Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a transparent object positioning system which enables to obtain the location and position data of the transparent objects in the production line. Background of the Invention

Materials such as perfume, nail polish, medicine, baby formula and the like usually are preserved by being filled into transparent objects (containers) which arc made from materials like glass and/or plastic. The transparent objects to be filled therein come to the factories in boxes, and then they are taken from these boxes manually and are placed manually onto the related device in order to be taken to the filling machine. Today in order lo realize the said process automatically artificial vision based systems are tried to be used. However because of the multiple reflection problem occurring in transparent objects satisfactory performance can not be obtained in the said systems.

As well as the transparent objects which are filled; in practices such as packaging, carrying the transparent objects like plate and glass, difficulties occur in finding the location and position of the transparent object.

In order that the robot takes and places the transparent objects to a desired location, Lhe coordination of the object's brim if it is present, the shape of the object and its position in space should sensitively be identified. Because the light passes through the transparent objects as well as it is reflected from the transparent objects, lighting conditions, which is necessary for determining the location and position data of the transparent objects such as glass and acrylic via standard CCD (charge coupled device) / CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) cameras, cannot be provided sufficiently.

European Patent document no. EP1739409 discloses systems and methods used in determining the location and angular orientation of an opening or a hole, at least one part of which is obstructed, residing on a surface of an article. In this inventive method, a thermal imaging and scanning system including an infrared camera, a heater, a laser spot pro jector, a laser spot sensor, a memory device and a processor is provided. The infrared camera provides image while the article is heated. Holes with the least amount of obstruction are identified as candidate holes for scanning. A laser beam is projected onto the surface of the article in a region containing at least one candidate hole and the spot sensor receives light reflection. The memory device identifies a series of points in a scanning region imaged as a point cloud. The point cloud is then manipulated to calculate the location and angular orientation of each hole in the region in relation to one or more pre-existing, article datum.

United States patent document no, US2002027941 discloses a method developed for inspecting an object and detecting the defects. The method comprises the steps of injecting a heal pulse by light beam at a selected point on the object; capturing a sequence of consecutive thermal images of the object to record heat diffusion over time resulting from the heal pulse; comparing the heal diffusion over time at the point on said object to a reference; and determining whether the object comprises any defects. Also the system realizing the said method comprises a structure holding the object; a laser that is able to be send heat pulse to a precise location, a thermal camera that is able to capture thermal images of the object; a frame grabber for capturing a sequence of image signals from the thermal camera; a memory unit for storing data acquired; and an analyzing unit for comparing the heat diffusion data acquired with reference.

Summary of the Invention The objective of the present invention is to realize a transparent object positioning system which enables the location and the positions of these objects to be detected as a result of heating the transparent objects in the production line locally.

A further objective of the present invention is to realize a transparent object positioning system which enables the process in the production Jine, on which the transparent objects are present, to be performed without human touch automatically.

Another objective of the present invention is to realize a transparent object positioning system which enables the process in the production line, on which the transparent objects are present, to be performed rapidly. Detailed Description of tbe Invention

A transparent object positioning system realized to fulfill the objective of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying figure, in which: Figure 1 is the schematic view of an inventive transparent object positioning system.

The components given in the figures are individually numbered where the numbers refer to the following:

1. Transparent object positioning system

2. Transparent object

3. Conveyor

4. Heater

5. Thermal camera

6. Control unit 7. Robot

A transparent object positioning system (1) enabling the processes in the production line to be realized without human touch, rapidly and automatically comprises:

- at least one transparent object (2) which transmits and reflects the light,

- at least one conveyor (3) which is located in the factory production line, enables the production processes to be carried out serially and wherein the transparent object (2) is located thereon,

- at least one heater (4) which enables the surface of the transparent object (2) to be heated locally by transferring heat to the transparent object (2) located on the conveyor (3) while the conveyor (3) is moving, and enables an important contrast to be formed between the transparent object (2) and the focal plane by creating a heat difference between the focal plane scries and the transparent object (2),

- at least one thermal camera (5) which enables to display the heat difference between the transparent object (2) and the background of the transparent object (2) as a result of the heating process,

- at least one control unit (6) which calculates the position of the transparent object (2) by examining the image shot by the thermal camera (5), and

- at least one robot (7) which is commanded by the control unit (6) and takes the transparent object (2) from its original point in accordance with the data it receives from the control unit (6), and transports the said transparent object (2) to a position that is specified by the control unit (6) (Figure 1 ).

