Patent Description:
Material handling systems can convey, sort, and organize items (e.g., cartons, cases, containers, shipment boxes, totes, packages, and/or the like) at high speeds. Depending on a configuration of the material handling system, the items may travel through the material handling systems in an unregulated manner or may be repositioned, reoriented, and/or consolidated into a single stream of items on conveyors and/or other locations. Material handling systems may rely on a conveyor controller and/or warehouse management system to organize items conveyed and/or handled.

Generally, a material handling system is required to handle items of different types and body shapes, for instance, items having a rigid body shape or a flexible body shape. For example, the material handling system may be required to handle items having a rigid body shape (e.g., totes, containers, cartons, heavy shipment boxes, and/or the like). In some cases, the material handling system handles items having flexible body shape (e.g., packages, polybags, envelopes, and/or the like). These rigid and flexible items may further need to be repositioned and/or reoriented through various stages of handling and processing by the material handling system.

Applicant has identified several technical challenges associated with handling items of different body shapes, and other associated systems and methods. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, many of these identified challenges have been overcome by developing solutions that are included in embodiments of the present invention, many examples of which are described in detail herein.

<CIT> discloses a universal gripping and suction chuck for use as an interchangeable end effector of a robot arm of a robotic station capable of picking up, transporting, and handling objects having colors and outlines. The chuck housing contains elements of a vacuum system for holding the object by vacuum suction force, a vortex system for holding the objects in a non-contact manner in a state of levitation, and a mechanical edge gripper. The vacuum system, the vortex system, and the mechanical edge gripper can be selectively activated by commands from the central processing system that receives a signal recognition signal, object presence/absence signal and/or object approaching signal from respective sensors and depending on the type of the object recognized by the respective sensor.

The following presents a simplified summary to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed material handling system. This summary is not an extensive overview and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements nor delineate the scope of such elements. Its purpose is to present some concepts of the described features in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented hereafter.

Various example embodiments described herein relate to methods and systems for manipulating items in a material handling environment. Embodiments according to the invention are defined by the claims, to which reference should now be made.

In some example embodiments, the robotic arm is adapted to rotate the end effector, so as to, change an orientation of the item gripped by the gripper unit from a first orientation to a second orientation. According to some example embodiments, the gripper unit also includes, at least one ejector positioned at each of the at least one flexible suction cup and the at least one rigid gripper. The at least one ejector is adapted to eject the item gripped by the gripper unit.

In some example embodiments, the robotic arm is adapted to position the end effector, so as to pick the item positioned in a first orientation by gripping the item with the gripper unit and move the end effector in order to place the item in the second orientation.

In some example embodiments, the item manipulation system also includes at least one vacuum generator adapted to generate the vacuum suction force through the at least one flexible suction cup and the at least one rigid gripper to facilitate gripping of the item by the gripper unit.

According to some example embodiments, the item manipulation system further includes a laser range finder adapted to identify the item in the first orientation and communicate to the control system at least one of a picking position, a gripping position, a retrieval position, or a discharging position of the end effector based on the identified first orientation.

In accordance with some example embodiments described herein, the end effector of the item manipulation system comprises a roller gripper unit having a first roller and a second roller. The roller gripper unit is adapted to rotate the first roller in a first direction and rotate the second roller in a second direction opposite to the first direction so as to pinch at least a portion of a second item between the first roller and the second roller and rotate the first roller and the second roller in a release direction of the second item so as to release the portion of the second item.

In some example embodiments, the item manipulation system comprises an adapter unit configured to rotatably engage one end of the robotic arm to the first end of the end effector. The adapter unit includes at least one sensor configured to generate sensor data corresponding to at least one of a weight distribution of the item or a center of gravity of the item and process the sensor data in order to identify a vacuum suction force to be generated by a vacuum generator of the end effector.

According to some example embodiments, an end effector is described. The end effector defines a first end configured to be rotatably engaged to an end of a robotic tool and a second end comprising a rigid gripper and a flexible suction cup. Each of the rigid gripper and the flexible suction cup may be configured to engage a surface of an item based on vacuum suction force generated by at least one vacuum generator, through the rigid gripper or the flexible suction cup. In accordance with said example embodiments, the end effector is adapted to rotate about an axis to change an orientation of the item engaged at the second end from a first orientation to a second orientation.

In accordance with some example embodiments, the end effector includes a laser range finder adapted to identify an orientation of the item. The end effector may be further configured to move to one of a picking position, a gripping position, a retrieval position, or a discharging position based on the identified orientation of the item.

According to some example embodiments, the end effector is moved to the gripping position to grip the item and further rotated to change the orientation of the item from a first orientation to a second orientation.

In some example embodiments, the end effector includes a roller gripper unit having a first roller and a second roller. The roller gripper unit is adapted to rotate the first roller in a first direction and rotate the second roller in a second direction opposite to the first direction so as to pinch at least a portion of a second item between the first roller and the second roller and rotate the first roller and the second roller in a release direction of the second item so as to release the portion of the second item.

According to some example embodiments, the end effector includes an adaptor unit configured to rotatably engage with the end of the robotic tool. The adaptor unit includes at least one sensor configured to generate sensor data corresponding to at least one of a weight distribution of the item or a center of gravity of the item and process the sensor data in order to identify a vacuum suction force to be generated by a vacuum generator of the end effector.

