JP6011278B2 - Article processing system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article processing system, and more particularly to an article processing system including a conveying unit that conveys articles in a plurality of rows and a robot that includes a plurality of holding units that hold the articles on the conveying unit.

Conventionally, a conveying means for conveying articles in a plurality of rows, a detecting means for detecting the position of an article conveyed by the conveying means, a robot for holding an article on the conveying means, and an article detected by the detecting means There is known an article processing system including a control unit that controls the robot based on the position and holds the article (Patent Document 1).
As shown in FIG. 1, a robot 5 of a conventional article processing system includes an arm 5a and a head 5b provided at the tip thereof, and the head 5b has a plurality of holding means HA to HD for holding the article 1. Is provided.
When the detection means detects an article conveyed by the conveyance means, the control means controls the robot 5 to move the head 5b, and in order from the article 1 located on the downstream side, the holding means HA to HD are sequentially arranged. It is designed to hold items.

Registration No. 3314890

However, with respect to the article 1 that is fifth from the downstream side and is held by the holding means HA (the article to which “5” in FIG. 1 is attached), it is the sixth article that is held by the holding means HB. 1 (articles marked with “6” in FIG. 1) are located at opposite ends of the conveying means, the head 5b must be moved from one end of the conveying means to the other. Since the moving path of the head becomes long, there is a problem that the processing efficiency of the article is poor.
In view of such problems, the present invention provides an article processing system that can process articles more efficiently.

That is, the article processing system according to the present invention includes a conveying unit that conveys articles in a plurality of rows, a detection unit that detects the position of an article conveyed by the conveying unit, and a plurality of articles that hold the article on the conveying unit. A head having holding means, a robot that moves the head, and a control of controlling the operation of the robot based on the position of the article detected by the detecting means, and causing the holding means to hold the article by moving the head. An article processing system comprising:
The detection means recognizes the conveyance area of the article by the conveyance means by dividing it into a plurality of rows along the conveyance direction, and the control means assigns each holding means of the robot to any one of the conveyance areas,
When the detection means detects the article of the conveyance means and recognizes the conveyance area where the article is located, the control means controls the robot so that the articles located on the downstream side among the articles to be conveyed are sequentially The article is held by holding means assigned to the conveyance area where the article is located.

  According to the above invention, the transport area by the transport means is divided into a plurality of rows along the transport direction, and each holding means is assigned to one of the transport areas, thereby shortening the moving path of the head, The article can be efficiently held.

Top view of the article processing system

The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows a plan view of an article processing system 2 for processing an article 1 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a supply conveyor for conveying the article 1 from the left to the right in the figure. 3, a discharge conveyor 4 arranged in parallel on the downstream side of the supply conveyor 3, and a robot 5 that delivers the articles 1 on the supply conveyor 3 to the discharge conveyor 4.
The article processing system 2 also includes a detection means 6 for detecting the position of the article 1 conveyed on the supply conveyor 3, and a control means for operating the robot 5 based on the position of the article 1 recognized by the detection means 6. 7.
According to the article processing system 2, the articles 1 randomly conveyed by the supply conveyor 3 can be delivered to the discharge conveyor 4 in a state where the articles 5 are aligned and aligned by the robot 5.

The supply conveyor 3 is configured to convey the articles 1 in a plurality of rows. At that time, the orientation and interval of the articles 1 are random. In this embodiment, the articles 1 are arranged in approximately six rows as an example. It is designed to be transported in a state.
In addition, a plurality of rows means that a plurality of articles 1 are transported in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the supply conveyor 3 and need not necessarily be transported in six rows as shown in FIG. Alternatively, the interval between adjacent articles 1 may be random.
The detection means 6 includes a camera 11 provided above the supply conveyor 3 upstream of the robot 5 in the supply conveyor 3 and an image processing means for recognizing the position of the article 1 from an image taken by the camera 11. 12.
The camera 11 is arranged so as to be able to photograph the entire width direction of the supply conveyor 3 as indicated by a broken line in the figure, and the image processing means 12 detects the position and orientation of each article 1 from the photographed image.
Subsequently, the image processing means 12 inputs the conveyance speed of the article 1 from an encoder (not shown) provided on the supply conveyor 3 and the article 1 is then conveyed to the holding position of the article 1 by the robot 5. The position and orientation are recognized, and the recognition result is transmitted to the control means 7.
The discharge conveyor 4 is configured to convey the articles 1 in two rows, and the articles 1 are placed in a state in which the robot 5 has a uniform interval and orientation. Yes.

