JP2023178912A - Robot, and article pickup system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a robot and an article pickup system that efficiently conduct operation of a weighing apparatus and a robot.SOLUTION: There is provided a robot which arranges picked-up articles on weighing units, relative to a weighing apparatus having the plurality of weighing units. The robot comprises: a robot body; at least one arm member; and a controller for controlling pickup operation of the articles using the arm member. The controller can implement the pickup operation by being interlocked with driving of the weighing apparatus.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a robot and an article pickup system.

Patent Document 1 discloses a robot that drives an arm member, picks up noodle products stored in a bar with tongs provided at the tip of the arm member, and places them on a weighing tray.

Patent No. 6680387

In Patent Document 1, since the robot and the measuring section are separate devices, these operations are performed separately. However, since the robot and the weighing section work together, they are required to perform operations efficiently rather than separately.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a robot and an article pickup system that can efficiently operate a weighing device and a robot.

The robot according to the first aspect of the present invention is a robot that places picked-up articles in a weighing device for a weighing device having a plurality of weighing sections, and includes a robot main body, at least one arm member, A control unit that controls a pickup operation of the article by the arm member, and the control unit is configured to be able to execute the pickup operation in conjunction with driving the weighing device.

A robot according to a second aspect of the present invention is the robot according to the first aspect, wherein the control section is configured to interlock the driving of the weighing device and the robot.

In the robot according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the robot according to the second aspect, the control unit is configured to stop the pickup operation when the weighing device stops driving.

In the robot of the present invention according to a fourth aspect, in the robot according to the second or third aspect, the control section is configured to start the pickup operation when the weighing device starts driving. ing.

The robot of the present invention according to a fifth aspect is the robot according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, further comprising an input unit for controlling driving of the robot,
When the control section receives an input to start the pick-up operation from the input section, the control section is configured to start the pick-up operation regardless of the driving state of the weighing device.

The robot of the present invention according to a sixth aspect is the robot according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, further comprising an input unit for controlling the drive of the robot, and the control unit is configured to input the input When receiving an input to stop the pickup operation by the control section, the control section is configured to stop the pickup operation regardless of the driving state of the weighing device.

A robot of the present invention according to a seventh aspect is the robot according to any one of the second to third aspects, further comprising a switching means for switching ON/OFF of interlocking with the weighing device.

An article pickup system of the present invention according to an eighth aspect includes the robot according to any one of the second to seventh aspects, and the weighing device having a plurality of the weighing sections.

According to the present invention, the weighing device and the robot can operate efficiently.

1 is a plan view of a pickup system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a certain posture of a first robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a certain posture of the first robot. It is a perspective view of an end effector. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically representing a first arm member. It is a top view which shows the preliminary operation by a 1st arm member. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a noodle product pick-up operation by the first arm member. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a noodle product pick-up operation by the first arm member. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a noodle product pick-up operation by the first arm member. It is a front view which shows the state before the 1st rotation operation of a 1st arm member. It is a front view which shows the 1st rotation operation of a 1st arm member. It is a front view which shows the 2nd rotation operation of a 1st arm member. FIG. 7 is a front view showing a vertical movement operation of the first arm member. FIG. 6 is a side view showing an operation of arranging noodle products by the first arm member. FIG. 6 is a side view showing an operation of arranging noodle products by the first arm member. FIG. 6 is a side view showing an operation of arranging noodle products by the first arm member.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which an article pickup system according to the present invention is applied to a noodle product pickup system will be described below with reference to the drawings. The noodle products mentioned here include, for example, pasta, udon, and soba noodles. 1 is a plan view of the pickup system according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a partial side view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of FIG. 1 (however, one robot is omitted). ). In the following, when explaining the conveyance device, the explanation will be made according to the directions shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. Furthermore, when explaining the robot, the explanation will be given in the direction shown in FIG. 5, which will be described later. However, the present invention is not limited to these directions, and can be set in various directions.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the pickup system according to the present embodiment includes a first robot 100, a second robot 200, and a noodle product N conveying device 300. The conveyance device 300 includes a plurality of weighing conveyors 311 to 317, 321 to 327, a first conveyor 33 that conveys the noodle products N supplied from each of the weighing conveyors 311 to 317, 321 to 327, A second conveyor 34 that conveys the noodle product N supplied from the noodle product N is provided. This transfer device 300 is placed between two robots 100 and 200. Between each robot 100, 200 and the conveyance device 300, storage members 41, 42 each containing a noodle product N are arranged. Each robot 100, 200 picks up a predetermined amount of noodle products N from the storage members 41, 42 and places them on one of the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327. The noodle products N placed on the weighing conveyors 311 to 317, 321 to 327 are supplied to the first conveyor 33 and conveyed, and then transferred to the second conveyor 34 for conveyance. . Below, the transport device 300 will be explained in detail first, and then the robots 100 and 200 will be explained in detail.