According to some example embodiments, the second end of the end effector includes at least four flexible suction cups positioned at each corner of a bottom surface of the end effector and the rigid gripper positioned at a center of the bottom surface of the end effector.

In some example embodiments, the end effector includes at least one ejector at each of the flexible suction cup and the rigid gripper. The at least one ejector may be adapted to eject the item gripped by the end effector.

According to some example embodiments, a method for manipulating an item is described. The method includes identifying the item to be positioned in a first orientation. The method further includes positioning an end effector to pick the item in the first orientation. Upon positioning the end effector, the method includes engaging a surface of the item by at least one of a flexible suction cup or a rigid gripper of the end effector. Further, the method includes rotating the end effector to change an orientation of the item engaged to the end effector from the first orientation to a second orientation.

In some example embodiments, the method includes moving the end effector to a first position to position the end effector to pick the item in the first orientation and moving the end effector to a second position to position the end effector to place the item in the second orientation. Further, the method includes ejecting, by ejectors of the flexible suction cup and the rigid gripper, respectively, the item gripped by the end effector.

According to some example embodiments, the method of manipulating the item also includes generating sensor data corresponding to at least one of a weight distribution of the item or a center of gravity of the item. Further, the method includes processing the sensor data to identify a vacuum suction force to be generated by a vacuum generator of the end effector through each of the flexible suction cup and the rigid gripper.

According to some example embodiments, the method of manipulating the item includes identifying, by a laser range finder of the end effector, an orientation of the item. Further, the method includes communicating to a control system of the end effector at least one of a picking position, a gripping position, a retrieval position, or a discharging position of the end effector based on the identified orientation of the item.

The above summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some example embodiments to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above-described embodiments are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope of the disclosure in any way. It will be appreciated that the scope of the disclosure encompasses many potential embodiments in addition to those here summarized, some of which will be further described below.

Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, the disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. The terms "or" and "optionally" are used herein in both the alternative and conjunctive sense, unless otherwise indicated. The terms "illustrative" and "exemplary" are used to be examples with no indication of quality level.

The components illustrated in the figures represent components that may or may not be present in various embodiments of the invention described herein such that embodiments may include fewer or more components than those shown in the figures while not departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

Turning now to the drawings, the detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various concepts with like numerals denote like components throughout the several views.

In material handling environments, such as distribution centers, warehouses, inventories, or shipping centers, various equipment such as robotic arms, item manipulators, conveyor overhead units, and/or the like are used for performing various operations. For instance, this equipment is used for manipulating items located in the material handling environment and/or in transit on conveyors. Manipulation of the items may involve performing operations such as picking, re-orienting, placing, stacking, un-stacking, lifting, repositioning, or relocating the items.

Generally, a material handling system may include robotic tools installed in the material handling environment that are configured to perform the manipulation of items. These robotic tools are usually designed to pick an item of a particular body shape.

Manipulating an item, in some cases, requires changing an orientation of the item. For example, it is required to reposition the item so as to expose a label of the item in a correct orientation in a field of view of a sensing system. The labels may be associated to these items. For instance, some items may include a label including indicia or coded information (e.g., barcodes, QR codes, DPM codes and/or the like) that are scanned and decoded by an operator or a scanning system (e.g., a bi-optic scanner installed over a conveyor) for uniquely identifying the items and retrieving information associated with the items. In some other cases, manipulating the items requires changing an orientation of the items so as to stack a number of items in an order (e.g., stacking pallets).

Thus, it is desired to handle different types of items (i.e., different body shapes) at a faster rate including re-orientating the items such as when these items are inducted onto a sortation conveyor or a downstream conveyor and/or are handled by equipment like robotic tools, sorters, or end effectors. Manually changing the orientation of each item on the conveyor is time-consuming and causes loss of overall productivity of operators. Also, switching between robotic tools having different configurations of end effectors customized to handle items of different body shapes is ineffective. Still further, each such robotic tool may require a larger footprint and occupy extra space within the material handling environment. Each of these disadvantages add to the overall cost and slows down operations within the material handling environment, thereby impacting an overall throughput of the material handling system.

Various example embodiments described herein relate to an item manipulation system having an end effector configured to handle items of different body shapes (e.g., flexible body shape items, thin body shape items, rigid body shape items, and/or the like). Further, the item manipulation system is configured to manipulate an item from a first orientation to a second orientation. An example item manipulation system includes a robotic arm communicatively coupled to a control system and an end effector. The end effector defines a first end rotatably engaged to the robotic arm and a second attached to a gripper unit. The gripper unit is configured to be actuated by the control system and includes at least one flexible suction cup and at least one rigid gripper. In this regard, depending on a body shape of the item, at least one of: the at least one flexible suction cup and the at least one rigid gripper are configured to engage a surface of the item based on vacuum suction force. In accordance with said example embodiments, to grip a flexible item (i.e., an item having a flexible body shape), the control system may actuate the gripper unit to cause engagement of the at least one flexible suction cup with a surface of the flexible item based on a first vacuum suction force generated through the at least one flexible suction cup. Similarly, in some example embodiments, to grip a rigid item (i.e., an item having a rigid body shape) the control system of the item manipulation system may actuate the gripper unit to cause engagement of the at least one rigid gripper with a surface of the rigid item based on a second vacuum suction force generated through the at least one rigid gripper.

