Automatic wood sorting facility
The invention relates to an automatic wood sorting facility comprising a cross conveyor ( 3 ) with a conveying plane (Z 0 ) on which sawn pieces of wood ( 2 ) are advanced, an inspection zone ( 5 ) comprising a camera ( 70 ), a camera-carrying arrangement ( 6 ) by which the camera ( 70 ) is arranged in such a manner that the pieces of wood ( 2 ) advanced on the cross conveyor ( 3 ) can be inspected by means of the camera, a robot gripper zone ( 8 ) comprising a robot (RB 1 ) equipped with a robot gripper tool ( 11 ) by which a piece of wood ( 2 ) can be gripped and handled, a robot-carrying arrangement ( 9 ) by which the robot (RB 1 ) is arranged in such a manner that said conveying plane (Z 0 ) extends below the working area of the robot (RB 1 ) with the robot gripper tool ( 11 ), a robot control unit ( 40 ) to which the camera ( 70 ) is connected, and which robot control unit further comprises a vision system ( 30 ) by which the piece of wood ( 2 ) can be identified, an image processing unit ( 50 ) and a robot control ( 60 ) configured to form a tracking system with a defined tracking area (TR 1 ) of the length of the conveying plane (Z 0 ), wherein the robot (RB 1 ) is configured, with instruction from the vision system ( 30 ), to grip and handle an identified piece of wood ( 2 ) within the tracking area (TR 1 ).
1 . An automatic wood sorting facility comprising,
a cross conveyor comprising multiple parallel conveyor chains and provided with drivers defining a conveying plane on which elongated sawn pieces of wood are advanced perpendicular to their longitudinal axis along the length of the conveying plane,
an inspection zone comprising at least one camera,
a camera-carrying arrangement by which the camera is borne and arranged in such a manner that each piece of wood, which is advanced on the cross conveyor can be inspected by means of the camera,
a robot gripper zone comprising a robot equipped with a robot gripper tool by which a piece of wood can be gripped and handled within a working area for the robot,
a robot-carrying arrangement by which the robot is borne and arranged in such a manner that said conveying plane extends under the working area of the robot with the robot gripper tool,
a robot control unit to which the camera is connected, and which robot control unit further comprises a vision system by which an inspected piece of wood can be identified as a target object, an image processing unit and a robot control configured to form a tracking system with a defined tracking area of the length of the conveying plane,
wherein the robot is configured, with instruction from the vision system, to grip and handle an identified piece of wood within the tracking area,
wherein the robot is configured to lift the elongated pieces of wood from a non-continuous surface of the conveyor chains to a height that clears the drivers provided on the cross conveyor during the gripping and handling operation.
2 . The automatic wood sorting facility according to claim 1 , comprising a removal arrangement configured to receive a piece of wood gripped and handled by the robot, or a tailgate included in the cross conveyor and configured to receive a piece of wood gripped and handled by the robot.
3 . The automatic wood sorting facility according to claim 2 , wherein the removal arrangement is arranged to extend transversely in the travelling direction of the cross conveyor.
4 . The automatic wood sorting facility according to claim 3 , wherein the removal arrangement includes an endlessly travelling conveyor by which pieces of wood taken away are conveyed in their longitudinal direction.
5 . The automatic wood sorting facility according to claim 1 , wherein the robot-carrying arrangement comprises a frame, which is situated above the conveying plane and extending across the same, and on which frame the robot is mounted straight above the conveying plane of the cross conveyor.
6 . The automatic wood sorting facility according to claim 1 , comprising means for adjusting the speed of the cross conveyor.
7 . The automatic wood sorting facility according to claim 1 , comprising the robot gripper tool carried in a tool attachment at an arm end of each robot, which the robot gripper tool is configured to grip and handle a piece of wood.
8 . The automatic wood sorting facility according to claim 1 , wherein the robot gripper tool comprises a frame carrying an attachment for releasable mounting in the tool attachment of the robot, a first gripper configured to grip and handle a piece of wood through the impact of a plurality of rotatable screw means, which can be screwed into the piece of wood, a second gripper configured to grip and handle a piece of wood through the impact of a parallel gripper with two mutually moveable fingers.
9 . The automatic wood sorting facility according to claim 8 , wherein the robot gripper tool comprises a first displacement means with which the frame of the robot gripper tool overall and thereby also said first gripper and second gripper, respectively, jointly can be displaced in a direction of motion to respectively from a defined zero point reference in a tool center of the robot.
10 . A high-capacity sorting line for elongated sawn wood pieces, comprising
a cross conveyor comprising multiple parallel conveyor chains and provided with drivers defining a conveying plane on which the elongated sawn pieces of wood are advanced perpendicular to their longitudinal axis along the length of the conveying plane,
a plurality of robots that are sequentially mutually spaced downstream along the cross conveyor, and wherein each robot has a defined tracking area,
a removal arrangement provided for each robot,
a work distribution system that monitors a number of identified pieces of wood and their positions in respective downstream tracking areas, and by which a request for gripping and handling an identified piece of wood is carried out with a load-balancing distribution check between the robots depending on the relative downstream state of the piece of wood on the cross conveyor to maximize system throughput,
wherein the robot is configured to lift the elongated pieces of wood from a non-continuous surface of the conveyor chains to a height that clears the drivers provided on the cross conveyor during the gripping and handling operation.