JP7090908B2 - Carton take-out device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a carton take-out device that takes out flatly folded cartons accumulated in a magazine one by one.

For the magazine in which the flatly folded cartons are accumulated, a take-out means is provided so that the suction cups can be moved in close proximity to each other. There is known a carton take-out device configured to take out cartons one by one. Further, as a flatly folded carton, a one-touch carton in which a wall portion and a bottom portion on all sides are formed immediately after being boxed without requiring a folding step or a gluing step has been widely used. In the one-touch carton, when folded, two walls on each side are facing each other and are in close contact with each other, and the bottom is folded into the lower part of the close wall. The lower side where the bottom is folded has several times the thickness of the upper side. Therefore, when a large number of one-touch cartons are stacked, the lower side becomes thicker and the upper side becomes thinner, resulting in a biased thickness. There was a problem of being disturbed or falling over.

Therefore, by supporting the lower side of the carton group with a pressing plate in accordance with the carton taking-out operation by the taking-out means, the carton group can be held in a stable posture and the carton can be taken out reliably. , Proposed as Patent Document 1.

Further, the orientation of the one-touch cartons is reversed by 180 degrees for each predetermined number of cartons, and the cartons are integrated so that the thickness of the lower side and the upper side of the carton group becomes uniform (for example, Patent Document 2). reference).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-85720 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 64-34837

By adopting the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 and reversing the orientation of the one-touch carton by 180 degrees for each predetermined number and accumulating it in the magazine, the thickness becomes uniform on the upper side and the lower side of the carton group. The one-touch carton can be suitably taken out from the magazine without separately providing a means for holding the carton group in a stable posture as in Patent Document 1. However, if the directions of the one-touch cartons are staggered for each predetermined number, there is a problem that the taken-out one-touch cartons cannot be supplied in the same direction to the next process such as the boxing section.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a carton taking-out device capable of aligning the directions of the taken out cartons even when the cartons are accumulated in different directions for each predetermined number.

The carton extraction device according to claim 1 of the present application is
A carton take-out device that takes out flatly folded cartons (10) one by one.
A stacking section (12) in which the cartons (10) having different thicknesses on one side and the other side of the folded carton (10) are collected by the one side and the other side in different directions alternately for each predetermined number.
The taking-out means (16) for taking out the carton (10) in the accumulating portion (12),
A detection unit (14) for detecting the orientation of the carton (10) taken out by the take-out means (16) is provided.
Based on the detection result of the detection unit (14), the take-out means (16) sucks the suction site set in the carton (10) to be taken out, and at the same time, the direction of the sucked-out carton (10). It is characterized by having a rotating means (34) for aligning.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the direction of the carton can be changed based on the detection result of the direction of the carton by the detection unit, the cartons accumulated in different directions can be taken out and the directions can be aligned. Cartons can be supplied to the process in the same orientation. Further, even if the orientation is different, the same adsorption site of the carton can be adsorbed and taken out, so that each carton can be taken out well.

In the invention according to claim 2, the detection unit (14) has the image pickup means (48) for photographing the carton (10) and the carton (10) based on the image information obtained by the image pickup means (48). ) Is provided with a determination unit (50) for determining the orientation.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the orientation of the carton can be satisfactorily determined without subjecting the carton to a special process for determining the orientation.

In the invention according to claim 3, the taking-out means (16) is a robot (16), and the rotating means that can rotate by adsorbing the carton (10) to the robot arm (32) of the robot (16). It is characterized by providing a robot hand (34) as (34).
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the adsorption site can be adsorbed and rotated satisfactorily, and the order can be easily changed.

In the invention according to claim 4, the taking-out means (16) is
The carton (10) taken out from the accumulating part (12) is transferred to the boxing part (N), and the carton (10) is boxed at the boxing part (N).
The carton (10), which needs to change its direction based on the detection result of the detection unit (14), is configured to rotate and change its direction before being transferred to the boxing unit (N). It is a feature.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the carton can be boxed in the same direction without changing the transfer position of the carton with respect to the boxing portion.

According to the present invention, it is possible to align the directions of the cartons taken out from the accumulated carton group by alternating the directions for each predetermined number, so that the cartons can be supplied in the same direction in the next step.

It is a schematic side view which shows the main part of the carton take-out apparatus. It is a schematic plan view which shows the main part of the carton take-out apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship | ..

