JP2000135631A - Transferring device and transferring method for carried object - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transferring device capable of transferring a carried object efficiently with its constitution made simple. SOLUTION: An encoder and a sensor are provided in order to detect the position and an interval between carried objects over a conveyor. The conveyor is equipped with a hand means 5 provided with absorbing members 6 and 6' absorbing and holding the carried object, a holding member moving means 7 capable of moving and adjusting the interval between the absorbing members 6 and 6', and with a hand moving means 8 moving the hand means from the holding position to the transferring position of the carried object. Based on the position of the carried object, the hand moving means 8 is moved so as to be controlled to the holding position of the carried object, and concurrently, based on an interval among the plural number of the carried objects, a control means is provided, which executes the moving control of the holding member moving means 7 so as to keep the interval capable of simultaneously holding the plural number of the carried objects.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for transferring objects to be transferred, which are transferred at irregular intervals on a transfer means, to an object storage body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is widely practiced to transfer objects to be conveyed arranged and conveyed on conveying means such as a conveyer to a storage body such as a box and to arrange and store them. The transported objects are often arranged at irregular intervals. At this time, as means for transferring the transported objects from the conveyor to the storage body, the transported objects are held one by one by one hand and transferred to the storage body. As another means, a plurality of holding members are attached to one hand so as to be able to move up and down, and each holding member is moved up and down independently to hold a transferred object. Then, after all the holding members hold the transported object, the hand is moved to the transfer position, and the plurality of transported objects are simultaneously stored in the storage body.

[0003]

However, among the above-mentioned conventional transfer means, in the case of the means for holding and transferring the transferred objects one by one with one hand, the transfer is performed when the hand is moved once. Since the transported objects are loaded one by one,
Work efficiency was poor.

On the other hand, in the case of means for attaching a plurality of holding means to one hand and transferring a plurality of objects to be conveyed, if the structure of the apparatus is extremely complicated, for example, each holding member must be able to move up and down. It was inevitable. Moreover, since the interval between the holding members is constant, it can be used only for the storage body corresponding to the interval, and the versatility is poor.

[0005] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to be able to efficiently transfer an object to be transported with a device having a simple structure and to appropriately cope with the storage interval of a storage body for storing the object to be transported. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for transferring a transferred object which are highly versatile.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for transferring an article to be transported, the transporting means for sequentially transporting a plurality of articles, and the position of the article in the transporting means. And an object position detecting means for detecting an interval between the plurality of objects, a hand means including a plurality of holding members for holding the plurality of objects, and the holding member provided in the hand means. A holding member moving unit that enables movement adjustment of an interval therebetween, and a hand that moves the hand unit from a holding position of the transferred object in the transfer unit to a transfer position of the transferred object outside the transfer unit. Moving means for controlling movement of the hand moving means to a holding position of the transferred object based on a position of the transferred object detected by the transferred object position detecting means, and detecting the transferred object position. Control means for controlling the movement of the holding member moving means to an interval capable of simultaneously holding the plurality of conveyed objects based on the interval between the plurality of conveyed objects detected by the means. Things.

At this time, the holding member moving means is attached to the pinion rotated by a drive motor and the adjacent holding member, and meshes with the pinion.
It is possible to provide a pair of racks that relatively move in opposite directions by rotating the pinion.

In the method of transferring a transferred object according to the present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problems, the position of the plurality of transferred objects transferred by the transfer unit in the transfer unit and the interval between the plurality of transferred objects are provided. Detecting the position data and the interval data, and, based on the interval data between the plurality of transported objects, a plurality of holding members for holding the plurality of transported objects, Moving the plurality of conveyed objects to an interval capable of simultaneously holding the conveyed objects, and, based on the position data of the conveyed objects, moving the hand means including the holding member to the holding position of the conveyed objects by the hand moving means. A step of moving, a step of holding and lifting the object by the holding member, and simultaneously moving the plurality of objects with respect to the object storage body storing the object. A step of moving the plurality of holding members by the holding member moving means so as to be an interval that can be accommodated, and moving the hand means by the hand moving means to a transfer position of the transferred object outside the transfer means. Moving the object to be released by holding it.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus for transferring a transferred object according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a hand unit, and FIG. 3 is a side view of a part cut away along the line YY of FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the hand moving means.

