JP7057155B2 - Container supply device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a container supply device.

Conventionally, there is known a container supply device that supplies one container at a time in order from the lowest container among a plurality of containers stacked one above the other (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). In the cup-type vending machine described in Patent Document 1, the edge of the lowermost cup supported by abutting on the upper surface of the rotating body fits into the groove formed in the rotating body as the rotating body rotates. It gets crowded and descends. This separates the lowest cup from the aggregate of cups.

Further, the cup delivery device described in Patent Document 2 has a cup delivery cam having a tapered side surface, the edge of the lowest cup is supported by the taper, and the cup delivery cam is driven by a motor to rotate the shaft. Rotate as a fulcrum. This releases the taper support and separates the bottom cup from the cup assembly.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-28873 Jitsukaihei 6-27771 Gazette

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, the edge of the lowest container that is abutted and supported by the rotating body descends along the groove or taper formed in the rotating body by the rotation of the rotating body, and the lowest container is the container. Is separated from the aggregate of. Therefore, if the edge of the lowermost container does not rest on the rotating body, there may be a case where the lowermost container is not separated even if the rotating body operates. As a result, for example, at a food manufacturing site, there is a problem that the work efficiency is lowered when the work of filling the container with ingredients such as soup while sequentially supplying empty containers to the transport device. This is a common problem when separating not only the lowest container but also two or more containers from the bottom.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to reliably take out containers from the bottom in order from an aggregate of a plurality of rimmed containers stacked in multiple stages above and below.

In order to achieve the above object, the container supply device according to a certain embodiment of the present invention holds an aggregate of a plurality of rimmed containers stacked in multiple stages above and below, and n (n is) from the aggregate. A container supply device that separates (1 or more natural numbers) of containers and supplies them to a predetermined position, and is provided at the base, the edge of the lowest container, and the edge of the n + 1th container from the bottom. A second position that has a shape that can be inserted between the containers and is configured to operate between a first position that can support the edge of the n + 1th container from below and a second position that releases the support. 1 Support portion, a second posture provided at the base portion and capable of supporting the edge of the lowermost container from below, and a second posture configured to release the support thereof. It has a shape that is provided on the support portion and the base portion and can be inserted between the edge of the lowest container and the edge of the n + 1th container from the bottom, and pushes down the edge of the nth container from the bottom from above. A push-down portion configured to be possible, the first support portion, the second support portion, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the push-down portion are provided, and the first support portion is the first control unit. The second support portion is supported from the state in which the edge of the n + 1th container from the bottom is supported in one posture and the second support portion takes the first posture and supports the edge of the lowest container. The first support portion is such that n containers are dropped from the aggregate by changing the posture of the container to the second posture and pushing the edge of the nth container from above to downward by the push-down portion. , The operation of the second support portion and the push-down portion is controlled.

According to the above configuration, for example, the edge of the second container from the bottom is supported by the first support portion, and the edge of the lowest container is supported by the second support portion, and then the support by the second support portion is supported. Release and push down the edge of the lowest (first from the bottom) container from top to bottom. As a result, the lowest-level container falls from the aggregate of a plurality of rimmed containers stacked in multiple stages on the upper and lower sides, so that the containers can be reliably taken out in order from the bottom.

The control unit pushes the edge of the nth container downward from above by the pushing unit to drop the n containers from the aggregate, and then puts the second support unit in the first posture. By changing the posture of the first support portion to the second posture, the operation of the first support portion and the second support portion so as to drop the aggregate by n steps. May be controlled.

Further, the predetermined position is on the transport path of the transport device that transports the container in the transport direction along the transport path, and the container supply device has the base attached to the wrist portion of the container supply device. Further, a robot arm capable of moving in the transport direction of the transport device is further provided, the operation of the robot arm is controlled by the control unit, and the control unit is defined by the n containers dropped on the transport path. The operation of the robot arm, the first support portion, the second support portion, and the push-down portion may be controlled so as to line up on the transport path at intervals.

