JP2017036113A - Workpiece transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a workpiece transfer device 50 which shortens work time for holding one workpiece W in an intended direction and thereby transfers a larger number of the workpieces W with their orientations matched in a short time.SOLUTION: A workpiece transfer device 50 holds workpieces W on transfer means 20 and transfers the workpieces W. The workpiece transfer device includes holding means 10 which is movable in a plane parallel to a transfer surface 23 for transferring the workpieces W in the transfer means 20. The holding means 10 includes holding members 17 which hold the workpieces W on the transfer surface 23. Each holding member 17 may freely move toward and away from the transfer surface 23 and may rotate around an axis while holding the workpiece W.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a work transfer device for taking out a work from a work transfer device such as a belt conveyor and transferring the work to another transfer device, a pallet, a container, or the like. It is related with the workpiece transfer apparatus which enabled it to transfer by aligning.

  2. Description of the Related Art An article conveying apparatus is used in an industrial product manufacturing / inspection line or agricultural product processing / inspection line to transfer an article to be conveyed to a predetermined place. In particular, when manufacturing industrial products, a parts feeder or the like is used to accurately supply various parts.

  However, when transporting industrial products and crops, they are not always transported in an aligned state, but are supplied in a stacked state on a pallet, or are supplied in a random orientation on a transport means such as a belt conveyor. There were many things. When these are supplied to the manufacturing, processing, or inspection line, workers sometimes have to transport them one by one in the same direction. Therefore, conventionally, several article alignment apparatuses using robots have been proposed in order to reduce the labor of such workers.

  For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-305551) proposes an article alignment apparatus having a higher processing capacity than a conventional apparatus in which the directions of containers are aligned one by one by a single vacuum pad. Yes. The article alignment apparatus includes a camera that shoots an article that is randomly supplied, a robot that holds the article photographed by the camera and aligns the direction of the article in a predetermined direction, and a control device that controls the operation of the robot. The robot includes a supporting member configured to be rotatable on a horizontal plane and movable to a required position, and a plurality of robots that are independently movable up and down with respect to the supporting member and hold articles. Holding means, and the control device includes a data storage unit that stores in advance a relative direction of the article with respect to a support member when the holding means holds the article, and an image of the article from the camera. The position of the support member of the robot is controlled so that the holding means for holding the article can hold the article in the direction stored in the data storage unit in advance. And a control unit is configured to each article taken by the camera as holding align the sequential direction by the holding means of the robot.

  Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-293695) proposes an apparatus that enables a robot to automatically pick up workpieces one by one when transporting workpieces stacked on a pallet. The apparatus proposed in Patent Document 2 attaches an imaging device such as a visual sensor to the wrist of a robot, obtains a three-dimensional position and orientation of each workpiece based on an image captured by the imaging device, The workpiece can be handled by feeding back the position and orientation detection information to the robot side.

  Further, in the past, when a container is filled with a liquid or granular material by a filling machine, the container filled with the liquid or granular material must be supplied to the filling machine with the filling port aligned. The work of aligning the filling port was done manually. As a result, the work efficiency is low, and it is not possible to always supply a stable container to a high-speed filling machine. It had the problem of causing chipping.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-64730), an airframe is provided in order to provide an article alignment and supply device that can automatically supply articles one by one in one direction and can save labor. A hopper of the article attached to the hopper, a take-out means for the article standing on the machine body so that the lower end of the hopper faces the bottom of the hopper on one side of the hopper, and the lower side of the upper end of the take-out means An article aligning means for storing articles to be transferred, a transferring means for arranging a predetermined number of articles connected to the aligning means and arranged in an aligned state, and a transfer means provided at the end of the transferring means. An article alignment and supply apparatus is proposed that includes a delivery means for delivering the articles on the means one by one.

JP-A-6-305551 JP 2000-293695 A JP-A-6-64730

  As described above, there has been proposed an apparatus for aligning and transferring workpieces that are randomly conveyed in the past. However, the article alignment apparatus proposed in Patent Document 1 controls the position (and orientation) of the support member of the robot in accordance with the orientation of the article to be held. Then, the support member of the robot is moved to the target workpiece, and the operation of rotating the support member so that the workpiece can be held in the target orientation becomes necessary, and one workpiece is held in the target orientation. The operation time to do was long. As a result, the subsequent work flow becomes slow, making it difficult to improve work efficiency.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a work transfer device that shortens the work time for holding one work in a desired direction and can transfer more works in the same direction in a short time. Is the first problem.

  In addition, when the workpiece is held in a large mass or when it is difficult to reliably hold the workpiece due to its shape or surface material, the holding means is provided after the workpiece is held by the holding means as in Patent Document 1. If the entire supporting member is rotated, centrifugal force acts on the held work, and the held work may jump out of the holding means.