Next, a suitable embodiment of the carton extraction device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the carton taking-out device according to the embodiment has a magazine (accumulation unit) 12 in which flatly folded cartons 10 are accumulated, and one carton 10 is adsorbed from the magazine 12. It includes a take-out means 16 for taking out one by one, and a detection unit 14 for detecting the direction of the carton 10 taken out by the take-out means 16. The folded rectangular carton 10 handled by the carton taking-out device of the embodiment is a one-touch carton in which a square tubular body portion 18 is formed and a flat bottom portion 20 is formed by unboxing. The material of the carton 10 may be not only thick paper but also various other materials such as cardboard and corrugated cardboard. The carton 10 has four rectangular side panels 22,22,24,24 connected so as to form a body portion 18, and an opening-side end portion of each side panel 22,22,24,24. The mouth flaps 22a, 22a, 24a, 24a extending from the opening side) and the bottom flaps 22b, 22b, 24b, 24b continuous from the end (bottom side) opposite to the opening side are provided and boxed. The bottom flaps 22b, 22b, 24b, 24b are combined to form a flat bottom 20. For each side panel 22,22,24,24, the pair of side panels 22,22 facing each other on the front, back, left, and right are designated as the first side panel 22,22 in a posture in which the opening of the body 18 faces upward. On the other hand, the pair of side panel 24, 24 facing each other is referred to as a second side panel 24,24. In the carton 10, in a folded state, the first side panel 22 and the second side panel 24 arranged side by side face each other, and the inner surfaces of the first side panel 22 and the second side panel 24 arranged side by side face each other. , Four folded bottom flaps 22b, 22b, 24b, 24b are sandwiched between the facing side panels 22, 24, 22, 24. That is, the folded carton 10 is provided on one side where the bottom flaps 22b, 22b, 24b, 24b are sandwiched between the first side panel 22 and the second side panel 24, and on the first side panel 22 and the second side panel 24. The thickness is different from that of the other side (the extension side of the mouth flaps 22a, 22a, 24a, 24a) in which the bottom flaps 22b, 22b, 24b, 24b are not sandwiched. In the embodiment, the first side surface panel 22 is set to have a longer length in the width direction than the second side surface panel 24, and the outer surface of the first side surface panel 22 is attracted by the taking-out means 16.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in the magazine 12, the feeding means 26 for feeding the folded carton 10 in an upright posture is on the rear side of the magazine frame 28 in which the outlet 28a as an outlet is defined. The carton group is fed toward the outlet 28a by the feeding means 26, and the leading carton 10 is located at the outlet 28a. The carton 10 is accumulated in the magazine 12 in an upright posture in which the surfaces of the first side panel 22 and the second side panel 24 are arranged side by side facing the take-out port 28a. Further, around the outlet 28a of the magazine 12, a plurality of support means 30 capable of opening and closing the support member 30a capable of contacting the first side panel 22 and the second side panel 24 in the leading carton 10 are provided, and the leading carton 10 is provided. The carton 10 is supported in an upright state by a plurality of support members 30a. Then, the leading carton 10 is taken out from the magazine 12 by the taking-out means 16 after the outer surface facing the front of the first side surface panel 22 is sucked by the suction portion 38 described later of the taking-out means 16. The support means 30 opens and closes the support member 30a in accordance with the take-out operation of the carton 10 by the take-out means 16 to allow the carton 10 to be taken out from the take-out port 28a, and the next carton 10 is in an upright state. To support.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the folded carton 10 is handled in the form of a predetermined number of carton bundles W, and each carton bundle W has a surface on the outlet 28a side (first side panel 22). And the surface on which the second side panel 24 is lined up) is inverted by 180 degrees for each predetermined number of sheets and is accumulated in the magazine 12 so as to be staggered. That is, the cartons 10 are stacked in the magazine 12 in different directions alternately for each predetermined number. In the embodiment, the mouth flaps 22a, 22a, 24a, 24a face upward (see FIG. 3A) and the mouth flaps 22a, 22a, 24a, 24a face downward (see FIG. 3B). (See) are integrated so as to alternate with each other, and the thickness of the upper side and the lower side of the carton bundle W is made uniform. That is, in the embodiment, the carton 10 is integrated in the magazine 12 so that the mouth flap side on the surface where the first side panel 22 and the second side panel 24 are lined up is inverted upside down by a predetermined number of sheets (so that they are staggered). To.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a robot 16 is arranged in front of the magazine 12 as a taking-out means in which a robot hand 34 is provided at the tip of a robot arm 32 that can freely move in a three-dimensional space. The robot hand 34 is provided with a suction portion 38 having a plurality of suction cups 38a arranged on the mounting member 36 to generate a suction force by a negative pressure, and the robot 16 is provided with a suction cup 38a of the suction cup 38 from the magazine 12. The robot arm 32 is operated so as to suck the first side panel 22 located at the take-out port 28a of the carton 10 and take out one by one. The robot hand 34 as a means of rotation is rotatably supported by the robot arm 32, rotates the carton 10 sucked by the suction portion 38, and faces the surface on which the first side panel 22 and the second side panel 24 are lined up. Is configured to be modifiable.

