JP2023055440A - Lug folding device and lug folding method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a lug folding device and a lug folding method that can increase degrees of freedom of facility layout.SOLUTION: A lub folding device folds a lug of an end face coating part which is a part of folding paper packaging a metal belt coil and a part covering an axial end face of the metal belt coil, and comprises: a robot part which folds the lug of the end face coating part; a relative position detection part which detects relative position information associated with relative positions of the robot part and metal belt coil; and a control part which controls the robot part on the basis of, the relative position information detected by the relative position detection part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a selvedge folding device and a selvedge folding method.

A metal strip rolled by a rolling mill is wound up by a winder and transported in the form of a coil, and this metal strip coil is usually packed with packing paper for the purpose of preventing damage. The packing paper used is wider than the width of the metal band coil. The packing paper covers the side surface (curved surface) of the cylindrical metal band coil and wraps the metal band coil in such a manner that the end face covering portion, which is the portion that covers the axial end face of the metal band coil, protrudes from the metal band coil in the axial direction of the coil. covered by A large number of pleats (folded portions) are formed in the edge-covering portion by the edge-folding work, and the edge-covering portion covers the axial end face of the metal band coil in such a manner as to be in close contact therewith.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a device for automating edge folding work.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-94244

However, in the device of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to arrange the metal strip coil at a fixed position, and it is difficult to change the position of the device once installed, and the degree of freedom in facility layout is low. Become.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a selvedge folding device and a selvedge folding method that can increase the degree of freedom in equipment layout.

A selvedge folding device according to an aspect of the present invention is a selvedge folding device that performs selvedge folding of an end face covering portion that is a part of packing paper for packing a metal band coil and that covers the axial end face of the metal band coil. A robot unit that folds the edges of the end face covering portion, a relative position detection unit that detects relative position information regarding the relative positions of the robot unit and the metal band coil, and the relative position detection unit detects and a control unit that controls the robot unit based on the relative position information.

An edge folding method according to an aspect of the present invention is a method for folding an end surface covering portion, which is a part of a packing paper for packing a metal band coil and covers an axial end surface of the metal band coil, A robot unit performs edge folding of the end face covering portion, a relative position detection unit detects relative position information regarding the relative position between the robot unit and the metal band coil, and based on the detected relative position information, A control unit controls the robot unit.

According to the present invention, it is not necessary to arrange the metal band coil at a predetermined position, and the degree of freedom in equipment layout can be increased.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of an edge folding apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a 1st end effector. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a second end effector; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of operation|movement of a holding part. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of a gripper. It is a figure which shows the state to coil packing of a metal band coil. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first example of alignment of a first articulated robot and a second articulated robot; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second example of alignment of the first articulated robot and the second articulated robot; It is a figure which shows the 1st operation|movement of a 1st articulated robot and a 2nd articulated robot. It is a figure which shows the 2nd operation|movement of a 1st articulated robot and a 2nd articulated robot. It is a figure which shows the 3rd operation|movement of a 1st articulated robot and a 2nd articulated robot. It is a figure which shows the 4th operation|movement of a 1st articulated robot and a 2nd articulated robot. It is a figure which shows the 5th operation|movement of a 1st articulated robot and a 2nd articulated robot. It is a figure which shows the 6th operation|movement of a 1st articulated robot and a 2nd articulated robot. It is a figure which shows the 7th operation|movement of a 1st articulated robot and a 2nd articulated robot. It is a figure which shows the processing procedure of an edge folding apparatus.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the edge folding device 100. As shown in FIG. The edge folding device 100 performs an edge folding operation of an end surface covering portion which is a part of packing paper for packing a cylindrical metal band coil (see FIG. 6 described later) and which is a portion covering the axial end surface of the metal band coil. It is an automatic device. The details of the ear picking work will be described later. As shown in FIG. 1 , the edge folding device 100 includes a relative position detection section 10 , a control section 20 and a robot section 90 . The relative position detection unit 10, the control unit 20, and the robot unit 90 can mutually transmit and receive information using wired communication or wireless communication.

