Palletizing apparatus

Claim 2

Apparatus for transferring articles to a receiving area including an article transfer mechanism having an article holder, means for operating the article holder through desired paths in space, control means including means for storing a program for controlling said operating means to execute repeatedly a basic sequence of operations which includes seizing an article at a pickup location, transferring the article to a particular location in the receiving area, releasing the article, and returning the article holder to a pickup location, first means for providing control information representing the extent of assigned space to be allocated to the articles to be placed in the receiving area in relation to each other, second means for providing control information representing the extent of the receiving area, and means responsive to both of said control information providing means for modifying the control by that part of said stored program that relates to motions of the article holder at the receiving area in successive program cycles to transfer successive articles automatically to successive parts of the receiving area as limited by said second information representing means.

Claim 3

Article transfer apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said first control information providing means includes means providing control representations of the transverse dimensions of the articles to be deposited and wherein the second control information providing means includes means providing control representations of the transverse dimensions of an article receiving area, and wherein said modifying means includes first and second summers and first and second means for comparing the output of the summers to the representations of the transverse dimensions of the article receiving area for causing the article transfer mechanism to form rows of articles, each row containing a number of articles limited by the dimensions of the articles along the row and by the corresponding dimension of the receiving area, the number of rows being limited by the dimensions of the articles transverse to the rows and by the corresponding dimension of the receiving area.

Claim 4

Article transfer apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein said second control information providing means includes means for storing the maximum representations of said first and second summers during operation of the apparatus to form one layer of articles to provide control information for limiting the length and the number of rows in a layer of articles to be deposited on the previously deposited layer.

Claim 5

Article transfer apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein said modifying means includes means providing representations of portions of the transverse dimensions of an article by which the article is to be allowed to overhang beyond the dimensions of the receiving area, and means for combining the output of said last-named means with the information supplied to said first and second comparing means.

Claim 6

Article transfer apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said first control information providing means includes a caliper operable under control of said program storing means to provide control output represeNting a dimension of an article to be transferred, and wherein said modifying means includes means for receiving said control output of the caliper and arranged to sum-up the dimension representations of successive articles for causing the article transfer mechanism to form a row of articles, said modifying means including a comparer responsive to said summing means and to said second control information providing means for preventing the addition of an article to a row that would be excessively long in comparison to the corresponding dimension of the receiving area.

Claim 7

Article transfer apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said first control information providing means includes calipers operable under control of the program storage means to provide control output representing the transverse dimensions of an article to be transferred, and wherein said modifying means includes a first summer to receive control output from one of said calipers and arranged to accumulate the corresponding dimensions of successive articles for controlling the placement of the articles in a row, and said modifying means including a second summer to receive control output from the other of said calipers for controlling the lateral placement of rows of articles.

Claim 8

Article transfer apparatus in accordance with claim 6, wherein said modifying means includes first and second comparers responsive, respectively, to said first and second summers and to said second control information providing means for causing the article transfer means to start a new row whenever another article when added to a row being formed would make the row excessively long and for preventing a row from being added in excess of the extent of rows that should be accumulated in the receiving area.

Claim 9

Article transfer apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein said program storage means includes means for indexing certain of the articles during transfer thereof to said receiving area for achieving more stable loading, and control means coordinated with said indexing means for interchanging the information representing the transverse dimensions of the articles as that information is supplied to said first and second summers.

Claim 10

Apparatus for transferring articles to a receiving area in accordance with claim 1, further including means for storing each of the modified control representations for subsequent use in lieu of said modifying means in controlling the same or another apparatus to load or unload a pallet according to the same placement of articles thereon.

Claim 11

Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 wherein said program storing means contains representations of the end-points of each said operation in the form of digital coordinates and wherein the information from said calipers and from said second information supplying means is supplied to the comparers in the form of digital codes representing the lengths and widths of the articles and of the receiving area.

Claim 12

Apparatus for transferring articles to a receiving area including an article transfer mechanism having an article holder, means for operating the article holder through desired paths in space, control means including means for storing a program for controlling said operating means to execute repeatedly a basic sequence of operations which includes seizing an article at a pickup location, transferring the article to a particular location in the receiving area, releasing the article, and returning the article holder to a pickup location, said article holder having article-calipering means operable against an article to be transferred to the receiving location, and means responsive to said calipering means for modifying the control of the operating means by that part of said stored program that relates to the motions of the article holder at the receiving area in successive program cycles to transfer successive articles automatically to successive positions in said receiving area, said calipering means including two pairs of jaws operablE symmetrically toward a common center for making mutually perpendicular measurements of the length and width of an article to be transferred, said apparatus including means responsive to the calipering means for deriving halves of said measurements, said modifying means being responsive to said half-measurement deriving means for transferring the article of the first basic sequence of operations to a location in said receiving area displaced in mutually perpendicular directions from said particular location by said halves of said calipered measurements, said modifying means additionally including means responsive to the whole of each of said measurements for depositing said articles in successive rows in the receiving area, said apparatus including means in control of said modifying means for determining the ending of any given row and for initiating another row.

