JP4914709B2 - Robot hand with ear folding device and boxing device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a boxing machine for supplying a packing box or the like with a package with a front edge of its ear part folded back to the side face, and furthermore, to the bottom face side by a simple mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: The box packing machine is equipped with a robot hand 10 on a front edge undersurface of a robot arm 2 which comprises a tubular body 11 for sucking the package and a corner folding part 12 for folding back the ear part 4 of the package. A pair of claws 25 for constituting the corner folding part 12 has passages 51, 53 through which air supplied from an air jet device blows out of injection openings 52 formed inside lower parts of the claws 25. The ear part 4 can be surely folded back to the side face by closing the claws 25, and a front edge 3a of the ear part 4 can be folded back to the bottom face side by air out of injection openings 52. The package is supplied into the packing box after being released from the robot hand 10 when the robot hand 10 is moved to the predetermined position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot hand with an ear fold device and a boxing device using the same, and more specifically to a technique suitable for performing a process of packing an ear-folded package into a box.

  There are a wide variety of forms of the package, and one of them is a package with a gusset in which a fold is formed at a predetermined position on the side surface used when packaging sheep yolk, tea, or the like. And in order to manufacture such a package, generally it uses a pillow packaging apparatus, and forms by pushing a film side surface inward with a gusset nail | claw before giving an end seal.

  By the way, since a plurality of such packaging bodies are usually stored in a single box, the ears and the like related to the storage are obstructive, and the storage operation is complicated and the storage efficiency is lowered. Therefore, the ear portion and the film portion that is not in contact with the object to be packaged around the ear part are closely attached to the object to be packaged by bending downward, so that the shape of the package is substantially the same as the shape of the object to be packaged. In some cases, the portion protruding to the outer periphery is reduced.

  In order to perform such processing, a folding device for bending the ear portion downward is provided on the carry-out side of the packaging device for manufacturing the package, and the ear portion bent on the carry-out side of the folding device is further paired with an endless belt. The sheet is conveyed while being sandwiched between and is heated in the middle of conveyance so that a crease is attached so that the ear can be maintained in a folded state after being unloaded from the endless belt. As the said bending apparatus, there exists a thing disclosed by patent document 1, for example.

On the other hand, there exists what is shown to patent document 2 as one of the packaging forms. In the package shown in Patent Document 2, the ear part (end seal part) of the pillow package is formed longer than a normal one, and the ear part is wrapped around the bottom side of the package and fixed with an adhesive tape or the like. To do.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-294304 JP-A-4-31206

  The above-described conventional apparatus is complicated because it is manually boxed. In addition, a separate ear folding device is required, and processing such as heating or temporary fixing with an adhesive is required to maintain the folded state even after passing through the ear folding device, and a mechanism for such processing is also provided. As a result, the ear folding device becomes large. Moreover, in order to manufacture the package body which consists of a form disclosed by patent document 2, it is necessary to affix an adhesive tape in the state which made the ear | edge part wrap around to the bottom face side of a package body, and an operation | work becomes complicated.

  The present invention relates to a robot hand with an ear folding device capable of automatically supplying a packaging body in a simple configuration and folded together with the ear portion of the packaging body or its peripheral portion to a packaging box, etc., and boxing using the same An object is to provide an apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a robot hand with an ear fold device according to the present invention includes a suction means for sucking and holding a package, and an ear folding means for bending both ends of the package sucked and held by the suction means. The suction means has a hollow suction box provided such that the position of the suction surface can be moved closer to and away from the attachment surface of the suction means, and the lower surface of the suction box penetrates A hole is formed and the surface thereof becomes the suction surface, and the suction box is sucked and held by the suction surface when the inside of the suction box is sucked with the package closing the through hole. In addition, the suction surface is configured to move relatively close to the mounting surface, and the ear folding means includes a pair of ear folding claws, and forward and reverse with the ear folding claws as the center of rotation. Rotate And a pair of ears when the earfolding claws are closed. An interval between the lower ends of the folding claws is narrowed so as to be bent in contact with both ends of the package, and an air passage supplied from the air ejecting means is provided in at least one of the pair of ear folding claws. At the same time, the air flowing in the passage is configured to be ejected from an air outlet provided on the lower inner side of the earfolding nail.

