HK1197745B - Flexible assembly line for tray packaging - Google Patents

Description

Flexible assembly line for tray packaging

The application relates to a flexible assembly line for pallet assembly, quality vision inspection and packaging. It also relates to a method of using the flexible assembly line for pallet packaging.

In the food catering industry, food and cutlery are usually delivered on trays. Furthermore, each food product is typically placed in a separate container that is placed in order on a tray. For example, in the airline, military or hospital food catering industry, packaging trays with food and cutlery becomes complex and labor intensive when a large supply of a wide variety of food items is available. Consistency, flexibility and efficiency become key factors in the high quality catering industry if food must be served continuously around the clock.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful flexible assembly line for pallet assembly, quality inspection and/or packaging. It is also an object of the invention to provide a new and useful method of using the flexible assembly line. The essential features of the invention are provided by the independent claims, while other advantageous features of the invention are given by the dependent claims. The present application claims priority from singapore patent application SG201200203-6 filed on month 10, 2012. The entire contents of the earlier application are incorporated herein by reference.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a flexible assembly line includes a tray dispenser for providing trays, and a loading station adjacent to the tray dispenser. The loading station has a holding means for automatically placing food or non-food items onto the tray. A tray dispenser is a device or machine that provides a tray. For example, a tray dispenser includes a cart, trailer, shelf, or room that can hold a tray or stack of trays for dispensing. Pallets are generally known as flat, shallow boxes or containers, usually with slightly raised edges, for carrying, holding or displaying items/containers of food, glass, porcelain, etc. Unlike food containers, trays do not typically directly contact the food. The securing means may take a variety of forms. For example, the fixing means is a clamp having a hole of a predetermined shape so that only food or non-food items having a corresponding shape can fall through the hole onto the tray. The loading station may have different types of holding tools or fixtures so that the flexible assembly line can handle a large number of different items. The flexible assembly line can operate continuously, since the loading station can be run automatically by a computer installed with a suitable software package or by one or more PLCs (programmable logic controllers). The flexible assembly provides an efficient and reliable catering solution while providing labor-intensive mass all-weather catering services, reducing human error in manual tray packaging. Thus, the flexible assembly can provide a tray of food product with improved freshness.

The flexible assembly line may further comprise a pallet to cart loading station connected to the loading station for removing the complete pallet package from the loading station. A flexible assembly line is a production line that places various food or non-food items onto trays according to predetermined patterns/structures, collectively referred to as tray assemblies or subassemblies. The full pallet assembly may be removed from the flexible assembly line and stacked neatly into a cart so that the flexible assembly line does not become blocked at its ends by the full pallet assembly. The pallet-to-cart loading station can efficiently empty the ends of the flexible assembly line and provide a cart that is filled with complete pallet assemblies. The cart may be transported to a warehouse for temporary storage or to an aircraft for catering.

The flexible assembly line may also include a conveyor that connects the tray dispenser, the loading station, the tray to the cart loading station, or any combination thereof. Conveyors are mechanical handling devices that move material from one location to another. The conveyor provides for quick and efficient transport of a wide variety of food items (e.g., a cup of yogurt) or non-food items (e.g., a cutlery bag). The conveyor may be a belt conveyor, a chain conveyor, or a combination of both. The conveyor may be installed on the ground or on the ceiling, depending on the construction conditions of the catering centre accommodating the flexible assembly line.

The flexible assembly line may also include inspection and reject stations for inspecting the quality of food and non-food items. The tray, food or non-food item is inspected against predetermined quality criteria. For example, to be suitable for transporting food or non-food items, the tray must be free of dirt, water stains and distortion. A sealed cup of water must be free of dirt or leaks before being loaded into the tray. Predetermined quality standards are preloaded into the inspection and rejection station for verifying that the tray packages meet the standards. In one embodiment, the check-and-reject station measures the weight of the tray assembly or subassembly against a predetermined range of accepted weights for acceptance or rejection.

The flexible assembly line may also include one or more sorters for collating food or non-food items. Sometimes, food and non-food items are randomly gathered in a container/basket. The sorter collates the articles in an orderly fashion so that the loading station or operator can efficiently pick the articles. The sorter may be a sloped tray sorter, a cross-belt sorter, a carrier sorter, or any combination thereof.

The tray sorter, loading station, tray-to-cart loading station, conveyor, inspection and reject station, or any combination thereof may include an industrial robot for picking food or non-food items. Industrial robots are automatically controlled reprogrammable multi-function manipulators programmable in three or more axes. The industrial robot may be an articulated robot, a SCARA robot, a Delta robot, or a cartesian robot (also known as a gantry robot or an x-y-z robot). The industrial robot may be reprogrammed to assemble different types of pallet assemblies and contact the station or conveyor at different distances. Thus, the flexible assembly line becomes adaptable to meet different catering needs. For example, at an airline catering center, an industrial robot may load a software program for providing fifty sets of western food tray assemblies and then load another software program for providing vegetarian tray assemblies.

The pallet dispenser, loading station, pallet to cart loading station, conveyor, inspection and rejection station, industrial robot, robotic arm, or any combination thereof may have connected cameras and computers to have machine vision capabilities for recognizing the shape of various objects. Machine vision not only enables these machines to find objects, but also directs the motion of these machines so that they can pick food or non-food items from a stack/spread of randomly scattered items and move the selected items onto a tray to form a tray assembly or subassembly. In particular, in the field of feature detection and feature extraction, machine vision or computer vision aims to identify points in digital images where the image intensity changes sharply or has discontinuities in a corrective manner. The detected edges form the boundary of the object so that the machine can recognize that the images taken by the camera are of the desired food and non-food items for the tray package. Since image acquisition, image processing, and program execution can be efficiently performed by one or more computers, shape recognition can be rapidly performed and packaging speed can be significantly increased.

The pallet dispenser, loading station, pallet to cart loading station, conveyor, inspection and rejection station, industrial robot, or any combination thereof may have cameras and computers connected to obtain machine vision capability for scanning the surface structure of various objects. Thus, one or more of these machines will be able to notice surface cracks on the packaging film of a food or non-food item, observing dirt or stains on any one of the trays, food or non-food items. These machines can prevent the costly and time consuming assembly of wrong trays, food or non-food items while providing a tray assembly, checked against pre-installed quality standards.

Methods of machine vision image processing include pixel counting (counting the number of light or dark pixels), thresholding (converting a gray-toned image to simple black and white or using gray-value based separation of the images), segmentation (dividing a digital image into segments to simplify and/or change the characterization of the image into something more meaningful and easier to analyze), blob discovery and processing (examining discrete blob images of connected pixels as image landmarks), and pattern recognition (including template matching, finding, matching, and/or counting specific patterns). Pattern recognition may include the position of an object that may be rotated, partially obscured by another object, or different sizes. The method also includes color recognition, barcode, data matrix and "two-dimensional barcode" reading, optical character recognition (automatic reading of text such as serial numbers), measurement: measurement of object dimensions (e.g., in pixels, inches, or millimeters) and filtering (e.g., morphological filtering).