The relative position detection section 10 can detect relative position information regarding the relative position between the robot section 90 and the metal band coil. The robot unit 90 can fold the edge covering portion of the packing paper that covers the side surface (curved surface) of the metal band coil. The control section 20 can control the robot section 90 based on the relative position information detected by the relative position detection section 10 . With such a configuration, the relative position detection unit 10 detects the relative position information regarding the relative position between the robot unit 90 and the metal strip coil without arranging the metal strip coil to be folded (to be packed) at a predetermined position. Since the robot section 90 can be controlled based on the detected relative position information, there is no need to arrange the metal strip coils at fixed positions, and the arrangement can be changed, so the facility layout can be freely arranged. can increase The details of each unit will be described below.

The relative position detection unit 10 includes a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) sensor 11 that functions as a three-dimensional measuring device, a calculation unit 12, and an output unit 13. The LiDAR sensor 11 emits laser light and detects reflected light and scattered light, and can be used to measure the distance to the metal band coil and to calculate the shape. The LiDAR sensor 11 can also generate high-resolution 3D images of the metal strip coil by including a camera. The LiDAR sensor 11 can detect three-dimensional position information of the metal strip coil.

The calculation unit 12 calculates relative position information about the relative positions of the robot unit 90 and the metal strip coil based on the position information of the robot unit 90 and the three-dimensional information of the metal strip coil detected by the LiDAR sensor 11. be able to. The position information of the robot unit 90 may be stored in the storage unit 24 of the control unit 20 and acquired from the storage unit 24, for example.

The output unit 13 outputs the relative position information calculated (detected) by the calculation unit 12 to the control unit 20 . Thereby, the control unit 20 can acquire relative position information between the robot unit 90 and the metal band coil according to the position of the metal band coil, regardless of the arrangement position of the metal band coil. Details of the relative position information will be described later.

The robot section 90 includes a first articulated robot 70 and a second articulated robot 80 as edge folding robots, and a moving section 60 . A first articulated robot 70 and a second articulated robot 80 are attached to the moving part 60, and the moving part 60 enables translational movement and rotation of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80. . In this embodiment, collaborative robots that can cooperate with humans are used as the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 . Based on the relative position information, the control unit 20 can control the moving unit 60 to move the edge folding robot to a position where the metal band coil and the edge folding robot are arranged in a predetermined manner. As a result, it is not necessary to arrange the metal band coils at fixed positions, and the arrangement can be changed, so that the degree of freedom in facility layout can be increased.

The moving unit 60 includes a turntable 30 , an elevating unit 40 and a moving carriage 50 . The rotating table 30 is fixed to the lifting section 40 and includes a driving section 31 and a robot table 32 . The lifting unit 40 is installed on the mobile carriage 50 and includes a driving unit 41 . The mobile carriage 50 includes a drive section 51 . The first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 are attached to the robot table 32 (turntable 30). The drive unit 31 is configured by, for example, a servomotor, and when receiving a control signal from the control unit 20, can rotate the robot table 32 (turntable 30) around the rotation axis based on the received control signal. The central axis of rotation of the robot table 32 is oriented horizontally. The central axis of rotation of the robot table 32 is not limited to the horizontal direction, and may be oriented in a direction tilted from the horizontal direction by a predetermined angle according to the installation state of the metal strip coil. By setting the central axis of rotation of the robot table 32 in a predetermined direction, it is possible to set a reference direction for manipulating the packaging paper by the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 . Note that the relative position detector 10 may be provided at a predetermined position of the turntable 30 (for example, a portion other than the robot table 32). The positional relationship between the mounting position of the relative position detector 10, a predetermined position on the central axis of rotation of the robot table 32, and the direction of the central axis can be determined in advance.

The driving unit 51 is composed of, for example, a combination of a servomotor and a transmission mechanism, and when receiving a control signal from the control unit 20, based on the received control signal, moves the mobile carriage 50 two-dimensionally horizontally on the floor surface. can be moved. The drive unit 41 is configured by, for example, a combination of a servomotor and a transmission mechanism, and when receiving a control signal from the control unit 20, can move the turntable 30 up and down based on the received control signal. In this manner, the control unit 20 can horizontally move the lifting unit 40 by transmitting the control signal to the driving unit 51 to move the carriage 50 in the horizontal direction. Further, the control unit 20 can move the turntable 30 up and down by transmitting a control signal to the drive unit 41 to move the elevation unit 40 in the vertical direction. Further, the control section 20 can rotate the robot table 32 by transmitting a control signal to the driving section 31 .

