JP2015203596A - position determination device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a position determination device capable of appropriately determining the position of a stored object stored in a container.SOLUTION: A position determination device includes a determination part for determining the position of a stored object S stored in a container C1 for storing a stored object. The container C1 includes: a container main body 12 for storing the stored object S; and a positioning body 13 for positioning the stored object S stored in the container main body 12. The positioning body 13 includes a detection part 5 mounted at a position corresponding to the size and storage position of the stored object S for detecting the position of the positioning body 13. The determination part determines the position of the stored object S on the basis of the position information of the positioning body 13 detected by the detection part.

Description

  The present invention relates to a position discriminating device including a container that accommodates an item to be stored and a determination unit that determines the position of the item to be stored in the container.

  A conventional example of such a position discriminating apparatus is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-153928 (Patent Document 1). The position determination device of Patent Document 1 includes an imaging unit that captures an accommodation space that accommodates an accommodation in a container, and the accommodation accommodated in the container based on imaging information of the accommodation captured by the imaging unit. It is comprised so that the position of may be determined.

JP-A-2005-153828

In such a position determination device, since the position of the container is directly determined based on the imaging information of the container imaged by the imaging unit, depending on the shape and appearance of the container, the determination unit It is difficult to recognize the position of the container based on the imaging information, and it is difficult to determine the position of the container.
In particular, based on the position information of the contents determined by the position determination device, if the contents are to be held by the transfer device, it is necessary to accurately determine the size and position of the contents in the container body. In addition, since the position determination of the stored item by the position determination device is not accurate, the stored item may not be properly held by the transfer device.

  Therefore, there is a need for a position discriminating device that can appropriately discriminate the position of the contents accommodated in the container.

A characteristic configuration of the position determination device according to the present invention is a position determination device including a container that stores a stored item, and a determination unit that determines the position of the stored item stored in the container.
The container includes a container main body for storing the storage object, and a positioning body for positioning the storage object stored in the container main body, and the positioning body has a size and a storage position of the storage object. A detection unit that is mounted at a corresponding position and detects the position of the positioning body, and the determination unit determines the position of the container based on position information of the positioning body detected by the detection unit; In the point.

According to this characteristic configuration, the contents accommodated in the container main body in the container are positioned at the accommodating position in the container main body by the positioning body. And the positioning body is mounted | worn in the position according to the magnitude | size and accommodation position of the accommodation thing.
Therefore, for example, when the detection unit detects the positioning body, the position of the positioning body with respect to the detection unit is set to the size of the stored object and the storage size by setting the container in a predetermined detection position. Since it becomes a position according to a position, the discrimination | determination part can discriminate | determine the position and magnitude | size of an accommodation thing only from the information of the position of a positioning body. Further, even when the position of the container and the orientation of the container when the detection unit detects the positioning body are not constant, by detecting the preset set position in the container body in addition to the positioning body, the determination unit Based on the position information of the positioning body and the position information of the set position of the container, it is possible to determine the position and orientation of the container body and to determine the position and size of the container.
In this way, the determination unit does not need to determine the position of the stored item directly from the imaging information when determining the position of the stored item based on the imaging information, and the stored item regardless of the outer shape or color of the stored item. Therefore, the position of the contents accommodated in the container can be appropriately determined.

  Here, the container main body is formed in a rectangular shape in a plan view, and the storage position of the storage object is a predetermined one of the four corners of the container main body in the plan view and the positioning body. It is preferable that the positioning unit detects the position of the positioning body in a state where the container is positioned in a preset direction at a preset detection position.

According to this configuration, when the detection unit detects the positioning body, the position of the positioning body with respect to the detection unit is set to the size of the object by setting the container in a preset detection position at a preset detection position. Since the position corresponds to the storage position, the determination unit can determine the position and size of the stored item only from the position information of the positioning body detected by the detection unit.
And since the container is positioned by the preset one of the four corners of the rectangular container body in plan view and the positioning body, the positioning body can be moved in all horizontal directions of the housing section. Compared with the case where movement is restricted, the size of the positioning body and the number of positioning bodies can be reduced.

  In addition, it is preferable that the positioning body is constituted by a single L-shaped member in plan view.

