JP5148064B2 - Article holding apparatus and article holding / transferring apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article holding apparatus and an article holding / transferring apparatus, and in particular, an article holding apparatus and an article holding / transferring which can be suitably used for holding and transferring a small packaged article such as confectionery at high speed and reliably. Relates to the device.

In general, as one means for displaying small wrapping articles, such as hail and nuts, on a tray, as shown in FIG. 8 , each of the small wrapping articles 120 is slightly displayed as if sashimi is displayed. Sashimi is displayed on a dedicated tray (tray having a wave-like step) 121 so as to be stacked in an inclined manner. This sashimi display can produce a sense of volume while reducing the overall size of the storage box 122 or the packaging bag (not shown) for storing and packaging the displayed article 120 and its tray 121. It is frequently used in the industry.

  Here, since it is complicated and difficult for a SCARA robot, which is often used as a work robot, to perform this sashimi display that is arranged and filled little by little, a conventional sashimi display is a parallel robot for manual operation or holding transfer ( (See Patent Document 1).

JP-A-11-254375

  However, when performing sashimi display manually, accurate display and flexible response can be expected, but there are problems in that work efficiency is low and labor costs are high.

  In addition, when performing sashimi display using a parallel robot for holding and transferring, it is possible to expect accurate display and improved work efficiency, but at the same time higher development costs and equipment costs compared to SCARA robots frequently used as work robots. There was a problem that it was forced to throw in.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article holding device capable of performing sashimi display by a SCARA robot.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an article holding and transferring apparatus capable of automating a sashimi display operation of a packaged product using the aforementioned article holding apparatus.

In order to achieve the above-described object, as a first aspect of the article holding apparatus of the present invention, in the row direction and the column direction in which one end portions of a plurality of articles to be provided for aligned sashimi display are sucked and held from above, respectively. A plurality of holding portions arranged in a matrix by arranging each of the plurality of holding portions and the other end portion side of the article in the holding portion are suspended, and the holding portion sucks and holds one end portion of the articles in the column direction. In this case, a long plate made of a soft elastic material that has its lower end abutted against the other end of the article from above and bends the other end of the article downward to bend downward is disposed so as to hang downward. and pressed tongues are, the plurality of holding portions each of the upper end is attached to a position in which the plurality of holders to adsorb hold the article, a position to set the suction holding the article in a central portion of the matrix arrangement And take The holding unit moving means for moving the plurality of holding units in the row direction and the column direction of the matrix arrangement, respectively, and the holding unit moving unit causes the plurality of holding units to suck and hold the article. When gathered at the central portion of the matrix arrangement, the plurality of holding portions are formed so as to be overlapped step by step while shifting the articles bent downward by the pressing tongue piece little by little .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the article holding device according to the first aspect, the holding unit moving means includes a plurality of holding units arranged in a row other than the central row passing through the center of the matrix arrangement in the holding unit. A slide rail that slides in the row direction, and a long plate that has the column direction as a longitudinal direction, and has one holding portion among the plurality of holding portions arranged in the central row at the center thereof, It has a long hole that is arranged on both sides of the central part and whose longitudinal direction is formed in parallel with the column direction, and a plurality of holding parts arranged in rows other than the central row pass through the long hole and become slide rails. It is characterized by having a guide plate arranged to be attached and an actuator for moving the guide plate in the row direction and moving the slide rail in the column direction.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the article holding device of the first or second aspect, the pressing tongue piece is formed using an elastically deformable rubber plate, a metal thin plate, or a plastic plate. Yes.

A fourth aspect of the present invention, the article holding device from the first third of any one of the embodiments, the holding unit is characterized in that an adsorption nozzle.

As a fifth aspect of the present invention, an article holding / transferring apparatus according to the present invention includes an article holding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and articles in the same number of conveying rows as in a matrix arrangement. And a second conveyor for conveying a tray for arranging and storing articles, and a moving means for moving the article holding device in three axial directions orthogonal to the first conveyor. It is characterized by being.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the article holding / transferring apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the first conveyor has a partition plate that partitions each of the plurality of articles one by one, and conveys the article to the article holding apparatus. It is characterized in that it is partly inclined in the transport path up to before the start.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the suction portions arranged in a matrix hold the article, the pressing tongue piece curves the article downward, and the holding portion moving means moves the curved article along with the movement of the suction portion. since is set in the center of the arrangement, when assembled to the central portion of the matrix arrangement, Ki de be superimposed articles curved downward by the pressing tongues progressively while slightly shifted, it is canceled retention of the article Then, there is an effect that the sashimi can be displayed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the holding unit can be moved using the slide rail and the guide plate whose unit price is low, the manufacturing cost of the article holding device is reduced. In addition, since the actuators in the row direction and the column direction need only be performed in the respective reciprocating directions, the control program for performing the control can be simplified.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the pressing tongue piece is appropriately curved, there is an effect that it can be bent without destroying the article.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the holding portion holds the article regardless of the physical properties of the article, there is an effect that various articles can be held.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the articles held and conveyed by the first conveyor are held and curved by the article holding device to be gathered at a predetermined position, and the moving means connected to the article holding device is the second conveyor. Since the article holding device releases the article from above the tray after the article holding apparatus is moved above the tray conveyed by the apparatus, it is possible to display the sashimi on the desired tray. .

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the first conveyor moves the article in the descending direction within the divided area and brings it to a predetermined position, the article holding device can hold the predetermined position of the article. There is an effect.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the article holding device and the article holding / transferring apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

  The whole article holding / transferring apparatus 1 of this embodiment is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article holding / transferring apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment uses a dedicated tray for a small wrapping article 20 that wraps confectionery grains such as hail and nuts, and a small piece of soft article 20 such as fish sashimi. It is an apparatus used for performing a sashimi display (see FIG. 8) that is gradually piled up in an inclined manner with respect to each of the (tray in which the wavy steps are formed) 21. Specifically, The article holding device 2, the first conveyor 3 on which the article 20 is placed and aligned and conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction FD, the second conveyor 4 that conveys the tray 21 that stores the article 20, and three axes orthogonal to each other A moving means 5 for moving the article holding device 2 in the direction and a control means (not shown) for automatically controlling the whole are provided. These members will be described in detail below.

  First, the article holding device 2 of the present embodiment will be described. 3 and 4 show the entire article holding device 2. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the article holding device 2 includes a plurality of holding portions 6, a pressing tongue piece 7, and holding portion moving means 8. 3 and 4 show a state in which the pressing tongue pieces 7 are removed from some of the holding portions 6 for improving the visibility of the drawings. In this embodiment, all the holding portions 6 are pressed down. One tongue piece 7 is attached to each.

  The holding part 6 and the pressing tongue piece 7 are shown in FIG. As the holding unit 6, a vacuum chucking type, a magnetic chucking type, or an electric chucking type gripper can be used. However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. In the opposite direction). The holding portion 6 has a circular exhaust port 6b connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) on the side of the intake port 6a. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the holding unit 6 is arranged at equal intervals in 3 rows and 2 columns, with the direction parallel to the transport direction FD of the articles 20 aligned and transported by the first conveyor 3 as the column direction CD. Has been placed. Note that the 3 × 2 matrix arrangement of the holding unit 6 is determined in view of the conveyance capability of the first conveyor 3 and is not a necessary condition for implementing the article holding device 2 of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a rectangular long plate formed of a soft elastic material that generates an appropriate elastic force is used for the pressing tongue piece 7. Specifically, an elastically deformable rubber plate, a metal thin plate, or a plastic plate is preferable. One end portion of the pressing tongue piece 7 is fixed to a predetermined side surface 6e of the holding portion 6, and is disposed so as to hang downward. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the predetermined side surface 6 e of the holding unit 6 is on the other end 20 b side of the article 20, which is the opposite side to the one end 20 a of the article 20 held by the holding unit 6 described above. It is a formed side surface. In addition, although mentioned later, the holding | maintenance part 6 always hold | maintains the same position or the periphery of the articles | goods 20 by the form of the 1st conveyor 3, and control by a control means.

