JP2017149572A - Aligning and conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently perform aligning and conveying work by directing standing vertically long articles in a fixed direction and sending them out in an aligned state at intervals.SOLUTION: An aligning and conveying device 1 comprises robot arms 11, 12 and a conveyor 50. The conveyor 50 has a temporary storage place 60 with which vertically long articles 2 come into contact, and the temporary storage place 60 is separated from a conveying surface 51 above the conveying surface 51 of the conveyor 50. The robot arms 11, 12 have holders 21 for detachably holding the vertically long articles 2 each as an end effector. The robot arms 11, 12 hold upper parts of the vertically long articles 2 standing in a storage part 70 with the holders 21, pick up the vertically long articles from the storage part 70, and release the holding state by the holders 21 in a state in which the vertically long articles 2 are in contact with the temporary storage place 60 or a state in which the vertically long articles are separated from the temporary storage place 60 above the temporary storage place. As a result, the vertically long articles 2 are separated from the holders 21 and fall in a conveying direction of the conveyor 50 or a direction opposite to the conveying direction in a predetermined orientation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1A

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for aligning and conveying vertically long articles.

  When packaging items flowing on a conveyor in an industrial line, if the shape of the item, the items on the surface of the item, the design, etc. are different between the top and bottom of the item and the front and back, the item will be in the specified orientation on the conveyor. It is desirable that they are aligned. Therefore, it is conceivable to use a robot as an apparatus for aligning and placing articles on a conveyor.

  In this regard, as a robot hand that enables picking of articles that are stacked in bulk, a workpiece measuring means that images the article and measures the position and orientation of the article, an adsorption means that adsorbs the article, and an elevating means that raises and lowers the adsorbed article And a robot hand provided with gripping means having a pair of claws that sandwich an article has been proposed (Patent Document 1). According to this robot hand, an article in an arbitrary direction can be picked. However, when the article is vertically long and has front and back and top and bottom, the picked article cannot be supplied to the transport line in a state where the top and bottom and the top and bottom are aligned and laid down.

  On the other hand, a parts supply device has been proposed in which articles are dropped from a hopper into a fixed pipe and the articles are rolled over on the belt conveyor to arrange the articles conveyed by the belt conveyor in a line (Patent Document 2). ). However, even with this component supply device, the individual articles on the belt conveyor are only vertically oriented, and the front and back sides and the top and bottom cannot be aligned in a certain direction.

JP 2001-205584 A JP-A-10-190284

  Compared to the above-described prior art, the object of the present invention is to efficiently carry out an alignment conveyance work in which standing vertically long articles are taken out one by one, inspected for appearance, and sent in a state in which they are aligned in a certain direction at intervals. There is to do.

  The present inventor has conceived that the above-mentioned problem can be solved by using a robot arm provided with an end effector as a holder for holding a vertically long article detachably, and a conveyor having a temporary storage place for the vertically long article. The present invention has been completed.

That is, the present invention is an aligning and conveying apparatus that takes out a vertically long article standing up from a storage part of the vertically long article and aligns it in a predetermined direction on a conveyor, and includes a robot arm and a conveyor.
The conveyor has a temporary storage area where the vertically long article contacts, and the temporary storage area is located above the conveyance surface of the conveyor and is separated from the conveyance surface,
The robot arm has, as an end effector, a holding tool for detachably holding a vertically long article,
When the vertically long article held by the holder and taken up from the storage unit is in contact with the temporary storage place or separated from the temporary storage place above the temporary storage place, the holding state of the vertical article by the holder is released, Provided is an aligning and conveying apparatus in which a vertically long article is separated from a holder and falls on a conveyor in a predetermined direction.

In addition, the present invention provides an aligning and conveying method of using a robot arm having a tip end connected to an end effector to take out an upright vertical article from a storage section for the vertical article and align it in a predetermined direction on a conveyor. Because
Using a robot arm having a holder for detachably holding a vertically long article as an end effector,
Using a conveyor having a temporary storage place provided above the conveyor surface and spaced from the conveyor surface,
Hold the vertically long article by the holder and pick up the vertically long article from the storage unit, and hold the vertically long article in contact with the temporary storage place or the vertical article above the temporary storage place and away from the temporary storage place. Disclosed is a method for aligning and conveying a vertically long article so that a vertically long article is separated from a holding unit and falls on a conveyor in a predetermined direction by releasing a holding state by a tool.

  According to the aligning and conveying apparatus of the present invention, the standing vertically long articles can be taken out one by one with the holding tool provided in the robot arm and conveyed to the conveyor in a certain direction. Since the conveyor is provided with a temporary storage place for the vertically long article, the temporary storage place is used as a surface for contacting the vertically long article, and the vertically long article is arranged on the conveyor in a predetermined direction with an interval. Can be sent out.

  In addition, when an imaging device is attached in the vicinity of the end effector, it is easy to determine whether or not a vertically long article is good. Therefore, only a vertically long article that is determined to be good can be aligned on the conveyor.

  Therefore, in the subsequent stage of the conveyor, it is possible to efficiently perform the work of the next process such as packaging of the vertically long article.

FIG. 1A is a layout diagram of the alignment transport device. FIG. 1B is an AA arrow view of FIG. 1A. FIG. 2 is a front view of the robot. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a holder holding a vertically long article. FIG. 4A is a front view, a side view, a rear view, and a bottom view of the holder in a state in which the grip portion is closed. FIG. 4B is a front view, a side portion, a rear view, and a bottom view of the holder with the gripping portion opened. FIG. 5 is a front view of the double-armed robot with the storage member suspended. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the imaging direction of the imaging device in the end effector. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conveyor provided with a temporary storage place. FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram of a holding operation of a vertically long article by a holder. FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram of the holding operation of the vertically long article by the holder. FIG. 8C is an explanatory diagram of the holding operation of the vertically long article by the holder. FIG. 8D is an explanatory diagram of the holding operation of the vertically long article by the holder. FIG. 8E is an explanatory diagram of the holding operation of the vertically long article by the holder. FIG. 9A is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the holder in the temporary storage area. FIG. 9B is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the holder in the temporary storage area. FIG. 9C is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the holder in the temporary storage area. FIG. 9D is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the holder in the temporary storage area. FIG. 10 is a top view of the alignment transport device rotated by the robot. FIG. 11A is a perspective view of a vertically long article 2A that is aligned by the alignment conveyance device. FIG. 11B is a four-sided view of the vertically long article 2A that is aligned by the alignment transport device. FIG. 12 is a three-side view of the vertically long article 2B that is aligned by the aligning and conveying apparatus. FIG. 13 is a three-side view of a vertically long article 2C that is aligned by the alignment transport device. FIG. 14 is a three-side view of a vertically long article 2D to be aligned by the alignment transport device. FIG. 15 is a three-side view of a vertically long article 2E that is aligned by the alignment transport device. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the holder in the temporary storage place. FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the holder in the temporary storage place. FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the holder in the temporary storage place. FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the holder in the temporary storage area. FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the holder in the temporary storage place. FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the holder in the temporary storage area.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In each figure, the same numerals indicate the same or equivalent components.

<Overall configuration of alignment transport device>
FIG. 1A is a layout view of a robot 10 and a conveyor 50 that constitute an alignment transport apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a view taken along the line AA, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the robot 10. It is.

