JP2023063894A - Holding device, robot, robot system, fitting method, robot control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a holding device etc. for a robot which enables fitting work of multiple fitted objects to be performed at the same time with high accuracy.SOLUTION: A holding device according to one embodiment of the invention is a holding device for a robot and includes multiple holding parts which respectively correspond to multiple fitted objects. The multiple holding parts are spaced apart from each other through a predetermined pitch.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a gripping device, a robot, a robot system, a fitting method, a robot control method, and a program.

Conventionally, a robot is used to grip a work and then fit the work at a predetermined fitting position. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a robot provided with a holding member for holding an insert part at its distal end. The robot is capable of holding the insert part in a fitted state in the part holding part, and then withdrawing the holding member from between the pair of molds while leaving the insert part.

JP 2021-014049 A

In the configuration described in Patent Literature 1, it is necessary to fit objects to be fitted such as insert parts P one by one, resulting in poor working efficiency. Moreover, since the dimensions of the fitting position and the dimensions of the object to be fitted are substantially the same except for a predetermined clearance, the fitting operation by the robot requires extremely high accuracy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a gripping device or the like for a robot that can perform fitting operations for a plurality of objects to be fitted simultaneously and with high accuracy.

A gripping device according to an aspect of the present invention is a gripping device for a robot, and includes a plurality of gripping portions respectively corresponding to a plurality of fitted objects. away.

According to this aspect, by gripping the plurality of fitting objects via the plurality of gripping portions, it becomes possible to grip the plurality of fitting fitting objects in a state of being spaced apart at a predetermined pitch. After that, a plurality of objects to be fitted can be fitted at a plurality of fitting positions at the same time with high accuracy.

In the above aspect, the plurality of gripping portions may have abutting portions with which the plurality of fitted objects abut.

According to this aspect, when the plurality of fitting objects are gripped by the plurality of gripping portions, the alignment accuracy of the plurality of fitting objects with respect to the plurality of gripping portions is improved.

In the above aspect, the contact portion may be tapered.

According to this aspect, when the plurality of fitting objects are gripped by the plurality of gripping portions, the accuracy of alignment of the plurality of fitting objects with respect to the plurality of gripping portions is further improved.

In the above aspect, the contact portion may have a fine movement mechanism capable of adjusting the dimensions of the grip portion.

According to this aspect, by adjusting the dimensions of the gripping portion, it is possible to finely adjust the fitting accuracy for each member in which a plurality of fitting positions are formed.

A robot according to one aspect of the present invention includes a robot arm and the gripping device according to any one of the above aspects attached to the robot arm.

According to this aspect, by gripping the plurality of fitting objects via the plurality of gripping portions, it becomes possible to grip the plurality of fitting fitting objects in a state of being spaced apart at a predetermined pitch. , and thereafter, a plurality of objects to be fitted can be fitted simultaneously at a plurality of fitting positions with high accuracy.

In the above aspect, the robot may have a series elastic actuator provided on the robot arm.

According to this aspect, a flexible fitting operation can be performed.

A robot system according to an aspect of the present invention includes a gripping device according to any one of the above aspects, a robot arm, and a feeder, wherein the feeder holds a plurality of objects to be fitted at a predetermined pitch. configured to be spaced apart and aligned.

According to this aspect, by gripping the plurality of fitting objects via the plurality of gripping portions, it becomes possible to grip the plurality of fitting fitting objects in a state of being spaced apart at a predetermined pitch. , and thereafter, a plurality of objects to be fitted can be fitted simultaneously at a plurality of fitting positions with high accuracy.

In the above aspect, the feeder may be configured to align a plurality of fitted objects with a predetermined pitch therebetween by bringing them into contact with predetermined positioning portions.

According to this aspect, it is possible to improve the accuracy of aligning a plurality of objects to be fitted with a predetermined pitch therebetween.

A fitting method according to an aspect of the present invention is a fitting method for fitting a plurality of objects to be fitted into a plurality of fitting positions separated by a predetermined pitch using a robot. a step of gripping a plurality of objects to be fitted aligned at a pitch with a plurality of gripping parts spaced apart at a predetermined pitch provided in a gripping device provided in a robot; fitting the fitting into a plurality of fitting positions by a robot arm provided by the robot.

According to this aspect, by gripping the plurality of fitting objects via the plurality of gripping portions, it becomes possible to grip the plurality of fitting fitting objects in a state of being spaced apart at a predetermined pitch. , and thereafter, a plurality of objects to be fitted can be fitted simultaneously at a plurality of fitting positions with high accuracy.

A control method according to an aspect of the present invention is a control method for a robot including a gripping device and a robot arm to which the gripping device is attached, wherein a plurality of objects to be fitted are aligned at a predetermined pitch, a step of gripping a plurality of gripping parts provided in a gripping device spaced apart at a predetermined pitch; and separating a plurality of fitted objects gripped by the gripping device at a predetermined pitch by a robot arm. and b.