According to this configuration, since the positioning body is configured by a single member formed in an L shape in plan view, the contents are stored using the corners of the rectangular container body in plan view. When positioning, the container can be positioned at a position defined by the corner of the container and one L-shaped member, and the container can be positioned even when the corner of the container body is not used. It can be positioned at the position determined by one. In particular, if the container is rectangular in plan view, it can be positioned at a more appropriately determined position.
Therefore, for example, the number of positioning bodies can be reduced as compared with the case where the positioning bodies are formed in a rod shape and a large number of positioning bodies are arranged around the accommodation.

  Further, the container body has a plurality of recessed portions that are recessed downward into the support portion that supports the contents, and the positioning body has a fitting portion that can be fitted into the recessed portion at a lower end portion thereof. It is preferable that the container main body is configured to be detachable at a position corresponding to the storage position.

  According to this configuration, the positioning body is accommodated by selecting the recessed part corresponding to the position and size of the contained item from the plurality of recessed parts, fitting the fitting part, and mounting the positioning body on the container body. It can be mounted at a position according to the position and size of the object. Further, the positioning body can be detached from the container main body by removing the fitting portion upward from the recessed portion, and the positioning body can be easily attached to and detached from the container main body.

Top view of the goods transport facility Side view showing container for loading / unloading at second transfer position Exploded perspective view of container for loading and unloading Plan view showing the container body of the container for loading and unloading Longitudinal side view showing the container body of the container for loading and unloading The perspective view of the container for storage / exit which accommodated the thing Longitudinal side view of the container for storing and storing items Top view of the container for storing and storing items Top view of the container for storing and storing items Control block diagram

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a position discriminating apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking as an example a case where the apparatus is applied to an article conveying facility.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article transport facility includes a first transport device 1 that transports the loading / unloading container C <b> 1 along the direction indicated by the arrow, and a picking container C <b> 2 along the direction indicated by the arrow. The 2nd conveying apparatus 2 which conveys, and the transfer apparatus 3 which transfers the accommodation material S to the container C2 for picking from the container C1 for loading / unloading are provided.

  Also, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 10, the article transport facility detects the height of the transfer object to be transferred S accommodated in the loading / unloading container C1 located at the first transport position P1. The distance sensor 4, the image pickup device 5 for picking up the container C1 for loading / unloading located at the first transfer position P1, and the operations of the first transfer device 1, the second transfer device 2 and the transfer device 3 are controlled. And a control device H.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the storage container C1 having a rectangular shape in plan view is stored in the storage container C1 in a state of being stacked in the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, a sheet-like tablet sheet encapsulated in a state in which a plurality of tablets are divided is accommodated as the accommodation S.

As shown in FIG. 1, a loading / unloading container C <b> 1 that contains the contents S is unloaded from an automatic warehouse (not shown), and the unloaded loading / unloading container C <b> 1 is first transported by the first transport device 1. It is conveyed to position P1. In addition, the picking container C2 in which the contents S are not stored is transported to the second transport position P2 by the second transport device 2.
Then, in the transfer device 3, the contents S are transferred from the loading / unloading container C1 positioned at the first transfer position P1 to the picking container C2 positioned at the second transfer position P2. The loading / unloading container C1 in which a part or all of the stored items S are taken out by the transfer device 3 is transported by the first transport device 1 from the first transport position P1 toward the automatic warehouse. . Further, the picking container C2 in which the contents S are accommodated in the transfer device 3 is directed from the second transport position P2 to the picking location (not shown) where the worker performs the picking work in the second transport device 2. Are transported.

The 1st conveyance apparatus 1 is provided with the conveyance conveyor 7 comprised with the belt conveyor which mounts and conveys the container C1 for loading / unloading, and the holding body 8 holding the container C1 for loading / unloading in the 1st conveyance position P1. Configured. The transport conveyor 7 places and transports the storage container C1 in a posture in which the longitudinal direction of the storage container C1 is along the transport direction of the first transport device 1. The holding body 8 is configured to be movable between a holding position for holding the loading / unloading container C1 at the first transfer position P1 and a retreat position where the holding container 8 is retracted from the transfer path of the loading / unloading container C1.
The first transport device 1 configured as described above moves the holding body 8 to the holding position after the container C1 is moved to the first transport position P1 with the holding body 8 moved to the retracted position. Thus, the container C1 for loading / unloading is held at the first transport position P1. Then, when the transfer of the contents S by the transfer device 3 is completed, the holding body 8 is moved to the retracted position, and then the loading / unloading container C1 is transferred from the first transfer position P1.

