JP6312773B1 - Loading system - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a robot hand capable of efficiently and orderly loading regardless of the form of a load by adopting a configuration in which a plurality of side-by-side loads can be grasped individually and simultaneously. A robot hand for loading attached to the tip of a robot arm, and a plurality of gripping portions 4A, 4B, 4C arranged side by side in correspondence with a plurality of loads 1 arranged side by side; The support mechanism 5 that supports the second and third gripping portions 4B and 4C provided so as to be able to approach and separate from the first gripping portion 4A and the first gripping portion 4A, and the second and third And a drive mechanism 50 for moving each of the grip portions 4B and 4C. Each of the grip portions 4A, 4B, and 4C includes a gripping mechanism 6 that holds the load 1 from above and below. [Selection] Figure 3

Description

This invention relates to a loading system, the invention particularly relates to a loading system which can be assembled, such as a truck or a pallet grab side by side a plurality of load individually and simultaneously by the robot hand.

  A conventional robot hand has a grip portion for gripping a load, and there is a robot hand having a fork for supporting the lower surface of the load and a pusher for pressing the upper surface of the load. The load conveyed by the conveyor is held between the fork and the pusher of the grip portion, and then guided to a loading position on a carriage or a pallet by the robot turning the robot hand. In the loading position, the pusher is displaced upward, and the fork is moved backward to unload the load (see, for example, the conventional technology column of Patent Document 1).

JP 11-320470 A

  However, for example, in order to stack a plurality of loads in an aligned state on the carriage with the robot hand described above, the loads conveyed by the conveyor are grasped one by one by the gripping part and positioned on the carriage on the left, right, front and back. Therefore, there is a problem in that work efficiency is low and loading takes time.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 11, the shape of the load is a rectangular parallelepiped having a different vertical width (hereinafter referred to as “vertical width”) x and a horizontal width (hereinafter referred to as “horizontal width”) y. As shown in FIG. 5, when a plurality of loads 1 are stacked on a cart 11 having stoppers 11a and 11b at both front and rear ends in an orderly manner from the direction indicated by the arrows in the drawing, the work efficiency is further reduced. To do. The load 1 shown in FIG. 11 is a cardboard box in which six plastic bottles are loaded. The vertical width x is the length of two plastic bottles, and the horizontal width y is the length of three plastic bottles. In addition, they correspond to each other.

The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned problem, and by using a robot hand having a configuration capable of individually and simultaneously grasping a plurality of loads arranged side by side, it is possible to efficiently and orderly load regardless of the form of the load. The purpose is to provide a loading system that can be used.

A loading system according to the present invention includes a robot having a robot hand attached to the tip of an arm, a roller conveyor that guides the load to a standby position in which a plurality of loads are arranged side by side when viewed from the robot side, And a push-up mechanism that pushes up a plurality of loads arranged at the standby position and supported on the roller conveyor to form a gap between the roller conveyor and the bottom surface of the load. The robot hand of the robot includes a plurality of grip portions arranged side by side in correspondence with the plurality of loads arranged side by side, one grip portion, and other grip portions that can be approached and separated from each other. And a driving mechanism capable of moving at least the other gripping portions so that the arrangement intervals of the respective holding portions correspond to the arrangement intervals of the plurality of loads arranged side by side . Each of the grip portions has a front plate portion and a bottom plate portion, and the bottom surface of the bottom plate portion is capable of advancing and retreating to project toward the load, and is capable of entering directly under the load through the gap. And a reciprocating mechanism for moving back and forth between the position where the fork is retracted below the bottom plate portion and the position immediately below the load while maintaining a horizontal posture, and on the front surface of the front plate portion There are provided a pressing tool capable of vertical displacement opposed to the protruding fork and a displacement mechanism for displacing the pressing tool in the vertical direction.

