JP2020189370A - Container robot handling system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a robot handling system in which a container does not fall out of a robot hand when tilting the container held by the robot hand, and a lid is not detached from the container even when obliquely lifting the lid.SOLUTION: A robot handling system 10 has: a container 20 including a container body 21 which is provided with a pair of handles 21B projecting outward, and a lid 22; a robot 30 which grips the container 20, and handles the container; an opening/closing mechanism 23 which so makes the lid 22 and the container body 21 as to be airtight or released by elastic force of a seal material 24 of a tube structure provided on the lid 22. The seal material 24 can be tightly close from an external side to and can be separated from a protruding part 21A protruding to an outer side of an upper end of the container body 21. A robot hand 32 can arrest an outer periphery of the container body 21 with a gap X at a height position between the protruding part 21A and the handle 21B, an upper end and a lower end thereof are so provided as to be capable of selectively contacting a lower side face of the protruding part 21A and an upper end of the handle 21B, respectively.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a robot handling system that is desirable for handling a container, particularly a preparation container, when the preparation is taken in and out of a preparation handling machine including a sugar coating machine, a lock press, an inspection machine, and the like.

Patent Document 1 describes a means for ensuring airtightness of a closed container used for transporting and storing raw materials and intermediate products when a solid preparation such as tablets and powders is produced by a batch production method in a solid preparation factory such as a pharmaceutical company. It is disclosed.

In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, a negative pressure is applied to or released from the inner space of the sealing material having a tube structure, the cross section is expanded or contracted by the elasticity thereof, and the seal between the lid and the container body is opened and closed. It has an opening and closing mechanism. The opening and closing of the negative pressure in this opening / closing mechanism is performed in a state where the outer periphery of the container body 1A in the container 1 including the container body 1A and the lid 3 is gripped by the grip portion 2 which is a robot hand, as shown in FIG. 29, for example. The lid 3 is separated from the container body 1A by a negative pressure suction plate 4 that approaches the lid 3 from above and is attracted to the lid 3, and the container 1 is opened.

Here, when the negative pressure suction cup 4 is lowered and attracted to the lid 3, the pressure reducing portion 6 provided in the vertical moving portion 5 supporting the negative pressure suction cup 4 is connected to the pressure reducing path 7 on the sealing material side. By doing so, a negative pressure is introduced into the sealing material to cause it to shrink, and the close contact sealing structure between the lid 3 and the container body 1A is released. Reference numeral 8 in FIG. 29 indicates a robot, and reference numeral 9 indicates a robot arm.

Japanese Patent No. 6375078

In the case of the container provided with the seal structure described in Patent Document 1, when the gripping force is weak even when the main body of the container is sandwiched between the robot hands, the container falls out of the robot hand when the container is tilted. There was a problem that it could be stored. Also, when there is no gap between the container and the robot hand, even if the lid is in close contact with the container body, if the lid is lifted diagonally, the sealing material will be deformed and the lid will come off. was there.

Further, when the container body is provided with a handle, there is a problem that the handle needs to be positioned in the rotation direction of the container body so as not to interfere with the robot hand.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when the container is tilted while being held by the robot hand, the container is prevented from falling out of the robot hand and the lid is lifted diagonally. An object of the present invention is to provide a robot handling system in which the lid does not come off from the container body even when it is used.

That is, the above problem can be solved by the following examples.

A container body having an opening at the upper end, a container including a lid attached to and detached from the upper end of the container body to open and close the opening, and the container, which is moved, tilted, or the lid is tilted. A robot having a robot hand attached to and detached from the upper end of the container body, a control device for controlling the robot, and a tube structure provided on the lid when opening and closing the opening of the container body by the lid. An opening / closing mechanism that creates and releases airtightness between the container and the container body by the elastic force of the sealing material, and is provided with a decompression path for depressurizing the space formed inside the sealing material to make it negative pressure. The space is decompressed through the decompression path to become a negative pressure, and the space is opened and closed in a state where the space is contracted. The sealing material is a container body. A pair of handles that project outward in the radial direction are provided on the outer periphery of the container body so as to be in close contact with the overhanging portion whose upper end protrudes outward and can be separated from the outside. The robot hand sandwiches the container at a position between the overhanging portion and the handle in the height direction of the container, and with a gap slidable in the height direction of the container with respect to the outer periphery in the radial direction. In a state where the outer periphery of the container body is constrained and the outer periphery of the container body is constrained with a gap, the upper end is on the lower side surface of the overhanging portion of the lid, and the lower end is on the lower surface. A robot handling system for containers, characterized in that the upper end of the handle is selectively contactable.