  The mounting surface corresponds to the lower surface of the tip of the robot arm in the embodiment. The suction box corresponds to a cylindrical main body in the embodiment. In order to move the suction surface relatively close to and away from each other, the upper cylindrical body 13 and the lower cylindrical body may be connected to each other so as to be movable in the axial direction between the upper cylindrical body 13 and the lower cylindrical body as in the embodiment. A member that expands and contracts such as a bellows may be mounted. Further, since at least the position of the suction surface only needs to be moved, it may be moved from the middle (the lower cylinder) as in the embodiment, or a bellows or the like is attached to the upper end of the suction box, and suction is performed. The entire box may be moved, or only the suction surface may be moved. In the embodiment, the air passage corresponds to a communication hole or a communication hole.

  Preferably, an injection nozzle is disposed in the suction box, and is configured to receive a biasing force in a direction in which the suction surface relatively moves downward by the gas injected from the injection nozzle. Further, it is preferable that the suction surface is controlled to move upward while the earfolding claw is open. Further, the suction box may include a lower cylinder and an upper cylinder, and may be configured so that one end of the other cylinder is movably inserted into one end of the one cylinder. Furthermore, it is preferable to dispose a second injection nozzle in the adsorption box so that a force in the detaching direction is applied to the packaging body that contacts the adsorption surface by the gas injected from the second injection nozzle.

  A boxing apparatus according to the present invention comprises the above robot hand with an ear folding device and means for supporting the robot hand with an ear folding device and moving between a plurality of points. In the embodiment, the means for moving a plurality of points corresponds to a robot arm and a device for driving the robot arm. As long as the robot hand can move the package body between the suction position of the package and the supply position of the package to the box, the configuration can be realized by various devices.

  Further, the boxing device includes a suction means for sucking and holding the package, ear-folding means for bending both ends of the package sucked and held by the suction means, a support member (robot arm) for supporting the suction means, Means for moving the adsorbing means and the ear folding means between a plurality of points as an integral part of the package. The suction means has a hollow suction box provided so that the position of the suction surface can be moved closer to and away from the support member, and a through hole is formed on the lower surface of the suction box. The surface was made to be the adsorption surface. Further, the suction box is linked to a suction device, and when the inside of the suction box is sucked by the suction device with the package closing the through hole, the package is sucked and held on the suction surface. In addition, the suction surface is configured to move relatively close to the support member, and the ear fold means is a pair of ear fold claws and a pair of ear fold claws with the ear fold claw as a rotation center. A drive mechanism that rotates in a reverse direction, and when the earfolding claw is in an open state, the lower ends of the earfolding claw are cross-shaped toward each other, and when the earfolding claw is in a closed state, The gap between the lower ends of the pair of ear folding nails is set to be narrowed so as to come into contact with both ends of the package and be supplied to the at least one of the pair of ear folding nails from the air injection means. If you have an air passage, To, may be air flowing through the passage is configured configured to be ejected from the air outlet provided below the inner side of the nail fold the ears.

  The robot hand is positioned above the package so that the suction surface is in contact with or close to the surface of the package. In the embodiment, the robot hand side is moved downward on the package at a predetermined position, but the package may be moved upward.

  In this state, for example, a suction device (suction pump) is operated, or the suction box is suctioned by connecting to a suction device or the like that is operating. Then, the package is sucked and held on the suction surface of the suction box. At this time, since the inside of the suction box becomes negative pressure, the suction surface moves (moves upward) toward the attachment surface.

  Next, the robot hand is moved to a predetermined position (above the box for supplying the package). Thereby, the sucked package can be moved from the suction position onto the box. At any timing (in the embodiment, before the movement) during the movement and after the movement is stopped before the movement start, the ear-folding claw that is opened in the letter C is closed. Thereby, the both ends (the ear | edge part by which the end seal | sticker was carried out, and the film site | part of the circumference | surroundings) of a package body are bend | folded (ear fold).