According to the loading system having the above-described configuration, when the gripping portions are moved by driving the driving mechanism of the robot hand , the gripping portions approach or separate from each other, so that the arrangement interval of the gripping portions can be freely set. To load a plurality of loads in a side-by-side state on a pallet or cart, the load is arranged individually and simultaneously from the top and bottom by each gripping part by making the spacing of the gripping parts correspond to the spacing of the loads. A plurality of loads can be stacked at the same time while maintaining the arrangement state.
Further, according to the above-mentioned gripping part, after the fork is advanced by the reciprocating mechanism to support the lower surface of the load, the load is displaced between the fork and the pressing tool by displacing the pressing tool toward the load by the displacement mechanism. It is pinched by. When the robot hand is guided to the loading position on a cart or the like, even if the robot turns and swings around the robot hand, the load is stably held from above and below, so the load is not shaken off by centrifugal force. .

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of gripping portions include a first gripping portion fixed to the support mechanism portion, and a first gripping portion on both sides sandwiching the first gripping portion. It is comprised by the 2nd and 3rd each grip part provided so that an approach and separation | spacing are possible.

  According to this embodiment, by moving the second and third gripping portions so as to approach or separate from the first gripping portion, the arrangement interval between the first gripping portion and the second gripping portion, and the first An arrangement interval between the grip portion and the third grip portion can be freely set.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of side-by-side loads can be loaded at a time in an aligned state, so that the working efficiency is greatly improved. In addition, since the arrangement interval of the grip portions can be made to correspond to the arrangement interval of the load, loading can be performed regardless of the form of the load.

It is a top view which shows the outline of the loading system by a robot. It is a side view of the robot with which the robot hand concerning this invention was attached. It is a rear view of the robot hand which is one Example of this invention. It is a top view which shows the state which grabbed three loads with which the side of the load was located side by side with the robot hand which is one Example of this invention. It is a top view which shows the state which hold | gripped three loads with which the front and back surfaces of the load were arranged side by side by the robot hand which is one Example of this invention. It is a side view of the robot hand which is one Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a support mechanism part. It is a top view which shows the relationship between the shape of a fork, and a raising mechanism. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between a fork, a roller conveyor, and a raising mechanism. It is a top view which shows the procedure of the loading operation | work on a trolley | bogie. It is a top view which shows the other form of the loading state on a trolley | bogie. It is a perspective view which shows the form of a load. It is a top view which shows the state with which the load shown in FIG. 11 was loaded on the trolley | bogie.

  FIG. 1 shows an outline of a loading system introduced in a factory or a warehouse. The illustrated loading system loads a plurality of loads 1 on a carriage 11 in a predetermined alignment state by a robot 2. A robot 2 is installed at an appropriate position on the floor, and a load 1 to be loaded on the carriage 11 is guided around the robot 11 one after another by the roller conveyors 12 and 13 and waits in an aligned state. The standby positions A and B and the third standby position C that guides the carts 11 on which the load 1 is loaded one after another and sets the standby are set. The first and second standby positions A and B are located 90 degrees apart from the robot 2 as the center. The load 1 conveyed from the inclined conveyor 14 is distributed in two directions orthogonal to each other by the distribution mechanism 19, and is led to the first and second standby positions A and B at the end of the roller conveyors 12 and 13, respectively. The pan is aligned with

  The first and second standby positions A and B, which will be described in detail later, are push-up mechanisms 17 that individually push up the three loads 1 supported on the roller conveyors 12 and 13 (FIGS. 7 and 8). Are provided, and by the push-up operation of each load 1 by these push-up mechanisms 17, gaps are formed between the roller conveyors 12, 13 and the bottom surface of the load 1 so that a fork 60 described later can enter. .