According to the present invention, even when the container is tilted with the main body portion of the container sandwiched between the robot hands, the robot hand has a handle provided on the container main body and a lower side surface of an overhanging portion protruding outside the upper end of the container. Since it enters between the robot and restrains the container body, there is an effect that the robot hand does not interfere with the handle of the container.

Further, in the robot hand, while the outer circumference of the container body is restrained, the upper end of the robot hand comes into contact with the lower side surface of the overhanging portion, so that the relative movement of the container in the axial direction is restricted, and the container becomes a robot. It has the effect of not falling from the hand.

A perspective view showing an outline of a robot handling system according to an embodiment of the present invention. A block diagram showing the mutual relationship between a control device, a robot, a turntable unit, etc. in an embodiment of the robot handling system. Top view schematically showing the arrangement of the components of the same embodiment Perspective view showing the container body and the lid separately in the same embodiment. A cross-sectional view showing an enlarged state in which the sealing material seals the lid and the container body by releasing the negative pressure inside the sealing material and introducing a positive pressure. A cross-sectional view showing a state in which a negative pressure is introduced into the inner space of the sealing material from the state of FIG. 5 so that the seal can be opened between the lid and the container body. Cross-sectional view showing a state in which the inner portion of the sealing material is sandwiched and restrained by the upper end of the robot hand between the inner portion of the sealing material and the overhanging portion of the container body. Perspective view showing the robot hand in the same embodiment A perspective view showing a state in which the container body is restrained by the robot hand. Schematic diagram showing the process of restraining the container body with a robot hand Side view showing the main part of the lid suction device in the same Example A flowchart showing the process from carrying in the container to moving to the front of the barcode reader (hereinafter referred to as BCR) according to the same embodiment. According to the same embodiment, a flowchart showing a process of returning all the containers to the pallet on the turntable by robot handling from the process of reading the ID of the container by BCR. A flowchart showing the first half of the process of receiving a sugar-coated tablet from a sugar-coated machine in an empty container by the robot handling system according to the embodiment. Flowchart showing the process in the middle stage Flowchart showing the process at the end of the same period In the same embodiment system, a perspective view showing a state in which a container placed on a pallet is picked up by a robot hand. A perspective view showing the process of transferring the grasped container onto the turntable. Perspective view showing the process of transferring the container on the turntable to the container shelf A perspective view showing the process of reading the ID barcode by a BCR provided on the same shelf near the turntable. Perspective view showing the process of transferring the container after reading the ID barcode on the turntable. Perspective view showing the process of removing the lid of the container on the turntable A perspective view showing the process of transferring the removed lid to the lid stand. Perspective view showing the process of tilting the container and charging the tablets into the charging chute of the sugar coating machine. A perspective view showing the process of placing the container body containing the sugar-coated lock on the turntable and attaching the lid. Perspective view showing the process of returning the container with the lid attached to the pallet. A perspective view schematically showing a back cover cleaning device for cleaning the preparation powder or the like adhering to the back cover. Side view showing another embodiment of the lid suction device Schematic diagram showing the conventional process of sucking and removing the lid from the container body while being restrained by the robot hand.

[Example]
Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot handling system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a container 20, a robot 30 that handles the container 20, and a warehousing / delivery chamber for loading and unloading the container 20 that the robot 30 handles. 40, a turntable unit 50 for transferring the container 20 carried into the warehousing / delivery chamber 40 by a robot 30, a lid stand 60 provided adjacent to the turntable unit 50, and the lid stand 60. A container shelf 62 arranged further adjacent to the container shelf 62, a preparation handling machine 64 provided on the opposite side of the container shelf 62 with the robot 30 in between, and a control device 70 for controlling the robot 30 (see FIG. 2). And are provided as the main components.

Further, in this embodiment, the preparation handling machine 64 is a sugar coating machine, and as shown in FIG. 3, a can collecting stand 65 and a charging chute 66 are arranged in front of the preparation handling machine 64 which is the sugar coating machine. ing. Further, a weighing instrument stand 68 is arranged between the preparation handling machine 64 and the warehousing / delivery chamber 40.

The robot 30 sequentially conveys the container 20 carried into the warehousing / delivery chamber 40 clockwise in FIG. 3 through the turntable unit 50, the container shelf 62, the loading chute 66, the can collection stand 65, and the weighing instrument stand 68. Finally, it is returned to the pallet 41 of the warehousing / delivery room 40.

