JP6643921B2 - Sorting device and article removal method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sorting device used for sorting a plurality of articles and an article takeout method .

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a picking system described in Patent Literature 1, for example, is known as a sorting device used for sorting products.

  In this conventional picking system, an operator takes out an article from storage means such as a shelf means or a low-frequency shelf means based on order information, and picks up the taken-out article from a collection container transported by a transport device. Was placed in a predetermined collection container corresponding to the order information.

JP 2012-180197 A

  However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1 described above, since a worker needs to take out a predetermined article from the storage means and put it into a predetermined collection container, the work load on the worker is large, and depending on the work capacity of the worker, Work speed and work accuracy are affected, and there is a possibility that efficient sorting work cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sorting apparatus and an article removing method capable of improving the efficiency of an article sorting operation.

Sorting device according to 請 Motomeko 1 has a circular conveying section for an arc moving a plurality of articles placed on the circular conveying surface, a circulation conveying device for circulating moving an article, the circulating transfer device An image pickup device provided above the camera for taking an image of the transport surface that moves relatively, an identification device that acquires information on articles circulating and moving by the circulating transport device, and a transport that removes and transports articles from the circulatory transport device The device, the take-out position is a position where the transfer device takes out the article from the circulating transfer device with respect to the transfer surface that moves relatively , and is disposed downstream of the angle of view of the imaging device and upstream of the take-out position, and the lead candidate reference line which overlaps with the radial line of the circular transport section, provided on the movable range of the transfer device, a feeding device for an article taken out from the circulation conveyor device by the transfer device is turned on, the identification And a control unit connected to location and the transfer device, the front Symbol controller, an image processing unit that acquires a position at which the transport position in the conveying surface of the article in the images taken by the imaging device An article tracking unit that tracks movement of an article whose transport position has been acquired as a tracking target article, wherein the control unit executes an operation of taking out the tracking target article that has moved to the takeout position in the transfer device. are allowed, it is shall be chosen with an article retrieving tracking target object located upstream than the extraction candidate reference line in the conveying surface at the time of turn-on completion of the article to the closing device by the transfer device by the transfer device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for taking out an article, comprising: a circular transport section configured to circularly move an article placed on a transport surface; A method for taking out an article, wherein a captured image of an article moving in an arc on the transport surface by an imaging device is acquired, and a transport position that is a position of the article on the transport plane is acquired from the acquired captured image, The step of tracking the circular movement of the article to be tracked, wherein the article at which the transport position is obtained is a tracked article, and the transfer device is provided upstream of a take-out position at which the article is taken out from the circulating transfer device. On the basis of an extraction candidate reference line overlapping the radius line of the circular transport unit, the extraction device is located upstream from the extraction candidate reference line before the start of the extraction operation of the transfer device. Selecting a trace target article as a take-out article, and taking out the tracked target article selected as the take-out article that has moved to the take-out position from the transport surface by the transfer device, wherein each of the steps This is executed by the control unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method for removing an article according to the second aspect, each of the steps is performed during the movement of the article.

  According to the present invention, the articles circulated and moved by the circulating transport device are sorted by the transfer device being transferred to a predetermined sorting destination based on the processing result obtained by processing the information acquired by the identification device by the acquisition information processing unit. In addition, the efficiency of the sorting operation of the articles can be improved.

It is an explanatory view showing the composition of the sorting device concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the reference position at the time of processing an image by the image processing part in a sorting apparatus same as the above. It is explanatory drawing which shows the information acquired from goods. It is an explanatory view showing the composition of the sorting device concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows arrangement | positioning of each reference | standard line on the turntable of the same sorting apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing from the input of goods to the turntable of the said sorting apparatus until it takes out. FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram following FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram following FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram following FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram following FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram following FIG. 10. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the system of a sorting apparatus same as the above. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the sorting operation | movement of a sorting apparatus same as the above. (a) And (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the modification regarding tracking and holding of an article.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a sorting device, which sorts a corresponding article W to a predetermined sorting destination as a sorting operation. In the sorting operation, for example, articles W (eg, articles W1, W2, W3, and W4) corresponding to the respective sorting destinations are sorted for a plurality of predetermined sorting destinations linked to the order information.

  The sorting device 1 includes a turntable 2 as a circulating transport device that transports a plurality of articles W (W1, W2, W3, W4) mounted on the transport surface 2a. In the turntable 2, the entire transport surface 2a is configured by a circular transport portion that is a circular transport surface in plan view.

  The article W (W1, W2, W3, W4) is, for example, a multi-kind (multi-kind) product collected from storage means (not shown). Note that, as such an article W, a medium-frequency product or a low-frequency product with a small number of orders may be applied.

  Then, the articles W are supplied to the transport surface 2a of the turntable 2 by the worker A, a robot (not shown), or the like, and a plurality of articles W are placed on the transport surface 2a.

  The turntable 2 rotates in one direction about a vertical axis at the center of the turntable 2 with the article W group placed on an upper part of a disk-shaped turntable. The transport surface 2a on which the article W is placed on the turntable is covered with a high-friction member (for example, rubber) in order to prevent the article W from rotating during rotation. Each article W placed on the turntable 2 circulates in a circular locus according to the rotation about the rotation axis while maintaining a certain distance and a certain posture from the center. That is, the article W moves in an arc along with the circular transport section.

  The sorting device 1 includes an identification device 3 that acquires identification information of each article W conveyed on the turntable 2.

  As the identification device 3, an image pickup device such as a line sensor camera equipped with an image sensor is used to obtain image information as identification information of each article W.

  The imaging device is fixedly arranged at a position spaced upward from the transport surface 2a of the turntable 2. That is, the transport surface 2a of the turntable 2 rotates with respect to the imaging device in a fixed state.

  Then, the imaging device captures a predetermined range of the transport surface 2a of the turntable 2 from above, thereby acquiring image information (captured image) of a planar view image of the article W within the predetermined range.