The transparent objects (2) described in an inventive transparent object positioning system (1) are the objects such as bottle, plate, glass and the like, and the said objects consist of light transmitting and reflecting transparent structure In transparent object positioning system ( 1) first the transparent object (2) is placed on the conveyor (3). While the conveyor (3) is moving, when the transparent objects (2) located on the conveyor (3) come against the heater (4), the heater (4) starts to heat the transparent objects (2) locally. According to the geometrical characteristics of the transparent object (2) each part of the transparent object (2) heats in a dilTerent way, For example, if the transparent object (2) is a bottle, the brim of the said transparent object (2) heats first and it is necessary to increase the heating time in order to see the whole contour of the transparent object (2). The said heat changes are detected by the thermal camera (5) and the position of the brim and the whole body of the transparent object (2) is calculated by the control unit (6).

The transparent object (2) the position of which is deteraiined by the control unit (6) is taken from its original point by the robot (7) and transported to a position determined by the control unit (6). If the transparent object (2) is a transparent object like a bottle in which materials such as perfume, nail polish, baby formula and the like will be filled; the robot (7) takes the said transparent object (2) and transports to an area corresponding to filling nozzle of the filling machines which will perform the filling process. If the transparent object (2) is a transparent object (2) like a plate, glass to which another process like packaging or carrying will be applied; the robot (7) takes the said transparent object (2) and places it into the related boxes or transports to an area determined by the control unit (6).

In applications wherein the transparent object (2) is an object like a bottle which has a brim, when the said transparent object (2) is placed on the conveyor (3) the brim part enabling the transparent object (2) to be filled may not be in a desired position for the filling process. Beside this, in applications wherein the transparent object (2) is an object like plate, glass which will be packaged, carried or another process like these, it is necessary to transport the transparent objects (2) in a suitable position for the areas where they are transported, and to place them properly in the said areas. If the transparent objects (2) are not in a proper position on the conveyor (3), first the said transparent objects (3) should be brought to a desired position and then transported to the desired location. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the control unit (6) calculates the position data as well as the location data of the transparent object (2) in order to find out a situation like this. The said position data includes the coordinates of the brim of the transparent object (2) if it is present, the shape and the position in the space of the transparent object (2). After the control unit (6) determines the location and position data of the transparent object (2), the control unit (6) detects the necessary rotation and displacement levels in order that the transparent object (2) is transported to a desired position, for example to a position which corresponds to the filling nozzle of the filling machines, by correcting its position. The robot (7) enables the transparent object (2) to be brought to a proper position first according to necessary rotation and displacement levels after the command it gets from the control unit (6) and then enables the transparent object (2) to be transported to the position determined by the control unit (6).

In another embodiment of the invention, the transparent object (2) is produced from a glass material. In a further embodiment of the invention, the transparent object (2) is produced from a plastic material.

With the inventive transparent object positioning system ( 1), the location and position data in the production line of the transparent objects (2), the location and position data of which are difficult to be determined as a result of its light transmitting and reflecting structure, arc enabled to be deiennined easily by means of local heating process. By this means, the processes in the production line wherein the transparent objects (2) are present are enabled to be carried out without human touch, automatically and rapidly. Within the scope of this basic concept, it is possible to develop various embodiments of the inventive transpai'ent object positioning system (1). The invention can not be limited to the examples described herein; it is essentially according to the claims.