According to some example embodiments, the robotic arm is also adapted to rotate the end effector so as to change an orientation of the item gripped by the gripper unit from a first orientation to a second orientation. For instance, the robotic arm positions the end effector so as to pick the item positioned in a first orientation by gripping the item with the gripper unit and move the end effector in order to place the item in a second orientation. Thus, the item manipulation system described herein provides an effective handling of items of different body shapes without a requirement of switching between multiple robotic tools.

The item manipulation system described herein may be positioned adjacent to or in a proximity to a downstream conveyor such that the items of different body shapes on the conveyor that are identified to be manipulated or re-oriented maybe manipulated irrespective of its body shape. In this aspect, depending on a body shape of the item, a material handling procedure of the end effector of a robotic tool may be selected. By way of example, a first material handling procedure may cause gripping the item based on at least one flexible suction cup, while a second material handling procedure may cause gripping the item based on the at least one rigid gripper. Similarly, a third material handling procedure for the end effector may cause gripping the item by both of the at least one flexible suction cup and the at least one rigid gripper. Thus, items of different body shape can be handled by one robotic tool of the item manipulation system and further manipulated from a first orientation to a second orientation, without disrupting ongoing operations of the material handling system.

Having described an example embodiment at a high level, the design of the various devices performing various example operations is provided below.

<FIG> illustrates a perspective view and <FIG> illustrates a top view of a material handling system <NUM> comprising an item manipulation system <NUM>. The material handling system <NUM> may handle items of various body shapes, for instance, rigid body shaped items, thin body shaped items, flexible body shaped items, and/or the like. The material handling system <NUM> may include a variety of components and/or subsystems, such as an induction conveyor, sortation system, chutes, identification systems, vision systems, robotic subsystems, and the like, for handling and processing items.

In accordance with some example embodiments, the material handling system <NUM> includes the item manipulation system <NUM> configured to manipulate an item <NUM> from a first orientation to a second orientation. The item manipulation system <NUM> includes a robotic tool, such as a repositioning system <NUM>, for handling and repositioning items of different body shapes. For example, the reposition system <NUM> may be configured to receive the item <NUM> in a first orientation from a chute <NUM> and/or a conveyor (not shown), and further reorient and/or reposition the item <NUM> to a second orientation for placement onto a conveyor and/or any downstream subsystem of the material handling system <NUM>. The item manipulation system <NUM> also includes equipment such as a control system (not shown). The repositioning system <NUM> comprises a robotic arm <NUM> and an end effector <NUM> for manipulating the item <NUM>. The end effector <NUM>, described in accordance with various example embodiments herein, may define two ends, a first end engaged mechanically with the robotic arm <NUM> and a second end defining a gripper unit (not shown) for gripping items of different body shapes. Further details of the end effector <NUM> and the gripper unit are described hereafter with reference to <FIG>.

In some example embodiments, the material handling system <NUM> also includes a vision system <NUM> having one or more sensors positioned at locations within the material handling system <NUM>. The vision system <NUM> may be configured to generate inputs corresponding to one or more characteristics of the item <NUM>. It should be noted that the vision system <NUM> is shown as a standalone camera in <FIG>; however, the vision system <NUM> is not limited to the implementation shown in <FIG>. The vision system <NUM> may also include a network of imagers, sensors, cameras, identification systems, and the like for determining characteristics of one or more items in the material handling system <NUM>. In accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, the characteristics of the item <NUM> may include a size, weight, position, edge detection, marker detection, label detection, and/or the like.

According to some example embodiments, the characteristics of the item <NUM> may be used to control and operate one or more subsystems (e.g., the repositioning system <NUM>, the control system (not shown), the robotic arm <NUM>, and/or the end effector <NUM>) of the material handling system <NUM>. In accordance with said example embodiments, the control system may include a controller (not shown) in communication with the equipment in the material handling system <NUM> (e.g., the repositioning system <NUM>, the robotic arm <NUM>, the end effector <NUM>, and/or the vision system <NUM>). The controller may include at least one processor that may execute instructions to cause the item manipulation system to perform specific operations.

In accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor may execute instructions to cause the vision system <NUM> to determine a first orientation of the item <NUM> to be conveyed. The processor may further execute instructions to cause the repositioning system <NUM> to receive, via the end effector <NUM>, the item <NUM> in the first orientation and manipulate the item <NUM> from the first orientation to the second orientation. Further, the processor may execute instructions to cause the repositioning system <NUM> to move the robotic arm <NUM>, to reposition the item <NUM> in the second orientation for placement onto a conveyor <NUM>, such as a downstream conveyor within the material handling system <NUM>.