Next, each element constituting the robot handling system 10 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 4, the container 20 includes a container body 21 having an opening at the upper end and a lid 22 attached to and detached from the upper end of the container body 21 to open and close the opening.

As shown in FIG. 5, an opening / closing mechanism 23 is interposed between the container body 21 and the lid 22, so that the space between the container body 21 and the lid 22 is sealed or released. It is configured.

The opening / closing mechanism 23 opens and closes between the lid 22 and the container body 21 by the elastic force of the sealing material 24 made of a soft resin having a hollow sealing structure provided on the lid 22. Has been done.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the sealing material 24 is provided on the lower side of the outer peripheral edge of the lid 22, and the overhanging portion 21A formed by projecting the upper end edge portion of the container body 21 outward over the entire circumference. On the other hand, it is provided so that it can be in close contact with the outside when it expands and can be separated when it contracts.

The opening / closing mechanism 23 includes a lid opening / closing coupler 25 including a pressure reducing path 25A communicating with the space 24S inside the sealing material 24, and a positive pressure is introduced into the space 24S through the pressure reducing path 25A to introduce the sealing material 24. The lid 22 and the container body 21 are integrated by inflating the container body 21 to make it airtight, or a negative pressure is introduced to bring the space 24S into a contracted state from the container body 21 as shown in FIG. The sealing material 24 is separated from each other to release the airtightness so that the lid 22 can be opened. Reference numeral 26 in FIGS. 5 and 6 indicates a seal material pressure switching device that switches the pressure in the space 24S to a negative pressure or a positive pressure.

Further, the sealing material 24 has a lower holding portion 24A whose lower end portion extends below the overhanging portion 21A in a state of being in close contact with the overhanging portion 21A from the outside, and the lower holding portion 24A is provided. The 24A is configured so that it can be sandwiched between the lower side surface of the overhanging portion 21A and the upper end of the robot hand 32 when the sealing material 24 is in the close contact state (see FIG. 7).

As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of handles 21B protruding outward in the radial direction are provided on the outer periphery of the container body 21. The robot 30 includes a robot hand 32 that grips the outer circumference of the container body 21 to move the container 20 and attach / detach the lid 22 to the upper end of the container 20.

The robot hand 32 has a gap X slidable in the height direction of the container 20 between the overhanging portion 21A and the handle 21B, and in the radial direction in the height direction of the container 20. With the outer circumference of the container body 21 constrainable and the outer circumference of the container 20 restrained with a gap X, the upper end is selected as the lower side surface of the overhanging portion 21A and the lower end is selected as the upper end of the handle 21B. It is provided so that it can be contacted.

Here, the gap X is between the inner peripheral surface of the robot hand 32 and the outer peripheral surface of the container body 21, and the minimum value thereof is that the robot hand 32 and the container body 21 can move relatively in the vertical direction. Moreover, the maximum value is a range in which the lower holding portion 24A does not come off from the overhanging portion 21A when the upper end of the robot hand 32 abuts on the overhanging portion 21A from below.

In this embodiment, the specific minimum value of the gap X is 0.5 mm on one side and 1 mm on both sides from the resolution of the camera used in the system. The maximum value depends on the shape and size of the overhanging portion 21A.

Further, the robot hand 32 is provided with a seal material pressure switching device 26 that descends from above and elastically fits to the lid opening / closing coupler 25 in FIG. 5, via a decompression passage 25A at the time of fitting. A negative pressure is introduced into the space 24S inside the sealing material 24, and when the pressure rises and separates, a positive pressure is introduced from the lid opening / closing coupler 25.

The container body 21 has a bottomed cylindrical shape, and the robot hand 32 sandwiches the semicircular restraint portion 33 and the restraint portion 33 from both outer sides as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. It is configured to include a pair of holding bars 34 provided on both sides in the width direction.

When the container body 21 is placed on a horizontal plane and the central axis thereof is in the vertical direction, the restraint portion 33 is in the horizontal plane orthogonal to the central axis line and has a semi-arc shape when viewed from above. In the horizontal plane described above, the tip of the holding bar 34 enters a position between the overhanging portion 21A of the container body 21 and the handle 21B, and the outer periphery of the container body 21 is sandwiched in the radial direction with a gap X (FIG. 10). (See (C)), the horizontal plane is opened from this restraint position and is retractable from the position between the overhanging portion 21A and the handle 21B in the horizontal direction (see FIG. 10 (A)). It is configured to swing inside.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the robot hand 32 has at least two (three in the embodiment) capable of approaching the lid 22 attached to the container body 21 from the outside and adsorbing the lid 22. The lid suction device 35 including the negative pressure suction plate 35A and the sealing material pressure switching device 26 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) for opening and closing the decompression passage 25A in the opening / closing mechanism 23 are provided, and the lid 22 is covered. It is configured to be attached to and removed from the container body 21 while being adsorbed on the suction device 35.

