JP2022116411A - Egg-pack transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an egg-pack transfer device capable of transferring an egg pack irrespectively of a state of a stowage space.SOLUTION: An egg-pack transfer device 10 comprises a hold unit 1 and a control unit 6. The hold unit 1 raises and holds an egg pack P and the control unit 6 controls the operation of the hold unit 1. The operation of the hold unit 1 includes placing a first egg pack P in a stowage space, temporarily placing a second egg pack P on the first egg pack P, and moving the second egg pack P from a location temporarily placed to a predetermined location while keeping the same in contact with the first egg pack P.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an egg pack transfer device for transferring an egg pack to a storage space.

Egg packs packed at the GP center are packed in cardboard boxes or containers, or placed on dedicated mobile racks called roll inners (see, for example, the following patent documents).

JP 2018-177325 A Patent No. 6684511

The above-described egg carton transfer apparatus that automatically transfers the egg carton includes a holding mechanism for lifting the egg carton. It may not be possible to transfer to the specified position.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to transfer egg packs regardless of the state of the accommodation space.

The transfer device for egg packs of the present invention includes a holding section and a control section. The holding part lifts and holds the egg carton. The control unit performs the operation of placing the first egg pack in the accommodation space, the operation of temporarily placing the second egg pack on the first egg pack, and the second egg pack from the temporarily placed place to the predetermined place. and moving the egg carton in contact with the first egg carton.

According to the present invention, egg packs can be transferred regardless of the state of the accommodation space.

The above and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The side view for demonstrating the transfer apparatus of the egg pack concerning one Embodiment of this invention. The side view for demonstrating the transfer device of the egg pack of the same embodiment. The side view for demonstrating the transfer device of the egg pack of the same embodiment. The side view for demonstrating the transfer device of the egg pack of the same embodiment. The top view for demonstrating the transfer apparatus of the egg pack of the same embodiment. The top view for demonstrating the transfer apparatus of the egg pack of the same embodiment.

An example of an egg pack transfer device 10 according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG. An egg pack transfer device 10 transfers a plurality of conveyed egg packs P to a movable rack 9. - 特許庁The storage space of this embodiment is provided in a movable rack 9 having a foldable shelf board 91 stored on the back side.

The mobile rack 9 has a plurality of foldable shelf boards 91, and can be moved from the GP center with the egg packs P stacked on each shelf board 91, and can be displayed on the sales floor as it is. is. The shelf plate 91 can be changed between a usage state in which it is pulled out to the front side and a storage state in which it is folded and positioned on the back side. A storage space is formed above each shelf plate 91 in use. Egg packs P are stacked up and down and stored in the storage space. The movable rack 9 further includes a frame 92 arranged around the shelf board 91, a spill stopper 93 provided on the side edge of the shelf board 91, and a shelf board receiver (not shown) provided inside the frame 92. and casters (not shown).

Egg packs P are available in various sizes and shapes. The figure shows an egg pack P containing 10 eggs and having a lid P1 with a flat top surface, which is called a "flat pack". 3 to 6 egg packs P are stacked on each shelf plate 91 (3 to 6 stages), and the egg packs P themselves are stacked vertically so that the egg packs P do not slide down in the horizontal direction. It has a shape that can suppress the lateral slippage of the egg pack P.

The transfer apparatus 10 for egg packs according to the present embodiment transfers a plurality of egg packs P collected in the temporary standby area 7 to a storage space in which the plurality of egg packs P are stacked and stored in a plurality of stages. An egg pack transfer device 10 is mainly composed of a holding section 1 and a control section 6 . Specifically, the egg carton transfer device 10 includes a robot head 4 having a holding unit 1 , a robot arm 5 , and a control unit 6 .

The robot head 4 has a holding part 1 . The holding part 1 lifts and holds the egg pack P. The holding part 1 lifts and holds the egg packs P collected in the temporary standby area 7, and is movable between the temporary standby area 7 and the accommodation space. The holding part 1 holds a plurality of egg packs P. The holding part 1 can hold, for example, three egg packs P that are laterally adjacent to each other. The holding part 1 may hold one or two egg packs P. The holding part 1 is composed of a base 2 and a plurality of adsorption members 3 attached to the base 2 . Each adsorption member 3 is connected to a vacuum mechanism (not shown) and adsorbs the top surface of the egg pack P with the lid P1 closed. One egg pack P is held by a plurality of (for example, six) adsorption members 3 . It should be noted that the number and arrangement of the adsorption members 3 may be any.