According to this aspect, by gripping the plurality of fitting objects via the plurality of gripping portions, it becomes possible to grip the plurality of fitting fitting objects in a state of being spaced apart at a predetermined pitch. , and thereafter, a plurality of objects to be fitted can be fitted simultaneously at a plurality of fitting positions with high accuracy.

A program according to an aspect of the present invention is a control device that controls a robot that includes a gripping device and a robot arm to which the gripping device is attached, and the control device includes a computer. a step of gripping a plurality of objects to be fitted by a plurality of gripping parts provided in the gripping device and separated by a predetermined pitch; , a step of fitting at a plurality of fitting positions separated by a predetermined pitch, and a control command for execution.

According to this aspect, by gripping the plurality of fitting objects via the plurality of gripping portions, it becomes possible to grip the plurality of fitting fitting objects in a state of being spaced apart at a predetermined pitch. , and thereafter, a plurality of objects to be fitted can be fitted simultaneously at a plurality of fitting positions with high accuracy.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the robot which can perform the fitting operation|work of a several to-be-fitted object simultaneously and with high precision can be provided.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a robot system 1 according to the first embodiment. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a workpiece 2 according to the first embodiment; FIG. It is the schematic diagram which visually recognized the metal mold|die main body 3 which concerns on 1st Embodiment from the Y-axis direction. It is the schematic diagram which visually recognized the metal mold|die main body 3 which concerns on 1st Embodiment from Z-axis direction. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the appearance of a robot 40 according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of functional configurations of a robot 40 and a control device 50 according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a robot hand 42 according to the first embodiment; FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the robot hand 42 according to the first embodiment viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the robot hand 42 according to the first embodiment viewed from the direction of arrow B in FIG. 6. FIG. It is a perspective view showing the appearance of a feeder 60 according to the first embodiment. It is a side view which shows the external appearance of the feeder 60 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining alignment of workpieces 2 by the robot system 1 according to the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the bottom surface of a robot hand 90 according to a modified example of the first embodiment; FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a feeder 60 according to a modified example of the first embodiment; It is a side view which shows the external appearance of the feeder 60 which concerns on the modification of 1st Embodiment.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. (In addition, in each figure, those with the same reference numerals have the same or similar configurations.)

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a robot system 1 according to the first embodiment.

The robot system 1 according to the first embodiment, for example, grips a plurality of workpieces (an example of a "to-be-fitted object") and then engages them in a plurality of fitting positions spaced apart at a predetermined pitch. to run. FIG. 1 shows an orthogonal coordinate system of XYZ axes. Here, the Z-axis is an axis oriented in the vertical direction (the direction in which gravity acts), and the X-axis and the Y-axis are axes parallel to each other and orthogonal to each other in the horizontal direction (an arbitrary direction perpendicular to the vertical direction). . The robot system 1 has a robot 40 , a control device 50 and a feeder 60 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot system 1 according to the first embodiment may be installed on a base 80, for example. Here, the pedestal 80 includes an upper pedestal 81 substantially perpendicular to the XY plane, a lower pedestal 82 substantially perpendicular to the XY plane, and a plurality of struts 83 connected to the upper pedestal 81 and the lower pedestal 82 and extending in the Z-axis direction. and For example, the robot 40 , the feeder 60 and the container 70 are installed on the upper frame 81 . A control device 50 is installed on the lower mount 82 .

A plurality of works not shown in FIG. 1 but shown in FIG. 2 are placed in the container 70 . As will be described later, the feeder 60 is a slider-type feeder that is inclined with respect to the XY plane, and is configured to be able to align a plurality of works so that they are spaced apart at a predetermined pitch. In particular, the pitch between the plurality of works aligned by the feeder 60 can be set equal to the pitch between the plurality of fitting positions for fitting the works.

The robot 40 has an articulated robot arm 41 and a robot hand 42 attached to the robot arm 41 . The robot 40 is electrically connected to the control device 50 by wire or wirelessly, and performs predetermined operations according to control signals supplied from the control device 50 . The robot 40 performs an operation of gripping a plurality of works aligned in the feeder 60 with a plurality of gripping units provided in the robot hand 42 under the control of the control device 50, for example. Further, the robot 40 performs an operation of fitting a plurality of workpieces gripped by a plurality of gripping portions to a plurality of fitting positions, for example, according to control by the control device 50 . As a result, the robot hand 42 can simultaneously grip a plurality of workpieces by the plurality of gripping portions, thereby improving the time efficiency of the fitting operation of the workpieces.