  The aligning and conveying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment generally includes robot arms 11 and 12 provided on the robot 10 and a conveyor 50 having a temporary storage place 60 for the vertically long article 2, and a hand portion 20 at the tip of the robot arms 11 and 12. A vertical article 2 standing in an arbitrary storage section 70 such as a plastic container or a cardboard box is taken out from the storage section 70 by a holder 21 provided as an end effector, and the vertical article provided on the conveyor 50 This is an apparatus for aligning the vertically long articles 2 in a predetermined direction using the temporary storage place 60. That is, the vertically long articles 2 in the storage unit 70 are all standing up so that the upper part of the article is up, but the front and back directions are different. However, after the vertically long article 2 is held by the holder 21, at least when the vertically long article 2 comes into contact with the temporary storage place 60, either the front or back of the vertically long article 2 faces the traveling direction of the conveyor 50. In the state where the vertically long articles 2 are aligned on the transport surface 51 of the conveyor 50, the upper part of the vertically long articles 2 always faces the traveling direction of the conveyor 50, and only one of the front and back sides of the vertically long articles 2 is placed. Is in a direction not in contact with the conveying surface 51 of the conveyor 50.

  In the present embodiment, the vertical articles 2 are aligned so that the upper part thereof faces the direction of travel of the conveyor 50. However, if necessary, the lower parts of the vertically long article 2 may be aligned so as to face the direction of movement of the conveyor 50. Good.

  The aligning / conveying apparatus 1 is provided with an external controller (not shown) for managing the movement of the apparatus 1 in order to perform the above-described alignment. The controller includes an image processing device that extracts necessary information from images taken by the imaging devices 15 and 40 included in the robot 10, an analysis device that determines the shape, orientation, size, and the like of the vertically long article based on the information, Information such as a barcode displayed on the vertically long article 2 is read to monitor the product information of the vertically long article 2 and whether there is a supply error, and the quality of the article is determined based on the information on the article analyzed by the analyzer. An inspection device, a work management device that determines whether or not each process is executed, a safety device that reduces or stops the operation speed of the robot 10 by a sensor (not shown) that detects a person approaching the alignment transport device 1, etc. It is included.

<Vertical products>
The vertically long article 2 handled by the aligning / conveying apparatus 1 of the present invention can be self-supporting, such as an article 2A shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, such as a flat bottom, and has a height L1 viewed from the side in a self-supporting state. It is longer than the maximum diameter or maximum width L2 viewed from above, and the height L1 viewed from the side is usually 1.2 times or more the maximum diameter or maximum width L2 viewed from above. Further, the relationship between the height L1 viewed from the side of the vertically long article 2 that can be handled by the aligning and conveying apparatus 1 and the maximum diameter or maximum width L2 viewed from above is the size of the height L1 or the maximum diameter or maximum width L2. However, normally, by making the height L1 within 20 times the maximum diameter or the maximum width L2, the operation of lifting or tilting the vertically long article 2 with the holder 21 becomes easy. However, even if the article is rounded at the bottom, sharp at the bottom, or extremely long vertically long and difficult to stand on its own, the storage unit 70 is inclined slightly to approach the side wall of the storage unit 70. Although it is hanging or inclined along the side wall, it can be in a self-supporting state that is not lying down.

  As a specific shape of the vertically long article 2, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, a vertically long article 2 </ b> B comprising a substantially cylindrical container body and a lid, and having a loose curved surface on the top surface of the lid, as shown in FIG. 13. In addition, a vertically long article 2C having a substantially cylindrical container body and a lid and having a flat surface on the top surface of the lid can also be exemplified. Specific articles having the shape of the vertically long articles 2B and 2C include aerosol products whose lid is made of resin and whose container body is metal, containers for cosmetics and face wash, etc. whose lid and container body are made of resin. Can do. In addition, examples of the specific shape of the vertically long article 2 include a cylindrical article 2D shown in FIG. 14 and a prismatic article 2E shown in FIG.

  As will be described later, by providing the holder 21 with the suction portion 22, it becomes easy to suck and lift the top surfaces of these vertically long articles 2 </ b> A to 2 </ b> E by the suction portion 22. Further, the holding portion 21 is also provided with a gripping portion 30 that sandwiches the side surfaces of the vertically long articles 2A to 2E, so that the holding portions 21 can stably hold the top surfaces of the vertically long articles 2A to 2E. Can be performed at high speed.

  For example, as shown in a vertically long article 2A in FIG. 11B, a LOT number, a barcode, or the like may be displayed on the vertically long article 2. In order to identify these, the image pickup apparatus 40 can be attached to the alignment conveyance measure 1 of the present invention.

<Robot>
In the aligning and conveying apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to use a plurality of robots (that is, apparatuses having three or more drive shafts, operated by automatic control, reprogrammable and having a multipurpose manipulation function). A plurality of robots may be separately installed and used, or a plurality of robots may be installed on one base. The type of robot may be a parallel link robot or a serial link robot, but preferably a serial link vertical articulated robot capable of performing a wide range of complicated operations, and the number of axes is 6 or 7. As shown in FIG. 2, the alignment transfer apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is provided with a double-arm robot 10 having a first robot arm 11 and a second robot arm 12 which are vertical articulated robots. That is, two robot arms 11 and 12 are provided on one base 13, and the number of axes of each robot arm 11 and 12 is six. By providing a rotation axis on the base 13 to which the robot arms 11 and 12 are connected, even if the number of axes of the robot arms 11 and 12 is 6, as in the case of 7 axes, for example, the position of the elbow of the robot arm itself Can be controlled. Further, the operation range of the robot arms 11 and 12 can be widened.

<End effector>
As shown in FIG. 2, the robot 10 has a holding tool 21 that detachably holds the vertically long article 2 as an end effector in the hand portion 20 at the tip of the robot arms 11 and 12. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4A, and 4B, the hand portion 20 is provided with an engaging portion 35 that engages with a storage member 71 such as a plastic container, an imaging device 40, and an illumination device 41. It has been.

(Holding tool)
The holder 21 has a suction portion 22 that sucks the top surface of the vertically long article 2 and a pair of gripping portions 30 that sandwich the side surface of the vertically long article 2.

(Suction part)
The method for adsorbing the vertically long article 2 in the adsorbing part 22 constituting the holder 21 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include adsorption by suction and adsorption using an electromagnet. When the vertically long article 2 is sucked by suction, a vacuum pad 23 is provided at the tip of the suction portion 22 as shown in FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B, for example. If the top surface of the vertically long article 2 has a flat surface or a loose curved surface larger than the pad surface of the vacuum pad 23, the vacuum pad 23 can stably suck the vertically long article 2.

  As a form of the vacuum pad 23, a flat type, a one-step bellows type (bellows type), and the like can be given from the viewpoint that the vertically long article 2 can be stably adsorbed without wobbling.

  The number of vacuum pads 23 is not particularly limited. However, as long as the vertically long article 2 can be held by suction, it can be sucked even if the top surface of the article is small, and from the point of eliminating unnecessary parts, for example, 1 Preferably, the number is at most two. The material of the vacuum pad 23 is not particularly limited, and a material corresponding to the vertically long article 2 is selected. For example, NBR, silicone rubber, urethane rubber and the like can be mentioned.

  The vacuum pad 23 can also be used as a switch pushing member that pushes a push button, a panel switch, or the like of a peripheral device. When the vacuum pad 23 is used as a switch pressing member, it is preferable to provide a buffer part having an impact absorbing function such as a spring plunger 24 in the attachment part of the vacuum pad 23 so that the suction part 22 and the switch are not damaged.

  When the top surface of the vertically long article 2 is formed of a metal that can be attracted by a magnet, an electromagnet can be used for the attracting portion, and the vertically long article 2 can be formed even if the top surface portion is not formed with a flat surface or a loose curved surface. Can be adsorbed.

