The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 20, 2023
Filed:
Apr. 16, 2021
Rios Intelligent Machines, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (US);
Christopher A. Paulson, Redwood City, CA (US);
Nicholas L. Choi, South San Francisco, CA (US);
Christopher Lalau Keraly, San Francisco, CA (US);
Matthew E. Shaffer, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Laura Stelzner, Redwood City, CA (US);
Leo Keselman, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Anthony Canalungo, San Carlos, CA (US);
Clinton J. Smith, San Francisco, CA (US);
RIOS Intelligent Machines, Inc., Menlo Park, CA (US);
Abstract
A work cell and method for automatically separating objects disposed in 3D clusters includes dispensing the objects onto a horizontal conveying surface to form a 2D array, reforming the 2D array into a 1D stream in which the objects move in single-file in a predefined moving direction, utilizing a vision-based or other stationary sensing system to identify a selected target object in the 1D stream as the target object passes through an image capture (sensing) region, calculating trajectory data defining the target object's time-based position in the 1D stream, and then utilizing the trajectory data to control a robot arm or other object removal mechanism such that only the selected object is forcibly removed (e.g., swiped or picked-up) from the horizontal conveying surface. A continuous-loop-type conveying mechanism includes two parallel conveyor-belt-type conveying structures and associated belt-switching structures. An AI-powered vision system identifies new object shapes during preliminary learning phases.