Two or more pallet dispensers, loading stations, pallet-to-cart loading stations, conveyors, inspection and reject stations, industrial robots, or any combination thereof may be connected for neural network processing. Neural network processing is a weighted and self-trained multivariate decision that enables a flexible assembly line to adjust packaging speeds for different machines, send alerts to operators when faced with faults, or send requests that require various food or non-food items. Thus, flexible assembly lines become intelligent and require less manual intervention. Labor costs for using a flexible assembly line will be reduced.

The pallet dispenser, loading station, pallet-to-cart loading station, conveyor, inspection and rejection station, industrial robot, or any combination thereof may be modularly connected to the flexible assembly line so that it may be disconnected from other components of the flexible assembly line without affecting the other components. Modular design or "modular design" is a method that subdivides a flexible assembly line into smaller parts (modules) that can be created independently and then used in different flexible assembly lines to drive multiple functions. A flexible assembly line with a modular design has the following characteristics:

I. the functionality is divided into discrete expandable, reusable modules, which are made up of separate, self-contained functional elements;

strictly using well-defined modular interfaces, including object-oriented descriptions of module functions; and

easy to change to achieve technology transparency and, where possible, to utilize industry standards for critical interfaces.

The loading station may include a conveyor for loading food or non-food items into the boxes and another conveyor for removing empty boxes. The conveyor is selectively connected to a main conveyor connecting the robot station and the robot of the flexible assembly line. The conveyor of the loading station facilitates the supply of input material (e.g. food products) and the removal of finished material (empty trays) so that the loading station can take full advantage of its operational capacity without delays caused by supply shortages.

The flexible assembly line may also include a manual loading station for manually loading, unloading, or inspecting food or non-food items. The optional manual loading station allows the flexible assembly line to further accommodate packaging of some very fragile food items for robotic end effector handling. The manual loading station further allows for manual intervention that is sometimes required.

The flexible assembly line may also include a carousel having a movable loading tray for conveying food or non-food items. The carousel may also be referred to as an automated palletizer and carousel which may be manual or powered. The carousel enables operators to load or retrieve food or non-food items with their convenience on opposite sides of the carousel without interfering with each other. For example, one operator can load an empty rack with a cutlery bag on one side, while another operator can access the butter bag from the opposite side of the rotating rack. The loading and unloading efficiency using the rotating rack is much higher than that using the fixed rack.

The flexible assembly line may also include a touch screen display connected to a host computer of the flexible assembly line for controlling the flexible assembly line. Touch screens provide an intuitive user interface that operators may find easy to operate. Touch screens also avoid the use of additional keyboards and mice that are often misplaced, soiled with food, or easily damaged by accidental impact.

The flexible assembly line may also include an Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV) for taking a packaged tray assembly or an empty tray. The automated guided vehicle can be programmed to various designated locations to pick up specific food or non-food items so that the flexible assembly can be changed according to different manuals to package different types of pallet packages. Human error is reduced by programming and connecting the automated guided vehicle to a flexible assembly line.

The flexible assembly line may also include an automated food product dispenser including a rotatable food product hopper, a diverter, and a conveyor. The rotatable food product hopper has one or more compartments for storing food products. In use, the rotatable food product hopper rotates and vibrates so that different food products in the respective compartments can fall in sequence into the diverter. The lower conveyor has several lanes for receiving different articles. The diverter will orient the opening below it for targeting the lane so that the appropriate food product is individually assigned to the designated lane for the packaging tray assembly.

An industrial robot may have an end effector for rotation. An end effector is a device at the end of a robot arm designed to interact with the environment. The end effector may include a clamp or tool (e.g., a vacuum cup). The clamp may be two-fingered, three-fingered, or even five-fingered. When a stack of cups is selected, a partial vacuum may exist between the stacks. When the industrial robot lifts the upper cup, one or more cups below can also be lifted due to the partial vacuum. The cup below is easy to fall off by rotation, thereby avoiding double selection errors of the tray package.

An industrial robot has an end effector for vibration. When the end effector vibrates, the underlying cup may be separated directly from the top cup, again avoiding the problem of double pick by industrial robots.

An industrial robot may have an end effector for heating. For example, the end effector may circulate hot air over its end effector such that the selected cup is rapidly heated. The "slide cup" beneath the top cup may itself separate from the top cup due to differential thermal expansion between the two cups.

The flexible assembly line may also include a cleaning and sterilization station for cleaning the industrial robot end effector. The cleaning and sanitizing station includes a tank containing one or more cleaning fluids, such as water, compressed air, sanitizing gel, foam, and liquid solutions. The barrel may have an inlet and an outlet so that the cleaning fluid may be circulated and replaced to clean the end effector immersed therein.

The flexible assembly line may also include a cleaning and drying station for cleaning the conveyor belt. The conveyor or belt may become soiled with food particles as the conveyor or belt contacts the tray or food container. The washing and drying station provides washing/cleaning, drying, or a combination thereof to the conveyor or belt to prevent cross-contamination of various food and non-food items with one another. For example, water is sprayed and a stream of compressed air is blown onto the conveyor or belt. The conveyor or belt may further be irradiated with infrared or ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. The conveyor or belt may also be wiped with brushes, while a dust pan/chute is provided underneath for collecting food debris.

The flexible assembly line may include one or more pest control drawers. The drawer is a container attached to or mounted in close proximity to one of the machines/stations, such as a conveyor. The drawer is arranged below the food or non-food item channel, so that food pollution caused by the fact that the mothproof medicine in the drawer accidentally falls onto the channel is avoided. The pest control drawer is useful for preventing infestation of a flexible assembly line.

The present application further provides an airline restaurant center having one or more flexible assembly lines. The airline catering center offers a packaged set of tray assemblies to a number of airline/flight meals at the airport. Because the flexible assembly line can be continuously operated very flexibly and efficiently, the operating efficiency of the airline catering center and the airport will be significantly improved.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the invention provides a method of using a flexible assembly line for tray packaging. The method comprises a first step of receiving empty trays or partially assembled/filled trays, a second step of providing food or non-food items and a third step of automatically loading food or non-food items onto the trays. Since the loading is operated by one or more machines, the operating efficiency, accuracy and reliability of the flexible assembly line becomes much higher than the manual assembly of pallet packages.

The method may further comprise the step of automatically inspecting the trays, food or non-food items and loaded trays by Machine Vision (MV). The machine vision sequence of operations includes acquiring images through the use of one or more cameras, lenses and illumination, which provide the differences needed for subsequent processing. The machine vision software package then employs various digital image processing techniques to extract the required information and make decisions (e.g., pass/fail) based on the extracted information. Machine vision applications may be addressed using two-dimensional images, three-dimensional images, or both. Machine vision provides feedback to the flexible assembly to achieve high precision, efficiency and quality of the tray packaging. Alternative or supplemental feedback to the flexible assembly line may be provided by weight measurements of the jig, fixture, hole having a predetermined shape, position switch, and tray assembly.

The method may further comprise the step of transferring the loaded or completed pallet into a cart for transport. The completed or rejected pallet assemblies are quickly stacked into a cart for transport to a temporary storage or aircraft. The transporting action keeps the flexible assembly line from jamming in operation, which is highly desirable in catering centers where large quantities of food are served.