  The total length L3 (FIG. 4B) of the suction portion 22 is such that the top surfaces of the plurality of vertically long articles 2 standing adjacent to each other in the storage portion 70 such as a container can be sucked without interfering with the side walls of the container. It is determined as appropriate from the point of

(Gripping part)
In the present embodiment, the pair of gripping portions 30 constituting the holder 21 is provided at the tip of the hand portion 20. As a result, the grip portion 30 can be moved to an arbitrary position and in an arbitrary direction. Therefore, the vertically long articles 2 standing in various directions are placed on the conveyor 50 at predetermined positions on the conveyor 50. It becomes easy to align in the direction.

  Further, the pair of gripping portions 30 are connected to an opening / closing device 31 and open and close radially to sandwich the side surface of the vertically long article 2 as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. By using the suction part 22 and the gripping part 30 together as the holder 21, while the vertically long article 2 is held by the holder 21, the vertically long article 2 can be tilted or moved at a high speed. Stable holding can be maintained without the article 2 dropping or shifting.

  The number of the grip portions 30 is preferably a pair (that is, two) in order to minimize the protrusion to the periphery when opened.

  The shape of the grip portion 30 is not particularly limited, and may be a rod shape, a plate shape, or the like. However, the grip portion 30 may be configured to grip the side surface of the vertically long article 2 so that the grip portion 30 can securely hold the side surface of the vertically long article 2. It is preferable to provide a depression 32 along the side surface of the vertically long article 2 in the sandwiched portion. For example, when the vertically long article 2 is a quadrangular prism, the dent 32 has a U-shape, and when the vertically elongated article 2 is a cylinder, an elliptical pillar, etc., the dent 32 has a curved shape.

  The material of the grip part 30 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include metals such as aluminum and stainless steel, and high-strength engineering plastics such as MC nylon. These may be produced by a 3D printer or stereolithography. A rubber or the like having a strong grip property may be attached to a portion of the grip portion 30 that holds the vertically long article 2 to prevent slipping. On the other hand, when releasing the grip, a highly slidable tape may be applied to a portion where the vertically long article 2 is sandwiched so that the vertically long article 2 is quickly separated from the grip portion 30.

(Gripping part opening and closing device)
The opening / closing device 31 is installed closer to the robot arms 10 and 11 than the vacuum pad 23. As shown in FIG. 4B, the opening / closing device 31 opens the opening / closing device of the holding unit 30 until the entire holding unit 30 is positioned closer to the robot arms 10 and 11 than the entire adsorption unit 22 when opened. The pair of gripping portions 30 are respectively rotated by 90 ° with the end on the 31 side as a fulcrum, and the angle between the pair of gripping portions 30 is increased, specifically, opened to 180 °.

  When the pair of gripping portions 30 are opened wide as described above, the top surface of the vertically long article 2 standing in the storage portion 70 such as a plastic container is sucked by the suction portion 22 and the vertically long article 2 is stored as will be described later. When taking out from the portion 70, even if a plurality of the vertically long articles 2 are arranged adjacent to each other in the storage portion 70, it is possible to prevent the grip portion 30 from interfering with other vertically long articles 2.

  Further, when the vertically long article 2 stands in the storage unit 70, the gripping unit 30 interferes with the side wall of the storage unit 70 by the opening / closing device 31 opening the pair of gripping units 30 as described above. Can also be prevented.

  The opening / closing device 31 can be configured with an electric or pneumatic linear motion device, a rotary actuator, or the like as a drive unit.

(Engagement part)
The engaging portion 35 in the hand portion 20 is configured such that when the storage portion 70 for the vertically long article 2 is a portable storage member 71 such as a plastic container or a cardboard box, the storage member 71 in which the vertically long article 2 is stored is a hand portion. 20, the storage member 71 is placed at a predetermined position of the aligning and conveying apparatus 1, and the storage member 71 in which the vertically long article 2 is empty is held by the hand portion 20, and the storage member 71 is moved to the predetermined position. It can be provided as necessary. The engaging portion 35 may be provided only on one of the hand portions 20 of the first and second robot arms 11 and 12, but the engaging portion 35 may be securely held with the storage member 71 sandwiched between the two engaging portions. It is preferable to provide it in both hand parts 20 so that it can do.

  For example, when the storage member 71 is a plastic container as shown in FIG. 5, there are steps such as a convex portion, a concave portion, and an overhang portion on the side surface of the plastic container, so that the engaging portion 35 is caught by this step. For example, an L-shaped member, a plate member having a fitting portion, and the like can be given. In this case, the engaging portion 35 is preferably provided on both the hand portions 20 of the first and second robot arms 11 and 12.

  In the case where the storage member 71 does not have a convex portion on the side surface, such as a cardboard box, a vacuum pad 23 may be provided as a means for holding the storage member 71 in the hand portion 20 instead of the engagement portion.

  When the storage member 71 is provided with an annular member for suspension, a bar-like member or a plate-like member having a bent tip, such as a J-shape that can be hooked to the annular member, is used as the engaging portion provided on the hand portion 20. Can be provided.

  In addition, the installation position of the engaging portion 35 in the hand portion 20 is a position away from the distal ends of the robot arms 11 and 12 so that the robot arms 11 and 12 do not get in the way when the engaging portion 35 is hooked on the storage member 71. On the other hand, the position closer to the robot arms 11 and 12 than the suction portion 22 is set so that the engagement portion 35 does not get in the way when the vertically long article 2 is taken out from the storage member 71 using the suction portion 22. It is preferable to do. That is, it is preferable to attach the engaging part 35 to the surface away from the adsorption | suction part 22 among the side surfaces of the switchgear 31 (FIG. 5).

  The material of the engaging portion 35 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include metals such as aluminum and stainless steel and high-strength engineering plastics such as MC nylon.

(Hand imaging device)
As will be described later, the alignment transport device 1 of the present embodiment is provided with an imaging device 15 at a position corresponding to the face when the double-arm robot 10 is regarded as a humanoid (FIG. 2). With only this imaging device 15, the barcode, lot number, etc. attached to the vertically long article 2 due to the posture of the arm, the orientation of the vertically long article when working with the end effector, the obstacle near the hand portion 20, etc. Even when trying to read them, they may not be recognized.

  Therefore, in the alignment transport device 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B, the hand portion 20 is also provided with an imaging device 40 and an illumination device 41. Since this imaging device 40 is always at a fixed distance from the vertically long article 2 held by the holder 21, a clear image can be taken by the imaging device 40. Note that in a state where the vertically long article 2 is held by the holder 21, since the image is taken from obliquely above the vertically long article 2, it is preferable to perform distortion correction on the captured image. Moreover, you may image from the article front using a mirror. If necessary, as shown in FIG. 6, the vertically long article may be brightly illuminated by the lighting device 41. The illumination device 41 may be lit continuously or may be lit only during imaging.

  Since a clear image can be taken by the imaging device 40, information such as a barcode and a lot number can be recognized by the controller and the robot can be operated. In addition, the vertically long article 2 held by the holder 21 can be inspected based on the image taken by the imaging device 40 without moving the vertically long article 2 to a separate inspection place. When an inspection based on an image is performed while the article 2 is held, it is possible to determine whether the vertically long article 2 is a non-defective product or a defective product with the minimum inspection time without requiring additional time for the inspection time. Become. More specifically, the inspection based on the image is performed on the appearance of the vertically long article such as color, shape, size, presence or absence of breakage, and product information such as characters, two-dimensional or three-dimensional barcodes. .

