JP2022150487A - Conveyance device - Google Patents

Abstract

To achieve alleviation of work load of an operator.SOLUTION: A conveyance device 30 which takes up an object to be sewn and conveys it includes: a plurality of holding heads 90 for holding an object P to be sewn; and a variable mechanism 81 which varies the arrangement of the plurality of holding heads 90 based on the information including the shape of the object P to be sewn. The variable mechanism 81 is capable of holding various shapes of the parts P, by, for example, moving the plurality of holding heads 90 to the arrangement according to the shape of the parts P by a motor on the two-dimensional plane. Thus, replacement of the structure for holding the parts P becomes unnecessary.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conveying device for picking up and conveying parts to be sewn materials.

In a conventional sewing system, parts placed at a predetermined supply location are held by an arm-type conveying device having a holding device at the tip, and supplied to a sewing machine for sewing (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2021-024033 A

However, the conveying device of Patent Literature 1 has a structure in which a holding device picks up parts with a plurality of picking portions fixed in a prescribed arrangement on a plane. For this reason, when changing parts, it is necessary to replace the holding device with another holding device having suction portions arranged in an arrangement suitable for the new part, which increases the work load.

An object of the present invention is to reduce the work burden on workers.

The invention according to claim 1 is a conveying device,
In a conveying device that picks up and conveys a sewing material,
a plurality of holding heads for holding the article to be sewn;
and a variable mechanism for varying the arrangement of the plurality of holding heads based on information including the shape of the sewing material.

The invention according to claim 2 is the conveying apparatus according to claim 1,
A plurality of said holding heads are arranged on the same two-dimensional plane,
The variable mechanism is characterized by moving the plurality of holding heads in biaxial directions consisting of an X-axis and a Y-axis along the two-dimensional plane.

The invention according to claim 3 is the conveying apparatus according to claim 2,
The variable mechanism is
holding two sets of a pair of holding heads relatively movable along the X axis;
These two sets of holding heads are held so as to be relatively movable along the Y-axis.

The invention according to claim 4 is the conveying apparatus according to claim 3,
One of the two sets of holding heads is provided with two drive sources for individually moving one of the paired holding heads and the other holding head along the X-axis. .

The invention according to claim 5 is the conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The conveying device is characterized by comprising an angle adjustment mechanism that rotates the plurality of holding heads around an axis perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane to adjust the angle.

The invention according to claim 6 is the conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The holding head is
a drawing nozzle for drawing the sewing material upward;
and a gripping mechanism for gripping the sewing material.

The invention according to claim 7 is the conveying apparatus according to claim 6,
The apparatus further comprises a holding control section that controls the holding head so that the grasping mechanism grasps the sewing material after the drawing nozzle draws the sewing material.

The invention according to claim 8 is the conveying apparatus according to claim 6 or 7,
It is characterized in that the drawing force of the sewing material can be adjusted by adjusting the air flow rate of the drawing nozzle.

The invention according to claim 9 is the conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
The holding head has a detection section for detecting the thickness of the sewing material held by the holding mechanism,
The present invention is characterized by comprising a determination processing unit that determines whether the sewing material has been successfully gripped from the thickness of the sewing material detected by the detection unit.

According to the present invention, since the conveying device is provided with a variable mechanism for changing the arrangement of the plurality of holding heads based on information including the shape of the material to be sewn, large-scale replacement of parts is not required due to the change of parts, and the operator is free to do so. It is possible to reduce the work burden of

1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a sewing system that is an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sewing system; FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cut sheet material; FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a template; Fig. 10 is a side view of a template; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the tip tool; FIG. 4 is a plan view of the tip tool with part of the illustration omitted; 3 is a schematic block diagram showing the control configuration of the pickup device; FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view when the controller individually positions holding heads at the four corners of an isosceles trapezoidal part; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the individual positioning of the holding heads on the parallelogram part; FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which an error due to inclination occurs between devices of the sewing system; FIG. 11 is a side view showing a picking up operation of a part by a holding head; FIG. 13 is a side view showing the operation of picking up the part by the holding head following FIG. 12; FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a circuit configuration that enables adjustment of the pulling force of the pulling chuck; It is a flow chart for determining whether to switch between two levels of strong and weak attracting force by a controller. 4 is a flow chart showing operation control in the transport operation of the pickup device performed by the controller; 4 is a timing chart of pick-up operation; It is a top view of a reversing device. It is a top view of a transfer mechanism. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the flow of various data and various commands in each configuration of the sewing system;

[Overall Configuration of Sewing System]
A sewing system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the sewing system 100, and FIG. 2 is a plan view.
The sewing system 100 includes a conveying device 30 that picks up a part P to be sewn from a sheet material S that has been cut by a cutting device 20 and conveys it to a sewing template 70 and holds the template 70 . A sewing machine 60 for sewing parts P and a relay terminal 110 (see FIG. 20) for linking the components described above are provided.
The cutting device 20, the conveying device 30, and the sewing machine 60 are arranged in a row in the horizontal direction. Let it be in the Z-axis direction.

In addition, when it is necessary to distinguish and explain the parts P by size and shape, individual symbols such as P1, P2, P3, ... are attached (see FIG. 3), but there is no need to distinguish them In some cases, a common code P is used.
In addition, in the sewing system 100 of the present embodiment, a case is exemplified in which the pair of parts P that are the material of the flap cloth sewn to the opening of the pocket of the jacket are sewn together. It is possible to carry out all kinds of sewing operations for sewing sewn articles.

[Cutting device]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cutting device 20 has a cutting stage 21 on which the sheet material S to be cut is placed, and a work for picking up the parts P from the cut sheet material S. A stage 22, a cutting head 23 equipped with a knife for cutting, a moving mechanism 24 for arbitrarily moving the cutting head 23 along the XY plane, and a control unit 25 for controlling each part of the cutting device 20 (Fig. 20 see).

Both the cutting stage 21 and the work stage 22 have flat upper surfaces and are set at the same height.
The upper surface of the cutting stage 21 and the upper surface of the work stage 22 are composed of a conveyor belt of a belt conveyor mechanism, and both convey the sheet material S placed on the upper surface along the Y-axis direction. can be done. By driving the belt on the upper surface of the cutting stage 21 and the belt on the upper surface of the work stage 22 at the same speed, the sheet material S placed on the upper surface of the cutting stage 21 is transferred from the cutting stage 21 to the work stage 22. It can be transported as if it were handed over.

The cutting head 23 supports a knife (not shown) directed downward, and can cut the sheet material S along the moving direction thereof.
The moving mechanism 24 includes rails 241 that movably support the cutting head 23 along the X-axis direction, an X-axis motor (not shown) serving as a driving source for moving the cutting head 23 on the rails 241 in the X-axis direction, and a cutting head. 23 is provided with a Y-axis motor (not shown) serving as a driving source for movement in the Y-axis direction.

The X-axis motor imparts a moving motion along the X-axis direction to the head 23 via a linear motion mechanism such as a ball screw mechanism or a belt mechanism built in the rail 241 .
The Y-axis motor imparts movement motion along the Y-axis direction to the rail 241 via a linear motion mechanism such as a ball screw mechanism or a belt mechanism built in the cutting stage 21 .