  Accordingly, a second object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece transfer device that reduces the action of centrifugal force so that the holding state can be reliably maintained even after the workpiece is held.

  Furthermore, in order to smoothly and efficiently carry out the processing and processing of the workpiece at the transported destination, it is necessary to shorten the transfer time of the workpiece. When calculating and controlling the workpiece holding operation based on an image of a randomly arranged workpiece, it is necessary to quickly calculate a parameter value for controlling the workpiece holding operation. In order to securely hold the workpiece, it is necessary to quickly and accurately set the posture of the workpiece to be held and the place to hold it.

In view of this, the present invention quickly identifies a workpiece to be read and held from an image in which a plurality of workpieces are captured, and calculates the position coordinates and the rotation amount held on the workpiece, thereby quickly A third problem is to provide a workpiece transfer device that can hold a workpiece accurately and accurately.

  In order to solve at least one of the above-described problems, the present invention includes a plurality of holding members for holding a workpiece, and each holding member is configured to change the orientation of the workpiece while holding the workpiece. A transfer device is provided.

  That is, according to the present invention, a workpiece transfer apparatus that holds and transfers a workpiece on a transfer means, and includes a holding means that can move in a plane parallel to a transfer surface for transferring the workpiece in the transfer means. The holding means includes a plurality of holding members that hold the workpiece on the conveyance surface, and the holding member is movable forward and backward toward the conveyance surface and rotates around the axis while holding the workpiece. Provided is a movable workpiece transfer device.

  The conveying means may be a belt conveyor that conveys workpieces continuously or intermittently, a pallet on which workpieces are placed, or a work table. However, since the workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention needs to be supplied continuously or intermittently, when using a pallet or a work table, the workpiece is supplied as needed from a hopper or the like. It is desirable. Such a conveying means needs to have a conveying surface for stably placing the workpiece so that the workpiece can be stably and reliably held by the workpiece transfer device (particularly the holding member) according to the present invention. is there. Such a conveying surface may be configured as a surface that moves continuously or intermittently with a workpiece placed thereon, or may be configured as a non-moving surface to which workpieces are sequentially supplied. Such a conveyance surface can also be configured to be fixed so that the workpiece placed thereon does not move or swing. For example, the conveyance surface can be configured to hold the workpiece by charging static electricity, You may comprise so that a workpiece | work may be adsorbed by forming and sucking a plurality of fine holes.

  Furthermore, it is desirable that the conveying means is swung continuously or intermittently so that the overlap between the workpieces is eliminated and the flat state is obtained. In order to eliminate the overlap between workpieces, other structures can be provided.For example, a roller or a plate for dropping the overlapping workpieces can be provided, or air can be injected to drop the workpieces. it can.

  In addition, the term “transfer” in the present specification means that a workpiece existing at a specific location is moved to another location, and in addition to moving all workpieces existing at the specific location, This includes the case of selectively moving only a part of workpieces that meet specific conditions. A case where only a part of the workpieces is selectively moved corresponds to a case where a nonstandard workpiece is extracted from the production / processing line, for example, when a workpiece within a certain standard range or outside the range is extracted.

  The holding means is for holding and transferring the workpiece so as to transfer the workpiece placed on the conveying surface, and is configured to include a plurality of holding members for holding the workpiece. Such a holding means is provided so as to be movable in a plane parallel to the transport surface, and can be configured using, for example, an arm portion of a robot that swings or rotates in the parallel plane. That is, the holding means includes an elevating member that is attached to the arm portion of the robot and moves in a plane parallel to the transfer surface, and a plurality of the holding members are provided for the elevating member. Can do. In addition, a rail may be provided in the vicinity of the conveying means, and an elevating member provided with a plurality of holding members may be configured to travel on the rail. At this time, the rail provided in the vicinity of the conveying means can move the elevating member to an arbitrary place by combining the two rails in the conveying direction and the direction intersecting the conveying direction. In many cases, the transporting means often transports the workpiece horizontally, so that the holding means may be formed to move horizontally without depending on the inclination of the transport surface.

  The holding member comes into contact with and holds the work existing on the transport surface. In addition to attracting and holding the work, the holding member holds the work by charging static electricity or generates magnetism from an electromagnet or the like. It can be configured to hold the workpiece by holding the workpiece with an arm or the like. However, the holding means needs to be configured so that the workpiece can be arbitrarily held or released, and it is desirable to perform the operation quickly. Therefore, in the workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention, it is desirable that the holding means is configured to hold the workpiece by the sucked negative pressure.

