JP2002066970A - Attitude changing device and pin picking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an attitude changing device capable of changing the attitude of a work fed in an arbitrary attitude to a predetermined one by a simple device. SOLUTION: This attitude changing device comprises a robot hand 20 comprising a holding mechanism 22 for holding the work 1 by a tip of a flange part 21 provided on an arm 23 having a six-axis articulated mechanism, and an attitude changing unit 10 for inverting the attitude of the work 1 fed from the robot hand 20 by substantially 90 deg..

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a posture changing device and a bin picking device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a posture conversion device that converts a posture of a hexahedral workpiece into a predetermined posture, and a bin picking device using the posture conversion device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various robots have been developed for performing a predetermined processing on a workpiece converted into a predetermined posture. In order to perform predetermined processing by such a robot, it is necessary to convert the supplied workpiece into a posture suitable for robot processing.

Conventionally, such a posture changing device for changing the posture of a work is based on the premise that a work held by a holding mechanism is supplied by a belt conveyor or the like and is supplied in a fixed posture. In this case, the supplied workpiece is simply subjected to extremely simple posture conversion or position conversion such as front-to-back inversion conversion and turning. For example, by using a relatively simple device, a hexahedron-shaped work is rotated in a plane, and the posture is changed in a certain direction by rotating the work having different postures on a plane, and the work is transferred to the next process. Met.

[0004] However, there is a case where the workpiece is supplied in an upright state without being supplied in an attitude that can be changed in attitude by rotating on a plane. In this case, in the conventional posture changing device, it is not possible to lie or wake the upright work, and the work has to be supplied in a posture that can be changed by the posture changing device, that is, in an inverted state. Alternatively, it is necessary to add a posture conversion device or a posture conversion process necessary for converting each posture to a constant posture in accordance with the posture of the supplied work, which has to be a complicated mechanism. .

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-153180 discloses a posture conversion device for converting a workpiece supplied in an arbitrary posture into a predetermined posture using a robot. In such a case, the robot itself holding the work had to be moved horizontally, and the apparatus was overwhelming.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and converts a workpiece supplied in an arbitrary posture into a predetermined posture by an extremely simple device. An object of the present invention is to provide a posture changing device and a bin picking device.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided an attitude conversion apparatus for recognizing a gripping attitude of a hexahedral workpiece gripped by a robot hand provided with a gripping mechanism at a distal end of a flange portion of a six-axis articulated robot. A device for converting a posture of a workpiece supplied from the robot hand into a predetermined posture, wherein the posture converting device has a mechanism capable of inverting a gripping mechanism provided at a tip end by approximately 90 degrees. And a device.

Further, the posture changing device includes first work posture recognizing means for recognizing a holding posture of the work held by the robot hand, and the first work posture recognizing means recognizes the work. It is preferable that the posture conversion operation of the work is controlled based on the gripping posture data of the work. For example, the first work posture recognition unit may include an imaging device and an image processing device. it can.

The posture changing device further includes a second work posture recognizing means for recognizing a gripping posture of the work gripped by the posture changing unit. The second work posture recognizing means recognizes the work. It is preferable that the work ejection operation is performed based on the gripped posture data of the work. For example, the first work posture recognition unit can be configured by an imaging device and an image processing device.

At this time, it is possible to further control the supply of the discharged work to the posture changing device.

Further, the posture changing device according to the present invention is preferably provided with a work positioning mechanism for causing the posture changing unit to grip the work surface. By the mechanism, the workpiece can be positioned while being held by the robot hand. At this time, it is desirable that the work can be three-dimensionally positioned by the two sets of the work positioning mechanisms.

It is preferable that the posture changing section includes a gripping mechanism in which a contact portion that contacts the side surface of the work is supported by an elastic body.

[0013] The attitude conversion device of the present invention can use a flange portion provided on the arm of the articulated robot.

A bin picking device according to the present invention is provided with the above-described posture changing device according to the present invention.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a bin picking device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic operation of a posture changing device in the bin picking device, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram of a first work posture recognizing means of the posture changing device, FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram of a second work posture recognizing means of the posture changing device, and FIG. 5 is a work positioning mechanism of the posture changing device. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the work positioning mechanism, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a gripping mechanism of a posture changing unit in the posture changing device. Less than,
The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The bin picking device according to the present invention supplies the supplied work 1 to the posture changing device 10, and supplies the work 1 from the posture changing device 10 to the next process, and the robot hand 20. And a posture conversion device 10 that allows the posture of the work 1 to be inverted by approximately 90 degrees.

The robot hand 20 includes, for example, an arm 23 having a six-axis multi-joint mechanism, and a flange 21 attached to the tip of the arm 23.
Can be driven three-dimensionally in the vertical and horizontal directions by the vertical and horizontal driving of the arm 23, and the flange 21 picks up the workpiece 1 gripped by the gripper 22 by a drive mechanism (not shown), and the posture at a predetermined position. The workpiece 1 is moved to the conversion device 10 and is located at a predetermined position.
On the conveyor 30 for supplying the.

The flange 21 is controlled so as to be rotatable around an arm 23 to which the flange 21 is attached. By rotating the workpiece 1 held by the grip 22 in a plane, the workpiece 1 is rotated. Can be changed to an arbitrary posture. This posture conversion is grasped by the first work posture recognition means provided in the posture conversion device 10 as described below, and is converted into a predetermined posture in accordance with the posture grasped by the recognition means. You.

The posture changing device 10 includes a flange 21 provided on the robot hand 20 and a robot hand 2.
And a posture conversion unit 11 that enables the posture of the work 1 supplied from 0 to be inverted by approximately 90 degrees. In addition, the posture changing device 10 is configured to move the work 1 held by the flange portion 21.
And a second work posture recognizing means for recognizing the posture of the work 1 gripped by the posture converting unit 11.

The attitude converting unit 11 includes a parallel opening / closing chuck 12 for gripping the workpiece 1 supplied from the robot hand 20.
(Gripping mechanism), a drive device 13 such as a rotary actuator or a motor for controlling the rotation of the parallel opening / closing chuck 12 by 90 degrees, and a pedestal portion 14 for holding the workpiece 1 horizontally by the parallel opening / closing chuck 12. .

As shown in FIG. 7, for example, the parallel opening / closing chuck 12 includes a pair of chuck bodies 12a which can be driven to hold the work 1 and a work 1 attached to the tip of the chuck body a. Abutment portion 12 that abuts against the surface
c. The center of the side surface of the contact portion 12c is rotatably supported by a finger 12b attached to the tip of the chuck body 12a, and an elastic material such as a spring is provided between the contact portion 12c and the chuck body 12a. A body 12d is provided, and the contact portion 12c is urged toward the workpiece 1 by the elastic body 12d. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, even if the work 1 has a side surface inclined,
A predetermined posture can be reliably maintained.

Further, the posture changing section 11 holds the workpiece 1 supplied by the robot hand 20 in the parallel opening / closing chuck 1.
2 has a work positioning mechanism 15 for grasping at a precise position. This work positioning mechanism 15
As shown in FIG. 5, in order to abut the work 1, an upright surface 17 provided on a mounting table 16 for mounting the supplied work 1 and the work 1 are pressed against the upright surface 17. The posture changing device 10 shown in FIG. 5 includes two sets of work positioning mechanisms 15.

The work positioning mechanism 15 can three-dimensionally position the hexahedral work 1 from two directions. The work 1 supplied to the mounting table 16 by the robot hand 20 is moved upright by the cylinder mechanism 18. The position is determined by pressing against the surface. That is, even if the posture of the workpiece 1 supplied in the upright state is slightly deviated from the desired direction, it can be made to coincide with the direction in which the upright surface 17 is installed by the pushing force of the cylinder mechanism 18. As a result, it is possible to reliably transfer the work 1 supplied by the robot hand 20 to the posture conversion unit 11. In addition, the work 1 can be reliably supplied to the robot hand 20 again at a predetermined position without causing a positional shift of the work 1 when the work 1 is inverted by 90 degrees.

Further, in the case of an articulated robot which can change the posture of the work 1 in a plane as in the case of the present embodiment, this poses no problem. Robot hand 2 that cannot change posture
When 0 is used, the work 1 supplied in an arbitrary direction can be forcibly subjected to a posture changing operation in a plane as in the articulated robot hand 20 by using the work positioning mechanism 15. .

As shown in FIG. 6, in the posture changing device 10, the work positioning mechanism 1 pushes out the end face of the work 1 which is not held by the holding portion 22 of the robot hand 20, among the two work positioning mechanisms 15.
5 can also be composed of two cylinder mechanisms 18. In such a work positioning mechanism 15, these 2
By adjusting the pushing amounts of the two cylinder mechanisms 18, the workpiece 1 can be positioned while being gripped by the gripper 22. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6A, it is assumed that the gripping portion 22 of the robot hand 20 grips a position of the work 1 which deviates from a predetermined position, and the work 1 is supplied to the posture changing device 10 in that state. Also, the work 1 can be corrected to a predetermined position by the two cylinder mechanisms 18 and can accurately deliver the work 1 to the posture conversion unit 11.

The first work posture recognizing means comprises an imaging device 40 such as a television camera and an image processing device (not shown). The posture of the work 1 grasped from the shape of the work 1 is determined, and the work 1 necessary for the flange portion 21 is determined.
Is calculated. This image processing apparatus is configured by a computer, and the posture correction operation calculated by the image processing apparatus is, for example, a robot hand 2.
The control unit (not shown) controls the rotation of the flange 21 and supplies the gripped workpiece 1 to the attitude conversion unit 11.

The second work posture recognizing means includes an image pickup device 50 such as a television camera and an image processing device (not shown).
The image processing apparatus determines the posture of the work 1 grasped from the shape of the work 1 photographed by the imaging device 50 and determines the posture of the work 1 required for the posture conversion unit 11. Calculate the corrective action. This image processing device is configured by a computer, and the posture correction operation calculated by the image processing device is performed by the posture conversion unit 11.
Is implemented by a control device that controls
Turns the work 1 approximately 90 degrees and supplies the work 1 to the flange portion 21 again.

Further, the second work posture recognizing means comprises a work 1 held by the second work posture recognizing means.
Is determined, the posture after the conversion is determined to be the posture failure, and the posture conversion unit 11 can perform the defective discharge operation. As a result, if it is determined that the work 1 supplied before the conversion need not be inverted by 90 degrees, the work 1 is supplied to the conveyor 30 leading to the next process without being inverted, and the conversion is performed without permission. Work can be prevented. Also, if the posture of the work 1 after the 90-degree inverted conversion is poor, the work 1
Into the defective discharge port 51 to stop the supply of the work 1 to the next process, thereby facilitating the work process.

Of course, in the second work posture recognition means, the work 1 supplied to the posture conversion unit 11
When it is determined that the posture cannot be changed even by inversion, the defective discharge operation can be immediately performed without performing the inversion by 90 degrees.

In such a posture changing device 10,
For example, the posture of the workpiece 1 supplied in an upright state can be changed by the operation shown in FIG.
First, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the upright work 1 is gripped by the gripping portion 22 of the flange portion 21, the arm 23 of the robot hand 20 moves and is supplied to the posture changing portion 11. . At this time, as shown in FIG.
The posture of the work 1 is determined by the work posture recognition means. Next, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 3B,
When it is determined that the posture of the work 1 needs to be inverted by 90 degrees, the drive unit 13 is activated to convert the work 1 by 90 degrees as shown in FIG. 2B. Then, by driving the flange portion 21 and the arm 23 again, the work 1 can be supplied in a predetermined posture on the conveyor 30 for the next process. In addition, the discharging operation of the work 1 is performed as necessary.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing another operation example of the attitude conversion device 10 of the present invention. In the attitude conversion device 10, when the workpiece 1 is supplied in an inverted state, FIG. As shown in FIG.
After being turned upside down by 90 degrees in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8B, the robot is inverted by 90 degrees in the posture changing unit 11, and then the robot hand 2 is moved as shown in FIG.
According to 0, it can be supplied to the next process in a predetermined posture.

Of course, if the work 1 supplied to the flange portion 21 is not upright and the 90-degree inversion conversion work is not required, the work 1 is supplied to the posture conversion section 11 as shown in FIG. Needless to say, the workpiece 1 can be supplied to the next step by controlling the rotation of the flange portion 21 and moving the arm 23.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing another example of the operation of the posture changing device 10 of the present invention. In this operation, the posture of the work 1 after the posture change is defective. In this case (FIG. 10 (b)), the posture converting unit 11 is again turned upside down by 90 degrees to make it stand up (FIG. 10 (c)), corrected to a predetermined posture by rotating the flange portion 21, and then again. It can be supplied to the posture changing unit 11 in an upright state (FIG. 10A), and then the operation as shown in FIG. 2 can be performed.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various combinations of the flange portion 21 rotatably attached to the distal end of the arm 23 of the robot and the posture changing portion 11 which can be turned upside down by 90 degrees are possible. Operation can be performed. In addition, a rotatable flange 2
The mechanism of the flange portion 21 is not limited as long as the fixed flange portion 21 can be moved in a plane and converted to a predetermined posture.

The case where the work 1 is made flat from the state where the work 1 stands up has been described. Of course, the reverse operation can also be applied, and the work 1 in a flat state is inverted by approximately 90 degrees. Needless to say, it can be set up.

[0036]

The attitude converting apparatus according to the present invention has means for recognizing the gripping attitude of a hexahedral workpiece gripped by a robot hand, provided with a gripping mechanism at the tip of a flange of a six-axis articulated robot. A device for converting the posture of the workpiece supplied from the robot hand into a predetermined posture, and comprising a posture conversion unit having a mechanism that allows the gripping mechanism provided at the tip to be inverted by approximately 90 degrees. With a simple configuration, the posture of the work can be freely changed. In particular, when the work is supplied in an upright state, the posture can be changed in a planar manner, or the work supplied in a planar manner can be changed in an upright state. Further, the manufacturing cost is low and the space can be saved.

Moreover, since the gripping mechanism can be changed or the gripping mechanism of the posture changing unit can be easily changed, it is possible to easily cope with various types. Further, in order to handle each work, the posture can be changed without rubbing the works like a parts feeder, and the posture can be changed without damaging the work.

Further, there is provided a first work posture recognizing means for recognizing a gripping posture of the work gripped by the robot hand, based on the gripping posture data of the work recognized by the first work posture recognizing means. Since the work posture changing operation is controlled, the work is discharged if there is an abnormality in the work posture, and if there is no need to convert the work posture, the process can immediately proceed to the next step. Operation can be prevented.

The apparatus further includes second work posture recognition means for recognizing the work posture of the work gripped by the work posture conversion unit, based on the work posture data recognized by the second work posture recognition means. Since the work is ejected, if there is an abnormality in the posture of the work supplied to the posture changing unit, the work can be discharged, and it is not necessary to convert the work posture. If it is possible to immediately proceed to the next step, useless operation can be prevented.

At this time, if the discharged work is controlled to be supplied to the posture changing device again, all the supplied work is converted into a predetermined posture in the posture changing unit, and the next step is performed. It can be delivered.

Also, by providing a work positioning mechanism for causing the posture changing unit to grip the work, the work can be reliably transferred from the robot hand to the posture changing unit, and the work is not displaced after the posture change. In addition, it is possible to reliably transfer the work from the posture conversion unit to the robot hand.

Further, by making the three-dimensional positioning possible by two sets of work positioning mechanisms, even when the robot hand cannot change its posture in a plane,
A posture change can be performed for a work having any posture.

Further, the posture changing section is provided with a gripping mechanism in which the abutting portion abutting against the side surface of the work is supported by an elastic body, so that even if the work does not have a vertical surface, it can be securely gripped. Can be turned upside down by about 90 degrees.

In particular, in the present invention, by using a flange portion provided on the arm of the articulated robot, it is possible to easily change the posture of a workpiece supplied in any posture. Thus, by using the attitude conversion device, a bin picking device that can handle a workpiece in any attitude with a simple mechanism can be provided at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a bin picking device according to the present invention.

2 (a), 2 (b) and 2 (c) are explanatory views showing a basic operation of a posture changing device in the bin picking device of FIG.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are explanatory diagrams of the operation of a first work posture recognition means of the posture conversion device shown in FIG. 2;

4 (a), (b) and (c) are explanatory views of the operation of a second work posture recognition means of the posture conversion device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a work positioning mechanism of the posture changing device shown in FIG. 2;

6 (a) and 6 (b) are explanatory views of the operation of the work positioning mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a gripping mechanism of a posture changing unit in the posture changing device shown in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are explanatory diagrams showing another operation example of the attitude conversion device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing still another operation example in the attitude conversion device of the present invention.

FIGS. 10 (a), (b), and (c) are explanatory diagrams showing another operation example of the attitude conversion device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Work 10 Attitude conversion device 11 Attitude conversion part 12 Parallel opening / closing chuck 12a Chuck body 12b Finger 12c Contact part 12d Elastic body 13 Drive device 14 Pedestal part 15 Work positioning mechanism 16 Mounting table 17 Upright surface 18 Cylinder mechanism 20 Robot hand 21 Flange Unit 22 gripping unit 23 arm 30 conveyor 40 imaging device constituting first work posture recognition means 50 imaging device constituting second work posture recognition means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (reference) // B23Q 7/00 B23Q 7/00 D 7/04 7/04 MF term (reference) 3C033 EE01 EE03 HH05 PP14 3F059 AA01 BA03 BA08 DA02 DA08 DB04 DB09 FB16 FB22 FC04 FC13 3F060 AA01 CA26 FA01 FA11 GA01 GA16 HA03 HA13 HA23 HA24 3F061 AA01 BA03 BA08 BB03 BB08 BD03 BD08 BE02 BE23 BE38 BE47 BF14 DD01

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A hexahedral articulated robot having means for recognizing a gripping posture of a hexahedral workpiece gripped by a robot hand having a gripping mechanism at a distal end of a flange portion of a hexagonal articulated robot. An apparatus for converting a posture into a predetermined posture, comprising: a mechanism for allowing a gripping mechanism provided at a tip to be able to be inverted by approximately 90 degrees. 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a first work posture recognizing means for recognizing a work posture held by the robot hand, based on the work posture data recognized by the first work posture recognition means. The posture changing device according to claim 1, wherein the posture changing operation of the work is controlled. 3. The posture conversion device according to claim 2, wherein said first work posture recognition means comprises an image pickup device and an image processing device. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second work posture recognizing means for recognizing a gripping posture of the work gripped by the posture conversion unit, wherein the gripping posture data of the work recognized by the second work posture recognizing means is provided. 4. The posture changing device according to claim 3, wherein the discharging operation of the workpiece is performed based on the detected position. 5. The posture changing device according to claim 4, wherein the discharged work is supplied and controlled again to a posture changing device. 6. The posture conversion device according to claim 4, wherein the second work posture recognition means includes an imaging device and an image processing device. 7. The attitude conversion device according to claim 1, further comprising a work positioning mechanism for causing the attitude conversion section to grip the workpiece. 8. The attitude conversion device according to claim 7, wherein two sets of said workpiece positioning mechanisms enable three-dimensional positioning. 9. The work positioning mechanism according to claim 7, wherein said work positioning mechanism positions the work while holding said work surface not in contact with said gripping mechanism with said robot hand by means of a telescopic drive mechanism. 8. The attitude conversion device according to any one of 8 above. 10. The attitude according to claim 1, wherein the attitude conversion section includes a gripping mechanism in which an abutting section that abuts on a side surface of the work is supported by an elastic body. Conversion device. 11. The attitude conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the flange portion is provided on an arm of an articulated robot. 12. A bin picking device comprising the attitude conversion device according to claim 1. Description: