Abstract:
A conveying system includes a robotic arm, an end-of-arm-tool, carried by the robotic arm, and a conveyor. In one example, the end of arm tool includes a plurality of engagement mechanisms arranged in an array. Each engagement mechanism includes at least two opposed fingers moveable between engaged and released positions, and is thereby adapted to grasp a soft-sided article from the conveyor. The conveyor includes a plurality of parallel tracks, each track separated from an adjacent track by a groove. A plurality of stops is configured to stop a plurality of soft-sided articles in an array analogous to the arrayed engagement mechanisms of the end-of-arm tool. In operation, the opposed fingers of each engagement mechanism pass through the grooves defined within the conveyor, to grasp upstream and downstream sides of an article, respectively, and underneath the article, which is then lifted by the robotic arm.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims the priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/863,333 filed Oct. 27, 2006, titled “End of Arm Tooling Apparatus and Method of Engaging an Article.” 

   BACKGROUND 
   The conveying, alignment, and transport of articles, especially oddly shaped and difficult to engage packages, is problematic. For example, the process of engaging and transporting bagged items, such as bags of olives or candies, into shipping or transportation containers such as boxes or cartons poses unique problems. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. The use of the same reference numbers in different instances in the description and the figures may indicate similar or identical items. 
       FIG. 1  shows a front elevational view of an example of an apparatus with an end of arm attachment having a plurality of fingers to engage a non-rigid article. 
       FIG. 2  shows various views of an example of an end of arm attachment in an open position.  FIG. 2A  shows a bottom perspective view of the alternative end of arm attachment.  FIGS. 2B ,  2 C, and  2 D show a top perspective, a front elevational and a side elevational views, respectively, of the alternative end of arm attachment shown in  FIG. 2A . 
       FIG. 3  shows various views of the end of arm attachment shown in  FIG. 2  in a closed position.  FIG. 3A  shows a bottom perspective view of the alternative end of arm attachment shown.  FIGS. 3B ,  3 C, and  3 D show a top perspective, a front elevational and a side elevational views, respectively, of the alternative end of arm attachment shown in  FIG. 3A . 
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  respectively show a front elevational view and a perspective view of an example of an end of arm attachment. 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  respectively show a side elevational view and a front elevational view of an apparatus according to one implementation at a first step in an illustrative process. 
       FIGS. 6A and 6B  respectively show a side elevational view and a front elevational view of the apparatus of  FIGS. 5A and 5B  at a second step in the illustrative process. 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  respectively show a side elevational view and a front elevational view of the apparatus of  FIGS. 5A and 5B  at a third illustrative step in the illustrative process. 
       FIGS. 8A and 8B  respectively show a side elevational view and a front elevational view of the apparatus of  FIGS. 5A and 5B  at a forth step the illustrative process. 
       FIGS. 9A and 9B  respectively show a perspective view and a side elevational view of an apparatus according to an alternative implementation, shown at one illustrative step in a process. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   An apparatus is disclosed that, according to one implementation, includes a robotic arm, an end of arm tool attachment for engaging an article, and a position and location determination device. The article may be initially provided on a conveyor for conveying the article toward the end of arm tool. The conveyor may have two or more tracks that form one or more grooves for allowing fingers on the end of arm tool to pass between and below adjacent tracks so that the fingers can engage the bottom and/or sides of the article. The article may be any rigid or non-rigid body or product, such as a box, bag, sack, jar, or other shaped body. 
   A robotic arm is configured to manipulate the end of arm tool. The robotic arm may pivot, turn, rotate, or maneuver in any manner to adjust and position the end of arm tool to any desired position and/or location. The robotic arm may be activated and controlled using electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, or other power. The robotic arm may have one or more power conduits for connection to the end of arm tool to provide power and control to the end of arm tool. 
   The end of arm tool may have a base, an engagement mechanism, and a power and/or control mechanism. The base may be provided to engage and/or interface with the robotic arm. The engagement mechanism may be any mechanism for grabbing, pulling, scooping or otherwise engaging an article, such as a product moving on a conveyor belt. The engagement mechanism may include or be connected to a power and/or control mechanism. The power and/or control mechanism may have electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, electronic or other suitable components to provide power and control to the engagement mechanism. 