The robot 5 is provided on the downstream side of the supply conveyor 3, and is provided on the opposite side of the discharge conveyor 4. The robot 5 is composed of an arm 5a and a head 5b provided at the tip thereof, and its operation is controlled by the control means 7.
The head 5b has a substantially rectangular shape and is provided so as to be able to turn in the horizontal direction. Four holding means HA to HD for holding the article 1 are provided at substantially four corners of the head 5b. 7 recognizes the position and turning angle of the head 5b with respect to the robot 5, and recognizes the positions of the holding means HA to HD in plan view.
Since the holding means HA to HD are conventionally known, a description thereof will be omitted. However, a vacuum cup that is provided at the lower end and sucks and holds the article 1 by negative pressure, and an elevating means that moves the vacuum cup up and down. And swiveling means for swiveling the article 1 adsorbed by the vacuum cup in the horizontal direction.

According to the robot 5 having the above-described configuration, when the detecting means 6 recognizes the position and orientation of the article 1 on the supply conveyor 3, the control means 7 controls the robot 5 to move the head 5b, thereby supplying the supply conveyor 3 The holding means HA to HD closer to the order from the article 1 located on the most downstream side are positioned.
At this time, the robot 5 rotates the head 5b to keep the angle with respect to the supply conveyor 3 constant while the holding means HA to HD hold the article 1. Specifically, as shown in FIG. HA and HC are held on the upper side in the figure, and holding means HB and HD are held on the lower side in the figure.
When the required holding means is positioned above the article 1, the lifting means lowers the vacuum cup to suck and hold the article 1, and when the vacuum cup holding the article 1 rises, the swiveling means holds the article 1. Rotate in a predetermined direction.
When all the holding means HA to HD hold the article 1 and align the direction of the article 1 holding the swiveling means, the arm 5a moves the head 5b to above the discharge conveyor 4, and the head 5b is shown in FIG. The four articles 1 are placed in an aligned state on the discharge conveyor 4 after being rotated 90 ° counterclockwise from the above state.

The article processing system 2 itself provided with such a supply conveyor 3, a discharge conveyor 4 and a robot 5, and the robot 5 holds the articles 1 on the supply conveyor 3 and places them on the discharge conveyor 4 in an aligned state. Is conventionally known.
Therefore, the article processing system 2 according to the present invention makes the operation of the robot 5 more efficient and enables the article 1 to be processed efficiently.
The detection means 6 of the present embodiment recognizes the conveyance area in which the article 1 is conveyed by the supply conveyor 3 by dividing it into two rows along the conveyance direction. Centering around the dotted chain line), the image is divided into a transport area SA in the upper part of the figure and a transport area SB in the lower part of the figure.
The image processing means 12 is located in one of the transport areas SA and SB and recognizes the orientation of all articles 1 from the image taken by the camera 11.
At this time, when the article 1 is located on the center line, for example, the article 1 is recognized as being conveyed in the conveyance area SA, or is recognized based on the position of the center of gravity of the article 1. That's fine.

On the other hand, the control means 7 assigns each holding means HA to HD of the robot 5 to either the transport area SA or the transport area SB. Specifically, the holding means HA and HC located on the transport area SA side in the head 5b are assigned to the transport area SA, and the holding means HB and HD located on the transport area SB side are assigned to the transport area SB.
Further, the control means 7 is configured to hold the articles 1 conveyed on the supply conveyor 3 in order from those located on the downstream side, and for the articles 1 conveyed in the conveyance area SA, the holding means HA, Similarly to this, the holding means located near the HC is held, and similarly to this, the article 1 to be conveyed is held by the holding means located near the holding means HB and HD.