A plurality of gripping portions of the robot hand 42 are spaced apart at a predetermined pitch. In particular, the pitch between the plurality of gripping portions is set equal to the pitch between the plurality of fitting positions for fitting the workpiece. This improves the accuracy of the operation of fitting a plurality of works to a plurality of fitting positions.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the workpiece 2 according to the first embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the workpiece 2 has, for example, a substantially L shape in which a substantially rectangular flat plate is bent at a substantially right angle. The longer flat plate of the workpiece 2 is called a long flat plate 21 and the shorter flat plate is called a short flat plate 22 . Each of the long flat plate 21 and the short flat plate 22 has a substantially rectangular shape with a predetermined thickness.

The material of the workpiece 2 is not particularly limited, but may be cold rolled material (made of iron), stainless steel, copper, nickel silver, brass, aluminum or other metals, ceramics, plastic materials, carbon fiber reinforced plastics, or the like. There may be. The shape of the work 2 shown in FIG. 2 is an example, and the shape of the work 2 is not limited to this.

A fitting position according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

3A is a schematic view of the mold body 3 viewed from the Y-axis direction, and FIG. 3B is a schematic view of the mold body 3 viewed from the Z-axis direction. The mold body 3 is provided with two fitting positions 31a and 31b. Note that the two fitting positions 31a and 31b may be collectively referred to as the fitting position 31 or the like.

The mating position 31 has a first recess 32 and a second recess 33 that are continuous with each other. The first concave portion 32 is a substantially rectangular concave portion substantially parallel to the XY plane formed in the mold body 3, and the long flat plate 21 of the workpiece 2 is fitted. The second recess 33 is a substantially rectangular recess substantially parallel to the XZ plane formed in the mold body 3, and the short flat plate 22 of the work 2 is fitted therein. It should be noted that the second concave portion 32 is transparently drawn by a dotted line in FIG. 3A.

A predetermined pitch P _M is provided between the fitting position 31a and the fitting position 31b. In FIGS. 3A and 3B, for convenience of explanation, of the fitting positions 31a and 31b, only the fitting position 31a is fitted with the workpiece 2, and the fitting position 31b is not fitted with the work 2. Aspects are shown.

The dimensions of the inner peripheral surface of the first concave portion 32 may be set so as to contact at least a portion of the long flat plate 21 of the work 2, or may be set so as to have a predetermined clearance. Also, the dimensions of the inner peripheral surface of the second recess 33 may be set so as to contact at least a portion of the short flat plate 22 of the work 2, or may be set so as to have a predetermined clearance.

In this embodiment, the place where the fitting position is provided may not be limited to the mold. Also, the number of fitting positions is not limited to two, and may be three or more. In that case, each fitting position is arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other via a predetermined pitch. When there are multiple predetermined pitches, these multiple pitches may be different from each other or may be the same.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the appearance of the robot 40 according to the first embodiment.

The robot 40 has a robot arm 41, a robot hand 42 attached to the robot arm 41, and a base 43 to which the robot arm 41 is connected.

The robot arm 41 is an articulated robot arm including multiple links 412 and multiple joints 413 as shown in FIG.

The base 43 is arranged at one end of the robot arm 41 and installed on the upper frame 81, for example. The base 43 extends in the Z-axis direction, and the robot arm 41 is connected to the top.

The link 412 is composed of, for example, rigid members and is continuously connected via each joint 413 . One end of the link 412 is connected to one joint 413 and the other end of the link 412 is connected to another joint 413 . The link 412 may extend straight or be curved at any position.

The joint 413 is, for example, a connecting portion between the base 43 and the link 412 or a connecting portion between two links 412, and can also be called a "joint" in the articulated robot arm. Each joint 413 is provided with, for example, a series elastic actuator 414 to be described later.

A robot hand 42 is attached to the end of the robot arm 41 . The robot hand 42 may be fixed to the robot arm 41 in a detachable manner, or may be fixed in a non-detachable manner.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of functional configurations of the robot 40 and the control device 50 according to the first embodiment.

The robot 40 is electrically connected to the control device 50 by wire or wirelessly, and performs predetermined operations according to control signals supplied from the control device 50 . The control device 50 has, for example, a start position acquisition section 51, a target position acquisition section 52, a planned route acquisition section 53, and a control instruction acquisition section .

The start position acquisition unit 51 acquires a start position input from a teaching device (not shown) connected to the control device 50, for example. Here, the “starting position” may be the starting position of the reference position of the robot arm 41 in the movement of the robot arm 41 . The start position acquisition unit 51 acquires the start position input from, for example, a teaching device connected to the control device 50 .

The target position acquisition unit 52 acquires a target position input from, for example, a teaching device (not shown). Here, the “target position” may be the final target position of the reference position of the robot arm 41 in the movement of the robot arm 41 . The unit of the target position may be of any format according to the reference position. For example, when the reference position of the robot arm 41 is the link 412 forming the robot arm 41, the target position can be expressed as angle information. For example, when the reference position of the robot arm 41 is the hand position (for example, the center point of the robot hand 42), the target position can be expressed as three-dimensional position information.