Claim 13

Apparatus for transferring articles to a receiving area including an article transfer mechanism having an article holder, means for operating the article holder through desired paths in space, control means including means for storing a program for controlling said operating means to execute repeatedly a basic sequence of operations which includes seizing an article at a pickup location, transferring the article to a particular location in the receiving area, releasing the article, and returning the article holder to a pickup location, said article holder having article-calipering means operable against an article to be transferred to the receiving location, and means responsive to said calipering means for modifying the control of the operating means by that part of said stored program that relates to the motions of the article holder at the receiving area in successive program cycles to transfer successive articles automatically to successive positions in said receiving area, said calipering means including two pairs of jaws operablE symmetrically toward a common center for making mutually perpendicular measurements of the length and width of an article to be transferred, said apparatus including means responsive to the calipering means for deriving halves of said measurements, said modifying means being responsive to said half-measurement deriving means for transferring the article of the first basic sequence of operations to a location in said receiving area displaced in mutually perpendicular directions from said particular location by said halves of said calipered measurements, said modifying means additionally including means responsive to the whole of each of said measurements for depositing said articles in successive rows in the receiving area, said apparatus including means in control of said modifying means for determining the ending of any given row and for initiating another row.

Claim 14

Apparatus for transferring articles to a receiving area including an article transfer mechanism having an article holder, means for operating the article holder through desired paths in space, control means including means for storing a program for controlling said operating means to execute repeatedly a basic sequence of operations which includes seizing an article at a pickup location, transferring the article to a particular location in the receiving area, releasing the article, and returning the article holder to a pickup location, said article holder having article-calipering means operable against an article to be transferred to the receiving location, and means responsive to said calipering means for modifying the control of the operating means by that part of said stored program that relates to the motions of the article holder at the receiving area in successive program cycles to transfer successive articles automatically to successive positions in said receiving area, said calipering means including parts for making measurements of the length and width of an article to be transferred, and said modifying means including portions responsive to both measurements of said calipering means for depositing said articles in successive rows in the receiving area, said apparatus including means for determining the ending of any given row and for initiating another row.

Claim 15

Apparatus for transferring articles to a receiving area including an article transfer mechanism having an article holder, means for operating the article holder through desired paths in space, control means including means for storing a program for controlling said operating means to execute repeatedly a basic sequence of operations which includes seizing an article at a pickup location, transferring the article to a particular location in the receiving area, releasing the article, and returning the article holder to a pickup location, said article holder having article-calipering means operable against an article to be transferred to the receiving location, and means responsive to said calipering means for modifying the control of the operating means by that part of said stored program that relates to the motions of the article holder at the receiving area in successive program cycles to transfer successive articles automatically to successive positions in said receiving area, said calipering means including parts for making measurements of the length and width of an article to be transferred, and said modifying means including portions responsive to both measurements of said calipering means for depositing said articles in successive rows in the receiving area, said apparatus including means for determining the ending of any given row and for initiating another row.

Claim 16

Article transfer apparatus in accordance with claim 12, wherein said apparatus includes further control means for causing articles delivered to the receiving area to be deposited in successive layers, said means for controlling the apparatus to execute a basic sequence of operations including means to cause 90* -rotation of the article holder between the pickup location and the receiving area in depositing alternate layers of articles, said modifying means being arranged to cause successive articles deposited in one layer to be distributed in successive rows in accordance with the calipered length and width of the articles, respectively, said modifying means being responsive to said further control means to cause successive articles to be deposited in another layer to be distributed in successive rows in accordance with the calipered width and length of the articles, respectively, said apparatus including means in control of said modifying means for ending any given layer and for initiating a succeeding layer.

Claim 17

Article transfer apparatus in accordance with claim 12, wherein said program storing means provides digital signals representing the coordinates of said particular location, wherein said calipering means is adapted to provide digital signals representing the calipered dimensions of the articles to be transferred, and wherein said modifying means includes a first summer for combining one digital rectangular coordinate of said particular location with the calipered digital lengths of the sequence of articles deposited in rows and a second summer for combining another digital rectangular coordinate of said particular location with the calipered digital widths of the sequence of articles for locating successive rows.