   One exemplary engaging mechanism may include fingers for engaging the article or product. The fingers may be curved, tilted, or projected inwardly relative to the article to engage the bottom and/or sides of the article. Engaging may include grabbing, grasping, gripping, handling, or otherwise interacting with the article. The fingers may be constructed or composed of metal, polymer, wood, ceramic, composite, or other suitable material. 
   The conveyor may be a conveyor belt, wheel, or other suitable conveying mechanism and may include two or more conveyor tracks. The conveyor tracks may be separated by one or more grooves that may be sized to permit one or more portions of the engaging mechanism on the end of arm tool to engage the article or product on the conveyor from a position that is at or below the horizontal surface of the conveyor belt. The conveyor tracks may be constructed or composed of metal, polymer, wood, ceramic, composite, fabric, or other suitable material. The conveyor tracks may be powered collaboratively or independently by a power source, which may have electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, electronic or other suitable components to provide power and control to the conveyor tracks. The conveyor tracks and/or the power source may be supported by one or more substrates. Each substrate may be constructed or composed of metal, polymer, wood, ceramic, composite, or other suitable material. 
   The apparatus may have a sensing mechanism, such as a position, location, and/or orientation detection device. For example, sensing mechanism may include an IR sensor, a visual or photo tracking device, one or more physical stops or barriers, or other position determining device to collect information regarding the location of the article or any portion thereof on the conveyor relative to the robotic arm and/or the end of arm tool. Line tracking software or other interface may be provided to the apparatus to accept, calculate, record, and/or translate the position information. Such information may be utilized to adjust the position, orientation and/or location of the end of arm tool for engagement with the article. 
   Exemplary Implementation 
   The apparatus and method of utilizing the end of arm tool to transport an article may be more clearly understood through example implementations, such as are shown in  FIGS. 1-8 . The example implementations are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. For the sake of convenience, the implementations will be described for the transportation of one or more articles, such as bags of widgets. 
     FIG. 1  shows a front elevational view of an apparatus  108  comprising a robotic arm  110 , an end of arm tool  112  for engaging one or more articles  114 , and a conveyor  116  for conveying the article  114  generally toward the end of arm tool  112 . Note that  FIG. 1  and the other figures herein are not to scale and are simplified for the purposes of illustration and explanation. For example, only a portion of the conveyor is shown for the sake of simplicity. Moreover,  FIG. 1  includes a magnified representation of the end of arm tool  112  to more clearly highlight its features. 
   The robotic arm  110  may pivot, turn, rotate, or maneuver in any manner from its base  111  to articulate the end of arm tool  112  to any desired position and/or location, particularly relative to the conveyor  116  and to a delivery location. 
   The end of arm tool  112  may have a base  120 , one or more engagement mechanisms  122 , with one or more power mechanisms  124 . Power mechanism  124  forms part of the power and control mechanism  125 . The details of the control mechanism  125  are shown for the purposes of simplicity, although one skilled in the art would appreciate that the control mechanism may include or be connected to one or more mechanical and or electronic components to control the power mechanism  124 . The base  120  supports the engagement mechanism  122  and attaches the tool  112  to the robotic arm  110 . 
   The engagement mechanism  122  may include holding mechanisms, such as fingers  126  that pivot about pins  128  for engaging the articles  114 . Various numbers of fingers may be employed. For example,  FIG. 1  and the figures that follow show tools  112  and  212  having sixteen fingers, which are provided as four sets with each set having two pairs of opposable fingers  126  (or  226 , in the case of tool  212 ) to form engagement mechanism  122  (or  222 , in the case of tool  212 ). The fingers  126  may be curved, as shown, to assist in engaging the article. Each finger  126  may be constructed or composed of metal, polymer, wood, ceramic, composite, or other suitable material. Each finger  126  may be connected to the power and/or control mechanism  124 , which may, in turn, be attached at one end to base  120 . Additionally or alternatively, electric motors, such as servo motors, may be supplied to provide power and control to holding mechanisms. Of course, various sized, shaped, or configured engagement mechanisms  122  could be moved through pivoting, scissor, curling, or extension motions or through any other form of suitable movement to move the engagement mechanisms  122  through a range of motions. 