<1. Conveyance device>
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the conveyance device 300 has a pair of weighing conveyor groups 301 and 302 arranged apart in the left-right direction, and each weighing conveyor group 301 and 302 has a plurality of weighing conveyor groups 301 and 302, respectively. Weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 are provided. A first conveyor 33 extending in the front-rear direction is arranged between the weighing conveyor groups 301 and 302, and a second conveyor 34 extending in the left-right direction is arranged at the front end side of the first conveyor 33. Furthermore, an operation display 35 is arranged at the rear end side of the left weighing conveyor group 302. The operation of each of these devices is controlled by a control device (not shown).

Hereinafter, the weighing conveyor group on the right side of the first transport conveyor 33 will be referred to as a first weighing conveyor group 301, and the weighing conveyor group on the left side will be referred to as a second weighing conveyor group 302. The first robot 100 is placed on the right side of the first weighing conveyor group 301, and the noodle product N picked up by the first robot 100 is placed on one of the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 of the first weighing conveyor group 301. On the other hand, the second robot 200 is placed on the left side of the second weighing conveyor group 302, and the noodle product N picked up by the second robot 200 is placed on one of the weighing conveyors 321 to 327 of the second weighing conveyor group 302. Ru. Since the first weighing conveyor group 301 and the second weighing conveyor group 302 are arranged symmetrically and have substantially the same configuration, the first weighing conveyor group 301 will be mainly described below.

<1-1. Weighing conveyor group>
The first weighing conveyor group 301 includes a plurality of weighing conveyors 311 to 317 arranged in the front-rear direction. In this embodiment, seven weighing conveyors 311 to 317 are provided as an example, but for convenience of explanation, the weighing conveyors arranged from the front to the back are referred to as the first to seventh weighing conveyors 311 to 317, respectively. It shall be called. However, since each of the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 has substantially the same configuration, the first weighing conveyor 311 will be described below.

The first weighing conveyor 311 is constituted by a belt conveyor supported by a weight sensor (not shown) such as a load cell. The conveyance direction of the belt conveyor is the left-right direction, and the loaded noodle products N are conveyed to the first conveyor 33 disposed on the left side. Further, the weight of the noodle product N placed thereon is measured by the weight sensor, and the measured value (analog weight signal) is converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter and sent to the control device.

<1-2. Conveyor >
The first conveyor 33 is constituted by a belt conveyor, and conveys the noodle products N supplied from each of the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327 forward. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the first conveyor 33 is arranged below each weighing conveyor group 301, 302. Further, a second conveyor 34 extending in the left-right direction is arranged at the front end of the first conveyor 33, and the noodle product N conveyed by the first conveyor 33 is transferred to the second conveyor 34. . Therefore, the second conveyor 34 is arranged below the first conveyor 33. The second conveyor 34 is constituted by a belt conveyor, and circulates in the left-right direction. Trays 341 are fixed on this belt conveyor at predetermined intervals in the conveyance direction. Each tray 341 is conveyed to the right side when it is above the circulating belt conveyor, and is conveyed to the left side when it is below the belt conveyor. That is, each tray 341 circulates in the left and right direction together with the belt conveyor. A collection container 38 is arranged on the right side of the second conveyor 34. The noodle products N accommodated in each tray 341 are packed into bags in the collection container 38 and collected.

The control device is composed of, for example, a microcontroller, and has an arithmetic control section composed of a CPU or the like, and a storage section composed of memories such as RAM and ROM. The storage unit stores various data such as operating programs and measurement data. Note that the control device may be configured by a single control device that performs centralized control, or may be configured by a plurality of control devices that cooperate with each other to perform distributed control.

In the control device, the arithmetic and control section executes an operating program stored in the storage section, thereby controlling the entire conveying device. For example, the weight values measured by each weight sensor are acquired as digital values via the A/D converter at any time, and are stored in the storage unit if necessary. Further, the control device controls the conveyance operation of each of the weighing conveyors 311 to 317, 321 to 327 and each of the conveyance conveyors 33 and 34 via the conveyor drive circuit section. Furthermore, the control device receives signals from the operation display 35 and outputs signals such as data to be displayed on the operation display 35.

The operation display 35 includes, for example, a touch screen display (display device), and on the screen of this display, operations such as starting and stopping the operation of the transport device 300, setting of operation parameters, etc. can be performed. Further, the results of operation (control) by the control device can be displayed on the display screen. Further, the control device is configured to transmit a start signal or a stop signal to the robots 100, 200 when the operation display 35 starts or stops the operation of the transport device 300.

<1-3. Operation of transport device>
Next, an example of the operation of the transport device 300 configured as described above will be described. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the robots 100 and 200 perform work of supplying (placing) noodle products N to the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327 on which no noodle products N are placed while the conveyance is stopped.