  When the ear part of the package is set to be long, the tip of the ear part that is folded back protrudes to the side of the package body beyond the bottom surface. Therefore, when the air supplied from the air ejecting means is ejected from the outlet, the ejected air hits the tip of the ear portion, and the tip can be further bent to the bottom surface side.

  When the robot hand moves down into the box with the earfolding claw closed, the package is supplied into the box with the ear folded and the tip of the ear folded to the bottom side of the package. The Thereafter, when the suction of the robot hand and the closed state of the claw for folding the ear are released, the package is detached from the robot hand, and the package is packed in the box. Further, when the gas is jetted from the second jet nozzle, the suction state can be easily released and the robot hand can be smoothly detached.

  In the present invention, the packaging body with a simple configuration is bent together with the ear portion of the packaging body or its peripheral portion, and the packaging body in a state in which the tip of at least one ear portion is folded to the bottom side is automatically applied to the packaging box or the like. In addition, boxing is possible, and a separate ear folding device is not required, reducing the equipment space.

  1 to 7 show a main part (a robot hand part of a boxing device) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the boxing device 1 according to the present embodiment has a structure in which a robot hand 10 capable of holding a package 3 is attached to the lower surface of the front end of a robot arm 2 that moves along a locus when set in advance. It has become.

  The robot hand 10 includes a cylindrical main body 11 for sucking and holding the package 3 and an ear fold 12 that bends the ear 4 of the package 3. The cylindrical main body 11 includes a cylindrical upper cylindrical body 13 and a lower cylindrical body 14 mounted below the upper cylindrical body 13, and a lower portion of the upper cylindrical body 13 is inserted into the lower cylindrical body 14. Adopted configuration. The lower surface of the lower cylindrical body 14 is a flat rectangular suction portion 15 that comes into contact with the packaging body 3, and the suction portion 15 is formed with a plurality of through holes 16 penetrating vertically. The lower surface of the suction part 15 becomes the suction surface.

  The outer diameter of the upper cylinder 13 and the inner diameter of the lower cylinder 14 are substantially equal so that air does not leak from the contact surfaces of both the cylinders 13 and 14. In order to make the airtightness between the upper cylinder 13 and the lower cylinder 14 more reliable, for example, an O-ring is attached, the contact surface is covered with silicon rubber, or grease is interposed. The method can be taken. The upper cylinder 13 is linked to a suction pump (not shown) via the robot arm 2.

  1 and 2, when the suction portion 15 is in contact with the upper surface of the packaging body 3 and closes the through-hole 16, suction is generated in the cylindrical main body 11 and packaging. The body 3 is adsorbed by the adsorbing unit 15. If the suction process is further continued in this state, the negative pressure in the cylindrical main body 11 increases, and the lower cylindrical body 14 moves upward relative to the upper cylindrical body 13 (moves closer to the robot arm 2). ). Therefore, if the position of the upper cylinder 13 is constant, the packaging body 3 sucked and held by the lower cylinder 14 (adsorption portion 15) also moves up.

  Further, inside the cylindrical main body 11, a first injection nozzle 18 extending in the axial direction is arranged at the center, and a plurality of second injection nozzles extending in the axial direction are arranged around the first injection nozzle 18. The lower end of the first injection nozzle 18 is inserted into a cylindrical portion 20 that is open upward and is formed upward at the center of the inner bottom surface of the lower cylindrical body 14. Further, the lower side of the second injection nozzle 18 is opposed to the through hole 16 provided in the suction portion 15. Furthermore, the first injection nozzle 18 and the second injection nozzle 19 are both linked to another system of injection pumps (not shown), and air can be injected downward from the injection nozzles 18 and 19.