According to a third aspect of the invention, a method of installing a flexible assembly line for tray packaging is provided. The method includes the steps of providing a tray dispenser for providing a tray, and providing a loading station adjacent to the tray dispenser with a stationary tool (e.g., a robotic arm or an industrial robot) for automatically placing food or non-food items onto the tray. In a catering center, multiple flexible assembly lines may be installed and interconnected for providing a large and diverse variety of food products.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a method of configuring a flexible assembly line for tray packaging is provided. The method comprises the step of loading a software package for image processing for machine vision. The software package may be used to control the operation of different stations, machine vision of a flexible assembly line, or packaging menus of a pallet assembly.

The drawings illustrate embodiments and serve to explain the principles of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for the purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 shows a first flexible assembly line for pallet wrapping;

FIG. 2 shows a process flow diagram using a first flexible assembly line;

FIG. 3 illustrates a second flexible assembly line for pallet packaging;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a second flexible assembly line;

FIG. 5 illustrates a third flexible assembly line for pallet packaging;

FIG. 6 illustrates another view of a third flexible assembly line;

FIG. 7 illustrates a non-food vision robot module;

FIG. 8 illustrates another non-food vision robot module;

FIG. 9 shows a food product vision robot module;

FIG. 10 shows another food product vision robot module;

FIG. 11 illustrates an automated carousel for one of the flexible assembly lines; and is

Fig. 12 shows a part of a first flexible assembly line.

FIG. 13 shows an automated case stacker and carousel;

FIG. 14 shows a process flow diagram using an automated box stacker and carousel;

figure 15 shows a robot arm picking two stacks of cups;

FIG. 16 shows the robot arm twisted to free one additional cup;

FIG. 17 shows a robot arm vibrating to free an additional cup;

figure 18 shows the robot arm heated to remove one of the attached cups.

By way of example, non-limiting embodiments of the present application will now be described with reference to the above-mentioned figures.

Fig. 1 and 2 both relate to an embodiment of the invention. In particular, fig. 1 shows one flexible assembly line 30 for pallet wrapping, or first flexible assembly line 30 for pallet wrapping. The flexible assembly line 30 comprises several stations 31-44, which are connected in sequence by a conveyor 46. The stations include a pallet dispenser 32, a first loading station 34, a second loading station 36, a third loading station 38, a manual loading station 40, a verification and rejection station 42 and a pallet to cart loading station 44. However, the inspection and rejection station 42 and the pallet-to-cart loading station 44 are disposed together, on opposite sides of the conveyor 46. A host computer 48 is connected to all of these stations 32-44 to control the entire flexible assembly line 30. The host computer 48 has two touch screen displays 50, 52, a first display 50 and a second display 52, located at either end of the conveyor 46. The loading stations 34, 36, 38, also referred to as robot modules, may be added or removed depending on the workload. In other words, the loading stations 34, 36, 38 are similar to the units of a plug and play system, which can be selectively installed/connected or removed/disconnected for packaging different tray assemblies at different packaging speeds.

The first box stacker 54 is disposed adjacent to the first assembly station 34 and adjacent to the conveyor 46. In particular, a first box stacker 54 is provided on the other side of the conveyor 46 relative to the first loading station 34. A second box stacker 56 is provided adjacent to the second loading station 36 and also adjacent to the conveyor 46. A vibratory bowl sorter 58 is disposed adjacent the third loading station 38, adjacent the conveyor 46. In other words, the first stacker box 54, the second stacker box 56 and the third stacker box 58 are arranged in series along the conveyor 46, and the conveyor 46 has an elongated belt 60.

Figure 1 also shows objects interacting with the flexible assembly line 30. For example, a trailer 62 full of pallets is parked at the front end 64 of the belt 60 at the pallet dispenser 32. The trailer 62 is designed with an internal slot for receiving the tray horizontally. Once the trailer 62 is parked near the front end 34 at the pallet dispenser 32, a fork mechanism (not shown) may progressively lift/index the trailer 62 vertically, followed by progressively removing the pallet. The trailer 62 fills a clean tray ready to receive food and tableware. At the rear end 66 of the belt 60, two carts 68 rest at the pallet-to-cart loading station 44 for receiving loaded pallet assemblies. A first operator 70 and a second operator 72 are also depicted in fig. 1. A first operator is standing near the main computer 48 and the front end 64 and a second operator is standing near the manual loading station 40.

The flexible assembly line 30 is designed to assemble various types of food and utensils onto the trays. The filled/completed tray assembly includes the following food and non-food items with containers:

A. tray

i. Half tray

ii small trays

iii plastic long side disc

B. Cup with elastic band

i. Plastic tea cup

ii. drinking glasses

Dessert bowls with fruit

Pre-filled water

v. pre-filled yogurt

C. Tableware bag

i. Pepper bag

Salt bag ii

iii sugar bag

D. Seasoning

i. Butter bag

ii, jam bag

Milk tablet iii

iv. pepper bag

E. Baking food

i. Packaging bread

ii. biscuits

Thin pretzels

Muffin iv

According to fig. 1, the tray dispenser 32 is a robot having an arm 74 with a suction cup (end effector) at its end. The tray dispenser 32 is secured to the front end 64 so that an arm 74 can pick an empty tray 76 from the trailer 62 and place it on the belt 60. The arm 74 has six degrees of freedom of operation so that the arm 74 can reach empty trays 76 of different heights and distances. The arm 74 also has an intelligent vision guidance system (not shown) near the suction cups for inspecting the empty trays 76 before transferring the empty trays 76 onto the belt 60. If the intelligent visual guide system detects dirt, stains, or defects on the tray 76, the tray dispenser 32 brings the empty tray 76 to a waste bin (not shown). The arm 74 may also have a clamp as its end effector or a combination of clamps with suction cups.

The first loading station 34 has a first four-axis robot 78 for taking non-food items onto a clean, empty tray 80. Clean, empty pallets 80 are transported from the trailer 62 to the first loading station 34 by the pallet dispenser 32 and the conveyor 46. After machine vision inspection, non-food items of a quality that meets the standards are picked up from the first palletizer bin 54 where they are stacked in order. The first loading station 34 also has an intelligent visual guidance system (not shown) for inspecting incoming trays and loaded non-food items. If a dirty cup of quality is found to be non-compliant with the standard item, the first four axis robot 78 will grab the non-compliant quality item and transport the non-compliant quality item to a waste bin (not shown). The first four-axis robot 78 may alternatively be replaced by a five-axis or six-axis industrial robot.

The second loading station 36 has a second four-axis to six-axis robot 82 that is designed to pick other non-food items from the first loading station 34 onto a tray 84. Other non-food items are stored in the second stacker box 56. The second loading station 36 is equipped with an intelligent visual guidance system (not shown) for inspecting other non-food items. The second loading station 36 carries non-standard quality items to a waste bin (not shown). Similarly, the second four-axis robot 82 may be selectively replaced with a five-axis or six-axis robot.

In contrast, the third loading station 38 has a third four-axis robot 86 mounted for picking food products from the vibratory bowl sorter 58 and placing them from the second loading station 36 onto the tray 88. The intelligent vision guidance system (not shown) of the third loading station 38 checks for a completed pallet 90 at the third loading station 38 and the third four-axis robot 86 will replace the non-conforming item with the conforming item. The third robot 86 may alternatively be replaced by a five-axis or six-axis robot.

The manual loading station 40 provides an operator with a seat (not shown) for loading fragile items that are difficult for the robots 78, 82, 86 to handle. In particular, the manual loading station 40 provides a seat immediately adjacent the belt 60 for ease of loading. In use, an operator places a fragile item onto the tray 90 of the carousel 91 of the third loading station 38. For example, the operator may pick a soft rice bag and place it into a half-tray. The swivel frame 91 is positioned proximate to the operator's seat for easy access.

The inspection and reject station 42 has several cameras arranged to face the trays entering from the manual loading station 40. The inspection and rejection station 42 performs a final visual inspection of the completed pallet assembly. An automated reject station 43, adjacent to the inspection and reject station 42, will remove the inspected faulty tray assembly from the belt 60.

In contrast, the pallet to cart loading station 44 has an industrial robot (not shown) with an arm (not shown) for taking the finished pallet component. The industrial robot may grasp the completed pallet assembly and insert it into the appropriate slot of the cart 68, with the cart 68 resting adjacent the rear end 66. After the cart 68 is completely filled with completed tray assemblies and removed, an empty cart will be provided.

Functionally, the tray dispenser 32 can automatically transfer empty trays from the trailer 62 to the conveyor 46. Clean empty pallets 76 are loaded into the trailer 62. Once the empty tray 76 on the trailer 62 is used up, another trailer 62 full of dry empty tray is provided to replace the empty trailer. The flexible assembly line 30 can be operated without interruption when changing trailers 62.

The vibratory bowl/conveyor sorter 58 may sort food products laterally, which is a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 92 of the belt 60, which longitudinal direction 92 is also the process flow direction 92 of the first flexible assembly line 30. The vibratory bowl sizer 58 shakes selected food products (e.g., butter packs) so that the selected food products are collated and automatically organized in a consistent orientation for pick and place.

Each of the three loading stations 34, 36, 38 may verify that the article is accepted or rejected. The vision elements (e.g., cameras and camera-attached computers) of the three loading stations 34, 36, 38 inspect the articles for possible stains, cracks, debris, impurities, and other unacceptable defects. The rejected and accepted quality standards are stored in the three loading stations 34, 36, 38 for ensuring high accuracy and consistency of the pallet packaging. Non-compliant articles are conveyed to a waste bin (not shown) by respective robots 78, 82, 86. The three loading stations 34, 36, 38 have a sweep-by inspection function to also inspect the bottom surfaces of the selected items at the three loading stations prior to placing the selected items on the trays 84, 88, 90. The sweep check function is set by a visual element described later.

The inspection and rejection station 42 not only screens the completed tray assemblies according to predetermined criteria (quality criteria), but the inspection and rejection station 42 also exhausts compressed and filtered clean air onto the completed tray assemblies when cleaning is required.

A host computer 48 is connected to the vision stations and robots 32, 34, 36, 38, 42, 43, 44 for adjusting the workload and coordinating these machines/workstations 32, 34, 36, 38, 42, 43, 44. The host computer 48 may also adjust the speed of the conveyor 46 by means of a PLC (programmable logic controller) or a Personal Computer (PC). The inspection and rejection station, along with the loading stations 34, 36, 38, acquire images of the defects for further analysis. The images and statistics of the package production were saved for at least 30 days for review. The statistical data is further provided online (e.g., via a secure intranet or internet) by host computer 48 for production performance KPI (key performance indicator) management, text/form reporting, and graphical representation and maintenance planning. Host computer 48 may also send production statistics and KPIs to a remote host/central computer (not shown) for recording, analysis, monitoring and reporting. The host computer 48 is equipped with a modem for remote communication, e.g. for troubleshooting. If an abnormal situation occurs in the flexible assembly line 30, an alarm signal will be sent. Both displays 50, 52, both connected to the host computer 48, have a user-friendly interface for updating production menus and tray plans (tray layouts).

The flexible assembly line 30 has the function of maintaining high quality food hygiene of the tray package. For example, each loading station 34, 36, 38 is enclosed by a HEPA (high efficiency molecular air) air cleaner with electrostatic detection and antistatic ion blower for minimizing the intrusion of foreign particles such as dust and air. The belt 60 is closed by a transparent cover (not shown) for avoiding the falling of foreign particles. The belt 60 is also continuously wiped by the brush as the belt 60 moves. Each section of the flexible assembly line 30 has a cleaning program schedule for periodic maintenance and cleaning. The warm and dark compartment of the flexible assembly line 30 has clear labels/signs for indicating potential pest pockets, regular cleaning and routine inspection. The flexible assembly line 30 employs a greaseless design feature for most machine elements on the belt 60. Food grade lubricating oil is used when lubrication is necessary and lubrication is above the height of the band 60. The wetted area of the flexible assembly line 30 is made of S/S316 material, while the other area is conformed to or has food grade S/S304. The flexible assembly line 30 has an on-line bacteria counting function for monitoring the hygiene quality thereof.

The flexible assembly line 30 has many functions to ensure safety when the flexible assembly line 30 is used. For example, the robot arm and moving parts are enclosed by a protective cover or lid. The area of machine movement that requires operator access is fitted with a latching door, a safety interlock and a safety light curtain. The sensor is mounted in close proximity to the moving part and detects critical locations where movement or contact is prohibited so that if the sensor detects a dangerous method, the corresponding machine element will be stopped. Safety and warning labels are affixed to the flexible assembly line 30 for alerting machine operators. For electrical safety, the flexible assembly line 30 is safely grounded and its wires are connected to a circuit breaker.

In use, in the preparation phase of the method 100 according to the tray packaging, the operator 70, 72 enters 102 a flight number into the host computer 48 via the first display 50, which causes the host computer 48 to retrieve 104 a corresponding menu of meals, type and quantity of food dishes, dish requirements and other relevant information. The host computer 48 further uploads 106 the pallet plan, specific shape, size, hygiene standards, and weight of food and non-food items to the robots 78, 82, 86. At the airline catering center, the authorized operator 70, 72 enters the flight number, the number of productions required, the tray packing time and other relevant data. The authorized operator 70, 72 has a user identification code and password that allows him/her to set these production parameters. Different levels of user authorization are provided by host computer 48 for maintenance, production control, and other purposes. For example, authorized operators 70, 72 may upload, modify, and delete a menu of tray packages based on flight number. At the same time, when a production order is entered, the trailer 62 filled with empty trays, the box stackers 54, 56 filled with non-food items, the vibratory bowl sorter 58 filled with selected food items, and the empty cart 68 are moved 108 to the flexible assembly line 30.

