CN114275543A

CN114275543A - Conveying system

Info

Publication number: CN114275543A
Application number: CN202111170157.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 佐藤史朗; 仓田茂; 吉田昇悟
Original assignee: Nidec Sankyo Corp
Current assignee: Nidec Sankyo Corp
Priority date: 2020-10-01
Filing date: 2021-10-08
Publication date: 2022-04-05
Also published as: JP2022059213A

Abstract

A conveying system capable of shortening tact time even when one tray is separated from a stack tray and conveyed. A first drive unit (34) moves the pair of holding members (33) to hold a second pallet (10B) of the stack pallets (10) supported from below by the movable support unit (35), a third drive unit (38) separates the first pallet (10A) from the second pallet by moving the movable support unit and the pallet downward after the second drive unit (37) moves the pallet member (36) to the separation position (36A) and places the first pallet on the stage (41), a second drive unit moves the pallet member to the retreat position (36B) after the first pallet is placed on the stage, and a transfer unit (4) moves the stage from the placement position (40A) to the transfer position (40B) after the second drive unit moves the pallet member to the retreat position (36B).

Description

Conveying system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a conveyance system for conveying a workpiece.

Background

A transport system to be incorporated into an assembly line of a liquid crystal display device used in a mobile device or the like is known (for example, see patent document 1). The conveying system described in patent document 1 includes a placement unit on which trays are placed in a stacked state, a tray separation mechanism for separating a first tray disposed at the uppermost layer of the stacked trays placed on the placement unit, and a conveying robot for conveying the separated first tray onto a tray stage.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2020 and 21795

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem to be solved by the invention

In the conveying system described in patent document 1, since the conveying robot conveys the first tray disposed at the uppermost layer among the stack trays, the height of the stack trays changes according to the number of the stack trays. Therefore, the carrying time of the carrying robot differs depending on the height of the stack tray. As a result, there is a problem that it is difficult to shorten the tact time of the conveying system.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a conveyance system capable of shortening tact time even when one tray is separated from stacked trays and conveyed.

Technical scheme for solving technical problem

In order to solve the above-described problems, a conveyance system according to the present invention includes: a tray separating mechanism including a holding portion that holds a stack tray in which trays capable of accommodating workpieces are stacked in a stack, and a separating portion that separates a first tray disposed at a lowermost layer of the stack tray from a second tray disposed on the first tray; and a conveying unit including a stage on which the first tray is placed after the first tray is separated by the tray separating mechanism, and conveying the first tray by moving the stage from a placement position to a conveying position, wherein the holding unit includes: a pair of holding members for holding the stacking tray from an orthogonal direction orthogonal to a conveying direction; and a first driving unit that moves the pair of holding members in the orthogonal direction, wherein the separating unit includes: a movable support portion that supports the stack tray from below; a claw member entering between the first tray and the second tray; a second driving unit configured to move the claw member between a separation position where the claw member enters between the first tray and the second tray and a retreat position where the claw member leaves between the first tray and the second tray; and a third driving portion that moves the movable support portion and the claw portion in the vertical direction, the first driving portion moving the pair of holding members, to hold the second tray of the stack trays supported from below by the movable support portion, the third driving portion moves the claw member to the separation position after the second driving portion moves the claw member, separating the first tray from the second tray by moving the movable support portion and the claw member downward, and the second driving unit moves the claw member to the retracted position after the first tray is placed on the stage, the conveying unit moves the stage from the loading position to the conveying position after the second driving unit moves the claw member to the retracted position.

In the present invention, the first driving unit moves the pair of holding members to hold the second pallet among the stack pallets supported from below by the movable support unit, the third driving unit separates the first pallet from the second pallet by moving the movable support unit and the claw unit downward after the second driving unit moves the claw member to the separation position, and places the first pallet on the stage, the second driving unit moves the claw member to the retreat position after the first pallet is placed on the stage, and the conveying unit moves the stage from the placement position to the conveying position after the second driving unit moves the claw member to the retreat position. Therefore, the carrying system of the present invention separates the first tray disposed at the lowermost layer among the stacking trays, and carries the separated first tray. Therefore, the tray separating mechanism can separate one tray from the stack tray in a constant cycle regardless of the number of stack trays. This can shorten the tact time of the conveyance system. Further, if the tray is configured as described above, a robot for conveying the separated tray is not necessary.

In the present invention, the following manner may be adopted: the pair of holding members each include: an abutting portion abutting against an end portion of the tray in the orthogonal direction; and a pair of positioning end portions for positioning both end portions of the tray in the conveying direction.

In the present invention, the following manner may be adopted: the tray conveying device includes a positioning unit that positions the first tray conveyed to the conveying position by the conveying unit. In this case, in the present invention, it is preferable that the tray has a rectangular shape, the positioning portion includes a pair of positioning members that position two corners of a diagonal line of the first tray, respectively, and the pair of positioning members abut against the corners by moving in the direction of the diagonal line. With this configuration, the positioning member moves in the direction along the diagonal line of the first tray to come into contact with the two corners on the diagonal line of the first tray, and therefore, the first tray can be easily positioned in the conveying direction and the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the conveying direction.

