SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY SUSPENDING POULTRY FROM A CARRIER OF A CARRIER CONVEYOR

Abstract

A system and method for automatically suspending poultry from a carrier of a carrier conveyor. A vision guided robot can pick up poultry from a feedline and suspend the poultry from the carrier. An imaging device can be connected to a decision-making tool to process images from the poultry on the feedline, wherein the decision-making tool is arranged to detect a head of the poultry and to control the vision guided robot to pick up the poultry from the feedline by engaging the poultry at or below the head, and to subsequently suspend the poultry with its head up from the carrier of the carrier conveyor.

Claims

1-20. (canceled)

21. A system for automatically suspending poultry from a carrier of a carrier conveyor, comprising a feedline for the poultry to be suspended, wherein the system an imaging device connected to a decision-making tool to process images from the poultry suspended on a feedline, the images being received from the imaging device; and a vision guided robot for picking up the poultry from the feedline and suspending the poultry from the carrier of the carrier conveyor; wherein the decision-making tool is arranged to detect a head of the poultry and to control the vision guided robot to pick up the poultry from the feedline by engaging the poultry at or below the head, and subsequently suspend the poultry with its head up from the carrier of the carrier conveyor.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising a supply station to release a plurality of poultry in a non-organized order to the feedline that is equipped with the supply station.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the supply station is equipped to receive the poultry one by one, or in containers.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the supply station is equipped to release the poultry from the containers into and through a transfer portion to the feedline, wherein the transfer portion is equipped with guiding channels to provide the poultry to the feedline in separate lines or moving queues of poultry, preferably without neighbouring poultry received on the feedline touching each other.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the decision-making tool controls the vision guided robot to engage and pick up the poultry from the feedline in an arbitrary orientation.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the decision-making tool controls the vision guided robot to position the picked up poultry into a predetermined orientation, in which predetermined orientation the vision guided robot suspends the poultry with its head up from the carrier of the carrier conveyor.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein the decision-making tool controls the vision guided robot to place the picked up poultry into a predetermined orientation based on images of the poultry after it has been picked up by the vision guided robot, which images are derived from the imaging device.

28. The system of claim 21, wherein the imaging device is mounted on the vision guided robot.

29. The system of claim 21, wherein the predetermined orientation of the poultry is one of the poultry breast facing the carrier and the poultry breast facing away from the carrier.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the orientation of the breast is determined by detecting a characteristic feature of the poultry, such as a beak of the poultry.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the decision-making tool is arranged to select the predetermined orientation of the poultry depending on the type of the carrier conveyor in which the poultry will or is to be suspended.

32. A method for automatically suspending poultry from a carrier of a carrier conveyor, comprising: providing poultry in a feedline towards a vision guided robot; picking up the poultry from the feedline with the vision guided robot; suspending the poultry with the vision guided robot from the carrier of the carrier conveyor; taking images from the poultry on the feedline; processing the images to detect a head of the poultry; controlling the vision guided robot to pick up the poultry from the feedline by engaging the poultry at or below the head; and controlling the vision guided robot to suspend the poultry with its head up from the carrier of the carrier conveyor.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising supplying a plurality of poultry to the feedline in a non-organized order.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising controlling the vision guided robot to engage and pick up the poultry from the feedline in an arbitrary orientation.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising controlling the vision guided robot to position the picked up poultry into a predetermined orientation, and controlling the vision guided robot to suspend the poultry with the head up from the carrier of the carrier conveyor in the predetermined orientation.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising collecting images of the poultry while the vision guided robot has picked up the poultry from the feedline, and further controlling the vision guided robot to position the picked up poultry into the predetermined orientation, based on the images of the poultry being picked up by the vision guided robot.

37. The method of claim 32, further comprising controlling the vision guided robot to move the poultry in a predetermined orientation selected from the group comprising a first orientation of the poultry with the breast facing the carrier and a second orientation with the poultry breast facing away from the carrier.

38. The method of claim 32, wherein at least one of the steps of processing of images of the poultry and controlling the vision guided robot is implemented in a computer.

39. A computer program which when loaded in a computer forming part of a system according to any one of claims 21 through 31, arranges that the computer causes that the method of any one of claims 32 through 37 is carried out.

40. A computer readable medium provided with the computer program of claim 39.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures, in which:

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a supply station and a feedline forming part of a system according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

[0044] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show the exemplary system of the invention with an exemplary feedline, a vision guided robot, and a carrier conveyor, wherein the poultry is supplied in a first orientation on the feedline;

[0045] FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show the exemplary system of the invention with a feedline, a vision guided robot, and a carrier conveyor, wherein the poultry is supplied in a second orientation on the feedline.

[0046] Whenever in the figures the same reference numerals are applied, these numerals refer to the same parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. As used herein, the term “or” is generally intended to be inclusive (i.e., “A or B” is intended to mean “A or B or both”).

[0048] In an one exemplary embedment of the invention, a system and method for automatically suspending poultry from a carrier of a carrier conveyor are provided. The system may include a feedline 1 for the poultry 8, which is shown in FIG. 1 together with a supply station 3 for the poultry. Further the system can include a vision guided robot 4 and the carrier conveyor 5, which are both shown in FIGS. 2 through 5. The carrier conveyor 5 can include a series of carriers 6, only a couple of which are shown, which are movable in the conveying direction of the carrier conveyor 5 in a manner that is entirely known to the skilled person and therefore requires no further elucidation.