  The holding unit moving means 8 includes a first base rail 9, a second base rail 10, a slide rail 11, a guide plate 12, and actuators 13A and 13B.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first base rail 9 is formed in a rectangular frame shape, and is connected to a connection portion 9 c having a joint 9 b connected to the moving means 5. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the first base rail 9 has a drum-shaped slide portion 9a in the row direction CD below the frame portions 9d in the two row directions CD.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the second base rail 10 is fixed below the frame portions 9 e of the first base rail 9 in the two row directions LD so that the longitudinal direction thereof is parallel to the row direction LD. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, the 2nd base rail 10 has the drum-shaped slide part 10a in the row direction LD in the downward direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, two slide rails 11 are arranged with the longitudinal direction parallel to the row direction LD. The slide rail 11 has a groove-like slide portion 11b in the column direction CD above the slide rail 11 and is attached to the slide portion 9a of the first base rail 9. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the slide rail 11 has a second row (hereinafter referred to as “center row”) that passes through the center C of the matrix arrangement in the holding units 6 arranged in 3 rows and 2 columns below the slide rail 11. .)), That is, the four holding portions 6 arranged in the first row and the third row from the upstream side in the transport direction FD are each provided with a bead-shaped slide portion 11a that slides in the row direction LD. Yes. A dovetail slide portion 6c is formed in the row direction LD above the four holding portions 6 attached to the slide rail 11.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the guide plate 12 is formed in the shape of a long plate having two rectangular long holes 12a on both sides of its center using a plate material having high rigidity such as metal, and the longitudinal direction thereof is arranged in a row. Two are arranged in parallel with the direction CD. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the guide plate 12 has a groove-like slide portion 12 b in the row direction CD above and is attached to the slide portion 10 a of the second base rail 10. . Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the two holding portions 6 arranged in the center row (second row) are fixed one by one at the center of each of the two guide plates 12. The four holding portions 6 arranged in rows other than the central row are attached to the slide portion 11a of the slide rail 11 after passing through the respective long holes 12a of the two guide plates 12. A roller 6d that freely rotates is provided at a portion that contacts the long hole 12a.

  As the actuators 13A and 13B, hydraulic reciprocating cylinders that are driven and controlled by control means are used. As shown in FIG. 3, four actuators 13A and 13B are provided corresponding to the total number of slide rails 11 and guide plates 12, and one end portions thereof are connected to the slide rails 11 and guide plates 12. Are arranged in parallel with the column direction CD or the row direction LD, respectively.

  Moreover, the 1st conveyor 3, the 2nd conveyor 4, the moving means 5, and the control means (not shown) in the article holding | maintenance transfer equipment 1 of this embodiment are as follows.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as the first conveyor 3, a belt conveyor having two independent parallel rows 3 a and 3 b is used. Moreover, as shown in FIG.1 (b) and FIG.2 (b), the 1st conveyor 3 of this embodiment has the partition plate 3c which partitions off the several articles | goods 20 one each in each conveyance row | line | column 3a, 3b. And has a conveyance path that is partially inclined before the article 20 is conveyed to the article holding device 2. Note that the number of transport lines of the first conveyor 3 is determined according to the shape of the tray 21 used for sashimi display. Therefore, in other embodiments, the number of transport rows of the first conveyor 3 can be freely changed according to the number of rows designated from the shape of the tray 21 when displaying sashimi.

  As the second conveyor 4, as shown in FIG. 1, a belt conveyor adapted to the outer shape and the conveyance angle of the dedicated tray 21 is used. As shown in FIG. 1, the second conveyor 4 is disposed within the range of moving work by the moving means 5 while transporting the tray in the direction FD2 orthogonal to the conveying direction FD of the articles 20 by the first conveyor 3. ing.