Before an empty tray 76 is selected from the trailer 62, the tray dispenser 32 checks 110 the empty tray 76 and compares 112 the image of the empty tray 76 to stored data (quality standards). The stored data includes hygiene standards for the tray 76 and 3D template images (e.g., color, size, etc.) of standard empty trays. If the scanned/inspected empty tray 76 meets the quality standards, the tray dispenser 32 uses its suction cup to grasp 114 the empty tray 76 and moves the empty tray 76 over the camera for inspection of its bottom surface. Thus, if the tray 76 meets all acceptance/quality criteria, the tray dispenser 32 will command and direct the robotic arm of the tray dispenser to place 116 the empty tray 76 onto the leading end 64 of the belt 60 in a predetermined orientation. If the empty tray 76 does not meet one or more acceptance criteria, the empty tray 76 will be dumped into a waste bin for manual counter inspection. The reason for the culling and the image of the culled empty tray 76 will be recorded for further study.

The clean empty tray 80 is advanced 120 along the belt 60 from the leading end 64 toward the first loading station 34. Upon detecting 124 an incoming clean empty tray 80, the first loading station 34 identifies 122 the position, speed (via an encoder mounted on the tray 46), and direction of the clean empty tray 80. The vision system of the first robot 78 captures 126 the rectangular disks that were previously stored and stacked inside the first stacker carriage 54. If the rectangular plate accepts the standard by visual inspection (360 degrees around the vertical axis of the dish), the first robot 78 will pick and move the bottom surface of the rectangular plate to the top of the visual camera for bottom inspection. If the rectangular disc also passes the acceptance criteria, the first robot 78 will place 128 the rectangular disc onto a clean empty tray 80 according to the tray plan. If it fails, the first robot 78 will reject the item to a reject station (not shown). The first loading station 34 includes a pre-inspection buffer station (not shown). The buffer station provides redundancy during backfilling that reduces downtime of the flexible assembly line 30. The buffer station stores the disk in place of the culled disk. Repeated culling may delay packaging of the tray assembly. When the first robot 78 has idle/standby time, the buffer station is backfilled.

The standard quality trays 84 are further advanced 120 to the second loading station 36. The second loading station 36 determines 136 the position, speed and direction of travel of the tray 84 near its entrance. The second four axis robot 82 extends 138 its arms and grabs 140 the cutlery packet 141 from the second case stacker 56. The cutlery packet 141 is then lifted 142 by the second four-axis robot 82 onto the tray 84. The second loading station 36 (i.e., robotic assembly module) takes 144 images of the trays 88 that are loaded around and compares 132 them to pre-load criteria for quality inspection. Images are taken 360 degrees around the vertical axis of the loaded tray 88. If all relevant quality criteria are met, the loaded tray 88 will be allowed to advance 120 on the belt 60. If the loaded trays 88 do not meet the pre-load criteria, the cutlery packet 141 will be replaced 148 by another cutlery packet 141 in the second stacker 56. The second robot 82 may also be a five-axis robot or a six-axis robot.

The third loading station 38 senses 150 the tray 88 at its entrance. The third loading station 38 further checks 152 the position, speed and direction of the pallet 88. The third four axis robot 86 extends 154 its arm to the vibratory bowl sorter 58 and grabs 156 the fruit bowl (not shown). The fruit bowl is then placed 160 on the tray 88. Similar to the first and second loading stations 34, 36, the third loading station 38 takes 162 an image of a top view of the tray 90 with the fruit bowl. The camera of the third loading station 38 takes 162 an image of the upper hemisphere of the tray 90 around the vertical axis of the tray 90. The image is processed by comparing pre-loaded criteria. If all criteria are met, the tray 90 is allowed to exit 166 from the third loading station 38. However, if the fruit bowl does not meet one or more pre-load criteria, the fruit bowl will be removed 168 from the tray 88. For example, if the fruit bowl breaks with a sharp edge, the fruit bowl will be replaced with another 170. The type and sequence of the dishes loaded at the loading stations 34, 36, 38 varies according to the diet requirements.

Several operators 70, 72 sit next to the manual loading station 40 next to the third loading station 38. The operator 70, 72 picks 172 soft and fragile items from the manual loading station 40 and places 174 them into designated locations on the incoming tray 90. Soft and fragile goods include chili bags, packaged bread, yogurt bags, etc. When placing 174 these items, the operator also carefully checks 176 whether there are any broken, spilled, or contaminated food or non-food items. Items that do not meet the quality criteria are removed 178 from the belt 60 for rework. The operator 70, 72 periodically views 180 the second display 52 for adjusting the speed and status of the tray package. If necessary, the operator 70, 72 may intervene 182 in the production of the flexible assembly line 30 for immediate repair or periodic maintenance. The second display 52 provides an alternative to the first display 50 so that the operators 70, 72 can interact with the main computer 48 in two locations.

The (final) inspection and reject station 42 and the automatic reject station 43 have machine vision functions for analyzing a finished tray assembly. The completed tray assembly includes food and non-food items for serving a meal. For example, the finished tray assembly has as its base a food tray 76, a rectangular bag filled with rice, a fruit bowl, a cup holding a sealed yogurt cup, a cutlery bag, a bowl salad, a packaged muffin, a cracker bag, and the like. In operation, the inspection and culling station 42 takes 184 successive photographs of the completed tray assembly and compares 186 the successive photographs with pre-loaded images of the completed tray assembly as a quality acceptance criterion.

The reject station 43 will withhold 188 completed tray components that do not meet the pre-load criteria and stack 190 the rejected tray components into a reject bin (not shown). In contrast, if the inspection and reject station 42 is satisfied with the completed pallet assembly because all pre-load criteria are met, the automated reject station 43 will take no action with respect to the completed pallet assembly.

The pallet to car loading station 44 receives 192 the completed pallet assembly at the rear end 66 of the belt 60. The pallet-to-cart loading station 44 is an industrial robot or mechanical pallet pusher similar to the pallet dispenser 32. In operation, the automated pallet-to-cart loading station 44 approaches 194 the belt 60 and tightly grasps 196 the completed pallet assembly. The pallet-to-cart loading station 44 identifies 198 the appropriate slot in the cart 68 adjacent the rear end 66 and fully inserts the completed pallet into the slot. The pallet-to-cart loading station 44 inserts the subsequent completed pallet assembly into the next available slot in the cart 68. If the cart 68 is nearly full of completed tray assemblies, the tray-to-cart loading station 44 transmits an alarm signal to the main computer 48. The host computer 48 will display 204 a message on the displays 50, 52 requesting that the cart 68 be empty. Upon request, an empty cart 68 is provided to the pallet-to-cart loading station 44. The pallet to car loading station 44 will apply a label 206 to the cart full of finished pallet assemblies for future identification. The tag includes one or more bar codes, Quick Response (QR) codes, radio frequency identification (FRID) codes, and text for human and machine interpretation. Alternatively, the pallet-to-cart loading station 44 may be a mechanical pallet pusher.

Fig. 3 shows a second flexible assembly line for a pallet package 210. The second flexible assembly line 210 has similar components or operational steps as the first flexible assembly line 30. Similar parts or method steps are marked with the same or similar reference numerals. Descriptions of similar components or steps are incorporated herein by reference where appropriate.