  An image processing unit 11 as an acquisition information processing unit that processes image information acquired by the imaging device is connected to the identification device 3.

  The image processing unit 11 specifies the type of the article W and the transport position of the article W (the position of the article W on the transport surface 2a) by performing image processing on the image data acquired by the identification device 3.

  The transfer device 4 is a robot such as a parallel link robot, for example, which is arranged so that a movable range R (indicated by a two-dot chain line circle in FIG. 1) overlaps a part of the transport surface 2a of the turntable 2. The article W that has arrived in the range R is taken out of the turntable 2, and the taken out article W is transferred to a predetermined sorting destination.

  The transfer device 4 has a plurality of (for example, three) arms 14 driven by a driving unit (not shown) controlled by a control unit (not shown), and holds the article W at the tip of the arm 14. A (picked) holding portion (not shown) is provided.

  Then, based on the information of each article W acquired by the identification device 3, the controller moves the holding unit within the movable range R by the interlocking driving of the arms 14, and the turntable 2. From the plurality of articles W conveyed above, the articles W of the type required according to the sorting destination are selectively taken out, and the taken-out articles W are loaded into the loading device 15 provided as the sorting destination corresponding to the sorting destination. Control is performed to transfer the data to the sending unit 13.

  The sending section 13 is a conveyor provided such that one end of the transfer start end is located near the side of the turntable 2 and the other end of the transfer end portion faces the transport device 6. The transfer start end of the delivery unit 13 is installed so as to overlap the movable range R of the transfer device 4. Note that a plurality of transmission units 13 are provided.

  Then, the article W transferred to the sending unit 13 by the transfer device 4 passes through the downstream (discharge unit) of the sending unit 13 and is thrown into the opening of the collection container 7 transported by the transport device 6 and stored therein. You.

  The sorting device 1 is connected to an information terminal (not shown) by wire or wirelessly. The information terminal includes a storage unit that stores information related to a sorting operation and an information processing unit that processes information necessary for various sorting operations. are doing. The storage unit of the information terminal stores at least article information, order information, work information, apparatus information, equipment operation information, and the like.

  Article information on each article W to be sorted by the sorting apparatus 1 is stored in the information terminal in advance. The article information on each article W includes article ID information and image information, dimension information, holding position information, and the like of the article W associated therewith.

  The article ID information is, for example, information unique to each article assigned to identify each article W by a product number, a model number, a product type, and the like, and the articles W are distinguished for each article ID information. Further, the article ID information can be set in accordance with the management unit of the article W, such as an SKU (Stock-Keeping Unit) unit or an item unit. Note that the type of the article W in the present invention means a classification of the article W classified for each article ID information.

  Also, as the image information (master image information) stored in the storage unit, for example, when the shape of the article W having one piece of article ID information is a rectangular parallelepiped as shown in FIG. At this time, the image information of the surface facing upward (front surface S1) is stored in association with the corresponding one item ID information. Also, when the shape of the article W is a cylinder as shown in FIG. 3B or a frustum as shown in FIG. 3C, similarly to FIG. It is memorized. In addition, in order to be able to cope with a change in the mounting state of the article W, image information such as a surface opposite to the front surface S1 (back surface S2) may be stored, and image information of a side surface other than the front surface S1 and the back surface S2 may be stored. May be stored. Further, the surface S1 may be a package surface of the article W.

  Further, when the article W is as shown in FIG. 3A, information on the length d in the longitudinal direction, the length w in the width direction, and the length h in the height direction is stored. In the case of c), the radius information of the surface radius r1 and the bottom radius r2 and the height information of the length h in the height direction are stored.

  Further, a holding position (holding area) is set for each article W. For example, when the article W is to be sucked out from the top and taken out, the position of the center or the center of gravity of the surface of the article W to be sucked, or a certain area extending from those positions may be set as the holding position.

  In addition, at least one of the area data such as the surface of each article W and the color information may be stored in the information terminal as image information, and the information may be used at the time of image processing. After roughly narrowing down the target articles, it is also possible to specify the product type by detailed pattern matching. Note that the area data at this time may be converted into pixel data when the article W is photographed by the identification device 3 and stored. Further, the length information of each article W may be similarly converted into pixel data.

  Next, the sorting operation by the sorting device 1 according to the present invention will be described.

  First, the information terminal performs batch processing on a plurality of collective orders, calculates the number of articles W to be collected and the number corresponding thereto, and assigns those orders to the worker A to perform the work of collecting the articles W. Create goods pickup instruction information.

  The worker A performs a collection operation in accordance with a collection operation instruction terminal (not shown) that has received the article collection instruction information from the information terminal.

  The worker A, who has completed the collection operation, moves to the turntable 2 in order to perform an operation of replenishing the turntable 2 with articles.

  The worker A arriving at the turntable 2 inputs the worker information uniquely assigned to each worker A to the input device 5 installed near the turntable 2 and connected to the information terminal. .

  The information terminal stores a circulating article list for each article W (articles W1, W2, W3, W4) placed on the turntable 2 and circulating. Is input, the article ID information of each article W collected by the worker A and the number corresponding to each article ID information are added to the circulating article list, and the circulating article list is updated.

  The article ID information of each article W collected by the worker A may be input to the input device 5 when the worker A replenishes the turntable 2 with each article W. At this time, after inputting the article ID information relating to one article W, all the remaining articles W which are the same as the one article W are replenished. As described above, the method of sequentially replenishing the articles W for each section may be employed, or the article information of the articles W of a plurality of sections may be collectively input, and then the articles W1, W2, W3, and W4 of the inputted sections may be refilled collectively. May be used.