Here, in the robot hand 32, the container restraint surface (the portion that restrains the outer periphery of the container body 21 with a gap X) in the arc-shaped restraint portion 33 exceeds 50% of the length in the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the container body 21. It is configured to have a circumferential length.

In the warehousing / delivery chamber 40, the pallet 41 in which a plurality of containers 20 are placed can be taken in and out at the warehousing / delivery position, and the container 20 on the pallet 41 is photographed from above to obtain the coordinate position information in the horizontal plane. It is configured to include the palletizing camera 42 to be acquired.

The turntable unit 50 is a turntable 51 capable of transferring the container 20 taken out from the pallet 41 by the robot 30 and moving the transferred container 20 to a target coordinate position in the horizontal plane. The container 20 on the turntable 51 is photographed, and the turntable camera 52 for acquiring the coordinate position information in the horizontal plane is provided.

The lid stand 60 is arranged above or adjacent to the turntable 51 so that the lid 22 removed from the container 20 on the turntable 51 can be placed.

The container shelf 62 is arranged adjacent to the lid stand 60, and is configured so that a plurality of container bodies 21 on the turntable 51 with the lid removed can be placed.

The lid stand 60 has a plurality of lid loading sensors 61, the turntable unit 50 has a bar code reader (hereinafter BCR) 53, the turntable loading sensor 54, and the container shelf 62 has a plurality of containers. The loading sensor 62A is provided on the collecting table 65, and the collecting table loading sensor 65A and the collecting table full sensor 65B are provided, respectively. The BCR 53 is for reading the ID barcodes 53A and 53B (see FIG. 9) provided on the container body 21 and the lid 22 of the container 20 held by the robot hand 32, respectively.

Here, the means for recognizing the container body 21 and the lid 22 are not only barcodes, but also two-dimensional codes such as QR codes (registered trademarks), other ID codes, and code readers for reading them. Good.

The BCR 53 is configured to output the read ID signal of the container body 21 and the ID signal of the lid 22 to the control device 70, and the control device 70 outputs the removed lid 22 to the container body 21 having the same ID. It is designed to be installed only in.

Further, the weighing instrument base 68 is provided with a weighing instrument stand loading sensor 68A. Reference numeral 26 in FIG. 2 indicates a sealing material pressure switching device that turns on / off the negative pressure introduced inside the sealing material 24 of the opening / closing mechanism 23, and 27 indicates a negative pressure sensor provided in the opening / closing mechanism 23.

The sealing material pressure switching device 26 switches the pressure in the space inside the sealing material 24 between negative pressure and positive pressure, and the negative pressure sensor 27 detects the negative pressure in the space inside the sealing material 24. Is.

Each of the above-mentioned load sensor and full sensor is connected to the control device 70 as shown in FIG. 2, and each of the seal material pressure switching device 26 and the negative pressure sensor 27 is also connected to the control device 70. ing.

Next, using the robot handling system 10 according to the above embodiment, the container 20 containing the tablet is carried into the warehousing / delivery chamber 40, the container 20 is taken out, the lid 22 is removed, and the tablet is put into the preparation handling machine from the charging chute 66. While the sugar-coated tablets were being manufactured, the lids 22 were attached to all the empty containers 20 and returned to the pallet 41 of the warehousing / delivery chamber 40, and the empty containers 20 on the pallet 41 were further placed. FIGS. 12 to 12 show a process of taking out, removing the lid 22, receiving the manufactured sugar-coated tablet into the container body 21 on the can stand 65, attaching the lid 22 to the container body 21, and returning it to the pallet 41 of the warehousing / delivery chamber 40. It will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 16 and FIGS. 17 to 26.

First, in step S101 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 12, a plurality of containers 20 placed on the pallet 41 are carried into the warehousing / delivery chamber 40.

Next, in step S102, each of the containers 20 on the pallet 41 is photographed by the palletizing camera 42 provided in the warehousing / delivery chamber 40, the coordinate positions in the horizontal plane thereof are determined, and the containers are placed in a handleable state. Determine if it has been done.

