JP2904136B2 - Automatic bag packing method and device, and robot hand device of bag stacking robot - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for automatically packing bags in which a predetermined number of bags having different thicknesses are automatically bundled and stored in a container in a bag making factory, and a hand device of a bag stacking robot. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a manufacturing plant of a standing pouch filled with a refilling liquid detergent or the like, a predetermined number of bags (for example, 50 bags) discharged from a bag making machine are piled up at a time and a corner portion is cut by a corner cutting machine. Then, after inspection, a predetermined number of sheets are manually placed in a plastic bag to prevent collapse and are packed in a carton case, and the carton case is stacked on a pallet for shipment. As described above, the bag packing process in the related art is exclusively performed manually, and has not yet been automated.

Conventionally, the reason that the packing process of a bag such as a standing pouch for detergent refilling cannot be automated is that the bag is made of a relatively thick synthetic resin sheet, the surface is slippery, and the bag is made. In the state, the mouth is 2 pieces and the bottom is 4
When the layers are stacked in different layers, the bottom is twice as thick as other parts, so it is unstable and easy to collapse, and can be handled with human dexterous hands Difficult items had to be lined up in cartons and filled.

[0004]

As described above, in the bag-making factory, the packing work of this kind of self-supporting bag is performed exclusively by humans, so that the work efficiency is poor and a lot of humans are required. Have been. At the filling factory, automatic handling of the seed bags is required so that they can be automatically unloaded and automatically supplied to the filling machine.However, the bags are packed in plastic bags and packed in carton cases. This makes the automatic handling difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and in particular, bags having different thicknesses are bundled together and automatically packed in a container in an aligned state so as not to collapse even after being stored. It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic bag packing method and apparatus capable of automatically packing bags, and a robot hand device of a robot used in the apparatus.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided an automatic bag packing method, comprising: a step of binding a plurality of stacked bags; and transferring the bundled bags to a tray transported by a tray transport device. A process of stacking two bundles by changing their directions,
A step of placing a pad on the upper surface of the bag bundle transferred to the tray, and holding a group of bag bundles on which the pad has been placed from the tray by a robot and sequentially stacking and storing the bag bundles in a bag transport container; It is a storage step, wherein two bags are stacked in the container, the top and bottom of which are opposite to each other, and are automatically stored and packed in a stacked state with a pad interposed between each stage. It is assumed that.

The robot detects the position of the container before the storage of the bag bundle in the container, automatically sets the XY coordinates of the robot, and moves the robot hand based on the set coordinates to move the bag. By storing the bundle in the container, the bag bundle can be accurately stacked and stored in the container even if the position or angle of the container is shifted.
Further, the pat is stored in a pocket of an empty container, taken out by the robot from the pocket, and put on the upper surface of the bag bundle on the tray,
The pad removed at the time of unloading at the filling factory can be stored in an empty container, returned to the bag making factory, and used repeatedly, which is desirable.

Further, the automatic bag packing apparatus of the present invention comprises a binding device for binding a predetermined number of stacked bags, a tray transport device for transporting a tray on which the bound bag bundle is placed, and an automatic stacking of the bag bundle in a container. The robot comprises a pad suction device that puts a pad on a bag bundle loaded on the tray, and a chuck device that grips a bag bundle group on which the pad is placed and stacks it on a container. Characterized by having a robot hand device.

The bag automatic packing apparatus has a container transport conveyor for transporting a container to a container loading position, a bag bundle stacking position, and a container unloading position.
It is desirable that the containers can be freely moved to a position where each operation is easily performed, and the containers can be accumulated on the container transport conveyor. Further, the robot has an XY coordinate detecting device for detecting the position of the container in the robot hand device, and by detecting at least two positions of the container with the XY coordinate detecting device,
By automatically setting the XY coordinates and moving the robot hand device based on the set coordinates, even if the container is not accurately positioned at the loading position, the bag bundle can be accurately positioned. Can be packed and packed.

Further, the robot arm device of the bag stacking robot according to the present invention has a hand base fixed to the robot arm, and the hand base has a parallel chuck device for holding a bag bundle, and XY coordinates. XY coordinate detecting device for detecting the position of the container for setting the position, and a pad suction device for suctioning the pad are attached.