  The load 1 is shown in FIG. 11 described above, and is a rectangular parallelepiped whose lateral width y is larger than the longitudinal width x and whose height z is larger than the lateral width y, and a surface having the lateral width y (hereinafter referred to as “front and rear surface 1a”). The load 1 is conveyed one after another by the inclined conveyor 14 toward the front and rear. In the first standby position A, each load 1 to be aligned has a surface having a vertical width x (hereinafter referred to as “side surface 1 b”) facing the robot 2, and the front and rear surfaces 1 a are front and rear surfaces 1 a of the adjacent load 1. Face each other. In the second standby position B, each load 1 has the front and rear surfaces 1 a facing the direction of the robot 2, and the side surface 1 b faces the side surface 1 b of the adjacent load 1. At each of the first and second standby positions A and B, a plurality of loads 1 are arranged side by side as viewed from the robot 2 side. In this embodiment, the robot hand 3 holds three loads 1. Grasp individually and simultaneously in the aligned state and load them on the carriage 11.

The third standby position C is a position perpendicular to the first standby position A and a position opposite to the second standby position B. The plurality of carriages 11 are moved to the third standby position by a carriage feed mechanism (not shown). Sequentially sent to position C and localized. When a predetermined number of loads 1 are stacked in a predetermined arrangement on the carriage 11 at the third standby position C, the carriage 11 is sent out from the third standby position C. An empty carriage 11 is guided and localized. The loading system of the illustrated example is for loading a plurality of loads 1 on a carriage 11, but this loading system can also be applied to loading a plurality of loads 1 on a pallet. Is possible. 1 shows the cart 11 in the loaded state shown in FIG. 12 , but the number and arrangement of the loads 1 loaded on the cart 11 are not limited to this.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the robot 2 is an articulated industrial robot, and a plurality of arms 20 are connected via a plurality of joints. The robot hand 3 according to the present invention is attached to the distal end portion of the arm 20 at the distal end position. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the robot hand 3 of this embodiment has three grip portions 4 </ b> A, 4 </ b> B, and 4 </ b> C that can grip three loads 1 individually and simultaneously. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and two grip portions may be arranged side by side, or four or more grip portions may be arranged side by side. . Moreover, when the load 1 is grasped, only one or two grasping portions among the three grasping portions 4A, 4B, and 4C can be brought into an operating state.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, among the three grip portions 4A, 4B, 4C, the first grip portion 4A at the center is fixed, and the second and third positions at both sides sandwiching the first grip portion 4A are fixed. The grip portions 4B and 4C are movable and can be moved toward or away from the first grip portion 4A. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The grip portions 4A, 4B, 4C may be movable. Fig. 4-1 shows a state in which the side surface 1b of the load 1 is held side by side, and Fig. 4-2 shows a state in which the front and back surface 1a of the load 1 is held side by side. Show.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the robot hand 3 of this embodiment has the above-mentioned three grip portions 4A, 4B, 4C, the first grip portion 4A, and the first grip portion 4A. A support mechanism portion 5 that supports the second and third gripping portions 4B and 4C provided so as to be able to approach and separate from each other, and a drive mechanism 50 that moves the second and third gripping portions 4B and 4C are provided. Yes.

  The support mechanism 5 includes a horizontal frame 52 having a rectangular shape in plan view, an arm attachment plate 53 attached to the center of the upper surface of the frame 52, and a pair of spacers 57 attached to the lower surface of the frame 52. And a pair of guide mechanisms 51, 51 provided between the upper and lower plate portions 45 of the second and third gripping portions 4B, 4C. A connecting portion 56 to which the tip of the arm 20 of the robot 2 is connected is provided at the center of the upper surface of the arm mounting plate 53. In addition, a first grip portion 4A is fixed at a position below the arm attachment plate 53 at the center of the length of the lower surface of the frame 52.