The present invention has the configuration described above, and can reliably take out containers from the bottom in order from an aggregate of a plurality of rimmed containers stacked in multiple stages above and below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a container supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view schematically showing an example of the overall configuration of the robot of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the end effector of the left arm of FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the end effector of the right arm of FIG. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the control device. FIG. 6 is a first explanatory view showing an example of the operation of the container supply device. FIG. 7 is a second explanatory view showing an example of the operation of the container supply device.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the same or corresponding elements are designated by the same reference numerals throughout all the drawings, and the overlapping description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the drawings schematically show each component for the sake of easy understanding.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a container supply device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the container supply device 1 is introduced into, for example, a food manufacturing site. In the present embodiment, a case where the container supply device 1 according to the present invention is configured by the robot 11 will be described. The robot 11 is a dual-arm robot provided with a pair of robot arms (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “arms”) 13, 13 supported by the base 12. However, the container supply device 1 is not limited to the case where the robot 11 is configured. Although the horizontal articulated dual-arm robot will be described for this robot 11, a vertical articulated dual-arm robot can be adopted. The robot 11 can be installed in a limited space (for example, 610 mm × 620 mm) corresponding to one person. In the following, the direction in which the pair of arms are spread is referred to as the left-right direction, the direction parallel to the axis of the base axis is referred to as the up-down direction, and the directions orthogonal to the left-right direction and the up-down direction are referred to as the front-back direction.

A table 80 is arranged on the left side of the robot 11. A container stand 82 for placing the container 41 is arranged on the table 80. The container 41 is, for example, an inverted conical cup container. The container 41 is made of thin paper, synthetic resin, or the like. The container 41 is placed on the container stand 82 in a state of being stacked in multiple stages on the upper and lower sides (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “aggregate 40”).

A transport device 50 is arranged in front of the robot 11. The transport device 50 is a belt conveyor that transports the container 41 supplied by the robot 11 in the transport direction (from the left side to the right side in the figure) along the transport path 51. The transport path 51 of the present embodiment is formed in a straight line. A passage sensor 90 is provided in the transport path 51. The passage sensor 90 is configured to detect that the container 41 has passed the detection position on the transport path 51 and output a detection signal to the robot controller of the robot 11. In the present embodiment, the passage sensor 90 is a photoelectric sensor including a light projecting portion provided on one side wall of the transport path 51 and a light receiving portion provided on the other side wall. A filling device 60 is arranged on the front side of the transport device 50. The filling device 60 is configured to fill a liquid food material (for example, soup) from a filling nozzle 61 into a container 41 transported on a transport path 51. The filling nozzle 61 is configured to be rotatable in the transport direction (to the right in the figure) along the movement of the container 41 after filling in order to prevent dripping. A table 81 is arranged on the right side of the robot 11. A measuring instrument 70 is arranged on the table 81. The measuring instrument 70 is used to weigh the container 41 filled with soup.

At the food manufacturing site of the present embodiment, the robot 11 holds the aggregate 40 of the containers 41 placed on the container stand 82 on the table 80, and conveys the lowest container 41 while holding the aggregate 40. It is sequentially supplied onto the transport path 51 of the device 50, and the container 41 on the transport path 51 is filled with ingredients such as soup by the filling device 60. After that, the robot 11 places the container 41 filled with soup on the measuring table of the measuring instrument 70. In the present embodiment, the weighing operation of the container 41 is performed by the operator visually reading the value of the measuring instrument 70. Therefore, the work area of the robot 11 is an area that covers a part of the transfer path 51 of the table 80 in which the container stand 82 is arranged, the table 81 in which the measuring instrument 70 is arranged, and the transfer device 50.

FIG. 2 is a front view schematically showing the overall configuration of an example of the robot 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the robot 11 includes a base 12 fixed to a trolley, a pair of robot arms 13 and 13 supported by the base 12, and a control device 14 housed in the base 12. .. Each arm 13 is a horizontal articulated robot arm configured to be movable with respect to the base 12, and includes an arm portion 15, a wrist portion 17, and end effectors 18 and 19. The right arm 13 and the left arm 13 may have substantially the same structure. Further, the right arm 13 and the left arm 13 can operate independently or in relation to each other.

In this example, the arm portion 15 is composed of a first link 15a and a second link 15b. The first link 15a is connected to a base shaft 16 fixed to the upper surface of the base 12 by a rotary joint J1 and is rotatable around a rotation axis L1 passing through the axis of the base shaft 16. The second link 15b is connected to the tip of the first link 15a by a rotary joint J2 and is rotatable around the rotation axis L2 defined by the tip of the first link 15a.

The wrist portion 17 is composed of an elevating portion 17a and a rotating portion 17b. The elevating portion 17a is connected to the tip of the second link 15b by a linear motion joint J3, and can move up and down with respect to the second link 15b. The rotating portion 17b is connected to the lower end of the elevating portion 17a by a rotary joint J4, and can rotate around the rotation axis L3 defined at the lower end of the elevating portion 17a.

The end effectors 18 and 19 are connected to the rotating portion 17b of the wrist portion 17, respectively. The end effector 18 is provided at the tip of the right arm 13, and the end effector 19 is provided at the tip of the left arm 13.