  The holding member is configured to be able to rotate around the axis in a state where the workpiece is held. By rotating around the axis, the orientation of the workpiece can be changed. Therefore, the holding member preferably includes a shaft portion extending in a direction intersecting the conveyance surface, particularly preferably in a direction orthogonal thereto, and the shaft portion is preferably configured to rotate around the axis. The rotation direction of the shaft portion is one direction and can be formed to be rotatable in both directions.

  A plurality of such holding members can be provided in one holding means. For example, two or more can be provided on one lifting member. Since each holding member holds one workpiece, a plurality of workpieces can be transferred by one transfer operation. The holding operation of the workpiece is performed for each holding member. When the interval between the holding members and the interval between the workpieces to be held coincide with each other, two or more workpieces are moved to each holding member. Can be configured to hold simultaneously. For example, this is effective when the workpieces to be transferred are aligned and arranged, or when the interval between the workpieces coincides with the interval between the holding members.

  The workpiece transfer device according to the present invention includes a plurality of holding members as described above, and each holding member can rotate around an axis, so that the posture of the workpiece held by any holding member or Even if it rotates around the axis to correct the orientation, it does not affect the workpieces held by other support members, thus realizing a workpiece transfer device that can stably hold, rotate, and transfer multiple workpieces To do.

  The plurality of holding members that hold the workpiece as described above need to be formed so as to be able to advance and retract with respect to the conveyance surface during the holding operation of the workpiece. Such an advance / retreat operation of the holding member may be configured such that only the holding member in the holding means moves forward / backward in addition to the entire holding means moving forward / backward. Therefore, when the holding means is configured by providing a plurality of holding members on the lifting member that moves in a plane parallel to the transport surface, at least one of the lifting member and the holding member is located on the transport surface. On the other hand, it needs to be formed so as to freely advance and retract. In other words, the elevating member or the holding member can be formed so as to be movable forward and backward with respect to the conveyance surface, and the elevating member or the holding member can be formed so as to be movable forward and backward with respect to the conveyance surface. Such a forward / backward movement can use a motor, an electromagnet, or a cylinder that operates with a fluid such as air or oil.

  The operation of the holding means configured as described above and the holding member therein can be controlled by a processing means configured using an information processing apparatus such as a computer. Therefore, the workpiece transfer device according to the present invention further reads at least the shape and orientation of each workpiece from an image obtained by photographing a plurality of workpieces existing on the conveying means, and holds the workpiece holding point and the workpiece held. A processing means for calculating the amount of rotation can be provided. By using such processing means, the holding member holds each work at the work holding point calculated by the processing means, and rotates the held work by the rotation angle calculated by the processing means. The direction of the work held by each holding member can be made uniform.

  The processing means acquires a photographed image by an image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS, analyzes the photographed image, and calculates a work holding point and a held work rotation amount. Therefore, the processing means is configured to execute image analysis processing. Specifically, a plurality of workpieces existing on the conveyance surface are photographed by a digital camera, a digital video camera, or the like, and information on the shape and orientation of each workpiece is acquired from the photographed images. When recognizing the shape of the workpiece, since the shape of the workpiece can be recognized based on the difference in tone, color, or brightness in the acquired image, image processing such as binarization can be performed. For this reason, in order to accurately recognize the shape of the workpiece, it is desirable that the background of the captured image, that is, the conveyance surface, has a color or brightness different from that of the workpiece. For example, when the work is white, the transport surface is preferably black.

  The processing means can also control the holding means so as to selectively hold only a specific workpiece. The specific workpiece can be a workpiece having a specific shape or size, or a workpiece having a specific color or pattern. In order for the processing means to extract a work of a specific color, it is necessary to add a color element as one of the parameters for analyzing the captured image. In addition, since the processing means can also recognize a pattern, the direction of the workpiece can be corrected based on the pattern or symbol attached to the workpiece.

  Furthermore, when recognizing the shape and orientation of the workpiece by the processing means, it is desirable that the workpiece is not shaken when an image is taken. This is because, when a swinging work is photographed, the holding point calculated based on the photographed image is displaced. Therefore, it is desirable that the processing means calculates the shape, center, holding point, and the like of the workpiece from two images taken at different times. In other words, when the centers and contours of the workpieces are misaligned in images taken at different times, it is determined that the workpieces are shaking and can be excluded from the transfer target. It should be noted that a certain range of the workpiece shape and the center deviation between the two photographed images can be allowed. This is because there may be no particular problem as long as the holding member can swing.

  The rotation amount of the workpiece in the processing means can be calculated by reading the direction of the workpiece with respect to the reference direction. That is, it is possible to calculate the degree of rotation of each workpiece existing on the transport surface from the reference direction in a plane parallel to the transport surface. In particular, when calculating the amount of rotation, it is necessary to recognize the shape of the workpiece, and it is desirable to calculate the orientation of any one point (for example, “upper end” or “lower end”) of the workpiece. In addition, the rotation amount from the reference direction can be calculated as a value in the forward direction or the reverse direction, in addition to calculating the rotation direction as one of the directions.