  As the moving means 5, as shown in FIG. 2, directions in which the article holding device 2 is separated from and brought into contact with the article 20 to be conveyed (hereinafter referred to as “separating direction”) ZD are three axial directions orthogonal to each other. As one direction (for example, the X, Y, and Z directions) (Z direction), a robot arm that moves the article holding device 2 in the three-axis directions while adjusting the direction of the article holding device 2 is used.

  As the control means, although not shown, a computer connected to each member is used. The control means transmits control information to each member based on a transfer program related to the first conveyor 3 and the second conveyor, a holding transfer program related to the article holding device 2 and the moving means 5, and the like. Automatic control of members.

  Next, the operation of the article holding device 2 and the article holding / transferring device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the articles 20 conveyed by the conveying rows 3a and 3b of the first conveyor 3 for sashimi display are provided with an inclined conveying path on the first conveyor 3 as shown in FIG. Therefore, it descends in the tilt direction as shown in FIG. 1 (b) and FIG. 2 (b). Moreover, since the conveyance rows 3a and 3b of the first conveyor 3 are partitioned for each single article by the partition plate 3c, the lowered article 20 is brought into contact with the partition plate 3c and brought to a fixed position in the area. . Thus, the article holding device 2 on the downstream side in the transport direction FD can always hold the same position.

  When the article 20 brought to the fixed position is conveyed below the article holding apparatus 2, the moving means 5 moves the article holding apparatus 2 in the separation / contact direction ZD, and the article holding apparatus 2 as shown in FIG. To the article 20 to be held. The article holding device 2 approaching the article 20 sucks and holds the one end portions 20a of the six articles 20 by the holding sections 6 arranged in three rows and two columns as shown in FIG. The other end 20b of the article 20 is pushed downward by the tongue piece 7 so that the article 20 is bent. Here, since the above-described rubber plate or the like is used for the pressing tongue piece 7, the pressing tongue piece 7 can be suitably deformed and bent without destroying the article 20. By the holding operation of the holding portion 6 and the pressing operation of the pressing tongue piece 7, all the six articles 20 are arranged so that the directions thereof are directed downward.

  When the holding operation and the pressing operation of the article 20 are performed, the article holding device 2 drives the actuators 13A and 13B to slide the holding unit 6 in the row direction LD and the column direction CD of the matrix arrangement, respectively. At the center of the matrix arrangement. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, this collective work is performed by dividing the holding unit 6 in the row direction LD and the holding unit 6 in the column direction CD.

  FIG. 6 shows a state in which the holding units 6 arranged in 3 rows and 2 columns are moved only in the row direction LD. As shown in FIG. 6, when the actuator 13 </ b> B arranged in parallel with the row direction LD slides the two guide plates 12 in the row direction LD toward the center C of the matrix arrangement of the holding portions 6, the two guides As the plate 12 moves, the two holding portions 6 arranged at the respective centers thereof move toward the center C of the matrix arrangement. Further, as the guide plate 12 moves, the four holding portions 6 attached to the slide rail 11 obtain a driving force in the row direction LD through the long holes 12a of the guide plate 12, thereby causing the slide portion of the slide rail 11 to slide. It slides in the row direction LD along 11a. As a result, all the holding units 6 arranged in 3 rows and 2 columns can be slid in the row direction LD toward the center C of the matrix arrangement.

  FIG. 7 shows a state in which the holding unit 6 arranged in the 3 rows and 2 columns moved in the row direction LD is moved only in the column direction CD. As shown in FIG. 7, when the actuator 13A arranged in parallel to the column direction CD slides the two slide rails 11 in the column direction CD toward the center C of the matrix arrangement, the actuators 13A are attached to the slide rails 11. The four holding portions 6 slide while being guided in the column direction CD while being limited in movement in the row direction LD by the long holes 12 a of the guide plate 12. Here, since the four holding parts 6 have the roller 6d in the part which contacts the long hole 12a, even if it slides and slides in contact with the long hole 12a, smooth sliding movement is implement | achieved. As a result, among the holding units 6 arranged in 3 rows and 2 columns, the four holding units 6 arranged in rows other than the central row can be slid in the column direction CD toward the center C of the matrix arrangement. it can.

