CN-116669912-B - Improvements in and relating to packaging

CN116669912BCN 116669912 BCN116669912 BCN 116669912BCN-116669912-B

Abstract

An agricultural product filling apparatus includes a robotic positioning device having an end effector, wherein the robotic positioning device provides at least three degrees of freedom to move the end effector in three axial (x, y, and z) directions or a combination of at least two of these directions relative to an agricultural product to be packaged, wherein the end effector is adapted to individually pick up an agricultural product, a sensor for determining a size of each of a plurality of agricultural products presented to the robotic positioning device and end effector, and a controller configured to receive one or more outputs from the sensor and determine a selection of agricultural products to pick up from the plurality of agricultural products based on the one or more outputs from the sensor to achieve an acceptable stack height of the agricultural products within a package, and to cause the robotic positioning device and end effector to move and pick up the selection of agricultural products and place it directly within the package.

Inventors

A. V. Fowler
R. D. Tasma
S. T. Daley

Assignees

乐淇全球有限公司

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20211201
Priority Date: 20201201

Claims (20)

1. An agricultural product filling apparatus, the agricultural product filling apparatus comprising: a robotic positioning device having an end effector, Wherein the robotic positioning device provides at least three degrees of freedom to move the end effector in three axial (x, y and z) directions or in a combined direction of at least two of these axial directions with respect to the agricultural product to be packaged, Wherein the end effector is adapted to individually pick up the agricultural product by receipt into a final package in the form of a tube; A sensor for determining a size of each of a plurality of agricultural products presented to the robotic positioning device and end effector, and A controller configured to receive one or more outputs from the sensor, and: Determining a selection of agricultural products to pick up from the plurality of agricultural products based on the one or more outputs from the sensor to achieve an acceptable stack height of the agricultural products within the package; and moving the robotic positioning device and end effector and picking up the selection of agricultural products and placing them directly within the tube.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the acceptable stack height is defined by a target stack height and/or an acceptable stack height range, wherein the acceptable stack height range is from a minimum acceptable stack height to a maximum acceptable stack height.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein once packaged, each agricultural product assumes a position within the package, and the acceptable stack height range and/or target stack height is defined for the agricultural product at each position within the package.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to: (i) Based on the one or more outputs from the sensor, a height dimension of each agricultural product in a current subset of the plurality of agricultural products is determined, and the selection of agricultural products to be picked up by the robotic positioning device with end effector is determined from the current subset.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the apparatus includes a conveyor to convey the plurality of agricultural products to the robotic positioning device and the current subset of agricultural products is a row of agricultural products spaced across the conveyor.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the controller is configured to track the row of agricultural products as the row of agricultural products is conveyed along the conveyor.
7. The apparatus of claim 5 or 6 wherein the controller is configured to determine a size of each of more than one row of produce and track the more than one row of produce as it is conveyed along the conveyor.
8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to: (ii) Evaluating the heights of the agricultural products in the current subset to determine if there are one or more selections of one or more agricultural products from the current subset to achieve a stack height within an acceptable stack height range, and (Iii) If there is a single pick of one or more agricultural products within the acceptable stack height range, the controller is configured to cause the robotic positioning device and end effector to pick up the single pick of one or more agricultural products.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to: (iii) (b) if there is no selection of agricultural products within the acceptable stack height range, and (Iii) (b) (i) if the stack height of the agricultural products in the current subset is greater than a maximum acceptable stack height, the controller is configured to ignore the maximum agricultural products from the current subset, or (Iii) (b) (ii) if the stack height of the agricultural products in the current subset is less than a minimum acceptable stack height, the controller is configured to ignore a minimum agricultural product from the current subset, and (Iii) (c) if more than one agricultural product remains in the current subset, the controller is configured to return to step (ii).
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein in step (iii) (c), the controller is configured to: if only one agricultural product remains in the current subset, the last agricultural product in the current subset, and (Iii) (c) (i) if the last agricultural product in the current subset is within the acceptable stack height range, the controller is configured to: causing the robotic positioning device and end effector to pick up the last agricultural product in the current subset.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein in step (iii) (c), the controller is configured to: (iii) (c) (ii) if the last agricultural product in the current subset is outside the acceptable stack height range, the controller is configured to: (iii) (c) (ii) (a) determining a height dimension of each agricultural product in one or more subsequent subsets based on the one or more outputs from the sensor to determine whether there is an agricultural product in the one or more subsequent subsets that achieves a stacking height within the acceptable stacking height range with the last agricultural product, and (Iii) (c) (ii) (a) (i) if there is an agricultural product in the one or more subsequent subsets that achieves a stacking height within the acceptable stacking height range with the last agricultural product, the controller is configured to: causing the robotic positioning device and end effector to pick up the last agricultural product in the current subset, and (Iii) (c) (ii) (a) (ii) if there is no agricultural product in the one or more subsequent subsets that achieves a stacking height within the acceptable stacking height range with the last agricultural product, the controller is configured to: setting a next subset of the plurality of agricultural products to the current subset and returning to step (i).