The planned route acquisition unit 53 acquires, for example, a planned route input from a teaching device (not shown). Here, the “planned route” may be a target route from the start position of the reference position of the robot arm 41 to the target position in the movement of the robot arm 41 . Note that at least one point included in the "planned route" may be associated with an estimated arrival time, which is the time when the reference position of the robot arm 41 is scheduled to arrive at the at least one point. In particular, the planned route may include an estimated arrival time associated with the above-described target position (the final target position of the reference position of the robot arm 41).

The control command acquisition unit 54 acquires a control command for moving the reference position of the robot arm 41 along the planned route acquired by the planned route acquisition unit 53 by arithmetic processing or the like. For example, the control command acquisition unit 54 calculates the rotation angle of each servomotor for positioning the reference position on the planned route by inverse kinematics calculation (inverse kinematics), and generates a control command based on this. can be stored in a non-volatile memory element.

In addition, the robot arm 41 may be able to make the object follow the target object. Here, "making the object follow the object" means moving the object relative to the object while bringing the object into contact with the object. Relative movement is not limited to relative translational movement of the object with respect to the object, but also includes relative rotational movement of the object with respect to the object.

Regarding the hardware configuration, the control device 50 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphical Processing Unit) and other processors such as arithmetic elements, SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and other volatile memory elements, and a NOR flash memory. , NAND flash memory, HDD (Hard Disc Drive), etc., and one or more computers provided with communication means such as a bus for connecting them. The nonvolatile memory element stores, for example, a computer program for executing each process shown in the first embodiment. Volatile storage elements temporarily store at least part of these computer programs, arithmetic processing results, and the like. However, at least part of these arithmetic elements, non-volatile memory elements, etc. may be installed at remote locations connected to a communication network such as the Internet. For example, the computing element may be configured to obtain computer programs or required data via a communication network.

As described above, each joint 413 of the robot arm 41 is provided with, for example, a series elastic actuator 414 . For example, the series elastic actuator 414 rotates the link 412 connected at the joint 413 according to the rotation axis of the series elastic actuator 414 under the control of the control device 50, thereby moving the end of the link 412. Is possible.

Series elastic actuator 414 may be flexible. "Flexible" means having elasticity, viscosity, or elasticity and viscosity. Elasticity refers to the property of deforming when stress is applied and returning to its original state when stress is removed, and is sometimes expressed by the word flexibility, which indicates ease of elastic deformation. Viscosity refers to the property of producing a stress that equalizes the flow velocity of a fluid. A flexible drive mechanism may include at least one of, for example, a magnetic fluid, a mechanical spring, an air spring, a magnetic force spring, and a vane motor to provide flexibility.

The series elastic actuator 414 includes, for example, a drive section 414A, an elastic body 414E, and a sensor 414S.

The drive unit 414A is configured by, for example, a servomotor driven by a control signal supplied from the control device 50, or the like. The elastic body 414E is composed of, for example, a mechanical spring. In series elastic actuator 414 , power output from driving portion 414 A is transmitted to link 412 on the output side via elastic body 414 E, and link 412 rotates around the rotation axis of series elastic actuator 414 .

The sensor 414S, for example, is connected to the drive unit 414A, detects the reference position of the robot arm 41 (hereinafter referred to as "reference position") by acquiring the displacement amount of the mechanical spring, and detects the reference position. The information shown is supplied to the control device 50 . The reference position of the robot arm 41 may be any position of the robot arm 41 . The unit of the reference position may be of any format according to the aspect of the part of the robot arm 41 corresponding to the reference position. For example, the reference position may be the link 412 that configures the robot arm 41, and in this case the reference position can be expressed as angle information. Alternatively, the reference position may be the hand position of the robot arm 41, and in this case, the reference position can be expressed as three-dimensional position information.

Under the above configuration, the parameters are the inertia, mass, length, external force, and spring constant of the mechanical spring, which is the elastic body 414E, of the portion driven by the series elastic actuator 414, which corresponds to the flexible drive mechanism. An equation of motion is established. Therefore, the control device 50 is configured to perform mechanical compliance control for controlling impedance based on the spring constant and displacement amount of the mechanical spring.

The series elastic actuator 414 may be connected to the drive shaft of the servomotor, which is the drive section 414A, and may include a gear that transmits power to the mechanical spring. Further, the series elastic actuator 414 may include a damper mechanism for damping impact based on viscosity and a clutch mechanism for switching power transmission. When applying a viscous body such as a viscous damper mechanism, a viscous constant is added as a parameter to the equation of motion. For example, an equation of motion is established in which a value obtained by multiplying the viscosity constant by the time change of the link angle is taken into account as the torque.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the robot hand 42 according to the first embodiment. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 6 shows a state in which the robot hand 42 grips one workpiece 2 .