  That is, by sliding the holding portions 6 arranged in 3 rows and 2 columns in the row direction LD and the column direction CD, the holding portions 6 are gathered at the center of the matrix arrangement, and are pushed downward by the pressing tongue 7. The curved article 20 can be superposed. In addition, since the slide rail 11 and the guide plate 12 that do not require material costs are used for the assembly work of the articles 20, the manufacturing cost related to the article holding device 2 can be reduced. Furthermore, since the actuators 13A and 13B arranged in the matrix direction CD need only be performed in their respective reciprocating directions, the control program of the control means for performing the control can be simplified. In the holding unit moving means 8, the actuators 13A and 13B for driving the movement in the row direction LD and the column direction CD are provided independently, so that each holding unit 6 is arranged in each direction shown in FIGS. Can be moved simultaneously, and the working efficiency can be improved.

  And while the operation | work which collects the articles | goods 20 in the center C of the matrix arrangement | positioning of the holding | maintenance part 6 by the holding | maintenance part moving means 8 is performed, the moving means 5 connected to the article | item holding apparatus 2 was conveyed by the 2nd conveyor The article holding device 2 is moved above the tray 21 (see FIG. 1). Since the article 20 transferred above the dedicated tray 21 is already overlapped while being bent downward by the pressing operation of the pressing tongue piece 7 and the assembly operation of the holding portion moving means 8, When the holding unit 6 releases the holding, the article 20 is gradually stacked on the dedicated tray 21 while being gradually shifted.

  That is, the article holding / transferring apparatus 1 of the present embodiment holds the predetermined one end 20a of the article 20 after aligning and conveying the plurality of articles 20, and at the center C while curving the held article 20. The sashimi can be displayed on the dedicated tray 21 after being assembled.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above etc., A various change is possible as needed.

  For example, in the article holding device 2 of the present embodiment, the holding unit 6 is arranged in 3 rows and 2 columns, but in other embodiments, the holding unit 6 is arranged in 3 rows and 2 columns such as a matrix arrangement of 4 rows and 4 columns. May be arranged in a matrix other than.

  In the case of the matrix arrangement of 4 rows and 4 columns, there is no row passing through the center C of the matrix arrangement, that is, the center row, so there is no holding portion 6 fixed to the center C of the guide plate 12, and 4 rows and 4 columns. All the holding portions 6 arranged in a matrix are attached to the slide rail 11. At this time, four slide rails 11 are arranged in the same number as the rows of the holding portions 6, and four slide rails 11 are attached to one slide rail 11. In addition, four guide plates 12 are arranged in parallel to the column direction CD, which is the same as the number of columns of the holding portions 6, and the two long holes 12 a of each guide plate 12 have first and second rows. The holding portions 6 arranged in the rows and the holding portions 6 arranged in the third row and the fourth row pass through the two long holes 12a of each guide plate 12 and are attached to the slide rails 11 respectively. It will be.