The control device acquires the weighing values of each weight sensor from the A/D converter at fixed time intervals, and controls the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327 to which the noodle products N are supplied based on the weighing values of the weight sensors. At the same time, the weight value of the noodle product N is also recognized. Here, when recognizing the weighing conveyors 311 to 317, 321 to 327 to which the noodle products N are supplied, the measured value (weight value) is compared with a preset reference range, and if the measured value is within the reference range. If so, it is determined that an appropriate amount of noodle product N is being supplied. In this case, the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327 are driven at predetermined timing to convey the loaded noodle products N to the first conveyor 33. If the measured value is less than the first reference value, which is smaller than the reference range, it is determined that the noodle product N has not been supplied. In this case, the robots 100, 200 place the noodle products N on the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327. If the measured value is greater than or equal to the first reference value and less than the lower limit of the reference range, it is determined that the number of noodle products N to be placed has not reached a predetermined amount, and the robots 100 and 200 add noodle products N. On the other hand, if the measured value exceeds the reference range, it is determined that an excessive number of noodle products N are placed, and the robots 100 and 200 are controlled to remove a portion of the noodle products N that have been placed. In addition, a collection lane extending in the front-rear direction is arranged between the first weighing conveyor group 301 and the storage member 41, that is, on the opposite side of the first conveyor 33, so that the measured value of the noodle products N exceeds the standard range. The removal control can also be performed by driving the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 to convey the noodle product N to the collection lane.

In the above control, the control device sequentially transmits the results of weighing on each of the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327 to the control devices of the robots 100 and 200. As a result, each robot 100, 200 can select a weighing conveyor with an appropriate amount of noodle products N, a weighing conveyor with no noodle products N, a weighing conveyor with an insufficient amount of noodle products N, and a weighing conveyor with an insufficient amount of noodle products N. It is possible to recognize weighing conveyors that are placed in excess. Therefore, the robots 100, 200 can be controlled depending on the status of each weighing conveyor 311-317, 321-327. For example, each robot 100, 200 can detect the nearest weighing conveyor on which no noodle product N is placed, and place noodle products N in order from that weighing conveyor.

Next, the control device transports the noodle products N from each of the weighing conveyors 311 to 317, 321 to 327 to the first transport conveyor 33 at a predetermined timing. Since the trays 341 are arranged at predetermined intervals on the second transport conveyor 34 located downstream of the first transport conveyor 33, the trays 341 are transferred from the first transport conveyor 33 to the second transport conveyor 34 at predetermined intervals. It is necessary to supply noodle product N. Therefore, the noodle products N need to be arranged on the first conveyor 33 at predetermined intervals.

For this control, the control device drives the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327, on which an appropriate amount of noodle products N within a reference range are placed, at a predetermined timing to convey them onto the first conveyor 33. Then, the control device causes the noodle products N supplied from each of the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327 to be arranged on the first conveyor 33 at predetermined intervals. Therefore, each weighing conveyor 311-317, 321-327 is stopped until the timing specified by the control device even if an appropriate amount of noodle products N are placed.

The noodle products N supplied to the first conveyor 33 are supplied to the tray of the second conveyor 34 downstream. The noodle products N on each tray 341 are then sequentially packed into bags by, for example, a worker, and sequentially collected into a collection container 38 on the right side of the second transport conveyor 34.

<2. Robot>
The first and second robots 100 and 200 used in this embodiment are the same, and are robots that imitate the upper body of a human. Each robot 100, 200 is arranged on bases 45, 46 adjacent to housing members 41, 42. Since the first and second robots 100 and 200 have the same structure, the first robot 100 will be described below.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a certain posture of the first robot according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing a certain posture of the first robot.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the first robot 100 has a body 101, a head 102, and a pair of arm members 103 and 104. A head 102 is provided at the upper end of the body 101 and is rotatable around an axis in the vertical direction. Further, a first camera 105 is provided on the upper part of the body 101 to take pictures of the lower part. It has become. That is, the camera 105 photographs the noodle product N inside the storage member 41 and calculates the portion to be picked up. Further, the head 102 is provided with a second camera 106 having the same function as the first camera. These first and second cameras 105 and 106 may be digital cameras equipped with image sensors using CCD (Charge-Coupled Device), CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), etc., or RGB cameras capable of measuring depth. -D camera etc. may be used. The pickup of the noodle product N will be described later. In this embodiment, the body 101 and the head 102 correspond to the robot body of the present invention.

A first arm member 103 is provided on the right side of the body 101, and a second arm member 104 is provided on the left side. Since these arm members 103 and 104 have the same structure and differ only in being symmetrical, the first arm member 103 will be described below.

<2-1. Arm member>
The first arm member 103 has multiple joints having degrees of freedom in seven axes. This first arm member 103 is a general manipulator, and is a joint that connects a link, which is a skeletal member that does not move and is displaced integrally, and the links, and that displaces the connected links relative to each other based on a predetermined rotation axis. and alternately. Further, an end effector (grip portion) 3 is provided at the tip of the arm member 103.

The first arm member 103 has a built-in servo motor in each joint, and is connected via a signal line to a control device 108 that controls the rotation angle of the servo motor. The control device 108 may be built into the first robot 100 or may be externally attached. Further, the control device 108 may be a device that is connected via a communication network such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network) and provides services on a so-called cloud. The servo motor in this embodiment may not have a built-in brake, for example.

The material of each link 11 to 17, etc. is not particularly limited, and resin, metal, carbon, etc. can be used. Further, the molding method is not particularly limited, and may be manufactured by plastic working or injection molding, or may be formed using a 3D printer.

