JP2012111501A - Article handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article handling device capable of efficiently performing work that an article is taken up from an article carry-in conveyor which successively carries in the articles, and is put on an article receiving part.SOLUTION: In the article handling device 10, a first picking head 13 and a second picking head 14 of a moving robot 12 alternately suck the articles 1 one by one from the article carry-in conveyor 11 which successively carries in the plurality of articles 1, and put them on the first article receiving part 16 or the second article receiving part 17. A controller 15 which three-dimensionally moves the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 independently keeps the first picking head and the second picking head at a safe distance when either the first picking head 13 or the second picking head 14 goes toward the article receiving parts 16, 17 from the article carry-in conveyor 11, and the other goes toward the article carry-in conveyor 11 from the article receiving parts 16, 17.

Description

  The present invention relates to an article handling apparatus.

  In a production line for mass production of articles, boxing of completed articles is also performed by an automated device. Recently, many devices that perform boxing with an article handling device such as a robot have been found. Examples thereof can be seen in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

  Patent Document 1 describes a boxing device that supplies a package with a gusset to a box by a robot hand provided with an adsorbing portion that adsorbs the package and an ear fold that folds the ear of the package.

  Patent Document 2 describes a robot-type caser that fills a case that has been raised with a raising hand by holding and filling the accumulated articles with a holding hand.

  A double-armed robot may be used for handling articles. Examples of double-arm robots can be found in Patent Documents 3 and 4.

JP 2008-127027 A JP 2005-119730 A JP 2010-120102 A JP 2007-130733 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an article handling apparatus capable of efficiently performing an operation of picking up an article from an article carry-in conveyor for sequentially carrying the article and loading it on an article receiving portion.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an article handling apparatus includes an article carrying conveyor for sequentially carrying a plurality of articles, and a first picking head and a first picking head each provided with an adsorbing tool for sucking the articles on the article carrying conveyor. Two picking heads, a transfer robot for independently three-dimensionally moving the first picking head and the second picking head, and the article picked up from the carry-in conveyor by the first picking head and the second picking head An article receiving section for receiving the article, and a control device for the picking head and the transfer robot. The control apparatus picks up the article from the article carry-in conveyor and lowers it to a predetermined position of the article receiving section. One picking head and the second picking head alternately. , The one of the first picking head and the second picking head facing the article receiving portion of the article carrying conveyor, when the other is directed to the article carrying-conveyor from the article receiving unit to keep the mutual safety distance.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the article handling apparatus configured as described above, the control device secures the safety distance by varying the heights of the first picking head and the second picking head.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the article handling apparatus configured as described above, the first picking head and the second picking head are each supported in the form of a cantilever at the lower end of a robot arm suspended from above. The connecting position of the first picking head and the robot arm combined therewith is opposite to the connecting position of the second picking head and the robot arm combined therewith.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the article handling device having the above-described configuration, the first picking head and the second picking head are attached with a posture changing device for rotating the article around its axis. The control device, when another article is lowered after the article is received by the article receiving portion, causes the subsequent article to overlap the previous article, and the subsequent article is The article is arranged in a domino-down state by performing a control of turning around the axis to make an angle and then lowering.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the article handling apparatus configured as described above, the article receiving section includes a first article receiving section and a second article receiving section arranged so as to sandwich the article carrying conveyor, The control device alternately performs loading of the article into the first article receiving unit and loading of the article into the second article receiving unit.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the article handling apparatus configured as described above, the article receiving section includes a first article receiving section and a second article receiving section disposed on one side of the article carry-in conveyor, and the control The apparatus alternately performs loading of the article on the first article receiving portion and loading of the article on the second article receiving portion.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the article handling apparatus configured as described above, while an article loading operation is performed on one of the first article receiving section and the second article receiving section, An article loading operation is performed.