In the present invention, it is preferable to have: a stacking mechanism that stacks the first tray positioned by the positioning portion on another first tray; and a tray discharge unit including a placement unit on which the first tray is stacked, the stacking mechanism including: a lower claw portion for supporting the bottom surface of the first tray; and an upper claw portion that abuts against the first tray from above, the stacking mechanism pressing the upper claw portion against the first tray from above when stacking the first tray on the other first tray. With this configuration, when the first tray is stacked on another first tray, the first tray can be reliably stacked.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the placement portion is located below the positioning portion. With such a configuration, the installation area of the conveyance system can be designed to be compact.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the tray discharging unit includes a tray feeding unit configured to discharge the stacked first trays from the placing unit after stacking a predetermined number of the first trays. In this case, in the present invention, it is preferable that the tray feeding section is located below the tray separating mechanism and vertically overlaps the tray separating mechanism. With such a configuration, the installation area of the conveyance system can be designed to be compact.

Effects of the invention

In the conveying system of the present invention, even when one tray is separated from the stacked trays and conveyed, the trays can be separated in a constant cycle, so that the tact time of the conveying system can be shortened.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conveyance system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the handling system.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the handling system.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the supply mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the tray separating mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the tray separating mechanism as viewed from the X-axis direction.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the positioning portion and the stacking mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the tray discharging unit.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the tray discharging unit.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the tray separating mechanism.

Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the tray separating mechanism.

Fig. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the stacking mechanism.

Description of the reference numerals

1 … handling system; 2 … supply mechanism; 3 … tray separating mechanism; 4 … conveying part; 5 … location part; 6 … stacking mechanism; 7 … tray discharge part; 10 … trays; 10a … first tray; 10B … second tray; 10a … flange portion; 21 … conveying part; 22 … lifting portion; 23 … stage; 24 … driving part; 25 … a first stage; 26 … second stage; 27 … a support portion; 28 … up-down driving part; 31 … holding part; 32 … separation section; 33 … holding member; 34 … a first drive part; 35 … movable support; 36 … jaw members; 36a … disengaged position; 36B … retracted position; 37 … second driving part; 38 … a third drive section; 39 … a base member; 40a … placement position; 40B … carry position; 41 … stage; 51 … a positioning member; 52 … driving part; 61 … holding part; 62 … drive section; a 63 … jaw portion; a 64 … pawl drive; 65 … a base member; 66 … mounting plate; 71 … placing part; 72 … tray sending out part; 73 … up-down driving part; 75 … a drive section; 76 … stage; 76a … first part; 76B … second part; 76C … third part; 77 … driving part; 78 … a lifting portion; 78a … first raised portion; 78B … second raised portion; 79. 79A, 79B, 79C … placement parts; 80. 80A, 80B, 80C … up-down driving part; 81 … trolley; 82 … placing part; 331 … a main body portion; 332 … abutment; 333 … locating the ends; 334 … a first jaw portion; 335 … second jaw; 336 … supporting the pawl; 337 … a base; 338 … supporting the jaw portion; 339 … base; 361 … supporting the pawl; 362 … base portion; 511 … first part; 512 … second part; 631 … lower jaw portion; 632 … an upper jaw portion; 651 … support the member; 652 … a base member; 711 … support member; 761 … protrusion; 791 … support members; 821 … supporting the component; 822 ….

Detailed Description

(first embodiment)

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the case where the workpiece is a display panel will be mainly described. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conveyance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a top view of the handling system. Fig. 3 is a front view of the handling system.

(entire construction of the carrying system 1)

The conveying system 1 of the present embodiment is incorporated into a manufacturing line of a small-sized liquid crystal display used for a portable device or the like. The conveyance system 1 is a system including: for conveying an empty tray 10 for accommodating display panels processed in another process, and conveying the tray 10 accommodating the display panels to the next process. As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the conveying system 1 includes a supply mechanism 2 and a tray separation mechanism 3, the supply mechanism 2 supplies a stack tray 10 in which empty trays 10 are stacked in a stack, and the tray separation mechanism 3 holds the supplied stack tray 10 and separates a first tray 10A disposed at the lowermost layer among the stack trays 10. The conveying system 1 includes a stage 41 on which the first pallet 10A is placed after the first pallet 10A is separated by the pallet separating mechanism 3, and a conveying unit 4 that conveys the first pallet 10A by moving the stage 41 from the placement position 40A to the conveying position 40B.

The conveying system 1 further includes a positioning unit 5 for positioning the first pallet 10A conveyed to the conveying position 40B by the conveying unit 4. In the present embodiment, the display panel is accommodated in the first tray 10A positioned by the positioning portion 5 by a robot not shown.

In this specification, the direction in which the stage 41 moves is referred to as the X-axis direction. The vertical direction is defined as the Z-axis direction. In the X-axis direction, the direction in which the stage 41 conveys the tray 10 is defined as X1, and the opposite direction is defined as X2. The Y-axis direction is an orthogonal direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. In the Y-axis direction, one direction is a Y1 direction, and the opposite direction is a Y2 direction. In the Z-axis direction, the upper side is a Z1 direction, and the lower side is a Z2 direction.

