JP2001171841A - Pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pickup device capable of easily picking up the specific number of articles. SOLUTION: This pickup device 2 comprises conveyors 12, 14 and a belt conveyor 16 at the tip, and the conveyor 16 at the tip has the vertical and, horizontal degrees of freedom of positions and orientations. A work starting position is input by a tip operating part 44 or the like, and the designated number of articles are automatically picked up on the basis of the number and the width and the height of articles 66 to be picked up input from an upper controller 62.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for picking up articles from a truck, a shelf, or the like, and more particularly, to an operation instruction for picking up a plurality of articles continuously.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Pickup devices for unloading articles loaded on trucks or the like one by one are known. In this case, it is necessary to specify the work position for each article, but input of the work position is troublesome. For example, assuming that 20 pieces of cardboard are picked up from a truck, the pick-up device specifies the work position one by one and picks up the cardboard.
There may not be much difference in work efficiency between carrying out individual cardboard.

[0003]

An object of the present invention is to enable a plurality of articles to be picked up continuously and easily (claims 1 to 3).

[0004]

The present invention relates to a method for producing regularly stacked articles,
In an apparatus for picking up each article by a pickup unit, a means for inputting a start position of a work, a means for designating an amount of movement to a next work position, and a means for inputting the number of repetitions of the work Means and
A means for controlling a pickup unit is provided so as to pick up articles according to the movement amount and the number of repetitions from the start position.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for picking up regularly stacked articles by means of a pickup unit for each article, comprising: means for storing at least two consecutive working positions; And a means for obtaining the next work position from the stored two work positions, so that work is performed for the number of repetitions.

The present invention also provides an apparatus for picking up regularly stacked articles for each article by a pickup section, means for designating a work range, and a work start position based on the designated work range. Means for determining the amount of movement to the next work position and the number of work repetitions,
And means for controlling a pickup unit so as to pick up articles according to the movement amount and the number of repetitions from the work start position.

In this specification, the term "pickup for each article" does not mean that one pile of articles is picked up at once, but means that one to a plurality of articles are picked up as a unit. The movement amount is preferably the width and height of the article.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the start position of the pick-up operation, the amount of movement to the next operation position, and the number of repetitions of the operation are input. A plurality of articles can be automatically picked up.

According to the second aspect of the invention, manual control or the like is used.
The first two pickups or the like are performed, the movement amount to the next work position and the current work position are obtained, and the subsequent work can be automatically performed according to the input number of repetitions.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the pick-up operation is automatically performed by obtaining the start position of the operation, the amount of movement to the next operation position, and the number of repetitions of the operation by image recognition or the like from the specified operation range. Do. Therefore, it is possible to pick up only by designating the work range.

[0011]

1 to 6 show an embodiment and its modifications.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show the structure of the pickup device 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a base frame, reference numeral 6 denotes a traveling wheel, and reference numeral 8 denotes a traveling drive unit. The traveling wheel 6 and the traveling drive unit 8 allow the pickup device 2 to freely move forward and backward and turn in a horizontal plane. Reference numeral 10 denotes an upper frame, 12 denotes a base-side conveyor made up of a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, and the like, and 14 denotes an intermediate roller conveyor, the length of which can be extended and contracted by a pantograph 30 or the like. Reference numeral 16 denotes a belt conveyor on the front end side, and reference numeral 18 denotes a belt conveyor 16 and a roller conveyor 14.
Conveyor in between. Reference numeral 20 denotes a conveyor frame below the conveyor 12, reference numeral 22 denotes a guide connected to the conveyor frame 20, reference numeral 24 denotes a guide arranged at the bottom of the conveyor 12, and the like. 2
Reference numeral 8 denotes a rotation shaft, and the conveyors 12 to 18 can rotate around a rotation shaft 28 by a joint 26 in a horizontal plane.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a pantograph, which is a roller conveyor 1
4 is extended and retracted, and 32 is a turning drive unit, which
8 is rotated about the axial direction of the conveyor 14. FIG. 2 shows the rotation angle θ. 34 is a scoop axis,
The belt conveyor 16 at the tip is rotated about this axis. The rotation angle is shown as φ in FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 36 denotes an arm whose tip is fixed to the conveyor frame 20 and whose base end moves forward and backward in the frame 4 to move the conveyor frame 20 up and down. It should be noted that another conveyor or the like indicated by a chain line in FIGS. 1 and 2 is connected to the base conveyor 12 so that the picked-up articles are carried out.