The first articulated robot 70 can be composed of, for example, a six-axis robot. A six-axis robot has a total of six degrees of freedom in the three-dimensional space (XYZ axis coordinate system) in the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, Z-axis direction, around the X-axis, around the Y-axis, and around the Z-axis. . The first articulated robot 70 includes a plurality of joints (joints) having rotation axes, a plurality of links connecting the joints, and a first end effector 71 at the tip. The second articulated robot 80 is also a 6-axis robot and has a second end effector 81 at its tip. Note that the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 have operation programs created so that they can perform predetermined tasks in predetermined procedures, and the operation programs are stored in the storage unit 24, for example. can be done.

When the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 receive a control signal from the control unit 20, they can perform a predetermined work according to a predetermined procedure based on the received control signal. In this case, the control signal is a signal for starting or stopping the operation of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80, and the device for storing specific procedures and actions is the first articulated robot. 70 and the second articulated robot 80 may be installed inside.

By using an articulated robot, the positions and postures of the first end effector 71 and the second end effector 81 can be controlled, and work can be performed in a three-dimensional space. work) can be reproduced. In addition, by reproducing delicate work such as accurate folding of packing paper and removal of wrinkles, it is possible to fold paper with high quality (for example, without misalignment or wrinkles).

The control section 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 , a RAM (Random Access Memory) 22 , a ROM (Read Only Memory) 23 , a storage section 24 and an interface section 25 . The control unit 20 can be configured by, for example, an information processing device such as a personal computer. The storage unit 24 can be composed of a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, or the like, and can store an operation program of the edge folding device 100, processing results, and other necessary information. The interface section 25 has a communication module and can transmit and receive information to and from the relative position detection section 10 and the robot section 90 .

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the first end effector 71. As shown in FIG. The first end effector 71 includes a substantially rectangular pressing member 711, a rectangular hole portion 712 formed in the pressing member 711, a roll portion 714 in which an adhesive tape functioning as an adhesive member is wound in a roll shape, a roll A sticking part 713 is provided for cutting the adhesive tape wound around the part 714 into a desired size and sticking the cut adhesive tape. The pressing member 711 is for pressing the end surface covering portion of the packing paper against the axial end surface of the metal band coil. The attaching portion 713 is for attaching an adhesive tape cut to a required size to the packaging paper exposed from the hole portion 712 to fix the edge-folded portion of the packaging paper. The first end effector 71 can be rotated along the direction indicated by symbol A in FIG. 2 and can be moved along the direction indicated by symbol B. As shown in FIG. Also, the sticking portion 713 can be moved along the direction indicated by the symbol B while maintaining the position of the pressing member 711 .

As a result, it is possible to prevent the edge-folded portion of the end surface covering portion of the packing paper from slipping or returning.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the second end effector 81. As shown in FIG. The second end effector 81 includes grippers 811 and 812 as holding portions. The grippers 811 and 812 are also collectively referred to as a gripping portion 81 . The grippers 811, 812 can consist of flat plates of the desired shape. Grippers 811 and 812 can be rotated around a predetermined axis. The gripping part can grip the end of the end surface covering part of the packing paper. Specifically, the gripper 811 and the gripper 812 can sandwich and grip the end of the end surface covering portion of the packing paper from both sides. The second end effector 81 can be rotated along the direction indicated by symbol A in FIG. 3 and can be moved along the direction indicated by symbol B. As shown in FIG. The grasping portion 81 has a grasping detection function that applies force control.

As a result, it is possible to grasp the end portion of the end surface covering portion of the packing paper, move or rotate the end portion in a desired direction, and maintain the position of the end portion in the state of being grasped.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the gripping section. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the grippers 811 and 812 are open (a state in which the movable-side gripper 811 is separated from the fixed-side gripper 812). The state before gripping the end of the end face covering portion with the gripping portion is shown. FIG. 4B shows a state in which the grippers 811 and 812 are closed (a state in which the fixed-side gripper 812 and the movable-side gripper 811 are in contact), and shows a state in which the end of the end face covering portion is gripped by the gripping portion. Note that the packing paper is not shown.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of grippers 811 and 812. As shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows the case where the lengths of the two grippers are made equal. Since the packing paper is wound around the metal band coil, the packing paper may have a curl. In the example of FIG. 5A, the end of the end surface covering portion may be curved due to curling of the packing paper or the like, and there is a possibility that the gripping error may occur in which the end cannot be pinched during operation of the gripping portion. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, of the two grippers 811 and 812, the gripper 812 closer to the metal band coil may be longer than the gripper 811. As shown in FIG. As a result, even when the packaging paper has a curl, the end of the end surface covering portion of the packaging paper can be reliably pinched and gripped.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the state of the metal band coil 200 up to coil packaging. FIG. 6A shows a state in which no packing paper is wrapped around the metal strip coil 200 . Reference numeral 201 is an axial end face. In this specification, the term “coil packaging” refers to a metal strip coil such as a steel coil that is wrapped in packaging paper in order to maintain quality in a factory or warehouse before shipping the product and to prevent damage during transportation. means to pack (put into a packed metal strip coil).