In the following, an example will be described. In FIG. 1, each article 1 conveyed on the supply conveyor 3 is numbered for convenience and indicates what position it is counted from the downstream side. .
First, the “1” article 1 located on the most downstream side of the supply conveyor 3 is conveyed in the conveyance area SA, the “2” article 1 upstream from that is conveyed in the conveyance area SB, and the “3” article 1 is conveyed. The article 1 in the area SB, “4” is conveyed in the conveyance area SA.
When the camera 11 of the detection means 6 images the article 1 being conveyed on the supply conveyor 3, the image processing means 12 conveys the articles 1 of "1" and "4" to the conveyance area SA, and enters the conveyance area SB. It recognizes that the articles 1 of “2” and “3” are being conveyed, and ranks them from the downstream side.
Next, when the recognition result about the position and orientation of the article 1 is transmitted from the image processing means 12, the control means 7 is the downstream of the “1” and “4” articles 1 conveyed in the conveyance area SA. The “1” article 1 located on the side is assigned to be held by the holding means HC located closest.
In the same manner, the control means 7 is the article whose holding means HC is “1” for the article 2 of “2” and “3” on the downstream side among the articles 1 of “2” and “3” conveyed in the conveyance area SB. Since it is positioned closest to the article 2 of “2” in a state of being positioned above 1, the article 1 is assigned to be held by the holding means HD.
Next, the control means 7 assigns the holding means HB to which the article 1 is not yet assigned among the holding means HB and HD to the article 3 of “3” in the transport area SB. Among the holding means HA and HC, the holding means HA to which the article 1 is not yet assigned is assigned to the article 4 of “4”.
Then, the control means 7 controls the operation of the robot 5 to hold the articles 1 of “1”, “2”, “3” and “4” positioned on the downstream side where the head 5 b is conveyed on the supply conveyor 3. Means HC, HD, HB, and HA are moved so as to be held in this order, and the head 5b is moved so that the moving distance at that time becomes the shortest, and the articles 1 are sequentially held.
When the four holding means HA to HD hold the article 1, the control means 7 moves the head 5 b onto the discharge conveyor 4 and delivers these articles 1 in alignment with the discharge conveyor 4.

When the articles 1 of “1”, “2”, “3”, and “4” are transferred to the discharge conveyor 4 by the head 5b, the article 1 that is positioned on the most downstream side of the supply conveyor 3 next is “ The article 1 is “5”, and “6” in the transport area SA, “7” in the transport area SB, and “8” in the transport area SA are respectively transported upstream thereof.
The control means 6 temporarily returns the head 5b to the reference position shown in FIG. 1, and from this state, the articles 1 "6" and "8" in the transport area SA are respectively provided on the transport area SA side in the head 5b. Similarly, the articles 1 of “5” and “7” in the transport area SB are respectively held by the holding means HD and HB provided on the transport area SB side in the head 5b. Assign as follows.
Then, the control means 7 controls the operation of the robot 5 to move the head 5b to hold the article 1 of “5” “6” “7” “8” in the order of the holding means HD, HC, HB, HA. These articles 1 are placed on the discharge conveyor 4.