The second flexible assembly line 210 provides a more specific illustration of the modular design concept. In particular, the second flexible assembly line 210 comprises a pallet dispenser 32, a first loading station 34, a second loading station 36, a third loading station 38, a manual loading station 40, a carousel 91, an inspection and rejection station 42, an automatic rejection station 43 and a pallet-to-cart loading station 44, which are mostly arranged linearly along a conveyor 46. The stations are modular in design so that they can be operated independently and further connected together for operation. For example, the first loading station 34, the second loading station 36, and the third loading station 38 are industrial robots having a machine vision function, which can be installed or removed without interfering with each other.

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of the second flexible assembly line 210. The second flexible assembly line 210 may be improved by including a four-lane for automated picking of non-food items by an industrial robot with machine vision. The second flexible assembly line 210 may also be improved by including three lanes for automated food selection by an industrial robot with robot vision, which operates as two modules. The second flexible assembly line 210 can be further improved by including three lanes and ten shelves with swivel mounts 91 for manual selection by the operators 70, 72, which operate as one module.

Fig. 5 shows a third flexible assembly line 212 for pallet wrapping. The third flexible assembly line 212 has components and operational steps similar to the other flexible assembly lines 30, 210. Similar parts or method steps are marked with the same or similar reference numerals. Descriptions of similar components or steps are incorporated herein by reference where appropriate.

Each of the first loading station 34, the second loading station 36 and the third loading station 38 incorporates a four-axis robot 78, 82, 84, respectively. The first and second loading stations 34, 36 each incorporate their case stackers 54, 56, respectively, while the third loading station 38 incorporates a vibratory bowl sorter 58. All of the first, second and third loading stations 34, 36 and 38 are disposed in turn on one side of the conveyor 46, while the fourth, fifth and sixth loading stations 214, 216 and 218 of the third flexible assembly line 212 are disposed on the other side of the conveyor 46, opposite the first, second and third loading stations 34, 36 and 38, respectively. The fourth loading station 214 and the fifth loading station 216 have components and functions similar to those of the first loading station 34 and the second loading station 36. The sixth loading station 218 has components and functions similar to those of the third loading station 38.

Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of a third flexible assembly line 212. The third flexible assembly line 212 may be improved by including an octant for automated picking of non-food items by an industrial robot with machine vision, which operates as four modules. The third flexible assembly line 212 may also be modified by including six lanes for automated food selection by an industrial robot with machine vision, which operates as two modules. The third flexible assembly line 212 may be further modified by including three lanes and ten shelves with swivel mounts 91 for manual selection by the operators 70, 72, which operate as one module.

Fig. 7 shows one non-food item vision robot module 234, also referred to as the first loading station 34 or the second loading station 36. A plan/top view and a side view of the non-food vision robot modules 34, 36 are provided. The non-food vision robot modules 34, 36 include a reject conveyor 220 for taking away vision inspection-rejected dishes. Fig. 7 also shows a first bin 222 and a second bin 224 loaded with non-food items (e.g., cups) and placed to one side of the four axis robots 78, 82. Four axis robots 78, 82 are mounted on the floor. The third 226 and fourth 228 bins of the empty carts 222, 226 are empty and they are located on the other side of the four axis robots 78, 82. The four-axis robots 78, 82 remove non-food items from the first and second bins 222, 224, while depleted bins 226, 228 are removed by the conveyor 230. In contrast, the first and second bins 222, 224 are delivered to the four-axis robots 78, 82 by another conveyor 232.

Fig. 8 shows another non-food product vision robot module 236, also referred to as the first loading station 34 or the first loading station 34. In contrast to the previous four-axis robots 78, 82, the present four-axis robots 78, 82 are ceiling mounted.

Fig. 9 shows a food product vision robot module 238 similar to the third loading station 38. The food product vision robot module 238 includes a conveyor 240 for supplying food products 242 (e.g., cheese) and another conveyor 244 for removing quality-acceptable food products 246. The third four-axis robot 86 is ceiling-mounted. Rejected food items 246 that do not pass visual inspection are transported to a waste bin 248 for manual inspection.

Fig. 10 shows another food product vision robot module 250 that includes an automatic food product dispenser 252. The automated food product dispenser 252 includes a rotatable food product hopper 254, a diverter 256, and a conveyor 258 arranged in a vertical sequence. The rotatable food product hopper 254 is divided into compartments for containing various food products (e.g., cheese, yogurt). In use, the rotatable food product hopper 254 is shaken to dispense food product into the underlying diverter 256. The diverter 256 has an opening of a predetermined shape that allows the corresponding food product to fall onto the underlying conveyor 258 for processing by the third four-axis robot 86.

Fig. 11 shows an automatic carousel 91 for one of the flexible assembly lines 30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218. The automatic carousel 91 includes a top sprocket gear 260 and a bottom sprocket gear 262 connected by a chain 264, which forms a roller chain, drive chain or drive chain 266. The automatic carousel 91 has loading trays 268 lying horizontally and carried by chains 264. An operator 70 on one side 270 of the automatic carousel 91 loads food product onto the appropriate loading tray 268, while another operator 72 on the other side 272 unloads food product from the loading tray 268.

Fig. 12 shows a part of a first flexible assembly line 30. The first flexible assembly line 30 includes an Automatic Guide Vehicle (AGV)274 for transferring objects from or to the flexible assembly line 30. For example, the AGV274 delivers a cart full of tray assemblies to a warehouse at the flight center and moves an empty cart to the flexible assembly line 30. The AGV may further route food or non-food items to the flexible assembly line 30 according to a predetermined route, which avoids the operators 70, 72 from moving the items. The AGV274 is more reliable and cost effective for continuously conveying conventional items.

Fig. 13 shows an automated box stacker and carousel 278 that is part of a simplified flexible assembly line 276 for pallet packaging. The flexible assembly line 276 includes an automated box stacker and carousel 278. The automated palletizer and carousel 278 is connected to the first loading station 34 so that the bins 280 on the automated palletizer and carousel 278 are automatically rotated in coordination with the first four-axis robot 78 for picking the desired non-food items.

FIG. 14 shows a process flow diagram 282 for using an automated case stacker and carousel 278, which includes several method steps. In a first step 284, the operator checks whether the incoming empty trays are of a quality that meets a standard (e.g., hygienic). In a second step 286, the robotic assembly module (first loading station) 34 inspects the top surface of the incoming pallet for further inspection. As a third step 288, the surface vision inspection may be replaced by or followed by a 360 degree omni-directional vision inspection, which results in a more complete inspection. After the robotic assembly module 34 is loaded with the non-food items, the partially completed tray assembly is transferred to the manual loading station 40. The operator 70 will further load the food product into the partially completed tray assembly to provide a completed tray assembly. In a fourth step 290, the completed pallet assembly is further manually checked for compliance with quality standards.

Fig. 15 shows the robot 292 picking up two stacked cups 294,296. The robot arm 292 is a four-axis robot similar to the first four-axis robot 78 and the second four-axis robot 82. Fig. 15 depicts a typical failure of the pick, where the suction cup 298 as its end effector lifts the two stacked cups 294, 296 away from the third cup 300. The second/bottom cup 296 adheres to the first/top cup 294 due to the partial vacuum between the two cups 294, 296.

Robotic arm 292 is a machine vision-enabled robot similar to tray dispenser 32, inspection and reject station 42, auto reject station 43, tray-to-cart loading station 44, first four-axis robot 78, second four-axis robot 82, third four-axis robot 86, fourth loading station 214, fifth loading station 216, and sixth loading station 218. Robotic arm 292 enables 2D and 3D machine vision so that its Machine Vision (MV) provides image-based automated inspection and analysis to check the cleaning quality (without water stains and dirt), the surface integrity of food, non-food items and trays, and the contour integrity of these items (e.g., without gaps). The robotic arm 292 may acquire images of objects (e.g., cups 294, 298, 300) under suitable illumination via a camera (not shown). The robotic arm 292 is installed with a software package and then employs various digital image processing techniques to extract the required information and make a decision (e.g., pass/fail) based on the extracted information. For example, the robotic arm 292 employs pattern recognition techniques that cause specific patterns to be found, matched, and/or counted based on pre-loaded templates of the cups 294, 296, 300. The position, angle and orientation of an object (e.g., a tray) that is partially obscured by another object or that acquires an image of a different size may be rotated. In addition, the robotic arm 292 has edge detection capabilities that check the size and contour integrity of the scanned/acquired object (e.g., cup). Broken, chipped, deformed or flattened food or non-food items can thus be detected before packaging to avoid loss of handling.

Techniques for processing images acquired by a camera include pixel counting, image segmentation, pattern recognition (e.g., template matching, finding, matching, and/or counting specific patterns), measurement (i.e., measurement of object dimensions), edge detection, neural network processing (i.e., weighting and self-training multivariate decision making).

In particular, the robotic arm 292 provides Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) to its selected object (e.g., tray 84, 88, 90, cup 294, 296, 300). AOI can intuitively scan the surface of an object when it is illuminated by several light sources. This enables all external areas of the selected object to be monitored, even those areas that are obscured in one direction by other elements. Common defects of food and non-food items include scratches, chips, water spots, food debris, distortion, liquid leakage, dirt adhesion, and discoloration.

The machine vision enabled stations/robots 32, 42, 43, 44, 78, 82, 86, 214, 216, 218 are connected together so that they can perform neural network processing, enabling them to make weighted and self-trained multivariate decisions.

Fig. 16 shows the robot 292 twisted to free one of the additional cups 296. In particular, the suction cup 298 rotates and oscillates as the first cup 294 is lifted. The second cup 296 is thus free of the first cup 294.

Fig. 17 shows the robot 292 vibrating to free one of the side cups 296. The suction cup 298 grasps the first cup 294 so that they all vibrate vertically, horizontally, or both vertically and horizontally. The second cup 296 thus falls onto the underlying third cup 300.

Fig. 18 shows the robot 292 heated to remove one of the additional cups 296. The suction cup 298 has an embedded heating element (not shown) that transfers heat to the selected cup 294. The first cup 294 is easily removed from the second cup 296 due to thermal expansion of the first cup 294. According to fig. 15-18, the cups 294, 296, 300 open toward the tip or end effector 298. If the cups 294, 296, 300 are facing downward, the robot 292 may pick and vibrate the cups similarly.

Like other industrial robots or other end effectors of the machine stations 32, 34, 36, 38, 62, 74, 78, 82, 86, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238, 250, the end effector 298 is water washable or repeatedly washable in tray packaging operations. In practice, a cleaning and sterilization station (not shown) is provided in close proximity to any of these industrial robots or machine stations 32, 34, 36, 38, 62, 74, 78, 82, 86, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238, 250. For example, the cleaning and sanitizing station includes a water tank with an inlet and an outlet. Clean water is filled into the tank and dirty/used water is drained from the tank. During the packaging operation, the end effector 298 is periodically immersed in a water tank and blown dry so that the robot 292 remains clean throughout the continuous packaging operation. The water wash of the end effector may be supplemented or replaced with a rinse/spray of the end effector 298 with a disinfectant. Cleaning of the end effector may be further enhanced by applying ultraviolet light to the end effector 298.

The conveyors 46, 232, 242 of the flexible assembly line 30, 210, 212, 276 may be continuously or periodically cleaned while the tray assembly is being packaged. For example, the belt 60 is sprayed with water below, while water that has flushed through the belt 60 is collected by a drain pan below. The conveyor 46, 232, 242 or belt 60 may further be exposed to infrared light, ultraviolet light, or brushes to maintain cleanliness and hygiene of the conveyor 46, 232, 242 or belt 60 throughout the tray packaging operation. Cleaning devices (e.g., spray heads, sanitizer nozzles/pumps, light bulbs, and brushes) may be mounted individually or collectively to any of the machine stations of the flexible assembly line 30, 210, 212, 276.

Throughout the description, some similar components or operational steps are labeled with similar or identical reference numerals. Descriptions of similar components or steps are incorporated herein by reference where appropriate.

In application, unless otherwise specified, the terms "comprise," "include," and grammatical variants thereof are intended to mean "open" or "including" such that they include the recited elements but also allow for the inclusion of additional elements not explicitly recited.

As used herein, the term "about" in the context of concentrations of components in a formulation generally refers to +/-5% of the stated value, more typically +/-4% of the stated value, more typically +/-3% of the stated value, more typically +/-2% of the stated value, even more typically +/-1% of the stated value, and even more typically +/-0.5% of the stated value.

Throughout this disclosure, certain embodiments may be disclosed in a range format. The description in range format is merely for convenience and brevity and should not be construed as an inflexible limitation on the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the description of a range should be considered to have specifically disclosed all the possible sub-ranges as well as individual numerical values within that range. For example, a description of a range such as from 1 to 6 should be considered to have specifically disclosed sub-ranges such as from 1 to 3, from 1 to 4, from 1 to 5, from 2 to 4, from 2 to 6, from 3 to 6, etc., as well as individual numbers within that range such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This applies regardless of the breadth of the range.

Obviously, various other modifications and adaptations of the application will be apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the foregoing disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the application, and it is intended that all such modifications and alterations be within the scope of the appended claims.

Reference numerals

30 flexible assembly line

32 tray dispenser

34 first loading station

36 second loading station

38 third loading station

40 hand loading station

42 inspection and rejection station

43 automatic rejection station

44 pallet to car loading station

46 conveyer

48 host computer

50 first display

52 second display

54 first box type stacker

56 second box type stacker

58 vibration bowl sorting machine

60 strap

62 trailer

64 front end

66 rear end

68 go-cart

70 first operator

72 second operator

74 arm

76 empty tray

78 first four-axis robot

80 clean empty tray

82 second four-axis robot

84 tray

86 third four-axis robot

88 tray

90 tray

91 rotating frame

92 longitudinal direction

100 method

102 input

104 retrieval

106 upload to

108 move

110 test

112 comparison

114 grab

116 placing

118 throw-in

119 allow

120 advance

122 identify

124 detection

126 capture

128 placement

130 scan

132 comparison

134 instead of

136 determine

138 stretch out

140 grab

141 tableware tray bag

142 lifting

144 acquisition

146 move

148 instead of

150 perception

152 inspection

154 extend

156 grab

158 direction change

160 placing

162 shooting

164 treatment

166 leave

168 remove

170 instead of

172 selection

174 placing

176 go into scrutiny

178 take away

180 view

182 intervention

184 acquisition

186 comparison

188 detain

190 pile-up

192 receive

194 is close to

196 grasp

198 identification

200 insert

202 transfer

204 display

206 label

210 second Flexible Assembly line

212 third Flexible Assembly line

214 fourth loading station

216 fifth loading station

218 sixth loading station

220 rejecting conveyer

222 first tank

224 second tank

226 third case

228 fourth box

230 conveyer

232 conveyer

234 non-food item vision robot module

236 non-food item vision robot module

238 food vision robot module

240 conveyer

242 food product

244 conveyor 244

246 off-spec food

248 waste bin

250 food vision robot module

252 automatic food product dispenser

254 rotatable food hopper

256 direction converter

258 conveyer

260 top sprocket gear

262 bottom sprocket gear

264 chain

266 roller chain

268 charging tray

270 one side

272 another side

274 automatic guided vehicle

276 flexible assembly line

278 automated case stacker and carousel

280 box

282 methods

284 first step

286 second step

288 third step

290 fourth step

292 mechanical arm

294 first cup

296 second cup

298 suction cup

300 third cup

Claims (33)

1. A flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) for pallet packaging, comprising:

a tray dispenser (32, 62) for providing trays (76, 80, 84, 88, 90), and

a loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238, 250) adjacent to the tray dispenser (32, 62) for automatically placing food or non-food items onto the tray (76, 80, 84, 88, 90);

wherein the tray dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238, 250), or any combination thereof, each comprises an industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) for picking up food or non-food items (242), and

the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) comprises an end effector for avoiding double picking errors of tray packages.

2. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, further comprising a tray-to-cart loading station (44, 68) connected to the loading station (34, 36, 38, 218, 234, 236, 238) for removing completed tray packages from the loading station (34, 36, 38, 218, 234, 236, 238).

3. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a conveyor (46) connecting the tray dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 218, 234, 236, 238), the tray-to-cart loading station (44, 68), or any combination thereof.

4. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, further comprising a check-and-reject station (42, 43) for checking the quality of food and non-food items (242).

5. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, further comprising at least one sorter (54, 56, 58) for sorting the food or non-food items.

6. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, wherein the tray dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the tray-to-cart loading station (44, 68), or any combination thereof includes an industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) for picking the food or non-food items (242).

7. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, wherein the pallet dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the pallet to cart loading station (44, 68), the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292), or any combination thereof has machine vision for identifying various object shapes.

8. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, wherein the pallet dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the pallet to cart loading station (44, 68), the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292), or any combination thereof has machine vision for various object surface structures.

9. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218) of claim 1, wherein at least two of the pallet dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the pallet to cart loading station (44, 68), the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292), or any combination thereof are connected for neural network processing.

10. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, wherein the pallet dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the pallet-to-cart loading station (44, 68), the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292), or any combination thereof, is modularly connected to the flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218) so that it can be disconnected from other components of the flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218) without affecting the other components.

11. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, further comprising a conveyor (46) and a check-and-reject station (42, 43), wherein the conveyor connects the tray dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 218, 234, 236, 238), the tray-to-cart loading station (44, 68), or any combination thereof, the check-and-reject station (42, 43) for checking the quality of food and non-food items (242).

12. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 11, wherein the tray dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the tray-to-cart loading station (44, 68), the conveyor (46), the inspection and rejection station (42, 43), or any combination thereof includes an industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) for picking the food or non-food items (242).

13. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 11, wherein the pallet dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the pallet-to-cart loading station (44, 68), the conveyor (46), the inspection and rejection station (42, 43), the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292), or any combination thereof has machine vision for identifying various object shapes.

14. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 11, wherein the pallet dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the pallet-to-cart loading station (44, 68), the conveyor (46), the inspection and rejection station (42, 43), the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292), or any combination thereof has machine vision for various object surface structures.

15. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218) of claim 11, wherein at least two of the pallet dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the pallet-to-cart loading station (44, 68), the conveyor (46), the inspection and rejection station (42, 43), the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292), or any combination thereof, are connected for neural network processing.

16. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 11, wherein the pallet dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the pallet-to-cart loading station (44, 68), the conveyor (46), the inspection and rejection station (42, 43), the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292), or any combination thereof, are modularly connected to the flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218) so that it can be disconnected from other components of the flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218) without affecting the other components.

17. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, wherein the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238) includes a conveyor (232) for feeding food or non-food items (242) to the bins (222, 224) and another conveyor (230) for removing empty bins (226, 228).

18. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, further comprising a manual loading station (40) for manually loading, unloading, or inspecting food or non-food items (242).

19. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, further comprising a carousel having a movable loading tray (268) for conveying food or non-food items (242).

20. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, further comprising a touch screen display (50, 52) for control connected to a host computer (48) of the flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218).

21. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, further comprising an automated guided vehicle (274) for accessing packaged or empty pallet assemblies (76, 84, 88, 90).

22. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, further comprising an automated food product dispenser (252) including a rotatable food product hopper (254), a diverter (256), and a conveyor (46, 258), the rotatable food product hopper (254) having at least one compartment for storing food products (242).

23. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, wherein the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) has an end effector (298) for rotation.

24. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, wherein the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) has an end effector (298) for shaking.

25. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, wherein the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) has an end effector (298) for heating.

26. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, further comprising a cleaning and sterilization station for cleaning an end effector (298) of the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292).

27. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 3, further comprising a cleaning and drying station for cleaning the belt (60) of the conveyor (46, 220, 230, 232, 240, 258).

28. A catering center having one or more flexible assembly lines (30, 210, 212, 276) as claimed in claim 1.

29. A method (100) of using the flexible assembly line for tray packaging of claim 1, comprising:

a receiving tray (76, 80, 84, 88, 90),

double selection errors of the tray package are avoided,

providing a food or non-food item (242), and

automatically loading the food or non-food item (242) onto the tray (76, 80, 84, 88, 90).

30. The method (100) of claim 29, further comprising:

-inspecting the trays (76, 80, 84, 88, 90), the food or non-food items (242) and the loaded trays (84, 88, 90) by machine vision.

31. The method (100) of claim 29 or 30, further comprising:

the loaded trays (84, 88, 90) are transferred to a cart (68) for transport.

32. A method (100) of installing the flexible assembly line for tray packages (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, the method comprising:

a tray dispenser (32, 62) is provided for providing trays (76, 80, 84, 88, 90), and

a loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238, 250) is disposed adjacent to a tray dispenser (32, 62) (with a fixture) for automatically placing food or non-food items onto the trays (76, 80, 84, 88, 90).

33. A method (100) of configuring a flexible assembly line for pallet packages (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, comprising:

a software package for machine vision image processing is loaded.