FIG. 6B shows a state in which strip-shaped packing paper is wound around the outer circumference of the metal strip coil 200 . A reference numeral 301 denotes an end surface covering portion of the packing paper 300 . In the state of FIG. 6B, (1) while folding the mountain folds (“folds”) of the end surface covering portion 301 along the circumferential direction of the metal band coil 200, each time the mountain folds are fixed with an adhesive tape, A similar operation is performed for the entire end surface covering portion of the packing paper 300 . The edge folding device of the present embodiment automatically performs the work (1). Then, (2) the metal band coil 200 is pushed into the coil hole to fix the mountain-folded portion protruding to the inner diameter side, thereby forming a "coil-packed" state as shown in FIG. 6C.

As shown in FIG. 6C, in the state of the packed metal band coil, the metal band coil is wound with a band-shaped packing paper (packing material), and the leading end and the tail end are fixed. A plurality of pleats on the axial end face side of the metal band coil are woven into a "chrysanthemum fold" shape, and the "plait" protruding to the inner diameter side of the metal band coil is accommodated inside the metal band coil hole.

Next, alignment of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 with respect to the metal belt coil will be described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a first example of alignment of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80. As shown in FIG. Alignment of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 can be performed by aligning the robot table 32 on which the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 are attached. The XYZ coordinate values of a predetermined position on the central axis of rotation of the robot table 32 and the direction of the central axis can be stored in the storage unit 24 one by one according to the movement and rotation of the moving unit 60 . As described in the example of FIG. 6B, the metal band coil is in a state in which a band-shaped packing paper is wound around the outer circumference, and the end surface covering portion 301 of the packing paper is in a state before being folded.

The relative position detection unit 10 detects the center axis of the inner diameter of the metal band coil based on the three-dimensional position information of the metal band coil and the information on the predetermined position on the central axis of rotation of the robot table 32 and the direction of the central axis. , the deviation from the central axis of rotation of the robot table 32 can be calculated. FIG. 7A shows a state in which the central axis of the inner diameter of the metal band coil is misaligned with the central axis of rotation of the robot table 32 .

As shown in FIG. 7B, the control unit 20 moves the movable carriage 50 so that the central axis of the inner diameter of the metal band coil coincides with the central axis of rotation of the robot table 32, and raises and lowers the elevating unit. , the positioning of the robot table 32 is performed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a second example of alignment of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80. As shown in FIG. In the second example, instead of directly aligning the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80, the relative position detection unit 10 performs 3D measurement of the three-dimensional position information of the metal band coil, The measurement results can be reflected in the motion programs of the multi-joint robot 70 and the second multi-joint robot 80 to correct the motions of the first multi-joint robot 70 and the second multi-joint robot 80 . As the three-dimensional position information, for example, as shown in FIG. can be measured as the slope α. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, the angle between the direction of the straight line (or curved line) indicating the edge of the packing paper and the horizontal direction can be measured as the angle β of the packing material.

Next, operation procedures of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 will be described. The control unit 20 can control the motion of each of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 by executing a predetermined motion program. The first to seventh motions of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 9 to 15. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the first motion of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80. FIG. The control unit 20 controls the first articulated robot 70 so that the folded portion of the end surface covering portion 301 of the packing paper is pressed against the axial end surface 201 of the metal band coil by the pressing member 711 . In this case, the pressing member 711 moves along the direction indicated by symbol C1 in FIG. In this embodiment, in order to prevent overloading of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80, damage to the packing paper, and scratching of the side surface of the metal band coil, the close contact operation to the packing paper is Do it with force control. For example, control is performed so that the torque value at a predetermined joint of the robot does not exceed the upper limit. By the first action, the folded portion can be brought into close contact with the side surface of the metal band coil.