Next, the detailed structure of the first arm member 103 will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the first arm member 103 has seven links 11 to 17 and seven joints 21 to 27 that connect them. Specifically, the first link 11 is a part of the torso 101 (shoulder part), the first joint 21 is connected to one end of the first link 11, and the first link 11 is connected to the first link 11 through the first joint 21. a second link 12 to which one end is connected; a second joint 22 to which the other end of the second link 12 is connected; and a third link 13 to which one end is connected to the second link 12 via the second joint 22. , a third joint 23 connected to the other end of the third link 13, a fourth link 14 whose one end is connected to the third link 13 via the third joint 23, and a fourth link 14 connected to the other end of the fourth link 14. a fifth link 15 whose one end is connected to the fourth link 14 via the fourth joint 24; a fifth joint 25 which is connected to the other end of the fifth link 15; The sixth link 16 has one end connected to the fifth link 15 via the joint 25, the sixth joint 26 connects to the other end of the sixth link 16, and the sixth link 16 connects to the sixth link 16 via the sixth joint 26. It has a seventh link 17 to which one end is connected, and a seventh joint 27 to which the other end of the seventh link 17 is connected.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the end effector provided at the tip of the arm member. As shown in FIG. 7, an end effector (gripping portion) 3 configured with a two-finger gripper is provided at the tip of the seventh joint 27. The seventh joint 27 is a joint rotatable around a rotation axis S extending in the axial direction of the seventh link 17, and the two-finger gripper includes a support portion 31 rotatably connected to the seventh joint 27, and a support portion 31 rotatably connected to the seventh joint 27. A pair of gripping members 32 and 33 are provided in the support portion 31 and are arranged with the rotation axis S therebetween. The end portions of each of the gripping members 32, 33 are swingably connected to the support portion 31, so that the tip portions of both the gripping members 32, 33 can move toward and away from each other. Therefore, the noodle product N can be gripped by both the gripping members 32 and 33. Note that the gripping members 32 and 33 can be swung by a servo motor or the like. Moreover, the gripping members 32 and 33 can be configured by, for example, tongs that can easily grip the noodle product N.

FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing the first arm member 103. The first arm member 103 shown in FIG. 8 includes first to seventh links 11 to 17, first to seventh joints 21 to 27 connecting the links, and an end effector 3, and is connected to a control device 108. There is. Further, the fourth link 14 includes a first coupling portion 141 , and the sixth link 16 includes a second coupling portion 161 . In FIG. 10, links are represented by thick straight lines, and joints are represented by bicones or double circles (ellipses). A bicone represents a joint in which the rotational axis of a motor coincides with the central axis of a connected link, and rotates the connected link. That is, a joint represented by a bicone rotates the links connected to the vertices of the cone relative to each other around an axis (not shown) that connects the vertices of the cone, as shown by the dashed-dotted arrow. Note that a joint that rotates a connected link is also referred to as a "rotation joint" for convenience. Moreover, the double circle represents a joint that does not coincide with the central axis of the link to which the rotation axis of the motor is connected, and causes the link connected to the rotation axis to perform a pivoting motion (rotation). That is, the joints shown by the double circles rotate the links connected to each circle around a perpendicular line (not shown) passing through the center of the circle, as shown by the two-dot chain arrow. Note that a joint that rotates a connected link is also referred to as a "swivel joint" for convenience. In this way, the robot arm according to the present embodiment alternately includes rotary joints (joints 21, 23, 25, 27) and swivel joints (joints 22, 24, 26).

Control device 108 includes a processor 181 and a storage device 182. The processor 181 is an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and controls the operation of the first robot 100 by executing a program. The storage device 182 shown in FIG. 8 includes a main storage device such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory), and a main storage device such as HDD (Hard-disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), and flash memory. It is an auxiliary storage device (secondary storage device). The main storage device temporarily stores programs read out by the processor and secures a work area for the processor. The auxiliary storage device stores programs and the like executed by the processor. Note that the processor 181 and the storage device 182 may be a microcontroller with a built-in memory.

Further, the robots 100, 200 are provided with an operation panel (input section), which is not shown, and the robots 100, 200 can be started or stopped using this operation panel. That is, the control device 108 operates the robots 100, 200 based on input to the operation panel. Further, this operation panel is provided with a button (switching means) for switching ON/OFF of interlocking between the transport device and the robot.

<2-2. Robot movements>
Next, the operation of the first robot 100 picking up the noodle product N and arranging the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 19. Hereinafter, the operation of picking up the noodle product N from the storage member 41 will be referred to as a pick-up operation, and the operation of moving the picked-up noodle product N to the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and placing it on the weighing conveyor will be referred to as a placement operation. Furthermore, these operations may be collectively referred to as a pickup operation.

In the following pickup operation, the first arm member 103 is operated by driving at least one of the above-mentioned joints 21 to 27. Therefore, as long as the first arm member 103 performs the operations described below, the joints 21 to 27 to be driven are not particularly limited. Further, although the operation of the first arm member 103 will be described below, the second arm member 104 also operates in the same manner. In this embodiment, the first arm member 103 places the noodle products N on the fifth to seventh weighing conveyors 315 to 317, and the second arm member 104 places the noodle products N on the first to fourth weighing conveyors 311 to 314. It is assumed that the settings are set so that .