The conveying system 1 includes a stacking mechanism 6 for stacking the first pallet 10A positioned by the positioning unit 5 on the other first pallet 10A. The conveying system 1 includes a tray discharge unit 7, and the tray discharge unit 7 includes a placement unit 71 on which the first tray 10A is stacked. The tray discharge portion 7 is located in the Z2 direction of the positioning portion 5. After the predetermined number of trays 10 are stacked on the placement portion 71, the tray discharge portion 7 discharges the stacked trays 10 in the X2 direction.

Here, the tray 10 of the present embodiment will be explained. The tray 10 of the present embodiment is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape. A recess for accommodating the display panel is formed on the upper surface of the tray 10. A frame-shaped flange 10a (see fig. 6) is formed on the outer periphery of the lower portion of the tray 10.

(supply means 2)

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the supply mechanism 2. As shown in fig. 1 to 4, the supply mechanism 2 includes a conveying section 21 that conveys the stacked trays 10, and a lifting section 22 that moves the stacked trays 10 in the Z-axis direction. The conveying unit 21 includes a stage 23 on which the stacked pallet 10 is placed, and a driving unit 24 for reciprocating the stage 23 in the X-axis direction. The stage 23 has a substantially rectangular plate shape. The stage 23 includes a first stage 25 disposed on the X1 direction side and a second stage 26 disposed on the X2 direction side. The first stage 25 and the second stage 26 are connected to the driving unit 24 at a predetermined interval. The driving unit 24 is constituted by an electric cylinder or the like.

The lifting section 22 moves the stack tray 10 placed on the stage 23 in the Z-axis direction. The lifting unit 22 includes a pair of support portions 27 for supporting the stack tray 10 from below, and a vertical driving unit 28 for reciprocating the support portions 27 in the Z-axis direction. The support portion 27 is a member that is long in the X-axis direction, and is longer than the tray 10 in the X-axis direction. The support portions 27 are located on both sides of the stage 23 in the Y axis direction. The distance in the Y-axis direction of the support portion 27 is shorter than the dimension in the Y-axis direction of the tray 10. The up-down driving unit 28 is constituted by an air cylinder or the like. The vertical driving unit 28 moves the support unit 27 from a position lower than the stage 23 to a position upper than the stage 23.

(tray separating mechanism 3)

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the tray separating mechanism 3. Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the tray separating mechanism 3 as viewed from the X-axis direction. As shown in fig. 1, 2, 5, and 6, the tray separating mechanism 3 includes a holding portion 31 that holds the stack trays 10, and a separating portion 32 that separates a first tray 10A disposed at the lowermost layer of the stack trays 10 from a second tray 10B disposed on the first tray 10A. The holding portion 31 includes a pair of holding members 33 that hold the stack tray 10, and a pair of first driving portions 34 that move the holding members 33 in the Y-axis direction.

The holding members 33 are located on both sides of the stacking tray 10 in the Y-axis direction. The holding member 33 includes a plate-like main body 331 extending in the X-axis direction, an abutting portion 332 abutting against an end of the tray 10 in the Y-axis direction, a pair of positioning ends 333 for positioning both ends of the tray 10 in the X-axis direction, a first claw 334, and a second claw 335. The body 331 is a metal plate member.

The first claw portion 334 is formed of a metal plate. The first claw portion 334 is provided in two spaced apart in the X-axis direction. The first claw portion 334 includes a supporting claw portion 336 protruding from an end portion of the contact portion 332 on the Z2 direction side, and a base portion 337 positioned between the body portion 331 and the contact portion 332. The second claw portion 335 is formed of a metal plate. The second claw portion 335 includes a supporting claw portion 338 protruding from an end portion of the positioning end portion 333 on the Z2 direction side, and a base portion 339 connecting the main body portion 331 and the positioning end portion 333.

The contact portion 332 is made of resin, hard rubber, or the like, and is a rectangular parallelepiped long in the Z-axis direction. The length of the contact portion 332 in the Z-axis direction is approximately the same as the length in the Z-axis direction when 4 to 6 trays 10 are stacked. In the present embodiment, four abutting portions 332 are provided. Each of the two abutting portions 332 is fixed to the main body portion 331 via the base portion 337 by screws or the like. The positioning end 333 is a rectangular parallelepiped made of resin, hard rubber, or the like and is long in the Z-axis direction. The positioning end portions 333 are fixed to both ends of the main body portion 331 in the X axis direction via the base portions 339. The interval of the positioning ends 333 in the X-axis direction is slightly larger than the dimension of the tray 10 in the X-axis direction.

The first driving unit 34 is constituted by an air cylinder or the like. The first driving unit 34 moves the holding member 33 in the Y-axis direction, and the holding member 33 moves at both ends of the tray 10 in the Y-axis direction from the interval where the abutting portion 332 abuts against the flange portion 10a of the tray 10 to the interval where the abutting portion 332 does not abut against the flange portion 10a of the tray 10. The holding portion 31 holds the tray 10 by the abutting portion 332 abutting against the flange portion 10a of the tray 10. The first claw 334 and the second claw 335 overlap the flange portion 10a of the pallet 10 in the Z-axis direction when the pallet 10 is held by the holding portion 31.

The separating portion 32 is located on the Z2 direction side of the holding portion 31. The separation unit 32 includes: a pair of movable support portions 35 for supporting the tray 10 from below; a claw member 36 that enters between the first tray 10A and the second tray 10B; a second driving unit 37 that moves the claw members 36 between a separation position 36A at which the claw members 36 enter between the first tray 10A and the second tray 10B and a retreat position 36B at which the claw members 36 leave from between the first tray 10A and the second tray 10B; and a third driving portion 38 for moving the movable support portion 35 and the claw member 36 in the Z-axis direction.

The movable support portion 35 is a plate-like member long in the X-axis direction. The movable support portion 35 is located inward of the holding member 33 in the Y-axis direction. The movable support portion 35 is attached to the third driving portion 38 via a base member 39. The claw member 36 is formed of a metal plate. The claw member 36 is located inside the holding member 33 at the central portion of the holding member 33. When the claw member 36 is moved in the Z1 direction by the third driving portion 38, the claw member 36 moves between the two first claw portions 334. The claw member 36 includes a supporting claw portion 361 protruding inward in the Y-axis direction, and a base portion 362 curved in the Z2 direction from an end portion of the supporting claw portion 361 in the Y-axis direction. The supporting claw 361 is positioned on the Z1 direction side with respect to the end of the movable supporting portion 35 in the Z1 direction. The pawl member 36 is attached to the cylinder of the second drive unit 37 via the base 362.

The second driving unit 37 and the third driving unit 38 are constituted by air cylinders or the like. The second driving unit 37 is attached to the third driving unit 38 via a base member 39. Therefore, the third driving portion 38 moves the movable support portion 35 and the claw member 36 in the Z-axis direction by moving the base member 39 in the Z-axis direction.

(conveyance section 4)

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the carrying unit 4 is constituted by an electric cylinder or the like, and reciprocates the stage 41 in the X-axis direction. The stage 41 includes three support members extending in the X-axis direction. The conveying unit 4 moves the stage 41 from the placement position 40A to the conveying position 40B. Here, the mounting position 40A is a position overlapping with the tray separating mechanism 3 in the Z-axis direction. The conveyance position 40B is a position overlapping the positioning portion 5 in the Z-axis direction.

(positioning part 5)

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the positioning portion 5 and the stacking mechanism 6. As shown in fig. 7, the positioning portion 5 is located on the X1 direction side of the tray separating mechanism 3. Two positioning portions 5 are arranged so as to sandwich the corner portion 10B on the diagonal line of the first tray 10A when the first tray 10A is conveyed to the conveying position 40B by the conveying portion 4. The positioning unit 5 includes a positioning member 51 that abuts against the corner portion 10b of the first tray 10A, and a driving unit 52 that moves the positioning member 51. The positioning member 51 includes a first portion 511 that abuts an end portion on the X-direction side of the first tray and a second portion 512 that abuts an end portion on the Y-direction side of the first tray 10A. The first portion 511 and the second portion 512 are orthogonal.

The driving unit 52 is constituted by an air cylinder or the like. The driving section 52 moves the positioning member 51 in a direction of a diagonal line of the first tray 10A. The positioning member 51 is moved by the driving unit 52 from a position where it abuts against the first tray 10A to a position where it does not abut against the first tray 10A. When the positioning member 51 abuts against the first tray 10A, the first tray 10A is positioned in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

(Stacking mechanism 6)

As shown in fig. 7, the stacking mechanism 6 includes a holding portion 61 that holds the first tray 10A, and a driving portion 62 that moves the holding portion 61 in the Z-axis direction. The holding portion 61 includes a claw portion 63 that engages with the flange portion 10A of the first tray 10A, a claw driving portion 64 that moves the claw portion 63 in the Y-axis direction, an attachment plate 66 to which the claw portion 63 is attached, and a base member 65 to which the claw driving portion 64 is fixed and which is attached to the driving portion 62.

The claw portion 63 is a member extending in the X-axis direction, and two claw portions are provided in the X-axis direction. The claw portion 63 is configured to: when the first tray 10A is conveyed to the conveyance position 40B, both sides of the first tray 10A in the Y axis direction are sandwiched. The pawl 63 includes a lower pawl 631 that supports the bottom surface of the flange 10a and an upper pawl 632 that abuts the upper surface of the flange 10 a. The pawl 63 is attached to the pawl driving portion 64 via an attachment plate 66.

The pawl driving section 64 is constituted by an air cylinder or the like. The pawl driving portion 64 moves the pawl portion 63 in the Y-axis direction, and the pawl portions 63 move at both ends of the first tray 10A in the Y-axis direction so that the interval at which the flange portion 10A of the first tray 10A is supported by the lower pawl portion 631 becomes the interval at which the flange portion 10A of the first tray 10A is not supported by the lower pawl portion 631.

The base member 65 includes a support member 651 for holding the claw drive portion 64, and a base member 652 connected to an end of the support member 651. The support member 651 extends in the X-axis direction, and an end portion on the X1 direction side is connected to the base member 652. The base member 652 is positioned on the X1 direction side of the first tray 10A when the first tray 10A is conveyed to the conveyance position 40B. The base member 652 is attached to the driving portion 62.

The driving unit 62 is constituted by an electric cylinder or the like. After the holding portion 61 holds the first tray 10A, the driving portion 62 moves the holding portion 61 in the Z2 direction. By moving the holding portion 61 in the Z2 direction, the stacking mechanism 6 stacks the first tray 10A on the placement portion 71.

(tray discharge part 7)

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the tray discharging unit 7. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the tray discharging unit 7. As shown in fig. 1, 3, 8, and 9, the tray discharging unit 7 includes a placement unit 71, a tray feeding unit 72 that discharges the tray 10 placed on the placement unit 71, and a carriage 81 that takes out the tray 10 discharged from the tray feeding unit 72. The mounting portion 71 is moved in the Z-axis direction by the vertical driving portion 73. The mounting portion 71 includes two support members 711 extending in the X-axis direction. The supporting members 711 are arranged at intervals shorter than the dimension of the tray 10 in the Y-axis direction. The support member 711 is located outside the stage 76 described later in the Y axis direction. The vertical driving unit 73 moves the support member 711 in the Z-axis direction via a link member. The up-down driving unit 73 is constituted by an air cylinder or the like.

The tray feeding section 72 vertically overlaps the supply mechanism 2 and the tray separating mechanism 3. The tray feeding unit 72 includes a stage 76 for conveying the stack tray 10, a driving unit 77 for moving the stage 76, and a lifting unit 78 for lifting the stack tray 10.

The stage 76 extends in the X-axis direction. The stage 76 is sized to be able to place three stacking trays 10 in the X-axis direction. The stage 76 includes a first portion 76A, a second portion 76B, and a third portion 76C on which the stacking tray 10 is placed. The first portion 76A, the second portion 76B, and the third portion 76C are arranged in the X2 direction in this order. When the stack tray 10 is placed, the first portion 76A, the second portion 76B, and the third portion 76C are divided by the projection 761 for positioning the tray 10 in the X-axis direction.

The driving unit 77 is constituted by an electric cylinder or the like. The driving unit 77 reciprocates the stage 76 in the X-axis direction. The lifting unit 78 includes a placement unit 79 for placing the tray 10 thereon and a vertical driving unit 80 for moving the placement unit 79 in the Z-axis direction. The mounting portion 79 includes two support members 791 extending in the X-axis direction. The supporting members 791 are arranged at intervals shorter than the dimension of the tray 10 in the Y-axis direction. The support member 791 is located outside the stage 76 in the Y-axis direction.

The vertical driving unit 80 moves the supporting member 791 in the Z-axis direction via the connecting member. The up-down driving unit 80 is constituted by an air cylinder or the like. In the present embodiment, the lift portion 78 includes a first lift portion 78A, a second lift portion 78B, and a third lift portion 78C. The first lift portion 78A, the second lift portion 78B, and the third lift portion 78C are arranged in this order in the X2 direction. The lifting portions 78 respectively lift the stacking trays 10 moved by the stages 76.

The carriage 81 is used to take out the tray 10 discharged by the tray feeder 72 from the tray discharger 7. The carriage 81 is positioned at an end of the tray feeding portion 72 in the X2 direction, and overlaps the third lifting portion 78C in the Y axis direction. The carriage 81 includes a placement portion 82 on which the tray 10 is placed. The mounting portion 82 includes two support members 821. The support member 821 is located outside the third lift portion 78C in the Y-axis direction. The support member 821 is located closer to the Z2 direction than the stage 76. The support member 821 is provided with six support columns 822 for positioning the tray 10. The carriage 81 includes a connecting portion connected to the tray feeding portion 72. Except for the case where the pallet 10 is taken out by the carriage 81, the connection portion is connected to the pallet feeding portion 72, and the carriage 81 is fixed.

(operation of supply mechanism 2)

Next, the operation of the supply mechanism 2 will be described. Before the drive unit 24 moves the stage 23 in the X1 direction, the lift unit 22 overlaps the first stage 25 in the Y axis direction. When the driving unit 24 moves the stage 23 in the X1 direction, the first stage 25 moves to a position overlapping the tray separating mechanism 3, and the second stage 26 moves to a position overlapping the lift portion 22. At this time, the stack tray 10 placed on the first stage 25 is supplied to the tray separating mechanism 3, and the stack tray 10 placed on the second stage 26 is lifted up by the vertical driving portion 28 moving the supporting portion 27 in the Z1 direction with respect to the second stage 26. Next, after the stage 23 is moved in the X2 direction by the driving unit 24, the support unit 27 is moved in the Z2 direction from the first stage 25 by the vertical driving unit 28, and the stack tray 10 is placed on the first stage 25. The next stacking tray 10 is placed on the second stage 26 by an operator or the like.