10A and 10B are diagrams showing the second motion of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80. FIG. The control unit 20 controls the second multi-joint robot 80 so that the gripping units 811 and 812 (81) grip the ends of the folded portions of the packing paper. In this case, the folded portion is pressed against the axial end surface 201 of the metal band coil by the pressing member 711 . The second action grips the end of the packaging paper.

11A and 11B are diagrams showing the third motion of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80. FIG. The control unit 20 moves the pressing member 711 to the position of the valley fold line of the folded portion of the packing paper (moves along the direction indicated by reference symbol C2 in FIG. 11) so that one edge 711a of the pressing member 711 is aligned with the valley fold line. , the pressing member 711 presses the packing paper against the axial end surface 201 of the metal band coil at the position of the valley fold line. By the third operation, it is possible to position the valley fold line of the packaging paper and to maintain the position of the valley fold line.

12A and 12B are diagrams showing the fourth motion of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80. FIG. The control unit 20 moves the gripping part 81 to a position on the opposite side of the valley fold line while gripping the edge of the folding part of the packing paper (in the direction indicated by the symbol C3 in FIG. 12). ), and controls the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 to fold the packing paper. In the present embodiment, the folding operation is performed by grippers 811 and 812 having a force control and a spring mechanism in order to fold the paper with a constant tension regardless of the packing paper material and to prevent the robot from being overloaded. By the fourth operation, the folded portion gripped by the gripping portion 81 can be folded to form a mountain fold line of the folded portion.

13A and 13B are diagrams showing the fifth motion of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80. FIG. The control unit 20 controls the first articulated robot 70 to move the pressing member 711 along the valley fold line of the packing paper (moving along the direction indicated by symbol C4 in FIG. 13). At this time, the folded portion gripped by the gripping portion 81 is held in a state slightly away from the pressing member 711 to the axially outer side from the axial end face. By the fifth operation, the folding portion can be folded along the valley fold line.

14A and 14B are diagrams showing the sixth motion of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80. FIG. The control unit 20 moves the pressing member 711 along the mountain fold portion (mountain fold line) while pressing it against the mountain fold portion of the folding portion (moves along the direction indicated by reference numeral C5 in FIG. 14). It controls the articulated robot 70 . At this time, with the gripping portion 81 gripping the end portion of the folded portion of the packing paper, the pressing member 711 is once separated from the axial end surface 201 of the metal band coil, and the fold line of the folded portion gripped by the gripping portion 81 is pulled. The pressing member 711 is moved along the mountain fold line in the direction indicated by reference symbol C5 while pressing the folded portion against the axial end face again from above. In addition, wrinkles generated when folding the packing paper can be removed by force control. By the sixth operation, the mountain-folded portion can be folded along the mountain-folded line. In addition, the crease of the folded portion can be emphasized.

15A and 15B are diagrams showing the seventh motion of the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80. FIG. The control unit 20 controls the second multi-joint robot 80 to apply an adhesive tape (adhesive member) across the edge of the mountain fold so as to fix the folded portion. In this case, the pressing member 711 holds the folded mountain fold, and the sticking unit 713 applies the adhesive tape cut to a required size across the edge of the mountain fold exposed from the hole 712 . paste. Further, by attaching the adhesive tape in a tensioned state during gripping, it is possible to suppress the overall bulging of the packing paper. A seventh action allows the mountain folds (“folds”) to be fixed.

The control unit 20 repeats a series of operations (edge folding operations) from the first operation to the seventh operation described above for a predetermined number of times along the circumferential direction of the metal band coil. Thus, when the edge folding work for half the circumference of the metal band coil is completed, the robot table 32 is rotated 180 degrees to reverse the positional relationship between the first articulated robot 70 and the second articulated robot 80 and the metal band coil. Then, the edge folding operations of the first operation to the seventh operation are performed for the remaining half of the circumference, and the edge folding operation is performed over the entire circumference of the metal band coil. Instead of rotating the robot table 32 by 180 degrees, the metal band coil itself may be rotated by the cradle roll.