As shown in FIG. 2, in front of the magazine 12, the boxing portion N provided in the operating region of the robot hand 34 and the boxing portion N are provided apart from each other on the side of the boxing portion N after being boxed. The carton 10 is provided with a boxing device 40 that moves between a storage unit (not shown) for accommodating items to be contained (beverages such as bags, cans, bottles, etc.). In the boxing device 40, a plurality of boxing suction cups 44 having suction holes facing forward are provided on a moving member 42 that can move between the boxing portion N and the accommodating portion, and the suction cups of the robot hand 34 are provided. By pressing the first side surface panel 22 on the rear side of the carton 10 sucked by 38 against the suction cup 44 for boxing of the moving member 42 positioned at the boxing portion N, the first side surface panel 22 on the rear side is sucked. Possible to be configured. Then, the robot hand 34, in which the first side panel 22 on the rear side is sucking the first side panel 22 on the front side of the carton 10 sucked by the suction cup 44 for boxing by the suction portion 38, is formed by forming an arc diagonally forward. By moving along the drawn trajectory, the carton 10 is erected in a square cylinder shape, and the bottom flaps 22b, 22b, 24b, 24b are combined to form a flat bottom portion 20. The boxing device 40 includes holding means 46, 46 that can move the holding members 46a, 46a that hold the left and right second side panels 24, 24 of the boxed carton 10, and has a square cylinder shape at the boxing portion N. In the body 18 of the carton 10 boxed in the box, the first side panel 22 on the rear side is sucked by the suction cup 44 for boxing, and the second side panels 24 and 24 connected orthogonally to the suction cup 44 are holding members. It is transferred to the accommodating portion while being held by 46a and 46a.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an image pickup means 48 including a CCD camera or the like for imaging the outer surface of the leading carton 10 located at the outlet 28a is provided in front of the outlet 28a in the magazine 12, and the image pickup is performed. The image information obtained by the means 48 is input to the determination unit 50. The determination unit 50 determines whether or not the orientation of the leading carton 10 is the positive orientation based on the image information obtained by the image pickup means 48, and the determination result (detection result) is the control unit of the robot 16. Entered in (not shown). In the embodiment, the image pickup means 48 and the determination unit 50 constitute a detection unit 14 for detecting the direction of the carton 10.

Here, the printing applied to the outer surfaces of the front first side panel 22 and the second side panel 24 in the carton 10 is not the same over the entire surface thereof, but differs depending on each part. Therefore, the predetermined imaging region FS in the carton 10 located at the outlet 28a is imaged by the imaging means 48, and it is determined whether or not the orientation is positive based on the difference in printing in the image information of the imaging region FS. It is configured as follows. FIG. 3A shows a state in which the carton 10 in the positive direction is located at the outlet 28a, and the orientation-identifiable printing is printed on the portion of the carton 10 in the positive direction corresponding to the imaging region FS for convenience of explanation. It is displayed as an identification unit 52. On the other hand, FIG. 3B shows a state in which the carton 10 in the opposite direction is located at the outlet 28a, and the identification unit 52 is located at a portion corresponding to the imaging region FS of the carton 10 in the opposite direction. It turns out that it will not. The image pickup means 48 is supported by the adjusting means 54 so as to be position-adjustable with respect to the apparatus frame, and the image pickup region FS can be changed according to a change of the carton 10 type or the like.

Further, the suction portion E capable of stably sucking the first side surface panel 22 by the suction portion 38 of the robot hand 34 is set biased toward the extension side of the bottom flap 22b in the first side surface panel 22. As shown in FIG. 3, in the embodiment, in the positive direction carton 10, the suction portion E is located on the lower right side with respect to the outlet 28a, and in the reverse direction carton 10, the suction portion E is located on the upper left side with respect to the outlet 28a. The suction portion E position is located on the side. That is, the height and the position in the left-right direction of the suction portion E in the carton 10 located at the take-out port 28a differ depending on the orientation of the carton 10 accumulated with respect to the magazine 12.

Next, the operation of the carton extraction device according to the embodiment will be described.
Folded cartons 10 are stacked upside down in the magazine 12 by a predetermined number of sheets. As described above, the carton 10 has different thicknesses on the upper side and the lower side, but by accumulating the carton 10 upside down for each predetermined number, the thickness on the lower side and the upper side becomes uniform in the accumulated state. Then, the carton group can be stably transferred toward the outlet 28a by the feeding means 26. Further, when the carton 10 is taken out by the robot 16, the posture of the carton 10 in the integrated state is suppressed from being disturbed or falling.

When the carton 10 is taken out by the robot 16, the image pickup region FS in the head carton 10 located at the outlet 28a is imaged by the image pickup means 48, and the image information is input to the determination unit 50. When the identification unit 52 is present in the image information of the image pickup region FS, the determination unit 50 determines that the imaged carton 10 is oriented in the positive direction. As shown in FIG. 3A, the robot 16 in which the determination result (direction detection result) is input from the determination unit 50 to the control unit is the suction unit 38 of the robot hand 34 and is located at the outlet 28a. The robot arm 32 is operated so as to suck the suction portion E, the suction portion E is sucked by the suction portion 38, and the carton 10 is taken out from the take-out port 28a. Then, the robot 16 transfers the carton 10 to the boxing portion N in the same direction without rotating the robot hand 34, and raises the first side panel 22 on the rear side of the carton 10 to raise the boxing device 40. By pressing the robot hand 34 forward to suck it against the box suction cup 44, the carton 10 has a body 18 formed in a square cylinder shape, and the bottom flaps 22b, 22b, 24b, 24b are formed. Combined to form a flat bottom 20 (see FIG. 2).

When the carton 10 is unboxed in the boxing portion N, the holding members 46a, 46a are operated by the holding means 46, 46 of the boxing device 40, and the left and right second side surface panels 24 are operated by the holding members 46a, 46a. , 24 are held from the outside. Then, after releasing the suction by the suction portion 38 of the robot hand 34, the moving member 42 moves toward the storage portion, and the loaded object is housed in the carton 10 opened in the storage portion.

As shown in FIG. 3B, when the head carton 10 located at the outlet 28a is in the opposite direction, the image information of the image pickup region FS in the head carton 10 imaged by the image pickup means 48 is identified. Part 52 does not exist. As a result, the determination unit 50 determines that the imaged carton 10 is not in the positive direction. The robot 16 in which the determination result (direction detection result) is input from the determination unit 50 to the control unit is the suction unit 38 of the robot hand 34, and the position with respect to the outlet 28a is different from that of the positive direction carton 10. The robot arm 32 is operated so as to suck the suction portion E, the suction portion E is sucked by the suction portion 38, and the carton 10 is taken out from the take-out port 28a. Since the determination unit 50 determines that the leading carton 10 is not in the positive direction, the robot 16 rotates the robot hand 34 by 180 degrees to reverse the direction of the carton 10 sucked by the suction unit 38. After the mouth flaps 22a, 22a, 24a, 24a are turned upward, the carton 10 is transferred to the boxing portion N. Since the carton 10 transferred to the boxing section N is oriented in the positive direction, the robot hand 34 is moved after the first side panel 22 on the rear side is sucked onto the boxing suction cup 44 in the same manner as described above. Move forward and unbox the carton 10.

In the carton taking-out device of the embodiment, the carton 10 taken out from the magazine 12 is imaged by the image pickup means 48, and based on the obtained image information, it is determined whether or not the direction of the carton 10 is positive, and based on the determination result. If the carton 10 is in the forward direction, it is transferred to the boxing section N in the same direction without rotating and is boxed, while if the carton 10 is not in the forward direction, the carton 10 is rotated so as to be inverted. Then, it is transferred to the carton N and the carton is opened. That is, even if a large number of cartons 10 accumulated in the magazine 12 are turned upside down by a predetermined number of sheets so that the thickness of the upper side and the lower side becomes uniform, the directions of the cartons 10 taken out from the magazine 12 are aligned. be able to.

The suction site E for stably removing the carton 10 from the magazine 12 and effectively unboxing the carton 10 in cooperation with the boxing device 40 is taken according to the orientation accumulated in the magazine 12. The position with respect to the exit 28a changes. In the embodiment, since the orientation of the carton 10 can be identified based on the image information captured by the image pickup means 48, the robot 16 can suck the same suction portion E of the carton 10 located at the outlet 28a. That is, even if the directions of the carton 10 located at the outlet 28a are different, the robot 16 can properly suck the same suction site E set in the carton 10 by the suction portion 38, and the carton 10 can be sucked. It can be taken out stably and can be effectively unboxed in cooperation with the boxing device 40. Further, when the carton 10 taken out is in the opposite direction requiring the change of direction, the carton 10 is rotated to change the direction before being transferred to the boxing section N, so that the carton 10 is always changed in direction. The carton 10 can be transferred in the forward direction, and the carton 10 can be loaded in the same direction without changing the transfer position of the carton 10 with respect to the boxing portion N.

Since the carton extraction device of the embodiment determines the orientation based on the image information obtained by imaging the outer surface of the carton 10 located at the outlet 28a, the orientation is determined by the difference in printing applied to the carton 10. be able to. That is, in order to determine the orientation with a contact type sensor, an optical sensor, or the like, the orientation of the carton 10 can be satisfactorily determined without performing special processing on the carton 10. Further, since the carton 10 is taken out by the robot 16 and the direction is changed, the suction sites E having different positions with respect to the outlet 28a can be sucked and the carton 10 can be rotated appropriately and satisfactorily. Further, the robot 16 can easily cope with the order change of the carton 10.

(Change example)
The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment, and can be modified as follows, for example. Further, not limited to the following modified examples, various embodiments may be adopted within the scope of the gist of the present invention for the configurations described in the examples.
(1) In the embodiment, the cartons 10 are stacked in the magazine 12 by inverting the top and bottom (vertical direction) for each predetermined number, but they may be stacked by inverting the left and right (horizontal direction). That is, a predetermined number of cartons 10 having the mouth flaps 22a, 22a, 24a, 24a facing left and a predetermined number of cartons 10 having the mouth flaps 22a, 22a, 24a, 24a facing right are alternately accumulated in the magazine 12. May be. In this case, the determination unit 50 determines whether the carton 10 is facing left or right based on the image information obtained by imaging with the image pickup means 48, and the robot 16 rotates the carton 10 90 degrees based on the determination result. Then, the mouth flaps 22a, 22a, 24a, 24a may be converted into an upward posture and transferred to the carton N.
(2) In the embodiment, the orientation of the carton 10 is determined based on the difference in the presence or absence of printing on the outer surface of the carton 10. However, the identification unit may have the shape of the carton 10 or may be printed. It suffices as long as the identification unit located in the imaging region FS changes due to the difference in the orientation of the carton 10 such as the difference in color and type.
(3) In the embodiment, the image pickup means 48 for imaging the outer surface of the carton 10 is used as the detection unit 14 for detecting the orientation of the carton 10, but the shape of the carton 10 is formed by various contact type and non-contact type sensors. By detecting the difference, it is possible to adopt a configuration that detects (determines) the orientation of the carton 10.
(4) In the embodiment, the case where the carton 10 is accumulated in the magazine 12 in the upright posture has been described, but the carton 10 may be accumulated in the lying posture.

10 cartons, 12 magazines (integration unit), 14 detector units, 16 robots (removal means)
32 Robot arm, 34 Robot hand (rotating means), 48 Imaging means 50 Judgment part, E suction part, N boxing part

Claims (4)

It is a carton take-out device that takes out flatly folded cartons one by one.
An accumulation part in which the cartons having different thicknesses on one side and the other side of the folded carton are accumulated in different directions on a predetermined number of sheets on the one side and the other side.
A means for taking out the carton in the integrated portion and
A detection unit for detecting the orientation of the carton taken out by the taking-out means is provided.
The taking-out means has a carton that sucks a suction portion set in the carton to be taken out based on the detection result of the detection unit and has a rotating means for aligning the directions of the sucked-out carton. Extraction device. The carton according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit includes an image pickup unit that captures an image of the carton, and a determination unit that determines the orientation of the carton based on the image information obtained by the image pickup means. Extraction device. The carton extraction device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the extraction means is a robot, and the robot arm of the robot is provided with a robot hand as the rotation means capable of sucking and rotating the carton. The taking-out means is
The carton taken out from the collecting part is transferred to the boxing part, and the carton is boxed at the boxing part, and at the same time, the carton is boxed.
3. The carton extraction device according to any one of the items.

Images