(operation of tray separation mechanism 3)

Next, the operation of the tray separating mechanism 3 will be described. Fig. 10 and 11 are diagrams illustrating the operation of the tray separating mechanism 3. Fig. 10 and 11 show the tray separating mechanism 3 on the Y1 direction side.

As shown in fig. 10 (a), the supply mechanism 2 supplies the stack tray 10 placed on the first stage 25 to the tray separating mechanism 3. At this time, the stage 41 of the conveying unit 4 is located at the conveying position 40B. The movable support portion 35 is positioned closer to the Z2 direction than the first stage 25. The claw member 36 is located at the retreat position 36B. The holding portion 31 is located at a position not abutting against the stack tray 10.

As shown in fig. 10 (b), when the third driving unit 38 moves the movable support unit 35 in the Z1 direction, the stack tray 10 is placed on the movable support unit 35. At this time, the supporting claw 336 of the first claw 334 and the supporting claw 361 of the claw member 36 are positioned between the flange portion 10A of the first pallet 10A and the flange portion 10A of the second pallet 10B in the Y-axis direction. After the stack tray 10 is placed on the movable support portion 35, the first stage 25 moves in the X2 direction.

Next, as shown in fig. 10 (c), when the first driving unit 34 moves the holding unit 31 in the direction of the tray 10, the contact portion 332 comes into contact with the flange portion 10a of the second tray 10B. Since the abutting portion 332 abuts against the flange portion 10a of the second tray 10B, the holding portion 31 holds the stack tray 10. At this time, the supporting claw 336 of the first claw 334 supports the bottom surface of the second pallet 10B.

The second driving portion 37 moves the supporting claw 361 of the claw member 36 to the separation position 36A between the flange portion 10A of the first tray 10A and the flange portion 10A of the second tray 10B. Further, the stage 41 moves from the conveyance position 40B to the placement position 40A.

Next, as shown in fig. 10 (d), after the claw member 36 is moved to the separation position 36A, the third driving portion 38 moves the claw member 36 and the movable supporting portion 35 in the Z2 direction. When the third driving unit 38 moves the claw member 36 and the movable support unit 35 in the Z2 direction, the first tray and the second tray are separated, and the first tray 10A is placed on the stage 41.

Next, as shown in fig. 10 (e), after the first tray 10A is placed on the stage 41, the second driving unit 37 moves the claw member 36 to the retracted position 36B. As shown in fig. 11 (f), after the claw member 36 is moved to the retracted position 36B, the third driving unit further moves the claw member 36 and the movable supporting unit 35 in the Z2 direction. Thereby, the movable support portion 35 is separated from the bottom surface of the first tray 10A.

Next, as shown in fig. 11 (g), the stage 41 is moved from the placement position 40A to the conveyance position 40B. As shown in fig. 11 (h), after the stage 41 moves from the placement position 40A to the conveyance position 40B, the third driving unit 38 moves the claw member 36 and the movable support unit 35 in the Z1 direction until the movable support unit 35 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the first pallet 10A.

As shown in fig. 11 (i), after the movable support portion 35 abuts against the bottom surface of the first tray 10A, the second driving portion 37 moves the holding portion 31 to a position where it does not abut against the tray 10. Then, as shown in fig. 11 (j), when the third driving unit 38 moves the movable supporting portion 35 in the Z2 direction, the stack tray 10 is placed on the movable supporting portion 35. At this time, the supporting claw 336 of the first claw 334 and the supporting claw 361 of the claw member 36 are positioned between the flange portion 10A of the first pallet 10A and the flange portion 10A of the second pallet 10B in the Y-axis direction. The tray separating mechanism 3 repeats the operations of fig. 10 (c) to 11 (j) until the tray 10 is not stacked. When a tray detector (not shown) detects that there is no tray 10, the feeding mechanism 2 feeds the next stack tray 10 to the tray separating mechanism 3 as shown in fig. 10 (a).

(operation of the carrying section 4, positioning section 5 and stacking mechanism 6)

Next, the operations of the conveying unit 4, the positioning unit 5, and the stacking mechanism 6 will be described. Fig. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the stacking mechanism 6.

First, after the first tray 10A is placed on the stage 41 by the tray separating mechanism 3, the carrying unit 4 moves the stage 41 to the carrying position 40B. After the stage 41 has moved to the conveyance position 40B, the positioner 5 moves the positioning member 51 in the direction of the first pallet 10A by the drive unit 52. When the positioning member 51 moves, the positioning member 51 abuts against the corner 10b on the diagonal line of the first tray 10A, and therefore the first tray 10A is positioned in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

After the first tray 10A is positioned, a robot, not shown, accommodates a display panel processed in another step in the first tray 10A. After the display panel is accommodated in the first tray 10A, as shown in fig. 12 (a), the claw sections 63 are moved in the direction of the first tray 10A by the claw driving section 64, and both ends of the claw sections 63 in the Y-axis direction of the first tray 10A are moved to positions overlapping with the flange sections 10A of the tray 10 in the up-down direction. After the claw portion 63 moves, the positioning portion 5 moves the positioning member 51 to release the positioning of the first tray 10A.

As shown in fig. 12 (b), after the positioning of the first tray 10A is released, the driving unit 62 moves the claw 63 in the Z1 direction, thereby moving the first tray 10A in the Z1 direction. After the first tray 10A moves in the Z1 direction, the stage 41 moves to the placement position 40A.

As shown in fig. 12 (c), after the stage 41 has moved to the placement position 40A, the drive unit 62 moves the claw portion 63 in the Z2 direction. Thereby, the tray 10 is stacked on the tray 10 in the stacked state. When the trays 10 are stacked, as shown in fig. 12 (d), the driving portion 62 moves the claw portion 63 in the Z2 direction so that the upper claw portion 632 presses the flange portion 10a of the tray 10 from above. Thereby, the tray 10 is reliably stacked on the uppermost layer of the tray 10 in the stacked state. After the trays 10 are stacked, as shown in fig. 12 (e), the driving portion 62 moves the pawl portions 63 into the interval where the lower pawl portions 631 do not support the flange portion 10A of the first tray 10A. Then, the stacking mechanism 6 repeats the operations (a) to (e) of fig. 12 until a tray detection sensor (not shown) detects that a predetermined number of trays 10 are stacked on the mounting portion 71.

(operation of tray discharge part 7)

Next, the operation of the tray discharging unit 7 will be described. Here, the stacking tray 10 is placed on the placement portion 79A of the first elevation portion 78A and the placement portion 79B of the second elevation portion 78B.

After a predetermined number of trays 10 are stacked on the mounting portion 71, the mounting portion 71 is moved in the Z2 direction by the driving portion 75. When the placement portion 71 moves in the Z2 direction, the stack tray 10 is placed on the first portion 76A of the stage 76. Similarly, the placement portion 79A is moved in the Z2 direction by the vertical driving portion 80A of the first lift portion 78A. When the placement portion 79A moves in the Z2 direction, the stack tray 10 is placed on the second portion 76B of the stage 76. Similarly, the placement portion 79B is moved in the Z2 direction by the vertical driving portion 80B of the second lift portion 78B. When the placement portion 79B moves in the Z2 direction, the stack tray 10 is placed on the third portion 76C of the stage 76.

After each stack tray 10 is placed on the stage 76, the stage 76 moves in the X2 direction. When the stage 76 moves in the X2 direction, the first portion 76A is positioned in the Z1 direction of the placement portion 79A, the second portion 76B is positioned in the Z1 direction of the placement portion 79B, and the third portion 76C is positioned in the Z1 direction of the placement portion 82 of the carriage 81.

After the stage 76 is moved in the X2 direction, the mounting portion 71 is moved in the Z1 direction from the stage 76 by the driving portion 75. The mounting portion 79A is moved in the Z1 direction from the stage 76 by the vertical driving portion 80A. Thereby, the stack tray 10 is moved from the first portion 76A to the placement portion 79A. The placement unit 79B is moved in the Z1 direction from the stage 76 by the vertical drive unit 80B. Thereby, the stack tray 10 is moved from the second portion 76B to the placement portion 79B. The mounting portion 79C is moved in the Z1 direction from the stage 76 by the vertical driving portion 80C. Thereby, the stack tray 10 moves from the third section 76C to the placement portion 79C. Then, the stage 76 moves in the X1 direction.

After the stage 76 moves in the X1 direction, the stacking mechanism 6 stacks the tray 10 on the placement portion 71. The mounting portion 79C is moved in the Z2 direction from the mounting portion 82 by the vertical driving portion 80C. Thereby, the stack tray 10 moves from the placement portion 79C to the placement portion 82.

When the stack tray 10 is placed on the placement portion 82, the operator moves the carriage 81 from the tray discharge portion 7. Thereby, the stack tray 10 is discharged from the conveying system 1.

(Effect of the present embodiment)

In the conveying system 1 of the present embodiment, the first drive unit 34 moves the pair of holding members 33 to hold the second tray 10B of the stack tray 10 supported from below by the movable support unit 35, the third drive unit 38 moves the claw member 36 to the separation position 36A by the second drive unit 37, and then moves the movable support unit 35 and the claw member 36 downward to separate the first tray 10A from the second tray 10B and place the first tray 10A on the stage 41, and after the first tray 10A is placed on the stage 41, the second drive unit 37 moves the claw member 36 to the retreat position 36B, and after the second drive unit 37 moves the claw member 36 to the retreat position 36B, the conveying unit 4 moves the stage 41 from the placement position 40A to the conveying position 40B. Therefore, the conveying system 1 of the present embodiment separates the first tray 10A disposed at the lowermost layer among the stack trays 10, and conveys the separated first tray 10A. Therefore, the tray separating mechanism 3 can separate one tray from the stack tray 10 in a constant cycle regardless of the number of trays 10. This can shorten the tact time of the conveyance system 1. Further, if the tray is configured as described above, a robot for conveying the separated tray is not necessary.