  According to the present invention, the first picking head and the second picking head alternately perform the operation of adsorbing the article from the article carrying conveyor and lowering it to a predetermined position of the article receiving portion, so that the work is performed very efficiently. can do. In addition, when one of the first picking head and the second picking head is directed from the article carrying conveyor to the article receiving section and the other is directed from the article receiving section to the article carrying conveyor, the transfer robot is maintained at a safe distance. There is no risk of damage by collision with itself or the article.

It is a perspective view which shows the concept of the article | item handling apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing of an article | item receiving part. It is a side view of the 1st picking head and the robot arm which supports it. It is a front view of the 1st picking head and the robot arm which supports it. It is a front view of the 1st picking head and the robot arm which supports it, Comprising: The state different from FIG. 4 is shown. It is a front view of the 2nd picking head and the robot arm which supports it. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the first picking head and the second picking head side by side. It is a bottom view of the 1st picking head and the 2nd picking head which were arranged. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a 1st picking head and a 2nd picking head. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory view similar to FIG. 9 and shows a second embodiment of the article handling apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The article 1 is handled by the article handling apparatus 10. The article 1 is assumed to be a product in which a fluid is enclosed in a self-supporting pouch made of an airtight laminate film in which a plurality of types of films are laminated. The articles 1 are sequentially sent on the article carry-in conveyor 11 so that the longitudinal direction is aligned with the running direction of the conveyor and arranged in a row at predetermined intervals.

  The transfer robot 12 picks up the articles 1 that are sequentially carried by the article carry-in conveyor 11 one by one. The transfer robot 12 is a kind of double-arm robot, and in FIG. 1, the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 represent the mechanical part of the robot. As the transfer robot 12, a generally used industrial robot (rectangular coordinate type, horizontal articulated type, vertical articulated type, parallel link type, etc.) may be used, and the type is not particularly limited.

  Each of the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 has a plurality of suction tools on the lower surface, and picks the article 1 by vacuum suction. The control device 15 controls the transfer robot 12. The control device 15 also controls the entire article handling device 10.

  A first article receiving section 16 and a second article receiving section 17 are arranged on both sides (left and right) of the article carrying conveyor 11. The first article receiving section 16 and the second article receiving section 17 are formed by laying a flat octagonal cross-section cylinder on its side so that its axis is horizontal, opening the top, and opening one end in the horizontal direction (the front end in FIG. 1). ) Are the discharge ports 16a and 17a through which the bundle of articles 1 is discharged. In addition, the cross-sectional shape of the 1st article receiving part 16 and the 2nd article receiving part 17 is united with the flat shape of the packaging box 2 mentioned later being a flat octagon, and the planar shape of the packaging box 2 is a rectangle. If so, the cross-sectional shapes of the first article receiving section 16 and the second article receiving section 17 may be rectangular.

  The transfer robot 12 concentrates the loading of the article 1 on one of the first article receiving unit 16 and the second article receiving unit 17, and when the loading is completed, the transfer robot 12 concentrates on the other article receiving unit. Repeat the operation of loading. The transfer robot 12 loads the articles 1 on the first article receiving unit 16 and the second article receiving unit 17 one by one until the total number becomes six (see FIG. 2). I do.

  A first article receiving section 16 or a second article receiving section in which a predetermined number (6 in the figure, but not limited to this) of articles 1 is received in a bundled manner, that is, in a full state. 17 is fitted with a cardboard packaging box 2. The packaging box 2 is obtained by sacking a corrugated cardboard sheet punched into a predetermined shape, and in a completed state, the planar shape is a flat octagon. The packaging box 2 is dimensioned so that the peripheral wall portion completely covers the outside of the first article receiving portion 16 or the second article receiving portion 17.

  The packaging box 2 opens the sack, closes the mouth on the bottom side during use, and keeps the mouth on the top side open during use. The packaging box 2 in this state is placed on the packaging box carry-in conveyor 18 so that the opened mouth faces the first article receiving part 16 or the second article receiving part 17, and is packed while keeping a predetermined distance from each other. It is carried in by the box carry-in conveyor 18.