The robot hand 42 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The material of the robot hand 42 is not particularly limited, but for example, metal materials such as aluminum, iron, brass, and stainless steel, plastic materials such as polyacetal, polyamide, polyamide-imide, polyimide, and aromatic polyester, and fine ceramic materials. There may be.

Two gripping portions 422 a and 422 b for gripping the workpiece 2 are provided on the lower surface of the robot hand 42 . Each of the gripping portions 422a and 422b corresponds to one workpiece 2. As shown in FIG. The number of gripping portions 422 provided on the robot hand 42 is not limited to two, and may be three or more depending on the number of fitting positions described above.

Each of the gripping portions 422a and 422b has a substantially rectangular concave shape in which the long flat plate 21 of each work 2 is accommodated. Grips 422a and 422b are spaced apart at a predetermined pitch P _R . The predetermined pitch P _R is set equal to the predetermined pitch P _M between the mating positions 31a and 31b described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B. Thereby, it is possible to simultaneously and accurately fit a plurality of workpieces 2 to a plurality of fitting positions 31a and 31b separated from each other by a predetermined pitch P _M in the mold body 3 . The shape of the gripping portions 422a and 422b may be arbitrarily configured according to the shape of the workpiece 2.

Two suction pads 426 are provided on each of the gripping portions 422a and 422b. The suction pad 426 communicates with a suction nozzle 421 provided on the upper surface of the robot hand 42 . Furthermore, the suction nozzle 421 communicates with a pump (not shown), and when the suction pad 426 is depressurized by the pump via the suction nozzle 421 , the suction pad 426 sucks the workpiece 2 . Thereby, the robot hand 42 can grip the workpiece 2 via the gripping portion 422 . It should be noted that the robot hand 42 may use a mechanical gripper to sandwich and grip, or may utilize a suction force such as van der Waals force, other than the suction pad method.

The robot hand 42 is further described with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B. FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram of the robot hand 42 according to the first embodiment viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. Note that FIG. 7A shows a state in which the robot hand 42 is holding two workpieces 2 .

As shown in FIG. 7A, on both sides of each of the gripping portions 422a and 422b, contact portions 424 are provided for contacting the workpiece 2 when the robot hand 42 grips the workpiece 2. As shown in FIG. The contact portion 424 is formed in a tapered shape, and is configured so that the side portion of the long flat plate 21 of the work 2 can come into contact when the robot hand 42 grips the work 2 . As a result, the workpiece 2 gripped by the robot hand 42 can be centered within the gripping portions 422a and 422b. improves.

In order to reduce the contact resistance (contact frictional resistance), the contact portion 424 may be formed with fine unevenness such as a hairline shape, or may be coated with a fluororesin. Also, the contact portion 424 may be formed of an oil-impregnated metal or the like. Also, the contact portion 424 may have a fine movement mechanism for finely adjusting the dimensions of the grip portions 422a and 422b. Although the configuration of the fine movement mechanism is not particularly limited, it may be, for example, a predetermined minute bolt or the like. Accordingly, by adjusting the dimensions of the gripping portions 422a and 422b, it is possible to finely adjust the fitting accuracy according to the mold body 3 in which the fitting positions 31a and 31b are formed.

FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of the robot hand 42 according to the first embodiment viewed from the direction of arrow B in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7B , the grasping portion 422 a is provided with a contact portion 425 for contacting the work 2 when the robot hand 42 grasps the work 2 . The contact portion 425 is formed in a tapered shape, and when the robot hand 42 grips the work 2 , the connecting portion of the long flat plate 21 and short flat plate 22 of the work 2 abuts thereon. As a result, the work 2 gripped by the robot hand 42 is centered within the gripping portion 422a, so that the gripping position of the work 2 by the robot hand 42 becomes more accurate.

In order to reduce the contact resistance (contact frictional resistance), the contact portion 425 may be formed with fine unevenness such as a hairline shape, or may be coated with a fluororesin. Also, the contact portion 425 may be formed of an oil-impregnated metal or the like. Further, the contact portion 425 may have a fine movement mechanism for finely adjusting the dimensions of the grip portion 422a. Although the configuration of the fine movement mechanism is not particularly limited, it may be, for example, a predetermined minute bolt or the like. Note that the above configuration also applies to the grip portion 422b.

8A is a perspective view showing the appearance of the feeder 60 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 8B is a side view showing the appearance of the feeder 60 according to the first embodiment.

The feeder 60 includes a first support 61 , a second support 62 , a feed rail 63 that spans the first support 61 and the second support 62 , and a It has a first holding portion 64 , a second holding portion 65 , and a spacer supply portion 66 provided near the first support 61 .