  The 2nd conveying apparatus 2 is comprised including the conveyance conveyor 7 and the holding body 8 similarly to the 1st conveying apparatus 1, and the 1st conveying apparatus 1 except the point which the target object to convey is the container C2 for picking. It is configured in the same way. In FIG. 1, the holding body 8 of the first transport device 1 is located at the holding position, and the holding body 8 of the second transport device 2 is located at the retracted position.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer device 3 includes a suction pad 10 supported at the tip of the arm 9, and is configured so that the suction pad 10 can suck and support the upper surface of the stored item S. Incidentally, the suction pad 10 is configured to be elastically deformable in accordance with the unevenness even when the top surface of the storage object S has irregularities, and even if the storage object S is a tablet sheet with unevenness on the top surface, the suction pad 10 can be adsorbed without any problem. It is configured so that it can be supported.

As shown in FIG. 3, the loading / unloading container C <b> 1 includes a container main body 12 and a positioning body 13 that positions a storage item S stored in the container main body 12. The positioning body 13 is configured to be detachable with respect to the container main body 12 and is mounted at a position corresponding to the size of the storage object S and the storage position E of the storage object S. The loading / unloading container C <b> 1 corresponds to a container including the container main body 12 and the positioning body 13.
Incidentally, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show the container C1 for loading and unloading which does not contain the storage object S and from which the positioning body 13 is removed. FIGS. 6 to 9 illustrate the container C1 for storing and storing the storage object S and mounting the positioning body 13 thereon. Further, in FIGS. 6, 8, and 9, the accommodated objects S having different sizes in plan view are accommodated, and the positions of the accommodated objects S and the accommodated positions S according to the accommodated positions E are accommodated. The container C1 for loading / unloading with the positioning body 13 is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the container body 12 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view. The container body 12 is configured to include a support portion 14 for placing and supporting the contents S, and a peripheral wall portion 15 erected from a peripheral portion of the support portion 14, and an upper end portion of the peripheral wall portion 15. Thus, an opening 16 for taking in and out the accommodation S is formed.

A through hole 17 penetrating in the vertical direction is formed in the support portion 14 of the container body 12. A plurality of the through holes 17 are formed side by side in the longitudinal direction and the short direction of the container C1 for loading and unloading, and the plurality of through holes 17 are formed over the entire surface of the support portion 14.
One of the plurality of through holes 17 formed in the support portion 14 transmits the detection light of the distance sensor 4 in the vertical direction in a state where the container C1 is placed at the first transport position P1. The detection hole 18 is formed at the position. In addition to the one formed as the detection hole 18 among the plurality of through holes 17 formed in the support portion 14, the size in plan view is smaller than the detection hole 18, and the positioning body 13 The fitting portion 21 is formed as a recessed portion 19 into which the fitting portion 21 is fitted.

  One of the four corners in plan view of the container body 12 is preset as a container setting corner 12a. The container setting corner portion 12a is a corner portion located at the end portion on the downstream side in the transport direction of the first transport device 1 and on the right end portion in the transport direction among the four corner portions of the container body 12 in plan view. Is the container setting corner 12a. The container S having a rectangular shape in plan view is accommodated in the accommodation position E in a state where one of the four corners is aligned with the corner of the container setting corner 12a of the container body 12.

  The positioning body 13 is configured by a single L-shaped member in plan view. The positioning body 13 is formed with a fitting portion 21 which can be fitted into the recessed portion 19 at the lower end thereof. This positioning body 13 is mounted in accordance with the corner of the storage object S located at the storage position E (the corner that is opposite to the corner aligned with the container setting corner 12a).

As described above, by attaching the positioning body 13 to the container main body 12 in accordance with the position and size of the storage object S located at the storage position E, the storage object S is attached to the container main body 12 as shown in FIG. Positioning is performed by the container setting corner 12a and the positioning body 13.
That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the container S accommodated in the container main body 12 is moved by the container main body 12 so that the first conveying device 1 moves downstream in the conveying direction and moves rightward in the conveying direction. The positioning body 13 regulates the movement of the first conveying device 1 to the upstream side in the conveying direction and the movement to the left side when viewed in the conveying direction.