In the pickup device 2 of the embodiment, the conveyors 12 to 18 are supported by the frames 4, 10, 20 and the like, and the movement of the frame 4 in the horizontal plane, the vertical movement using the arm 36, and the rotation shaft 28 as the center. With this rotation, the posture is controlled toward the work position. Further, the direction of the conveyor 16 is controlled by the rotation of the conveyor 16 by the rotation drive unit 32 and the rotation about the rotation shaft 34. In addition, the belt conveyor 16 is used at the time of pickup using the pantograph 30.
Is moved forward and brought into contact with the article to be picked up to be picked up. The conveyors 12 to 18 constitute a pickup unit, and the pickup device 2 can be used not only for picking up articles, but also for regularly loading articles on trucks, shelves, pallets, or the like.

The control system of the pickup device 2 will be described. An upper camera 40 is provided on the top surface of the upper frame 10 and takes an image of a mountain of an article 66 to be picked up as a whole. Further, there is a distal end camera 42 at a lower portion of the belt conveyor 16 or the like, and locally captures an image of a portion where a pickup operation is performed. Reference numeral 44 denotes a tip operation unit, which is provided near the belt conveyor 16 at the tip, and 46 denotes a base operation unit provided on the frame 4, all of which constitute control means for the pickup unit. As shown in FIG. 1, a joystick or a control stick-shaped operation lever 50 is provided in the distal end operation unit 44, and by inclining this lever back and forth and left and right, the forward and backward movement and the left and right movement of the conveyor 16 are designated. A switch 52 is provided, for example, on the top of the operation lever 50 to serve as a switch for inputting a pickup operation. Further, a group of switches 54 is provided on the side surface of the distal end operation unit 44, and inputs such as raising and lowering of the conveyor 16, rotation of the angle θ, and the like. An emergency switch 56 is provided near the operation lever 50 so that the pickup device 2 can be stopped in an emergency. When the switch 52 is pressed, the pantograph 30 is extended, and the tip of the belt conveyor 16 contacts the article. When a front-back, left-right, or vertical movement is commanded, the entire movement of each frame 4 and the vertical movement by the arm 36 are performed.

The base operation unit 46 is provided with, for example, an image recognizing device or the like, processes images from the cameras 40 and 42, and recognizes the position of the article, the contour between the articles, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, a touch panel 58 is provided on the base operation unit 46, an image or the like captured by the upper camera 40 is displayed, and when the operator touches the panel 58, the work start position, the work range, the work To specify the number of repetitions or individual articles. A control switch 60 is used for controlling the pickup device 2. Further, the base operation unit 46 communicates with the host controller 62,
Various commands related to pickup are received from the host controller. In the embodiment, the base operation section 46 is provided in addition to the tip operation section 44 suitable for manual operation, but these may be integrated. Reference numeral 64 denotes a warning lamp provided near the belt conveyor 16 at the tip, which lights up when the pickup device 2 is operated or the like to give a warning. This is especially true for the pickup device 2
Is effective when the device is operating by communication from the host controller 62.

Reference numeral 66 denotes an article to be picked up, such as a corrugated cardboard, which is regularly loaded on, for example, a truck bed. Note that the pickup device 2 can be used not only for pickup, but also for loading a truck onto a carrier. At the time of pickup, the belt conveyor 16 is brought into contact with an article to be picked up, and the conveyor 16 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
Is moved as shown in (1), the article is lifted by the friction between the belt conveyor 16 and the article 66, and is conveyed onto the belt conveyor 16. The conveyed article is sent to the conveyor 12 via the conveyors 18 and 14, and is conveyed to the right side in FIGS. While picking up the next article, the pantograph 30 is contracted to move the conveyor 16 and the article 6
Then, the conveyor 16 is moved to a position suitable for picking up the next article by turning around the turning shaft 28, moving up and down using the arm 36, or the like. In the embodiment, the pickup is performed by using the friction between the belt conveyor 16 and the article. However, a fork or the like is used in place of the belt conveyor 16 at the leading end, and the fork or the like is inserted into a gap between the article and the pickup. May be.

FIG. 3 shows designation of a pickup object. The touch panel 58 shows a group of articles taken by the upper camera 40, and a large number of articles 66 are regularly arranged. The range indicated by hatching is a pickup target, and one mountain of articles is divided and picked up. The pickup target is specified by the host controller 62
, Manual designation using the touch panel 58, pick-up of the first two articles by manual operation, and designation of the number of repetitions. These will be described below.

For example, the host controller 62 determines the number of articles to be picked up (the number of operations, here, data of 3 rows × 2 tiers) and the size of each article 66 (here, the width X and the height of the article 66 in the amount of movement). Y) is transmitted to the base operation unit 46. In a case where the appearance of the loaded articles 66 is known by the upper controller 62, the work start position may also be input from the upper controller 62. But the work start position is
It is easier for the operator to specify by first specifying the article to be picked up on the touch panel 58. For example, in the case of FIG. 3, the operator touches the touch panel 58 so as to pick up from the article 66 at the upper left corner. From these, the initial work position and the number of times of the pickup work, and the amount of movement between the work position and the work position are determined. Hereinafter, the pickup device 2 picks up according to this. Pickup according to a command from a higher-level controller is particularly suitable for pickup in a space such as a freezing warehouse where a person hardly enters the inside.