<Robot base>
The first arm 11 and the second arm 12 are connected to the base 13 (FIG. 2). The base portion 13 has a horizontal rotating portion 14, and the upper portion can be horizontally rotated from the horizontal rotating portion 14. Accordingly, the vertically long article storage unit 70, the defective product collection unit 75, the temporary storage place 60, the storage member discharge unit 73, and the conveyor 50 can be compactly arranged so as to surround the robot 10. Furthermore, since the robot 10 can move to the front, rear, left, and right directions only by horizontal rotation, the time required for the robot 10 to move toward these directions is reduced, and the work for aligning the vertically long articles 2 can be performed at high speed. It becomes.

  The base 13 is installed in the moving device 16. Thereby, maintenance becomes easy. Further, the robot 10 can be used for another work.

  The moving device 16 may be movable manually or may be an automatic transport vehicle. To reproduce the motion of the articulated robot 10 when it is returned to its original position after moving, a method of completely reproducing the position with a guide or abutting member, etc. There is a method of finely adjusting the position by imaging and recognizing surrounding equipment and markers with an imaging device.

  When the robot 10 is used only in the alignment transport device 1, the base 13 may be installed.

<Robot face imaging device>
In the alignment transport device 1 of the present embodiment, an imaging device 15 is provided above the base portion 13 at the position of the face of the robot that is regarded as a humanoid at the center in the width direction in the front view of the robot 10 (FIG. 2). .

  The imaging device 15 is a stereo camera that captures a subject to be photographed from the left and right imaging units, and allows the controller to recognize the position of the vertically long article 2. Moreover, it is possible to make the controller recognize the positions of the storage unit 70, the temporary storage place 60, the conveyor 50, the defective product collection unit 75, and the like as necessary. Note that not only the imaging device 40 of the hand portion 20 but also the imaging device 15 of the face of the robot 10 can make the controller recognize the orientation, color, shape, and the like of the vertically long article 2.

  Between the imaging device 15 and the base 13, a left and right neck rotating unit 17 that rotates the neck left and right and an up and down swing unit 18 that swings the neck up and down are provided. Thus, when the controller recognizes the position of the vertically long article 2, the face of the robot 10 is directed downward greatly so that the top surface of the vertically long article 2 can be imaged from the vertical direction as much as possible (FIG. 1B). .

<Storage section>
The storage unit 70 (FIG. 1A) is a part where the vertically long article 2 is taken out by the robot arms 11 and 12. Examples of the storage member 71 constituting the storage unit 70 include a cardboard box, a plastic container, a folding resin box, a resin tray with a low wall around the tray, and a tray having a plurality of depressions corresponding to the bottom shape of the article. Can be mentioned.

  A method for supplying the vertically long article 2 to the storage unit 70 is not particularly limited, and a continuous supply method or a complete supply method may be used. However, in any case, the vertically long article 2 is erected in the storage unit 70. Specifically, a method using a conveying device such as a belt conveyor, a method in which a slanted surface inclined in the supply direction and a vibration feeder are combined so that the vertically long article 2 does not fall, and the vertically long article 2 is in the same direction or in a random orientation direction. Examples include a method of supplying a stored box. Moreover, the storage member 71 in which the vertically long article 2 is emptied is put away at a predetermined position by an arbitrary method. In the aligning and conveying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a plastic container is used as the storage member 71, and the plastic container is conveyed to the storage unit 70 by the roller conveyor 53. Further, a push button 72 is provided in the vicinity of the storage unit 70, and by pressing the push button 72, a plastic container in which the vertically long article 2 is stored is newly conveyed. Therefore, when the plastic container becomes empty during the operation of taking out the vertically long article 2 from the plastic container and aligning it on the conveyor, the robot 10 pushes the push button 72 so that a new plastic container is conveyed. The robot of this embodiment uses the suction unit 22 as a jig for pressing the push button 72. Further, the empty plastic container is allowed to self-run on the roller conveyor 53 by its own weight and is discharged.

  Regarding the standing state of the vertically long article 2 in the storage unit 70, the vertically long articles 2 may be in a dense state or may be separated from each other. Moreover, the vertically long article 2 may stand upright or may stand upright. For example, when the vertically long article 2 is filled in a plastic container in an upright state and supplied to the storage unit 70, it is preferable that the bottom surface of the plastic container itself is tilted by 5 ° or more with respect to the horizontal in the direction of the robot 10. When tilted in this way, the vertically long article 2 comes into contact with the inner wall of the plastic container on the robot 10 side, and even if the vertically long article 2 is taken out, the adjacent vertically long articles 2 move one after another toward the inner wall on the robot side. Therefore, the standing state of the vertically long article 2 is very stable, and it is possible to prevent the remaining vertically long articles from falling after taking out one vertically long article 2. Further, the length of the robot arms 11 and 12 can be shortened. In particular, it is preferable that the bottom surface of the plastic container itself be inclined at 30 ° or more with respect to the horizontal in the direction of the robot 10. By setting the angle to 30 ° or more, it becomes easy to make the front surface of the imaging device 15 at the position of the face of the robot regarded as a humanoid and the top surface of the vertically long article 2 face each other. It is possible to reduce distortion of an image taken when taking the article 2. On the other hand, the bottom surface of the plastic container may be tilted to the robot 10 side by 5 ° or less with respect to the horizontal so that the adjacent vertical product 2 is not caught and tilted when the vertical product 2 is taken out.

<Conveyor>
The aligning and conveying apparatus 1 of the present invention aligns the vertically long articles 2 in a predetermined direction on the conveyor 50. The conveyor 50 used in the present invention is characterized by having a temporary storage place 60 for the vertically long articles 2, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the conveyor 50 with a temporary storage place used in the aligning and conveying apparatus 1 of the embodiment. It is. The conveyor 50 itself may be a known belt conveyor, top chain conveyor, roller conveyor, or the like. In particular, the belt conveyor is preferable because the grip force of the conveying surface can be arbitrarily adjusted by belt replacement. On the downstream side of the temporary storage place 60, it is preferable to provide a left and right oblique guide 63 extending in the left and right oblique upward direction. Thereby, in a state where the lower part of the vertically long article 2 is in contact with the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60, the holder 21 releases the holding of the vertically long article 2, and the vertically long article 2 on the contact surface 61 is moved in the traveling direction of the belt conveyor. On the other hand, even if it falls to the left and right and collides with the left and right diagonal guide 63, the vertically long article 2 does not rotate or turn over, and the vertically elongated article 2 after falling down is surely aligned in a predetermined direction. .

  As the surface material of the left and right oblique guide 63, a material having low friction is preferable. For example, a metal such as stainless steel whose surface is polished, or a resin material with good slip such as ultra high molecular weight polyethylene can be preferably used.

  In addition, guides 64 are provided on the left and right sides of the belt conveyor so that the posture thereof does not change while the aligned vertically long articles 2 are being conveyed by the conveyor 50. The height HG of the guide 64 is preferably 0.5 times or more the thickness HO of the vertically long article 2 on the conveyor 50 so that the vertically long article 2 does not deviate from the guide 64. Further, the height HG of the guide 64 is not more than 2.0 times the thickness HO of the longitudinal article 2 so that the lower part of the longitudinal article 2 does not collide with the guide 64 when the longitudinal article 2 is brought into contact with the temporary storage place 60. preferable.

  The height HG of the guide 64 is more preferably equal to the height at which the bottom of the temporary storage place 60 is installed. Thereby, the temporary storage place 60 can be easily installed by mounting and fixing the temporary storage place 60 on the guide 64.

  The material of the belt surface which is the conveyance surface 51 of the conveyor 50 is not particularly limited. For example, if the surface has a strong gripping force, the vertically long article 2 can be reliably conveyed when the vertically long article 2 falls and the upper part thereof is conveyed in advance, so that the vertically elongated article 2 is rubbed and damaged by the conveying surface 51. Can be prevented. Further, it is possible to prevent the downstream vertically long article 2 from catching up with and colliding with the upstream vertically long article 2.

  Contrary to the above, if the conveying surface 51 of the conveyor 50 is a sliding type surface having a weak grip force and good slipperiness, when the vertically long article 2 is tilted and its upper part is conveyed in advance, the vertically long article gradually As a result, the occurrence of clogging on the conveyor 50 can be prevented. Further, even if the vertically long article 2 is rubbed by the conveying surface 51, the belt surface has good slipperiness, so that the vertically long article 2 can be prevented from being damaged.

  The conveying speed of the conveyor 50 is such that the vertically long article 2 placed on the conveyor 50 from the upstream temporary storage place 60 and the vertically long article 2 placed on the conveyor 50 from the downstream temporary placing place 60 do not collide with each other. The article 2 may be imaged and the conveyance speed may be automatically controlled. Alternatively, when the conveyance speed in the conveyor 50 is always constant and the vertically long articles 2 are likely to collide with each other on the conveyor 50, the left and right arms of the robot You may make it control the timing of work. The latter method is preferable from the standpoint that it is possible to continue the alignment and conveyance work manually instead of the robot when there is an abnormality in the control device or the holding tool.

<Temporary storage>
The temporary storage place 60 releases the holding of the vertically long article 2 taken out from the storage unit 70 by the holding tool 21 above the conveyor 50, and then the vertically long article 2 directs either the upper part or the lower part thereof in the conveying direction of the conveyor 50. Thus, a contact surface of a vertically long article serving as a base point for tilting in a predetermined direction or a guide surface in the tilting direction is provided. That is, the vertically long article 2 falls to the conveying surface 51 of the conveyor 50 from the other end of the vertically long article 2 in a state in which one end of the vertically long article 2 is in contact with the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 and assumes a predetermined direction. 9A, when the vertically long article 2 comes into contact with the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60, the vertically long article 2 has the upper part on the upper side and the lower part on the lower side. The upper part is in a direction where the upper part is positioned in front of the lower part in the conveying direction, and either one of the front and back surfaces of the article faces the conveying surface 51 of the conveyor 50.

  Although the material for forming the temporary storage place 60 is not particularly limited, the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 with which the vertically long article 2 comes into contact with the temporary storage place 60 may be adjusted appropriately so that the vertically long article 2 falls in a predetermined direction. It is preferable to do. For example, the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is formed of a metal such as stainless steel whose surface is polished, a resin material having good sliding property such as high molecular polyethylene, or a material having a sliding tape attached thereto.

  The shape of the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 can be appropriately changed according to a method of aligning the vertically long articles 2 in a predetermined direction using the temporary storage place 60. For example, when the upper part of the vertically long article 2 is moved in the traveling direction of the belt conveyor 50 while the lower part of the vertically long article 2 is in contact with the contact surface 61, the vertically long article 2 is tilted in the traveling direction of the belt conveyor 50. It is preferable to have a slight depression at the center of the contact surface 61 so that the vertically long article 2 does not roll to the left or right or slide while the lower part of the contact surface 61 is in contact with the contact surface 61. In this case, it is preferable that the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is inclined so as to face the traveling direction of the conveyor 50.

  Further, when the vertically long article 2 brought into contact with the contact surface 61 is tilted by the above-described method, even if the contact position is shifted to the upstream side, when the holding is released, the vertically long article 2 surely falls down in a desired direction. In addition, it is preferable to provide a fall assisting member 62 having a surface gently inclined upward in the upstream side of the temporary storage place 60. The fall assisting member 62 may be formed by extending the temporary storage place 60 or may be formed by a separate member. Further, the material for forming the fall assisting member 62 can be the same as that of the temporary storage place 60.

  The temporary storage places 60 can be provided at a plurality of locations on the belt conveyor 50. For example, a plurality of temporary storage spaces 60 are provided corresponding to the number of robot arms 11 and 12 installed. Thereby, the work efficiency of the alignment work of the vertically long articles 2 can be increased.

  When a plurality of temporary storage places 60 are provided, the bottom of the temporary storage place other than the most upstream temporary storage place is charged / separated from the transport surface 51 of the belt conveyor 50, and more specifically, disposed at a position higher than the thickness of the vertically long article 2. It is necessary to be. That is, when the distance between the conveyance surface 51 of the conveyor 50 and the bottom of the temporary storage place 60 is HL, and the thickness of the vertically long article on the conveyor is HO, HL> HO. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the vertically long article 2 flowing from the upstream from colliding with the temporary storage place 60 and stopping. The bottom of the uppermost temporary storage place 60 does not need to be largely separated from the transport surface 51 of the belt conveyor 50 and may be a height equal to or less than the thickness HO of the vertically long article 2.

  The distance HL between the conveying surface 51 of the conveyor 50 and the bottom of the temporary storage place 60 is 1.2 times or more the thickness HO of the vertical article on the conveyor so that the vertically long article 2 can pass under the temporary storage place 60 with certainty. It is preferable that Furthermore, the distance HH from the conveyance surface 51 of the conveyor 50 to the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is reliably set to the conveyance surface 51 of the conveyor 50 without releasing the upper part of the article from side to side after the release of the holding of the vertically long article 2. It is preferable that the thickness HO of the vertically long article 2 on the conveyor 50 is twice or less so as to be conveyed in contact.

<Discharge conveyor>
On the downstream side of the conveyor 50 in which the vertically long articles 2 are aligned in a predetermined direction, a discharge conveyor 80 for sending the vertically long articles 2 to the next process is provided.
<Defective product discharge section>
A defective product collection unit 75 is provided as a place to collect the vertically long article 2 that the inspection apparatus determines to be defective based on an image taken by the imaging device 40 attached to the hand portion 20, barcode information, or the like.

  The format of the defective product collection unit 75 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a tray, a container, a chute that reaches the container, a belt conveyor, a chute that reaches the belt conveyor, and the like. The installation position of the defective collection unit 75 is not particularly limited, but in order to minimize the travel time to the defective product collection unit 75, the vicinity of the part to which the vertically long article 2 is supplied and the vicinity of the temporary storage place 60 are preferable. In this embodiment, a chute 77 connected to the defective product receiving box 76 is provided in the vicinity of the storage unit 70 as the defective product collection unit 75.

<Aligning and conveying method>
The aligning and conveying method for taking up the vertically long articles standing up from the storage unit and aligning them in a predetermined direction on the conveyor is performed as follows using the aligning and conveying apparatus 1 described above.

(Selection, holding, and inspection of portrait products)
First, the imaging device 15 provided in the face part of the robot 10 images the vertically long article 2 in the plastic container 71 as a storage member, and the image processing device recognizes its position. The position information is sent to the control device of the robot 10.