First, the first robot 100 takes an image of the noodle product N inside the storage member 41 using the camera 105, and specifies the parts into which the gripping members 32 and 33 are to be inserted. For example, the depth can be calculated from the image of the noodle product N using the camera 105, and the part where the height of the noodle product N from the bottom surface of the storage member 41 is highest can be specified as the insertion location. Next, as shown in FIG. 9, with the gripping members 32 and 33 separated from each other, the end effector 3 is rotated by a predetermined angle from the initial position to one side (hereinafter referred to as the positive side) (for example, 90 to 180 degrees). (hereinafter referred to as the first angle, and this operation is referred to as the preliminary rotation). Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the end effector 3 is inserted into the noodle product N from this state. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 11, the gripping members 32 and 33 are brought close to each other to grip the noodle product N, and the end effector 3 is raised to a predetermined height. At this time, as shown in FIG. 12, the attitude of the first arm member 103 is adjusted so that the rotation axis S of the end effector 3 has a predetermined inclination θ from the horizontal direction H. For example, in many noodle products, this slope θ is preferably -80 degrees to +80 degrees, more preferably -40 degrees to +45 degrees. Note that, for example, -45 degrees here is an angle that is 45 degrees downward from the horizontal direction H, and +45 degrees is an angle that is 45 degrees above the horizontal direction H.

Next, the end effector 3 is rotated approximately twice the first angle to the side opposite to the positive side (hereinafter referred to as the negative side) so that the state shown in FIG. 13 becomes the state shown in FIG. (referred to as the first rotation operation). At this time, in the end effector 3, the noodle products N are hanging from the gripping members 32 and 33 on the positive side and the negative side, but all the noodle products N are gripped by the gripping members 32 and 33. Not for nothing, some of the noodle products N may become entangled with the noodle products N held by the gripping members 32 and 33. Therefore, by rotating the end effector 3 in the minus side, downward acceleration can be applied to the noodle products N hanging on the minus side from the gripping members 32 and 33, so that the noodle products N entangled on the minus side can be shaken off. It can be dropped.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 14, the end effector 3 is rotated approximately twice the first angle in the positive direction (hereinafter referred to as a second rotation operation). Thereby, downward acceleration can be applied to the noodle products N hanging on the plus side from the gripping members 32 and 33, so that the noodle products N entangled on the plus side can be shaken off.

Thereafter, by moving the end effector 3 up and down, the entangled noodle products N are further shaken off (hereinafter referred to as up and down movement operation). For example, it is preferable to move the end effector 3 up and down about two to three times. At this time, as shown in FIG. 15, the end effector 3 is lowered by a predetermined distance from the initial position after the rotation operation described above, and then raised from the initial position as shown in FIG. 16. That is, in the process of raising the end effector 3, the end effector 3 is raised to a higher position than the highest point of the end effector 3 immediately before that. Thereby, the acceleration acting on the noodle products N when the end effector 3 is lowered can be increased, and the entangled noodle products N can be further shaken off. Note that the order in which the second rotation operation and the vertical movement operation are performed is not particularly limited, and may be performed in the opposite order to the above, or may be performed simultaneously.

In this way, when the work of shaking off the noodle product N is completed, the end effector 3 is moved to the weighing conveyor. As described above, the conveyance device 300 sequentially transmits to the first robot 100 the weighing conveyors on which the noodle product N is not placed among the first to seventh weighing conveyors 315 to 317. For example, when detecting that no noodle products N are placed on any of the fifth to seventh weighing conveyors 315 to 317 assigned to the first arm member 103, the Among the conveyors 315 to 317, the noodle product N is placed from the weighing conveyor closest to the first robot 100.

First, as shown in FIG. 17, the end effector 3 is turned upward (first turning operation). Thereby, it is possible to prevent the noodle products hanging downward from the gripping members 32 and 33 from interfering with the ends of the conveying device. Next, the first arm member 103 is moved to the target weighing conveyor side. As shown in FIG. 18, when the end effector 3 is located above the target weighing conveyor, the end effector 3 is rotated so that the operating direction (proximity and separation direction) of the gripping members 32 and 33 substantially coincides with the horizontal direction. Adjust the position. Then, as shown in FIG. 19, while rotating the end effector 3 downward above the target weighing conveyor (second rotating operation), the gripping members 32 and 33 are separated near the lowest point, and the noodle Product N is dropped onto the weighing conveyor. At this time, the end effector 3 is positioned above the front part of the weighing conveyor (transport conveyor side), and when it is turned downward while being slightly retracted from this position, the noodle products N are weighed in a U-shape. Can be placed on the conveyor.

In this way, when the noodle products N are placed on the weighing conveyors 315 to 317, the first arm member 103 is operated so that the end effector 3 moves above the storage member 41, and the next noodle product N is picked up. conduct. The second arm member 104 also performs the same operation as above. That is, the second arm member 104 picks up the noodle product N from the storage member 41 and places the noodle product N on any of the first to fourth weighing conveyors 311 to 314. Further, the second robot 200 performs a similar operation, picks up the noodle product N from the storage member 42, and places it on one of the weighing conveyors 321 to 327 of the second weighing conveyor group 302. The subsequent transportation of the noodle product N is as described above.