  The holding member rotates the workpiece based on the workpiece rotation amount calculated by the processing means to align the orientation of the held workpiece. If the workpiece to be transferred has directionality, it is desirable to align the direction. On the other hand, in the case of a workpiece that has only a vertical and horizontal direction and does not have directionality, the workpiece may be aligned in the vertical or horizontal direction. Furthermore, it is not always necessary to align the workpieces in the same direction, and the workpieces can be shifted one by one or adjacent workpieces can be aligned in the opposite direction. In other words, the rotation of the workpiece in the holding member aligns the direction of the workpiece with the direction set in the processing means.

  Moreover, as for the workpiece | work transferred with the workpiece | work transfer apparatus concerning this invention, it is desirable that all the workpiece | work which exists on a conveyance surface is the same shape. This is because the workpiece shape recognition processing in the processing means can be performed quickly. However, two or more types of shapes or sizes may be sufficient as the some workpiece | work which exists on a conveyance surface. This is because it is only necessary to recognize the shape of each workpiece and calculate its holding point. In other words, the workpiece transfer device according to the present invention may be used for transferring workpieces of the same shape as industrial products, as well as cases of various shapes or sizes such as crops and minerals. Can be used. Therefore, the workpiece transferred by the workpiece transfer device of the present invention is an industrial product such as parts and raw materials, and various articles such as agricultural products such as cherries and apples, marine products such as shellfish, or minerals such as ore. The workpiece transfer device according to the present invention can be used to transfer them.

  The calculation of the workpiece holding point in the processing means is performed for each workpiece to be transferred. In other words, the workpieces transferred by the workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention are preferably of the same shape as described above, but may be two or more types or sizes. When specifying the holding point, a data file in which the shape of the workpiece and the location of the holding point are associated in advance is held in the storage device of the processing means, and the location information of the holding point is obtained based on the shape recognized by the holding means. In addition to performing by reading, it can be performed by calculating the holding point as needed based on the shape recognized by the processing means. In particular, if a data file that associates the shape of the workpiece and the location of the holding point is provided in the storage device of the processing means, the holding point can be specified uniformly based on the recognized shape. It is possible to greatly reduce the processing time for specifying the. On the other hand, when calculating the holding point as needed based on the shape recognized by the processing means, it is possible to carry out transfer processing for workpieces of various shapes.

  Further, when the work transfer device according to the present invention is configured with the above processing means, it is calculated whether or not the work on the transport surface satisfies the amount held by a single holding operation. It is also desirable to control the number of operations and the timing of supplying the workpiece to the transfer surface.

  That is, in the workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention, the processing unit counts the number of workpieces existing within the movement range of the holding unit from the images obtained by photographing the plurality of workpieces, and the holding unit includes When the number of holding operations of the holding means is calculated from the number of holding members, and the number of works existing within the movement range of the holding means is less than the number of holding members provided in the holding means, a plurality of works are It is desirable that the configuration is such that at least the shape and orientation of each workpiece is read from a new photographed image, and the holding point of each workpiece and the amount of rotation of the held workpiece are calculated.

  The workpiece transfer device according to the present invention includes a plurality of holding members, and each holds one workpiece. Therefore, in order to perform transfer work efficiently, all the holding operations are performed in one transfer operation. It is desirable that the means holds the workpiece. Therefore, when the number of workpieces on the conveyance surface is less than the number of workpieces that can be conveyed in one operation, a new workpiece is supplied on the conveyance surface, and based on a new image obtained by photographing the workpiece, It is desirable to read the shape and orientation of each workpiece.

  In addition, since the workpiece transfer device according to the present invention includes a plurality of holding members, each of which holds the workpiece and is formed to be rotatable, the workpiece to be transferred is randomly, that is, in various directions. An advantageous effect can be obtained when supplied in a messy state. This is because workpieces that are randomly present in various directions can be held and transferred in the same direction.

  And when a workpiece | work exists in a messy state on a conveyance means, the workpiece | work of the attitude | position suitable for hold | maintaining for a transfer and the workpiece | work of the attitude | position difficult to hold | maintain are mixed. Therefore, in the workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention, it is desirable to specify only a workpiece in a posture suitable for transfer from workpieces existing in a messy state and perform the holding, rotating, and transfer operations.

  Therefore, in the workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention, the workpieces to be transferred are randomly arranged on the conveying means, and the processing means is an image obtained by photographing the workpieces randomly arranged on the conveying means. Then, at least the shape and orientation of each workpiece is read to identify the workpiece to be transferred, the holding point of each specified workpiece and the rotation amount of the held workpiece are calculated, and further, the processing means as the transfer target It is desirable to provide a work returning means for returning an unspecified work to the upstream side of the conveying means again.