     FIGS. 2 and 3  show a second implementation of an end of arm tool  212  with engagement mechanisms  222  in an open and closed position, respectively. End of arm tool  212  has similar features to end of arm tool  112 , however, fingers  226  in each engagement mechanism  222  are actuated in unison by a single power mechanism  224 , which is controlled by control mechanism  225 . As fingers  226  of each engagement mechanism  222  are operated in unison, the fingers  226  pivot about pins  228  to substantially simultaneously engage an article  114 . 
     FIG. 4  shows an alternative implementation of an end of arm tool  412  that includes a base  420  configured to support two engagement mechanisms  422 A and  422 B in an opposed configuration. As shown, the first engagement mechanism  422 A is similar to engagement mechanism  222 . A relatively smaller engagement mechanism  422 B is oriented to face 180° away from the first engagement mechanism  422 A. Of course, this configuration is illustrative only and other engagement mechanisms and configurations may be implemented. For example, the base  420  may be configured to place three engagement mechanisms  422 A in a 120° orientation or four engagement mechanisms  422 B in a 90° orientation, and so forth. Also, multiple engagement mechanisms  422 A (or  422 B) may be located on each side of the base  420  in a parallel or serially extending configuration. In other words, each portion  420 ′ of base  420  may accommodate the configuration of engagement mechanisms  222  shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
     FIGS. 5-8  illustrate an apparatus  508 , which is similar to apparatus  108 , but configured with four engagement mechanisms  222 , progressing through four illustrative steps in an engagement process. 
     FIG. 5  shows an apparatus  508  having a robotic arm  110  for manipulating the end of arm tool  212 . The end of arm tool  212  is generally located proximate to article  114 , which is or has been conveyed on conveyor  116 . The conveyor  116  may have one or more tracks  130  that form one or more grooves  132  for allowing fingers  126  on the end of arm tool  112  to pass between and below adjacent tracks  130  so that the fingers  126  can engage or grasp the bottom and sides of the article  114 . Tracks  130  may be constructed of metal, polymer, composite, fabric, or other suitable material. Stops  133  may be placed proximate to tracks  130  in order to hold article  114  for engagement by engagement mechanisms  222 . Moreover, multiple stops  133  may be employed to stop multiple articles  114  for engagement by the various engagement mechanisms  222  on the end of arm tool  212 . 
   Tracks  130  may be rotated about an axle  134  by a motor  136 . Additionally or alternatively, each track  130  may be moved independent of adjacent tracks in order to better control the conveying process, such as to rotate article  114  into a proper position for engagement by tool  212 . Tracks  130  may be mounted on track substrates  135  to extend groove  132  to a desired depth. 
   As shown in  FIG. 5 , the conveyor  116  advances article  114  generally in the direction shown by arrow  136  which may be toward the end of arm tool  212 . The article  114  may pass a photo sensor or other detection mechanism, which may detect the leading edge, the trailing edge or any other relevant point indicating the position of article  114 . The position of the end of arm tool  212  may be adjusted to position at least one of the fingers  126  in close proximity to article  114  based on the position information. Additionally or alternatively, stops  133  may be controlled to prevent progress of article  114  along conveyor  116  at a certain point. 
   Two fingers  226 A and  226 B are positioned within two grooves  132  to engage the leading edge of article  114  as it travels along conveyor  116 . Additionally or alternatively, fingers  226 A and  226 B may extend between stops  133 , after, or as, stops  133  prevent further progress of article  114  along conveyor  116 . Two more fingers  226 C and  226 D may engage the trailing edge of article  114  in order to completely grab article  114  between fingers  226 A,  226 B,  226 C, and  226 D. The grooves  132  may assist tool  212  in engaging bottom and side portions of article  114 . Any number of tracks, grooves and/or fingers in various combinations may be used to engage the article  114  with tool  112 . 