According to this embodiment, the detection means 6 divides the supply conveyor 3 into two rows along the conveyance direction and recognizes it as conveyance areas SA and SB, and the control means 7 further holds the holding means HA˜ of the robot 5. By assigning the HD to each of the transport areas SA and SB, the article 1 can be efficiently held so that the moving distance of the head 5b is minimized.
As in the conventional article processing system, when the articles 1 located on the downstream side of the supply conveyor 3 are sequentially held by the holding means HA to HD, the articles 1 of “5”, “6”, “7”, and “8” in FIG. Is held, the holding means HA is “5”, the holding means HB is “6”, the holding means HC is “7”, and the holding means HD is “8”.
However, since the articles 1 of “5” and “6” are located at one end and the other end in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the supply conveyor 3, after the article 1 of “5” is held by the holding means HA, When the article 6 of “6” is to be held by the holding means HB, the head 5b has to be moved from one end of the supply conveyor 3 to the other end. In the head 5b, the holding means HA is located on the upper side in the drawing. Since HB is located on the lower side in the figure, the head 5b must be moved until it protrudes from the side end of the supply conveyor 3 to hold the article 1 by these holding means.
After the “6” article 1 is held, the head 5b must be moved between one end and the other end of the supply conveyor 3 to hold the “7” and “8” article 1 respectively.
That is, when the article 1 is positioned at one end and the other end of the supply conveyor 3, the movement path of the head 5b for holding these becomes longer, and therefore the article 1 cannot be efficiently held. was there.

  On the other hand, in the article processing system 2 of the present embodiment, as described above, since the articles 1 of “5”, “6”, “7”, and “8” are held, the holding means HA and HC have only the range of the transport area SA. The holding means HB and HD only need to move within the transport area SB, and since the holding means closer to the article 1 to be gripped is assigned according to the position of the head 5b, the movement of the head 5b is performed. The route can be shortened compared to the conventional one, and the article 1 can be held more efficiently.

In the above embodiment, when three or more articles 1 positioned on the downstream side of the supply conveyor 3 are continuously conveyed, for example, in the conveyance area SA, the operation of the robot 5 can be controlled as follows.
In this embodiment, only the holding means HA and HC are assigned to the article 1 conveyed in the conveyance area SA, and therefore the holding means HA and HC are downstream of the three articles 1 conveyed in the conveyance area SA. If the two articles 1 are held, the holding means HB and HD assigned to the article 1 in the transport area SB hold the article 1 and transfer it to the discharge conveyor 4 until the third article 1 is transferred. 1 cannot be held.
Therefore, in this embodiment, when the third article 1 cannot be held, the head 5b of the robot 5 is moved by the control means 7 and is located closer to the holding means HB and HD. The article 1 can be held by holding means or holding means that does not hold the article 1.

When three or more articles 1 are transported to the transport area SA described above, a plurality of the robots 5 are provided along the supply conveyor 3, and the upstream robot 5 uses the holding means HA and HC to downstream. When two articles 1 are held, the third robot 1 may not be held by the upstream robot 5 but may be held by the downstream robot 5.
In the above embodiment, two rows of transport areas SA and SB are set. However, three or more rows of transport areas are set, and the holding means HA to HD of the head 5b are set to these three or more rows of transport areas. It is also possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article 2 Article processing system 3 Supply conveyor (conveyance means) 4 Discharge conveyor 5 Robot 5a Arm 5b Head 6 Detection means 7 Control means HA-HD holding means SA, SB Conveyance area

Claims (2)

A transport means for transporting articles in a plurality of rows, a detection means for detecting the position of the articles transported by the transport means, a head having a plurality of holding means for holding the articles on the transport means, and the head is moved In an article processing system comprising a robot and a control means for controlling the operation of the robot based on the position of the article detected by the detection means and moving the head to hold the article by each holding means.
The detection means recognizes the conveyance area of the article by the conveyance means by dividing it into a plurality of rows along the conveyance direction, and the control means assigns each holding means of the robot to any one of the conveyance areas,
When the detection means detects the article of the conveyance means and recognizes the conveyance area where the article is located, the control means controls the robot so that the articles located on the downstream side among the articles to be conveyed are sequentially An article processing system in which an article is held by holding means assigned to a conveyance area where the article is located. In a state where all of the holding means corresponding to the required transfer area holds the article, and the holding means not corresponding to the required transfer area does not hold the article,
When an article located on the downstream side is conveyed in the required conveyance area, the control means controls the robot to hold the article in a holding means that does not correspond to the required conveyance area. The article processing system according to claim 1.

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