  Further, when inputting the worker information and the article information, the input is performed using the identifier such as the bar code and the QR code (registered trademark) associated with the worker information of each worker and the article information of each article W. Such a configuration is preferable. That is, the worker A scans the worker and the identifier attached to each article W and inputs the worker information and the article information to the input device 5, and then puts the collected articles W into the turntable 2. Place on top. In the case where the article information is not associated with the identifier assigned to the article W, the worker A may manually register the article ID information of the article W and then place the article W on the turntable 2. Good.

  It is preferable that the articles W be placed on the turntable 2 at intervals so that the articles W do not come into contact with each other in order to enhance the accuracy of image processing described later.

  When the articles W1, W2, W3, and W4 are placed on the rotating turntable 2, the articles W group circulate in a circular locus as the turntable 2 rotates. Note that when the worker A places the article W on the turntable 2, the rotation of the turntable 2 may be temporarily stopped or the rotation speed may be reduced.

  The identification device 3 captures images of the articles W1, W2, W3, and W4 that pass below the angle of view (imaging range) of the imaging device in synchronization with the rotation of the turntable 2. The angle of view of the imaging device is a part of the transport surface 2a of the turntable 2 including a predetermined range (predetermined area) in the radial direction of the turntable 2.

  Here, the speed at which the articles W1, W2, W3, and W4 that move in accordance with the rotation of the turntable 2 pass below the imaging device varies depending on the positions of the articles W1, W2, W3, and W4 placed on the transport surface 2a of the turntable 2. That is, in the turntable 2, the passing speed in the case where the turntable 2 is disposed outside in the radial direction which is the direction away from the center of rotation is the same as the case where the passage speed in the case where the turntable 2 is disposed inside the radial direction which is the direction approaching the rotation center. It becomes faster than the passing speed. That is, the passing speed increases as the distance from the rotation center increases. Then, when the articles W1, W2, W3, W4 having a speed difference are photographed by the identification device 3, a distortion occurs in the image photographed based on the speed difference, so that an image of the deformed article W is obtained. You.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the center position in the width direction of the transport surface 2 a of the turntable 2 is set as a reference position from the rotation center axis that is the center of rotation of the turntable 2, and from the rotation center axis to the reference position. Let L1 be the length, and let V1 be the speed at which the reference position passes below the imaging device (angle of view). The length from the rotation center axis to the inner end (inner peripheral edge) in the width direction of the transfer surface 2a is L2, the speed at which the inner end of the transfer surface 2a passes through the angle of view is V2, and the rotation center axis is V2. Assuming that the length from the to the outer end (outer peripheral edge) in the width direction of the transfer surface 2a is L3 and the speed at which the outer end passes through the angle of view is V3, L1: L2: L3 = V1: V2: V3 The image difference captured by the image processing unit 11 is distorted by the speed difference.

  Therefore, the image processing unit 11 connected to the identification device 3 corrects the image acquired by the identification device 3 according to the ratio of L2 and L3 to L1, based on the reference position set in the angle of view. Thereby, the distortion of the image due to the speed difference based on the arrangement of the articles W1, W2, W3 is corrected, and corrected image information for identifying the articles W1, W2, W3 is generated.

  That is, the image processing unit 11 corrects the shape of each article W in the image by correcting the distortion of the image acquired by the identification device 3 and generating a corrected image. Then, the image processing unit 11 extracts the image information of each article W from the corrected image, and compares the extracted image information with the image information of each article W in the circulating article list stored in the information terminal. By comparing the feature amounts and the like, the article ID information of each article W extracted from the image information is specified.

  Further, when the article ID information of each article W is specified, the image processing unit 11 also obtains position information on each article W and the position of the holding area set for each article W on the turntable 2. Acquire at the same time.

  Further, the distance from the transport surface 2a of the turntable 2 to the upper surface position of the article W (the height h of the article W) is recognized, and the information is stored in the information terminal.

  On the other hand, before the transfer device 4 takes out the article W from the turntable 2, an order is assigned to each sending unit 13. It is preferable that the assignment of the order to each sending unit 13 is performed such that the articles are put in the order in which the collection containers 7 linked to the corresponding order arrive downstream of the sending unit 13.

  Then, the transfer device 4 transfers the required number of articles W required by the order assigned to each sending unit 13 from each article W that has moved into the movable range R of the transfer device 4 as the turntable 2 rotates. The article W is selected, held and taken out by the holding section, and the article W is transferred to the corresponding sending section 13.

  Here, the control unit connected to the transfer device 4 acquires the article ID information and the position information of each article W on the transport surface 2a of the turntable 2 from the information terminal, and obtains the position and the moving speed of each article W from the information terminal. Simulate a situation where each article W moves in the movable range R. Then, the control unit selects the article W to be taken out based on the simulation result, and while the selected target article W is moving within the movable range R, the holding unit of the transfer device 4 moves the target article W in accordance with the movement. The operation of the transfer device 4 is controlled so as to hold and take out.

  In addition, when the transfer device 4 takes out the articles W, the control section controls the group of articles W that circulates and moves so that the work can be efficiently executed in a series of sorting operations in which the removal and transfer of the articles W are repeated. Is selected, and the order of taking out is determined. For example, the transfer apparatus 4 transfers the articles W in the order in which the sending sections 13 are arranged, or transfers the articles W to the other sending sections 13 after the transfer operation of all the articles W corresponding to one sending section 13 is completed. It is not necessary to carry out the operation. After one article W is put into the corresponding one sending section 13, the holding position of the article W requested by one of the sending sections 13 is at a timing at which the movable range R can be gripped. If it passes, it can be operated to take out the article W.

  Note that the articles W for which the transfer device 4 has not been instructed to hold pass through the movable range R without being picked, circulate and move as they are by the rotation of the turntable 2, and stay on the transport surface 2a.

  The article W transferred from the turntable 2 by the transfer device 4 is temporarily stored in the sending unit 13 for each order. When the collection container 7 corresponding to the order assigned to each sending unit 13 is transported and arrived downstream of each sending unit 13 (article discharging unit) by the transport device 6, the corresponding collection from the article discharging unit of the sending unit 13 is performed. The article W is put into the opening of the article container 7.