[0049] The feedline 1 receives the poultry 8 from the supply station 3, which receives the poultry 8 one by one, or in containers 7, such as crates, and releases the poultry 8 from the containers 7 to the feedline 1. The supply station 3 is equipped with a transfer portion 9 towards the feedline 1. When the poultry 8 is released from the containers 7, the poultry will pass the transfer portion 9 and move to the feedline 1. The transfer portion 9 can be equipped with guiding channels 10 to provide the poultry 8 to the feedline 1 in separate lines or moving queues of poultry. Preferably the neighbouring poultry 8 received on the feedline 1 does not touch each other.

[0050] For clarity reasons, FIGS. 2 through 5 only show the feedline 1, wherein FIGS. 2 and 4 show that the poultry 8 is supplied with the feedline 1 towards a vision guided robot 4. The difference between FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 is that FIG. 2 shows a single poultry lying with the back on the feedline 1, whereas FIG. 4 shows that the single poultry lies with its side resting on the feedline 1. By providing FIGS. 2 and 4 it is shown that the vision guided robot 4 picks up the poultry from the feedline 1, without differentiating between the position of the poultry 8 lying on the feedline 1. This is realized by arranging that the system comprises an imaging device 11 connected to a decision-making tool 12 to process images from the poultry 8 received from the imaging device 11, wherein the decision-making tool 12 is arranged to detect a head of the poultry 8. This is only shown in FIG. 2, but this correspondingly applies to FIGS. 3 through 5 as well. It is noted that the imaging device 11 is shown as a standalone device next to the vision guided robot 4, but this is not the only option. The imaging device can also be mounted on the vision guided robot 4 as will be referred to hereinafter.

[0051] FIGS. 2 and 4 show the initial moves of a subsequent method step that follows after the detection of the head of the poultry 8. In such a subsequent method step the decision-making tool 12 controls the vision guided robot 4 to pick up the poultry 8 from the feedline 1 by engaging the poultry 8 at or below the detected head. The poultry 8 will then be hanging from the vision guided robot 4 in an arbitrary orientation. Thereafter the decision-making tool 12 controls the vision guided robot 4 to execute the following moves of the subsequent method step wherein the poultry 8 is eventually suspended with its head up from the carrier 6 of the carrier conveyor 5.

[0052] Before the final step is executed wherein the poultry 8 will be suspended with its head up in the carrier 6 of the carrier conveyor 5, the poultry 8 is maneuvered by the vision guided robot 4 into a predetermined orientation. For that purpose of moving the poultry into the predetermined orientation, the decision-making tool 12 controls the vision guided robot 4 to move the picked up poultry 8 based on images of the poultry 8 as it is hanging from the vision guided robot 4, which images are derived from the imaging device 11. It is indeed possible to use the same imaging device 11 as is used for imaging the poultry 8 when lying on the feedline 1, but in many exemplary embodiments it is then required that the imaging device 11 is provided with a tracking feature to follow the poultry 8 after it has been picked up by the vision guided robot 4. Another option is to use a further imaging device 13, which is then preferably mounted on the vision guided robot 4, which is best shown in FIG. 4.

[0053] Although many orientations are feasible wherein the poultry 8 can be moved with the vision guided robot 4, it is preferred in certain exemplary embodiments that the predetermined orientation of the poultry is one of the poultry breast 8′ facing the carrier 6 and the poultry breast 8′ facing away from the carrier 6. Both FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 show the option that the poultry breast 8′ is facing the carrier 6, which is most commonly the desired orientation, and in particular when the carrier conveyor 5 is part of a buffer station. The decision-making tool 12 is arranged to select the predetermined orientation of the poultry 8 depending on the type of the carrier conveyor 5 in which the poultry 8 will or is to be suspended.

[0054] Embodiments of the present invention can include every combination of features that are disclosed herein independently from each other. Although the invention has been discussed in the foregoing with reference to an exemplary embodiment of the method of the invention, the invention is not restricted to this particular embodiment which can be varied in many ways without departing from the invention. The discussed exemplary embodiment shall therefore not be used to construe the appended claims strictly in accordance therewith. On the contrary the embodiment is merely intended to explain the wording of the appended claims without intent to limit the claims to this exemplary embodiment. The scope of protection of the invention shall therefore be construed in accordance with the appended claims only, wherein a possible ambiguity in the wording of the claims shall be resolved using this exemplary embodiment.

[0055] Variations and modifications of the present invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications and equivalents. Unless specifically stated as being “essential” above, none of the various components or the interrelationship thereof are essential to the operation of the invention. Rather, desirable results can be achieved by substituting various components and/or reconfiguration of their relationships with one another.

[0056] Optionally, exemplary embodiments of the present invention can include a general or specific purpose computer or distributed system programmed with computer software implementing steps described above, which computer software may be in any appropriate computer language, including but not limited to C++, FORTRAN, ALGOL, BASIC, Java, Python, Linux, assembly language, microcode, distributed programming languages, etc. The exemplary apparatus may also include a plurality of such computers/distributed systems (e.g., connected over the Internet and/or one or more intranets) in a variety of hardware implementations. For example, data processing can be performed by an appropriately programmed microprocessor, computing cloud, Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or the like, in conjunction with appropriate memory, network, and bus elements. One or more processors and/or microcontrollers can operate via instructions of the computer code and the software is preferably stored on one or more tangible non-transitive memory-storage devices.