  The control device of the robot 10 selects one to be taken out from the plurality of vertically long articles 2 in the plastic container 71 based on the position information. In the present embodiment, since the plastic container 71 is inclined toward the robot 10, when taking out the vertically long article 2, the vertically long article at the highest position (that is, so as not to fail due to the resistance of other vertically long articles) (that is, , Out of the vertically long articles 2 in the plastic container 71, the vertically long article at a position farthest away from the robot 10 is selected as one to be taken out. This selection is performed in the range of the vertically long article 2 that can be taken out by the holder 21 attached to the left and right robot arms 11 and 12. Further, part or all of the control for selecting the vertically long article 2 may be performed by the image processing apparatus.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8A, the holding tool 21 is moved above the selected target vertically long article 2 by one of the first and second robot arms 11 and 12. At this time, the holding part 30 of the holding part 21 is in an open state.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, the holding tool 21 is lowered by the robot arm 11 or 12 described above, and the vacuum pad 23 of the suction unit 22 is attracted to the top surface of the selected vertically long article 2.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, the selected vertical article 2 is moved away from the adjacent vertical article 2 so that the robot arm 11 or 12 does not contact the adjacent vertical article 2 as much as possible. Lift and take out from the plastic container 71 and raise. The pair of gripping portions 30 of the holder 21 are kept in an open state until the position of the side surface of the selected vertically long article 2 reaches a height that is sufficiently away from the top of the adjacent vertically long article and the plastic container 71. By minimizing the contact with the adjacent vertically long article 2 at the time of ascent, the vertically oblong article 2 is prevented from dropping due to contact resistance at the time of ascent, and the side surface of the vertically long article 2 is prevented from being scratched. it can.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8D, when the height of the selected vertically long article 2 becomes sufficiently high, the pair of grip portions 30 are closed, and the left and right side surfaces of the vertically long article 2 are sandwiched by the grip portions 30. Even if the vertically long article 2 is tilted or moved at a high speed by the holding by the suction part 22 and the gripping part 30, the vertically long article 2 remains securely held without being displaced from the holder 21 or falling. Is done.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8E, when the lowermost part of the vertically long article 2 rises to exceed the uppermost part of the plastic container 71, the robot arm 11 or 12 moves the vertically long article 2 above the temporary storage place 60.

  During the period from the selection of the vertically long article 2 to the movement to the temporary storage place 60, an image of the vertically long article 2 is taken using the imaging device 40 attached to the hand portion 20, and an appearance inspection or a side surface of the article is taken. It is possible to inspect printed LOT numbers and characters. For example, when an abnormality such as no LOT number, characters that are difficult to read due to fading characters, or an incorrect number is found, the vertically long article 2 is determined to be defective. Is moved to the upper side of the chute 77 (FIG. 1A) of the defective product recovery part further forward. At the same time as the suction of the vacuum pad 23 is released, the gripping part 30 opens, and the vertically long article 2 falls on the chute 77, slides down the chute 77, and is accommodated in a defective product receiving box 76 below.

  On the other hand, when it is confirmed by the inspection that there is no problem, the robot arm 11 or 12 moves the vertically long article 2 above the temporary storage place 60 as described above.

(Alignment using temporary storage)
When the vertically long article 2 is moved above the temporary storage place 60, when the holder 21 of the second robot arm 12 corresponding to the right hand of the robot 10 holds the vertically long article 2, the temporary article on the upstream side of the belt conveyor 50 is used. When the holder 21 of the first robot arm 11 corresponding to the left hand of the robot 10 holds the vertically long article 2 to the storage place 60, the vertically long article 2 is moved to the temporary storage place 60 on the downstream side of the belt conveyor 50. .

  Since the temporary storage place 60 is located at a predetermined position of the alignment transport device 1, it is usually unnecessary to determine the position of the vertically long article 2 in the temporary storage place 60 using image recognition. In order to improve the accuracy, the imaging device 40 provided in the hand portion 20 captures an image of the lower part of the vertically long article 2 and the temporary storage place 60 when the vertically long article 2 is brought into contact with the temporary storage place 60 so that it can be placed at the optimum position. The position may be finely adjusted.

  In one aspect of the method of aligning the vertically long article 2 on the conveyor 50 using the temporary storage place 60, first, as shown in FIG. 9A, first, the first robot arm (left hand) 11 is placed vertically above the temporary storage place 60. 2 is inclined in the direction of travel of the conveyor 50, and the back surface 2b (or front surface) of the vertically long article 2 is directed in the direction of travel of the conveyor 50, and then the bottom of the vertically long article 2 is brought into contact with the temporary storage place 60. The distinction between the back and the front can be made from the shape of the top surface by taking an image of the vertically long article 2 in the plastic container 71 as a storage member using the imaging device 40 provided on the face of the robot 10. The determination is also possible by taking an image of the side surface of the vertically long article 2 using the imaging device 40 attached to the hand portion 20 from the selection of the vertically long article 2 to the movement to the temporary storage place 60. Is possible.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the suction of the vacuum pad 23 is released, and at the same time, the holding unit 30 is opened by the opening / closing device 31 to release the holding of the vertically long article 2.

  With this release, as shown in FIG. 9C, the upper part of the vertically long article 2 facing obliquely upward is tilted downward so that the upper part of the vertically long article 2 rotates around the contact portion in the temporary storage place 60 below the vertically long article 2. Direction, falling between the left and right oblique guides 63 of the conveyor 50.

  9D, the upper part of the vertically long article 2 contacts the transport surface 51 of the conveyor 50, and the upper part of the vertically long article 2 receives the transport force from the transport surface 51 of the conveyor 50 and moves in the transport direction. To do. When the upper part of the vertically long article 2 moves in the conveyance direction, the lower part of the vertically long article 2 above the temporary storage place 60 is detached from the temporary storage place 60, and the side surface of the vertically long article 2 comes into contact with the transfer surface 51 of the conveyor 50, The upper part of 2 is aligned and conveyed in the preceding direction.

  The above operations (selection, holding and inspection of the vertically long article 2) and (alignment using the temporary storage place 60) are repeated, and the vertically long articles 2 in the storage unit 70 are sequentially arranged on the conveyor 50. During this time, the controller recognizes the position of the vertically long article 2 in the storage member 71 based on information from the imaging device 15 provided on the face part of the robot 10. I have confirmed. Therefore, when the vertically long article 2 to be selected as a target is not detected in the storage member 71, the storage member 71 is determined to be empty. Even if there is a vertically long article 2 that has fallen in the storage member 71, the vertically long article 2 that has fallen is not recognized as a target, and it is difficult to take out, so there is a problem in determining that the storage member 71 is empty. Absent. On the other hand, when the vertically long article 2 that cannot be taken out remains, warning light, warning sound, or the like may be issued to request the surrounding worker to collect the vertically long article 2.

(Clearing storage members)
When the alignment processing of all the vertically long articles 2 is completed using the holders 21 provided in the first and second robot arms, and the plastic container (storage member) 71 is empty, the overhang of the plastic container 71 above the side surface is extended. Among the parts, the left and right projecting parts viewed from the robot are hooked by the engaging part 35 of the hand part 20 as shown in FIG. 5, and the plastic container 71 is lifted by the robot arm. At this time, the engaging portion 35 of the hand portion 20 of the second robot arm 12 and the engaging portion 35 of the hand portion 20 of the first robot arm 11 are symmetric. Further, the opening and closing of the gripping portion 30 is preferably open so that the entire length of the holder 21 can be reduced and the front end of the gripping portion 30 can be prevented from interfering with the roller conveyor.

  In a state where the plastic container 71 is lifted by the engaging portions 35 of both robot arms 11 and 12, the base portion 13 of the robot 10 rotates in the horizontal direction. As shown in FIG. 10, this rotation is performed until the storage member discharge portion 73 on the right side is substantially in front of the robot 10 after the rotation as viewed from the robot 10 before the rotation. At this time, the height at which the plastic container 71 is lifted is set such that the bottom of the plastic container 71 does not collide with surrounding components such as the conveyor 50 and the temporary storage unit 60.