  As a result, the article holding device 2 of the other embodiment, like the article holding device 2 of the present embodiment, drives the actuators 13A and 13B disposed in the respective directions to drive the guide plate 12 and the slide rail 11 respectively. The holding units 6 of 4 rows and 4 columns can be assembled at the center C of the matrix arrangement by sliding toward the center C of the matrix arrangement. That is, the article holding device 2 of the present invention can increase or decrease the number of the slide rails 11 and the guide plates 12 according to the number of the holding parts 6, so that the article 20 is not limited to the matrix arrangement pattern of the holding parts 6. The sashimi can be displayed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The front view which shows one Embodiment of the article holding | maintenance transfer equipment of this invention; (a) has shown the whole, (b) is the enlarged view of the part b enclosed by the circle in FIG. 2-2 side view of FIG. 1; (a) shows the whole, (b) is an enlarged view of a portion b surrounded by a circle in FIG. 2 (a). The whole perspective view which shows the article holding device of this embodiment from the upper part (In addition, in order to improve visibility, a pressing tongue piece is removed and shown from some holding parts.) The whole perspective view which shows the article holding device of this embodiment from the lower part (In addition, in order to improve visibility, a pressing tongue piece is removed and shown from some holding parts.) The perspective view which shows the holding | maintenance part and pressing tongue piece of this embodiment The perspective view which shows the state which the holding | maintenance part with which the article | item holding apparatus of this embodiment was equipped moved to the row direction. The perspective view which shows the state which the holding | maintenance part with which the article | item holding apparatus of this embodiment was equipped moved to the row direction and the column direction. The perspective view which shows the state which displayed the sashimi article on the exclusive tray

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article holding | maintenance transfer apparatus 2 Article holding apparatus 3 1st conveyor 3a, 3b Conveyance row | line | column 3c Partition plate 4 2nd conveyor 5 Moving means 6 Holding part 6a Intake port 6b Exhaust port 6c Groove-shaped slide part 6d Roller 7 Pushing tongue Piece 8 Holding part moving means 9 First base rail 9a Slide part 9b Joint 9c Connection part 9d Frame part in row direction 9e Frame part in row direction 10 Second base rail 10a Slide part 11 Slide rail 11a Slide Section 11b (Slot-shaped) Slide section 12 Guide plate 12a Long hole 12b Slot-shaped slide section 13A, 13B Actuator 20 Article 20a One end 20b The other end 21 Tray C Center of matrix arrangement CD row direction FD transport direction LD Row direction ZD Separation direction

Claims (6)

A plurality of holding portions arranged in a matrix by arranging a plurality of one end portions of a plurality of articles provided for aligned sashimi display in the row direction and the column direction, respectively, by suction and holding from above,
When the holding unit sucks and holds one end of the article in the row direction, the lower end of the holding unit comes into contact with the other end of the article from above. A pressing tongue piece disposed so that a long plate using a soft elastic material that is bent downward by pushing down the other end portion of the article is hung down ,
Each of the upper end portions of the plurality of holding portions is attached, so that the plurality of holding portions can take a position where the articles are sucked and held and a position where the sucked and held articles are gathered in a central portion of the matrix arrangement. A holding unit moving means for moving the plurality of holding units in a row direction and a column direction of the matrix arrangement, respectively.
When the plurality of holding units attract and hold the articles by the holding unit moving means and gather at the central portion of the matrix arrangement, the plurality of holding units are configured to hold the articles curved downward by the pressing tongue pieces. An article holding device, wherein the article holding device is formed so as to be stacked step by step while being shifted little by little . The holding part moving means is
A slide rail that slides in the row direction a plurality of holding portions arranged in a row other than the central row passing through the center of the matrix arrangement among the holding portions;
A long plate having the column direction as a longitudinal direction, the holding plate having one holding portion among the plurality of holding portions arranged in the central row, and arranged on both sides of the central portion. A plurality of holding portions arranged in rows other than the central row are attached to the slide rail through the long holes. A guide plate arranged to be
The article holding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an actuator that moves the guide plate in the row direction and moves the slide rail in the column direction.   The article holding device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressing tongue piece is formed using an elastically deformable rubber plate, a metal thin plate, or a plastic plate.   The article holding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding unit is a suction nozzle. The article holding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A first conveyor that places and conveys the articles in the same number of conveying rows as the rows of the matrix arrangement;
A second conveyor for conveying a tray for displaying and storing the articles;
An article holding / transferring apparatus comprising: a moving means for moving the article holding apparatus in three axial directions orthogonal to each other.   The first conveyor has a partition plate that partitions each of the plurality of articles one by one, and is partially inclined in a conveyance path before the article is conveyed to the article holding device. The article holding / transferring apparatus according to claim 5.

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