Note that if it is determined that the noodle products N placed on the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 are below the above-mentioned reference range, an additional pick-up operation can be performed. That is, depending on the weight of the weighed noodle products N, the insufficient amount of noodle products N is picked up from the storage member 41 and placed on the target weighing conveyor again. The method of picking up the noodle product N at this time is not particularly limited, and for example, the length of the gripping members 32 and 33 inserted into the noodle product N in the storage member 41 is made shorter than the specified length. The weight of the noodle product N can be adjusted.

Further, if the weight of the noodle products N on the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 exceeds the specified range, a part of the noodle products N placed on the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 is picked up by the gripping members 32 and 33. , the weight of the noodle product N can be reduced to within a specified range. At this time, the second camera 106 provided on the head 102 of the first robot 100 captures an image of the target noodle product N on the weighing conveyor, and similarly to the above, identifies the part where the noodle product N is to be picked up. . Then, based on the weighed weight of the noodle product N, the length of insertion of the gripping members 32 and 33 is adjusted, and a part of the noodle product N is picked up. As a result, when it is determined that the weight of the noodle product N on the weighing conveyor is within the reference range, the noodle product N is transported to the first transport conveyor 33 as described above.

In addition, if the noodle products N placed on the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 are not within the standard range, the noodle products N can also be collected. For example, a collection lane extending in the front-rear direction can be arranged between the first weighing conveyor group 301 and the storage member 41, that is, on the opposite side from the first conveyor 33. When it is determined that the weight of the noodle product N is not within the reference range, the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 are driven to transport the noodle product N to the collection lane. The collected noodle products N can be stored in the storage member 41. Or it can be discarded.

When the number of noodle products N in the storage member 41 becomes low, the storage member 41 can be directly replenished with noodle products N. In addition, since the housing member 41 is disposed between the transport device 300 and the first robot 100, it is movable in the front-back direction. Therefore, when the number of noodle products N in the storage member 41 decreases, the storage member 41 is moved either in the front or back direction, and instead, a replacement storage member filled with the noodle products N is moved from the front or rear direction. 1 robot 100. At this time, if the replacement housing member is operated to push out the housing member 41 in the front-rear direction, the efficiency of replenishing the noodle products N can be further improved. Further, in order to receive the noodle products N scattered during pickup, an empty receiving storage member can be arranged at least in one of the front and back directions of the storage member 41.

<2-3. Interlocking the movement of the transport device and robot>
In this embodiment, when the switching button on the operation panel of the robot 100, 200 is turned on, the operation of the transport device 300 and the operation of the robot 100, 200 are configured to be linked. For example, the following linkages can be defined.

(a) When the operation display 35 starts driving the transfer device 300, a start signal is sent to the robots 100, 200, and when the control device 108 of the robots 100, 200 receives this, the robots 100, 200 also start driving. Start.

(b) When the drive of the transport device 300 is stopped using the operation display 35, a stop signal is sent to the robots 100, 200, and when the control device 108 of the robots 100, 200 receives this, the robots 100, 200 are also driven. stops.

(c) Even if the stopped robots 100, 200 are started to be driven by the input unit, the transport device 300 is not interlocked with this, and the stopped transport device does not start driving.

(d) Even if the drive of the robots 100, 200 that are being driven is stopped by the input unit, the transport device 300 is not interlocked with this, and the transport device 300 that is currently being driven does not stop driving.

Note that when the switching button is OFF, the operation of the transfer device 300 and the operation of the robots 100 and 200 are configured not to be linked.

<3. Features＞
With the noodle product pickup system configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) As described in (a) to (c) above, by interlocking the operations of the transport device 300 and the robots 100 and 200, there are the following advantages.

According to (a) and (b), it is possible to start and stop driving the transport device 300 and the robot at the same time with one operation, so that the operation can be performed efficiently. Furthermore, for example, if only the robots 100 and 200 continue to operate when the transport device 300 stops, there is a risk that noodle products will continue to be placed on the stopped transport device 300, so if they are linked as shown in (b), , there are no such defects.

(c) and (d) allow the robots 100 and 200 to start and stop driving regardless of whether the transport device 300 is driven. For example, when the first robot 100 is stopped for maintenance, if a person performs the pick-up operation instead of the first robot 100, the transport device 300 continues to drive even if the first robot 100 is stopped. , the pick-up operation can be performed by a person. Further, since the second robot 200 continues to drive, the pickup operation by the second robot 200 can be continued without stopping. Furthermore, when the maintenance of the first robot 100 is completed and the first robot 100 can replace the person and perform the pick-up operation, even if the first robot 100 starts to be driven, the transfer device 300 The pickup operation by the second robot 200 continues without affecting the drive of the second robot 200. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a decrease in work efficiency.

Since the interlocking between the transport device 300 and the robots 100 and 200 can be canceled by a switching button, turning the switching button OFF can prevent the interlocking described in (a) and (b) from occurring. That is, the robots 100 and 200 can also be operated independently of the transport device 300. Note that it is also possible to not provide a switching button and to always have both 100, 200, and 300 interlocked.