  And the stored matter S is accommodated in the accommodation position E in the state matched with the corner | angular part of the container setting corner | angular part 12a of the container main body 12 as mentioned above. And the detection hole 18 is formed in the edge part of the conveyance direction downstream side of the 1st conveying apparatus 1 in the support part 14, and the right side edge part by conveyance direction view, and the container setting corner | angular part 12a in the support part 14 is formed. Corresponding corners are formed. Therefore, regardless of the size of the accommodation S accommodated in the accommodation position E, the detection hole 18 is blocked by the accommodation S accommodated.

  Since the shape of the picking container C2 is the same as that of the loading / unloading container C1 except that the positioning body 13 is not provided, a detailed description of the picking container C2 is omitted.

Transfer information indicating the amount of transfer of the contents S from the storage container C1 to the picking container C2 is transmitted to the control device H from a host controller (not shown). The operations of the first transfer device 1, the second transfer device 2, and the transfer device 3 are controlled based on the detected information and the image pickup information of the image pickup device 5 and the transfer information from a host controller (not shown).
By the way, this transfer information is information for transferring the contents S from one loading / unloading container C1 to one picking container C2, or from a plurality of loading / unloading containers C1 to one picking container C2. There is a case of information for transferring the contents S and a case of information for transferring the contents S from a single container C1 to a plurality of picking containers C2.

  The control device H, after transporting the loading / unloading container C1 in which the material S to be taken out is stored to the first transport position P1, performs the first transport to hold the storage / unloading container C1 at the first transport position P1. The operation of the device 1 is controlled. Further, the control device H controls the operation of the second transport device 2 so as to hold the picking container C2 at the second transport position P2 after transporting the empty picking container C2 to the second transport position P2. .

In order to hold the container C1 for loading / unloading at the first transport position P1 by the holding body 8 after the container H1 is transported to the first transport position P1 by the transport conveyor 7, the control device H The operation of the transport device 1 is controlled.
Next, the control device H images the storage container C1 located at the first transport position P1, determines the position of the positioning body 13 based on the imaging information captured by the imaging device 5, and further determines the determination. Based on the position of the positioning body 13, the position of the storage object S, specifically, the suction target position positioned at the center in the longitudinal direction and the center in the lateral direction of the storage object S is determined. The imaging device 5 corresponds to a detection unit that detects the position of the positioning body 13, and the control device H determines the position of the accommodation S based on the imaging information of the positioning body 13 captured by the imaging device 5. This corresponds to the determination unit. The control device H and the imaging device 5 constitute a position determination device.

  Based on the detection information of the distance sensor 4, the control device H determines the height of the uppermost accommodation S that is stacked. Then, based on the information on the position of the object to be sucked in the object S and the information on the height in the object S, the object to be sucked in the uppermost object S is sucked and held, and then the object S The picking container C2 is moved immediately above the picking container C2 located at the transfer position P2, and then the suction holding for the contents S is released and the contents S are transferred from the loading / unloading container C1 to the picking container C2. The operation of the loading device 3 is controlled. The determination of the height and the control of the operation of the transfer device 3 are repeated as many times as necessary based on the transfer information.

  In this way, the storage container C1 is positioned in the first transport position P1 in a preset direction, and the positioning body 13 of the storage container C1 is imaged by the imaging device 5. And the control apparatus H discriminate | determines the position of the positioning body 13 based on the imaging information of the imaging device 5, and discriminate | determines the position of the accommodation thing S accommodated in the container C1 for storage from the position of the positioning body 13. FIG. I am doing so. For this reason, the control device H does not need to directly determine the position of the storage object S based on the imaging information captured by the imaging device 5, and therefore the position of the storage object S is directly determined from the imaging information obtained by capturing the storage object S. Even in the case where it is impossible to discriminate between the two, the position of the storage object S can be discriminated appropriately.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above embodiment, the detection unit detects the position of one positioning body 13, and the determination unit determines the position of the object S based on the position information of one positioning body 13 detected by the detection unit. However, the detection unit detects the positions of the plurality of positioning bodies 13, and the determination unit determines the positions of the objects S based on the position information of the plurality of positioning bodies 13 detected by the detection unit. May be. In addition, a detection plate is provided in a preset portion (for example, the container setting corner portion 12a) in the container body 12, and the detection unit determines the position of the one or more positioning bodies 13 and the position of the detection plate of the container. And the determination unit may determine the position of the object S based on the position information of the position of the one or more positioning bodies 13 detected by the detection unit and the position of the detection plate of the container. .