As shown in FIG. 1, an apparatus 1 for transferring a transferred object according to the present invention (hereinafter, simply referred to as a "transfer apparatus") 1
A first conveyor (hereinafter simply referred to as “conveyor”) 2 as a transport unit is provided. Conveyor 2 is shown in FIG.
Is driven by a motor MC shown in FIG. 2, and when the motor MC rotates and drives the conveyor 2,
An encoder E that outputs an output signal at predetermined intervals is provided. The control device 50 is provided with a counter (not shown) for counting an output signal from the encoder E,
The position of the conveyor 2 is measured. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 30 denotes a third conveyor for transporting the articles W, W... To the conveyor 2.

The frames 2A, 2A of the conveyor 2 are provided with guides 3 for arranging a plurality of objects W, W,... Conveyed sequentially by the conveyor 2 on the conveyor 2. Further, a transmission type photoelectric sensor for detecting whether or not a conveyed object has passed a predetermined position on the conveyor 2 is located slightly downstream of the position where the guide 3 is provided in the frames 2A of the conveyor 2 and 2A. Sensor 4
Is attached. The sensor 4, the encoder E and the control device 50 shown in FIG. The position of the object W on the conveyor 2 and the intervals between the plurality of objects W are detected by the object position detecting means. The sensor 4 only needs to be able to detect the passage of the transported object, and for example, other types of sensors such as a reflection type photoelectric sensor, a magnetic sensor, and an ultrasonic sensor can be used.

At a position slightly near the center of the conveyor 2 near the downstream end, a hand means 5 and a hand moving means 8 (see FIG. 4) for transferring the articles W, W... ing. The storage bodies S, S...
, And are sequentially conveyed in a direction opposite to the conveyor 2. Second
When transporting the storage body S by the conveyor 31, the guide 3
2 to align the storage bodies S, S. At the transfer position, the transported objects W, W... Are transferred by the hand means 5 and the hand moving means 8 and the fully-stored storage body S is moved by the pushing arm 33 shown by a virtual line at the unloading position. Is pushed out. Then, the pushed-out storage body S moves along the guide 34 in a storage body unloading direction (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the hand means 5 includes suction members 6, 6 'serving as holding members.
The two suction members 6, 6 'have substantially the same configuration,
To explain one of them, the suction member 6 (6 ')
Two suction cups 6B, 6 are provided below the suction cup holder 6A (6A ').
B (6B ', 6B') is fixed. The distance between the two suction members 6, 6 'can be adjusted by a suction member moving means 7 as a holding member moving means. The suction member moving means 7 includes:
Servo motor M0 is provided with a pair of racks 7B and 7B 'that mesh with pinion 7A, and is controlled by control device 50.
When the pinion 7A is rotated by (see FIG. 4), the pair of racks 7B and 7B 'are configured to move relatively in opposite directions along the arrow X direction.

First slide rails 7C and 7C 'are fixed to the pair of racks 7B and 7B' by bolts shown in FIG. 2, respectively.
Attraction members 6, 6 'are fixed to outer ends of C, 7C' by bolts shown in FIG. Then, when the pinion 7A is rotated to move the racks 7B and 7B 'relatively in the opposite direction along the arrow X direction, the suction members 6, 6' move relatively in the opposite direction with the movement. It has become.

Also, the first slide rails 7C, 7C '
Are adapted to move in a fitted state with respect to first guide blocks 7D, 7D, 7D ', 7D' fixed to a hand moving means 8, which will be described later. here,
First slide rail 7C and first guide blocks 7D, 7
D constitutes a known linear motion rolling guide. Further, the hand moving means 8 includes second slide rails 7E, 7E '.
Are fixed, and second guide blocks 7F, 7F 'are fixed to upper surfaces of the suction cup holders 6A, 6A' in the pair of suction members 6, 6 ', respectively. The second guide blocks 7F, 7F 'are provided movably with respect to the second guide rails 7E, 7E'. The second slide rail 7E and the second guide block 7F also form a known linear motion rolling guide.

