Pick and place

A computer-readable medium comprising software instructions that, when executed in a computer, perform a method in a pick and place system, the system comprising at least one input conveyor, at least one output conveyor, at least one pick and place robot and control circuitry, said computer being connected to said control circuitry and said control circuitry having a processing unit, the method comprising:

• determining, in said processing unit, available picking positions on the at least one input conveyor at which a respective item is or will be within a working area of the at least one pick and place robot and can be picked by the robot,
• determining, in said processing unit, available placing positions on the at least one output conveyor at which a respective item is or will be within a working area of the at least one pick and place robot and can be placed by the robot,
• identifying, in said processing unit, groups of placing positions on the at least one output conveyor, each group having a respective number of placing positions, and wherein the determination of available placing positions includes,
• for each group of placing positions, checking whether a placing position within the group is unavailable due to the placing position having exited, or will exit within a robot cycle time, a working area of the robot, and
• if found to be unavailable, defining all placing positions within the group as unavailable,
• calculating, in said processing unit, for the available picking positions and the available placing positions, a respective picking time by calculating a prediction of an instant in time when picking is to take place and a respective placing time by calculating a prediction of an instant in time when placing is to take place, and
• instructing, via said processing unit, the at least one pick and place robot to pick items at the picking positions and place the items at the placing positions in an order determined by the respective picking times and placing times.

A pick and place system comprising at least one input conveyor, at least one output conveyor, at least one pick and place robot and control circuitry having a processing unit, the system being configured such that it is capable of:

• determining, in said processing unit, available picking positions on the at least one input conveyor at which a respective item is or will be within a working area of the at least one pick and place robot and can be picked by the robot,
• determining, in said processing unit, available placing positions on the at least one output conveyor at which a respective item is or will be within a working area of the at least one pick and place robot and can be placed by the robot,
• identifying, in said processing unit, groups of placing positions on the at least one output conveyor, each group having a respective number of placing positions, and wherein the determination of available placing positions includes,
• for each group of placing positions, checking whether a placing position within the group is unavailable due to the placing position having exited, or will exit within a robot cycle time, a working area of the robot, and
• if found to be unavailable, defining all placing positions within the group as unavailable,
• calculating, in said processing unit, for the available picking positions and the available placing positions, a respective picking time by calculating a prediction of an instant in time when picking is to take place and a respective placing time by calculating a prediction of an instant in time when placing is to take place, and
• instructing, via said processing unit, the at least one pick and place robot to pick items at the picking positions and place the items at the placing positions in an order determined by the respective picking times and placing times.

A pick and place robot configured to operate in a pick and place system, and comprising a processing unit that receives information and performs calculations and procedures according to a method in the pick and place system, the system comprising at least one input conveyor, at least one output conveyor, at least one pick and place robot and control circuitry, the method comprising:

• determining available picking positions on the at least one input conveyor at which a respective item is or will be within a working area of the at least one pick and place robot and can be picked by the robot,
• determining available placing positions on the at least one output conveyor at which a respective item is or will be within a working area of the at least one pick and place robot and can be placed by the robot,
• identifying groups of placing positions on the at least one output conveyor, each group having a respective number of placing positions, and wherein the determination of available placing positions includes,
• for each group of placing positions, checking whether a placing position within the group is unavailable due to the placing position having exited, or will exit within a robot cycle time, a working area of the robot, and
• if found to be unavailable, defining all placing positions within the group as unavailable,
• calculating, for the available picking positions and the available placing positions, a respective picking time by calculating a prediction of an instant in time when picking is to take place and a respective placing time by calculating a prediction of an instant in time when placing is to take place, and
• instructing the at least one pick and place robot to pick items at the picking positions and place the items at the placing positions in an order determined by the respective picking times and placing times.