As described above, the edge folding operation according to this embodiment can be realized by a series of paper folding operations using the gripper and the pressing member. In addition, by controlling the force, the edge folding can be always performed with a constant tension and pressing force, and folding wrinkles can be prevented. In addition, since the robot table can be rotated, there is no need for ancillary equipment such as a cradle roll, and it is less subject to equipment restrictions. In addition, since the adhesive tape is applied while the gripping tension is being generated, misalignment of paper folding can be eliminated.

16A and 16B are diagrams showing the processing procedure of the edge folding device 100. FIG. In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the control unit 20 is assumed to be the subject of processing. The control unit 20 conveys the metal strip coil to be packed to a predetermined position (S11). The metal band coil to be packed is in a state as illustrated in FIG. 6B, for example. Also, the conveying of the metal band coil may have an error from the predetermined position.

The control unit 20 performs 3D measurement and alignment of the metal strip coil (S12). 3D measurement includes detection of 3D positional information of the metal band coil and generation of 3D images. For the alignment, for example, the alignment illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 is performed. When the alignment is completed, the control unit 20 presses the folded portion of the packing paper against the axial end surface 201 of the metal band coil with the pressing member 711 (S13). The process of step S13 is the first operation illustrated in FIG.

Next, the control unit 20 grips the end of the folded portion of the packing paper with the gripping unit 81 (S14). The process of step S14 is the second operation illustrated in FIG. After that, the control unit 20 moves the pressing member 711 to the position of the valley fold line of the folded portion of the packing paper, and presses the packing paper against the axial end surface 201 of the metal band coil at the position of the valley fold line (S15). The process of step S15 is the third operation illustrated in FIG.

Next, the control unit 20 moves the gripping part 81 to a position on the opposite side of the valley fold line while gripping the end of the folding part of the packaging paper with the gripping part 81, and folds the packaging paper (S16). ). The processing of step S16 is the fourth operation illustrated in FIG. Thereafter, the control unit 20 moves the pressing member 711 along the valley fold line of the packaging paper (S17). The process of step S17 is the fifth operation illustrated in FIG.

Next, the control unit 20 moves along the mountain fold while pressing the pressing member 711 against the mountain fold (S18). The processing of step S18 is the sixth operation illustrated in FIG. Thereafter, the control unit 20 affixes an adhesive member (for example, adhesive tape) across the edge of the mountain fold so as to fix the folded portion (S19). The processing of step S19 is the seventh operation illustrated in FIG.

Then, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the edge folding work for the entire circumference of the metal band coil is completed (S20), and if the edge folding work for the entire circumference is not completed (NO in S20), A judgment is made as to whether or not the edge folding work for the half circumference of the coil has been completed (S21). If the edge folding work for half the circumference has not been completed (NO in S21), the control unit 20 continues the processing from step S13 onward. When the half-turn edge folding work is completed (YES in S21), the control unit 20 rotates the robot base (robot table 32) (S22), and continues the processing from step S13 onward. When the edge folding work for the entire circumference is completed (YES in S20), the control section 20 terminates the process. The processing shown in FIG. 16 can be repeated each time the metal strip coil to be packed is conveyed.

A computer program defining each processing procedure as shown in FIG. By doing so, the control unit 20 can be realized on the computer. It should be noted that the computer program defining each processing procedure as shown in FIG. 16 can also be downloaded via a network such as the Internet in place of the recording medium.

Simply by preparing a program for performing a general paper folding operation as described above, the edge folding operation can be performed regardless of various conditions such as the coil diameter of the metal band coil, the material of the packing paper, the number of edge foldings, and the like.

When coil packaging is performed manually, the working posture is bad and the physical burden increases. In addition, since the number of packing workers is decreasing, there is a concern that there will be a shortage of personnel in the future. However, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to automate the edge folding work, which is a physically demanding work among the coil packing work, and to greatly reduce the work burden on the worker. In addition, at the packing site, it is possible to divide the work between workers and robots, enabling efficient personnel allocation.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, by using a collaborative robot in the robot section, a safe design that allows cooperation with a worker becomes possible. For example, by conducting an appropriate risk assessment, collaborative work with humans becomes possible without safety fences. Since a safety fence is not required, any place within the facility site can be used as a packing work site as long as an empty space can be secured.

The edge folding device of the present embodiment is inexpensive and space-saving compared to a large-sized device installed in an automatic line. In addition, the use of a general-purpose multi-joint robot eliminates the need for a special mechanical device for exclusive use, and reduces the burden of acquiring knowledge for maintenance of a specialized engineer.