The control unit 25 of the cutting device 20 receives information such as the arrangement, size, shape, orientation, etc. of a plurality of parts P to be formed on the sheet material S from an external CAD (computer-aided design) system 200. It acquires data, converts it into cutting control information for controlling the moving mechanism 24, and executes operation control of the moving mechanism 24 (see FIG. 20).
In addition, the control unit 25 of the cutting device 20 is connected to the relay terminal 110 via a communication cable, and is used to determine the arrangement, size, and size of the plurality of parts P to be formed on the sheet material S included in the acquired cutting data. Parts information (information specifying parts) including shape, orientation, etc. is transmitted to the relay terminal 110 .
Further, the movement amount of each of the motors that serve as drive sources for the belt conveyor mechanisms of the cutting stage 21 and the work stage 22 is detected by encoders and input to the control unit 25 .

[sewing machine]
The sewing machine 60 is a so-called electronic cycle sewing machine. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sewing machine 60 has a main body 61 that performs sewing by moving the sewing needle up and down, and a template 70 that holds the above-described template 70 and sews along the XY plane. a moving mechanism 62 for arbitrarily moving and positioning, a work table 63, and a controller 64 (see FIG. 20) for controlling the sewing machine 60. As shown in FIG.
The main body 61 has the same configuration as that of a well-known sewing machine, such as a needle up-and-down movement mechanism and a hook mechanism.
The upper surface of the work table 63 is horizontal along the XY plane, and the parts P are sewn on the upper surface.

The moving mechanism 62 includes a holding portion that detachably holds the template 70, an X-axis motor that drives the holding portion in the X-axis direction, and a Y-axis motor that drives the holding portion in the Y-axis direction. It has
The X-axis motor imparts a moving motion along the X-axis direction to the holder and the template 70 via a linear motion mechanism such as a ball screw mechanism or a belt mechanism.
The Y-axis motor imparts movement motion along the Y-axis direction to the holder and the template 70 via a linear motion mechanism such as a ball screw mechanism or a belt mechanism.
The holding portion enables attachment and detachment of the template 70 by inserting and removing a connection pin that can be advanced and retracted by an actuator such as an air cylinder or a solenoid into a connection hole provided in the template 70 .

The controller 64 stores a plurality of sewing pattern data corresponding to a plurality of types of templates 70, and controls the operation of the moving mechanism 62 according to the sewing pattern data.
A tag reader/writer 65 (see FIG. 19) is provided at a corner of the workbench 63 as a recording unit for reading and writing data to the IC tag 73 of the template 70, which will be described later.

[Sheet material and template]
As described above, the sheet material S is cut according to cutting control information based on CAD data. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sheet material S that has been cut.
Here, a case where a plurality of parts P1 to P12 are cut out from one sheet material S is illustrated.
The parts P1 and P2 form a pair and are sewn together to adhere to each other. The same applies to parts P3 and P4, and parts P5 and P6.
The parts P7 to P12 have the same relationship as the parts P1 to P6, and the parts P1 to P6 are set to L size (large size), and the parts P7 to P12 are set to S size (small size). .
The layout of the parts P1 to P12 with respect to the sheet material S is all determined by CAD data.

4 is a plan view of the template 70, and FIG. 5 is a side view.
The template 70 includes a lower plate 71 on which a part P, which is an object to be sewn, is placed, and a presser plate 72 supported to be rotatable with respect to the lower plate 71. The presser plate 72 is When it falls down and becomes parallel to the lower plate 71, it has a structure in which the part P is sandwiched and held. In addition, when the parts P are held, openings 711 to 713 (721 to 723) corresponding to the sewing pattern are formed in both the lower plate 71 and the presser plate 72 so as to overlap each other. The part P can be pressed while avoiding the needle drop position.

A plurality of types of templates 70 are prepared to individually correspond to a plurality of types of sewing pattern data.
Here, sewing pattern data for arranging L-size parts P1 and P2, parts P3 and P4, and parts P5 and P6 at prescribed positions and sewing them together, S-size parts P7 and P8, parts P9 and P10, A case of using two templates 70 corresponding to sewing pattern data for arranging parts P11 and P12 at prescribed positions and sewing them to each other will be exemplified.
The template 70 corresponding to the parts P1 to P6 and the template 70 corresponding to the parts P7 to P12 have different dimensions but substantially the same shape, so they are shown in common in FIG.
As described above, the template 70 is designed to correspond to individual sewing pattern data. Therefore, as shown in FIG. An IC tag 73 is provided as a storage unit such as an RFID (radio frequency identifier) in which data indicating a data number (information specifying a sewing pattern) is stored.

The conveying device 30 positions the template 70 at the working position D1, which will be described later, in the opening 711 of the lower plate 71, and stacks the L-sized parts P1 and P2 (or P7 and P8) on top of each other. Then, the L-size parts P3 and P4 (or P9 and P10) are positioned in the opening 712 and stacked, and the L-size parts P5 and P6 (or P11 and P12) are positioned in the opening 713. are placed on top of each other.

[Conveyor]
The conveying device 30 controls each configuration of the pickup device 40 that picks up the parts P from the cutting device 20, the reversing device 35 that reverses the front and back of the parts P, the transfer mechanism 50 that transfers each template 70, and the conveying device 30. and a controller 31 (see FIG. 20).

[Conveyor: Pickup device]
The pick-up device 40 is arranged between the cutting device 20 and the transfer mechanism 50 in the Y-axis direction, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the pickup device 40 has a base 41 serving as a foundation, a first arm 42 supported by the base 41 so as to be rotatable about the Z axis, and the first arm 42 rotating about the Z axis. It has a structure of a SCARA type robot including a second arm 43 supported so as to be able to move, and a tip tool 80 supported by the second arm 43 so as to be able to move up and down along the Z-axis direction and turn around the Z-axis. there is
8, the pickup device 40 includes a first horizontal movement motor 441 that rotates the first arm 42, a second horizontal movement motor 442 that rotates the second arm 43, and a tip tool. It has a vertical movement motor 443 that moves the tip tool 80 up and down along the Z-axis direction, and a turning motor 444 as an angle adjusting mechanism that turns the tip tool 80 around the Z-axis. These motors 441 to 444 are controlled by the controller 31 .
The pick-up device 40 is not limited to the SCARA type, and may be a robot of other types such as an articulated type or an XYZ linear motion type.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pickup device 40 positions the tip tool 80 at an arbitrary position and an arbitrary height within the range of the movable region R in plan view, and directs it at an arbitrary angle around the Z axis. be able to.

[Conveyor: tip tool]
FIG. 6 is a plan view of the tip tool 80, FIG. 7 is a plan view of the tip tool 80 with part of the illustration omitted, and FIG. In addition, in FIG. 8, the illustration of the plurality of holding heads 90 is omitted to show only one.
As described above, the pickup device 40 supports the tip tool 80 so as to be rotatable about the Z axis in any direction. In other words, the orientation of the tip tool 80 changes depending on the motion. Therefore, the X-axis direction and Y-axis direction of the tip tool 80 described below may not coincide with the X-axis direction and Y-axis direction of the entire sewing system 100 in the process of operation. Description of each part will be made on the assumption that the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are the directions shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the tip tool 80 has four holding heads 90 that hold the parts P, and the four holding heads 90 are arranged on the same two-dimensional plane (XY plane). A variable mechanism 81 is provided to support as follows.
The variable mechanism 81 holds two sets of two holding heads 90 supported so as to be able to move toward and away from each other along the X-axis direction. 90) and the other set of holding heads 90 (the two holding heads 90 on the right side in FIG. 6) are supported so as to be relatively movable toward and away from each other along the Y-axis direction.