In accordance with some example embodiments described herein, the item <NUM>, such as a parcel, may have a label placed on the item <NUM>. The label may include an identifier comprising information corresponding to the item (e.g., items within, size, weight, delivery address, and/or the like for the parcel). In some example embodiments, the information corresponding to the item <NUM> may be coded in an identifier (e.g., a barcode, a QR code, a direct part marking code, and/or the like) associated with the item <NUM>. Thus, for handling and processing the item <NUM>, one or more subsystems of the material handling system <NUM> (e.g., a scanning system having an imaging device, a camera, indicia scanner, bi-optic scanner, and/or the like) may scan the identifier at different stages of conveyance. During conveyance, an orientation of the item <NUM> may change frequently. Thus, the item <NUM> may be orientated such that the label may not be positioned in an optimal label orientation for viewing by the scanning system. In such scenarios, upon identification of an orientation of the item <NUM>, the item manipulation system <NUM> may cause manipulation of the item <NUM> from the first orientation to a second orientation that is different from the first orientation. For example, the robotic arm <NUM> of the item manipulation system <NUM> may move the end effector <NUM> so as to manipulate the item <NUM> gripped by the end effector <NUM> from the first orientation to the optimal label orientation. The optical label orientation, may correspond to an upright orientation of the label in which an indicia of the label positioned on a top face of the item <NUM> is oriented substantially upright for scanning by the scanning system. In other words, in the second orientation the label of the item <NUM> may correspond to an orientation such that an identifier on the label can be successfully scanned by the scanning system and decoded by the control system.

Alternatively, the item <NUM> may be oriented such that the label is already positioned in the optimal label orientation (e.g., in a field of view of the vision system <NUM> or the scanning system). In such cases, the controller may cause the item manipulation system <NUM> and/or any other subsystem of the material handling system <NUM> to transfer the item <NUM> to the conveyor <NUM> in the first orientation (i.e., without reorienting the item <NUM>).

As described above, the repositioning system <NUM> may include at least one of a robotic tool that includes the robotic arm <NUM> and the end effector <NUM>. In accordance with various example embodiments, the end effector comprises a gripping unit having at least one flexible suction cup and at least one rigid gripper for handling items of different body types and/or reorienting the item <NUM>. The robotic arm <NUM>, the end effector <NUM>, and their associated operations are explained hereinafter in further details with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrate multiple perspective views of a robotic tool <NUM> of the item manipulation system <NUM>, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, in accordance with some example embodiments described herein. The robotic tool <NUM> includes a robotic arm portion <NUM> and the end effector <NUM>. The robotic arm <NUM> may be any suitable robotic arm that is adapted to have a sufficient degree of motion desired for picking, placing, repositioning, re-orienting and/or perform any such type of manipulation of the item <NUM> and/or a group of items. In some examples, the robotic arm portion <NUM> may correspond to an extension of the robotic arm <NUM>, as described in <FIG> and <FIG>.

According to various example embodiments described herein, the robotic arm portion <NUM> is communicatively coupled to the control system that controls operations such as movement, positioning, starting, and stopping, of the robotic arm portion <NUM>. The control system of the item manipulation system <NUM> may initiate movement of the robotic arm portion <NUM> so as to position the end effector <NUM> to any of a picking position, gripping position, retrieval position, or a discharging position of the item <NUM>, details of which are described hereafter. In some alternate example embodiments, the robotic tool <NUM> including the robotic arm portion <NUM> and the end effector <NUM> may be controlled by a controller remotely positioned and/or any other subsystem of the material handling system <NUM> to pick the item <NUM> in a first orientation and reorient the item <NUM> to a second orientation for placement onto the conveyor <NUM>.

As shown, the robotic arm portion <NUM> defines at least two ends, for instance, a proximal end <NUM> and a distal end <NUM>. In some example embodiments, the proximal end <NUM> of the robotic arm portion <NUM> is adapted to mechanically engage with the robotic arm <NUM> of the repositioning system <NUM>. Further, the distal end <NUM> of the robotic arm portion <NUM> is rotatably engaged to a mount <NUM>. In accordance with some example embodiments, the robotic arm portion <NUM> may be pivotably or rotatably attached to the robotic arm <NUM> so as to facilitate movement of the robotic arm portion <NUM> to position the end effector <NUM> to pick items of different body shapes.

Further, the end effector <NUM> of the item manipulation system <NUM> defines two ends (e.g., a first end <NUM> and a second end <NUM>). The first end <NUM> of the end effector <NUM> is rotatably engaged to the robotic arm portion <NUM> through the mount <NUM>. The second end <NUM> of the end effector <NUM> includes a gripper unit <NUM> comprising at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and at least one rigid gripper <NUM>. In accordance with various example embodiments described herein, the end effector <NUM> may include different configurations of gripping mechanisms suitable for engaging items of different body shapes. Some example gripping mechanisms of end effectors include vacuum based gripper, claw based item manipulator, finger based item manipulator, plate based item manipulator, and/or the like, that are configured for picking, engaging, and/or handling the item <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, in some examples, the end effector <NUM> may define at its second end <NUM>, a configuration of the gripper unit <NUM> having four flexible suction cups (e.g., <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, and <NUM>-<NUM>), positioned at a respective corners defined by a bottom surface of the gripper unit <NUM> and one rigid gripper <NUM> positioned at a center of the bottom surface of the gripper unit <NUM>. In an alternate embodiment, the end effector <NUM> may include another configuration of the gripper unit <NUM> having six flexible suction cups (e.g., <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>. and <NUM>-<NUM>) and two rigid grippers (e.g., <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM>) disposed on the bottom surface of the gripper unit <NUM>. Accordingly, the end effector <NUM> may be engaged to different configurations of gripper units (e.g., the gripper unit <NUM>) having a varying number of flexible suction cups and/or rigid grippers to engage items of different body shapes and different characteristics (e.g., weight, center of gravity, etc.). In this way, items are not mishandled or dropped during a movement of the end effector <NUM> and/or re-orientation of the items as the items are being handled.