  The first and second robot arms 11 and 12 move above the storage member discharge portion 73 in a state where the plastic container 71 is sufficiently lifted. Then, the plastic container 71 is placed on the storage member discharge portion 73 by the first and second robot arms 11 and 12. As a result, the plastic container 71 descends the wheel conveyor 74 by its own weight and moves away from the robot 10.

(Calling the next storage member)
The robot 10 uses the tip of the vacuum pad 23 of the suction portion 22 of the holder 21 as a pressing member, and pushes the push button 72 that operates the roller conveyor 53 with this vacuum pad 23. Thereby, the plastic container (storage member) 71 in which the next vertically long article 2 is stored is conveyed, and the holder 21 stops at the position where the vertically long article 2 is taken out by the container stopper.

  Instead of pushing the push button 72, a signal is sent to a controller that controls peripheral devices such as the roller conveyor 53, and the roller conveyor 53 is operated to transport the plastic container 71 in which the next vertically long article 2 is stored. May be. However, considering the response when the robot 10 or the holder 21 is malfunctioning, the roller conveyor 53 is operated by the push button 72 rather than the control by the control unit using a signal because the substitute operation can be performed manually. Is preferred.

  The timing at which the robot 10 pushes the push button 72 is preferably set before the horizontal rotation unit 14 of the base 13 of the robot 10 rotates in reverse. Thereby, while the robot 10 rotates horizontally, the next plastic container 71 is conveyed and the holder 21 reaches a position where the vertically long article 2 can be taken out, so that the waiting time of the robot 10 is reduced to zero or shortened. Can do.

<Deformation mode>
The present invention can take various forms.
For example, when aligning a vertically long article on the conveyor 50 using the above-described aligning and conveying apparatus 1, the vertically long article 2 is tilted in advance above the temporary storage place 60 as described above, and the lower end of the vertically long article 2 is In addition to a method of bringing the vertical article 2 into contact with the temporary storage place 60, releasing the holding of the vertical article 2 by the holding tool 21 and tilting the vertical article 2 to the conveying surface 51 of the conveyor, as described below, the operation sequence is also changed. Even if the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is inclined toward the conveying direction side of the conveyor 50, the contact surface 61 can be performed even if it is a substantially horizontal plane.

  For example, when the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is a horizontal plane, the vertical product 2 is taken away from the temporary storage place 60 as shown in FIG. In this state, the vertically long article 2 is tilted so that the upper part 2 is present in the conveying direction of the conveyor 50 than the lower part. You may defeat it. Thereby, the upper part of the vertically long article 2 can be directed in the conveyance direction. The distance between the lowermost part of the vertically long article 2 and the temporary storage place 60 when releasing the holding state by this method is preferably a small interval of about 2 to 8 mm. As a result, even if the drop direction of the vertically long article 2 changes when the holding state is released, the drop in the drop direction on the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is slight, so that the desired direction can be stably achieved.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the vertically long article 2 is tilted so that the upper part of the vertically long article 2 exists in the conveying direction of the conveyor 50 rather than the lower part, and the vertically long article 2 is positioned above the temporary storage place 60 and away from the temporary storage place. In the method of releasing the holding of the vertically long article 2 while being held and dropping the vertically long article 2, even if the height position of the vertically long article 2 slightly fluctuates, the falling behavior of the vertically long article 2 is the same. Adjustment is easy, and when the release position is reached, the holding of the vertically long article 2 can be released immediately, so that the processing time can be shortened. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9D, in the method in which the vertically long article 2 and the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 are brought into contact with each other and the holding of the vertically long article 2 is released in this state, the holding after the contact is performed. Since it becomes cancellation | release, the vertically long article 2 can be knocked down stably.

  When the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is a substantially horizontal surface, after the vertically long article 2 is picked up from the storage unit 70, the vertically long article is lowered vertically from above the temporary storage place 60 as shown in FIG. In a state where the lower part of the vertically long article 2 is in contact with the temporary storage place 60 and the lower part of the vertically long article 2 is in contact with the temporary storage place 60, the vertically long article 2 is present in the conveying direction of the conveyor 50 rather than the lower part. 2 may be inclined, and then the holding state of the vertically long article 2 may be released, and the vertically long article 2 may be brought down on the conveyor. Thereby, the upper part of the vertically long article 2 can be directed in the conveyance direction. Since the method of releasing the holding of the vertically long article 2 by inclining the vertically long article 2 after bringing the vertically long article 2 and the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 into contact with each other as described above is also the release of the holding after the contact, the vertically long article can be stably provided. 2 can be defeated.

  On the other hand, when the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is inclined toward the transport direction side of the conveyor 50, the vertically long article 2 is positioned above the temporary storage place 60 and away from the temporary storage place as shown in FIG. On the conveying surface 51 of the conveyor 50, the vertically long article 2 is dropped on the temporary storage place 60 by releasing the holding of the vertically long article 2 in a state in which the longitudinal direction of the conveyor 50 is in the extending direction. As shown in FIG. 19, the vertically long article 2 is vertically lowered from above the temporary storage place 60 to bring the lower part of the vertical article 2 into contact with the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60. The vertically long article 2 may be moved onto the transport surface 51 of the conveyor 50 by releasing the holding of the vertically long article 2. In these methods, the lower part of the vertically long article 2 can be directed in the transport direction. Note that when the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is tilted toward the conveying direction of the conveyor 50, the overturning assisting member 62 is not necessary.

  As shown in FIG. 18, in the method of releasing the holding of the vertically long article 2 in the state where the longitudinal direction of the vertically long article 2 is in the vertical direction at a position away from the temporary placing place above the temporary placing place 60, Even if the height position varies slightly, the vertical article 2 will behave in the same manner, so that it is easy to adjust the release position of the holding state, and when it reaches the release position, the holding of the vertical article 2 can be released immediately, so the processing time Can be shortened. The release position in this method is such that the distance between the lowermost part of the vertically long article 2 and the temporary storage place 60 is preferably a small interval of about 2 to 8 mm. As a result, even if the drop direction of the vertically long article 2 changes when the holding state is released, the drop of the drop direction on the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is slight. Can be.

  Even when the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is inclined toward the conveying direction side of the conveyor 50, the vertically long article 2 is stored in the storage unit in the same manner as the method shown in FIG. 16 when the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is horizontal. 20, the vertically long article 2 is tilted so that the upper part of the vertically long article 2 exists above the temporary storage place 60 and away from the temporary storage place so that the upper part of the vertically long article 2 exists in the conveying direction of the conveyor rather than the lower part. Thus, the holding of the vertically long article 2 may be released, the vertically long article 2 may be dropped, and the lower part of the vertically long article 2 may be brought into contact with the temporary storage place. In this method, the upper part of the vertically long article 2 can be directed in the transport direction. The distance between the lowermost part of the vertically long article 2 and the temporary storage place 60 at the time of releasing is preferably a small interval of about 2 to 8 mm as in the method shown in FIG. 16 when the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is horizontal. . Further, in this method, it is necessary to increase the angle at which the vertically long article 2 is inclined at a position above the temporary storage place 60 and away from the temporary storage place, as compared with the method shown in FIG. By increasing the angle at which the vertically long article 2 is tilted, it is possible to prevent the lower part of the article from slipping at the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60, and conversely, the lower part of the vertically long article is directed in the transport direction.

  Further, when the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is inclined toward the conveying direction of the conveyor 50, the vertically long article is similar to the method shown in FIGS. 9A to 9D when the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is horizontal. 2, the vertically long article 2 is tilted so that the upper part of the vertically long article 2 exists in the conveying direction of the conveyor 50 rather than the lower part, and then the lower part of the vertically long article 2 is brought into contact with the temporary placing place 60. The holding state of the article 2 may be released. By releasing the holding of the vertically long article 2 while the vertically long article 2 and the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 are in contact with each other, the vertically long article 2 can be stably brought down.

