JP4807654B2 - Article conveying manipulator and article conveying method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mechanism that prevents an article from dropping, and a hand equipped with the mechanism, in a transport manipulator that transports an article.

Usually, when stacking a substantially square-shaped article, it is packed as closely as possible with the previously stacked article. Therefore, as a conventional transport hand device with an article drop prevention device using a parallel hand that grips an article from the horizontal direction, for example, the one shown in FIG. 16 is used. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a hand device similar to that shown in FIG.
FIG. 16 shows a conventional hand configuration in this type of transfer manipulator. The hand device 30 includes a pair of parallel flat plates 34 and 35 that grip the article A from the horizontal direction (the left-right direction in the figure) and a movable receiving claw 37 that prevents the article from falling while the article A is being held. As shown in FIG. 16, when the articles are densely stacked, the thickness of the flat plate 34 is thin so as to be as close as possible to an obstacle such as an already placed article, and the frame base 31 of the hand 30 is also thin. It is fixed without moving it. The flat plate 35 moves in parallel in the direction in which the article is gripped, and closes when the article is conveyed and opens when the article is stacked. The movable receiving claw 37 provided on the movable flat plate 35 rotates about the shaft 42 by the operation of the receiving claw cylinder 40, and when the article is conveyed, the movable receiving claw 37 is positioned below the article and latches the lower surface thereof. Therefore, when the article is stacked, the movable receiving claw 37 moves to the non-article gripping side of the flat plate 35 so that it can be easily separated from the article and stacked at a predetermined place. As described above, the conventional transport hand device with the article fall prevention device is provided with the article fall prevention device on the movable flat plate side, so that when the article is transported, the article is packed closely without dropping the article. It can be attached.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-210584

As described above, the manipulator provided with the conventional transport hand with the article fall prevention device, when it is necessary to densely stack the articles, the movable catch nail 37 and the catch claws for preventing the articles from dropping. The cylinder 40 and the like are provided only on the movable plate 35 side. If a conventional fall prevention device is provided on the fixed flat plate 34 side, a space for mounting the receiving claw cylinder 40 and the shaft 42 in addition to the movable receiving claw 37 is required, and the articles cannot be densely stacked. is there. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 17, when two articles A are transported simultaneously, there is a problem that the articles on the fixed plate 34 side do not have a drop-preventing catch and the articles cannot be transported stably. It was. Further, as shown in FIG. 18, when the height dimension of the article A is thin, there is a problem that the article cannot be stably conveyed because the contact area with the flat plate is small.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and solves the above-described disadvantages, and stably transports a large number of articles without dropping them even when transporting many articles at the same time or when transporting thin articles. It is an object of the present invention to provide a manipulator including a transport hand with an article fall prevention device that allows the articles to be packed together and packed together.

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention is configured as follows.
The invention according to claim 1 is an article transporting manipulator that includes a hand device having at least a pair of gripping members, and sandwiches and transports articles by the pair of gripping members.
The hand device includes a base member coupled to a wrist member of the manipulator, and the pair of gripping members attached to the base member and sandwiching the article between each other, the pair of gripping members At least one of the fixed plate attached to the base member,
An L-shaped movable receiving claw in which the long portion is accommodated within the thickness of the fixed plate and the short portion protrudes from the lower end of the fixed plate is opposite to the side on which the fixed plate is attached. An actuator portion attached to the base member on the side and rotating a longitudinal portion about a longitudinal axis of the movable catch claw, wherein the actuator portion has a short portion of the movable catch claw arranged above and below the fixed plate. The other of the pair of gripping members is rotated between a position protruding from the surface of the fixed flat plate on the side sandwiching the article and a position within the thickness of the fixed flat plate as viewed from the direction. Is a movable flat plate that is operably mounted in a direction perpendicular to the fixed flat plate, facing the fixed flat plate, a fulcrum that rotatably supports the movable flat plate at the upper end of the movable flat plate, and the lower end of the movable flat plate at the lower end. Toward the fixed plate An L-shaped movable pawl arranged so as to protrude, and the movable flat plate moves and clamps in accordance with the size of the article with respect to the fixed flat plate, and the movable pawl operates. By doing so, the lower end of the article is held .
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the movable catch claws are provided with respect to the fixed flat plate.
The invention according to claim 3 is the article transporting method by the article transporting manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the hand device is configured such that the short part of the movable receiving claw is lower than the lower surface of the article. The article is held and lifted by the pair of gripping members, and the short portion of the movable receiving claw is protruded from the lower surface of the article by the actuator unit, so that the article is placed in a target stacking position. And the fixed plate is located on the side of the already stacked article, and a clearance is provided to allow the fixed plate to rise and fall with the already stacked article. While lowering the hand device,
The movable catch is rotated by the actuator unit to a position that fits within the plate thickness of the fixed flat plate, the article is stacked at the target stacking position, and the hand device is raised.