Each arm 13 having the above configuration has joints J1 to J4. The arm 13 is provided with a servomotor for driving (not shown), an encoder (not shown) for detecting the rotation angle of the servomotor, and the like so as to be associated with the joints J1 to J4. Has been done. Further, the rotation axes L1 of the first links 15a and 15a of the two arms 13 and 13 are on the same straight line, and the first link 15a of one arm 13 and the first link 15a of the other arm 13 are up and down. They are arranged with a height difference.

Next, the configuration of the end effector 18 of the left arm 13 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing the configuration of the end effector 18. FIG. 3B is a front view showing the end effector 18 holding the assembly 40 of the container 41. FIG. 3C is a plan view seen from the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3B. The end effector 18 is attached to a base portion 20 including a rotating portion 17b of the wrist portion (wrist portion) 17, a first support portion 21 and a second support portion 22 provided vertically on the base portion 20, and a first support portion 21. A third support portion 23 provided and a push-down portion 24 provided on the first support portion 21 are provided (see FIG. 3A).

The first support portion 21 has a pair of claws having a shape that can be inserted between the edge 40a of the lowest (first from the bottom) container 41 and the edge 40a of the second container 41 from the bottom. The vertical thickness of the first support portion 21 is smaller than the size of the gap formed between the edges 41a of the vertically deposited containers 41. Each claw is curved inward along the outer circumference of the upper part of the container 41 (see FIG. 3A). These claws (21) are driven by one actuator (for example, an air cylinder) provided in the base 20 and translate (in the left-right direction in the figure) so as to approach and separate from each other while maintaining parallelism. As a result, the first support portion 21 is between a support posture (first posture) in which the edge 41a of the second container 41 from the bottom can be supported from below and a release posture (second posture) in which the support is released. Can be operated with (see FIG. 3 (B)). The first support portion 21 and the second support portion 22 are provided with a gap in the vertical direction from each other. The vertical gap between the first support portion 21 and the second support portion 22 is larger than the edge 41a of the vertically deposited container 41.

The second support portion 22 is a pair of claws having the same shape as the pair of claws of the first support portion 21. These claws (22) are driven by one actuator (for example, an air cylinder) provided in the base 20 and translate (in the left-right direction in the figure) so as to approach and separate from each other while maintaining parallelism. As a result, the second support portion 22 operates between a support posture (first posture) in which the edge 41a of the lowermost container 41 can be supported from below and a release posture (second posture) in which the support is released. can do.

The third support portion 23 is provided so as to project upward on the upper surface of the first support portion 21 and supports the side portion of the assembly 40 of the container 41. Here, the third support portion 23 is four columns provided at four locations (see FIG. 3C).

The push-down portion 24 is provided on the first support portion 21 and has a tip portion 24a and a drive portion 24b for driving the tip portion 24a (see FIG. 3C).

The tip portion 24a has a shape that can be inserted between the edge 41a of the lowermost container 41 and the edge 41a of the second container 41 from the bottom at the same height as the first support portion 21. The vertical thickness of the tip portion 24a is smaller than the size of the gap formed between the edges 41a of the vertically deposited container 41.

The drive unit 24b has an actuator (for example, an air cylinder) inside, and is configured to drive the tip portion 24a up and down. As a result, the tip portion 24a can move downward with respect to the first support portion 21 from the reference position at the same height as the first support portion 21. As a result, the edge 41a of the lowermost container 41 can be pushed down from above. The end effector 18 is configured so that the lowermost container 41 can be separated from the aggregate 40 while holding the aggregate 40 of the container 41.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the end effector 19 of the right arm 13. As shown in FIG. 4, the end effector 19 includes a base portion 30 including a rotating portion 17b of the wrist portion (wrist portion) 17 and a grip portion 31 provided on the base portion 30. The grip portion 31 has a pair of claws. Each claw is curved inward along the outer circumference of the upper part of the container 41. These claws (31) are driven by one actuator (for example, an air cylinder) provided in the base 30 and translate (in the left-right direction in the figure) so as to approach and separate from each other while maintaining parallelism. As a result, the grip portion 31 has a support posture (first posture) capable of supporting the edge 41a of the container 41 arranged at a predetermined position (on the transport path 51 of the transport device 50) from below, and a release that releases the support. It can operate with the posture (second posture). The end effector 19 is configured to hold the container 41 and move it to a predetermined position (on the measuring table of the measuring instrument 70 in FIG. 1).