  As shown in FIG. 6, each pair of guide mechanisms 51 includes a track rail 54 and two sliders 55 that can move relative to the track rail 54. For example, a “linear way” ( Registered trademark; manufactured by Nippon Thomson Co., Ltd.). In the illustrated example, the two sliders 55 are mounted on the upper plate portion 45 of the second and third gripping portions 4B and 4C at intervals, and the track rail 54 is disposed on the lower surface of the frame 52 via a spacer 57. It is installed. The track rail 54 and the sliders 55 are slidably engaged with each other, whereby the second and third gripping portions 4B and 4C are movably supported by the support mechanism portion 5.

  In this embodiment, the second and third gripping portions 4B and 4C are individually driven by air cylinders 50a and 50a constituting the drive mechanism 50. Each air cylinder 50a is supported by the lower surface of a spacer 58 mounted at the center of the lower surface of the frame 52, and the rod 50b of one air cylinder 50a is attached to the second grip portion 4B (see FIG. 3), and the other The rod 50b of the air cylinder 50a is connected to the third grip portion 4C (see FIG. 5).

  Each of the three grip portions 4A, 4B, and 4C includes side plate portions 41 and 41, a front plate portion 42, a bottom plate portion 44, and an upper plate portion 45, and holds the load 1 on the front side of the front plate portion 42 from above and below. A gripping mechanism 6 is provided. Each side plate portion 41 is opened by cutting out a plate surface for weight reduction, and the side plate portion 41 and the front plate portion 42 are provided with protruding wall portions 41a and 42a protruding upward.

  On the lower surface of the bottom plate portion 44, a plate-like fork 60 that can be moved forward and backward to project toward the load 1, a reciprocating mechanism 61 that moves the fork 60 back and forth, and a guide for freely sliding the fork 60 back and forth. A pair of guide mechanisms 62 are provided. In this embodiment, the above-described “linear way” (registered trademark; manufactured by Nippon Thomson Co., Ltd.) is used as the guide mechanism 62, and the track rail 63 can be moved relative to the track rail 63. The slider 64 is included.

  A rodless cylinder 65 is used for the reciprocating mechanism 61, and a cylinder tube 66 of the rodless cylinder 65 is installed at the center of the lower surface of the bottom plate portion 44. A slider 67 is externally mounted on the cylinder tube 66 so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the cylinder tube 66. The slider 67 and the fork 60 attached to the slider 64 of the guide mechanism 62 maintain a horizontal posture along the cylinder tube 66. Reciprocates while standing.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the fork 60 includes a base portion 68 having a width corresponding to the width of the grip portions 4 </ b> A, 4 </ b> B, 4 </ b> C and a bifurcated portion 69 protruding from the base portion 68. In each of the first and second standby positions A and B, the load 1 is positioned on the roller conveyors 12 and 13. In this state, the fork 60 cannot enter the lower surface of the load 1. Below the roller conveyors 12 and 13, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a push-up mechanism 17 having nine projecting shaft portions 18 is arranged so as to be able to move up and down. By projecting the portion 18 upward from the gap between the rollers of the roller conveyors 12 and 13 and pushing up the load 1, the bifurcated portion 69 of the fork 60 enters from the gap between the projecting shaft portions 18 and 18 to just below the load 1. Is possible.

An air cylinder 71 that constitutes the displacement mechanism 70 is attached downward to the projecting wall portion 42a of the front plate portion 42 of each gripping portion 4A, 4B, 4C via a bracket 72, and is horizontal to the tip of the rod of the air cylinder 71. A plate-like pressing tool 7 is attached. The presser 7 is disposed at an upper position facing the protruding fork 60, can be moved up and down by the air cylinder 71, and holds the load 1 between the fork 60 from above and below.
A gripping mechanism 6 for gripping the load 1 is configured by the fork 60, the reciprocating mechanism 61, the displacement mechanism 70, and the presser 7.

  According to the robot hand 3 configured as described above, the second and third gripping portions 4B and 4C are driven by driving the air cylinders 50a and 50a of the drive mechanism 50 for the second and third gripping portions 4B and 4C. Is moved toward the first gripping portion 4A to approach the first gripping portion 4A, the arrangement interval between the first gripping portion 4A and the second gripping portion 4B, and the first gripping portion 4A and the first gripping portion 4A The arrangement interval with the three gripping portions 4C is reduced.