(2) In this embodiment, the housing member 41 is arranged in front of the first robot 100, and the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 are further arranged in front of it. Therefore, after the first robot 100 picks up the noodle products N, if the arm members 103 and 104 are moved forward, the noodle products N can be placed on the weighing conveyors 311 to 317. Pick-up operations and placement operations can be performed without significantly changing the posture of the first robot 100. Therefore, the operation of picking up the noodle products N can be performed efficiently, and the working time can be shortened. Further, since the storage member 41 is arranged in front of the first robot 100, the noodle product N in the storage member 41 can be imaged while the first camera 105 of the first robot 100 remains fixed. Therefore, in this respect as well, the operation of picking up the noodle products N can be performed efficiently.

(3) In the present embodiment, in the pick-up operation, a first rotation operation, a second rotation operation, and an up-and-down movement operation are performed, and thereby the tangled noodle products N can be shaken off. The picked up noodle products N are moved to the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327, but during this process, there is a risk that the tangled noodle products N that are not gripped by the gripping members 32 and 33 may fall off. Therefore, by shaking off the entangled noodle products N before the arrangement operation as described above, it is possible to prevent the noodle products N from falling between the storage member 41 and the weighing conveyors 311 to 317, 321 to 327. can. Further, an appropriate amount of noodle products N can be placed on the weighing conveyor. Furthermore, when the entangled noodle products N fall during the arrangement operation and the noodle products N are arranged across a plurality of weighing conveyors, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the weighing conveyors cannot correctly complete the weighing operation.

(4) In the operation of arranging the noodle product N, the end effector 3 is rotated downward while the gripping members 32 and 33 are released from the gripping state, and thereby the inertia acting on the noodle product N can be standardized. This allows the noodle products N to be accurately placed on the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327.

(5) In this embodiment, since the noodle products N are placed from the weighing conveyor closest to the robot 100, the moving distance of the noodle products N can be shortened. Thereby, the risk of the noodle product N falling off can be reduced. Moreover, the efficiency of arranging the noodle products N can be improved, and the working time can be shortened.

<4. Modified example>
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit thereof. Note that the following modifications can be combined as appropriate. In addition, although either one of the robots or one of the arm members is described below, unless otherwise specified, it means that the invention is also applicable to the other robot or arm member.

(1) In the above embodiment, the robot 100 has multi-jointed arm members 103 and 104 having seven degrees of freedom, but the configuration of the robot 100 is not particularly limited. That is, the configuration of the arm members 103 and 104 is not particularly limited as long as the above-mentioned picking-up operation of the noodle product N can be performed, and the arm members 103 and 104 may have multiple joints other than 7 degrees of freedom. Furthermore, the number of robots is not particularly limited.

(2) In the above embodiment, in the pick-up operation, in order to shake off the noodle product N, before performing the first rotation operation, the end effector 3 is rotated in advance from the initial position to the positive side, and the noodle product Although the gripping member is inserted in the first rotation operation, the first rotation operation can be performed without performing this preliminary operation.

(3) In the above embodiment, in the pick-up operation, the first rotation operation, the second rotation operation, and the vertical movement operation are performed in order to shake off the noodle product N, but at least the first rotation operation is performed. For example, the entangled noodle products N can be shaken off. Therefore, the second rotation operation and the vertical movement operation are not necessarily required, and at least one of these can be added as necessary. Further, the rotation angle in each rotation operation is not particularly limited. Furthermore, the noodle products are not limited to these operations, and the noodle products can also be picked up by other operations.

(4) The arrangement operation of the noodle product N is not particularly limited, and may be other than that shown in the above embodiment. That is, if the gripped noodle products N can be placed on the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327, the arrangement operation of the noodle products N can be set as appropriate.

(5) In the above embodiment, the first arm member 103 of the first robot 100 is set to place the noodle products N on the fifth to seventh weighing conveyors 315 to 317, and the second arm member 104 is set to place the noodle products N on the fifth to seventh weighing conveyors 315 to 317. Although the settings are such that the noodle products N are placed on the fourth weighing conveyors 311 to 314, other settings may be used. For example, some weighing conveyors can be set so that the noodle product N can be placed on either the first arm member 103 or the second arm member 104. Thereby, the efficiency of arranging the noodle products N can be improved. It is appropriate for such a weighing conveyor to be placed near the first robot 100. For example, for the fourth weighing conveyor 314 (third weighing unit group), the first arm member 103 and the second arm It can be set so that the noodle product N can be placed anywhere with the member 104. As a result, for example, when one of two arm members sharing the closest placement position is placing an article on a weighing conveyor away from the robot, the other arm member may move the article to the nearest weighing conveyor. can be placed. Various configurations are possible for such an operation in which crossing of the arm members can be avoided depending on the structure of the arm members and the number of common arrangement positions.

(6) The configuration of the robot 100 is not particularly limited, and the body 101 and head 102 do not need to be clearly distinguishable, and at least arm members 103 and 104 and a robot body that supports them may be provided. Bye. Further, the positions of the cameras 105 and 106 are not particularly limited, and the cameras may only take images of the storage member 41, as long as the operation to pick up a part of the noodle product N whose weight exceeds the reference range is performed. Alternatively, the position of the noodle product N to be picked up in the storage member 41 can also be calculated using various sensors other than the camera. Further, the number of arm members is not particularly limited, and may be one or three or more.