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the control device 14 of the robot 11. As shown in FIG. 5, the control device 14 includes a calculation unit 14a such as a CPU, a storage unit 14b such as a ROM and a RAM, and a servo control unit 14c. The control device 14 is a robot controller including a computer such as a microcontroller. The control device 14 may be composed of a single control device 14 for centralized control, or may be configured with a plurality of control devices 14 for distributed control in cooperation with each other.

Information such as a basic program as a robot controller and various fixed data is stored in the storage unit 14b. The arithmetic unit 14a controls various operations of the robot 11 by reading and executing software such as a basic program stored in the storage unit 14b. That is, the calculation unit 14a generates a control command for the robot 11 and outputs the control command to the servo control unit 14c. The servo control unit 14c is configured to control the drive of an actuator such as a servo motor corresponding to the joints J1 to J4 of each arm 13 of the robot 11 based on the control command generated by the calculation unit 14a.

Next, the operation of the container supply device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. First, the control device 14 controls the operation of the left robot arm 13 and holds the assembly 40 of the containers placed on the container stand 82 on the left table 80 by the end effector 18. Then, the operation of the left robot arm 13 is controlled to move the aggregate 40 of the containers 41 held by the end effector 18 onto the transport path 51 of the transport device 50 (see FIG. 6).

At this time, as shown in FIG. 7A, the control device 14 has the first support portion 21 and the first support portion 21 so as to maintain the first support portion 21 and the second support portion 22 of the end effector 18 in the support posture. The operation of the second support portion 22 is controlled. As a result, the edge 41a of the lowermost container 41 is supported from below by the first support portion 21. Further, the side portion of the assembly 40 of the container 41 is supported from all sides by the third support portion 23.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the control device 14 changes the posture of the first support portion 21 supporting the edge 41a of the lowermost container 41 from below to the open posture, and changes the posture of the first support portion 21 to the second support portion. The operation of the first support portion 21 and the second support portion 22 is controlled so as to maintain the 22 in the support posture. As a result, in the end effector 18, the aggregate 40 drops by one step, and the edge 41a of the lowermost container 41 is supported from below by the second support portion 22.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7C, the control device 14 controls the operation of the first support portion 21 so that the first support portion 21 changes its posture from the open posture to the support posture in the end effector 18. .. The second support portion 22 that supports the edge 41a of the lowermost container 41 is maintained in the support posture. As a result, the edge 41a of the second container 41 from the bottom is supported by the first support portion 21, and the edge 41a of the lowest container 41 is supported by the second support portion 22.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7D, in the end effector 18, the first support portion 21 takes a support posture to support the edge 41a of the second container 41 from the bottom, and the control device 14 supports the edge 41a of the container 41. The second support portion 22 takes a support posture and changes the posture of the second support portion 22 from the state of being supported by the edge 41a of the lowermost container 41 to the open posture, and the push-down portion 24 of the lowermost container 41. The operation of the first support portion 21, the second support portion 22, and the push-down portion 24 is controlled so as to push down the edge 41a from above to below. As a result, the lowermost container 41 can be dropped from the aggregate 40 onto the transport path 51 of the transport device 50.

After the lowermost container 41 is dropped from the aggregate 40 in this way, the second lowest container 41 becomes the next lowest container, and the aggregate 40 is returned to the state shown in FIG. 7 (A). return.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the control device 14 changes the posture of the first support portion 21 supporting the edge 41a of the next lowest container 41 from below to the open posture, and the second support portion 22. The operation of the first support portion 21 and the second support portion 22 is controlled so as to maintain the support posture. As a result, the aggregate 40 is dropped by one step, and the edge 41a of the next lowest container 41 is supported from below by the second support portion 22. After that, by repeating the operations described with reference to FIGS. 7 (C) and 7 (D), the next lowest container 41 can be dropped.

At the food manufacturing site of the present embodiment, the control device 14 sequentially drops the lowest-level container 41 from the aggregate 40 so that the dropped containers 41 are lined up at predetermined intervals on the transport path 51 of the transport device 50. In addition, the operation of the left robot arm 13, the first support portion 21, the second support portion 22, and the push-down portion 24 is controlled (see FIG. 1). The filling device 60 fills the container 41 on the transport path 51 with ingredients such as soup. After that, the control device 14 controls the operation of the robot arm 13 on the right according to the detection signal from the passage sensor 90, and holds the container 41 filled with soup by the end effector 19. Then, the container 41 held by the end effector 19 is placed on the measuring table of the measuring instrument 70. Finally, the worker weighs the container 41 and ships the container 41 that meets the standard.