  With this configuration, when air is ejected from the first ejection nozzle 18, the air is blown toward the inside of the cylindrical portion 20, and the lower end of the cylindrical portion 20 is closed. (Lower cylinder 14) is urged downward. Thereby, the lower cylinder 14 once raised can be moved downward.

  Further, the air sprayed from the second spray nozzle 19 strikes the package 3 through the through hole 16. Therefore, the package 3 adsorbed by the adsorbing portion 15 can be detached by stopping the suction in the cylindrical main body 11 and also injecting air from the second injection nozzle 19.

  Further, a long hole 21 extending in the vertical direction is formed on the side surface of the upper cylindrical body 13, and a guide pin 22 inserted into the long hole 21 is provided on the inner side surface of the lower cylindrical body 14. Since the guide pin 22 moves along the long hole 21, the upper limit and the lower limit of the lower cylindrical body 14 are restricted.

  On the other hand, the ear fold 12 includes a pair of ear fold claws 25 and an opening / closing mechanism 26 that opens and closes the ear fold claws 25. The opening / closing mechanism 26 includes a cylinder 30, a cam plate linked to the cylinder 30, and a cam follower 33 that contacts the cam plate, and the cam follower 33 is linked to the ear-folding claw 25. As a result, when the cylinder rod of the cylinder 30 is reciprocated, the cam plate moves up and down, whereby the cam follower 33 moves along a predetermined locus, whereby the ear folding claw 25 can be opened and closed.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the ear fold claw 25 has three claw portions 50 extending downward, and a communication hole 51 extending in the vertical direction is formed in the claw portion 50. The lower end of the communication hole 51 is connected to an air outlet 52 provided below the claw portion 50. The air outlet 52 is provided on the inner side of the claw portion 50, that is, on the side that contacts and grips the package. Further, the upper end of each communication hole 51 is linked to a communication hole 53 provided in the upper part of the ear fold claw 25, and the three communication holes 51 are connected in the claw portion 50.

  A nozzle 55 is connected to the upper outside of the ear fold claw 25, and the tip of the nozzle 55 is connected to the communication hole 53. The other end of the nozzle 55 is connected to a tube 56 and is connected to an air injection device (not shown) through the tube 56. Thereby, the air sent from the air injection device passes through the tube 56 → the nozzle 55 → the communication hole 53 → the communication hole 51 and is injected from the outlet 52.

  Next, the operation of the robot hand 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 8A, the suction portion 15 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the package 3. In this state, the suction pump is operated, and the package 3 is adsorbed to the adsorbing portion 15. The operation of the suction pump may be started before the package 3 is brought into contact with the suction unit 15.

  When the package 3 is adsorbed by the adsorbing portion 15 and the through hole 16 is closed, the lower cylinder 14 is automatically raised as shown in FIG. At this time, the upper cylindrical body 13 and the ear fold 12 do not move upward and remain in the position shown in FIG. 8A, so that the ear 4 of the package 3 has an ear-folding claw 25 opened in a C shape. To be directed downward.

Next, the cylinder 30 is operated, the cam follower and the cam mechanism of the cam plate are used to convert the linear motion of the cylinder 30 into a rotational motion, and the ear folding claw 25 is closed. Thereby, as shown in FIG.8 (c), the ear | edge part 4 of the package 3 is folded. Since the ear | edge part 4 is formed long enough at this time, the front-end | tip 4a protrudes below rather than the bottom face of the package 3. FIG. In addition, the lower end of the claw portion 50 of the ear-folding claw 25 sandwiching the package 3 is set to a length that protrudes downward from the bottom surface of the package 3.