On the other hand, when the grip portions 4B and 4C are moved in the opposite direction to the first grip portion 4A and separated from the first grip portion 4A, the arrangement interval between the first grip portion 4A and the second grip portion 4B And the arrangement | positioning space | interval of 4 A of 1st grip parts and the 3rd grip part 4C is each expanded.
Therefore, by moving the second and third gripping portions 4B and 4C so as to approach or separate from the first gripping portion 4A, the first gripping portion 4A, the second gripping portion 4B, and the third gripping portion. The arrangement interval with the part 4 </ b> C can be freely set according to the arrangement interval of the load 1.

  Now, for example, to load three loads 1 that are in a side-by-side state at the first standby position A or the second standby position B onto the carriage 11 at the third standby position C in an aligned state at once. Then, the robot 2 is turned to guide the robot hand 3 to the first standby position A or the second standby position B. Next, after the driving mechanism 50 is driven so that the arrangement intervals of the first to third gripping portions 4A, 4B, and 4C correspond to the arrangement intervals of the load 1, the gripping mechanisms of the respective gripping portions 4A, 4B, and 4C 6 is operated to hold the three loads 1 side by side individually and simultaneously. Next, after turning the robot 2 and guiding the robot hand 3 to the third standby position B, the three loads 1 are stacked on the carriage 11 while being arranged side by side.

  In order to grip the load 1 by the gripping mechanism 6 at the first and second standby positions A and B, the fork 60 is moved forward by operating the rodless cylinder 65 of the reciprocating mechanism 61. As shown in FIG. 8, the push-up mechanism 17 is operated to push up the load 1 above the roller conveyor 12 or 13. As a result, the bifurcated portion 69 of the fork 60 can be advanced from the gap between the projecting shaft portions 18 and 18 of the push-up mechanism 17 to just below the load 1. After the fork 60 is advanced to support the lower surface of the load 1, the load 1 is clamped between the fork 60 and the presser 7 by displacing the presser 7 toward the load 1 by the displacement mechanism 70. When the robot hand 3 is guided to the third standby position C, the load 1 is stably held from above and below between the fork 60 and the presser 7 even if the robot 2 swings and the robot hand 3 is swung. Therefore, the load 1 is not shaken off by the centrifugal force.

  FIG. 9 shows the procedure of loading work on the carriage 11. In FIG. 1, first, the robot hand 3 is directed to the first standby position A, and the three loads 1 whose side surfaces 1b are arranged side by side are individually and simultaneously gripped by the first to third grip portions 4A to 4C. , Turn 90 degrees, and stack on the carriage 11 at once in the aligned state (see FIG. 9 (1)).

  Next, in the first standby position A, one load 1 is gripped by the second grip portion 4B at the end position, turned 90 degrees and loaded on the carriage 11 (FIG. 9 (2)). reference). At this time, the forks 60 of the first and third gripping portions 4A and 4C are in a retracted state. Further, the gap between the first grip portion 4A and the third grip portion 4C is widened, and the third grip portion 4C does not collide with the stopper 11b.

  Next, at the first standby position A, the three loads 1 whose side surfaces 1b are arranged side by side are individually and simultaneously gripped by the first to third gripping portions 4A to 4C, turned 90 degrees, and aligned. After being stacked on the cart 11 as it is (see FIG. 9 (3)), the single load 1 at the first standby position A is gripped by the second grip portion 4B and turned 90 degrees. 11 (see FIG. 9 (4)).