  The packing box 2 on the packing box carry-in conveyor 18 is pushed out toward the first article receiving part 16 or the second article receiving part 17 in a full state, and into the opening from the side of the discharge ports 16a and 17a. The first article receiving section 16 or the second article receiving section 17 is taken in.

  The attitude of the first article receiving portion 16 or the second article receiving portion 17 and the packaging box 2 fitted to the outside thereof is changed so that the mouth of the packaging box 2 is on the top. Then, the article 1 in the first article receiving part 16 or the second article receiving part 17 is dropped into the packaging box 2 from the discharge port 16a or the discharge port 17a. Thereafter, only the packaging box 2 is lowered while the height of the first article receiving section 16 or the second article receiving section 17 whose posture has been changed is maintained as it is. Then, the packaging box 2 to which the article 1 is transferred is separated from the first article receiving unit 16 or the second article receiving unit 17. The packaging box 2 separated from the first article receiving section 16 or the second article receiving section 17 is placed on the packing box carry-out conveyor 19 and carried away to the next process.

  Next, a more detailed structure of the transfer robot 12 will be described based on the drawings from FIG. 3 to FIG.

  The first picking head 13 is horizontally supported in the form of a cantilever at the lower end of the first robot arm 20 depending from above. The first picking head 13 includes a planar main body 13a having a rectangular shape, and a connecting pipe 13b projecting obliquely upward from one end of the head main body 13a in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the head main body 13a. The connecting tube 13 b is connected to the first robot arm 20 by a shaft 21, and the first picking head 13 can be rotated in a vertical plane around the shaft 21.

  A plurality of suction tools 22 protrude from the lower surface of the head body 13 a of the first picking head 13. The adsorbing tool 22 is a bellows-like component made of soft synthetic resin or rubber, and a total of eight pieces are arranged in a staggered manner in two rows as shown in FIG. Each suction tool 22 communicates with the vacuum suction hose 23 through the inside of the head main body 13a and the connecting pipe 13b. As shown in FIG. 7, the heights of the lower ends of the eight suction tools 22 are set in accordance with the shape of the article 1.

  A posture changing device 24 is attached to the first picking head 13. The posture changing device 24 includes an air cylinder 25 that connects the first robot arm 20 and the connecting pipe 13b. The air cylinder 25 is a clevis type, the air cylinder body 25a is rotatably attached to the first robot arm 20, and the tip of the rod 25b is rotatably attached to the connecting tube 13b.

  In the state of FIG. 4, the air cylinder 25 retracts the rod 25b, and the first picking head 13 is held so that the suction tool 22 faces directly below. In the state shown in FIG. 5, the air cylinder 25 pushes out the rod 25 b and rotates the first picking head 13 around the shaft 21 in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing. Thereby, the suction tool 22 faces diagonally downward.

  The method of supporting the second picking head 14 is the same as that of the first picking head 13. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the second picking head 14 is horizontally supported in the form of a cantilever at the lower end of the second robot arm 30 depending from above. The second picking head 14 includes a planar main body 14a having a rectangular shape, and a connecting pipe 14b projecting obliquely upward from one end of the head main body 14a in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the head main body 14a. The connecting pipe 14 b is connected to the second robot arm 30 by a shaft 31, and the second picking head 14 can rotate in a vertical plane around the shaft 31.

  A plurality of suction tools 32 protrude from the lower surface of the head main body 14 a of the second picking head 14. The adsorbing tool 33 is a bellows-like part made of soft synthetic resin or rubber, and a total of eight pieces are arranged in a staggered manner in two rows as shown in FIG. Each suction tool 32 communicates with the vacuum suction hose 33 through the inside of the head main body 14a and the connection pipe 14b. As shown in FIG. 7, the heights of the lower ends of the eight suction tools 32 are set in accordance with the shape of the article 1.

  A posture changing device 34 is attached to the second picking head 14. The posture changing device 34 includes an air cylinder 35 that connects the second robot arm 30 and the connecting pipe 14b. The air cylinder 35 is a clevis type, the air cylinder body 35a is rotatably attached to the second robot arm 30, and the tip of the rod 35b is rotatably attached to the connecting pipe 14b.

  The second picking head 14 is “reversed” with respect to the first picking head 13, and when viewed from the front, the protruding direction of the connecting pipe 14 b is opposite to that of the connecting pipe 13 b of the first picking head 13. The posture changing device 24 of the first picking head 13 is arranged on the left side of the first robot arm 20, whereas the posture changing device 34 of the second picking head 14 is arranged on the right side of the second robot arm 31. ing.

  In the state of FIG. 6, the air cylinder 35 has retracted the rod 35b, and the second picking head 14 is held so that the suction tool 32 faces directly below. When the air cylinder 35 pushes out the rod 35b, the second picking head 14 rotates around the shaft 31 in the clockwise direction in the figure. Thereby, the adsorption tool 32 faces diagonally downward.

  In FIG. 7, the connecting pipe 13b is on the left side and the connecting pipe 14b is on the right side. As shown in FIG. 7, the connecting position of the first picking head 13 and the first robot arm 20 is the left side in FIG. The connecting position of the head 14 and the second robot arm 30 is on the right side opposite to the connecting position. That is, the first robot arm 20 and the second robot arm 30 are separated from each other, from which the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 protrude in a facing manner. With such an arrangement, when the suction tool 22 and the suction tool 32 are tilted by the posture change device 24 and the posture change device 34, they face the same direction.

  The control device 15 operates the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 as follows.

  The control device 15 moves the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 three-dimensionally independently. Then, the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 are caused to pick up the articles 1 one by one from the top of the article carry-in conveyor 11 and are loaded on the first article receiving section 16 or the second article receiving section 17. The loading of the articles 1 on the first article receiving section 16 and the second article receiving section 17 is alternately performed in such a manner that loading of the articles 1 is started after one of them is fully loaded.

  While loading is being performed on one of the first article receiving unit 16 and the second article receiving unit 17, the loading operation of the article 1 from the other loaded in the previous sequence is performed. The unloading operation in this case is the transfer of the article 1 to the packing box 2.

  The first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 load the article 1 on one of the first article receiving part 16 and the second article receiving part 17 without taking a rest. Thereby, the loading efficiency of the article 1 is improved.

  The operation of loading the article 1 on one of the first article receiving section 16 and the second article receiving section 17 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 shows a state in which the article carry-in conveyor 11 is viewed from the front side in the traveling direction. That is, the viewpoint is reversed from FIG. The longitudinal direction of the article 1 is perpendicular to the paper surface.

  FIG. 9 shows a state where the article 1 is being loaded on the second article receiving portion 17. The first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 pick up and pick up the article 1 from the article carry-in conveyor 11 and lower it to a predetermined position of the second article receiving portion 17; 2 The second gate motion in which the article is lowered to the article receiving portion 17 and then raised, returned to the article carrying conveyor 11 and lowered is alternately repeated.

  The horizontal movement height of the second gate motion is set higher than the horizontal movement height of the first gate motion. The difference in height is set to a value at which the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 can be safely crossed without any contact at an intermediate point between the article carry-in conveyor 11 and the second article receiving portion 17. . That is, the safety distance between the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 is ensured by the difference in height between the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14.

  The first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 adsorb the article 1 with the longitudinal direction thereof coinciding with the longitudinal direction of the article 1. If the posture changing devices 24 and 34 change the angles of the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14, the article 1 rotates about the longitudinal axis.

  When another article 1 is lowered after the article 1 is received by the second article receiving portion 17, the control device 15 causes the subsequent article 1 to overlap the previous article 1 and the subsequent article 1. Is rotated around its axis to make an angle and then controlled to be lowered. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, the articles 1 are arranged in a domino-down state inside the second article receiving portion 17. Arranging the articles 1 in this way is convenient for collecting a plurality of articles 1 into a bundle.