12. The apparatus of any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein, after step (ii), if there is more than one selection of one or more agricultural products in the current subset to achieve a stack height within an acceptable stack height range, the controller is configured to: (iv) Determining whether one or more of the selections of one or more agricultural products achieve a stack height that is closest to or equal to a target stack height, and (Iv) (a) if there is only one pick made up of one or more agricultural products that achieves a stack height closest or equal to the target stack height, the controller is configured to cause the robotic positioning device and end effector to pick up the pick up, and (Iv) (b) if there is more than one pick of one or more agricultural products that achieves a stack height closest to or equal to the target stack height, the controller is configured to cause the robotic positioning device and end effector to pick up the pick of the largest or smallest agricultural product.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the stack height of a selection of one or more agricultural products is equal to the target stack height if the stack height of the selection is equal to the target stack height plus or minus a threshold value.
14. The apparatus of any of claims 8-11, wherein, after the controller causes the robotic positioning device to pick up the selection of one or more agricultural products, the controller is further configured to: (v) Determining whether the package is full, and (V) (a) if the package is not filled, the controller is configured to set a next subset of the plurality of agricultural products to the current subset and return to step (i) to continue filling the package.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the end effector is adapted to hold the package and place the agricultural product in the package as the end effector picks up the agricultural product, and wherein in step (v): (v) (b) if the package is full, completing the current filling operation, and the controller is configured to cause the robotic positioning device to move the end effector to a release area and release the full package from the end effector.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to: (v) (c) causing the robotic positioning device to move the end effector to a package dispenser to receive empty packages in the end effector, and Setting a next subset of the plurality of agricultural products to the current subset and returning to step (i) to begin filling the empty package.
17. The apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6, 8 to 11, wherein the end effector is adapted to hold the package and to place the agricultural product in the package as the end effector picks up the agricultural product, and the end effector comprises: At least one actuatable mobile element located on the end effector so as to be adjacent to an open end of a tube held by the end effector, wherein the actuatable mobile element is configured to be operable between: An extended position extending at least partially over the open end of a tube held by the end effector to at least partially occlude the open end of the tube, and A retracted position such that the open end of the tube is substantially unobstructed to allow agricultural product to be received in the tube, and Wherein, for picking up agricultural products, the controller is configured to, with the actuatable moving element in the retracted position and with the empty tube to be filled,: A) Controlling the robot positioning device at least in: in the x and y directions, or -A combined direction of the x-direction and the y-direction; Positioning the end effector so as to be vertically above a first agricultural product of the selection of one or more agricultural products, and moving the end effector vertically downward to receive the first agricultural product in the tube within the end effector, and B) Actuating the actuatable mobile element from the retracted position to the extended position to retain the first agricultural product in the package, and C) Causing the robotic positioning device to move the end effector vertically upward to pick up the agricultural product.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the controller is further programmed to: d) Moving the robotic positioning device in the x and y directions to position the end effector vertically above another agricultural product in the selection of one or more agricultural products and vertically downward to position the first agricultural product adjacent to or in contact with the other agricultural product; E) Actuating the actuatable mobile element from the extended position to the retracted position; F) Controlling the robotic positioning device to continue moving the end effector vertically downward to receive the another agricultural product in the package within the end effector; g) Actuating the actuatable mobile element from the retracted position to the extended position to retain the first agricultural product and the other agricultural product in the package, and H) Moving the robotic positioning device vertically upward the end effector, and F) Repeating steps D through H until the robotic positioning device and end effector have picked up the selection of one or more agricultural products.
19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the apparatus comprises a conveyor to convey the plurality of agricultural products to the robotic positioning device having an end effector, and the subset of agricultural products is a row of agricultural products spaced apart across the conveyor, and wherein to position the end effector vertically above an agricultural product, the controller is configured to: Causing the robotic positioning device to move the end effector vertically above the agricultural product and in a conveying direction at a speed of the conveyor such that the end effector remains vertically above the agricultural product.
20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the apparatus comprises a conveyor to convey the plurality of agricultural products to the robotic positioning device having an end effector, and the subset of agricultural products is a row of agricultural products spaced apart across the conveyor, and wherein to position the end effector vertically above an agricultural product, the controller is configured to: Causing the robotic positioning device to move the end effector vertically above the agricultural product and in a conveying direction at a speed of the conveyor such that the end effector remains vertically above the agricultural product.

Description

Improvements in and relating to packaging Application for applying The present application is based on the provisional specification filed in connection with new zealand patent application number 770536, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field The present invention relates to an apparatus for packaging items in a tube, and in particular to an apparatus for filling tubes with agricultural products such as fruit or other perishable/foodstuff. Background Apples and other fruits are traditionally packaged in boxes. To minimize damage to the fruit, the fruit is typically supported in trays within the box to keep the fruit separate from adjacent fruit. A single box may include one or more layers of fruit, each layer being supported by a tray. Applicants have introduced a novel method of packaging fruit (apples) by filling the fruit (apples) in a tray in a tube rather than a box. Each tube typically contains two or more fruits, for example five apples. The shape of the tube may be cylindrical or may have other cross-sectional shapes, such as square, triangular or other shapes. The interior dimensions of the tube are commensurate with the exterior dimensions of the fruit such that when full, the tube accommodates a single row or column of fruit. For example, in a cylindrical tube, the inner diameter of the tube is preferably slightly larger than the maximum intended diameter of the fruit. The desired maximum diameter of the fruit may be based on a known fruit size distribution for a particular type and/or kind of fruit. Filling the tube with fruit introduces inefficiency in the filling process. Each fruit cannot fall into the tube because physical impact between the fruits can cause damage (bruising) to the fruit during filling. Moreover, unlike filling the box with fruit, each fruit must be added individually to the tube one at a time. Thus, this form of packaging/filling process is time consuming, labor intensive and adds additional cost to the filling process. Another problem with filling the tube with fruit is that natural variations in fruit size can result in variations in the amount of empty headspace at the top of the tube. Ideally, the amount of empty headspace within the tube should be kept to a minimum to avoid the fruit rolling or moving too much within the tube. For example, fruit packed in a tube that is too long (i.e., a tube with too much empty headspace) may cause the fruit to move significantly within the tube during transport and strike adjacent fruit, resulting in damage. In the case of several smaller fruits packed together in a tube, the headspace at the top end of the tube may be too large, so that the tube appears empty and there is too much room for the fruit to move, damaging the fruit. Conversely, the required amount of fruit may be too large to fit within the tube, requiring an evacuation tube to restart the filling process. To manage the amount of headspace in the tube, a tube of variable length, such as a tube having two opposing portions that telescope/slide together to change the tube length, may be provided. A tube comprising multiple portions may add additional cost and/or complexity to the fruit package. All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification, are incorporated herein by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicant reserves the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents forms part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country. Disclosure of Invention It is an object of the present invention to address one or more of the foregoing problems, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an agricultural product filling apparatus including: a robotic positioning device having an end effector, Wherein the robotic positioning device provides at least three degrees of freedom to move the end effector in three axial (x, y and z) directions or in a combined direction of at least two of these axial directions with respect to the agricultural product to be packaged, Wherein the end effector is adapted to individually pick up agricultural products; A sensor for determining a size of each of a plurality of agricultural products presented to the robotic positioning device and end effector, and A controller configured to receive one or more outputs from the sensor, and: Determining a selection of agricultural products to pick up from the plurality of agricultural products based on the one or more outputs from the sensor to achieve an acceptable stack height of the agricultural