With this configuration, the first slide rail 7
C, 7C 'and the second guide blocks 7F, 7F' move, but their movement directions are regulated by the first guide blocks 7D, 7D, 7D ', 7D' and the second slide rails 7E, 7E ', respectively. ing. Therefore, the moving direction of the suction members 6, 6 'is restricted so as to move only in the arrow X direction. Thus, the pair of suction members 6, 6 'move relatively in opposite directions. Reference numeral 7G is an axis serving as a rotation center of the pinion 7A. In addition, stoppers 6C, 6C 'are provided on the suction holders 6A, 6A', respectively. The stopper 6 </ b> C is for performing origin search of the suction member 6. That is, in a state where the power is turned on and the control device 50 can be controlled, the suction members 6 and 6 'are respectively moved inward, and the stoppers 6C and 6C' are brought into contact with the contact surfaces 8E and 8E 'of the plate 8D. Contact and perform the home search operation. The distance between the suction members 6 and 6 'in the abutted state is accurately measured in advance and stored in the memory for returning to the origin. Therefore, when the power is turned on, this home position return operation is performed, and the value set in the home position return memory is set.
The distance (moving position) between the suction members 6, 6 'can be accurately obtained by adding the movement amounts of the suction members 6, 6'. That is, the suction members 6, 6 'are moved to positions at predetermined intervals by a command to the servo motor M0, and the positioning is controlled.

As the hand moving means 8, for example, FIG.
A so-called parallel mechanism robot is used as shown in FIG. The hand moving means 8 includes the base 1 shown in FIG.
A plate 8 having three legs 8A, 8B, 8C respectively forming parallel links movable on the base 1A with respect to A, and bolts fixed to the three legs 8A, 8B, 8C.
D is moved in a three-dimensional space. The three legs 8A, 8B, 8C are controlled by servo motors (not shown), and move and position the plate 8D in a three-dimensional space. A technology relating to a robot using such a parallel mechanism mechanism is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-453.
No. 10, JP-A-6-509284, JP-A-6-509
This is a known technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 270077, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-150333, and the like.

In order to drive the hand moving means 8 comprising a robot having such a parallel mechanism, the control device 5
In response to a command from 0, three servo motors (not shown) are driven to control the movement of the three legs 8A, 8B, 8C. Also, in order to move the suction member moving means 7,
The drive of the servomotor M0 is controlled by a command from the control device 50. To determine the position of the transferred object W and the interval between the transferred objects W, the outputs of the encoder E and the sensor 4 are transmitted to the control device 50. The output signal from the encoder E is counted by a counter in the control device 50. Then, the position of the transferred object W and the interval between the transferred objects W, W may be obtained by the control device 50.

Next, the control of the method for transferring the transferred object according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 according to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the control of the method of transferring an article according to the present invention starts (step S1), the hand moving means 8 causes the hand means 5 to move.
Is moved to return to the preset home position. That is, the contact surfaces 8E and 8E 'of the plate 8D
The stoppers 6C and 6C 'are brought into contact with each other, and the set value for the origin position stored in the origin position (origin) memory is set (step S2). Next, first, the number N of the articles W to be detected is set to 1 (step S3). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the transferred object W flowing on the conveyor 2 is detected by the sensor 4 (Step S4). At this time, when the transported object W is detected, an output signal from the sensor 4 is transmitted to the control device 50. If the transferred object W is not detected, the process returns to step S4, and the same process is repeated until the transferred object W is detected.

When the object W is detected by the sensor 4, the position data of the object W on the conveyor 2 at the time of detection (when an output signal is transmitted to the control device 50) is transmitted from the encoder E. Is read from the counter of the control device 50 which is counting the output signal of the controller 50 (step S
5). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not two or more transferred objects W are detected (step S6).
Are not detected, the number N of the transferred objects W to be detected is set to 2 (step S7), and the process returns to step S4 to detect two or more transferred objects W, W. Repeat the same steps until On the other hand, in step S6,
For example, when two transported objects W and W are detected,
Based on the position data of the transferred object W, two transferred objects W,
The control device 50 obtains the interval data between W (the pitch (interval) between the suction members 6, 6 ') (step S8). The control device 5 is controlled so that the pitch between the suction members 6, 6 'is the same.
0 moves the suction members 6, 6 'by controlling the servo motor M0 of the suction member moving means 7 (step S9).

Subsequently, the current positions of the two transferred objects W, W are calculated (step S10). Here, the positions of the two transferred objects W, W are determined by the current position data of a counter in the control device 50 that counts the output signal from the encoder E, and when the transferred object W is detected by the sensor 4. And the position data of the counter. The control device 5 determines whether the two transported objects W have arrived at the holding position.
0 is determined (step S11). Conveyed object W,
It is sufficient to determine whether or not W has reached the holding position for any one of the two transported objects W and W. If the transported objects W, W have not reached the holding position, step S
Returning to step 10, the same steps are repeated. If the transported objects W have reached the holding position, the hand moving means 8
Then, the hand means 5 is moved, and the two transported objects W, W are sucked and picked by the sucking members 6, 6 '(step S12).