The straight line along the X-axis direction passing through the centers of the two holding heads 90 of one set is the "x1 axis of the tip tool 80", and the X-axis direction passing through the centers of the two holding heads 90 of the other set. Let the straight line along the "x2 axis of the tip tool 80".
A straight line along the Y-axis direction passing through the center C of the tip tool 80, which will be described later, is defined as the "y-axis of the tip tool 80".
The variable mechanism 81 arbitrarily moves the four holding heads 90 within the same XY plane under the condition that the two holding heads 90 forming a pair are always aligned on the x1 axis or the x2 axis. positionable support.

Specifically, the variable mechanism 81 includes a pair of first support members 821 elongated along the X-axis direction and a first guide frame that supports the first support members 821 movably along the X-axis direction. 822.
One and the other of the first support members 821 extend in opposite directions to each other in the X-axis direction, and a holding head 90 is attached to the extending end of each of the first support members 821 .
These first support members 821 are formed with rack teeth 823 on the sides facing each other at the end opposite to the support end of the holding head 90 . Furthermore, these rack teeth 823 mesh with each other on both sides of a pinion gear 824 that is rotatable around the Z axis within the first guide frame 822 .
The pinion gear 824 is connected to the output shaft of a first motor 825 as a drive source provided on the first guide frame 822 . The rotation of the first motor 825 is controlled by a processor included in the controller 31 of the pickup device 40 (hereinafter simply referred to as the controller 31).
As a result, the two holding heads 90 supported by the pair of first support members 821 can be arbitrarily moved toward and away from each other along the X-axis direction while maintaining the same distance from the first guide frame 822. can.
A reduction gear may be provided between the pinion gear 824 and the first motor 825 .

Also, the variable mechanism 81 includes a pair of second support members 831 elongated along the X-axis direction, and a second guide frame 832 that supports the second support members 831 movably along the X-axis direction. have.
One and the other of the second support members 831 extend in opposite directions to each other in the X-axis direction, and a holding head 90 is attached to the extending end of each of the second support members 831 .
These second support members 831 are formed with rack teeth 833 on the sides facing each other at the end opposite to the support end of the holding head 90 . Furthermore, these rack teeth 833 mesh individually with two pinion gears 834 that are rotatably provided around the Z-axis within the second guide frame 832 .
Each pinion gear 834 is connected to the output shafts of two second motors 835 as drive sources provided on the second guide frame 832 . The rotation of these two second motors 835 is individually controlled by the controller 31 of the pickup device 40 .
As a result, the two holding heads 90 supported by the pair of second support members 831 can move separately along the X-axis direction at arbitrary distances from the second guide frame 832 .
A reduction gear may also be provided between the pinion gear 834 and the second motor 835 .

Furthermore, the variable mechanism 81 includes a pair of third support members 841 elongated along the Y-axis direction, and a third guide frame 842 that supports the third support members 841 movably along the Y-axis direction. have.
One and the other of the third support members 841 extend in opposite directions to each other in the Y-axis direction. A frame 832 is attached.
These third support members 841 are formed with rack teeth 843 on the sides facing each other at the ends opposite to the support ends of the first guide frame 822 or the second guide frame 832 . Furthermore, these rack teeth 843 mesh with each other on both sides of a pinion gear 844 that is rotatable around the Z axis within the third guide frame 842 .
Also, the pinion gear 844 is connected to the output shaft of a third motor 845 as a drive source provided on the third guide frame 842 . The rotation of the third motor 845 is controlled by the controller 31 of the pickup device 40 .
As a result, the first guide frame 822 and the second guide frame 832 supported by the pair of third support members 841 can be arbitrarily moved along the Y-axis direction while maintaining the same distance from the third guide frame 842 . You can move in and out.
That is, the pair of holding heads 90 on the x1-axis side and the pair of holding heads 90 on the x2-axis side can arbitrarily move toward and away from each other along the Y-axis direction.
A reduction gear may be provided between the pinion gear 844 and the third motor 845 as well.

6, the center of the output shaft of the third motor 845 (the center of the pinion gear 844) is set at the center C of the tip tool 80. As shown in FIG.
The second arm 43 of the pickup device 40 supports the tip tool 80 at the center C and supports it so as to be rotatable around the Z-axis passing through the center C. As shown in FIG. Further, this center C is located on the y-axis of the tip tool 80 described above.

[Conveyor: Aligning the holding head of the tip tool]
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a case where the holding heads 90 are individually positioned at the four corners of the isosceles trapezoidal part P1 based on the operation control by the controller 31, and FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for positioning;
The controller 31 of the conveying device 30 can acquire the part information from the relay terminal 110, thereby determining the outer edge of the part P from the target position when picking up each part P and the shape, orientation, and dimensions of the part P. and the position coordinates indicating the vertex positions of the four corners are calculated and obtained. Then, the following operation control is performed so that each holding head 90 held by the tip tool 80 is positioned appropriately according to the shape of the part P.

For example, when picking up the isosceles trapezoidal part P1 shown in FIG. 9, first, the center Cp of the part P1 is obtained. The center Cp of the part P1 may be obtained by calculating the center of gravity, or may be obtained from the center of the circumscribed rectangle re of the part P1.
Then, the tip tool 80 is positioned so that the center C of the tip tool 80 and the center Cp of the part P1 are aligned in a direction in which the x1 axis and the x2 axis are parallel to the longitudinal direction of the part P1.
As a result, the orientation of the tip tool 80 and the positions of the center C and the y-axis are optimized.
Further, by driving the third motor 845, the x1 axis and the x2 axis of the tip tool 80 are aligned so that they are slightly inside the upper and lower bases of the trapezoid of the part P1.
Next, by driving the first motor 825, the holding heads 90 on both sides of the x1 axis are aligned so that they are slightly inside both ends of the upper bottom of the part P1.
Next, the two second motors 835 are driven to align the holding heads 90 on both sides of the x2 axis so that they are slightly inside both ends of the bottom bottom of the part P1.
As a result, each holding head 90 can be aligned with the holding positions near the four vertices of the trapezoidal part P1.

When picking up the parallelogram-shaped part P3 shown in FIG. 10, first, the center Cp of the part P3 is obtained. The center Cp of the part P3 may also be obtained by calculating the center of gravity, or may be obtained from the center of the circumscribed rectangle re of the part P3.
Then, the tip tool 80 is positioned so that the center C of the tip tool 80 and the center Cp of the part P1 are aligned in a direction in which the x1 axis and the x2 axis are parallel to the longitudinal direction of the part P1. This optimizes the orientation of the tip tool 80 .
Furthermore, in the case of the parallelogram part P3, the y-axis position of the tip tool 80 is corrected in the longitudinal direction of the part P3. That is, the y-axis of the tip tool 80 is moved to a position that bisects the x1-axis side (the left side in FIG. 10) of the parallelogram of the part P3 (moves upward in FIG. 10).
As a result, the orientation of the tip tool 80 and the positions of the center C and the y-axis are optimized.
Furthermore, by driving the third motor 845, the x1 axis and the x2 axis of the tip tool 80 are aligned so that they are slightly inside the two parallel sides of the parallelogram of the part P3.
Next, by driving the first motor 825, the holding heads 90 on both sides of the x1 axis are aligned so that they are slightly inside both ends of the sides of the parallelogram of the part P3 on the x1 axis side.
Next, by driving the two second motors 835, the holding heads 90 on both sides of the x2 axis are aligned so that they are slightly inside both ends of the sides of the parallelogram of the part P3 on the x2 axis side. Do it individually. In this case, the amount of movement of one second motor 835 and the amount of movement of the other second motor 835 are different, and the two holding heads 90 are individually aligned.
As a result, each holding head 90 can be aligned with the holding positions near the four vertices of the parallelogram part P3.

