US 12,447,505 B2
Method for feeding parcels onto a sorting conveyor using a gripper robot with suction cups and an integrated camera
Richard Blache, Lemps (FR); Thierry Brisson, Mercurol Veaunes (FR); Fabien Devise, Valence (FR); and Jean-Marc Roux, Chateauneuf-sur-Isere (FR)
Assigned to Solystic, Bagneux (FR)
Appl. No. 18/716,287
Filed by SOLYSTIC, Bagneux (FR)
PCT Filed Sep. 29, 2022, PCT No. PCT/EP2022/077159
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 4, 2024,
PCT Pub. No. WO2023/126085, PCT Pub. Date Jul. 6, 2023.
Claims priority of application No. 2114578 (FR), filed on Dec. 28, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2025/0033086 A1, Jan. 30, 2025
Int. Cl. B07C 1/06 (2006.01); B25J 9/00 (2006.01); B25J 9/16 (2006.01); B25J 15/06 (2006.01)
CPC B07C 1/06 (2013.01) [B25J 9/0093 (2013.01); B25J 9/1697 (2013.01); B25J 15/0616 (2013.01)] 4 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for feeding parcels onto a sorting conveyor from unsorted parcels conveyed on a feed conveyor, comprising:
forming a digital image of the unsorted parcels is formed by means of a first camera arranged above the feed conveyor,
using a control-and-monitoring unit to identify a parcel to be separated having a gripping face on the top of the parcel not covered by any other parcel in said digital image of the unsorted parcel,
configuring said control-and-monitoring unit to servo-control a gripper robot with suction cups comprising a gripper hand with a palm from which said suction cups extend so as to grasp by suction said parcel to be separated identified in the digital image and to deposit it said parcel on the sorting conveyor,
locating said gripper robot is-above said parcel to be separated and before gripping said parcel,
forming a digital image of the gripping face of said parcel to be separated by means of a second camera arranged in the palm of the hand between the suction cups of said gripper robot while the gripper robot is moving for gripping and configuring the control-and-monitoring unit to identify the presence or absence of an indication of the presence of sorting information in said digital image of the gripping face of the parcel and to servo-control the gripper robot in order to respectively move the parcel from the feed conveyor directly onto the sorting conveyor or to deposit the parcel from the feed conveyor onto a parcel turning device designed to turn over and deposit the parcel onto the sorting conveyor.