US 4,697,689 AGranted

Article manipulation system

AssigneeRCA Corporation

InventorRoss M. Carrell

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Abstract

A system for manipulating articles, such as irregular mailpieces in the U.S. Postal Service mail processing system, receives an agglomeration of parcels into a first subsystem where the parcels are separated and are passed to a second subsystem where each parcel is manipulated until its addressee label is directed upward. The first subsystem includes a plurality of individually rotatable cylindrical rollers which form a support surface for the parcels. The rollers produce translation of a parcel by cooperative motion or separation of parts of a pile of parcels by differential motion. The second subsystem includes a high-friction, flexible conveyor belt which in a first mode supports a parcel and in a second mode forms a downward loop in which a parcel can be rotated and inverted. The parcels in both subsystems are manipulated by a five-axis robotic arm which is responsive to a machine vision system measuring the position and physical characteristics of each parcel.

Claims15

Dependent claims

An apparatus for overturning generally flat articles, said apparatus comprising:

a flexible, endless conveyor belt;
first and second means for producing longitudinal motion of said conveyor belt, each of said first and second means having a longitudinal axis;
means positioned under said conveyor belt intermediate said first and second belt motion producing means for supporting said belt in a substantially horizontal plane and comprising a pair of interdigitated support members pivoted about said axes, respectively;
first and second drive means coupled, respectively, to said first and second belt motion producing means;
means for displacing said supporting means and said first and second belt motion producing means such that said conveyor belt forms a downward loop between said first and second belt motion producing means under the weight of an article thereon, said means for displacing said supporting means providing rotational motion to said supporting means;
and
means for controlling said first and second drive means such that the rotational velocity and direction of each of said belt motion producing means is individually selectable, said controlling means producing motion of said belt in said downward loop such that said article thereon may be overturned.

4 more elements

A system for handling articles comprising:

means for dispensing a plurality of said articles in an agglomeration;
means for viewing said articles and for generating signals indicative of physical characteristics of said articles detected by said viewing means;
means responsive to said signals for singulating individual articles from said agglomeration;
and
means responsive to said signals for overturning said singulated articles with predetermined surfaces of said singulated articles are visible by said viewing means, said overturning means including
a flexible, endless conveyor belt;
first and second means for producing longitudinal motion of said conveyor belt;
means positioned under said conveyor belt intermediate said first and second belt motion producing means for supporting said belt in a substantially horizontal plane;
first and second drive means coupled, respectively, to said first and second belt motion producing means;
means responsive to said signals for displacing said supporting means and said first and second belt motion producing means such that said conveyor belt forms a downward loop between said first and second belt motion producing means under the weight of an article thereon, said means for displacing said supporting means providing rotational motion to said supporting means;
and
means for controlling said first and second drive means such that the rotational velocity and direction of each of said belt motion producing means is individually selectable, said controlling means being responsive to said signals for producing motion of said belt in said downward loop such that said article thereon may overturned.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.