JP2001121465A - Picking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive picking device capable of securely separating a plurality of works placed at random one by one and taking out them one by one. SOLUTION: In this picking device for attracking and taking out a plurality of works W placed on a tray 1 by means of an electromagnet 5 one by one, a magnet 2 is provided beneath the tray 1 and the polarities of the opposing surfaces of the electromagnet 5 and the magnet 2 are made to have the same polarity.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a picking device for picking up a plurality of works placed at random on a plane by using a magnet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a picking device for picking up works one by one by using a magnetic force, the mass of the picked-up work is detected by a load cell, and if the mass exceeds a predetermined value, the work is removed. It was determined that individual picking was performed and picking was performed again (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
188253). Also, the magnetic force for adsorption was adjusted according to the mass detected by the load cell.

[0003]

However, in the conventional picking device, picking is performed again every time two workpieces are picked up (error), so that the frequency of errors is large depending on the size and shape of the workpiece and the work efficiency is high. There was a problem of bad. There is also a problem that it is necessary to adjust the parameters of the control device according to the mass of the work to be picked. Further, since the load cell is an expensive component, there is a problem that the cost of the picking device is increased. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive picking device in which a plurality of randomly placed works can be reliably separated one by one and taken out one by one.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a picking apparatus for picking up a plurality of workpieces placed on a tray one by one by suctioning the workpieces by an electromagnet. , And the surfaces of the electromagnet and the magnet facing each other have the same polarity. Further, an actuator for driving the electromagnet so as to be able to move up and down is provided. Further, the magnet provided below the tray is an electromagnet.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a picking device showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a tray on which a plurality of works W to be picked are placed. The tray 1 is a flat plate made of a non-magnetic material such as FRP. A magnet 2 is attached to a lower side of the tray 1, that is, a side opposite to a surface on which the work W is placed. The magnet 2 is a permanent magnet that is magnetized so that the upper surface, that is, the surface facing the work W becomes the N pole. Reference numeral 3 denotes a suction unit for suctioning the work W, which is a hand attached to a wrist of a robot (not shown) for transferring the work W from the tray 1 to a desired place. The suction unit 3 includes an air cylinder 4 and an electromagnet 5. The air cylinder 4 is an actuator that drives the electromagnet 5 to freely move up and down with respect to the tray 1. The electromagnet 5 has a coil (not shown) inside a container 5a made of a non-magnetic material, and has an iron core 5b fixed in the coil so that its tip 5c projects from the bottom of the container 5a. Electromagnet 5
Is supplied with an exciting current from a control device (not shown), and is excited so that the tip 5c of the iron core 5b becomes the N pole. In other words, the opposite surfaces of the electromagnet 5 and the magnet 2 have the same polarity. Of course, the polarities of the tip 5c of the iron core 5b and the upper surface of the magnet 2 are not limited to N poles, but may be S poles.

Next, the operation of this picking device will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of a picking operation by the picking device shown in FIG.
First, the works W1, W2, W3 are placed on the tray 1. At this time, the upper surfaces of the workpieces W1, W2 and W3 are magnets 2
Is magnetized to the N pole (FIG. 2A). Next, the electromagnet 5 is excited, and the tip 5c becomes the N pole. At this time, the magnetic force of the electromagnet 5 is controlled to be larger than the magnetic force of the magnet 2. Further, the air cylinder 4 is driven, and the electromagnet 5 approaches the workpieces W1, W2, W3 (FIG. 2).
(B)). Since the tip 5c and the upper surfaces of the works W1, W2 and W3 have the same polarity (N pole), a repulsive force acts. Therefore, the works W2 and W3 move right and left by the repulsive force and separate from the work W1. However, the work W1 immediately below the tip 5c is excited by the magnet 2, but does not move because it is strongly attracted by the tip 5c having a magnetic force larger than the magnetic force (FIG. 2 (c)). Although the tip 5c and the upper surface of the work W1 have the same polarity, the work W1 is attracted to the tip 5c because the magnetic force of the tip 5c is larger. After sucking the work W1, the air cylinder 4 is contracted to
Lift 1 At this time, since the lower surface of the work W1 and the upper surfaces of the other works W2 and W3 have the same polarity, a repulsive force acts and the works W2 and W3 remain on the tray 1 (FIG. 2 (d)).

In the above embodiment, the magnet 2 is a permanent magnet, but it may be replaced by an electromagnet. In this case, since the strength of the magnetic force of the magnet 2 can be controlled in synchronization with the above-described picking procedure, more reliable picking can be performed. Also,
In the embodiment, the tray 1 is a flat plate. However, the tray 1 is not limited to the flat plate. Since the work slides down due to the action of gravity and magnetic force, the work always exists at the center of the tray 1, which is convenient. Further, a plastic returnable box used for transporting the work may be used as the tray.

[0008]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the tip of the electromagnet and the magnet under the tray have the same polarity, the workpieces on the tray can be reliably separated by magnetic force and picked one by one. effective.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a picking device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a picking procedure by the picking device shown in FIG. 1 in a time series from (a) to (b).

[Explanation of symbols]

1: tray 2: magnet 3: adsorption part 4: air cylinder 5: electromagnet 5a: container 5b: iron core 5c: tip W, W1, W2, W3: work

Continuation of the front page F term (reference) 3C007 DS01 FS07 FU01 3F030 BC02 3F061 AA01 CA07 CC01

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A picking apparatus for picking up a plurality of workpieces placed on a tray by an electromagnet by picking them one by one, comprising a magnet below the tray, and polarities of opposing surfaces of the electromagnet and the magnet. A picking device, wherein the picking devices have the same polarity. 2. The picking device according to claim 1, further comprising an actuator that drives the electromagnet to be able to move up and down. 3. The picking device according to claim 1, wherein the magnet provided below the tray is an electromagnet.