In addition, the shape of the said parts P is an example, and is not limited to these. When the part P has a shape symmetrical about the axis of symmetry along the short direction of the part P, the position of each holding head 90 can be adjusted appropriately by substantially the same operation as in the example of FIG. . Also, in the case where the part P has a shape having a pair of parallel sides, the position of each holding head 90 can be appropriately adjusted by substantially the same operation as in the example of FIG. If the part P has rounded corners, the position of each holding head 90 may be corrected slightly inward when positioning near the corner. In addition, it is possible to adjust the positions of a plurality of holding heads 90 for parts P of various shapes.

[Conveyor: Correction of tip tool rotation]
As described above, the pickup device 40 positions the tip tool 80 and picks up the parts P on the premise that the parts P are accurately arranged as set based on the parts information acquired by the controller 31.
However, in the sewing system 100, when installing each device as shown in FIG. 11, installation errors and assembly errors may occur. can occur. In that case, the pickup device 40 may not be able to pick up the parts P, or may supply the parts P in a different direction to the downstream side.

In such a case, the tilt angle .theta. between the devices shown in FIG. 11 can be measured in advance, or the tilt angle .theta.
Then, the angle .theta. determined from the input unit 32, which is an input interface connected to the controller 31, is input as the correction angle .theta.
The controller 31 adds the information of this correction angle θ to the parts information and transmits it to the relay terminal 110 .
Further, when picking up based on the parts information in which such a correction angle θ is recorded, the controller 31 controls the turning motor 444 immediately before picking up to turn the tip tool 80 by the correction angle θ. perform correction control.

[Conveyor: holding head]
12 and 13 are side views showing how the holding head 90 picks up the part P. FIG.
As described above, the pickup device 40 supports the tip tool 80 so as to be rotatable about the Z axis in any direction. In other words, the orientation of the holding head 90 changes depending on the motion. Therefore, the X-axis direction and Y-axis direction of the holding head 90 described below may not coincide with the X-axis direction and Y-axis direction of the entire sewing system 100 in the process of operation. The description of each part is based on the premise that the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are the directions shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 .

In the following description, the X-axis direction is parallel to the flat bottom surface of the claw member 94 to be described later, and the forward and backward movement direction of the claw member 94 is parallel to the flat bottom surface of the claw member 94 and orthogonal to the X-axis direction. The direction is defined as the Y-axis direction, and the direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is defined as the Z-axis direction.

The holding head 90 includes a base body 91 that supports the entire body, a horizontal cylinder 92 that is supported by the base body 91 so as to be able to move up and down along the Z axis, and a reciprocating motion that is horizontally imparted along the X axis direction by the horizontal cylinder 92. a claw member 94 that moves up and down along the Z-axis by the vertical cylinder 93; The horizontal cylinder 92, the vertical cylinder 93, and the claw member 94 constitute a gripping mechanism for gripping the part P. As shown in FIG.

The base body 91 is fixedly supported by the extension end portion of the first support member 821 or the second support member 831 of the tip tool 80 described above.
A slide shaft 911 is attached to the lower portion of the base body 91 along the Z-axis direction, and supports the horizontal cylinder 92 so as to be slidable up and down.
A pressing spring 912 made of a coil spring is inserted through the slide shaft 911 to always press the horizontal cylinder 92 downward against the base body 91 to maintain the lowest position of the movable range. The slide shaft 911 and the pressing spring 912 allow the pull chuck 95 provided at the bottom of the horizontal cylinder 92 to be pushed up by the contact pressure when the pull chuck 95 provided at the bottom of the horizontal cylinder 92 comes into contact with an external object from above for some reason. It is an escape structure for avoiding destruction of 95.

The horizontal cylinder 92 is an air cylinder provided with a plunger that can protrude along the X-axis direction, and a vertical cylinder 93 is connected to the tip of the plunger.
The horizontal cylinder 92 is operated by an electromagnetic valve 921 controlled by the controller 31 . The horizontal cylinder 92 normally has the plunger protruding, and retracts the plunger during operation. As a result, the vertical cylinder 93 and the pawl member 94 are separated from the horizontal cylinder 92 when the horizontal cylinder 92 is not in operation, and move toward the horizontal cylinder 92 when in operation.

The vertical cylinder 93 is an air cylinder having a plunger that can protrude downward, and a claw member 94 is connected to the tip of the plunger.
The vertical cylinder 93 is operated by an electromagnetic valve 931 controlled by the controller 31 . The vertical cylinder 93 is normally in a state in which the plunger is retracted, and projects the plunger downward during operation. As a result, the claw member 94 is positioned upward when the vertical cylinder 93 is not in operation, and is lowered when it is in operation.

The claw member 94 has a flat plate shape as a whole, and the end portion on the horizontal cylinder 92 side in the X-axis direction (hereinafter referred to as the tip portion) has a sharp shape that becomes thinner toward the horizontal cylinder 92 side. ing. This makes it easy to insert the tip of the claw member 94 under the part P. As shown in FIG.
The directions of the tips of the claw members 94 of the four holding heads 90 held by the tip tool 80 are the same as those of the two holding heads 90 located at both ends of the x1 axis and the x2 axis. are oriented to face each other.

When the holding head 90 holds the part P, the holding head 90 first lowers the claw members 94 by projecting the vertical cylinder 93 (arrow a1 in FIG. 13), and then retracts the claw members 94 by the retreating operation of the horizontal cylinder 92. is pulled toward the chuck 95 (arrow a2 in FIG. 13), and the claw member 94 is raised by the retreating operation of the vertical cylinder 93 (arrow a3 in FIG. 13).
As a result, the part P is gripped and held between the bottom surface of the pulling chuck 95 and the top surface of the tip of the claw member 94 .
The controller 31 controls the holding head 90 to perform the gripping operation by the claw members 94 after the pulling chuck 95 has attracted the part P to the holding head 90 . That is, the controller 31 functions as a holding control section.
As described above, it is preferable that the holding head 90 performs the gripping operation with the claw members 94 after the parts P are drawn together. It is also possible to insert the claw member 94 under the placed part P to grip it.

A detection object (permanent magnet) 941 for detecting the height of the claw member 94 is attached to the end (rear end) of the claw member 94 opposite to the tip.
Correspondingly, at the end of the vertical cylinder 93 opposite to the horizontal cylinder 92, a cloth thickness sensor 932 made of a magnetic sensor is supported downwardly so as to face the object 941 to be detected.
The material thickness sensor 932 can detect the position of the detected object 941 made of a permanent magnet in the Z-axis direction, and inputs the detection signal to the controller 31 .

As described above, the claw member 94 and the drawing chuck 95 sandwich and grip the part P. As shown in FIG.
When the part P is gripped, the controller 31 determines whether the claw member 94 is in an appropriate state for gripping the part P, based on the height of the claw member 94 (detected body 941) detected by the material thickness sensor 932, or whether the gripping failure has occurred. It is possible to determine whether it is in an inappropriate state. That is, the controller 31 functions as a determination processing unit that determines whether the part P has been successfully gripped from the thickness of the part P detected by the material thickness sensor 932 .

The pulling chuck 95 is a so-called Bernoulli chuck, which is provided at the bottom of the horizontal cylinder 92 and has a circular opening formed in the bottom surface facing the part P, and air is discharged downward from the circular opening. be done.
The pulling chuck 95 is connected to an air supply source 951 such as a fan, a pump, or a positive pressure tank, and supplied with positive pressure air.
As a result, when air is blown out from the circular opening toward the part P, the air is blown radially outward because there is no way for the air to escape from the central portion of the circular opening. As a result, a low pressure region is generated in the central portion of the bottom surface of the pulling chuck 95 according to Bernoulli's law.
Therefore, if the bottom surface of the drawing chuck 95 is brought close to the part P to some extent without contacting it, the part P can be picked up in a non-contact suction state.
Although an example in which air is ejected from the opening of the pulling chuck 95 in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface (part P side) has been described, the direction of air ejection is inclined outward in the radial direction of the circular opening. may

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing a circuit configuration for adjusting the pulling force of the pulling chuck 95. As shown in FIG.
On the upstream side of the air supply path from the air supply source 951 to the pulling chuck 95, there is provided an actuation solenoid valve 952 for determining whether or not to supply air, and on the downstream side, the pulling force of the pulling chuck 95 is controlled. A control electromagnetic valve 953 is provided to switch between strength and weakness.
Two air supply paths are connected to the downstream side of the control solenoid valve 953. One supply path is provided with a low pressure regulator 954, and the other supply path is provided with a high pressure regulator 955. there is These air supply paths merge further downstream and are connected to the drawing chuck 95 . In addition, a check valve 956 for preventing backflow of air to the air supply source 951 side is provided in each of the air supply paths immediately upstream of the confluence point.

The actuation solenoid valve 952 is a 2-position, 3-port single solenoid solenoid valve that can switch between opening and closing downstream. This solenoid valve 952 for actuation is of a normally closed type, and is supplied with power when the switch is turned on by a control signal from the controller 31 to enter an open state.
The control solenoid valve 953 is a two-position, five-port single solenoid solenoid valve, and can alternatively connect the air supply source 951 to two air supply paths. This control solenoid valve 953 is normally connected to the air supply path on the side of the regulator 954 for low pressure, and power is supplied when the switch is turned on by a control signal from the controller 31, and the air supply path on the side of the regulator 955 for high pressure is supplied. connection status is switched to

Both the low-pressure regulator 954 and the high-pressure regulator 955 are air pressure regulators. The low-pressure regulator 954 draws air at a set low pressure and supplies it to the chuck 95 side. Air is supplied to the attracting chuck 95 side at a set pressure higher than 954 .
As a result, when the adjusting solenoid valve 953 is connected to the air supply path on the low pressure regulator 954 side, low pressure air is supplied to the pulling chuck 95 and low pressure air is discharged from the opening. Therefore, the pulling force of the part P by the pulling chuck 95 is reduced.
Further, when the adjusting solenoid valve 953 is connected to the air supply path on the side of the high pressure regulator 955, high pressure air is supplied to the pulling chuck 95 and discharged from the opening. Therefore, the pulling force of the part P by the pulling chuck 95 is increased.

Thus, the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 14 allows the attracting chuck 95 to switch the attracting force between two levels of strength and weakness.
The pulling force of the pulling chuck 95 may be switched by selecting from the input section 32 connected to the controller 31 .
In addition, when the above-described parts information includes determination information such as the thickness or weight of the parts P, whether the material is suitable for pulling, or the like, the controller 31 determines the use of the pulling chuck 95 based on the parts information. It is good also as a structure which judges the presence or absence of and the strength of pulling force.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart for determining whether the controller 31 should switch between two levels of strong and weak attracting force. As shown in the figure, when the parts information is acquired, the controller 31 determines whether or not to use the pulling chuck 95 based on the presence or absence of determination information such as whether the material is suitable for pulling (step S1).
At this time, if the judgment information such as whether or not the material is suitable for pulling is included, or if the information indicates that the material is inappropriate for pulling, the pulling chuck 95 should not be used. Then, the switch (SW1 in the drawing) of the electromagnetic valve 952 for operation and the switch (SW2 in the drawing) of the electromagnetic valve 953 for adjustment are turned off, and the pulling chuck 95 is not supplied with air.
On the other hand, when the pulling chuck 95 is used, the controller 31 determines the strength of the pulling force based on the weight information of the parts P (step S5).
When the part P is light, the switch (SW1) of the operating solenoid valve 952 is turned on, the switch (SW2) of the adjusting solenoid valve 953 is turned off, and low-pressure air is supplied to the attracting chuck 95 (step S7).
When the part P is heavy, the switch (SW1) of the operating solenoid valve 952 is turned on, the switch (SW2) of the adjusting solenoid valve 953 is turned on, and high pressure air is drawn and supplied to the chuck 95 (step S9).

In the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 14, the pulling force of the pulling chuck 95 can be adjusted in two stages by two air supply paths. The pulling force of the chuck 95 may be adjusted in more steps by providing an air pressure regulator.
Alternatively, the operation electromagnetic valve 952 and the pulling chuck 95 may be connected by a single air supply path that is not branched, and an electropneumatic regulator may be provided in the middle. In this case, the controller 31 arbitrarily controls the passing pressure of the electro-pneumatic regulator to arbitrarily adjust the pressure of the air discharged from the pulling chuck 95, thereby arbitrarily adjusting the strength of the pulling force of the parts P steplessly. be able to.

[Description of transport operation of pickup device]
FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing operation control in the transport operation of the pick-up device 40 performed by the controller 31, and FIG. 17 is a timing chart of the pick-up operation. Operation control in the transport operation of the pickup device 40 will be described below based on these figures.

When the controller 31 acquires the parts information from the relay terminal 110 and receives permission to pick up (step S11), the controller 31 performs the steps shown in FIG. determines the arrangement of the four holding heads 90 held by the tip tool 80 (step S13).

Further, the controller 31 determines whether or not the above-described turning correction information is included in the parts information (step S15). Turn correction is performed (step S17). Then, the part P is picked up at the pickup target position (step S19).
If the part information does not include turning correction information, the part P is picked up at the pickup target position without turning correction (step S19).

At the time of picking up, as shown in FIG. 17, the controller 31 controls the vertical movement motor 443 at the target position to lower the tip tool 80 from the specified highest position to the specified lowest position. The electromagnetic valve 952 is controlled to bring each pulling chuck 95 into the pulling state.
As a result, the pulling chuck 95 approaches the part P, and the part P is attracted to the bottom surface of the pulling chuck 95 (see FIG. 12).
Then, the controller 31 again controls the vertical movement motor 443 to raise each pulling chuck 95 to the specified intermediate position.

When the pulling chuck 95 reaches the intermediate position, the controller 31 causes the solenoid valve 931 of the vertical cylinder 93 of each holding head 90 to lower the claw member 94 (arrow a1 in FIG. 13). Further, following the downward movement, the electromagnetic valve 921 of the horizontal cylinder 92 is controlled to pull the claw member 94 forward toward the chuck 95 (arrow a2 in FIG. 13). Further, following the advancing movement, the claw member 94 is raised by the electromagnetic valve 931 of the vertical cylinder 93 (arrow a3 in FIG. 13).
Thereby, as shown in FIG. 13 , each holding head 90 grips the part P between the bottom surface of the pulling chuck 95 and the top surface of the tip of the claw member 94 .

The "horizontal cylinder rear side auto switch" in FIG. 17 is a switch that is turned ON when the horizontal cylinder 92 is at the plunger projecting position, and is a sensor that detects the operating state of the horizontal cylinder 92 .
The "upper/lower cylinder upper auto switch" is a switch that is turned ON when the plunger of the upper/lower cylinder 93 is at the projecting position, and is a sensor that detects the operating state of the upper/lower cylinder 93 .

Along with the gripping state of the part P, the controller 31 controls the actuation electromagnetic valve 952 to stop the drawing of each drawing chuck 95 .
Then, the controller 31 controls the vertical movement motor 443 to raise the tip tool 80 to the highest position, and controls the first and second horizontal movement motors 441 and 442 to move the part P to the target position for transportation. transport.

In addition, the controller 31 determines whether or not the pick-up is normally performed by the fabric thickness sensor 932 along with the gripping state of the part P (step S21). At this time, if the material thickness sensor 932 indicates that the pickup is in an abnormal state, the number of consecutive errors is counted up and it is determined whether or not the number of errors is within the allowable value (step S23). Then, when the number of errors exceeds the allowable value, the parts information recording the error is transmitted to the relay terminal 110 and the occurrence of the error is reported (step S25). Then, the transport operation ends.
On the other hand, if the number of errors is within the allowable range, the process returns to step S19 to retry picking up the part P.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the pick-up is normally performed, the controller 31 determines whether or not the part information includes turning correction information with respect to the target position of conveyance (step S27). is included, the turning motor 444 is controlled to perform turning correction (step S29), and the part P is released at the target position for transportation (step S31).
If the parts information does not include the information for turning correction, the part P is released at the target position of conveyance without performing turning correction (step S31).

When releasing the parts, as shown in FIG. 17, the controller 31 controls the vertical movement motor 443 to lower the tip tool 80 to the intermediate position immediately before reaching the target position. Simultaneously with the arrival, the actuating electromagnetic valve 952 is controlled to bring each pulling chuck 95 into the pulling state.

Next, the controller 31 causes the solenoid valve 931 of the vertical cylinder 93 of each holding head 90 to lower the claw member 94 (in the direction opposite to arrow a3 in FIG. 13). Furthermore, following the downward movement, the electromagnetic valve 921 of the horizontal cylinder 92 is controlled to retract the claw member 94 toward the anti-pulling chuck 95 (in the direction opposite to arrow a2 in FIG. 13). Further, following the retraction movement, the claw member 94 is raised by the electromagnetic valve 931 of the vertical cylinder 93 (in the direction opposite to the arrow a1 in FIG. 13).

Then, the controller 31 again controls the vertical movement motor 443 to lower each pulling chuck 95 to the lowest position. Following this, the actuating electromagnetic valve 952 is controlled to stop the pulling state of each pulling chuck 95 .
As a result, the pulling chuck 95 releases the part P, and the part P is placed at the target position for transportation.
Then, the controller 31 controls the vertical movement motor 443 to raise each pulling chuck 95 to the highest position and complete the release operation.

After that, it is determined whether or not all the parts P to be transported to the transport destination specified in the parts information have been completely transported. of parts P are transported.
Further, when the transportation of all the parts P to be transported is completed, the operation control of the transportation operation is ended.

[Conveyor: reversing device]
18 is a plan view of the reversing device 35. FIG.
The reversing device 35 is arranged between the cutting device 20 and the transfer mechanism 50 in the Y-axis direction and next to the pickup device 40 in the X-axis direction.
As described above, since the plurality of parts P1 to P12 are all sewn together in a state of being superimposed in pairs, one of the parts P2, P4, P6, P8, P10, P12 of the pair is 2 reverses the front and back of the sheet material S via the reversing device 35 during transportation from the cutting device 20 to the template 70 .

The reversing device 35 has suction plates 36 and 37 connected by a hinge 39, as shown in FIG. Attraction ports 362 and 372 are scattered on the attraction surfaces 361 and 371 of the attraction plates 36 and 37, and the parts P can be attracted. For this reason, in a state in which the part P is adsorbed on one of the adsorption plates 36, when the adsorption plate 36 is rotated toward the adsorption plate 37 to switch from the adsorption state by the adsorption plate 36 to the adsorption state by the adsorption plate 37, the adsorption plate The part P can be turned upside down on the 37 side.
In this state, the attraction plate 37 is drawn and stopped, and the parts P are picked up by the pick-up device 40, whereby the parts P whose front and back sides are reversed can be supplied to the downstream side.

[Conveyor: Transfer mechanism]
19 is a plan view of the transfer mechanism 50. FIG.
The transfer mechanism 50 includes a work position D1 where the pick-up device 40 places the part P on the template 70, a supply position D2 where the template 70 is supplied to the sewing machine 60, a return position D3 where the sewing machine 60 returns after sewing is completed, and the template 70. The template 70 is transferred in order to the carry-out position D4 from which the parts P are carried out.

The transfer mechanism 50 includes a mounting table 51 on which the template 70 is placed, a first transfer section 52 that transfers the template 70 from the work position D1 to the supply position D2, and a second transfer section that transfers the template 70 from the return position D3 to the carry-out position D4. A second transfer unit 53, a third transfer unit 54 that transfers the template 70 from the carry-out position D4 to the work position D1, and a determination result of reading data from and writing data to the IC tag 73 of the template 70 located at the work position D1. A tag reader/writer 55 is provided as a recording unit.

The mounting table 51 has a mounting surface along the XY plane, and on the mounting surface, a work position D1 and a work position D1 are provided on one end side (the cutting device 20 side) in the Y-axis direction and adjacent to each other in the X-axis direction. A carry-out position D4 is set. Further, a supply position D2 and a return position D3 are set adjacent to each other in the X-axis direction on the other end side (sewing machine 60 side) in the Y-axis direction on the mounting surface of the mounting table 51 .
The work position D1 and the supply position D2 are adjacent in the Y-axis direction, and the return position D3 and the unloading position D4 are adjacent in the Y-axis direction.
The working position D1 and the unloading position D4 are positioned within the movable region R of the pickup device 40 described above.

The first transfer section 52 transfers the template 70 from the work position D1 to the supply position D2.
The first transfer unit 52 is provided on the mounting table 51 and has a connecting pin that can be retracted from the mounting surface and a pulling mechanism that pulls the template 70 toward the sewing machine 60 in the Y-axis direction via the connecting pin.
The connecting pin can be inserted into a receiving hole (not shown) formed in the lower plate 71 of the template 70, and is moved in and out by an actuator such as an air cylinder or a solenoid.
The pulling mechanism applies a pulling motion in the Y-axis direction to the connecting pin by means of a ball screw mechanism or a belt mechanism.
Further, a sensor 513 is provided on the line of the first transfer section 52 to monitor whether or not the template 70 has been correctly transferred. , the transferred template 70 is accurately positioned by inserting the positioning pin 514 .

The second transfer section 53 transfers the template 70 from the return position D3 to the carry-out position D4.
The second transfer unit 53 is provided on the mounting table 51 and has a connecting pin that can be retracted from the mounting surface and a pulling mechanism that pulls the template 70 toward the cutting device 20 in the Y-axis direction via the connecting pin. The specific configurations of the connecting pin and the traction mechanism are the same as those of the first transfer section 52 .

The third transfer section 54 transfers the template 70 from the unloading position D4 to the working position D1.
The third transfer unit 54 is provided on the mounting table 51 and has a connecting pin that can be retracted from the mounting surface and a pulling mechanism that pulls the template 70 along the X-axis direction via the connecting pin. The specific configurations of the connecting pin and the pulling mechanism are substantially the same as those of the first transfer section 52 . However, the pulling direction of the pulling mechanism is directed to the X-axis direction.
The transfer of the template 70 from the supply position D2 to the return position D3 is performed by the moving mechanism 62 of the sewing machine 60. FIG.
Also, the third transfer section 54 is provided with a sensor 515 for monitoring whether or not the template 70 has been correctly transferred on that line. By inserting the positioning pin 516, the transferred template 70 is accurately positioned.

In addition, as described above, the template 70 has the pressing plate 72 that can be raised and lowered with respect to the lower plate 71 .
A push-up bar 512 is provided at the unloading position D4 on the mounting table 51 of the transfer mechanism 50 to push up the holding plate 72 through a through hole (not shown) provided in the lower plate 71 and rotate it up and down.
The push-up bar 512 can be retracted from the mounting surface of the mounting table 51 by an actuator such as a motor, an air cylinder, or a solenoid. Then, the pressing plate 72 is quickly pushed up.
The push-up bars 512 are provided at both ends of the template 70 in the X-axis direction.

In addition, a lying bar 511 is provided along the X-axis direction in the vicinity of the sewing machine side end portions in the Y-axis direction of the work position D1 and the unloading position D4 of the mounting table 51 .
The lying bar 511 is positioned slightly higher than the thickness of the template 70 when the pressing plate 72 is in the pressed state, and is provided slightly closer to the sewing machine 60 than the push-up bar 512 described above in the Y-axis direction. there is
5, when the template 70 with the pressing plate 72 in the raised state (open state) at the working position D1 is transferred to the supply position D2, the pressing plate 72 is moved by the lying bar 511. As shown in FIG. The part P can be held by being pushed down.
When the template 70 is transferred from the carry-out position D4 to the return position D3, the holding plate 72 of the template 70 is in a closed state, so the template 70 passes through without interfering with the lying bar 511. FIG.
Further, the lying bar 511 is arranged so that when the pressing plate 72 is pushed up by the lifting bar 512 at the unloading position D4, the pressing plate 72 leans against the lying bar 511 and is inclined toward the sewing machine 60 side. ing. Thereby, the pressing plate 72 can maintain the undulating state.

Adjacent to the unloading position D4, on the side of the cutting device 20 in the Y-axis direction, an autonomous transport body 101 for transporting the sewn parts P to the sewing device or sewing system for the next process stands by. . The autonomous traveling body 101 for transportation can load the sewn parts P on the upper mounting surface. transport P. Also, when the transportation is finished, it autonomously returns to the standby position next to the unloading position D4.
At the standby position next to the unloading position D4, a stacker device carried by the worker may be arranged instead of the autonomous transport body 101. FIG.

[Relay terminal]
FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram showing the flow of various data and various commands in each configuration of the sewing system 100. As shown in FIG.
The relay terminal 110 is composed of an information processing terminal such as a personal computer, and is connected to the control section 25 of the cutting device 20 and the controller 31 of the conveying device 30 in a state capable of data communication. Specifically, they are connected by wire using a communication cable, but they may be connected by wireless communication.
The relay terminal 110 is also connected via a network line to a production management server 300 that manages production management information in external sewing work.

[Sewing operation of the sewing system]
The overall processing flow of the sewing system 100 during sewing, including the processing performed by the relay terminal 110, will be described.
First, cutting data for executing cutting is input from the CAD system 200 to the control unit 25 of the cutting device 20 .
Then, the control unit 25 of the cutting device 20 generates cutting control information from the cutting data, and determines the arrangement, size, shape, orientation, etc. of the plurality of parts P to be formed on the sheet material S included in the cutting data. The included parts information (information specifying the parts) is transmitted to the relay terminal 110 .
Then, the cutting device 20 executes cutting and conveys the cut sheet material S to a predetermined position on the work stage 22 .

On the other hand, the relay terminal 110 acquires operation information from the cutting device 20 and transmits the operating status of the cutting device 20 to the production control server 300 . The production control server 300 records the sewing results, progress, etc. of the sewing system 100 and also records operation information of the cutting device 20 .
In addition, the relay terminal 110 notifies the controller 31 of the transport device 30 of a permission command to start the transport operation and parts information according to the operation information acquired from the cutting device 20 .

The controller 31 of the conveying device 30 picks up and conveys the parts P1 to P12 using the pick-up device 40 .
At that time, the tip tool 80 is appropriately adjusted and positioned according to the orientation, shape, and size of the parts to be picked up.
Then, the parts P are picked up by the four holding heads 90 .

Any of the parts P shown in the parts information P1 to P12 that needs to be turned upside down passes through the turnover device 35, and after being turned upside down, the template waits at the work position D1 of the transfer mechanism 50. 70.
Parts P that do not need to be reversed are directly transported to the template 70 waiting at the work position D<b>1 of the transport mechanism 50 .
Therefore, the controller 31 periodically executes these transport failure determinations while the pickup device 40 is picking up, and notifies the relay terminal 110 of the transport error when it is determined that the transport failure has occurred. Further, the tag reader/writer 55 records the occurrence of the transport failure in the IC tag 73 of the template 70 waiting at the work position D1.

In response to this, the relay terminal 110 that has received the transportation error notifies the production control server 300 that the transportation failure has occurred. The production management server 300 records that the template 70 currently being picked up has a transport failure.

In addition, when the controller 31 acquires the parts information from the relay terminal 110, the controller 31 reads from the parts information which of the L size and S size parts P is to be sewn, and corresponds to the part of the size to be sewn at the work position D1. It is determined by reading the IC tag 73 of the template 70 by the tag reader/writer 55 whether or not the template 70 is arranged.

Then, when the template 70 at the working position D1 is appropriate, the current arrangement of the template 70 is maintained.
In addition, when it is inappropriate, the first transfer section 52, the sewing machine 60, the second transfer section 53, and the third transfer section 54 are operated to transfer the template 70 at the work position D1 and the template 70 at the carry-out position D4. Then, the next template 70 is transferred to the work position D1, and the proper template 70 is arranged at the work position D1.

Then, when all the parts P to be placed on the template 70 at the work position D1 are set, the template 70 is transferred to the supply position D2 by the first transfer section 52 .
On the other hand, when the controller 64 of the sewing machine 60 holds the template 70 at the supply position D2, the tag reader/writer 65 reads information specifying the sewing pattern, such as the pattern number recorded on the IC tag 73 of the template 70. , the parts P are sewn together according to the sewing pattern. After sewing, the template 70 is moved to the return position D3.
Note that when the controller 64 of the sewing machine 60 reads the IC tag 73 of the template 70 and the occurrence of the transport failure is recorded, the sewing is not executed and the template 70 is moved to the return position D3.

Also, the template 70 at the carry-out position D4 is transferred to the work position D1 by the third transfer section 54 .

The L-size parts P1 to P6 and the S-size parts P7 to P12 formed on the sheet material S on the work stage 22 are alternately sewn, and the templates 70 corresponding to the parts P of each size are placed at the work position. It circulates through D1, supply position D2, return position D3, and carry-out position D4.