The conveying system 1 of the present embodiment includes the positioning unit 5 that positions the first pallet 10A conveyed to the conveying position 40B by the conveying unit 4. The positioning portion 5 includes a pair of positioning members 51 for positioning the two corners 10b on the diagonal line of the first tray 10A. The pair of positioning members 51 abut against the corner portions 10b by moving in the diagonal direction. With this configuration, the positioning member 51 moves in the direction of the diagonal line of the first tray 10A to abut against the two diagonal corner portions 10b of the first tray 10A, and therefore, positioning of the first tray 10A in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is facilitated.

The conveying system 1 of the present embodiment includes a stacking mechanism 6 and a tray discharging unit 7, and the stacking mechanism 6 stacks the first tray 10A on another tray 10 after the workpiece is accommodated in the first tray 10A positioned by the positioning unit 5, and the tray discharging unit 7 includes a placement unit 71 for stacking the first tray 10A. The stacking mechanism 6 includes a lower claw portion 631 that supports the bottom surface of the flange portion 10A of the first tray 10A, and an upper claw portion 632 that comes into contact with the flange portion 10A of the first tray 10A from above. When the first tray is stacked on another tray 10, the stacking mechanism 6 presses the upper claw portion 632 against the flange portion 10A of the first tray 10A from above. With this configuration, when the first tray 10A is stacked on another tray 10, the first tray 10A can be reliably stacked.

In the conveying system 1 of the present embodiment, the placement unit 71 is positioned below the positioning unit 5. With such a configuration, the installation area of the conveyance system 1 can be designed to be compact.

In the conveying system 1 of the present embodiment, the tray discharging unit 7 includes the tray feeding unit 72, and after a predetermined number of first trays 10A are stacked, the tray feeding unit 72 discharges the stacked first trays 10A from the placing unit 71. In this case, in the conveying system 1 of the present embodiment, the tray feeding unit 72 is located below the tray separating mechanism 3 and vertically overlaps the tray separating mechanism 3. With such a configuration, the installation area of the conveyance system 1 can be designed to be compact.

(other embodiments)

As another embodiment, the conveyance system 1 may be a system including: for carrying the tray 10 in which the display panel is accommodated and carrying the empty tray 10 from which the display panel is taken out. In this case, after the display panel is taken out from the first tray 10A by the robot, the stacking mechanism 6 stacks the first tray 10A on another first tray 10A.

Claims

1. A handling system, comprising:

a tray separating mechanism including a holding portion that holds a stack tray in which trays capable of accommodating workpieces are stacked in a stack, and a separating portion that separates a first tray disposed at a lowermost layer of the stack tray from a second tray disposed on the first tray, and

a conveying unit including a stage on which the first tray is placed after the first tray is separated by the tray separating mechanism, and conveying the first tray by moving the stage from a placing position to a conveying position,

the holding portion includes: a pair of holding members for holding the stacking tray from an orthogonal direction orthogonal to a conveying direction; and a first driving unit that moves the pair of holding members in the orthogonal direction,

the separation unit includes: a movable support portion that supports the stack tray from below; a claw member entering between the first tray and the second tray; a second driving unit configured to move the claw member between a separation position where the claw member enters between the first tray and the second tray and a retreat position where the claw member leaves from between the first tray and the second tray; and a third driving portion for moving the movable support portion and the claw portion in the vertical direction,

the first driving portion moves the pair of holding members to hold the second tray of the stack trays supported from below by the movable supporting portion,

the third driving unit separates the first tray from the second tray by moving the movable support unit and the claw member downward after the second driving unit moves the claw member to the separation position, and places the first tray on the stage,

the second driving unit moves the claw member to the retracted position after the first tray is placed on the stage,

the conveying unit moves the stage from the loading position to the conveying position after the second driving unit moves the claw member to the retracted position.

2. Handling system according to claim 1,

the pair of holding members each include: an abutting portion abutting against an end portion of the tray in the orthogonal direction; and a pair of positioning end portions for positioning both end portions of the tray in the conveying direction.

3. Handling system according to claim 1 or 2,

the first pallet is conveyed to the conveying position by the conveying unit and is positioned by the positioning unit.

4. Handling system according to claim 3,

the tray is in a rectangular shape,

the positioning part includes a pair of positioning members for positioning two corners of the first tray on a diagonal line,

the pair of positioning members abuts against the corner by moving in the diagonal direction.

5. Handling system according to claim 3, characterized in that it has:

a stacking mechanism that stacks the first tray positioned by the positioning portion on another first tray; and

a tray discharge unit including a placement unit on which the first tray is stacked,

the stacking mechanism includes: a lower claw portion for supporting the bottom surface of the first tray; and an upper claw portion which is abutted with the first tray from the upper part,

the stacking mechanism presses the upper claw portion against the first tray from above when stacking the first tray onto the other first tray.

6. Handling system according to claim 4, characterized in that it has:

a tray discharge unit including a placement unit for stacking the first trays,

7. Handling system according to claim 5 or 6,

the placing part is positioned below the positioning part.

8. Handling system according to claim 7,

the tray discharge unit includes a tray discharge unit configured to discharge the stacked first trays from the placement unit after stacking a predetermined number of the first trays.

9. Handling system according to claim 8,

the tray feeding portion is located below the tray separating mechanism and overlaps the tray separating mechanism in the up-down direction.