The first support 61 and the second support 62 are erected at predetermined heights from the upper surface of the upper mount 81 (see FIG. 1), for example. One end of the feed rail 63 is connected to the first support 61 and the other end of the feed rail 63 is connected to the second support 62 . Here, the height of the first support 61 is set lower than the height of the second support 62 . Therefore, the feed rail 63 that spans the first support 61 and the second support 62 is arranged so that the side connected to the first support 61 is lower than the side connected to the second support 62. It inclines at a predetermined angle with respect to the XY plane. In the present disclosure, the side of the feed rail 63 connected to the second support 62 is referred to as "upstream", and the side of the feed rail 63 connected to the first support 61 is referred to as "downstream". Sometimes.

The feed rail 63 is provided with a groove 63</b>D along the feed rail 63 into which the short flat plate 22 of the workpiece 2 can be inserted. A predetermined work supply area 60S is provided upstream on the feed rail 63 . The worker can supply the work 2 to the work supply area 60S by inserting the short flat plate 22 of the work 2 into the groove 63D of the feed rail 63 and placing the work 2 on the work supply area 60S. can. The work 2 supplied to the work supply area 60S slides on the feed rail 63 from upstream to downstream by its own weight, and after being appropriately held by the first holding portion 64 and the second holding portion 65, The workpieces are stopped and aligned in a nearby work alignment area 60A.

The first holding portion 64 and the second holding portion 65 are provided near the approximate center of the feed rail 63 so that the first holding portion 64 is arranged downstream of the second holding portion 65 . The first holding portion 64 is configured to be movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the feed rail 63 by a drive motor. Similarly, the second holding portion 65 is configured to be movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the feed rail 63 by a drive motor (not shown).

When the first holding portion 64 is in the lowered position (the position closest to the feed rail 63), the distance between the first holding portion 64 and the feed rail 63 is smaller than the thickness of the workpiece 2. As shown in FIG. Therefore, when the first holding portion 64 is in the lowered position, the workpiece 2 on the feed rail 63 contacts the first holding portion 64 from the upstream side, and thus does not slide on the feed rail 63. It is held against the feed rail 63 . On the other hand, when the first holding portion 64 is positioned above the lowered position (in the direction away from the feed rail 63), the workpiece 2 slides on the feed rail 63 without being prevented by the first holding portion 64. , may slide downstream on the feed rail 63 .

When the second holding portion 65 is in the lowered position (position closest to the feed rail 63), the workpiece 2 slides on the feed rail 63 by being pressed against the feed rail 63 by the second holding portion 65. is held against the feed rail 63 without On the other hand, when the second holding portion 65 is positioned above the lowered position (in the direction away from the feed rail 63), the workpiece 2 is not pressed against the feed rail 63 by the second holding portion 65. , may slide downstream on the feed rail 63 .

The position of the second holding portion 65 may be set to a position where it can contact another work 2 that is in contact with the upstream side of the work 2 whose sliding is blocked by the first holding portion 64 . Accordingly, by moving the first holding part 64 up and down after disposing the second holding part 65 at the lowered position, it is possible to supply the works 2 one by one to the work alignment area 60A.

As will be described later, in the work alignment area 60A, the works 2 sliding on the feed rail 63 are sequentially aligned. The spacer supply unit 66 is a mechanism that arranges a predetermined spacer S (an example of a “positioning unit”) between two works 2 on the feed rail 63 . For example, the spacer supply unit 66 can arrange the spacers S on the feed rail 63 so that the spacers S abut on the workpieces 2 aligned in advance in the workpiece alignment area 60A from the upstream side. After that, when a new workpiece 2 sliding on the feed rail 63 is aligned so as to contact the spacer S from the upstream side, the two workpieces 2 are separated by a distance equal to the dimension of the spacer S along the feed rail 63. are spaced apart from each other. Here, the dimension of the spacer S along the feed rail 63 is made equal to the pitch P _M (see FIGS. 3A and 3B) between the fitting position 31a and the fitting position 31b for fitting the workpiece 2. may be set to Therefore, in the work alignment region 60A, when two works 2 are aligned on the upstream side and the downstream side with the spacer S interposed therebetween, the work 2 abutting the spacer S on the downstream side and the work 2 contacting the spacer S on the upstream side The contacting workpiece 2 is separated by the pitch P _M .

Alignment of the workpiece 2 by the robot system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, it is assumed that the works 2 are not yet aligned in the work alignment area 60A at the time shown in FIG. 9(a). On the other hand, it is assumed that a plurality of works 2 supplied by an operator are arranged on the feed rail 63 . Each of the plurality of works 2 will be referred to as "first work 2a", "second work 2b", "third work 2c", . . . from the downstream side.

It is assumed that both the first holding portion 64 and the second holding portion 65 are positioned at the lowered position at the time shown in FIG. 9(a). Therefore, the first workpiece 2a is held on the feed rail 63 by coming into contact with the first holding portion 64 from the upstream side. The second workpiece 2 b is held on the feed rail 63 by being pressed against the feed rail 63 by the second holding portion 65 .

Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the first holding portion 64 rises from the lowered position. As a result, the first work 2a slides on the feed rail 63, stops in contact with the first support 61, and is aligned in the work alignment area 60A.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, the spacer supply unit 66 arranges the spacers S from the upstream side of the first works 2a aligned on the feed rail. At this time, the spacer S is arranged so as to contact the first work 2a from the upstream side.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9D, the first holding portion 64 is lowered to the lowered position, and then the second holding portion 65 is raised from the lowered position. Thereby, the second work 2b, the third work 2c, . . . held by the second holding portion 65 slide on the feed rail. Then, the second work 2b, the third work 2c, . . . be.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9(e), the second holding portion 65 is lowered to the lowered position. As a result, the third work 2 c is pressed by the second holding portion 65 and held on the feed rail 63 .

Next, as shown in FIG. 9(f), the first holding portion 64 rises from the lowered position. As a result, the second work 2b slides on the feed rail 63 and then comes into contact with the spacer S, which is in contact with the first work 2a aligned in the work alignment area 60A, from the upstream side and stops. , are aligned in the work alignment area 60A. As a result, the first work 2a and the second work 2b are aligned in the work alignment area 60A so as to be separated from each other by a predetermined pitch (the dimension of the spacer S along the feed rail 63). After that, the robot 40 simultaneously grips the first workpiece 2a and the second workpiece 2b by gripping portions 422a and 422b provided in the robot hand 42, and then moves the first workpiece 2a and the second workpiece 2b to the mold. It moves to the main body 3 and simultaneously fits the first work 2a and the second work 2b to the fitting positions 31a and 31b respectively.

[Modification]
FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the bottom surface of the robot hand 90 according to the modified example of the first embodiment. Four gripping portions 90a, 90b, 90c, and 90d for gripping the workpiece 4 according to the modification are provided on the lower surface of the robot hand 90. As shown in FIG. As will be described later, the work 4 according to this modified example is configured as a flat plate having a substantially q-shape.

Each of the gripping portions 90 a , 90 b , 90 c , and 90 d is configured as a laterally inverted substantially q-shaped outer circumferential recess into which each workpiece 4 is fitted. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the gripping portions 90a and 90b are spaced apart at a predetermined pitch P1, and the gripping portions 90c and 90d are spaced apart at a predetermined pitch P1. The gripping portions 90a and 90c are spaced apart at a predetermined pitch P2, and the gripping portions 90b and 90d are spaced apart at a predetermined pitch P2. The pitches P1 and P2 are set to be equal to the pitch P _M of the plurality of fitting positions according to this modification. A suction pad may be provided on each of the gripping portions 90a, 90b, 90c, and 90d. Further, contact portions for centering the workpiece 4 may be provided on the respective gripping portions 90a, 90b, 90c, and 90d.

11A is a perspective view showing the appearance of the feeder 60 according to the modification of the first embodiment, and FIG. 11B is a side view showing the appearance of the feeder 60 according to the modification of the first embodiment.

The feeder 60 has a pedestal 93, an elevation mechanism 94, and four columns 92a, 92b, 92c, 92d. The pedestal 93 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape substantially parallel to the XY plane. Four columns 92 a , 92 b , 92 c , and 92 d are erected to extend in the Z-axis direction at each position of a matrix of 2 rows×2 columns on the upper surface of the pedestal 93 . On the upper side of the pedestal 93, an up-down mechanism 94 is provided which has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape substantially parallel to the XY plane and through which four struts 92a, 92b, 92c, and 92d are inserted. The vertical movement mechanism 94 is configured to be vertically movable in the Z-axis direction relative to the pedestal 93 and the four columns 92a, 92b, 92c, and 92d by a drive motor (not shown). The workpiece 4 according to this modification is configured as a flat plate having a substantially q-shape, and has an opening 4T through which any one of the supports 92a, 92b, 92c, and 92d can be inserted. As a result, each of the pillars 92a, 92b, 92c, and 92d is inserted into the opening 4T, and a plurality of workpieces 4 can be stacked in the Z-axis direction on each of the pillars 92a, 92b, 92c, and 92d. It becomes possible.