For example, in the above embodiments, a form using a LiDAR sensor as a three-dimensional measuring device has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and two cameras photograph the metal band coil from two different directions, and these photographs are taken. A device or the like that calculates three-dimensional position information based on an image or video may also be used.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an embodiment using an adhesive tape as an adhesive member has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an adhesive seal or the like prepared in advance by cutting to a predetermined length may be used. .

The embodiments disclosed above should be considered as examples and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of claims rather than the above-described embodiments, and is intended to include all modifications and variations within the scope and meaning of equivalents of the scope of claims.

10 relative position detector 11 LiDAR sensor 12 calculator 13 output unit 20 controller 21 CPU
22 RAMs
23 ROMs
24 storage unit 25 interface unit 30 rotating table 31 driving unit 32 robot table 40 lifting unit 41 driving unit 50 mobile carriage 51 driving unit 60 moving unit 70 first articulated robot 71 first end effector 711 holding member 712 hole 713 sticking unit 714 roll unit 80 second articulated robot 81 second end effector (grasping unit)
811, 812 Gripper (grasping part)
90 robot unit 200 metal band coil 201 axial end surface 300 packing paper 301 end surface covering unit

Claims (8)

An edge folding device for edge-folding an end face covering portion which is a part of a packing paper for packing a metal band coil and covers an end face in the axial direction of the metal band coil,
a robot unit that folds the edges of the end face covering portion;
a relative position detection unit that detects relative position information about the relative positions of the robot unit and the metal strip coil;
a control unit that controls the robot unit based on the relative position information detected by the relative position detection unit;
Ear folding device. The robot unit
ear-folding robot,
a moving part to which the edge folding robot is attached and which enables translational movement and rotation of the edge folding robot;
The control unit
controlling the moving unit to move the edge folding robot to a position where the metal strip coil and the edge folding robot are arranged in a predetermined manner based on the relative position information;
The edge folding device according to claim 1. The ear-folding robot
a first multi-joint robot having a pressing member attached to its distal end portion for pressing the end surface covering portion against the axial end surface of the metal band coil;
a second multi-joint robot having a gripping part for gripping the end of the end face covering part attached to the tip part,
The edge folding device according to claim 2. The distal end portion of the first articulated robot is provided with a sticking portion for sticking an adhesive member for fixing the folded portion of the packing paper to the packing paper,
The edge folding device according to claim 3. The control unit
controlling the motion of each of the first articulated robot and the second articulated robot;
The operation is
(1) pressing the folded portion of the packing paper against the axial end face of the metal band coil with the pressing member;
(2) gripping an end portion of the folding portion of the packing paper with the gripping portion;
(3) moving the pressing member to the position of the valley fold line of the folded portion of the packaging paper, and pressing the packaging paper against the axial end surface of the metal band coil at the position of the valley fold line;
(4) moving the gripping portion to a position on the opposite side with respect to the valley fold line in a state where the end portion of the folding portion of the packaging paper is gripped by the gripping portion, and folding the packaging paper;
(5) moving the pressing member along the valley fold line of the packaging paper;
(6) moving the pressing member along the mountain fold portion while pressing the pressing member against the mountain fold portion of the folding portion;
(7) Affixing the adhesive member across the edge of the mountain fold so as to fix the folded portion;
including,
The edge folding device according to claim 4. The moving part is
a mobile trolley,
A lifting unit provided on the mobile carriage;
a turntable that is raised and lowered by the raising and lowering unit;
The edge folding robot is attached to the turntable,
the central axis of rotation of the turntable is oriented horizontally;
The edge folding device according to any one of claims 2 to 5. The relative position detection unit is
a three-dimensional measuring device that calculates three-dimensional position information of the metal band coil;
a calculation unit that calculates the relative position information based on the three-dimensional position information and the position information of the robot unit;
The edge folding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A method for folding an end face covering portion, which is a part of a packing paper for packing a metal band coil and covers an end face in the axial direction of the metal band coil, comprising:
a robot unit performing edge folding of the end face covering portion;
a relative position detection unit detecting relative position information about the relative positions of the robot unit and the metal strip coil;
a control unit controlling the robot unit based on the detected relative position information;
Ear fold method including.

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