The holding force of the workpiece in the holding member according to the present invention, the formation interval between the holding members, and the like can be appropriately designed according to the size, shape and mass of the object to be held (work), and the holding It is possible to design appropriately according to the mass of the workpiece that holds the conveyance force when moving the member or the holding means (the in-plane movement and the forward / backward movement) and the number of the workpieces to be held.

  In the workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention, the holding means that can move in a plane parallel to the conveyance surface that conveys the workpiece includes a plurality of holding members that hold the workpiece on the conveyance surface. For this reason, a plurality of workpieces can be transferred by one transfer operation. And the holding member holding each workpiece | work can rotate independently in the state which each hold | maintained the workpiece | work. Therefore, the movement to the workpiece to be held and the correction of the orientation of the held workpiece can be performed separately and simultaneously. As a result, it is possible to reduce the work time for holding one workpiece in a desired orientation, and to provide a workpiece transfer device that can transfer more workpieces in the same direction in a short time. I can do things.

  In addition, each holding member can be independently rotated, and the rotation operation of the workpiece held by any one of the holding members has no influence on the holding member holding another workpiece. Is not given. Therefore, after holding a workpiece, it will not be rotated to align the direction of other workpieces, so the action of centrifugal force can be reduced. It is possible to provide a workpiece transfer device capable of maintaining the above.

When the workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention includes a processing unit for controlling the operation of the holding unit and the holding member, the processing unit holds a plurality of workpieces to be transferred from images taken. It is possible to selectively specify a workpiece having a posture suitable for the operation and calculate a holding point and a rotation amount for the identified workpiece. Therefore, even when the workpiece to be transferred is supplied in a random state (messy state with no uniform orientation), the workpiece to be held is selectively specified, and extra computation / processing is performed. By eliminating the necessity, it is possible to quickly calculate the parameter value for controlling the work holding operation, and to quickly and accurately set the posture of the work to be held and the place to hold it. Equipment can be provided.

The side view which shows the workpiece transfer apparatus concerning this Embodiment The top view which shows the workpiece transfer apparatus concerning this Embodiment Schematic diagram showing processing contents in processing means Side view showing holding operation of holding member Side view showing transfer operation in holding member

  Hereinafter, the workpiece transfer apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a workpiece transfer apparatus 50 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the workpiece transfer apparatus 50 according to this embodiment. In particular, FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example in which a work W transfer station 100 is configured using the work transfer device 50 according to the present embodiment.

  The workpiece transfer station 100 includes a hopper 21 that accommodates a workpiece W to be transferred, a supply conveyor 22 that supplies the workpiece W in the hopper 21 to a belt conveyor that is a conveying means 20, and an installation location of the workpiece transfer device 50. Conveying means 20 comprising a belt conveyor for conveying the workpiece W to the workpiece, a workpiece transfer device 50 installed in the vicinity of the conveying means 20, a receiving member 31 for receiving the workpiece W conveyed from the workpiece transfer device 50, a workpiece The return conveyor 32 that receives the workpiece W conveyed without being held by the transfer device 50 and returns it to the hopper 21, the imaging unit 45 that images the workpiece W existing on the conveying unit 20, and the imaging unit 45 And a processing means 40 for controlling the workpiece transfer device 50 and the like.

  In the present embodiment, the conveying means 20 is configured to intermittently convey the workpiece W, and there is no amount of the workpiece W transferred in one transfer operation in the image captured by the imaging means 45. In this case, the supply conveyor 22 is operated to supply the workpiece W in the hopper 21 to the transport means 20. By intermittently operating the conveying unit 20, the position where the workpiece W is present can be specified based on the image captured by the imaging unit 45, and the workpiece W can be accurately held. However, when the moving speed of the conveying means 20 is constant, the moving distance of the work W can be predicted and calculated from the time from the photographing time until the work W is held. However, it can be held by the workpiece transfer device 50. Further, the workpiece W can be held during continuous conveyance by the conveyance means 20 by configuring the workpiece transfer device 50 to hold the workpiece W while moving it at the same speed as the conveyance speed of the conveyance means 20. .

  In the conveying means 20, it is possible that the workpieces supplied from the hopper 21 overlap. Therefore, in the present embodiment, at least a region where the workpiece is supplied from the hopper is configured to swing in the transport unit 20. Such swinging eliminates the overlap of the workpieces and allows the standing workpiece to fall down. The swinging operation of the transfer means can be performed during the operation of transferring the workpiece W held by the holding member 17 to the receiving member 31 in the workpiece transfer device 50. As a result, it is possible to solve the problem that the photographing and holding cannot be performed during the swinging operation and the working time is increased.