  A new order is assigned to the emptying unit 13 after the articles W are put into the collection container 7 and the articles W required by the new order are transferred from the turntable 2 by the transfer device 4. Come.

  Next, the operation, effects, and the like of the first embodiment will be described.

  According to the sorting apparatus 1, while circulating a plurality of kinds of articles W on the turntable 2, the image acquired by the identification apparatus 3 is processed by the image processing unit 11, and the articles W are transferred based on the processing result. Since the apparatus 4 sorts to a predetermined sort destination, a plurality of articles W corresponding to a plurality of orders can be automatically sorted for each order, and the efficiency of the sorting work of the articles W can be improved.

  Further, in order to sort each article W for a plurality of orders while circulating the articles, it is necessary to take out the articles W on the order when picking each article W by the transfer device 4 on the turntable 2. Since priority is given to taking out another article W moving in the movable range R, the article W that has been postponed and has passed the movable range R circulates and arrives at the movable range R again. Can be taken out in any order. Therefore, it is not necessary to sequentially bring the articles W to be taken out to the movable range R, and a more flexible and efficient sorting operation can be performed.

  The worker A can collect the goods W for a plurality of orders collectively from the storage means, and can put the goods W1, W2, W3, and W4 for the plurality of orders into the turntable 2, so that the collecting work is performed in order units. There is no need to perform work, and for example, the articles W can be collectively collected in item units or the like, so that workability can be improved.

  Further, since the worker A only needs to transfer the plurality of articles W1, W2, W3, W4 corresponding to the plurality of orders collected from the storage means to the turntable 2, the worker A The work load is smaller than in the case of transferring to the designated frontage of the corresponding sorting shelf, and the workability is not easily reduced by the work ability of the worker A.

  Since the image acquisition and removal work of the article W can be performed by the circular transport section, the apparatus can be made compact and space can be saved.

  In the first embodiment, the turntable 2 is adopted as the circulating transport device. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the circulating transport device circulates and moves a plurality of articles W. If so, for example, a conveyor device such as a conveyor arranged in a loop may be used. That is, a configuration in which the circular transport unit and the linear transport unit are combined may be employed. Note that, in a configuration in which a transport device such as a conveyor is employed as the circulating transport device, there is a possibility that the articles W will collide with each other in a curved area, and that the article W may collide with another member (for example, a guide member). Damage may occur depending on the type of the article W. On the other hand, when the articles W are circulated using the turntable 2 as a circulating transport device, the articles W are placed on the transport surface 2a even if the turntable 2 is rotated. There is an advantage that collision of the article W and collision of the article W with other members can be prevented, and damage to the article W due to circulation movement can be prevented.

  The identification device 3 captures an image of the article W on the turntable 2 and corrects the distortion of the captured image by the image processing unit 11, so that the type of the article W on the turntable 2 can be identified with high accuracy. it can.

  Since a series of operations from photographing to removal of the article W is performed during the transport operation of the turntable 2 as a circulating transport device, it is not necessary to repeat the operation / stop of the turntable 2 for each work phase, so that the sorting efficiency is reduced. improves.

  The turntable 2 may be configured to rotate intermittently, for example, in addition to the configuration that continuously rotates in one direction.

  The identification device 3 is configured to acquire the image of the article W and process the image by the image processing unit 11 to acquire the article ID information of the article W on the turntable 2. Instead, for example, a code reader that reads an identifier such as a barcode or a two-dimensional code provided on each article W may be adopted as the identification device 3, and information from an RFID provided on each article W may be used. May be adopted. Note that the identification device 3 may be a combination of a code reader for acquiring article ID information of the article W circulating on the turntable 2 and a camera which is an imaging device for acquiring position information.

  The charging device 15 may have a configuration in which a storage unit is provided at a downstream end of each of the sending units 13. The storage part is configured such that the upper part is open and the bottom part is openable and closable. In the configuration in which the storage unit is provided at the downstream end of the sending unit 13 as described above, the articles W corresponding to one order assigned to one sending unit 13 are sequentially input from the sending unit 13 to the storage unit. Is temporarily stored. Further, in a state where all the articles W corresponding to one order are stored in the storage section, and the corresponding collection containers 7 are arranged below the storage section, the bottom of the storage section is opened, and the storage section is opened. From above, the article W is put into the collection container 7.

  Each article W corresponding to one order assigned to the sending unit 13 is stored in the storage unit, but if the corresponding collection container 7 has not arrived, the corresponding collection container 7 arrives. Until the article W is stored in the storage unit, another new order is assigned to the transmission unit 13, and the transmission unit 13 functions as a buffer conveyor. That is, since a new article corresponding to another order cannot be stored in the storage section until the collection container 7 corresponding to one order arrives, the article W corresponding to the other order is stored on the sending section 13. After the collection container 7 corresponding to one order arrives and the article W corresponding to one order is put into the collection container 7 from the storage unit, the article W corresponding to another order is again It is stored in the storage unit from the sending unit 13.

  The input device 15 is not limited to a configuration in which the articles W taken out by the transfer device 4 are directly transferred to the sending unit 13, and the articles W taken out by the transfer device 4 are temporarily placed at one place, After that, a configuration or the like that is distributed to each sending unit 13 may be adopted. With such a configuration, it is not necessary to select a placement position in the control of the transfer device 4, so that the sorting speed can be improved. Further, by reconfirming the articles W placed on the placement place and the sorting destination thereof, the correct articles W can be sorted to the sending section 13 which is the correct sorting destination, and the sorting work can be performed more accurately. Can be.

  The delivery unit 13 may have a structure (for example, a chute or the like) that does not have a conveyor unit but is inclined so that the downstream end (discharge unit) faces downward. In the case of such a configuration, the state of storing and discharging the article W is switched by opening and closing a stopper provided at the downstream end. Although the delivery unit 13 is provided between the transfer device 4 and the collection container 7, the transfer device 4 does not provide the charging device 15 but the collection device 7, which is a predetermined sorting destination, is provided. A configuration in which the article W is directly transferred may be adopted.

  When processing an image acquired by the identification device 3, the image processing may be performed in the identification device 3 by providing the image processing unit 11 integrally with the identification device 3. By being provided in, for example, an information terminal or a server other than the device 3, image processing may be performed after image data captured by the identification device 3 is transmitted to the outside of the identification device 3.

  The identification device 3 may have a configuration in which an area sensor camera is used as an imaging device in addition to the line sensor camera.

  Next, a configuration of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the sorting apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, an area sensor camera 21 as an imaging device is provided above a turntable 2 on which an article W is placed.

  The area sensor camera 21 is installed at a predetermined height position (for example, 1200 mm in height) from the transport surface 2a of the turntable 2 so that the angle of view is equal to or greater than the radius of the turntable 2 (for example, 400 mm). Have been.

  Then, each time the turntable 2 rotates by a predetermined angle (for example, 10 °), the area sensor camera 21 photographs a predetermined range on the turntable 2 and acquires image information. That is, a still image obtained by dividing the upper surface of the turntable 2 for each predetermined angle is acquired by the area sensor camera 21.

  By providing the area sensor camera 21 in this manner, it is not necessary to correct the distortion of the captured image as with a line sensor camera, and the acquisition of the identification information of the article W can be simplified.

  Further, on the side of the area sensor camera 21, a lighting 22 for irradiating light toward the transport surface 2a of the turntable 2 is provided, and the surroundings of the area sensor camera 21 and the lighting 22 are surrounded. A curtain 23 as a member is provided.

  In other words, in order to improve the accuracy of acquiring identification information by the area sensor camera 21, the turntable 2 illuminated from above by the illumination 22 is transported while the area sensor camera 21 and the illumination 22 are surrounded by the curtain 23. The surface 2a is photographed by the area sensor camera 21. Note that the curtain 23 can be appropriately selected from cloth, metal, and the like.

  In the vicinity of the turntable 2, a control panel 24 provided with an information terminal, an input device, and the like is provided, and a picking cart 25, which is an article storage device in which the collected articles W are stored, can be stopped. An article storage device stop area is provided. Then, an article replenishment position where the worker A takes out the product from the picking cart 25 and replenishes the product to the turntable 2 is provided on the transport surface 2a of the turntable 2.

  Further, the transfer device 4 can exchange an end effector, which is a holding unit for holding the article W, according to the article W to be transferred, and corresponds to the movable range R of the transfer device 4 near the turntable 2. As described above, the end effector replacement device 26 as the holding portion replacement device is provided.

  The transfer device 4 can transfer the end effector to the end effector exchange device 26 according to the size, shape, weight, and the like of the article W, and can exchange the end effector. In addition, the type of the end effector corresponding to each article W is associated in advance with the article ID information of each article W, and the corresponding relationship is stored in the storage unit. For example, when three types of end effectors (for example, S, M, and L sizes) are used for each size of the article W, the article W is designed so that work is performed by at least one of the end effectors. The ID information and the type of the end effector are stored in the storage unit in association with each other.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5, on the turntable 2, a rotation reference line 31 that moves with the rotation of the turntable 2 and an angle-of-view reference line fixed to the angle of view 32 of the area sensor camera 21. 33, an extraction reference line 34 fixedly disposed downstream of the view angle reference line 33 in the rotation direction and serving as an extraction position at which the transfer device 4 takes out articles, an angle of view reference line 33, and an extraction reference line. An extraction candidate reference line 35 fixedly arranged between the extraction candidate reference line 35 and the extraction candidate reference line 35 is provided. The view angle reference line 33 is a line passing through the center of the view angle 32 of the area sensor camera 21. Further, the rotation reference line 31, the view angle reference line 33, the extraction reference line 34, and the extraction candidate reference line 35 are not actually arranged on the turntable 2, but are used for control by the control unit. This is a virtual line.

  Then, assuming that the extraction reference line 34 is the most downstream, on the turntable 2, the view angle reference line 33, the extraction candidate reference line 35, and the extraction reference line 34 are arranged in this order from the upstream. The article replenishment position where the worker A replenishes the turntable 2 with the articles W is located further upstream of the angle-of-view reference line 33. Since the article replenishment position is located upstream of the angle-of-view reference line 33, no article W is inserted between the angle-of-view reference line 33 and the take-out reference line 34. Does not occur, and the image captured by the area sensor camera 21 can be used effectively.

  Each of these reference lines 31, 33, 34, 35 is a line extending from the rotation center of the turntable 2 to the outer periphery of the turntable 2, and is a line overlapping the radius line of the turntable 2. The rotation reference line 31 moves in accordance with the rotation of the turntable 2, but the angle of view reference line 33, the extraction reference line 34, and the extraction candidate reference line 35 are set independently of the rotation of the turntable 2, By rotating the rotation reference line 31 and the transfer surface 2a of the turntable 2 (circular transfer unit) relative to these fixed reference lines 33, 34, 35, the rotation reference line 31, the article W, The relationship between the angles formed by the lines 33, 34, and 35 changes.

  Then, the control unit selects one of the articles W on the upstream side (for example, within 180 °) in the rotation direction of the turntable 2 from the extraction reference line 34 among the articles W on the turntable 2 as an object to be extracted by the transfer device 4. Then, it is transferred by the transfer device 4.

  Here, an operation from replenishment of the article W to the turntable 2 to removal of the article W from the turntable 2 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the articles W (articles Wa and Wb) supplied to the rotating turntable 2 move as the turntable 2 rotates. Since the article W and the rotation reference line 31 move with the rotation of the turntable 2, the angle of each article W with respect to the rotation reference line 31 (in other words, passes through the center of the turntable 2 and the holding position of each article W). The angle formed by the straight radius line of the turntable 2 and the rotation reference line 31) is the absolute angle of each article W on the turntable 2.