According to some example embodiments, the at least one suction cup <NUM> and the at least one rigid gripper <NUM> of the gripper unit <NUM> are configured to engage a surface of the item <NUM> based on a first vacuum suction force generated through the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and/or a second vacuum suction force generated through the at least one rigid gripper <NUM>. In some examples, the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> may be actuated to engage items having flexible body shape (e.g., parcels, polybags, paper bags, envelops and/or the like). In some examples, the at least one rigid gripper <NUM> may be actuated to grip items having rigid body shapes (e.g., boxes, cartons, containers, totes, and/or the like). Based on the body shape of the item <NUM> handled by the item manipulation system <NUM>, varying amounts of suction forces (e.g., vacuum suction forces) may be generated through respective flexible suction cup(s) <NUM> and/or the rigid gripper(s) <NUM>.

The robotic tool <NUM> includes one or more vacuum sources or a vacuum generator (not shown) for creating a vacuum suction force within the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and the at least one rigid gripper <NUM>. Each of the at least one flexible suction cups <NUM> and the at least one rigid gripper <NUM> may be in fluid communication with the one or more vacuum generators (e.g., via a plenum or one or more vacuum rods (not shown)). In operation, the one or more vacuum generators may draw vacuum suction force through the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and the at least one rigid gripper <NUM>. Operations of the one or more vacuum generators including an amount of vacuum suction force required to be generated may be controlled by the control system. Further, the vacuum suction force through each of the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and the at least one rigid gripper <NUM> may be generated also based on various characteristics of the item <NUM> (e.g., weight, center of gravity, texture, etc.) identified by the control system.

In or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the robotic tool <NUM> may further include one or more sensors (e.g., a force sensor, a torque sensor, and/or a distance sensor) to measure characteristics of the item <NUM> (e.g., weight, position, orientation, center of gravity, size etc.). Thus, the position, size, and/or weight of the item <NUM> may be determined by the robotic tool <NUM> or any other subsystem of the material handling system <NUM>.

According to various example embodiments, an engagement of the item <NUM> by the gripper unit <NUM> enables the end effector <NUM> to pick, reorient, reposition, and/or place the item <NUM> as needed. As described above, the end effector <NUM> may be mechanically attached to the robotic arm portion <NUM> through the mount <NUM> such that the end effector <NUM> may be capable of rotating with respect to the robotic arm portion <NUM>. For rotating an item <NUM>, the end effector <NUM> of the item manipulation system <NUM> may contact the item <NUM> positioned in a first orientation.

Further, in some example embodiments, the control system and/or any other subsystem of the material handling system <NUM> may determine, via the vision system <NUM>, that the item <NUM> is to be manipulated from the first orientation to a second orientation. For example, the control system may determine a need of reorienting the item <NUM> before placing the item <NUM> onto a downstream conveyor and/or section of the material handling system <NUM>. As an example, a label and/or a marker placed on the item110 may be upside down, the item <NUM> may have a longer edge that may jam in the downstream conveyor, or the item <NUM> may need to be oriented in a specific orientation to fit a palletizing pattern. Upon determining that the item <NUM> needs to be reoriented, the end effector <NUM> may be controlled to rotate about the mount <NUM> in order to change the position and/or the orientation of the item <NUM>. In some embodiments, the end effector <NUM> may be rotated in a clockwise direction to rotate the item <NUM> within a range from about <NUM> degrees to about <NUM> degrees to align a label placed on the item <NUM> for scanning. Further, once the item <NUM> is reoriented, the robotic arm portion <NUM> may be moved to position the end effector <NUM> at a position so as to place the item <NUM> on the conveyor <NUM>. Furthermore, one or more ejectors of the gripper unit <NUM> may be actuated for respective flexible suction cups <NUM> and/or the rigid gripper <NUM> for releasing the item <NUM> onto the conveyor <NUM> in the second orientation.

According to various example embodiments described herein, the gripper unit <NUM> of the end effector <NUM> includes at least one ejector (not shown) positioned at each of the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and the at least one rigid gripper <NUM>. The at least one ejector is adapted to eject the item gripped by the gripper unit. In an embodiment, the ejector may receive compressed air fed into the flexible suction cups <NUM> and the rigid gripper <NUM>. It should be noted that the robotic tool <NUM> may reorient the item <NUM> in-hand while holding the item <NUM>, or may reorient the item <NUM> in one or more steps while picking and/or placing the item <NUM>. Details of steps performed for the manipulation of the item <NUM> from the first orientation to the second orientation are described hereafter in reference with <FIG>.

According to some example embodiments described herein, the end effector <NUM> includes at least one laser range finder <NUM>. The at least one laser range finder is disposed on the second end <NUM> of the end effector <NUM>. The at least one laser range finder <NUM> is configured to identify (e.g., periodically or continuously over a period of time), the item <NUM> positioned in the first orientation. The laser range finder <NUM> is also configured to determine a distance at which the item <NUM> is positioned relative to the gripper unit <NUM>. For example, the laser range finder <NUM> may determine the distance between a top surface of the item <NUM> and an end of the gripper unit <NUM> (e.g., between at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and/or the at least one rigid gripper <NUM>). Based on the determined distance, the control system may cause the robotic arm portion <NUM> to position the end effector <NUM> into different operating positions. In some example embodiments, based on the determined distance communicated to the control system, the end effector <NUM> may be moved into at least one of: (a) the picking position to pick the item <NUM> in the first orientation, (b) the gripping position in which the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and/or the at least one rigid gripper <NUM> can be selectively actuated to grip the item <NUM>, (c) the retrieval position in which the end effector <NUM> is moved to retrieve the item <NUM> from amongst multiple items on a conveyor, and (d) the discharging position, in which the end effector <NUM> is moved to place the item <NUM> in the second orientation by ejecting the item <NUM> engaged to the end effector <NUM> based on ejectors of respective of the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and/or the rigid gripper <NUM>. In accordance with some example embodiments herein, the laser range finder <NUM> may include a light source configured to emit a laser beam or light rays, and trace a time of flight of the emitted light to bounce back from the item <NUM> and to the laser range finder <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates an exploded view of the robotic tool <NUM>, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The robotic tool <NUM> includes a robotic arm portion <NUM> adapted to be mechanically attached to a robot flange adapter <NUM>. The robot flange adapter <NUM> may include and/or be attached to at least one sensor <NUM> mounted on a sensor mounting flange <NUM>. In an embodiment, the at least one sensor <NUM> may include a plurality of sensors (e.g., a force sensor, torque sensor, distance sensor, and/or the like) to measure different characteristics of the item <NUM>. In an embodiment, the sensor <NUM> may determine, for example, a weight distribution and/or center of gravity of the item <NUM> and generate sensor data. Based on processing the sensor data generated by the sensor <NUM>, the control system may cause the vacuum generators to control generation of the vacuum suction force through each of the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and the rigid gripper <NUM>. The sensor mounting flange <NUM> is further attached to the end effector <NUM>. The end effector <NUM> includes a dust plate <NUM> at the bottom of the end effector <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. In an embodiment, the robotic tool <NUM> further includes two laser range finders (e.g., a first laser range finder <NUM>-<NUM> and a second laser range finder <NUM>-<NUM> ) similar to the at least one laser range finder <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates a top view of another end effector <NUM> (similar to the end effector <NUM>) of the item manipulation system <NUM>, in accordance with some example embodiments described herein. As shown, the end effector <NUM> includes a roller gripper unit <NUM> along with the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and the at least one rigid gripper <NUM>, as described with reference to <FIG>. The roller gripper unit <NUM>, is configured for gripping items having a thin body shape (e.g., polybags, envelops, paper bags, and/or the like). In accordance with said example embodiments, the roller gripper unit <NUM> includes at least two rollers (e.g., a first roller <NUM> and a second roller <NUM>) disposed adjacent one another. In some example embodiments, the first roller <NUM> and the second roller <NUM> are disposed on top of each other, as shown in <FIG>. Further, each of the two rollers <NUM>, <NUM> may be controlled individually, by the control system, to engage or disengage a thin body shaped item. For example, the roller gripper unit <NUM> may be adapted to rotate the first roller <NUM> in a first direction and rotate the second roller <NUM> in a second direction opposite to the first direction so as to pinch at least a portion of the thin body shape item, referred hereinafter, as a second item, between the first roller <NUM> and the second roller <NUM>.

Similarly, the roller gripper unit <NUM> is adapted to rotate the first roller <NUM> and the second roller <NUM> in any direction (for e.g., a release direction that is opposite a gripping direction) of the second item so as to release the portion of the second item. Thus, the two rollers <NUM> and <NUM> may rotate in directions opposite to each other to pinch and hold at least a portion of the second item between the two rollers <NUM> and <NUM> for picking the second item <NUM>. For example, in some embodiments, the first roller <NUM> may rotate in a clockwise direction while the second roller <NUM> rotates in a counter-clockwise direction to hold and pick a portion of the second item. Further, each of the two rollers <NUM> and <NUM>, may rotate in a direction so as to release the second item held by the roller gripper unit <NUM> of the end effector <NUM>. For example, for placing the item <NUM> onto a conveyor, both the rollers <NUM> and <NUM> may rotate in clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to release the portion of the item <NUM> held between the rollers <NUM> and <NUM>, and thus, to release the item <NUM> from the roller gripper <NUM>.

<FIG>, illustrates a side view of the end effector <NUM> of the item manipulation system <NUM>, in accordance with some example embodiments described herein. The side view illustrated in <FIG> depicts the roller gripper unit <NUM> having the first roller <NUM> and the second roller <NUM> and the at least one flexible suction cups <NUM> and the at least one rigid gripper <NUM> of the end effector <NUM>. <FIG> illustrates a bottom view of the end effector <NUM> of the item manipulation system <NUM>, comprising the roller gripper unit <NUM> and a configuration of gripper unit having six flexible suction cups (e.g., <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, and <NUM>-<NUM>) similar to the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and two rigid grippers (e.g., <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM>) similar to the at least one rigid gripper <NUM> positioned on a bottom surface of the end effector <NUM>. Referring to the end effector <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, the end effector <NUM> may be adapted to selectively actuate a blower system, including one or more vacuum generators, to actuate and cause generation of vacuum suction force through the at least one flexible suction cups <NUM> and/or the at least one rigid gripper <NUM> to engage and hold items of different body shapes.