If the determination result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S103, and if No, the process proceeds to step S104. In step S104, the image processing determination retry is performed, if the determination result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S103, and if No, the process proceeds to step S105, an image processing NG alarm is output, and the position of the container 20 is manually corrected.

In step S103, the coordinate information based on the image information captured by the palletizing camera 42 is taught to the robot 30 via the control device 70.

In the next step S106, the robot hand 32 of the robot 30 starts handling each can of the container 20 (see FIG. 17).

In the next step S107, the robot hand 32 moves the container 20 in front of the BCR 53. The process proceeds to step S108, and as shown in FIG. 18, the BCR 53 reads the container ID (bar code in this case) provided in the container 20 held by the robot hand 32, and determines whether or not the reading result is possible.

If the result of the determination is Yes, the process proceeds to the next step S109. If No, the process proceeds to step S110, the container ID is read again by the BCR53, and the determination of whether or not the container ID is possible is executed.

If the determination result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S109. If the determination result is No, in step S111, a BCR reading NG alarm is output to prompt a manual response.

In step S109, the container ID information is transmitted from the BCR 53 to the control device 70.

Proceeding to step S112, the container 20 is transferred from the front of the BCR 53 to the adjacent container shelf 62 by the robot hand 32 (see FIG. 19).

In the next step S113, the above steps S101 to S112 are repeated, and all the containers 20 are transferred to the container shelf 62 (see FIG. 20).

In the next step S114, the robot hand 32 moves the container 20 from the container shelf 62 to the front of the BCR 53.

Proceeding to step S115 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 13, the container ID of the container 20 is read by the BCR 53, and it is determined whether or not the reading is accurate. If the result of the determination is Yes, the process proceeds to step S116, and if No, the process proceeds to step S117.

In step S117, the readability determination by the BCR53 is performed again, and if the determination result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S116. If No, a BCR reading NG alarm is output in step S118.

In step S116, the container ID information is transmitted from the BCR 53 to the control device 70, and is transmitted from here to the robot 30.

The process proceeds to step S119, and as shown in FIG. 21, the container 20 is transferred from the front of the BCR 53 onto the turntable 51 by the robot hand 32.

In the next step S120, while rotating the container 20 on the turntable 51, the turntable camera 52 acquires the position information of the lid opening / closing coupler 25 (see FIG. 5) provided on the lid 22 for handling. Determine if it is possible.

If the determination result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S121. If the determination result is No, the turntable camera 52 retries the imaging process determination in step S122.

If the determination result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S121. If the determination result is No, the process proceeds to step S123, and the image processing NG alarm output is performed.

In step S121, the coordinate position information is taught from the turntable camera 52 to the robot 30 via the control device 70.

Next, in step S124, as shown in FIG. 22, the robot hand 32 is rotated by 90 ° at the position of the lid opening / closing coupler 25 taught to introduce negative pressure into the sealing material 24 of the opening / closing mechanism 23. Then, the lid 22 is removed from the container body 21, and only the lid 22 is transferred onto the lid stand 60 as shown in FIG. 23.

Proceeding to step S125, the robot hand 32 moves the container body 21 containing the tablets from the turntable 51 to the charging chute 66 of the formulation handling machine 64, tilts the container body 21 to load the tablets (see FIG. 24). ..

After the tablet is charged into the charging chute 66, the empty container body 21 is transferred to the turntable 51 by the robot hand 32 in the next step S126. In step S127, as shown in FIG. 25, the lid 22 on the lid stand 60 is attached to the container body 21 by the robot hand 32, and in step S128, the lid 22 is transferred from the turntable 51 onto the pallet 41. In step S129, S114 to S128 are repeated, and all the containers 20 are returned to the pallet 41 (see FIG. 26).

Next, the process of receiving the completed sugar-coated tablet from the formulation handling machine 64 into the empty container 20 and returning it to the warehousing / delivery chamber 40 is shown in steps S201 to S232 of the flowchart in FIGS. 14 to 16.

First, in step S201, the empty container 20 loaded on the pallet 41 is carried into the warehousing / delivery chamber 40.

In the next step S202, the position of the container 20 is imaged by the palletizing camera 42 provided in the warehousing / delivery chamber 40, and it is determined whether or not the container 20 can be carried out by the robot hand 32. If the determination result is Yes, the process proceeds to the next step S203. If No, the process proceeds to step S204, the container position is imaged again by the palletizing camera 42, and it is determined whether or not processing is possible.

If the determination result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S203. If the determination result is No, the process proceeds to step S205, and an image processing NG alarm output is output.

In step S203, the coordinate information of the container 20 is taught to the robot 30 from the palletizing camera 42 via the control device 70.