The robot arm 5 can change the position and orientation of the robot head 4 . A robot arm 5 moves a robot head 4 between a temporary standby area 7 and a mobile rack 9 . As the robot arm 5, a customary articulated robot such as a 6-axis vertical articulated robot is applied. In addition, as the robot arm 5, various robots or devices that can arbitrarily move the robot head 4 along the X-, Y-, and Z-axes can be employed. The temporary standby area 7 is provided on the downstream side of the conveying device 8, and the upstream side of the conveying device 8 is arranged with a packaging device (not shown) that packs the eggs.

The control unit 6 is composed of a dedicated computer or general-purpose computer such as a CPU, an internal memory, an input/output interface, and an AD conversion unit. The functions of the control unit 6 are exhibited by the cooperation of the CPU and its peripheral devices according to the programs stored in the internal memory.

A control unit 6 controls movements of a robot head 4 having a holding unit 1 and a robot arm 5 capable of changing the position and orientation of the robot head 4 . For example, the operation of the holding unit 1 is to place the first egg pack P in the storage space, and to temporarily place the second egg pack P on the first egg pack P. and an operation of moving the second egg pack P from the temporarily placed place to a predetermined place while being in contact with the first egg pack P. Focusing on the relationship between the second egg pack P and the holding unit 1, the operation of the holding unit 1 placing the second egg pack P in a storage space in which the second egg pack P is stacked in a plurality of stages, An operation of moving away from the egg pack P and an operation of the holding part 1 approaching the second egg pack P again and applying force to the second egg pack P via the third egg pack P are performed.

Each operation will be described below.

In the operation of placing the first egg pack P in the storage space, the control unit 6 lifts the egg pack P from the temporary standby area 7 by the holding unit 1, and moves the egg pack P held by the holding unit 1 to the movable rack 9. release above the containment space.

In the operation of temporarily placing the second egg pack P on the first egg pack P, the control unit 6 lifts the egg pack P from the temporary standby area 7 by the holding unit 1, and the eggs held by the holding unit 1 The pack P is released on the accommodation space of the mobile rack 9. The control unit 6 moves the egg pack P so as to avoid interference between the egg pack P held by the robot head 4 and obstacles. Here, the "obstacle" means, for example, the egg packs P previously stacked on the mobile rack 9, the projections provided on the egg packs P, or the space above the space in which a plurality of egg packs P are stacked. , such as the shelf board 91 in a folded state, which is present in the

Next, the operation of moving the second egg pack P from the temporarily placed place to the predetermined place while being in contact with the first egg pack P will be described. Specifically, when moving the second egg pack P to a predetermined location, the control unit 6 moves the holding unit 1 from the front side of the movable rack 9 toward the back side. Further, the control unit 6 brings the third egg pack P lifted by the holding unit 1 into contact with the second egg pack P when moving the second egg pack P to a predetermined location. In other words, the lifted third egg pack P is brought into contact with the second egg pack P previously accommodated in the accommodation space, and the second egg pack P is moved. At this time, the second egg pack P is moved while being in contact with the first egg pack P without being lifted.

In the operation of moving the second egg pack P from the place where it is temporarily placed to the predetermined place while it is in contact with the first egg pack P, the control unit 6 moves the foldable shelf provided on the movable rack 9. A second egg pack P is moved into the space below the plate 91 .

Further, the control unit 6 unfolds the foldable shelf board 91 .

Next, a method for storing egg packs P using the egg pack transfer device 10 will be described by taking as an example a method for storing three stages of egg packs P placed on one of the plurality of shelf boards 91. do.

In the movable rack 9, the shelf board 91 for transferring the egg packs P is kept in use, and the shelf board 91 on the upper stage side is kept in the stored state.

In the conveying device 8 , the egg packs P conveyed from the upstream side are collected in the temporary standby area 7 . The transfer operation is started with, for example, three egg packs P gathered in the temporary standby area 7 .

First, the controller 6 moves the robot head 4 above the collected egg packs P (step S1). Then, the control section 6 controls the holding section 1 to hold the egg pack P (step S2). The holding unit 1 holds the egg pack P by, for example, sucking a portion corresponding to 6 eggs out of the 10 egg pack P on the upper surface of the egg pack P.

The control unit 6 lifts the egg pack P from the temporary standby area 7 by the holding unit 1 (step S3). Then, the control section 6 moves the egg pack P from the temporary standby area 7 to the movable rack 9 (step S4). The control unit 6 moves the egg pack P held by the robot head 4 to the accommodation space of the movable rack 9 . The control unit 6 moves the egg pack P so as to avoid interference between the egg pack P held by the robot head 4 and obstacles.

After that, the egg pack P held by the holding part 1 is released on the movable rack 9 (step S5).