(7) In the above embodiment, the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327 on which no noodle products N are placed are detected by the signal from the conveyance device 300, but this is detected by the camera of the robot 100, for example. You can also.

(8) In the above embodiment, the noodle products N are arranged from the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327 closest to the robot 100, but the invention is not limited thereto. In other words, the noodle product N may be placed at a location other than the weighing conveyor closest to the robot 100.

(9) The configuration of the conveyance device 300 is not particularly limited, and as long as it is configured to convey at least noodle products, other configurations can be added as necessary. For example, in the above embodiment, the noodle products N are placed on the weighing conveyor, but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, it may be any weighing unit that can measure the weight of the noodle product N, and may not be a conveyor. Therefore, for example, the noodle product N can also be placed on a tray whose weight can be measured. Furthermore, after weighing, the tray can be tilted and fed to a conveyor.

(10) In the above embodiment, the robots 100, 200 are combined with the transport device 300, but the equipment to be combined with the robots 100, 200 is not particularly limited, and the robot can also be used alone. That is, the robot 100 may be configured to pick up the noodle product N and place it in a predetermined position, such as a tray.

(11) When interlocking the transport device and the robot, it is not necessary to perform all of the above-mentioned interlocks (a) to (d); for example, any one of (a) and (b) may be used.

(12) In the above embodiment, the driving of the robots 100, 200 is mainly linked to the driving of the transport device 300, but the transport device 300 may also be linked to the driving of the robots 100, 200. can. For example, if there are multiple types of articles, it is possible to specify the weighing conveyor into which each article is introduced. For example, a mixed weighing mode can be set in which articles A are placed on the first to fourth weighing conveyors 311 to 314 and articles B are placed on the fifth to seventh weighing conveyors 315 to 316. In this case, when the mixed weighing mode is selected in the robots 100 and 200, this is transmitted to the transport device 300, and the mixed weighing mode is set in the transport device 300. Thereby, for example, the first to fourth weighing conveyors 311 to 314 and the fifth to seventh weighing conveyors 315 to 317 can be set to have different weighing values when carrying out conveyance.

Further, the setting of the amount placed on the weighing conveyor can be changed depending on the article (for example, food). For example, when an article is selected by the robot 100 or 200, a pre-registered placement amount setting value can be transmitted to the transport device 300. Thereby, each weighing conveyor of the transport device 300 can transport based on the set arrangement amount.

(13) In the above embodiment, the robot is applied to pick up the noodle product N, but the robot is not limited to this, and in addition to noodle products, foods such as bean sprouts, kanpyo, namul, kinpira, electrical parts such as cords, etc. In addition, it can be applied to elongated and flexible string-like members, strips, and rod-like members such as threads and strings. Furthermore, other than these may be used, and the arm member can be used for all kinds of articles that can be conveyed.

(14) In the above embodiment, the control device supplies the noodle products N from the first conveyor 33 to the second conveyor 34 at predetermined intervals; 311 to 317 and 321 to 327 are driven at an arbitrary timing to convey the corresponding noodle product N to the first conveyor 33, and the second conveyor is moved so that the noodle product N conveyed from the first conveyor 33 enters the tray The conveyor 34 may also be driven.

(15) In the above embodiment (paragraph 0029), the control device 36 drives the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327, on which an appropriate amount of noodle products N in the reference range are arranged, at a predetermined timing, and The noodle products N are conveyed onto the conveyor 33, but are not limited thereto. A combination calculation is performed based on the weighed value of each noodle product N, and a combination of a plurality of weighing conveyors that is equal to or higher than a predetermined target weight and closest to the target weight is determined. They may be selected, driven at a predetermined timing, and transported so that they are placed at the same position on the first transport conveyor 33.

100 First robot 103 First arm member 104 Second arm member 200 Second robot 300 Transfer device (weighing device)
311-317, 321-327 Weighing conveyor (weighing section)

Claims (8)

A robot that places picked up articles in a weighing device for a weighing device having a plurality of weighing sections,
The robot body,
at least one arm member;
a control unit that controls a pickup operation of the article by the arm member;
Equipped with
The robot, wherein the control unit is configured to interlock driving of the weighing device and the robot. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to be able to execute the pickup operation in conjunction with driving of the weighing device. The robot according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to stop the pickup operation when the weighing device stops driving. The robot according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control section is configured to start the pick-up operation when the weighing device starts driving. further comprising an input unit for controlling the drive of the robot,
When the control unit receives an input from the input unit to start the pickup operation,
The robot according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control unit is configured to start the pickup operation regardless of the driving state of the weighing device. further comprising an input unit for controlling the drive of the robot,
When the control unit receives an input from the input unit to stop the pickup operation,
The robot according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control unit is configured to stop the pickup operation regardless of the driving state of the weighing device. The robot according to any one of claims 2 to 6, further comprising switching means for switching ON/OFF of interlocking with the weighing device. A robot according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
the measuring device having a plurality of the measuring parts;
It is equipped with
Goods pickup system.