According to various example embodiments described herein, to cause manipulation of the item <NUM> from the first orientation to the second orientation, an identification of an item, its position, and its current orientation may be performed based on processing sensor data. The sensor data may be collected by one or more sensors for example, sensors of the vision system <NUM> and/or the at least one sensor <NUM> of the robot flange adapter <NUM>. The sensor data may be accessed by the control system of the material handling system <NUM> and processed to identify the requirement of item manipulation.

In some example embodiments, the vision system <NUM> may include one or more cameras installed around an area of a material handling environment in which the item <NUM> is located. The one or more cameras may feed image data to the controller which may analyze the images at a high rate to identify a position and/or an orientation of the item <NUM> within the material handling environment and/or a label of the item <NUM>. Additionally, and/or alternatively, the sensors of the at least one sensor <NUM> of the end effector <NUM> may determine various characteristics of the item <NUM> including a size, weight, type, and/or the like of the item <NUM>. These characteristics may be utilized to determine an item manipulation strategy of the end effector (<NUM>, <NUM>). For example, sensor data generated by the at least one sensor <NUM>, including sensors (e.g., a laser sensor, force sensor, torque sensor, and/or the like) that may be utilized to identify a type of item <NUM>, body shape of the item <NUM>, or other characteristics of the item <NUM>. The control system of the item manipulation system <NUM> may make an initial assessment of a product type based on determined characteristics of the item and accordingly select an item handling procedure suited for successful handling of the item <NUM>. The initial assessment, for example, may include the identification of the product type, product size, or the like and may be based on the sensor data and/or image data collected at the time of picking and throughout the handling process.

In some example embodiments, the vision system <NUM> and/or the controller may also apply machine learning to build a trainable model based on classification of the items to be picked into different categories prior to picking of the item and/or during the item picking. The controller may accordingly adjust an item manipulation strategy of the item manipulation system <NUM>, for example, a picking strategy for picking the item <NUM>. Further, the controller may also determine for the item manipulation system <NUM> further actions to be performed, upon picking the item by using feedback from one or more sensors (e.g., a force, torque, and/or vacuum sensor). <FIG> illustrates an example flowchart of an operation performed by the item manipulation system <NUM> including the robotic arm portion <NUM> and the end effector (<NUM>, <NUM>) as described in <FIG>, in accordance with example embodiments of the present invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the flowcharts, may be implemented by various means, such as hardware, firmware, one or more processors, circuitry and/or other devices associated with execution of software including one or more computer program instructions. For example, one or more of the procedures described above may be embodied by computer program instructions. In this regard, the computer program instructions which embody the procedures described above may be stored by a memory of an apparatus employing an embodiment of the present invention and executed by a processor in the apparatus. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions may be loaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus (e.g., hardware) to produce a machine, such that the resulting computer or other programmable apparatus provides for implementation of the functions specified in the flowcharts' block(s). These computer program instructions may also be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage memory that may direct a computer or other programmable apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage memory produce an article of manufacture, the execution of which implements the function specified in the flowcharts' block(s). The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus to cause a series of operations to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide operations for implementing the functions specified in the flowcharts' block(s). As such, the operations of <FIG> when executed, convert a computer or processing circuitry into a particular machine configured to perform an example embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, the operations of <FIG> define an algorithm for configuring a computer or processor, to perform an example embodiment. In some cases, a general purpose computer may be provided with an instance of the processor which performs the algorithm of <FIG> to transform the general purpose computer into a particular machine configured to perform an example embodiment.

Accordingly, blocks of the flowchart support combinations of means for performing the specified functions and combinations of operations for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that one or more blocks of the flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

<FIG> illustrates a flowchart describing a method <NUM> for manipulating an item from a first orientation to a second orientation in a material handling environment by the item manipulation system <NUM>, as described in reference to <FIG>, respectively.

According to various example embodiments, at step <NUM>, the item manipulation system <NUM> may include means such as the control system configured to cause identification of the item <NUM> in a first orientation. As described above, in some example embodiments, the control system may process sensor data accessed from one or more sensors of the vision system <NUM> and/or one or more sensors of the at least one sensor <NUM> of the end effector <NUM> itself. The sensor data may be accessed to identify an orientation and/or one or more characteristics like, but not limited to, body shape of the item, type of the item, weight of the item, center of gravity, etc. of the item <NUM>.

In some example embodiments, the control system may identify the item <NUM> in the first orientation, via a laser range finder <NUM> of the end effector <NUM>, as described in reference to <FIG>. In some example embodiments, the laser range finder <NUM> may communicate to the control system a distance at which the item <NUM> is positioned relative to the gripper unit <NUM>. Based on the identified orientation of the item <NUM> and the distance, the control system may determine at least one of the picking position, the gripping position, the retrieval position, or the discharging position of the end effector <NUM> to which the robotic arm portion <NUM> and the end effector <NUM> may be moved.

Upon identifying the item <NUM> in the first orientation, at step <NUM>, the control system of the item manipulation system <NUM>, may cause movement of the robotic arm <NUM> to position the end effector (<NUM>, <NUM>) so as to pick the item <NUM> in the first orientation. To pick the item <NUM> in the first orientation, the robotic arm <NUM> may move so as to manipulate the robotic arm portion <NUM> of the end effector <NUM>. This may result in positioning the gripper unit <NUM> at a position that allows engagement of the item <NUM> with the gripper unit <NUM> in the first orientation.

At step <NUM>, upon positioning the gripper unit <NUM>, the gripper unit <NUM> of the end effector (<NUM>, <NUM>) may cause engagement of a surface of the item <NUM>, by at least one of, the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and the at least one rigid gripper <NUM> of the end effector <NUM>. The control system may cause selective actuation of one or more vacuum generators of the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and the at least one rigid gripper <NUM> of the gripping unit <NUM> to engage the item. For example, when the item <NUM> is identified to be of a flexible body shape, the control system may cause actuation of vacuum generators to generate vacuum suction force through the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> to engage a surface of the item <NUM> with the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM>. In some other cases, when the item <NUM> is identified to be of a rigid body shape, the control system may cause actuation of vacuum generators to generate vacuum suction force through the at least one rigid gripper <NUM> to engage a surface of the item <NUM> with the at least one rigid gripper <NUM>. Alternatively and/or additionally, in some cases, for instance, wherein additional engagement support is required (e.g., a heavy weight or large item) the control system may cause actuation of the vacuum generators to generate a first vacuum suction force through the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and a second vacuum suction force through the at least one rigid gripper <NUM> to engage with a surface of the item <NUM> based on vacuum suction force through both of the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and the at least one rigid gripper <NUM>.

In some example embodiments, the control system may cause generation of different vacuum suction forces through each of the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and/or the at least one rigid gripper <NUM>. For example, in some cases, based on determination of center of gravity of the item <NUM>, and/or other characteristics, by the at least one sensor <NUM> of the end effector <NUM>, different vacuum forces may be generated through each of the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and/or the at least one rigid gripper <NUM>. For example, referring to <FIG>, where the end effector <NUM> defines six flexible suction cups and two rigid grippers, the control system may cause to generate different vacuum suction forces, through each of one or more of the six flexible suction cups and/or the two rigid grippers, respectively.

Upon engaging the item <NUM>, at step <NUM>, the item manipulation system <NUM> may include means such as, the robotic arm portion <NUM> of the end effector <NUM>, to cause rotation of the end effector <NUM>, to change an orientation of the item <NUM> engaged to the gripper unit <NUM> in the first orientation to a second orientation. In this aspect, the second orientation is different than the first orientation. In some examples, the robotic arm portion <NUM> of the end effector <NUM> may rotate by <NUM> degrees about its axis, so as to manipulate the item <NUM> gripped on the gripper unit <NUM> in the first orientation, to the second orientation. In some examples, the robotic arm portion <NUM> of the end effector <NUM> may rotate by <NUM> degrees about its axis, so as to manipulate the item <NUM> gripped on the gripper unit <NUM>.

According to some example embodiments, at step <NUM>, the control system may cause, via the robotic arm portion <NUM>, movement of the end effector <NUM> to a first position to pick the item <NUM> in the first orientation. Upon picking the item <NUM>, and rotating the end effector <NUM>, as described in step <NUM>, the control system may further cause, via the robotic arm portion <NUM>, movement of the end effector <NUM> to a second position so as to place the item in the second orientation. In some examples, the first position may correspond to a position on the chute <NUM> and the second position may correspond to a position on the conveyor <NUM>. Thus, in operation, the robotic arm portion <NUM> may move to pick the item <NUM> in the first orientation from the chute <NUM> and upon rotation of the gripper unit <NUM>, place the item <NUM> on the conveyor <NUM> in the second orientation. Furthermore, upon placing the item in the second orientation, the control system may cause, via the ejectors, ejection of the item <NUM> gripped by the end effector <NUM>.

According to some example embodiments, at step <NUM>, to engage the surface of the item <NUM>, by at least one of the at least one suction cup <NUM> and/or the at least one rigid gripper <NUM>, the vision system <NUM> and/or the at least one sensor <NUM> of the end effector <NUM> may generate sensor data corresponding to at least one of: a weight distribution of the item, or a center of gravity of the item. Further, the control system may process the sensor data to identify a desired vacuum suction force to be generated by a vacuum generator of the end effector <NUM> through each of the at least one flexible suction cup <NUM> and/or the at least one rigid gripper <NUM>, respectively.

Thus, items of different body shapes and characteristics such as, but not limited to, size, weight, center of gravity, etc. can be handled by the item manipulation system <NUM> in accordance with various example embodiments described herein.

It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

References within the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "embodiments", or "one or more embodiments" are intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of such phrases in various places within the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.

It should be noted that, when employed in the present disclosure, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and other derivatives from the root term "comprise" are intended to be open-ended terms that specify the presence of any stated features, elements, integers, steps, or components, and are not intended to preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof.

Claim 1:
An end effector (<NUM>) comprising:
a first end configured to be rotatably engaged to an end of a robotic arm (<NUM>);
a second end;
a gripper unit (<NUM>) attached at the second end of the end effector, the gripper unit being configured to grip an item (<NUM>), the gripper unit comprising:
at least one flexible suction cup (<NUM>); and
at least one rigid gripper (<NUM>), wherein each of the at least one flexible suction cup and the at least one rigid gripper are in fluid communication with at least one vacuum generator, and wherein each of the at least one flexible suction cup and the at least one rigid gripper are configured to engage a surface of the item based on a vacuum suction force generated by the at least one vacuum generator through, selectively:
in a first material handling procedure, the at least one flexible suction cup;
in a second material handling procedure, the at least one rigid gripper; and
in a third material handling procedure, the at least one flexible suction cup and the at least one rigid gripper.