In the next step S206, the robot 30 handles the containers 20 one by one.

In step S207, the robot hand 32 moves the container 20 in front of the BCR 53, and in the next step S208, the BCR 53 reads the container ID provided in the container 20 in advance, and whether or not the next process is possible. To judge.

If the determination result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S209, and if No, the process proceeds to step S210.

In step S210, similarly to step S208, the container ID is read again by the BCR53, and determination (retry) of whether or not processing is possible is executed.

If the determination result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S209. If No, the process proceeds to step S211 and a BCR reading NG alarm is output.

In step S209, the container ID information is transmitted from the BCR 53 to the robot 30 via the control device 70.

In the next step S212, the container 20 is transferred from the front of the BCR 53 to the weighing instrument base 68 by the robot hand 32, and the weighing request is transmitted to the robot system (control device and robot).

Proceeding to step S213, the container 20 is transferred from the weighing instrument base 68 to the turntable 51 by robot handling.

In the next step S214 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15, the position information of the lid opening / closing coupler 25 is imaged by the turntable camera 52 while rotating the container 20 by the turntable 51, and whether or not handling is possible. Make a judgment.

If the determination result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S215. If the determination result is No, the process proceeds to step S216, the imaging process determination retry is performed, and if the result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S215. If the determination result is No, the image processing NG alarm output is performed in step S217.

In step S215, the coordinate position of the container 20 acquired by the turntable camera 52 is taught from the turntable 51 to the robot 30 via the control device 70.

The process proceeds to step S218, the lid 22 is removed by the robot hand 32, only the lid 22 is transferred to the lid stand 60, and the process proceeds to the next step S219.

In step S219, the container body 21 from which the lid 22 has been removed is transferred from the turntable 51 to the can collection stand 65, which is a sugar coating machine, by the robot hand 32, and the can stands by in an inclined posture.

In the next step S220, the discharge request from the robot 30 to the preparation handling machine 64 is turned on.

In step S221, when the level sensor for detecting the amount of cans collected reaches the specified value in the container body 21 on the can collection table 65, the robot 30 shifts to the can standing position, and the robot hand 32 presses the container body 21. Put it in a horizontal position and transfer it on the can stand 65.

In the next step S222, when the full sensor provided on the can stand 65 outputs an ON signal, the discharge request from the robot 30 is turned off.

Proceeding to step S223, the robot hand 32 moves the container body 21 containing the sugar-coated lock from the can collection stand 65 to the front of the BCR 53.

The process proceeds to step S224 in the flowchart of FIG. 16, it is determined whether or not the container ID information has been read correctly, and if the determination result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S225.

If the determination result is No, the process proceeds to step S226, the determination retry for reading the container ID information is performed, and if the result is Yes, the process proceeds to step S225. If the determination result is No, the BCR reading NG alarm output is made in step S227.

In step S225, the container ID information of the container body 21 read by the BCR 53 is transmitted to the control device 70.

In the next step S228, the container body 21 is transferred from the front of the BCR 53 to the weighing instrument base 68 by the robot hand 32, and the process proceeds to step S229. The robot hand 32 moves the lid 22 on the lid stand 60 to the container body 21. Return to.

In the next step S230, the robot 30 transmits a weighing request to the robot system (control device 70), and in step S231, the robot hand 32 transfers the container 20 containing the sugar-coated lock from the weighing instrument stand 68 to the pallet 41. Reprinted above.

In step S232, the above steps S202 to S231 are repeated to transfer all the containers 20 onto the pallet 41, and the robot handling is completed.

In the above embodiment, the preparation handling machine 64 is in the case of a sugar-coated tablet, but this may be a locking machine or a preparation machine.

The components of the preparation in the container body 21 are not uniform in all the containers 20, and when the combination of the container body 21 and the lid 22 when they are carried into the warehousing / delivery chamber 40 is changed, they adhere to the back surface of the lid 22. The formulation in the container and the formulation in the container body 21 will be slightly different. The ID barcodes 53A and 53B are provided so that the combination of the container body 21 and the lid 22 does not differ by matching the ID information.

On the other hand, when the preparation adhering to the back surface of the lid 22 is sucked by the lid suction device 35 and the lid 22 is first removed from the container body 21, as shown in FIG. 27, the lid stand 60 If the lid is removed by using the lid back cleaning device 74 provided adjacent to the container body, it is not necessary to match the container body 21 and the lid 22 by using the ID bar codes 53A and 53B as described above. The attachment of the ID code to the 21 and the lid 22 and the reading device thereof become unnecessary. The lid back cleaning device 74 is, for example, a vacuum suction device or an air blow.