  Further, when the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is inclined toward the conveying direction of the conveyor 50, the upper side of the temporary storage place 60 is similar to the method shown in FIG. 17 when the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is horizontal. The vertically long article 2 is lowered vertically to bring the lower part of the vertically long article 2 into contact with the temporary storage place 60, and the upper part of the vertically long article 2 is placed in contact with the temporary storage place 60 as shown in FIG. The vertically long article 2 may be tilted by moving it in the conveying direction of the conveyor 50 from the lower part of the vertically long article 2, and then the holding state of the vertically long article 2 is released, and the vertically long article 2 may be brought down on the conveyor. When the vertically long article 2 is tilted after the vertically long article 2 and the temporary storage place 60 are brought into contact with each other in this way and the holding of the vertically long article 2 is released, the vertically long article 2 can be stably brought down. In particular, when the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is inclined toward the conveying direction of the conveyor 50, the vertical product 2 for tilting the vertical product 2 in a state where the lower part of the vertical product 2 is in contact with the temporary storage site 60. The amount of movement of the upper part of can be reduced as compared with the case where the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is horizontal.

  Further, when the contact surface 61 of the temporary storage place 60 is tilted, the tilt may be tilted in the opposite direction to that described above so that the vertically long article 2 is tilted in the opposite direction to the conveying direction of the conveyor 50. In this case, the inclination direction of the vertically long article 2 in a state where one end of the vertically long article 2 is in contact with the contact surface 61 is also opposite to that described above. Thereby, when the vertically long article 2 falls down in the temporary storage place 60, the lower part comes to be conveyed before the upper part of the vertically long article 2.

  In any of these aspects, the position where the holding state is released is a position where a predetermined one of the upper part or the lower part of the vertically long article 2 is tilted toward the conveying direction of the conveyor.

  Further, in order to increase the processing amount per time, two or more conveyors 50 for aligning the vertically long articles 2 may be provided, or three or more robot arms having the holding tool 21 in the hand portion 20 may be used in combination. Good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Alignment conveyance apparatus 2, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E Longitudinal article 2b The back surface of a longitudinal article 10 Robot 11, 12 Robot arm 13 Base 14 Horizontal rotating part 15 Imaging device 16 Moving apparatus 17 Left and right neck rotating part 18 Vertical swing Part 20 Hand part 21 Holding tool 22 Suction part 23 Vacuum pad 24 Spring plunger 30 Holding part 31 Opening and closing device 32 Depression 35 Engaging part 40 Imaging device 41 Illumination device 50 Conveyor 51 Conveying surface 53 Roller conveyor 60 Temporary storage place 61 Contact surface 62 Falling down Auxiliary member 63 Right and left oblique guide 64 Guide 70 Storage part 71 Storage member, plastic container 72 Push button 73 Storage member discharge part 74 Wheel conveyor 75 Defective product collection part 76 Receptacle box 77 Chute 80 Discharge conveyor HG Guide height HH Conveyor Contact surface between transport surface and temporary storage Distance HL Distance between the conveyor surface and the bottom of the temporary storage area HO Thickness L1 of the vertically long article Height L2 seen from the side L2 Maximum diameter or maximum width L3 seen from the top L3 Total length of the suction part

Claims (14)

An aligning and conveying device for taking up a vertically long article standing up from a storage unit for the vertically long article and aligning it in a predetermined direction on a conveyor, comprising a robot arm and a conveyor,
The conveyor has a temporary storage area where vertically long articles come in contact, the temporary storage area is located above the conveyor conveyance surface, and is separated from the conveyance surface;
The robot arm has, as an end effector, a holding tool for detachably holding a vertically long article,
When the vertically long article held by the holder and taken up from the storage unit is in contact with the temporary storage place or separated from the temporary storage place above the temporary storage place, the holding state of the vertical article by the holder is released, An aligning and conveying device in which a vertically long article is separated from a holder and falls on a conveyor in a predetermined direction.   2. A plurality of the robot arms and temporary storage places respectively, wherein HL> HO, where HL is the distance between the conveyor transport surface and the bottom of the temporary storage place, and HO is the thickness of the vertically long article on the conveyor. The alignment conveying apparatus as described.   The aligning and conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vertically long article releases the holding state at a position where one of the upper part and the lower part falls down in the conveying direction of the conveyor.   Claim that the contact surface of the temporary storage area with which the vertically long article contacts is inclined horizontally or in the conveying direction of the conveyor, and when releasing the holding state of the vertically long article, the upper part of the vertically long article exists in the conveying direction of the conveyor rather than the lower part. Item 4. The aligning and conveying apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 3.   After removing the vertically long article from the storage unit and before releasing the holding state of the vertically long article, the lower part of the vertically long article is brought into contact with the temporary storage area, and the upper part of the vertically long article is placed in the conveyor transport direction more than the lower part of the vertically long article. The aligning and conveying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the aligning and conveying apparatus is moved to release the holding state of the vertically long article.   After picking up the vertically long article from the storage section, before releasing the holding state of the vertically long article, the vertically long article is separated from the temporary storage area so that the upper part of the vertically long article is present in the conveying direction of the conveyor rather than the lower part. The alignment conveying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the article is tilted, and the vertically long article is tilted to bring the lower part of the vertically long article into contact with the temporary storage place to release the holding state of the vertically long article.   After picking up the vertically long article from the storage section, before releasing the holding state of the vertically long article, the vertically long article is separated from the temporary storage area so that the upper part of the vertically long article is present in the conveying direction of the conveyor rather than the lower part. The aligning and conveying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the articles are tilted, the holding state of the vertically long articles is released, and the vertically long articles are dropped to a temporary storage place.   The contact surface of the temporary storage area with which the vertical article comes in contact is inclined in the conveying direction of the conveyor, and after the vertical article is taken up from the storage unit, the longitudinal direction of the vertical article is the vertical direction at a position away from the temporary storage area. The alignment conveyance apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the holding state of the vertically long article is released in the state of the above, and the vertically long article is dropped to the temporary storage place.   The contact surface of the temporary storage place where the vertically long article contacts is inclined in the conveying direction of the conveyor, and after taking the vertically long article from the storage unit, the vertically long article is lowered vertically to bring the lower part of the vertically long article into contact with the temporary storage place, The alignment conveyance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding state of the vertically long article is canceled in that state.   The aligning and conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the robot arm holding tool includes a suction part that detachably sucks an upper surface of the vertically long article and a grip part that sandwiches a side surface of the vertically long article.   The alignment conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the robot arm has an engaging portion that engages with a storage member for a vertically long article as an end effector.   The aligning and conveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an imaging device at a hand portion at a tip of the robot arm. By using a robot arm having an end effector connected to a tip, an upright vertical article is taken out from a storage section of the vertical article and aligned on a conveyor in a predetermined direction.
As an end effector, use a robot arm having a holder that detachably holds a vertically long article,
Using a conveyor having a temporary storage place provided above the conveyor surface and spaced from the conveyor surface,
Hold the vertically long article by the holder and pick up the vertically long article from the storage unit, and hold the vertically long article in contact with the temporary storage place or the vertical article above the temporary storage place and away from the temporary storage place. An aligning and conveying method in which a vertically long article is separated from a holding portion and falls on a conveyor in a predetermined direction by releasing a holding state by a tool.   14. The aligning and conveying method according to claim 13, wherein the vertically long article is released from the holding state at a position where either the upper part or the lower part of the article is tilted toward the conveying direction of the conveyor.