  Further, each time the turntable 2 moves by a predetermined angle (for example, 10 °), the area sensor camera 21 photographs a predetermined range on the turntable 2.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 7, for the article W that has passed the vicinity of the angle-of-view reference line 33 and has moved into the angle of view 32 of the area sensor camera 21, image information captured by the area sensor camera 21 is acquired, and Image processing is performed on the image. Specifically, in this image processing, the image of the article Wa and the article Wb is analyzed by analyzing the captured image of the article W and the master image information of each article W registered in the storage unit of the control unit by a pattern matching method or the like. The article ID information is specified, and the position information and the posture information of the article Wa and the article Wb on the turntable 2 are acquired. If an identifier such as a barcode attached to each article W can be read from the captured image, the article ID information of the article W may be acquired based on the identifier.

  Further, it is confirmed whether or not the article W for which various information has been specified and obtained is included in the picking list and is an article that needs to be sorted. If a plurality of articles W to be sorted are recognized in one captured image, one article W from one image is selected as an extraction candidate. This is because if it is difficult for one transfer device 4 to continuously process a plurality of articles W in one image due to the rotation speed of the turntable 2, the capacity of the transfer device 4, and the like, for example, the matching rate is high. One article W is selected as an extraction candidate on the basis of predetermined conditions such as the one near the center of the angle of view and the other. In the case of the present embodiment, it is assumed that the article Wa has been selected as an extraction candidate.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the article W (article Wa) which is set as the extraction candidate is tracked as the tracking target article.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 9, when the transfer operation of the preceding article W by the transfer device 4 is completed, if the tracked article Wa is located upstream of the extraction candidate reference line 35, the article Wa is selected as a target to be extracted. It should be noted that, before the article W passes through the extraction candidate reference line 35 (for example, until the holding position of the article W passes through the extraction candidate reference line 35), a predetermined value set in advance based on order information, work information, or the like. The articles W to be taken out by the transfer device 4 may be selected according to the priority order. By providing the extraction candidate reference line 35 in this way, it is possible to prevent the transfer device 4 from starting the extraction operation toward the article W to be extracted, but not to catch up with the movement of the article W and to lose the operation. Can be.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the end effector of the transfer device 4 approaches the holding position of the article Wa and holds the article Wa in synchronization with the timing at which the holding position of the selected article Wa is positioned on the extraction reference line 34 (article The article Wa is taken out from the turntable 2 by adsorbing the upper surface of Wa.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the transfer device 4 transfers the article Wa to a predetermined sorting destination, and when the article Wa has been placed at the predetermined sorting destination mounting position, the next sorting target article W is selected. I do. If the article Wc and the article Wd are both candidates for removal as the next sorting target, the article Wc already exceeds the extraction candidate reference line 35 when the article Wa is placed, so it is not a target for removal, and The article Wd located upstream of the candidate reference line 35 is selected as an object to be taken out. Thereby, the operation of the transfer device 4 for taking out the next article W of the transfer device 4 is efficiently executed from the placement position to the removal reference line 34.

  It should be noted that the articles W that were not taken out by the transfer device 4 before passing through the take-out reference line 34, that is, the articles W that were not selected as objects to be taken out, and that were selected as objects to be taken out but were not taken out by the transfer device 4 The article W is similarly sorted after the information of the article W is newly acquired by the area sensor camera 21.

  In addition, the new work W is appropriately replenished to the turntable 2 and the above operation is repeated until each work W of the picking cart 25 is sorted.

  Next, an outline of a system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the sorting apparatus 1, the rotation of the turntable 2 is measured by the encoder 41, and the measured pulse signal is transmitted to the calculation unit 42, and the rotation information (rotation direction, rotation amount, and rotation speed) of the turntable 2 is calculated by the calculation unit 42. ), The position of the rotation reference line 31 and the angular relationship between the rotation reference line 31 and each of the reference lines 33, 34, 35 are calculated.

  Further, the captured image captured by the area sensor camera 21 is transmitted to and stored in the image storage unit 43.

  Furthermore, the article ID information of each article W, and the article name, article number, image information (master image information), dimension information, area information, corresponding end effector information, and the position held by the end effector associated with the article ID information The holding position information and the like are stored in the article data storage unit 44. In addition, the master image information may store, for example, an image (for example, a character and an illustration portion) of a characteristic portion in the planar view image of the article W together with the entire image of the planar view article W.

  Then, each data from the calculation unit 42, the image storage unit 43, and the article data storage unit 44 is transmitted to the image processing unit 45.

  In the image processing unit 45, in the article determination unit 46, pattern matching is performed between data from the article data storage unit 44 (master image information registered in advance) and data from the image storage unit 43 (captured acquired image information). The analysis is performed by the method, and the article ID information of the article W is specified.

  In addition, the inclination determination unit 47 measures the inclination of the article W placed on the turntable 2 (eg, the inclination angle of the article W with respect to a reference straight line such as the view angle reference line 33). Note that the inclination of the article W is an inclination when the article W is taken out by the transfer device 4 at the ejection reference line 34, and is set with respect to the center line of the article W or the radius line of the turntable 2 overlapping the holding position of the article W. The inclination angle of W is determined. In addition, the inclination information of the article W may not be used, for example, when a product is directly loaded from the transfer device 4 into an inclined chute.

  Further, in the placement position acquisition unit 48, based on the data calculated by the calculation unit 42, a predetermined reference point (for example, the rotation center of the turntable 2) to a holding position of the article W (a position held by the transfer device 4). Of the object W in the turntable 2 from the relationship between the rotation reference line 31, the view angle reference line 33, and the holding position of the article W within the angle of view 32. The absolute angle of the position is specified.