By attaching a thickness detector for detecting the number of putts and a bundle of bags in the container to the hand base, it is possible to detect whether or not the robot arm is holding a pad or a bag. In addition, it is possible to effectively prevent a supply failure accident of a pad or a bundle of bags.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, an embodiment of a bag transport container for stacking and packing a bag bundle in an automatic bag packing method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The container 45 is a pallet 4 made of synthetic resin.
6. A box-shaped container main body 47 fitted and assembled to a lower frame fixed to the upper surface of the pallet. The inside of the container main body is partitioned by a partition plate 48 into the vertical length of the bag. The plate 48 is provided with misalignment prevention bars 49 at intervals of the bag width, and is partitioned into pockets into which a bundle of bags enters. As will be described later, when the bag bundle is stored in the container by the robot, the misalignment prevention bar 49 is formed of a square material having an appropriate thickness so as to form a space between the pockets where the gripping claws of the robot can be inserted. ing. In the figure, 50 is an upper lid.

In this embodiment, two bundles of 50 bags of standing pouches are stacked in each pocket of the container 45 configured as described above so that the bag mouth portion and the bottom portion overlap each other to form one stage. A stack of 20 bundles of 10 stages is formed by interposing a pad 52 made of a plastic plate, cardboard, or the like between the stages, and is formed in three rows of six blocks in each row so that a total of 360 bundles can be stored. . By interposing the pad between the steps, it is possible to prevent the middle portion of the bag bundle from being extremely concave in an arc shape in a stacked state, and to be able to stack well.

In this manner, the bag bundle packed in the container is unpacked at the filling factory and the bag bundle is automatically taken out, but the pad 52 interposed between the steps is taken out of the bag. It is stored in a state of being stacked in one pocket in a later empty container, returned to a bag making factory together with the container, and used again as a pad when storing a bag bundle. Therefore, the operation of automatically packing bags into containers at a bag-making factory usually starts from this state. In the following embodiment, a case where a bag bundle is automatically packed in a container in this state will be described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an arrangement in which the automatic bag packing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a bag making line. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a bag making machine for producing a standing pouch made of synthetic resin, and 2 denotes a corner cutting machine, which are the same as conventional ones. The automatic packing device according to the present embodiment includes a binding device 3, a tray transport device 4, a loading robot 5 for automatically loading a bag bundle on a container, and a container for automatically performing the subsequent steps. And a container transport conveyor 6 for transport. Note that a transfer device that transfers the bag bundle is provided between the binding device 3 and the tray transport device.

Next, a specific configuration of each of the above devices will be individually described. The binding device 3 includes a frame-shaped bucket 10 for holding a bag bundle, a conveyor 11 for transporting the bucket to a location near the binding position A, a pusher 12 and a conveyor 14 for extruding the bucket from the conveyor to the binding position, and transporting the bucket. It comprises a hanging device 13, and is configured so as to band and bind the bag groups stacked in the same direction. The tray transport device 4 is composed of a circulating conveyor having two rows of parallel portions for circulating and transporting a tray on which two bundles of bags are loaded between a transfer position and a transfer position D to a container. Also serves as an accumulator conveyor.

The robot 5 holds the bag bundle from the tray transported to the transfer position D on the tray transport device 4 in the container 45 at the bag bundle stacking position F by the container transport conveyor 6. Yes, tray transport device 4
A robot main body 18 is installed between the robot arm 18 and the container transfer device 6, and a robot hand device 20 as shown in FIG.

The robot hand device 20 has a hand base 22 fixed to a robot arm 21, a parallel chuck device 23 for gripping a bag bundle, and an XY coordinate axis for operating the robot hand. An XY coordinate detecting device 24 for detecting the position of the container, a pad sucking device 25 for sucking the pat, and a thickness detecting device 26 for detecting the pat and the bundle of bags are attached to the X-axis.

The parallel chuck device 23 includes a cylinder 2
7, a pair of chuck plates 28 which are driven in the opposite directions to each other in the horizontal direction, and the gripping claws 29 of the chuck plates can enter the lower surfaces of both sides of the bag bundle to grip the bag bundle. . In addition, the pad suction device 25
One to two diagonal corners are arranged on the hand base, and are displaced up and down while being urged downward by a spring 30.