  The conveying means 20 can be accompanied by a mechanism for attracting and holding the workpiece W according to the shape and mass of the workpiece W. That is, when the workpiece W is supplied from the supply conveyor 22, the workpiece W is supplied to the conveying means 20 by dropping, so that it may be considered that the workpiece W is not stabilized immediately and depends on the shape and mass of the workpiece W. When the workpiece W is photographed on the transport surface 23 of the transport means 20 in a state where the workpiece W is shaking, it becomes difficult to specify an accurate holding point due to the shaking. Therefore, when it is difficult to stop the shaking of the workpiece W falling on the conveyance surface 23, it is desirable to hold the workpiece W on the conveyance surface 23 by suction from a plurality of holes provided on the conveyance surface 23.

  The workpiece W falling from the supply conveyor 22 takes various postures on the conveyance surface 23. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the workpiece W has various postures such as a laterally tilted posture, an upright posture, and a horizontal posture, and the orientations thereof are also various. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the container in which the opening for filling is formed at the upper end is used as the work W, the work W to be transferred has directionality. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the processing means 40 including a computer is used, and only the workpiece W in a posture suitable for holding by the holding member 17 of the workpiece transfer device 50 is selected and held by the holding member 17. It is composed.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the processing contents in the processing means 40. As shown in FIG. 3A, the plurality of workpieces W conveyed by the conveying means 20 are imaged by the imaging means 45 provided above the conveying surface 23, and the image data is transmitted to the processing means 40. The It is desirable that the image data acquired by the processing means 40 is two images taken with a slight time gap. Based on the image data photographed with a time difference, the contour and center of each workpiece are calculated, and the difference between the two images can be obtained to determine whether or not the workpiece is shaking. If the deviation between the contours and the center of the two images exceeds a predetermined range, even if the holding point is specified, it is considered that it is shifted from the actual state or is difficult to hold on the holding member. Therefore, it can be excluded from the transfer target.

  The processing means 40 performs binarization processing on the acquired image data and performs contour detection processing. In the present embodiment, the entire shape of the acquired image is recognized by surrounding the outline with a rectangular and elliptical frame based on the tone difference. At this time, when the captured image does not match the contour shape held by the processing means 40, the overall shape is not recognized. In FIG. 3B, the overall shape of the workpiece W standing sideways is not recognized, and therefore the process of surrounding the outline with a rectangular and elliptical frame is not performed.

  After the recognition of the overall shape as described above, as shown in FIG. 3C, each workpiece W is held by a holding member 17 (to be described later) (holding point) and the amount of rotation. Is calculated. At this time, the work determined to be shaken by the analysis of the two image data described above can be excluded from the calculation points of the holding point and the rotation amount. In FIG. 3C, the direction in which the elliptical frame protrudes from the rectangular frame is specified as the upper direction, and the rotation angle (that is, the rotation amount) indicating how much the rotation is made with respect to the reference direction is read. . The calculation of the holding point and the rotation amount is performed for all of the workpieces W selected as holding targets, that is, the workpieces W that recognize the overall shape and set a frame on a rectangle and an ellipse. Then, based on the calculation result, the processing device controls the operation of the workpiece transfer device 50. The calculation of the rotation amount and holding point of each workpiece is not limited to the above processing, and other processing methods such as calculating and specifying the vertical and horizontal centers for each workpiece can also be used.

  As described above, the workpiece W existing on the transport surface 23 is photographed by the photographing means 45, the image is analyzed by the processing device, and the workpiece transfer device 50 is operated. In this work transfer device 50, the work W on the transfer surface 23 in the transfer means 20 is held, rotated, and aligned, and transferred to the receiving member 31.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5, the workpiece transfer apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment is disposed in the vicinity of the conveying means 20, and is provided with a base 11 serving as a base and the base 11 The first rotation member 12 that pivotally attaches the swing arm 13 to the upper end, the arm member 13 that swings in a plane parallel to the transport surface 23, and the tip end side of the arm member 13 is freely rotatable. A second rotating member 14 provided with an advancing / retracting shaft 15 which is provided and can be moved back and forth toward the mounting surface, and a lift which is provided at the tip side of the second rotating member 14 and can be moved back and forth toward the mounting surface A member 16 and a plurality of holding members 17 provided on the elevating member 16 are configured. In the present embodiment, the elevating member 16 and the holding member 17 in this form constitute the holding means 10.

  The base 11 holds the holding means 10 at a predetermined height, and can be formed by a box or a frame. The base 11 can accommodate components necessary for operating the holding means 10 as required. When the holding means 10 is moved at the same speed as the conveying means 20, the base 11 can be provided on the rail.