In the transport operation of the transport device 30 described above, the controller 31 periodically transmits operation information indicating the operation status to the relay terminal 110 .

The controller 64 of the sewing machine 60 also periodically transmits operation information indicating the operation status to the controller 31 of the conveying device 30 . The controller 31 of the transport device 30 also transmits the operation information of the sewing machine 60 when periodically transmitting its own operation information to the relay terminal 110 .
In response, the relay terminal 110 transmits the operation status of the transport device 30 and the sewing machine 60 to the production management server 300 based on the operation information of the transport device 30 and the sewing machine 60 acquired from the transport device 30 . The production management server 300 records the progress based on the operation information of the conveying device 30 and the sewing machine 60 .

As described above, the controller 31 picks up the sewn part P from the template 70 at the carry-out position D4 with the pick-up device 40, controls it to be placed on the upper placement surface of the autonomous mobile body for transportation 101, and carries it out. perform an action.
Then, the above-described processing and operations are repeatedly performed for each sheet material S.

[Technical effect of the embodiment of the invention]
As described above, in the sewing system 100, the tip tool 80 of the conveying device 30 has a plurality of holding heads 90 that hold the parts P, and the arrangement of the plurality of holding heads 90 is variable based on parts information that specifies the parts P. and a variable mechanism 81 that allows the
Therefore, when transporting parts P having different shapes, there is no need to replace the head or tip tool 80, and it is possible to reduce the work load.

Further, in the tip tool 80, a plurality of holding heads 90 are arranged on the same two-dimensional plane, and the variable mechanism 81 is configured to extend the plurality of holding heads in two axial directions including the X-axis and the Y-axis along the two-dimensional plane. Since the holding heads 90 are moved, each holding head 90 can be arranged corresponding to parts P of various shapes, and the work load can be further reduced.

Also, the variable mechanism 81 holds two sets of a pair of holding heads 90 that are relatively movable along the X axis, and holds these two sets of holding heads 90 that are relatively movable along the Y axis. Therefore, each holding head 90 can be arranged more easily corresponding to parts P of various shapes, and it is possible to further reduce the work load.

In addition, the tip tool 80 has two driving sources for moving one holding head 90 and the other holding head 90 forming a pair individually along the X-axis for the set of holding heads 90 on the x2-axis side. 2 motors 835 are provided. Therefore, the restriction on the arrangement of the two holding heads 90 on the x2-axis side in the X-axis direction is reduced with respect to the arrangement of the holding head 90 on the x1-axis side. Each holding head 90 can be arranged, and the work load can be further reduced.
In addition, it is possible to reduce the number of motors that serve as drive sources, thereby reducing costs.

Further, the pick-up device 40 of the transport device 30 rotates the tip tool 80 having a plurality of holding heads 90 around the Z-axis perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane (XY plane) to adjust the angle. Since the turning motor 444 is provided as a mechanism, when there is an error in the placed parts P, the orientation of each holding head 90 is corrected by angle adjustment, and the parts P can be picked up properly or accurately. It becomes possible to arrange the part P at the target position.

Further, since the holding head 90 includes a pulling chuck 95 for pulling the parts P upward, and a horizontal cylinder 92, an up-down cylinder 93, and a claw member 94 as a gripping mechanism for gripping the parts P, parts suitable for pulling are provided. Both P and parts P suitable for gripping can be picked up, and a wider variety of parts P can be picked up.

In the conveying device 30, the controller 31 controls the holding head 90 so that the part P is held by the holding mechanism having the claw members 94 after the pulling chuck 95 pulls the part P. Also, the object can be gripped after being drawn, and gripping errors can be reduced, and reliability can be improved.

Further, in the conveying device 30, the low pressure regulator 954 and the high pressure regulator 955 are used to adjust the air flow rate to the pulling chuck 95, thereby making it possible to adjust the pulling force of the parts P. For this reason, it is possible to perform proper drawing according to the weight of the parts P, and to effectively pick up a wider variety of parts P.

Further, the conveying device 30 has a fabric thickness sensor 932 as a detection unit that detects the thickness of the parts P gripped by the holding head 90, and the controller 31 detects the thickness of the parts P detected by the fabric thickness sensor 932. Whether or not the part P has been gripped can be determined.
For this reason, it is possible to detect the occurrence of a gripping error and take measures such as notification, retry, and recording of the error. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the influence of gripping errors.

[others]
The details shown in the embodiments of the invention can be changed as appropriate without departing from the scope of the invention.
For example, the conveying device 30 conveys the parts P between the cutting device 20 and the conveying mechanism 50, but it is also necessary for the sewn objects, such as conveying the sewn objects between the sewing machine and the stacker. Any transfer is possible.

Further, in the tip tool 80, the positions of the holding heads 90 are adjusted by combining the x1 axis, the x2 axis and the y axis, but the number of motors may be increased to increase the moving directions of the individual holding heads 90. FIG.

30 transport device 31 controller 32 input unit 40 pickup device 41 base 42 first arm 43 second arm 441 first horizontal movement motor (driving source)
442 second horizontal movement motor (driving source)
443 vertical movement motor (driving source)
444 swing motor (angle adjustment mechanism)
60 sewing machine 70 template 80 tip tool 81 variable mechanism 825 first motor (driving source)
835 second motor (driving source)
845 third motor (driving source)
90 holding head 91 base body 92 horizontal cylinder (grasping mechanism)
93 Vertical cylinder (gripping mechanism)
932 Dough thickness sensor 94 Claw member (gripping mechanism)
941 object to be detected (permanent magnet)
95 drawing chuck (drawing nozzle)
951 Air supply source 952 Operating solenoid valve 953 Adjusting solenoid valve 954 Low pressure regulator 955 High pressure regulator 956 Check valve 100 Sewing system 110 Relay terminal C Center Cp Center P, P1 to P12 Parts (material to be sewn)
S sheet material θ correction angle

Claims (9)

In a conveying device that picks up and conveys a sewing material,
a plurality of holding heads for holding the article to be sewn;
and a variable mechanism for varying the arrangement of the plurality of holding heads based on information including the shape of the sewing material. A plurality of said holding heads are arranged on the same two-dimensional plane,
2. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the variable mechanism moves the plurality of holding heads in biaxial directions consisting of an X-axis and a Y-axis along the two-dimensional plane. The variable mechanism is
holding two sets of a pair of holding heads relatively movable along the X axis;
3. The transfer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the two sets of holding heads are held so as to be relatively movable along the Y-axis. One of the two sets of holding heads is provided with two drive sources for individually moving one of the paired holding heads and the other holding head along the X-axis. 4. The conveying device according to claim 3. 5. The transfer device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising an angle adjustment mechanism that rotates the plurality of holding heads around an axis perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane to adjust the angle. 3. A conveying device according to the above paragraph. The holding head is
a drawing nozzle for drawing the sewing material upward;
The conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a gripping mechanism that grips the sewing material. 7. The conveying apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a holding control section that controls the holding head such that the holding head is held by the holding mechanism after the drawing nozzle pulls the sewing material. 8. The conveying device according to claim 6, wherein the drawing force of the sewing material can be adjusted by adjusting the air flow rate of the drawing nozzle. The holding head has a detection section that detects the thickness of the sewing material gripped by the gripping mechanism,
The conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising a determination processing section that determines whether the sewing material has been successfully gripped from the thickness of the sewing material detected by the detection section. .

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