  Then, in the pick target selection unit 49, one article W is taken out for one angle of view 32 using the information acquired by the article determination unit 46, the inclination determination unit 47, and the placement position acquisition unit 48, respectively. It is selected as a target (pick target) candidate.

  The article W selected at each angle of view 32 is tracked by the article tracking unit 51. That is, based on the absolute angle information of the holding position, which is the tracking position of the article W obtained by the image processing unit 45, and the rotation information of the turntable 2, the extraction reference line 34 and the extraction of the article W (the holding position of the article W) are obtained. An angle change which is an approach movement to the candidate reference line 35 is tracked. The change in angle between the radius line of the turntable 2 passing through the holding position of the article W and the reference lines 34 and 35 is tracked.

  Information from the article tracking section 51 and information from the picking list storage section 53 storing a picking list, which is a list of articles W to be sorted, are transmitted to the command creating section 52.

  Here, the more frequently the end effector of the transfer device 4 is replaced, the lower the sorting efficiency. Therefore, in the command creation unit 52, the end effector determination unit 54 determines whether there is any article W that can be taken out by the end effector attached to the transfer device 4 at that time among the articles W in the picking list. Then, it is preferable to preferentially take out the articles W that can be taken out by the end effector at the time of the determination among the articles W in the picking list.

  If the picking list does not include an article W that can be taken out by the end effector attached to the transfer device 4, the end effector exchange device control unit 55 controls the end effector exchange device 26 to move the end device to the movable range of the transfer device 4. The effector exchange device 26 is advanced. Then, the transfer device 4 performs an end effector exchange operation on the end effector exchange device 26. When the end effector replacement operation of the transfer device 4 is completed, the end effector replacement device 26 is withdrawn from the movable range of the transfer device 4, and the transfer device 4 returns to the transfer operation.

  In the robot operation determining unit 56, the picking target determining unit 57 selects the picking target selecting unit 49 and tracks the goods W tracked by the goods tracking unit 51, and the goods W located upstream of the extraction candidate reference line 35. One article W to be taken out by the transfer device 4 is determined from the above.

  The order of determining the articles W to be taken out is determined based on the relationship between the picking list and the end effector relating to the articles W, a predetermined priority order set in advance, and the like, and corresponds to the order of the order information. There is no need to, for example, when three articles W are on the turntable 2, take out one of the articles W that has moved to a position where it can be taken out in the first round of the turntable 2, and in the next round. The order may be such that one of the remaining articles W is taken out and the last article W left in the next round is taken out.

  When the robot operation determination unit 56 determines the article W to be picked, the timing at which the article W is picked up by the transfer device 4 (the timing at which the holding position of the article W arrives at the unloading reference line 34), and the sending unit 13 placed by the loading device 15. Is determined, the transfer device control unit 58 drives the transfer device 4, and the transfer device 4 takes out and holds the article W along the extraction reference line 34.

  Further, by detecting the holding state of the article W in the transfer apparatus 4, the success or failure of the removal of the article W is detected, and the detection result is fed back to the transfer apparatus control unit 58. When vacuum suction is used as the holding unit in the transfer device 4, the state of suction / release is detected by a pressure sensor (not shown) that detects vacuum pressure.

  Then, the article W taken out of the turntable 2 is transferred to a predetermined sending section 13 of the input device 15. The transfer device 4 rotates the article W in a direction in which the inclination of the article W is corrected in accordance with the angle acquired by the inclination determination section 47, and then places the article W on a predetermined sending section 13.

  When transferring the taken-out articles W to the input device 15, it is preferable to disperse the destinations of the articles W so that the articles W are not concentrated and transferred to the same sending section 13 among the sending sections 13. For example, a number is assigned to each sending unit 13 and, in principle, the articles W taken out from the turntable 2 are placed on each sending unit 13 in the order of the numbers, and the state of the article W to be taken out on the turntable 2 is changed. A configuration may be adopted in which the order in which the articles are transferred is selected in accordance therewith, or a configuration in which the articles W corresponding to the sending unit 13 with a small number of articles W transferred are preferentially selected.

  Further, it detects whether or not the article W has been correctly transferred from the transfer device 4 to the charging device 15, and also feeds back the result.

  When the transfer of the article W to the input device 15 is detected, the transfer of the article W is determined to be completed, and at the same time, the next article W to be picked is determined.

  In addition, the article W whose removal from the turntable 2 and placement on the transport device 6 are detected are deleted from the picking list by the list updating unit 59.

  The input device driving amount determining unit 60 determines the size of the article W determined by the pick target determining unit 57 (the length of the article W in the transport direction when the article W is placed) and determines the sending unit of the input device 15. 13 drive amount (conveyor unit drive amount) is determined.

  Further, when the completion of the transfer of the article W from the transfer device 4 to the input device 15 is detected, the article W is placed by the input device control unit 61 based on the determination by the input device drive amount determination unit 60. The conveyor unit of the delivery unit 13 is moved by a driving amount corresponding to the article W.

  Next, a sorting operation in the second embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, a picking list regarding the articles W to be sorted is obtained (step 1).

  From the articles W on the picking list, it is determined whether or not there is an article W that can be taken out by the current end effector (the end effector attached to the transfer device 4 at that time) (step 2).

  If there are no articles W in the picking list that can be removed by the end effector attached to the transfer device 4, the end effector of the transfer device 4 is changed to the end effector corresponding to any of the articles W in the picking list. (Step 3).

  If there is an article W in the picking list that can be taken out by the end effector attached to the transfer device 4, the article W in the picking list is used to determine the relationship with the end effector and the predetermined priority. An article W to be picked, that is, one article W to be taken out by the transfer device 4 is determined based on the order (step 4).

  After determining the article W to be picked, the transport device 4 is driven to perform a pick operation, and the article W to be picked is taken out of the turntable 2 (step 5).