  Next, the robot hand 3 is guided to the second standby position B, one load 1 is gripped by the second grip portion 4B, turned 180 degrees and loaded on the carriage 11 (FIG. 9 (5). )reference). At this time, the forks 60 of the first and third gripping portions 4A and 4C are in a retracted state. Further, the gap between the second grip portion 4B and the first grip portion 4A is widened, and the first grip portion 4A does not collide with the stopper 11b. Similarly, at the second standby position B, one load 1 is gripped by the second gripping part 4B, turned 180 degrees, loaded on the carriage 11, and the loading operation is repeated twice ( (Refer to Drawing 9 (6) (7)). From the above, a total of 11 loads 1 can be loaded on the cart 11 by seven loading operations.

  FIG. 10 shows another specific example of the loading state on the carriage 11. In order to realize the loading state of FIG. 10A, the robot hand 3 is guided to the second standby position B, and the three loads 1 whose front and rear surfaces 1a are arranged side by side are connected to the first to third grip portions 4A. -4C individually and simultaneously, rotated 180 degrees and stacked on the carriage 11 at once in an aligned state. After repeating this twice, the robot hand 3 is then guided to the first standby position A. One load 1 is gripped by the second grip portion 4B, turned 90 degrees, and loaded on the carriage 11. From the above, a total of seven loads 1 can be loaded on the carriage 11 by three loading operations.

  Next, in order to realize the loading state of FIG. 10 (2), the robot hand 3 is guided to the first standby position A, and the two loads 1 whose side surfaces 1b are arranged side by side are respectively connected to the first and second loads. Grasping the grip parts 4A and 4B individually and simultaneously, turning 90 degrees and stacking them on the carriage 11 in an aligned state at a time, repeating this twice, and then moving the robot hand 3 to the second standby position The two loads 1 having the front and rear surfaces 1a arranged side by side are gripped individually and simultaneously by the first and second gripping portions 4A and 4B, turned 180 degrees, and once aligned on the carriage 11 while being aligned. And repeat this three times. From the above, a total of ten loads 1 can be loaded on the carriage 11 by five loading operations.

  According to the above-described embodiment, a plurality of loads can be obtained by operating all or a part of the three grip portions 4A to 4C and adjusting the arrangement interval of the three grip portions 4A, 4B, 4C. 1 can be loaded on the carriage 11 in various loading modes. Of course, the manner of loading is not limited to the illustrated one.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Load 2 Robot 3 Robot hand 4A, 4B, 4C Grasp part 5 Support mechanism part 6 Grip mechanism 7 Holding tool 20 Arm 50 Drive mechanism 60 Fork 61 Reciprocating mechanism 70 Displacement mechanism

Claims (2)

A robot having a robot hand attached to the tip of the arm; a roller conveyor for guiding the load to a standby position in which a plurality of loads are arranged side by side as viewed from the robot; and the roller disposed at the standby position. A lifting mechanism that pushes up a plurality of loads supported on the conveyor to form a gap between the roller conveyor and the bottom surface of the load,
The robot hand of the robot includes a plurality of grip portions arranged side by side in correspondence with the plurality of loads arranged side by side, one grip portion, and other grip portions that can be approached and separated from each other. A support mechanism that supports the gripping part, and a drive mechanism that can move at least the other gripping part to correspond to the arraying interval between the plurality of loads arranged side by side . Each of the grip portions has a front plate portion and a bottom plate portion, and the bottom surface of the bottom plate portion is capable of advancing and retreating to project toward the load, and is capable of entering directly under the load through the gap. And a reciprocating mechanism for moving back and forth between the position where the fork is retracted below the bottom plate portion and the position immediately below the load while maintaining a horizontal posture, and on the front surface of the front plate portion The protruding four And the vertical displacement capable retainer to face the upper and lower, loading system and the displacement mechanism is provided for displacing the retainer to the upper and lower directions. The plurality of gripping portions are provided so as to be able to approach and separate from the first gripping portion at both side positions sandwiching the first gripping portion and a first gripping portion fixed to the support mechanism portion. The loading system according to claim 1, wherein the loading system is configured by third gripping portions .

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