As described above, according to the present invention, when a large number of articles are conveyed at the same time, or even when conveying a thin article, the article can be stably conveyed without dropping, and the articles can be densely stacked. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, a manipulator including the hand of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a front view of a manipulator provided with a transfer hand device with an article fall prevention device of the present invention. FIG. 1A shows an overall view of the manipulator, and FIG. 1B shows details of a bottom view of the hand portion. In the figure, a transport hand device 30 with an article drop prevention device of the present invention is attached to a manipulator body 21. The manipulator main body 21 has been conventionally known, and a swivel base 24 is attached on a base 23 supported by a gantry 22, and a lower end portion of a lower arm 25 is connected to the swivel base 24. The rear end portion of the upper arm 26 is connected to the upper arm 26, and the wrist member 27 is provided at the distal end portion of the upper arm 26. FIG. 2 is a top view of the manipulator 20 in FIG.
Here, the swivel base 24 has a degree of freedom around the S axis, and is swung by a motor (not shown). The lower arm 25 has a degree of freedom around the L axis and is swung by a motor (not shown). Further, the upper arm 26 has a degree of freedom around the U axis and is swung in the vertical direction around the U axis by a motor (not shown). Further, the wrist member 27 has a degree of freedom around the B axis and the T axis, and is swung around the B axis by each of two motors incorporated in the upper arm 26, and the T axis is It is rotated around the center.
The manipulator 20 configured as described above is operated according to pre-registered data, and the position, angle, and posture of the wrist member 27 are controlled.