  The robot arm 2 moves along a preset trajectory while maintaining the state where the ear 4 is folded. That is, the robot hand 10 is raised (see FIG. 9A), the robot hand 10 is moved above the packaging supply position (see FIG. 9B), the robot hand 10 is lowered, and the packaging 3 Is inserted into the packaging box 40 (see FIG. 9C). Prior to inserting the package 3 into the packaging box 40, air (air) from the air ejection device is ejected from the air outlet 52. Then, the jetted air hits the tip 4a of the ear portion 4 and urges the tip 4a inward. Thereby, the front end 4 a of the ear part 4 goes around to the bottom surface side of the package 3. Therefore, since the packaging body 3 is supplied into the packaging box 40 in a state where the tip 4 a of the ear portion 4 wraps around, the tip 4 a of the ear portion 4 corresponds to the inner bottom surface of the packaging box 40 and the bottom surface of the packaging body 3. It is held in a state sandwiched between. That is, the state where the tip 4a of the ear portion 4 is bent toward the bottom surface of the package 3 can be maintained without using an adhesive tape or the like as in the prior art.

  Next, the electromagnetic valve of the cylinder 30 serving as a drive source for opening and closing the earfolding claw is opened, and the earfolding claw is brought into a free state. Here, the free state is a state in which the force for pressing the ear part 4 to the main body side of the package 3 is released, and the open state is maintained (maintained) or the closed state is maintained (maintained). There is no state. Then, the suction is stopped and air is jetted from the second jet nozzle 19 to release the suction state (see FIG. 9D)).

  Next, air is injected from the first injection nozzle 18 to move the lower cylinder 14 downward (see FIG. 10A)). At this time, the tip side of the robot arm 2 is also moved up. Further, the robot hand 10 is raised, and the robot hand 10 is completely removed from the packaging box (see FIG. 10B). And the robot hand 10 is moved to the adsorption | suction position of a package (refer FIG.10 (c)). During this movement, the cylinder 30 is operated to open the ear folding claw 25.

  In the present invention, the earfolding nail may be opened and closed in two stages, and the robot hand may be pulled out in a half-open state.

  In the present embodiment, the air injection mechanism is mounted on both the ear fold claws 50, but it may be mounted on only one of them.

It is a front view which shows suitable one Embodiment of the boxing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a side view which shows suitable one Embodiment of the boxing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a top view which shows suitable one Embodiment of the boxing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the inside of a cylindrical main body (adsorption box). It is a figure explaining an effect | action. It is a figure which shows an ear folding nail. It is a figure which shows an ear folding nail. It is a figure explaining an effect | action. It is a figure explaining an effect | action. It is a figure explaining an effect | action.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Box packing apparatus 2 Robot arm 3 Packaging body 4 Ear part 4a Tip 10 Robot hand 11 Tubular main body 12 Ear folding part 13 Upper cylinder 14 Lower cylinder 15 Adsorption part (adsorption surface)
16 Through-hole 18 1st injection nozzle 19 2nd injection nozzle 20 Tube part 21 Long hole 22 Guide pin 25 Ear folding claw 26 Opening / closing mechanism 30 Cylinder 33 Cam follower 40 Packaging box 50 Claw part 51 Communication hole 52 Outlet 53 Communication hole 54 Nozzle 55 Tube

Claims (2)

Suction means for sucking and holding the package;
Ear folding means for folding both ends of the package body sucked and held by the suction means,
The suction means has a hollow suction box provided so that the position of the suction surface can be moved closer to and away from the attachment surface of the suction means;
A through hole is formed on the lower surface of the suction box, and the surface becomes the suction surface.
The suction box is sucked and held by the suction surface when the inside of the suction box is sucked in a state where the package closes the through hole, and the suction surface is relative to the attachment surface. Configured to move closer together,
The ear-folding means includes a pair of ear-folding nails and a drive mechanism that rotates the ear-folding nails forward and backward with the upper part as a rotation center, and the ear-folding nails are in an open state. When the ear folding claws are closed, the gap between the lower ends of the pair of ear folding claws is narrowed and comes into contact with both ends of the package to bend. Configured as
At least one of the pair of ear-folding claws is provided with a passage for air supplied from the air ejecting means, and air flowing in the passage is ejected from a blower outlet provided below the ear-folding claws. A robot hand with an ear folding device, characterized in that it is configured as described above. A robot hand with an ear fold device according to claim 1;
And a means for supporting the robot hand with the ear fold device and moving between a plurality of points.

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