FIG. 28 shows another embodiment of the lid suction device. The lid suction device 37 according to another embodiment has a negative pressure suction cup 37B provided on a swing arm 37A oscillatingly supported by the robot hand 32, and a pressure switching portion 38.

In FIG. 28, the lid suction device 37 is rotated 90 ° clockwise from the standby state indicated by the two-point chain wire 37W, and the suction surface of the negative pressure suction cup 37B is restrained by the robot hand 32 above the lid 22. The pressure switching portion 38 is moved to the suction start position so as to be located above the lid opening / closing coupler 25 while being in one perpendicular plane parallel to the lid 22 attached to the container body 21. To.

Next, the negative pressure suction cup 37B is attracted from above by approaching the lid 22 placed on the container body 21 placed on the horizontal plane from above, and at the same time, the pressure switching unit 38 is moved. It is possible to fit the lid opening / closing coupler 25 from above and introduce a negative pressure (see FIG. 6) into the space 24S inside the sealing material 24 so that the lid 22 comes off from the container body 21.

Therefore, as compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, since the negative pressure introduction and the negative pressure suction cup suction can be executed in one operation, the working time of the robot handling can be shortened.

Although all of the above examples relate to a system for robot-handling a container for handling a preparation, the present invention is not limited to this, and powder-shaped or tablet-shaped foods, supplements, resins, and metals are not limited thereto. , Also applied to the handling of pottery stones.

1 ... Container 1A ... Container body 2 ... Grip part 3 ... Lid 4 ... Negative pressure suction plate 5 ... Vertical movement part 6 ... Decompression part 7 ... Decompression path 8 ... Robot 9 ... Robot arm 10 ... Robot handling system 20 ... Container 21 ... Container Main body 21A ... Overhanging part 21B ... Handle 22 ... Lid 23 ... Opening / closing mechanism 24 ... Sealing material 24A ... Lower holding part 24S ... Space 25 ... Lid opening / closing coupler 25A ... Decompression passage 26 ... Sealing material pressure switching device 27 ... Negative pressure Sensor 30 ... Robot 32 ... Robot hand 33 ... Restraint part 34 ... Holding bar 35, 37 ... Lid suction device 35A, 37B ... Negative pressure suction plate 37A ... Swing arm 37W ... Standby state 38 ... Pressure switching part 40 ... Entry / exit room 41 … Pallet 42… Palletizing camera 50… Turntable unit 51… Turntable 52… Turntable camera 53… Bar code reader (BCR)
53A, 53B ... ID bar code 54 ... Turntable loading sensor 60 ... Lid stand 61 ... Lid loading sensor 62 ... Container shelf 62A ... Container loading sensor 64 ... Formulation handling machine 65 ... Can collecting stand 65A ... Can collecting Load sensor 65B ... Collection stand full sensor 66 ... Input chute 68 ... Weighing instrument stand 68A ... Weighing instrument stand Load sensor 70 ... Control device 74 ... Lid back cleaning device X ... Gap

Claims (10)