Between steps S1 to S5, the robot head 4 is rotated to combine the egg packs P placed vertically and horizontally in the accommodation space to complete one stage.

Steps S1 to S5 are repeated to complete the second row. The arrangement of the egg packs P on the second stage in this embodiment is different from the arrangement of the egg packs P on the first stage. That is, the egg pack P on the second stage is placed on the egg pack P on the first stage in a shifted state. In this embodiment, the first egg pack P described above is arranged in the second stage.

Next, a method for accommodating the second egg pack P arranged on the third stage will be described.

After executing steps S1 to S4 for the second egg pack P, as shown in FIGS. place (step S6). In the temporary placement, the egg pack P is placed at a position deviated from the target position for placing the egg pack P. The target location of the second egg pack P is the position directly above the first egg pack P. On the other hand, in the temporarily placed state, the second egg pack P is shifted from right above the first egg pack P to the front side, and a part of the bottom surface of the second egg pack P is the first egg pack. is in contact with the lid P1 of the egg pack P. After temporarily placing the second egg pack P, the controller 6 leaves the second egg pack P and moves the robot head 4 to the temporary standby area 7 side.

The third egg pack P is transferred after the second egg pack P as shown in FIG. The second egg pack P is placed vertically and the third egg pack P is placed horizontally.

After executing steps S1 to S4 for the third egg pack P, as shown in FIGS. (step S7). Then, the holder 1 is moved from the front side of the movable rack 9 toward the back side (step S8). At that time, by tilting the holding part 1, the third egg pack P is moved while being tilted. By steps S7 and S8, as indicated by the two-dot chain lines in FIGS. Move the second egg pack P to a predetermined location where the second egg pack P should be positioned. A second egg pack P is placed directly above the first egg pack P.

After that, the third egg pack P held in the holding part 1 is released on the movable rack 9 (step S8).

Steps S1 to S4 and S5 or steps S6 to S8 are repeated to complete the third stage, and after the transfer of one stage of the shelf board 91 is completed, the control unit 6 unfolds the foldable shelf board 91. . That is, the foldable shelf board 91 is unfolded from the storage state to the use state using the same robot head 4 as when the egg pack P is transferred. Specifically, the control unit 6 causes the holding unit 1 to suck the shelf board 91 and causes the robot head 4 to move forward in this state, thereby unfolding the foldable shelf board 91 . The shelf board 91 in the stored state covers only a portion of the upper portion of the lower storage space, while the shelf board 91 in the unfolded and used state covers the entire upper portion of the lower storage space.

After completing the third tier, the fourth tier may be stacked in the same way as the third tier, and the arrangement of the egg packs P in the fourth tier is different from the arrangement of the egg packs P in the third tier. good too.

As described above, the egg pack transfer device 10 according to the present embodiment includes the holding unit 1 and the control unit 6 . The holding part 1 lifts and holds the egg pack P. Control unit 6 controls the operation of holding unit 1 . The operation of the holding unit 1 includes an operation of placing the first egg pack P in the accommodation space, an operation of temporarily placing the second egg pack P on the first egg pack P, and an operation of temporarily placing the second egg pack P from the temporarily placed place. and moving the second egg pack P to the location while in contact with the first egg pack P.

Therefore, when trying to store the egg pack P in the movable rack 9, the size and shape of the holding part 1 are devised so that the egg pack P does not hit the obstacle, or the folding part is changed. The loading of egg packs P can be automated without unfolding operation. In addition, the egg packs P can be placed to the very limit inside the frame 92 and to the limit position below the shelf board 91, and many egg packs P can be stacked per one stage of the shelf board 91.例文帳に追加Therefore, not only is the transportation efficiency increased, but the egg packs P are restrained to each other so that the egg packs P do not move greatly from a predetermined position, thereby preventing cracking of the eggs during transportation.

Further, in this embodiment, the storage space is provided in a movable rack 9 having a foldable shelf plate 91 stored on the back side, and the control unit 6 can store the second egg pack P at a predetermined location. is moved, the holding part 1 is moved from the front side of the movable rack 9 toward the back side.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the control unit 6 moves the second egg pack P to a predetermined location, the third egg pack P lifted by the holding unit 1 is brought into contact with the second egg pack P. It is.

In addition, this invention is not restricted to embodiment mentioned above.

First, regarding the manner in which the egg pack P is held, modified examples of the present invention will be described below.