  Further, when the article W is taken out by the transfer device 4, the holding state of the article W by the transfer device 4 is detected, and it is determined whether or not the article W is taken out (step 6).

  When the removal of the article W by the transport device 4 is detected, the removed article W is transported to a target discharge position, that is, a preset delivery unit 13 of the delivery units 13 in the input device 15 (step). 7). If the removal of the article W by the transfer device 4 is not detected, the process returns to step 2 described above.

  When the transfer of the article W to the input device 15 is completed, the information of the article W is deleted from the picking list (step 8).

  Then, it is determined whether or not the picking list has been cleared, that is, whether or not all the articles W in the picking list have been sorted (step 9).

  If the article W remains in the picking list, the process returns to step 2 and the sorting operation is continued.

  If all the articles W on the picking list are sorted and no articles W remain on the picking list, the sorting operation is completed.

  Note that, in the tracking of the article W in the article tracking unit 51, in addition to using the absolute angle of the article W, the amount of rotation of the turntable 2 is determined based on the transport position of the article W acquired by the view angle reference line 33. The approach status to each of the reference lines 31, 33, 34 may be obtained by calculating the angle change to each of the reference lines 31, 33, 34.

  The tracking of the change in the angle of the tracking target article W by the tracking section 51 is performed based on the angle between the radius line passing through the holding position of the tracking target article W and the extraction reference line 34 and the rotation information of the turntable 2. A method of counting the time required for the W holding position to reach the extraction reference line 34 is also included.

  The position of the extraction candidate reference line 35 may be constant, but any position between the angle-of-view reference line 33 and the extraction position (the extraction reference line 34) depending on the rotation speed of the turntable 2 and the transport capability of the transfer device 4. (Angle). For example, it can be set such that the higher the rotation speed of the turntable 2 is, the more upstream it is from the extraction position, and the slower the rotation speed, the closer to the extraction position.

  Further, in the second embodiment, one extraction reference line 34 is set for the turntable 2; however, the extraction reference line 34 may be set to have a surface range. This setting may be set. Further, a plurality of extraction candidate reference lines 35 may be provided so as to correspond to the extraction reference line 34. Further, a predetermined range on the turntable 2 included in the two extraction reference lines 34 may be set as an extraction position (an extraction reference range) at which the transfer device 4 can extract the article W.

  The holding position of the article W may be a holding position other than the suction position. Further, as shown in FIG. 14A, a predetermined position (for example, center) on the article W is set as a tracking position C by the article tracking unit 51, and a predetermined position (for example, side part) of the article W is set as a gripping position G. The tracking position C and the gripping position G may be provided separately. In such a configuration, the image processing unit 45 acquires the tracking position C of the article W, the inclination of the article W, and the gripping position G of the article W. Then, the transfer device 4 is controlled such that the holding portion 63 of the transfer device 4 holds and holds the gripping position G of the article W in accordance with the arrival timing of the tracking position C to the extraction reference line 34. In this case, since the positional relationship between the tracking position C and the gripping position G in the same article W is constant, the transfer device according to the inclination of the article W is determined by the robot operation determining unit 56 as shown in FIG. The angle of the holding unit 63 of the fourth is adjusted, and the holding unit 63 holds the gripping position G of the tracking target article W and takes out the article W from the turntable 2 as shown in FIG.

1 Sorting device 2 Turntable as circulating transport device
2a Transport surface 3 Identification device 4 Transfer device
11 Ima processor
15 Dosing device
Area sensor camera as 21 imaging device
35 Extraction candidate reference line
51 Article Tracking D W Article
W1 goods
W2 goods
W3 goods
W4 goods

Claims (3)

A circulating transport device that has a circular transport unit that circularly moves a plurality of articles placed on a circular transport surface, and that circulates and moves the articles,
An identification device that has an imaging device that is provided above the circulating transport device and captures the relatively moving transport surface, and that acquires information on articles that circulate and move with the circulating transport device,
A transfer device that takes out and transfers the article from the circulating transfer device,
An unloading position, which is a position at which the transfer device takes out an article from the circulating transfer device with respect to the transfer surface that moves relatively ,
An extraction candidate reference line that is arranged downstream of the angle of view of the imaging device and upstream of the extraction position, and overlaps with a radius line of the circular conveyance unit,
An input device that is provided in a movable range of the transfer device, and into which articles taken out from the circulating transfer device by the transfer device are input.
A controller connected to the identification device and the transfer device,
Before Symbol control unit,
An image processing unit that acquires a position conveying position in the conveying surface of the article in the images captured by the imaging device,
An article tracking unit that tracks the movement of the article whose transport position has been acquired as a tracking target article,
To execute the operation for taking out the pre-Symbol the tracking target object having moved to the removal position to the transfer device,
Sorting and wherein the you select an article retrieving tracking target object located upstream than the extraction candidate reference line in the conveying surface at the time of turn-on completion of the article to the closing device by the transfer device by the transfer device . An article removal method in which a circular transport unit that circularly moves the article placed on the transport surface and a circulating transport apparatus that circulates and moves the article is controlled to take out the article by the transport device.
Acquiring a captured image of an article that moves in an arc on the transport surface by an imaging device, and acquiring a transport position that is a position on the transport surface of the article from the acquired captured image;
The article at which the transport position is obtained is a tracking target article, and a step of tracking the arc movement of the tracking target article,
Before the start of the take-out operation of the transfer device, with reference to an extraction candidate reference line overlapping the radius line of the circular transfer portion provided upstream of the take-out position where the transfer device takes out the article from the circulating transfer device. Selecting the tracking target article located upstream from the extraction candidate reference line as an extraction article;
Removing the tracking target article selected as the removal article that has moved to the removal position from the transport surface by the transfer device,
Each of the above steps is executed by the control unit
An article removal method characterized by the above-mentioned. Each of the above steps is performed during the movement of the article
3. The article removal method according to claim 2, wherein:

Images