Next, the hand device of the present invention provided in the manipulator will be described.
4 to 6 show details of the hand device 30. FIG. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the hand device. FIG. 1B is a detailed view of FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view of the manipulator in FIG. 1 as viewed from the hand side. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the hand portion in FIG.
As illustrated, a vertical frame 32 and a horizontal frame 33 are attached to the frame base 31 connected to the wrist member 27 to ensure rigidity. A flat plate cylinder 39 and a linear rail 41 are attached to the horizontal frame 33 in parallel with the vertical frame 32, and an upper portion of the movable flat plate 35 is attached to the flat plate cylinder 39 and the linear rail 41. The movable flat plate 35 moves along the linear rail 41 by the operation of the flat plate cylinder 39. Note that an L-shaped movable receiving claw 37 is attached to the movable flat plate 35 with a shaft 42 as a fulcrum, and the movable receiving claw 37 rotates about the shaft 42 by the operation of the claw receiving cylinder 40. The lower end portion of the movable receiving claw 37 moves downward or outward from the article by rotation. This part has the same structure as the movable receiving claw of the conventional hand device.
Further, an upper portion of the fixed flat plate 34 is attached to one side of the horizontal frame 33. The fixed flat plate 34 accommodates a longitudinal portion of a rod-shaped movable receiving claw 36 having a substantially L shape within the thickness thereof, and an L-shaped short portion is disposed on the lower surface of the fixed flat plate 34. . A rotating shaft of a rotary actuator 38 for rotating the L-shaped longitudinal portion of the movable receiving claw 36 is attached to the upper end portion of the fixed flat plate 34. The main body of the rotary actuator 38 is attached to the support frame 31. The short shaft of the movable catch 36 is a part that receives the article when the article is dropped.
With the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 1B, this rotary actuator 38 rotates the movable catch 36 so that the short shaft of the movable catch 36 is projected in the direction of the article when viewed from the up and down direction of the fixed plate 34. (Hereinafter referred to as “closed state”) or within a flat plate (hereinafter referred to as “open state”).
In the present embodiment, the movable receiving claw 36 is protruded from the lower surface of the fixed flat plate 34 toward the article, but may be configured to protrude from the middle of the fixed flat plate 34. In addition, the movable receiving pawl may not be projected due to the rotation of the rod-shaped member as described above, but the flat movable receiving pawl may swing from the fixed flat plate and stand on the lower surface of the article. Further, in this embodiment, the movable receiving pawl 36 is configured so as not to protrude at all on the fixed plate 34, that is, the gripping member, on the side where the article is not gripped, that is, the non-grip side of the article. Depending on the degree, it may be configured to protrude from the gripping member within an allowable range. Further, in this embodiment, one side of the pair of gripping members is constituted by a gripping member according to the present invention, and the other gripping member is constituted by a gripping member having a conventional movable receiving pawl. Both gripping members may be in accordance with the invention as required. Further, the pawl driving unit may be configured as shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is a top view of the hand device. Reference numeral 38a denotes an air cylinder capable of linear motion, and 36a denotes a link mechanism. The shaft of the air cylinder 38a is fixed, and one end of the link mechanism 36a is rotatably fixed to the air cylinder 38a via a pin. The other end of the link mechanism 36a clamps the L-shaped longitudinal axis of the movable catch 36, and when the air cylinder 38a is pushed leftward in the figure, the link mechanism rotates and the L-shape of the movable catch Since the longitudinal axis is rotated, the movable pawl protruding operation similar to that described above is possible.

Next, conveyance of the article by the manipulator configured as described above will be described.
FIG. 3 shows that the article A stopped on the article supply station 1 is gripped by the manipulator 20 and conveyed onto the pallet P of the pallet station 2 whose position is shifted by 90 °, and the articles are packed and stacked on the pallet P. It is a top view which shows the layout of the conveying apparatus made into.
7 to 14 show the operation state of the hand when the two articles sent to the article supply station 1 are simultaneously conveyed and stacked on the pallet station 2 in stages.
As shown in FIG. 7, when the two articles A are arranged in contact with each other on the article supply station 1, the hand device 30 that has been waiting above is lowered by the operation of the manipulator body 21. At this time, each of the movable flat plate 35 and the movable receiving claws 36 and 37 is open.
Then, the lower end portions of the movable receiving claws 36 and 37 are lowered to a height lower than the lower surface of the article A, and the hand device 30 stops (see FIG. 8).
As shown in FIG. 9, the fixed flat plate 34 comes into contact with the article A by the operation of the manipulator body 21. After this or in synchronization with the operation of the manipulator body, the movable flat plate 35 is closed.
As shown in FIG. 10, the hand device 30 is raised together with the article A by the operation of the manipulator body 21. The movable receiving claws 36 and 37 are closed before the ascent or in synchronism with the operation of the manipulator body.
The hand device 30 and the article A are conveyed to above the stacking position of the pallet P by the operation of the manipulator body 21. At this time, the fixed flat plate 34 is set to the side of the article B already stacked on the pallet so that the articles can be packed as densely as possible (see FIG. 11).
As shown in FIG. 12, the hand device 30 is lowered by the operation of the manipulator body 21. At this time, the gap L is approximately the sum of the thickness of the fixed flat plate 34 and the margin for the ascending operation of the manipulator 21.
The movable receiving claws 36 and 37 are opened first, and then the movable flat plate 35 is opened and the article A is stacked in a predetermined place. The hand device 30 is raised by the operation of the manipulator body 21 (FIGS. 13 and 14).
Thereafter, the above-described operation is repeatedly performed, so that the article A can be stably conveyed without dropping, and the articles can be densely stacked.

  In the embodiment, the case where two articles are conveyed simultaneously has been described as an example. However, even in the case of an article having a thin height dimension as shown in FIG. 17, if the present invention is adopted, the article is stably conveyed. I can do it.

  In this way, the movable catches of the article fall prevention device fit into the fixed-side flat plate and the fixed flat plate does not increase in thickness. Can be stably conveyed without dropping, and the articles can be packed densely.

The front view of the manipulator for goods conveyance using the conveyance hand by the Example of this invention Top view in FIG. Layout diagram of article conveyance using manipulator in FIG. The bottom view of the hand device part in FIG. In FIG. 1, the manipulator is viewed from the hand side The front enlarged view of the hand apparatus part in FIG. The figure which shows the operating state of the hand apparatus at the time of article conveyance The figure which shows the operating state of the hand apparatus at the time of article conveyance The figure which shows the operating state of the hand apparatus at the time of article conveyance The figure which shows the operating state of the hand apparatus at the time of article conveyance The figure which shows the operating state of the hand apparatus at the time of article conveyance The figure which shows the operating state of the hand apparatus at the time of article conveyance The figure which shows the operating state of the hand apparatus at the time of article conveyance The figure which shows the operating state of the hand apparatus at the time of article conveyance Top view of a transport hand according to another embodiment of the present invention. Front view of conventional hand device The figure which shows the article conveyance state of the conventional hand apparatus The figure which shows the article conveyance state of the conventional hand apparatus

Explanation of symbols

A Article B Article P already stacked on pallet Pallet 20 Manipulator 21 Manipulator body 22 Base 23 Base 24 Swivel base 25 Lower arm 26 Upper arm 27 Wrist member 30 Hand device 31 Frame base 32 Vertical frame 33 Horizontal frame 34 Fixed flat plate 35 Movable Flat plate 36 Movable pawl 37 Movable pawl 38 Rotating actuator 39 Flat plate cylinder 40 Pawl cylinder 41 Linear rail

Claims (3)

In an article transport manipulator that includes a hand device having at least a pair of gripping members, and sandwiches and transports articles by the pair of gripping members.
The hand device is
A base member coupled to a wrist member of the manipulator;
A pair of gripping members attached to the base member and sandwiching the article between each other,
At least one of the pair of gripping members is
A fixed flat plate attached to the base member;
An L-shaped movable receiving claw arranged such that a longitudinal portion is accommodated within a thickness of the fixed plate and a short portion protrudes from a lower end of the fixed plate;
An actuator unit that is attached to the base member opposite to the side on which the fixed flat plate is attached, and that rotates a longitudinal portion around a longitudinal axis of the movable receiving claw,
The actuator unit is configured such that when the short side portion of the movable catch is viewed from above and below the fixed plate, a position protruding from a surface of the fixed plate that holds the article, and a thickness of the fixed plate Rotate between the position that fits inside,
The other of the pair of gripping members is
A movable flat plate that is operably mounted in a direction perpendicular to the fixed flat plate facing the fixed flat plate;
A fulcrum that rotatably supports the movable plate on the upper end of the movable plate;
An L-shaped movable receiving claw disposed at the lower end of the movable flat plate so as to protrude toward the fixed flat plate,
Holding the lower end of the article by moving the movable flat plate according to the size of the article and holding the movable flat claw with respect to the fixed plate;
An article transport manipulator characterized by the above. A plurality of the movable receiving claws are provided with respect to the fixed plate;
The article transport manipulator according to claim 1. An article conveying method using the article conveying manipulator according to claim 1,
Moving the hand device so that the short part of the movable catch is lower than the lower surface of the article;
While sandwiching and lifting the article by the pair of gripping members, the actuator portion causes the short part of the movable receiving claw to protrude from the lower surface of the article,
While conveying the article to above the desired stacking position, the fixed plate is on the side of the already stacked article,
While lowering the hand device while securing a gap to the extent that the fixed flat plate can be raised and lowered with the already stacked articles,
Rotating the movable catch by the actuator part to a position within the thickness of the fixed plate,
Stacking the article at the target stacking position and raising the hand device;
An article conveying method using an article conveying manipulator.

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