  The transfer robot 12 concentrates the loading of the article 1 on one of the first article receiving unit 16 and the second article receiving unit 17, and when the loading is completed, the transfer robot 12 concentrates on the other article receiving unit. The operation of loading is repeated, and the movement of the first picking head 13 and the second picking head 14 never stops. For this reason, it is unnecessary to control the article carry-in conveyor 11 to temporarily stop the article 1 on the article carry-in conveyor 11, and the article 1 can be efficiently loaded.

  FIG. 10 shows a second embodiment of the article handling apparatus 10. The difference from the first embodiment is the arrangement of the first article receiving portion 16 and the second article receiving portion 17. In the first embodiment, the first article receiving section 16 and the second article receiving section 17 are arranged on both sides of the article carrying conveyor 11. However, in the second embodiment, the first article receiving section 16 is provided on one side of the article carrying conveyor 11. And the second article receiving portion 17 are arranged side by side. The transfer robot 12 loads the article 1 intensively on one of the first article receiving section 16 and the second article receiving section 17 and, when completed, concentrates the article 1 on the other article receiving section. The point of repeating the operation of loading is the same as in the first embodiment.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, it is possible to change such that the packing box itself is used as the article receiving unit. Further, in order to keep the first picking head and the second picking head at a safe distance, it is possible to change such that the horizontal distance between the both is changed.

  The present invention is applicable to an article handling apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Goods 2 Packing box 10 Goods handling apparatus 11 Goods carrying-in conveyor 12 Transfer robot 13 1st picking head 14 2nd picking head 15 Control apparatus 16 1st goods receiving part 17 2nd goods receiving part 18 Packing box carrying-in conveyor 19 Packing box Unloading conveyor 20 First robot arm 24 Posture change device 30 Second robot arm 34 Posture change device

Claims (7)

An article carrying conveyor for sequentially carrying a plurality of articles;
A first picking head and a second picking head each having an adsorber for adsorbing the article on the article carrying conveyor;
A transfer robot for independently three-dimensionally moving the first picking head and the second picking head;
An article receiving portion for receiving the article picked up from the carry-in conveyor by the first picking head and the second picking head;
A control device for the picking head and the transfer robot;
The control device causes the first picking head and the second picking head to alternately perform an operation of picking up the article from the article carry-in conveyor and lowering the article to a predetermined position of the article receiving portion. An article in which one of the picking head and the second picking head is directed from the article carry-in conveyor toward the article receiving part, and the other is directed from the article catching part to the article carry-in conveyor to be kept at a safe distance from each other. Handling device.   2. The article handling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control device secures the safety distance by differentiating heights of the first picking head and the second picking head. 3.   The first picking head and the second picking head are each supported in the form of a cantilever at a lower end of a robot arm suspended from above, and a connection position of the first picking head and the robot arm combined therewith 3. The article handling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second picking head and the connecting position of the robot arm combined with the second picking head are opposite to each other.   The first picking head and the second picking head are each provided with a posture changing device that rotates the article around its axis, and the control device is configured to receive the article after the article is received by the article receiving portion. When another article is lowered, the subsequent article is superposed on the preceding article, and the latter article is rotated around its axis to make an angle and then lowered. The article handling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the articles are arranged in a domino-tilted state.   The article receiving section includes a first article receiving section and a second article receiving section arranged so as to sandwich the article carry-in conveyor, and the control device loads the article into the first article receiving section and the second article receiving section. The article handling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the article is alternately loaded on the article receiving portion.   The article receiving section includes a first article receiving section and a second article receiving section disposed on one side of the article carry-in conveyor, and the control device loads the article into the first article receiving section and the second article. The article handling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the article is alternately loaded on the receiving portion.   The article loading operation is performed on the other while the article loading operation is performed on one of the first article receiving unit and the second article receiving unit. The article handling apparatus as described.

Images