  The base is provided with a first rotating member 12 that generates a rotational force around an axis by a motor (preferably a servo motor) or an actuator. The rotational force of the first rotating member 12 is output to a rotating shaft protruding from the upper end, and the rotating shaft is provided with an arm member 13 that can swing on a surface parallel to the conveying surface 23 of the conveying means 20. ing. As a result, the arm member 13 can be swung in an arbitrary direction by an arbitrary amount by the rotating operation of the rotation shaft of the first rotating member 12. If the arm member 13 is formed to be extendable and contractible, a wide range on the conveyance path can be set as the movement range. In order to form the arm member 13 so as to be extendable and retractable, it can be extended and retracted using a rack-pinion mechanism, a crank mechanism, or the like using the power of a motor, an actuator or the like.

  At the tip of the arm member 13, a second rotating member 14 that is rotatable around an axis is provided. Like the first rotating member 12, the second rotating member 14 includes a motor (preferably a servo motor), a power member that generates a rotational force around an axis by an actuator, and the like. The arm member 13 is connected to a rotary shaft that outputs a rotational force from the power member. Therefore, the second rotating member 14 is rotatably provided on the distal end side of the arm member 13.

  The second rotating member 14 includes an advancing / retracting shaft 15 that is movable back and forth with respect to the transport surface 23. The advance / retreat shaft 15 is configured to advance or retreat toward the transfer surface 23 using power of an actuator, a motor, or the like. The force when the advancing / retreating shaft 15 retreats is calculated based on the mass and number of workpieces W to be transferred, and is configured so that the held workpiece W can be lifted. The advance / retreat shaft 15 is formed to be rotatable around the axis. An elevating member 16 is provided on the distal end side of the advance / retreat shaft 15 so as to be able to advance and retreat toward the transport surface 23 by the operation of the advance / retreat shaft 15. Since the advancing / retracting shaft 15 is rotatable around the axis, even when the arm member 13 and the second rotating member 14 are rotated, the elevating member 16 may be maintained in a posture oriented in a certain direction. it can.

  A plurality of holding members 17 are provided on the elevating member 16 that can be moved forward and backward with respect to the transport surface 23. In the present embodiment, the holding member 17 is formed in a shaft shape, and a total of six holding members 17 are provided, three on each side along the longitudinal direction of the elevating member 16. The holding member 17 formed in the shape of a shaft is formed so as to be rotatable around the axis. For example, each holding member 17 is individually rotated by a motor or the like provided on the elevating member 16. I can do things. Further, in the workpiece transfer device 50 according to the present embodiment, each holding member 17 is configured to advance and retreat with respect to the conveyance surface 23 separately, and as a result, the holding operation for holding the workpiece W is performed. Only the member 17 can be selectively advanced toward the workpiece W.

  In the present embodiment, the holding member 17 is configured to hold the workpiece W by a suction force. That is, an opening for suction is provided on the distal end side of the holding member 17 formed in a shaft shape, and by suction of air by a separately provided compressor, pump, etc., on the distal end side of each holding member 17 Work W can be held.

  The workpiece transfer device 50 configured as described above is processed and retained by the processing means 40, the amount of rotation of the first rotation member 12, the amount of rotation of the second rotation member 14, the amount of advance and retreat of the advance / retreat shaft 15, and the amount of rotation. By controlling the advance / retreat amount and rotation amount of the member 17, the target workpiece W can be held and the workpiece W held in a desired direction can be rotated. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the rotation operation of the workpiece W can be performed for each holding member 17, that is, for each workpiece W, so that all the workpieces W held by the holding means 10 are in the same direction. Can be directed to. In particular, when operating the holding means 10 to hold another workpiece W while holding several workpieces W, the advancing / retracting shaft 15 is rotatable as described above, and the elevating member 16 is fixed. Since it can be directed in the direction, the centrifugal force does not act on the workpiece W while the workpiece W is held. Therefore, even in the operation of holding a plurality of workpieces W, the workpieces W can be reliably held.

  The workpiece W supplied in various postures and orientations can be supplied in an aligned state to the receiving member 31 by being held by the workpiece transfer device 50 and aligning the orientations. As shown in FIG. 5, the work W is transferred to the receiving member 31 by moving the work W held by the holding member 17 to the receiving member 31 made of a pallet or the like and moving the lifting shaft or the holding member 17 up and down. This can be done by placing the workpiece W on a receiving member 31 such as a pallet. In the present embodiment, since the holding members 17 are provided on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the elevating member 16, the work W held by the holding members 17 on both sides in the longitudinal direction is rotated by rotating the elevating shaft on the receiving member 31. It can be alternately passed to the receiving member 31. In addition, since the workpiece holding operation is performed after the shape of the workpiece is recognized as described above, if the shape of the workpiece to be held is inappropriate, that is, if it is a defective product, the workpiece is held. It is also possible to transfer the work to a dust box (not shown) provided separately instead of the receiving member 31.