There are various other types of designation of the pickup range. For example, the operator specifies a range to be picked up using the touch panel 58, and performs image processing on the range to determine the number of articles to be picked up. Alternatively, the number of pickup articles is input using the touch panel 58 or the switch 60. Subsequently, the first two pickup operations are performed by manual operation using the distal end operation unit 44. From these, the amount of movement during the pickup operation is determined. The number of articles to be picked up and their approximate arrangement are known by touching the touch panel 58 or the like, and the remaining picking up work is performed using the movement amount obtained by two manual pick-ups. This is a combination of the manual operation and the input of the number of repetitions of the operation. A simple control unit is sufficient, and it can be executed without any need for image recognition and without communication with the host controller.

Alternatively, by inputting a range to be picked up on the touch panel 58, for example, in the case of FIG. 3, picking up three rows in the horizontal direction in two stages in the up and down direction is performed by specifying the range on the touch panel 58 and the touched range. The number of articles 66 included in the information is determined by image recognition. Next, it is recognized that the work start position is at the upper left of the screen of FIG. 3 by touching the touch panel 58, or the work start position of the pickup is determined by a rule of starting pickup from the left and right corners of the upper part of the article in principle. Is determined.
Subsequently, a local image near the pickup work position is photographed by the tip camera 42, the contour of the article is detected therefrom, the work position of the pickup is corrected, and the pickup is repeated a predetermined number of times. This is the designation of the pickup range with a focus on image recognition.

FIG. 4 shows a pickup algorithm according to a command from the host controller 62. The work start position is specified by touching the touch panel 58, moving the belt conveyor 16 to the first pickup position with the operation lever 50, or the like. Instead, the first work position may be input from the host controller 62 and supplemented by image recognition or the like. Subsequently, the height and width of the article 66 are input. These values may be input literally from the host controller, or may be input from the switch 60.
In particular, when the size of the article 66 is standardized and there are only a few types, those types may be input. The number of repetitions of the pickup operation is input from the upper controller 62 or the like. For this purpose, it is preferable to specify not only the number to be picked up but also the number in the horizontal direction and the number in the vertical direction, such as three rows and two stages. When the contents of the pick-up operation are designated in this manner, the pick-up is performed one by one.

FIG. 5 shows an algorithm centered on manual instructions. An article is picked up by the first two manual operations using the tip operation unit 44. When the two work positions are stored, the second pickup position becomes the work origin for the subsequent pickups, and the movement amount between the two pickup works is the movement amount between the next work position. Subsequently, when the number of repetitions of the work is input as six or three rows and two rows, the pick-up can be performed automatically.

FIG. 6 shows designation of a pickup range using the touch panel 58. A pickup range is designated for the image on the touch panel 58. From this, the first working position is determined according to a predetermined rule, and the amount of movement between the pick-up operations is determined by the camera 40,
The number of pickups is determined by image processing for the range specified on the touch panel 58.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pickup device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the pickup device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing designation of a work range in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing designation of a work range in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing designation of a work range in a modified example.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing designation of a work range in a second modified example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Pickup Device 4 Frame 6 Running Wheel 8 Running Drive 10 Upper Frame 12 Conveyor 14 Roller Conveyor 16 Belt Conveyor 18 Roller Conveyor 20 Conveyor Frame 22, 24 Guide 26 Joint 28 Rotating Axis 30 Pantograph 32 Rotating Drive 34 Scoop Shaft 36 Arm Reference Signs List 40 Upper camera 42 Tip camera 44 Tip operating unit 46 Base operating unit 50 Operating lever 52 Switch 54 Switch 56 Emergency switch 58 Touch panel 60 Control switch 62 Host controller 64 Warning light 66 Article

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A device for picking up regularly stacked articles by a pickup unit for each article by means for inputting a start position of a work and designating an amount of movement to a next work position. Means for inputting the number of repetitions of the work, and means for controlling the pickup unit so as to pick up articles according to the movement amount and the number of repetitions from the start position. A pickup device, characterized in that: 2. An apparatus for picking up regularly stacked articles by an pickup unit for each article, means for storing at least two consecutive work positions and inputting the number of repetitions of the work. Means for obtaining a next work position from the stored at least two work positions, so as to perform the work by the number of repetitions. 3. An apparatus for picking up regularly stacked articles for each article by a pickup unit, means for designating a work range, and a work start position and a next work start position based on the designated work range. Means for determining the amount of movement to the work position and the number of repetitions of the work, and means for controlling the pickup unit so as to pick up articles according to the amount of movement and the number of repetitions from the work start position. A pickup device characterized by being provided.