The XY coordinate detecting device 24 has a photoelectric tube 33 attached to a bracket 32 which is driven up and down by an air cylinder 31, and lowers the photoelectric tube 33 to a container detecting position prior to the start of stacking bags in a container.
The position of two diagonal corners among the four corners of the container is detected, XY coordinates are set in the control device, and thereafter, the robot arm moves according to the set program based on the coordinates. . Therefore, even if the container is not set in the correct position or the pocket is slightly misaligned,
X where the movement of the robot hand is corrected according to its position
Since the movement is controlled based on the -Y coordinate, the bag bundle can be accurately stacked in the pocket of the container.

Further, the thickness detecting device 26 slidably holds a rod 37 having detection pieces 35, 36 at both upper and lower ends in a cylinder 34 fixed to the hand base 22 and slidably holds the rod 37 on the upper surface of the hand base 22. Proximity switches 38 and 39 for detecting the position of the upper detection piece are arranged in two upper and lower brackets 4.
It is configured to hold 0. The rod 37 is normally in the lowered position. For example, the robot hand is lowered to the pocket position where the pad is stored, and the detection piece 35 is pushed by hitting the upper surface of the pad, so that the rod 37 is raised and the upper side of the rod 37 is moved upward. When the detection piece 36 exceeds the position of the proximity switch 38 below, the detection piece is detected, whereby the presence of the pad in the pocket is detected, and the number of pads can be detected based on the displacement amount. Since the detection piece 35 is pressed by the pad while the pad suction cup is sucking the cup, it is recognized that the upper detection piece is detected by the proximity switch 38 and the pad is normally held. However, if it is the process of holding the pad, but the detection piece 36 is below the proximity switch 38, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred. Similarly, when the robot hand grips the bag bundle, the detection piece 35 is pressed by the upper surface of the bag bundle, so that the presence of the bag bundle can be detected. Further, when the upper detection piece 36 is detected by the upper proximity switch 39, the thickness is abnormally large, and for example, an abnormality such as a stack of three or more bag bundles on the tray can be detected.

As shown in FIG. 1, the container transport conveyor 6 transfers the empty container returned from the filling factory to the loading position E,
It is formed of a roller conveyor or the like provided over the bag bundle stacking position F and the container unloading position G.

The automatic bag packing device and the robot hand device of the present embodiment are configured as described above, and are applied to a bag making line to automatically pack a bag bundle as follows. A predetermined number of bags discharged from the bag making machine 1, for example, 50 bags are manually piled up, the corners are cut by the corner cutting machine 2, and after inspection, the buckets 10 of the binding device 3 are piled up in the same direction.
Insert The binding device 3 starts driving when the bag is inserted into the bucket 10, and when the binding device 3 is conveyed to the vicinity of the binding position A by the conveyor 11, the pusher 12 and the conveyor 14.
As a result, the sheet is extruded and conveyed to a banding position, and is automatically banded by the banding device 13 at that position and bound into one bundle of bags.

The completed bundle of bags is transferred by the conveyor 14 to a transfer position B to the tray transfer device, and waits. When the bag bundle is transferred to the transfer position B, the bag bundle is transferred onto the tray conveyed by the tray conveying device 4 by the transfer device. The transfer device of the present embodiment has a parallel chuck on a rod suspended vertically and rotationally from a trolley moving along a rail disposed above the transfer position B and the load position C. The bag bundle is gripped from both sides and transferred onto a tray transported by the tray transport device 4.

The tray transports the bag bundle to the transfer position D of the robot 5 in a state where two bag bundles are stacked on one tray. When the bag bundle is transferred to the tray, the parallel chuck is gripped. The orientation of the bag bundle is 18 times every other time while holding the bag bundle so that the bottom and the opening are alternately opposite.
Rotate by 0 ° to transfer the bag bundle on the tray. Thereby,
The thicker bottom of the first bundle is overlapped with the thinner opening of the second bundle, so that the thickness of the bottom side and the opening side are almost the same as a whole, and the top and bottom thicknesses are different. The bundle can be transported on the tray in a stable state. The tray on which the bag bundle is loaded is transported to the transfer position D by the tray transport device.

On the other hand, the empty container is returned to the bag making factory in a state where the required number of pads (180 in this embodiment) are stacked in one specific pocket (for example, pocket No. 18 in FIG. 3). Then, it is carried in from the container carrying-in position E of the container carrying conveyor 6, and is placed in the bag bundle stacking position F.
Transported to In this state, the robot operates to sequentially lower the robot hand device 20 to two corners above the diagonal of the container 45, and the air cylinder 31 of the XY coordinate detection device 24 operates to lower the photoelectric tube 33. , Container 4
Two corners on the diagonal of the corners are sequentially detected, and the coordinate axes for operating the robot are corrected based on the detected points, so that the subsequent movement of the robot hand moves based on the coordinate axes. Therefore, even if the container is placed in a state of being inclined with respect to the axis of the container transport conveyor, a rectangular coordinate axis that exactly matches the container is set, and a bag bundle can be accurately stacked in a pocket having a small gap.

As described above, when the tray on which the two bundles of bags are stacked reaches the transfer position D in a state where the coordinate axes of the robot are correctly set, the robot operates according to a preset program. One pad is sucked out of the pocket of the container and taken out, and the pad is placed on the upper surface of the bag bundle on the tray. In this state, the parallel chuck device 23 is operated to remove the bag bundle on the tray to the gripper 29 of the chuck plate. Then, it is grasped from both sides and lifted together with the pad, moved to the first pocket of the container at the bag stacking position, and simultaneously stored them in the pocket.

When the container is to be stored in the container, as shown in FIG. 3, since there is a gap 53 between the pockets corresponding to the thickness of the gap preventing bar 49, the chuck plate may enter while holding the bag bundle. The bag bundle can be stably stacked in the pocket. Hereinafter, the bag bundle is sequentially stored in the container by such repetition. And
When the bag bundle is stored in the last pocket, that is, the pocket in which the pad is stored, the pad remaining in the pocket is taken out by the robot 5 and temporarily moved to the mounting table 42 shown in FIG. With respect to the amount stored in the pocket, the pad is sucked from the mounting table and supplied to the bag bundle on the tray.

If during the loading operation by the robot,
When the pad suction device is operated but the pad is not suctioned, or when the parallel chuck device is operated but the bag bundle is not gripped, the detection piece 35 is at the lower position, so that the pad or the bag is not detected. When it is detected that the bundle is not held, an abnormality occurrence alarm is issued and the driving of the apparatus is stopped.

When the stacking of the bag bundles in all the pockets is completed, the bags are conveyed by the container conveyor and conveyed to the container unloading position, and finally the upper lid 50 is covered. The upper lid 50 can be automatically or manually operated at any appropriate position such as a stacking position or a container unloading position. As described above, the bag bundle stored in the container is
Each pocket of the container is partitioned by a partition plate and a deviation prevention bar, and can be stored while being held by a robot hand device, and is stored with a pad interposed between the steps. Even self-supporting bags with different thicknesses can be stored in a surely aligned state.
Also, after storage, the bag bundle is regulated by the misalignment prevention bar,
Lateral displacement is prevented.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and individual devices such as a binding device can be variously changed in design. In addition, for example, the transfer of the bag bundle from the loading position B onto the tray is performed by the transfer device separate from the stacking robot in the above embodiment, but no special transfer device is provided. It is also possible to double as a robot for loading.

[0033]

According to the method and the apparatus for automatically packing bags according to the present invention, a container is formed by automatically stacking two bag bundles while changing their directions to each other, overlapping a pad thereon, and holding the pad with a robot hand device. The self-standing bag made of a relatively thick synthetic resin film, which was previously slippery and could not be automatically packaged, can be automatically packed in an aligned state. It is possible to greatly reduce labor and reduce production costs.

[0034] The bag bundle is stacked in two layers so that the bag mouth portion and the bottom portion having different thicknesses overlap each other, and is stored in a pocket of a container with a pad interposed therebetween. The steps become substantially horizontal, and the middle part of the bag bundle is prevented from being extremely concave in an arc shape, so that the bags can be stacked well. In addition, the pat removed in unpacking is returned to the bag making factory by storing the pat in the pocket of the empty container and placing it on the upper surface of the bag bundle by the robot from the pocket in the bag bundle stacking step. Can be used repeatedly.