The container supply device 1 of the present embodiment is configured to separate the lowest (first from the bottom) container 41 from the aggregate 40 of the containers 41, but separates two or more containers 41 together. It may be configured as follows. That is, in the control device 14, the first support portion 21 takes a support posture and supports the edge 41a of the container 41 at the n + 1 (n is a natural number of 2 or more) th from the bottom, and the second support portion 22 has a support posture. The second support portion 22 is changed to the open posture from the supported state of the edge 41a of the lowest container 41, and the push-down portion 24 pushes the edge 41a of the nth container 41 downward from above. By lowering, the operation of the first support portion 21, the second support portion 22, and the push-down portion 24 may be controlled so as to drop n containers from the aggregate 40. Thereby, for example, when n is 2, the two containers 41 can be separated together.

Further, the control device 14 supports the second support portion 22 after dropping n containers from the aggregate 40 by pushing the edge 41a of the nth container 41 downward from the upper side by the push-down portion 24. The operation of the first support portion 21 and the second support portion 22 so that the aggregate 40 is dropped by n steps by changing the posture to the posture and changing the posture of the first support portion 21 to the open posture. May be controlled.

Further, the control device 14 includes the robot arm 13, the first support portion 21, the second support portion 22, and the push-down portion so that the n containers 41 that have fallen on the transport path 51 are lined up on the transport path 51 at predetermined intervals. The operation of 24 may be controlled.

In the food manufacturing site of the present embodiment, the transport path 51 of the transport device 50 is formed in a straight line, but the transport path 51 may be a circulation type transport path having a folded portion.

At the food manufacturing site of the present embodiment, the weighing work of the container 41 is performed by an operator (see FIG. 1), but the weighing work may be automated by the robot 11. For example, the robot 11 may be configured to have a weighing unit at the tip of the right arm 13 and to be able to weigh the weight of the container 41 by the weighing unit in a state where the container 41 is gripped by the end effector 19.

From the above description, many improvements and other embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the above description should be construed as an example only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best aspects of carrying out the present invention. The details of its structure and / or function can be substantially changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The present invention is useful in the food manufacturing site.

1 Container supply device 11 Robot 12 Base 13 Robot arm 14 Control device 17 List part 18, 19 End effector 20 Base part 21 First support part 22 Second support part 23 Third support part 24 Push-down part 30 Base part 31 Grip part 40 Assembly 41 Container 41a Edge 50 Transport device 51 Transport path 60 Filling device 70 Measuring instrument 80, 81 Table 82 Container stand 90 Pass sensor

Claims (2)

While holding an aggregate of multiple rimmed containers stacked in multiple stages on the top and bottom, n (n is a natural number of 1 or more) containers are separated from the aggregate and in the transport direction along the transport path. A container supply device that supplies a container on the transport path of the transport device that transports the container.
At the base,
One robot arm capable of moving the base in the transport direction of the transport device, and
The other robot arm that moves the container on the transport path from the transport path to a predetermined position, and
It is provided at the base and has a shape that can be inserted between the edge of the lowest container of the assembly of the containers and the edge of the n + 1th container from the bottom, and the edge of the n + 1th container from the bottom is inserted from the bottom. A first support portion configured to operate between a supportable first posture and a second posture that releases the support.
A second support portion provided at the base portion and configured to operate between a first posture capable of supporting the edge of the lowermost container from below and a second posture for releasing the support thereof, and a second support portion.
It is provided at the base and has a shape that can be inserted between the edge of the lowest container and the edge of the n + 1th container from the bottom, and is configured to be able to push down the edge of the nth container from the bottom from above. Push-down part and
The first support portion, the second support portion , the push-down portion , and a control unit for controlling the operation of the one robot arm and the other robot arm are provided.
The control unit
A state in which the first support portion takes a first posture to support the edge of the n + 1th container from the bottom, and the second support portion takes a first posture to support the edge of the lowest container. Therefore, by changing the posture of the second support portion to the second posture and pushing the edge of the nth container from above to downward by the push-down portion, n containers are dropped from the aggregate. , The operation of the one robot arm, the first support portion, the second support portion, and the push-down portion is controlled so that the containers are lined up on the transport path at predetermined intervals, and on the transport path. A container supply device that controls the other robot arm so as to move the container filled with the contents to a predetermined position . The control unit
By pushing down the edge of the n-th container from above to downward by the pushing-down portion, the n-th container is dropped from the aggregate, and then the posture of the second support portion is changed to the first posture. Further, by changing the posture of the first support portion to the second posture, the operation of the first support portion and the second support portion is controlled so that the aggregate is dropped by n steps. Item 1. The container supply device according to Item 1.

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