When moving the egg pack P to the space below the shelf plate 91, the control unit 6 according to the modified example shifts to one end in the longitudinal direction from the center of gravity of the egg pack P (the front side away from the shelf plate 91 ), and the egg pack P is held by the holding portion 1. As shown in FIG. Specifically, the control unit 6 lifts the egg pack P from the temporary standby area 7 by the holding unit 1, releases the second egg pack P held by the holding unit 1 on the movable rack 9, and The holding part 1 not holding the pack P is moved on the movable rack 9, the second egg pack P is lifted again by the holding part 1, and the foldable shelf provided on the movable rack 9 is moved. The egg pack P is moved to the space below 91. The control unit 6 holds the second egg pack P in the temporary standby area 7 by the holding unit 1 in a first mode (for example, using all the adsorption members 3 of the holding unit 1), Release the second egg pack P held on the movable rack 9, and use a second mode different from the first mode (for example, only some of the adsorption members 3 of the holding part 1 are used .The egg pack P is supported in a cantilevered state.), the egg pack P is held by the holding part 1, and the second egg is placed in the space below the foldable shelf plate 91 provided on the movable rack 9. Move puck P. That is, when the egg pack P is lifted again from the temporary placement, it is not necessary to lift the whole egg pack P, and the second egg pack P is placed so that a part of the egg pack P is in contact with the upper surface of the first egg pack P stacked earlier. Move puck P.

In this way, the holding part 1 may hold the egg pack P at a position shifted from the center of gravity thereof. Moreover, the holding part 1 may hold the second egg pack P when moving it from the place where it is temporarily placed to a predetermined place. As long as the holding part 1 holds the second egg pack, it may be, for example, a "regular pack" in which the lid P1 has irregularities along the shape of the egg. That is, the egg pack P is not limited to a flat pack.

The holding part 1 is not limited to the suction type. For example, it may be the holding part 1 that holds the egg pack P from the side. In addition, different types of holding parts 1 are used for the operation of temporarily placing the second egg pack P on the first egg pack P and the operation of moving the second egg pack P to a predetermined location. good too. For example, the holding part 1 used in the operation of moving the second egg pack P to a predetermined place can be any type as long as it can move the egg pack P to the back side of the movable rack 9. good.

The holding part 1 may move the second egg pack P without holding it, for example, using the side portion of the base 2 or the like.

The second egg pack P and the third egg pack P may be placed in the accommodation space in one reciprocating motion. That is, in the temporary standby area 7, the second egg pack P and the third egg pack P are lifted at the same time, and after releasing the second egg pack P in the accommodation space, the third egg pack P is released without returning to the temporary standby area 7. , the second egg pack P may be moved.

Between the placement of the second egg pack P and the placement of the third egg pack P, other egg packs P may be placed.

The target position of the second egg pack P is not limited to being directly above the first egg pack P. Alternatively, the second egg pack P may be arranged horizontally and the third egg pack P may be arranged vertically. good too.

The storage space is not limited to that provided in the mobile rack 9 . It may be provided in a cardboard box or a container. Also, the obstacle may be something other than the shelf plate 91 .

The transfer device is not limited to one using an articulated robot.

The movable rack 9 may have a guide member on its back for guiding the second egg pack. The guide member is for preventing the second egg pack that is moved to a predetermined place from falling to the rear side of the movable rack 9 during the transfer operation of the egg pack transfer device 10 . be.

Moreover, the egg pack P is not limited to a pack containing 10 eggs. The arrangement of the egg packs P on the movable rack 9 is not limited to the illustrated one. The storage method of the egg carton transfer device 10 of the present invention is not limited to the case of loading to the topmost stage of one shelf board 91 , and may be applied to any portion on the shelf board 91 .

For the step of unfolding the foldable shelf board 91, a device different from the robot that transfers the egg pack P may be used.

The embodiment disclosed this time is an example and is not limited to this. The present invention is defined by the scope of the claims rather than the scope described above, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for an egg pack transfer device for transferring egg packs to a movable rack.

10 Egg pack transfer device 1 Holding unit 6 Control unit 9 Movable rack 91 Shelf P Egg pack

Claims (3)

a holding part for lifting and holding the egg carton;
An operation of placing the first egg pack in the accommodation space, an operation of temporarily placing the second egg pack on the first egg pack, and moving the second egg pack from the temporarily placed location to a predetermined location. an egg pack transfer device, comprising: a controller for controlling the operation of the holding unit including the operation of moving the while in contact with the first egg pack. The storage space is provided in a mobile rack with a foldable shelf board stored on the back side,
2. The egg pack according to claim 1, wherein said control unit moves said holding unit from the front side of said movable rack toward the back side when moving said second egg pack to said predetermined location. transfer device. 3. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when moving the second egg pack to the predetermined location, the control unit brings the third egg pack lifted by the holding unit into contact with the second egg pack. A transfer device for egg packs.

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