(2) In the above embodiment, the detection unit detects the position of the positioning body 13 in a state where the container is positioned at a preset detection position in a preset direction, but the container is preset. The detection unit may detect the position of the positioning body 13 in a state where it is not positioned at the detection position or in a state where the container is not positioned in a preset direction.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the storage object S is positioned at the storage position E by one positioning body 13, but the storage object S may be positioned at the storage position E by a plurality of positioning bodies 13.
Specifically, the container setting of the container main body 12 is such that the container S is positioned at the storage position E by the two positioning bodies 13 having a L-shaped plan view without using the container setting corner portion 12a of the container main body 12. Regardless of whether the corners 12a or one side surface of the container body 12 is used, the object S is positioned at the accommodation position E by a plurality of I-shaped positioning bodies 13 in plan view, or the container body 12 is not used. Instead, the rod-shaped positioning body 13 may be erected around the accommodation S located at the accommodation position E to position the accommodation S at the accommodation position E.
Note that when the container S is positioned at the storage position E by the positioning body 13 without using the container setting corner portion 12a of the container main body 12, the shape of the container main body 12 in plan view is other than a rectangular shape such as a circle. The shape may be acceptable. Regardless of whether the container body 12 is used, the shape of the accommodation S in plan view may be a shape other than a rectangular shape such as a circle.

(4) In the above embodiment, the same positioning body 13 is used regardless of the size and position of the accommodation S. However, the positioning body 13 having a different shape and size according to the size and position of the accommodation S is used. May be.

(5) In the above embodiment, the positioning body 13 is configured to be detachable from the container main body 12, but the positioning body 13 may be always attached to the container main body 12 in a state where the position can be changed. Specifically, the positioning body 13 is mounted on the container body 12 so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and the positioning body 13 is slid in the horizontal direction so as to come into contact with the side surface of the storage object S located at the storage position E. Thus, the positioning body 13 may be mounted at a position corresponding to the size of the storage object S and the storage position E.

(6) In the above embodiment, the detection unit is configured by the imaging device 5, but the detection unit may be another detection device such as a photoelectric sensor or a limit switch. By the way, when the detection unit is configured by a photoelectric sensor, the photoelectric sensor is moved in the horizontal direction relative to the storage container and the partition is detected by the photoelectric sensor, and the discrimination unit is partitioned by the photoelectric sensor. It is conceivable to determine the position of the partition body based on the positional relationship between the photoelectric sensor and the container body when the body is detected.

5 Imaging device (detection unit)
12 Container body 13 Positioning body 19 Recessed portion 21 Fitting portion C1 Entry / exit container (container)
H Control device (discriminator)
S Containment

Claims (4)

A position discriminating device comprising a discriminating unit for discriminating the position of the accommodated item accommodated in a container accommodating the accommodated item,
The container includes a container main body for storing the storage object, and a positioning body for positioning the storage object stored in the container main body,
The positioning body is mounted at a position corresponding to the size and the storage position of the stored item,
A detection unit for detecting the position of the positioning body;
The position discriminating device in which the discriminating unit discriminates the position of the object based on the position information of the positioning body detected by the detecting unit. The container body is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view;
The storage position of the storage object is positioned by a preset one of the four corners of the container body in plan view and the positioning body,
The position determination device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects the position of the positioning body in a state where the container is positioned in a preset direction at a preset detection position.   The position determining device according to claim 1, wherein the positioning body is configured by a single member having an L shape in plan view. The container body is formed with a plurality of recessed portions that are recessed downward into a support portion that supports the contents,
The positioning body according to claim 1, wherein a fitting portion that can be fitted into the recessed portion is formed at a lower end portion of the positioning body, and the positioning body is configured to be detachable at a position corresponding to the accommodation position in the container body. The position discriminating device according to any one of claims.

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