Claim 18

Article transfer apparatus in accordance with claim 14, wherein said apparatus includes further control means for causing the articles deposited in said receiving area to be deposited in successive layers, said means for controlling the apparatus to execute a basic sequence of operations including means to cause 90* -rotation of the article holder between the pickup location and the receiving area in depositing alternate layers of articles, said modifying means being operative to cause deposition of articles in a first layer as aforesaid and being responsive to said further control means during deposition of the articles in the second layer for causing the first summer to combine said one digital coordinate of said particular location with the calipered digital widths of the sequence of articles deposited in rows and for causing the second summer to combine said other digital coordinate of said particular location with the calipered digital lengths of the sequence of articles deposited in successive rows, said apparatus including means in control of said modifying means for ending any given layer and for initiating a succeeding layer.

Claim 19

Apparatus for transferring articles to a receiving area including an article transfer mechanism having an article holder, means for operating the article holder through desired paths in space, control means including means for storing a program for controlling said operating means to execute repeatedly a basic sequence of operations which includes seizing an article at a pickup location, transferring the article to a particular location in the receiving area, releasing the article, and returning the article holder to a pickup location, said article holder having article-calipering means operable against an article to be transfered to the receiving location, and means responsive to said calipering means for modifying the control of the operating means by that part of said stored program that relates to the motions of the article holder at the receiving area in successive program cycles to transfer successive articles automatically to successive positions in said receiving area, said calipering means including two pairs of jaws operable symmetrically toward a common center for making mutually perpendicular measurements of the length and width of an article to be transferred, said apparatus including means responsive to the calipering means for deriving halves of said measurements, said modifying means being responsive to said half-measurement deriving means for transferring the article of the first basic sequence of operations to a location in said receiving area displaced in mutually perpendicular directions from said particular location by said halves of said calipered measurements, said article holder being rotatable about a vertical axis through said center, said apparatus including further control means for causing the articles deposited in said receiving area to be deposited in successive layers, said means for controlling the apparatus to execute a basic sequence of operations including means to cause 90* -rotation of the article holder about said axis between the pickup location and the receiving area in depositing alternate layers of articles, said modifying means including portions responsive to said length and width measurements, respectively, for causing the article holder to deposit the articles in successive rows in accordance with said length and width measurements, respectively, in a first layer, and said apparatus having means for altering said modifying means to cause deposition of the articles in successive rows in the next layer parallel to the rows of the previous layer in response to said width and length measurements, respectively, said apparatus including means in control of said modifying means for ending any given layer and for initiating a succeeding layer.

Claim 20

Apparatus for transferring articles to a receiving area including an article transfer mechanism having an article holder, means for operating the article holder through desired paths in space, control means including means for storing a program for controlling said operating means to execute repeatedly a basic sequence of operations which includes seizing an article at a pickup location, transferring the article to a particular location in the receiving area, releasing the article, and returning the article holder to a pickup location, said article holder having article-calipering means operable against an article to be transfered to the receiving location, and means responsive to said calipering means for modifying the control of the operating means by that part of said stored program that relates to the motions of the article holder at the receiving area in successive program cycles to transfer successive articles automatically to successive positions in said receiving area, said calipering means including two pairs of jaws operable symmetrically toward a common center for making mutually perpendicular measurements of the length and width of an article to be transferred, said apparatus including means responsive to the calipering means for deriving halves of said measurements, said modifying means being responsive to said half-measurement deriving means for transferring the article of the first basic sequence of operations to a location in said receiving area displaced in mutually perpendicular directions from said particular location by said halves of said calipered measurements, said article holder being rotatable about a vertical axis through said center, said apparatus including further control means for causing the articles deposited in said receiving area to be deposited in successive layers, said means for controlling the apparatus to execute a basic sequence of operations including means to cause 90* -rotation of the article holder about said axis between the pickup location and the receiving area in depositing alternate layers of articles, said modifying means including portions responsive to said length and width measurements, respectively, for causing the article holder to deposit the articles in successive rows in accordance with said length and width measurements, respectively, in a first layer, and said apparatus having means for altering said modifying means to cause deposition of the articles in successive rows in the next layer parallel to the rows of the previous layer in response to said width and length measurements, respectively, said apparatus including means in control of said modifying means for ending any given layer and for initiating a succeeding layer.