A container body having an opening at the upper end, a container including a lid attached to and detached from the upper end of the container body to open and close the opening, and the container, which is moved, tilted, or the lid is tilted. A robot having a robot hand attached to and detached from the upper end of the main body container, a control device for controlling the robot, and a tube structure provided on the lid when opening and closing the opening of the container main body by the lid. An opening / closing mechanism that forms and releases airtightness between the container and the container body by the elastic force of the sealing material, and is provided with a decompression path for depressurizing the space formed inside the sealing material to make it negative pressure. The space is decompressed through the decompression path to become a negative pressure, and the space can be opened in a state where the space is contracted.
The sealing material is provided so as to be able to adhere to the overhanging portion where the upper end of the container body protrudes outward from the outside and to be separable to the outside.
A pair of handles projecting outward in the radial direction are provided on the outer periphery of the container body, and the robot hand is radially located at a position between the overhanging portion and the handle in the height direction of the container. Is configured to slidably sandwich the outer periphery of the container in the height direction of the container with a gap so as to restrain the outer periphery of the container body, and restrain the outer periphery of the container body with a gap. A robot handling system for a container, characterized in that the upper end is provided on the lower side surface of the overhanging portion of the lid and the lower end is selectively abuttable on the upper end of the handle. In claim 1,
The container body has a bottomed cylindrical shape.
The robot hand has a semicircular restraint portion and a pair of holding bars provided on both sides in the width direction so as to sandwich the restraint portion.
The restraint portion is in a horizontal plane orthogonal to the central axis when the container body is placed on the horizontal plane and the central axis thereof is in the vertical direction, and has a semi-arc shape when viewed from above.
The holding bar has a restraint position in which the tip thereof enters a position between the overhanging portion of the container body and the handle in the horizontal plane and sandwiches the outer periphery of the container body in the radial direction with the gap, and the restraint. A robot handling system for a container that is open from a position and is swingable in the horizontal plane between a position between the overhang and the handle and a retractable position that allows the container to be horizontally detached. .. In claim 2,
The robot hand approaches the lid attached to the container body from the outside, and has a lid suction device including at least two negative pressure suction plates capable of sucking the lid, and the decompression path in the opening / closing mechanism. It has a pressure switching unit that opens and closes, and is configured to be attached to and detached from the container body while the lid is adsorbed to the lid suction device.
The negative pressure suction plate is one straight line whose suction surface is parallel to the central axis of the container body in a state of being restrained by the robot hand and orthogonal to the lid in a state of being attached to the container body. Attached to one of the pair of holding bars so as to be in a plane, and approached from above with respect to the lid placed on the container body in a state of being placed on a horizontal plane, this. A robot handling system for containers, which is characterized by being able to suck and lift. In claim 2,
The robot hand approaches the lid attached to the container body from the outside, and has a lid suction device including at least two negative pressure suction plates capable of sucking the lid, and the decompression path in the opening / closing mechanism. It has a pressure switching unit that opens and closes, and is configured to be attached to and detached from the container body while the lid is adsorbed to the lid suction device.
The negative pressure suction plate is provided so that its suction surface is in one right plane separated in parallel with the lid in a state of being attached to the container body restrained by the robot hand, and is provided on a horizontal plane. A robot handling system for a container, characterized in that the lid placed on the container body in a mounted state is approached from above and can be sucked and lifted. In claim 3 or 4,
The robot hand abuts the container body from below in a state where the container body to which the lid is attached is restrained and the lid is attracted by the negative pressure suction cup to bring the container body into contact with the overhanging portion. A robot handling system for containers characterized by being supportable. In any of claims 1 to 5,
The sealing material has a lower holding portion whose lower end portion extends below the overhanging portion in a state of being in close contact with the overhanging portion from the outside.
The lower holding portion is configured so that it can be sandwiched between the lower side surface of the overhanging portion and the upper end of the robot hand when the sealing material is in close contact with the sealing material. Robot handling system. In any of claims 1 to 6,
The robot hand is characterized in that the container restraining surface that restrains the outer periphery of the container body with a gap has a circumferential length exceeding 50% of the circumferential length of the outer periphery of the container body. Robot handling system for containers. In any of claims 1 to 7,
A turntable in which the container can be transferred by the robot and the transferred container can be moved to a target coordinate position in a horizontal plane, and the container on the turntable are photographed and the photographed thereof. A turntable unit equipped with a turntable camera that acquires coordinate position information in a horizontal plane,
A lid stand placed above or adjacent to the turntable and on which the lid removed from the container on the turntable is placed.
A container shelf arranged adjacent to the lid stand and having the lid removed, on which a plurality of container bodies of the container can be placed on the turntable.
It has a control device that outputs a control signal and controls the robot.
The container is placed in and out of the warehousing / delivery room while being placed on the pallet.
The control device is a signal from the turntable camera of the coordinate position information of the container on the turntable, a signal of the lid loading information with or without the lid on the lid stand, and the said on the container shelf. Based on the signal of the container loading information with or without the container, the robot was controlled, and the container on the pallet was transferred one by one onto the turntable by the robot hand, and the transfer was performed. The lid is removed from the container one by one and placed on the lid stand, and the container body after the lid is removed is transferred to the container shelf one by one. A robot handling system for containers that has been made. In claim 8.
The turntable unit is provided with a code reader for reading ID codes provided on the container body and the lid of the container held by the robot hand.
The code reader is configured to output the read ID signal of the container body and the ID signal of the lid to the control device, and the control device has the removed lid with the same ID. A container robot handling system that is designed to be attached only to the container body. In claim 8.
Adjacent to the lid stand, a lid back cleaning device for removing a part of the contents in the container body, which is attached to the inside of the lid removed from the container body, is provided. The control device is a container robot handling system configured to remove deposits on the back surface of the lid in a state of being removed from the container body by the robot hand.

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