Each of the pillars 92a, 92b, 92c, and 92d is an example of a positioning portion, and can align a plurality of works 4 so as to be spaced apart at a predetermined pitch. That is, as shown in FIG. 11A, the two works 4 inserted through the struts 92a and 92b are spaced apart at a pitch P1, and the two works 4 passed through the struts 92c and 92d are separated from each other. are separated by a predetermined pitch P1. The two works 4 passed through the struts 92a and 92c are spaced apart at a predetermined pitch P2, and the two works 4 passed through the struts 92b and 92d are spaced apart at a predetermined pitch P2. They are spaced apart via a pitch P2.

In this modification, a robot hand 90 having a lower surface shown in FIG. It is possible to fit in the matching position. Thereby, it becomes possible to fit four workpieces 4 simultaneously and accurately. Further, when the workpiece 4 is gripped by the robot hand 90 and removed from the feeder 60, the vertical mechanism 94 moves by a predetermined height in the positive Z-axis direction. As a result, four works 4 are newly supplied to the top of the feeder 60 , so that the robot hand 90 can grip the four works 4 again.

The embodiments and modifications described above are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to be construed as limiting the present invention. Each element included in the embodiment and its arrangement, materials, conditions, shape, size, etc. are not limited to those illustrated and can be changed as appropriate. Also, it is possible to partially replace or combine the configurations shown in different embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Robot system, 2... Work, 2a... First work, 2b... Second work, 2c... Third work, 3... Mold body, 4... Work, 4T... Opening, 21... Long plate, 22... Short Flat plate 30 Control device 31 Fitting position 31a Fitting position 31b Fitting position 32 Second recess 40 Robot 41 Robot arm 42 Robot hand 50 Control device 51 Start position acquisition unit 52 Target position acquisition unit 53 Planned route acquisition unit 54 Control command acquisition unit 60 Feeder 60A Work alignment area 60S Work supply area 61 First support , 62... second support, 63... feed rail, 63D... groove, 64... first holding part, 65... second holding part, 66... spacer supply part, 70... container, 80... pedestal, 81... upper pedestal, 82... lower stand, 83... strut, 90... robot hand, 90a... gripping part, 90b... gripping part, 90c... gripping part, 90d... gripping part, 92a... strut, 92b... strut, 92c... strut, 92d... strut, 93 Pedestal 94 Vertical mechanism 412 Link 413 Joint 414 Series elastic actuator 414A Drive section 414E Elastic body 414S Sensor 421 Suction nozzle 422 Grasping section 422a Grasping Part 422b... Gripping part 424... Contact part 425... Contact part 426... Suction pad 43... Base P1... Pitch P2... Pitch P _M ... Pitch _PR ... Pitch S... Spacer

Claims (11)

A gripping device for a robot, comprising:
A plurality of gripping portions corresponding to each of a plurality of objects to be fitted,
The plurality of gripping portions are spaced apart at a predetermined pitch,
gripping device. 2. The gripping device according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of gripping portions have abutting portions with which said plurality of fitted objects abut. 3. The gripping device according to claim 2, wherein the abutment portion is tapered. 4. The gripping device according to claim 2, wherein said contact portion has a fine movement mechanism capable of adjusting the dimension of said gripping portion. a robot arm;
a gripping device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 mounted on the robot arm;
A robot with 6. A robot according to claim 5, comprising a series elastic actuator provided on said robot arm. a gripping device according to any one of claims 1 to 4;
a robot arm;
A system comprising a feeder,
The robot system, wherein the feeder is configured to align the plurality of fitted objects with the predetermined pitch therebetween. 8. The robot according to claim 7, wherein the feeder is configured to align the plurality of fitted objects in a state of being spaced apart from each other at the predetermined pitch by bringing the plurality of fitted objects into contact with predetermined positioning portions. system. A fitting method for fitting a plurality of objects to be fitted into a plurality of fitting positions separated by a predetermined pitch using a robot,
a step of gripping the plurality of fitted objects aligned at the predetermined pitch with a plurality of grippers spaced apart at the predetermined pitch provided in a gripping device provided in the robot;
a step of fitting the plurality of fitted objects gripped by the gripping device at the plurality of fitting positions by a robot arm of the robot;
Mating method including. A robot control method comprising a gripping device and a robot arm to which the gripping device is attached,
a step of gripping a plurality of fitted objects aligned at a predetermined pitch with a plurality of gripping portions spaced apart at the predetermined pitch provided in the gripping device;
a step of fitting the plurality of fitted objects gripped by the gripping device to a plurality of fitting positions spaced apart at the predetermined pitch by the robot arm;
Control method including. A control device for controlling a robot comprising a gripping device and a robot arm to which the gripping device is mounted, the control device comprising a computer,
a step of gripping a plurality of fitted objects aligned at a predetermined pitch with a plurality of gripping portions spaced apart at the predetermined pitch provided in the gripping device;
a step of fitting the plurality of fitted objects gripped by the gripping device to a plurality of fitting positions spaced apart at the predetermined pitch by the robot arm;
A computer program that generates control instructions for executing

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