     FIG. 6  shows the end of arm tool  212  being positioned immediately prior to grasping article  114 . According to this implementation, stops  133  have stopped article  114  from proceeding along direction  136  of the conveyor  116 . A sensor indicator or other cue may be provided to indicate when engagement mechanism  222  is near, in contact with, and/or ready to grasp, article  114 . 
     FIG. 7  shows the end of arm tool  212  grasping article  114 . According to this implementation, only one article  114  is shown being grasped by one of the engagement mechanisms  222 . However, it is readily apparent that multiple articles  114  may be fed serially, i.e. in a downstream manner, along the conveyor  116  and grasped by each of the engagement mechanisms  222  provided on end of arm tool  212 . 
     FIG. 8  shows a further step of transporting the article  114  from a conveyor  116  to a container  140  for storage, protection, shipping, of the like. Container  140  may be provided on a conveyor  138 , which may be a conveyor belt wheel, or other suitable conveyor mechanism for conveying an article and/or a container  140 . Articles  114  may be dropped, placed, or otherwise removed or disengaged from the engagement mechanisms  222  and the end of arm tool  412 . For, example, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the article  114  may be placed into a packaging box  140  for storage and/or shipment. 
     FIG. 9  shows an alternative apparatus  908  having an end of arm tool  400 . The apparatus  908 , like the apparatus  508  in  FIG. 8 , may transport an article  114  from a conveyor  916  to a container  140  for storage, protection, shipping, or the like. Although engagement mechanism  422 A is not shown with an article, it is appreciated that each engagement mechanisms,  422 A and  422 B, may grasp an article  114  for transporting to a box or carton  140 . 
   In the implementations shown in  FIGS. 1-8 , two articles  114  may be picked up either simultaneously or in relatively short succession. This is accomplished by serially aligning two adjacent sets of fingers configured as two engagement mechanisms  222 , each engagement mechanism  222  for engaging at least one discrete article, such as article  114 . As can be seen with reference to  FIG. 5 , each engagement mechanism  222  may include two pairs of fingers which are aligned in an opposable configuration. Thus, as described above, the pair of fingers  226 A and  226 B may be made to oppose the pair of fingers  226 C and  226 D. Utilizing such a finger configuration may provide a stable grasp to engage the article  114  for removal from conveyor  116 . Of course, any number of fingers could be added to each side and different numbers of fingers could be added to each opposing side. As one example, one finger could be placed in an opposable configuration with three fingers. Additionally or alternatively, one or more fingers may be made to oppose a scoop, blade or other holding mechanism to engage the article  114 . Still further, the opposably engaging fingers, scoops, blades or other holding mechanisms need not all actively move to engage the article  114 . For example, the leading edge of the article may be engaged by one or more holding mechanisms that are relatively fixed with respect to the end of arm tool, while one or more other holding mechanisms advances, slides, or “scoops” the article toward the holding mechanism positioned at the leading edge of the article to engage the article. 
   The implementation shown in  FIGS. 5 through 8  demonstrates an implementation where two bags, fed serially on conveyor  116 , are picked up simultaneously or in serial succession, which may depend on the separation distance between the bags. If the separation between the bags or the alignment of one or more bags is unacceptable, programming within the apparatus may dictate that the bag be rejected and not engaged. In such a case, the bag could be engaged by a different engagement mechanism  222  or removed by an operator or another piece of machinery or automated process to receive and further process or package that article  114 . 
   The end of arm tool, e.g. end of arm tools  112 ,  212 ,  412 , may include multiple engagement mechanisms  222  that form an array of serially aligned and parallel aligned engagement mechanisms  222 . For example, the end of arm tool  212  has four engagement mechanisms  222 , which are aligned in serial (i.e. end-to-end) and parallel (i.e. side-by-side) directions. Of course, the end of arm tool  212 , may be provided with three, four, or “n” number of engagement mechanisms  222  to engage and/or pick up three, four, or “n” number of articles  114 , respectively. Furthermore, each set of fingers (e.g.  126 ,  226 , and so forth) may be configured to grab more than one article. In such an instance, the fingers may engage the leading edge of a first article and the trailing edge of a last article. 
   Although the invention has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claimed invention.