Method for Orienting Tube Components

Abstract

Method for orienting tube components (2), such as heads or stoppers, comprising a step of measuring the angular position (6) of a component followed by a step of orienting said component, in which step the angular correction of the component is determined especially while taking into account the measured signal (8); method characterized in that said angular correction is also determined while taking into account a modelled parasitic signal (15). The invention also comprises a device using said method.

Claims

1-20. (canceled)

21. A method for orienting a tube component comprising the steps of: measuring an angular position of the tube component by determining a position of a reference of the tube component; and orientating the tube component based on an angular correction of the tube component based on the measured angular position and a modelled interfering signal.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising a step of: modelling the measured angular position.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the modelled angular position replaces the measured angular position for the angular correction in the step of orientating.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the modelled angular position includes the modelled interfering signal and a modelled component signal.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the modelled angular position is determined by acquiring a series of measured angular positions.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the modelled angular position is determined by acquiring signals measured on a plurality of tube components.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the acquiring of the signals is performed on at least five tube components.

28. The method of claim 20, further comprising a step of: calibrating the reference position of the tube component to correspond to a desired angular orientation of the tube component.

29. The method of claim 24, further comprising the steps of: varying a phase of the modelled component signal and identifying a component phase to minimize a difference of the measured angular position and the modelled angular position; and modifying the angular position of the tube component by a phase difference between the component phase and the position of the reference.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein in the step of varying, the component phase is searched by varying the phase of the modelled component signal and a phase of the interfering model to achieve a minimal difference between the modelled angular position and the measured angular position.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein in the step of varying, the component phase is searched by varying only the phase of the modelled component signal.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the modelled interfering signal is determined based on a geometry of the tube component.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the measuring performs an optical measurement.

34. A device for orienting a tube component comprising: a cell configured to emit and receive a signal; and an information processing device, wherein the cell and the information processing device are configured to, measure an angular position of the tube component by determining a position of a reference of the tube component, and orientating the tube component based on an angular correction of the tube component based on the measured angular position and a modelled interfering signal.

35. The device of claim 34, wherein the information processing device includes an orientation microprocessor.

36. The device of claim 35, wherein the orientation microprocessor is configured to process information from the cell and from a coder located on an axis of a tool rotating the tube component indicating the angular position.

37. The device of claim 34, further comprising: a display screen.

38. The device of claim 34, further comprising: a processing unit configured to produce a modelled interfering signal.

39. The device of claim 34, wherein the device is mounted to a production machine, and being independent to the production machine.

40. A machine for producing flexible tubes comprising a device for orienting a tube component according to claim 34.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0030] FIG. 1 comprising FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C represents the orientation device and method of the prior art and commonly used in the industry to orient components relative to tube bodies.

[0031] FIG. 1A illustrates a random position of the component in the orientation device.

[0032] FIG. 1B represents the detection of the notch 3 of the component during the orientation process.

[0033] FIG. 1C represents the signal resulting from the rotation of the component.

[0034] FIG. 2 comprising FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C illustrates a second orientation method described in the patent application WO2011116902.

[0035] FIG. 2A represents the orientation device used.

[0036] FIG. 2B illustrates the reference signal corresponding to a known angular position of the component.

[0037] FIG. 2C represents a signal measured for a random position of the component.

[0038] FIG. 3 comprising FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrates a drawback of the method proposed in the patent application WO2011116902.

[0039] FIG. 3A shows the deformation of the component 2 in the clamps 16 of the rotating tool. The views a, b and c illustrate different angular positions of the component 2 in the clamps 16.

[0040] FIG. 3B illustrates the best correlation obtained between the signals 8a, 8b and 8c corresponding respectively to the views a, b and c of FIG. 3A. The best correlation between the two signals does not correspond to an identical orientation of the components.

[0041] FIG. 4 illustrates the orientation device used in the invention.

[0042] FIG. 5 comprising FIGS. 5a, 5b and 5c illustrates the phase of creation of a signal model.

[0043] FIG. 5A illustrates the acquisition of the signals 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e and 8f corresponding to a random orientation of the components a, b, c, d, e and f during the modelling phase.

[0044] FIG. 5B illustrates the model of the component signal obtained from the modelling phase.

[0045] FIG. 5C illustrates the model of the interfering signal obtained from the modelling phase.

[0046] FIG. 6 illustrates the phase difference between the model of the component signal and the reference position.

[0047] FIG. 7 shows the orientation method according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0048] The general principle of the invention illustrated in FIG. 4 is an orientation device and method based on the rotating of the component 2 to be oriented, the emission and the reception of a signal 5 which interferes with the component. The information contained in the return signal called “measured signal” is used to define the position of the component in the rotating tool. Then, the deduced angular correction is applied to orient the component in the desired position.

[0049] The orientation device illustrated in FIG. 4 comprises at least one cell 11 which emits and receives a signal 5 interfering with the component 2 in rotation about an axis 4, means for rotating the component 2, and means for processing the information from the cell 11. The cell 11 can be made up of two independent entities; a first for emitting the signal 5, a second for receiving the signal having interfered with the component.

[0050] More specifically, the device for orienting components according to the present invention comprises at least one cell 11 intended to emit and receive a signal 5 (preferably an optical signal) and information processing means 12, for example a system of computer type or other equivalent system.

[0051] According to a preferential embodiment of the invention, the cell 11 is an optical sensor of energy type which is linked to the information processing means 12. According to this preferential embodiment, said means 12 mainly comprise an independent processor 12′. This processor 12′ notably performs the processing of the information sent by the cell 11 and by a coder 4′ situated on the axis of the component rotating tool. Said coder 4′ informs said processor 12 of the angular position of the rotating tool. When the phase difference of the component relative to the reference is computed, the processor 12′ interacts with the control of the component rotating motor in order to orient said component in the correct position.

[0052] According to the preferential embodiment, the processor 12′ is also linked to a display screen 20 which allows the operator to perform the initial settings and track the orientation of the components 2 during production.

[0053] The device described above is particularly advantageous because it makes it possible to orient components 2 at a high production rate. The use of an orientation processor 12′ independent of the processor of the machine makes it possible to process the information relating to the orientation of the components 2 in parallel with the information linked to the driving of the machine and processed by the processor of the machine.

[0054] Another advantage of the proposed device is linked to its modularity. The device described in the present invention can be implemented with no great difficulty on machines that differ greatly in their operation or in their control mode. The device is also modular because it can be upgraded either at the information processing level or at the hardware level. This upgrading can be done independently of the rest of the machine.

[0055] The core of the invention lies notably in an orientation method whose main steps are described in FIG. 7. This method comprises at least three phases; a first so-called signal modelling phase, a second so-called calibration phase, a third so-called automatic orientation phase.

[0056] The modelling phase consists in acquiring a number of signals relating to components oriented randomly; then in executing an appropriate digital processing making it possible to define a model of the signal. The model of the signal according to the invention is made up of at least a model of the component signal and a model of the interfering signal. According to the invention, the model of the component signal comprises the information specific to the component and useful for defining its orientation whereas the model of the interfering signal comprises the information characteristic of the measurement apparatus and its environment and consequently of no use to the orientation of the component. In the model, the phase or the angular position of the model of the component signal is variable since it is precisely this angular position which has to be found in order to ultimately orient said component.

[0057] The modelling phase is done automatically by the machine, without intervention from the operator. For the defined model to be sufficiently robust, it is necessary for the model of the interfering signal to take account of the disturbances that can occur during production. For this reason, the acquisition of the signals for the modelling phase is performed in the production environment, that is to say with a machine setting identical to that used for the production. A minimum number of components must be used to give an account of all the disturbances that can occur during production and in order to obtain a distribution of the orientation of the components in the device that is sufficiently random. From experience, it has been found that the robustness of the model requires the successive acquisition of at least five signals corresponding to five components oriented randomly in the rotating device. Preferentially, at least ten signals are used to define the model. A greater number of signals may be necessary when the components are of poor quality and exhibit significant dimensional variations, or when the machine is worn or poorly adjusted. Generally, the packaging machines requiring this orientation operation operate at rates higher than 60 parts per minute and per station. The acquisition time for ten signals is therefore less than 6 seconds which indicates that a greater number of signals could be used without that having any significant impact on the machine setting time.

[0058] The modelling phase requires the search for the signal model from the signals acquired. An appropriate digital processing is performed on the basis of these data to define the model of the component signal and the model of the interfering signal. The model of the signal results from the combination of the model of the component signal and of the model of the interfering signal. Preferentially, the model of the signal results from an additive combination of the component signal and of the interfering signal. Multiplicative combinations or combinations of more complex form can also be envisaged. According to the invention, at least the phase of the component model is variable. The phase of the component signal model indicates the angular position of the component in the rotating tool. According to a preferential embodiment of the invention, the phase of the interfering signal model is constant, which indicates that the interferences are primarily linked to the tool rotating said component.

[0059] The component orientation method then comprises a calibration phase as indicated in FIG. 7. The aim of the calibration phase is to define the desired oriented position. This phase entails the intervention of the operator who indicates the value of the angular rotation to be applied (that is to say the value of the phase difference) to orient a component positioned randomly in the orientation device. The calibration phase comprises a number of steps. A first step consists in acquiring the signal for a stopper positioned randomly in the rotating tool. In a second step, the phase of the model of the component signal is then determined in order to minimize the deviation between the measured signal and the model of the signal. The phase of the component model that makes it possible to minimize the deviation defines the angular position of the component in the rotating tool. In the third step, the operator indicates the phase difference value to be applied to obtain the desired orientation. This last step makes it possible to define the reference angular position of the component signal model which corresponds to the oriented position of said component.

[0060] As indicated in FIG. 7, the third phase of the orientation method is the automatic orientation phase or production phase. During this phase the machine automatically orients the components at a high production rate. The automatic orientation phase comprises at least the succession of a step of acquisition of the signal, a step of searching for the phase of the component model, a step of computation of the phase difference to be applied relative to the reference position (oriented position), and, finally, a step of orientation of the component by applying the phase difference.

[0061] The automatic orientation phase must be performed within very short times given the rate of production. A major advantage of the invention is the possibility of achieving very high production rates. In the second step, the use of the model of the signal to define the phase of the signal allows for very short computation times. In this second step, there is a great benefit, by virtue of the model, in being able to replace the measured signal by a signal model resulting from the combination of a model of the component signal and a model of the interfering signal. This substitution is obtained by varying the phase of the model of the component signal and by comparing the model of the signal with the measured signal. The phase of the model of the component signal is determined when the deviation between the signal model and the measured signal is minimal. The method preferentially used to minimize the deviation between the signal model and the measured signal consists in minimizing the sum of the deviations squared between the two signals. The use of a model to perform these operations is a major benefit because the model of the signal can be broken down into a model of the component signal and a model of the interfering signal.

[0062] According to the invention, the orientation method also makes it possible to quantify the reliability of the orientation based on the analysis of the deviation between the model of the signal and the measured signal. The reliability value obtained can be used to eject the components whose orientation is deemed uncertain.

[0063] The method described in FIG. 7 offers great robustness because the interfering noises are subtracted. The advantage of the method lies in the use of a model for the interfering noises and a model characteristic of the component and of its orientation.

[0064] FIG. 5 comprising FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C illustrates the modelling phase. FIG. 5A shows an example of acquisition of measured signals 8a to 8f as a function of the angular position 6 of the rotating tool. As illustrated in FIG. 5A, it is possible to identify, in these signals, the peaks 9a to 9f whose phase varies and which are characteristic of the respective orientation of the components a to f in the rotating tool. It can also be seen that said measured signals 8a to 8f exhibit an interfering noise 13a to 13f in phase with the rotating tool. An appropriate processing of all the signals 8a to 8f makes it possible to obtain the model of the signal illustrated in FIGS. 5B and 5C. FIG. 5B represents the model of the component signal 14 whose phase is variable and which is representative only of the component and of its orientation. In this signal, the peak 9 which is the model of the peaks 9a to 9c of FIG. 5A is easily identifiable. FIG. 5B also shows a series of secondary peaks which can be used also for the orientation of the component but which are impossible to identify visually in the measured signals of FIG. 5A. This example shows that the method according to the invention makes it possible to identify characteristics of the component which are undetectable in the measured signal because of the interfering noises. FIG. 5C illustrates the model of the interfering signal 15 representative of the interfering noises 13a to 13f of FIG. 5A. In the model of the interfering signal illustrated in FIG. 5C, only the noises not randomly occurring are retained. In the example of FIG. 5, the model of the interfering signal 15 is in phase with the rotating tool. In the example of FIG. 5, the model of the signal corresponds to the sum of the model of the component signal illustrated in FIG. 5B and of the model of the interfering signal illustrated in FIG. 5C.

[0065] FIG. 6 illustrates the operation performed during the calibration phase. This operation consists in determining the reference position 7 corresponding to the desired orientation of the component. During this calibration phase, the operator defines the angular rotation, that is to say the phase difference 10 to be applied to the component to obtain the desired orientation. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the phase difference is computed from the component model and not from the measured signal.

[0066] The orientation method described in the invention is particularly relevant for orienting stoppers relative to printed tube bodies. In particular, the invention makes it possible to orient clipped-on stoppers of “snap-on” type in order for the opening of the tube to be in accordance with the printing. The invention notably makes it possible to orient thin stoppers which are deformed in the clamps of the rotating tool.

[0067] The invention makes it possible to improve the accuracy of the orientation of the component because the phase difference 10 to be applied is defined with great accuracy.

[0068] The invention makes it possible to orient the components in a very short time, which makes it possible to achieve high production rates.

[0069] The invention makes it possible to reduce the rejects linked to dimensional variations of the components (deformations, removals) or color variations.

[0070] The invention makes it possible to considerably reduce the setting times upon a change of component (geometry, diameter, color).

[0071] The embodiments of the present invention are given as illustrative examples and should not be considered to be limiting. Variants are possible within the scope of the protection claimed, notably by using equivalent means.

[0072] For example, the signal emission and reception cell (11) could be in motion about the component which, for its part, would remain fixed.

[0073] Preferably, the cell is positioned on an axis at right angles to the axis of rotation of the object/component to be oriented. A position of the cell according to a plane parallel to the axis of orientation of the object can also be used if the information contained in the reading plane comprises information relating to the angular orientation of the component (for example the top surface of the object).

[0074] More generally, the positioning of the axis of the cell can be set according to different orientations relative to the orientation axis.

[0075] Any reference that can be detected on the component can be used in the context of the present invention to determine the position of said component and orient said component according to the principles of the present invention.

[0076] If the present description mentions an application for tube components, this is not limiting and other applications can be envisaged in which there is a desire to rapidly orient parts arranged randomly.

[0077] The signal used for the measurement and orientation can be an optical signal or other signal (electrical, magnetic, etc.) which is transformed if necessary for it to be processed according to the principles of the present invention.