The loading robot detects at least two positions of the container with the XY coordinate detecting device,
Since the X-Y coordinates are automatically set and the robot hand device is moved based on the set coordinates, even if the container is not accurately located at the loading position, the movement of the robot hand is changed according to the position. It is controlled to move based on the corrected XY coordinates, so that the bag bundle can be accurately stacked even in a narrow pocket space in the container. Needless to say, it is also possible to detect the positions of all pockets and then stack them in response to deformation of each pocket.

The stacking robot includes a parallel chuck device for gripping a bag bundle, an XY coordinate detecting device, a pad suction device for sucking pads, and a thickness for detecting the number of pads in the container and the bag bundle. Since it has a detection device, one robot can put a pad on a bag bundle, and the subsequent work of stacking the bag bundle on a container can be efficiently performed.
In addition, since the position of the container and the detection of the pad and the bag bundle can be detected, the supply failure of the pad and the bag bundle can be prevented, and the container can be accurately stacked.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a layout in which the automatic bag packing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a bag making line.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the robot hand device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view in a state where the side wall of the container is removed when the container is stacked.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bag-making machine 2 Corner cut machine 3 Bundling device 4 Tray transport device 5 Robot 6 Container transport conveyor 10 Bucket 11 Conveyor 12 Pusher 13 Punching device 14 Conveyor 18 Robot main body 19 Robot arm 20 Robot hand device 23 Parallel chuck device 24 X- Y coordinate detection device 25 Pat suction device 26 Thickness detection device 27 Cylinder 29 Gripping claw 31 Air cylinder 33 Photoelectric tube 35, 36 Detection piece 38, 39 Proximity switch 42 Mounting table 45 Container 46 Pallet 47 Container main body 48 Partition plate 49 Anti-displacement bar 51 bag bundle 52 pat 53 gap A binding unit B transfer position to tray C loading position D transfer position to container E container loading position F bag bundle loading position G container unloading position

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B65B 25/14 B65B 5/00-5/12 B65B 17/02 B65B 35/00-35/58

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A step of bundling a plurality of stacked bags, a step of stacking the bundled bags in a tray conveyed by a tray conveyance device, changing two directions and stacking two bundles, and transferring the bags to the tray A step of placing a pad on the upper surface of the bag bundle that has been performed, and a storing step in a container for holding a bag bundle group in which a pad is placed on the upper part from the tray by a robot and sequentially stacking and storing the bag bundle in a container for bag transport, A method for automatically packing bags, wherein two containers each having a top and a bottom overlapped with each other are stacked in the container as one stage, and the containers are stored in a multi-stage state with a pad interposed between the stages. 2. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the position of the container is detected before the storage of the bag bundle in the container is started.
2. The automatic bag packing method according to claim 1, wherein the coordinates are automatically set, and the robot hand moves based on the set coordinates to store the bag bundle in the container. 3. The automatic bag according to claim 1, wherein the pad is stored in a pocket of an empty container, and is taken out of the pocket by a robot and placed on an upper surface of a bag bundle stacked on a tray. Packing method. 4. A binding device for binding a predetermined number of stacked bags, a tray transport device for transporting a tray on which the bag bundle is placed, and a robot for automatically stacking and storing the bag bundle in a container, wherein the robot is the tray. And a robot hand device having a pad suction device for stacking pads on a bag bundle loaded on a container, and a chuck device for gripping a bag bundle group on which pads are stacked and stacking them on a container. Automatic bag packing device. 5. The automatic bag packing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a container transport conveyor for transporting the container to a container loading position, a bag bundle stacking position, and a container unloading position. 6. The loading robot has an XY coordinate detecting device for detecting the position of the container in a robot hand device, and detects at least two positions of the container with the XY coordinate detecting device. 6. The automatic bag packing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the XY coordinates are automatically set, and the robot hand device is moved based on the set coordinates. 7. A hand-held base fixed to a robot arm, a parallel chuck device for holding a bag bundle on the hand base, and XY coordinates for detecting a position of a container for setting XY coordinates. A robot hand device for a bag stacking robot, comprising a detection device and a pad suction device for suctioning a pad. 8. The robot hand device according to claim 7, wherein a thickness detection device for detecting the number of putts and a bundle of bags in the container is attached to the hand base.