After the objects W, W are picked, the hand means 5 transfers the hand means 5 from the holding position to a transfer position outside the conveyor 2. During the transfer operation, the interval between the suction members 6 and 6 ′ needs to be equal to the storage interval of the storage body S that stores the transported objects W and W. Therefore, the suction members 6, 6 'are moved to the suction member moving means 7.
And the distance between the suction members 6 and 6 ′ is
(Step S13).
Thereafter, the transferred objects W, W are transferred by moving the hand means 5 by the hand moving means 8 (step S14). Then, the control device 50 determines whether or not the transfer of all the transferred objects W, W ... has been completed (step S15). As a result, when the transfer of all the conveyed articles W, W... Is completed, the control is ended (step S16). On the other hand, if the transferred object W that has not been transferred still remains on the conveyor 2, the process returns to step S3, and the same process is repeated. When the transported object W is fully stored in the storage body S, the storage body S is moved by the second conveyor 31, the pushing arm 33, and the like.

In the above embodiment, the suction member having the suction cup or the like is used as the holding member. However, another holding member such as a holding member for holding an object to be conveyed may be used. Although a so-called parallel mechanism robot is used as the hand moving means, any means can be used as long as the hand means can move and position in a three-dimensional space. Therefore, in addition to the parallel mechanism robot, for example, a well-known robot such as a three-axis orthogonal coordinate system robot, a cylindrical coordinate system robot, and an articulated robot may be used. Further, as the suction member moving means, a means having a pinion rotated by a drive motor and a pair of racks which move relatively in opposite directions by rotating the pinion by meshing with the pinion is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other types of suction member moving means may be used as appropriate. Examples of the suction member moving means include a friction drive system, a link system, a toothed pulley and a toothed belt system, and the like. That is, any suction member moving means that can move the pair of suction members may be used.

[0024]

As described above, according to the apparatus for transferring a transferred object according to the present invention, the transferred object can be efficiently transferred with a device having a simple structure. Further, it is possible to appropriately cope with the storage width of the storage body that stores the transported object, and it is possible to achieve versatility.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus for transferring a transferred object according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the hand means.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a part cut away in the YY direction of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a hand moving unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of control of a method of transferring a transferred object according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transfer device 2 (1st) Conveyor 4 Sensor 5 Hand means 6, 6 'Suction member 6A, 6A' Sucker holder 6B, 6B 'Suction cup 7 Suction member moving means 7A Pinion 7B Rack 8 Hand moving means 50 Control device E Encoder S Housing MC Motor W Workpiece

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiharu Maruta 1 Abiko, Abiko-shi, Chiba F-term in Hitachi Seiki Co., Ltd. (reference) 3C030 AA05 AA08 AA22 BC02 BC12

Claims (3)

[Claims] A transport unit that sequentially transports a plurality of transported objects; a transported object position detection unit that detects a position of the transported object and an interval between the transported objects in the transport unit; Hand means provided with a plurality of holding members for holding a plurality of objects to be conveyed; holding member moving means provided on the hand means for adjusting the distance between the holding members; and A hand moving unit that moves the hand unit from a holding position of the object to a transfer position of the object to be transferred outside the conveying unit; and a position of the object detected by the object position detecting unit. Controlling the movement of the hand moving means to the holding position of the conveyed object, and based on the interval between the plurality of conveyed objects detected by the conveyed object position detecting means, Apparatus for transferring the transported object, characterized in that it comprises a control means for controlling movement said holding member moving means simultaneously capable of retaining intervals transferred object of. 2. The holding member moving means is attached to a pinion rotated by a drive motor and an adjacent holding member, respectively, meshes with the pinion, and rotates in a relatively opposite direction by rotating the pinion. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of moving racks. Detecting a position of the plurality of conveyed objects conveyed by the conveyer in the conveyer and an interval between the plurality of conveyed objects to obtain position data and interval data thereof; Moving a plurality of holding members for holding a plurality of objects to an interval capable of simultaneously holding the plurality of objects by holding member moving means, based on the interval data between the objects. Moving a hand means having the holding member to a holding position of the transferred object by a hand moving means based on the position data of the transferred object; holding and lifting the transferred object by the holding member; Steps, for the transported object storage body that stores the transported object, so as to have an interval capable of simultaneously storing the plurality of transported objects,
Moving the plurality of holding members by the holding member moving unit; and holding the transferred object by moving the hand unit to a transfer position of the transferred object outside the transfer unit by the hand moving unit. A method of transferring an article to be transported, comprising the steps of: