a selectively driven screw or auger conveyor  32 , characterized by a drive assembly  34  and a screw or auger flight  36  axially aligned with the conveyed, ingress articles, and a shoe  38 , adjacent and the auger flight  36  and generally intermediate the opposing ends thereof, for receipt of the auger flight metered articles ( FIG. 2 ). Articles  10  are guidingly received by the auger flight  36 , metered thereby and subsequently passed to and through the shoe  38  whereby the articles  10  are transitioned from a vertical  10 ′ to a horizontal  10 ″ orientation. Upon exiting the shoe  38  of handler system  30 , the metered/paired articles  10 A are deposited or otherwise introduced to flight bucket  24 , e.g., a compartmentalized bucket (see also  FIGS. 3 &amp; 7 ), for structured retention of an article group (e.g., a pair as shown). As is generally indicated, and advantageously as will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds, bodies  12  of the articles  10  are generally seated within the bucket compartments, with a portion of the capped necks  18  thereof extending beyond the “depth” of the bucket  24  (see e.g.,  FIG. 4 ) for, as circumstances warrant, manipulation in furtherance of article orientation adjustment at/within process segment or station III. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , and selectively to the particulars of  FIGS. 4-7 , there is generally shown preferred, non-limiting inspection and orientation assembly  40 . Primary  50  (i.e., directly driven) and secondary  100  (i.e., indirectly driven) subassemblies, operatively linked via a linkage  90  are generally contemplated for the assembly  40  ( FIG. 4 ), the metered/bucketed article groups  10 A conveyed therebetween as indicated, more particularly, guidingly conveyed between opposingly paired article guides  26 . As previously noted, the assembly is selectively translatable relative to the conveyed articles groups. 
     As will be subsequently detailed, primary subassembly  50  is generally characterized by a base, e.g., a carriage  52  as shown, a vision system  54 , and a series of spaced apart actuators, e.g., an array of “lifters”  56  as shown, for selectively tilting bucketed articles, with secondary subassembly  100  generally characterized by a base, e.g., a carriage  102  as shown, a “friction” bar assembly  104  for select engagement with an article body  12  during tilting of a bucketed article. The linkage  90 , more particularly, its inherent configuration, geometry, and dimensions, along with the relationship of elements thereof with, to, among and between elements of each of the subassemblies  50 ,  100  of inspection and orientation assembly  40  is such that for a given time interval “t,” the distance traveled for the secondary subassembly (“d”) is less than the distance traveled for the primary subassembly (“D”), advantageously, but not necessarily, “d” is about one half “D” so as to impart a frictional engagement for and between a tilted article body and a contact element of the friction bar so as to effectuate a rate of article adjustment, via rotation, which is easily and readily detected/detectable via the optics of the vision system and/or combined optics and actuator control of the primary subassembly. 
     Primary subassembly  50  of the inspection and orientation assembly  40  includes vision system  54  and the actuator, i.e., lifter, array  56 , each of which are supported by primary carriage  52  and which are in operative communication (i.e., lifters of the lifter array are operatively responsive to detections of the vision system). Carriage  52 , as indicated, is adapted to include a component of a track and track guide system, namely, a pair of track guides  60  which operatively receive a pair of spaced apart tracks  42  of a base  44  of a drive assembly  46 . Carriage  52  is operatively engaged with a driven belt  48  of drive assembly  46  for translation relative to drive assembly base  44  via slot  45  therein/therethrough ( FIG. 3 ). 
     Vision system  54  generally comprises an array  62  of spaced apart and grouped optical devices  64 , e.g., those supplied by Cognex (Natick, MA, USA) and in the form of a lens and image sensor combination, supported in relation to primary carriage  52 . Each optical device group of the vision system is in overlying registration with a corresponding bucketed article group of the bucketed article groups (see e.g., either of  FIG. 4  or  5 ). 
     Lifter array  56  generally comprises spaced apart groups (e.g., pairs as shown, see e.g.,  FIG. 3  or  7 ) of actuators, namely, air cylinders  58  as indicated. Cylinders  58  are pneumatically driven in response to a select detected (or undetected/non-detected) condition of the article in sight of an optic detector/reader  64  of vision system  54 . For example, and as contemplated in the present application/process, label indicia of each article of the bucketed articles is to be inspected, more particularly, to the extent that select label indicia or the like is absent from a “present” article orientation view, the article lifter is activated in furtherance of altering the article orientation. 
     As is best appreciated with reference to  FIGS. 3 ,  4  &amp;  7 , lifter array  56  further and generally includes a base  66 , upon which actuators  58  are supported, with each actuator  58  equipped with an article engaging member  68  supported by a driven plate  70  or the like. Contemplated interfaces between and among these elements are via conventional mechanical hardware. Article engaging member  68 , advantageously as shown  FIG. 7 , includes a periphery  72  characterized by at least one valley, e.g., cup shaped, or, as shown, a sequence of peaks and valleys (e.g., three peaks  73  and two valleys  75  ( FIG. 7 ), i.e., peak/valley/peak/valley/peak), which cradles a portion of the bucketed article, in the context of the instant application, the capped container neck  18 , and permits a sought after rotated article adjustment to the extent article tilting via actuator lifting is called for owing to a sensing of the detected (or non-detected) condition via the vision system. As should be, and as is readily and generally appreciated, primary subassembly  50  is characterized by structural elements depending at least indirectly from carriage  52  thereof so as to selectively support and position each of vision system  54  and lifter array  56  in relation to the conveyed/passing bucketed articles ( FIG. 4 ). 
     Secondary subassembly  100  (e.g.,  FIG. 4 ), as previously noted, generally includes carriage  102  and friction bar assembly  104  supported thereby. As the case with primary subassembly  50 , carriage  102  of secondary subassembly  100 , as indicated, is adapted to include a component of track and track guide system, namely, a track guide  106  which operatively receives a track  42 ′ of a secondary base  44 ′ of drive assembly  46 . 
     Friction bar assembly  104  is advantageously supported by carriage  102  so as to extend thereover and toward primary subassembly  50 , as shown ( FIGS. 4 &amp; 5 ), upon a post  108 /arm  110  combination. Both post height ( FIG. 4 ) and arm depth ( FIG. 5 ) are advantageously adjustable via a key/keyway adaptation of each of the post  108  and arms  110 . Friction bar assembly  104  is advantageously characterized by a friction member or element  112  ( FIGS. 4 &amp; 7 ) which is retained within a frame/frame members  114  and which is generally positioned in a spaced apart condition in relation to bodies  12  of the bucketed articles. As is best appreciated in relation to  FIG. 5 , friction bar assembly  104 , more particularly, friction element  112  overlays nine article buckets while vision system  54 , more particularly, optical device array  62  generally overlies a lesser number, namely, seven as shown. Owing to the nature of friction element  112 , and its spaced condition in relation to article bodies  12 , a tilting of an article  10  results in engagement of the article therewith, and, as secondary subassembly  100  is translating/traveling at a slower rate than the conveyed article buckets  24 , rotation of the engaged article and thus an orientated adjustment effectuated, with contact time essentially regulated via the vision system/vision system controller. 
     With reference now to  FIG. 4 , and particular reference to  FIG. 6 , linkage  90  is generally shown. Linkage  90  is advantageously characterized by an armature or link bar  92  which is pivotable about an anchored/anchorable end  94  thereof ( FIG. 6 ). A free link bar end  96 , opposite the anchored end  94 , is united to/with primary assembly carriage  52  via a connecting rod  98 . An intermediate portion of link bar  92  is united to/with secondary assembly carriage  102  via a further connecting rod  98 ′. As previously noted, via the instant advantageous common linkage for and between the subassemblies of the inspection and orientation adjustment assembly, more particularly, a 2:1 armature for the linkage, a translation rate of the secondary subassembly is advantageously about 50% of a translation rate of the primary subassembly. Generally, it is believed advantageous to slave the translation rate of the secondary subassembly to the primary assembly, with the travel rate of the former within an range of about 0.25 to 0.75 of the latter. 
     Finally, since the structures of the assemblies, subassemblies, and/or mechanisms disclosed herein may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or general characteristics thereof, some of which forms have been indicated, the embodiments described and depicted herein/with are to be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive. Moreover, while nominal processing has be described and detailed, and to some degree alternate work pieces and systems, assemblies, etc. with regard thereto referenced, contemplated processes are not so limited. Accordingly, the scope of the subject invention is as defined in the language of the appended claims, and includes not insubstantial equivalents thereto.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1