  In the receiving member 31, it is also desirable to provide a sensor for detecting whether or not the workpiece W is loaded in an area where the workpiece is to be installed. When it is detected from the detection result of this sensor that no workpiece is loaded in any region, the workpiece transfer device 50 holds the workpiece again, rotates, A transfer operation can be performed, thereby eliminating a workpiece loading omission. Note that such a loading omission is caused by the fact that the holding operation of the workpiece in the holding member 17 does not operate properly. Therefore, by monitoring the amount of air sucked into the workpiece, a workpiece holding error is detected, and the workpiece is again detected. The holding operation (retry operation) may be executed.

  Depending on the posture of the workpiece W existing on the conveying means, the workpiece W is not transferred by the workpiece transfer device 50. Such a workpiece W passes through a transfer position by the workpiece transfer device 50 and falls to the workpiece collection unit 30 formed of a case provided on the downstream side thereof. The workpiece collection unit 30 is sent to a return conveyor 32 that moves the workpiece W from the downstream side of the conveying means 20 toward the hopper 21 by air or a conveyor supplied from a compressor. Collected in 21. The work can be put into the hopper 21 from the return conveyor 32 by ejecting air.

According to the workpiece transfer device 50 configured as described above and the workpiece transfer station 100 using the workpiece transfer device 50, the workpiece W supplied in a random state whose orientation is not uniform can be quickly and surely the same without requiring manual operation. Can be aligned in the direction. Therefore, for example, even when a container containing liquid or granular material is supplied in a messy state, by using the workpiece transfer device 50 according to the present embodiment and the workpiece transfer station 100 using the workpiece transfer device 50, The filling opening can be aligned and sent to the subsequent filling work station without requiring manual labor.

The workpiece transfer device according to the present invention can be used as an automated device for arranging or sorting various parts, and also as an automated device for arranging or sorting agricultural products and minerals. I can do things.
In addition, since the workpiece transfer device according to the present invention can selectively hold only a predetermined workpiece, it can also be used as an automated device for picking up non-defective products or defective products in quality inspection or the like.

10 Holding means
11 base
12 First rotating member
13 Arm member
14 Second rotating member
15 advance and retreat axes
16 Lifting member
17 Holding member
20 Transport means
21 Hopper
22 Supply conveyor
23 Transport surface
30 Workpiece collection unit
31 Receiving material
32 Return conveyor
40 Processing means
45 Photography means
50 Work transfer device
100 workpiece transfer station
W Work

Claims (5)

A workpiece transfer device for holding and transferring a workpiece on a conveying means,
A holding means capable of moving in a plane parallel to a conveying surface for conveying the workpiece in the conveying means;
The holding means includes a plurality of holding members that hold the workpiece on the conveyance surface, and the holding member can be moved forward and backward toward the conveyance surface and can be rotated around an axis while holding the workpiece. A workpiece transfer device, characterized in that
The holding means includes an elevating member that is attached to an arm portion of a robot and moves in a plane parallel to the transfer surface, and a plurality of the holding members are provided for the elevating member,
The workpiece transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the elevating member and the holding member is provided so as to be movable forward and backward toward the transport surface.
Further, the image processing apparatus includes processing means for reading at least the shape and orientation of each workpiece from an image obtained by photographing a plurality of workpieces existing on the conveying means, and calculating the holding point of each workpiece and the amount of rotation of the held workpiece.
The holding member holds each workpiece at the holding point of the workpiece calculated by the processing unit, and rotates the workpiece by the rotation amount calculated by the processing unit, and holds the workpiece by each holding member. The workpiece transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the orientations of the workpieces are aligned.
The processing means counts the number of works existing within the movement range of the holding means from images obtained by photographing the plurality of works, and determines the number of holding operations of the holding means from the number of holding members provided in the holding means. Calculate
When the number of works existing within the movement range of the holding means is less than the number of holding members provided in the holding means, at least the shape and orientation of each work are determined from a new image obtained by photographing a plurality of works. The workpiece transfer apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the workpiece transfer device reads and calculates a holding point of each workpiece and a rotation amount of the held workpiece.
The workpieces to be transferred are randomly arranged on the transport means,
The processing means reads at least the shape and orientation of each work from the image obtained by photographing the work randomly arranged on the transport means, identifies the work to be transferred, and holds the specified work points. And calculate the amount of rotation of the held workpiece,
Furthermore, the workpiece transfer apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-4 provided with the workpiece | work return means which returns the workpiece | work which is not specified as the transfer object in the said process means to the upstream of a conveyance means again.