JP7201313B2 - Food transfer system and food gripping device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a food transfer system and a food gripping device for transferring agricultural products with uneven shapes such as fruits and vegetables, and foods with uneven shapes such as fried chicken, fish fillets, and side dishes.

Conventionally, a technique for automatically transferring fruit vegetables such as fruits and vegetables is known.
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology related to an adsorption transfer device that adjusts the suction force when the fruits and vegetables are adsorbed according to the size and hardness of the fruits and vegetables and transfers the fruits and vegetables.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-024811

However, in the technique described in Patent Literature 1, since fruits and vegetables are held by adsorption, it is difficult to reliably hold fruit vegetables having irregular shapes and sizes. In addition, when soft fruit vegetables or fruit vegetables with rotten parts are sucked, the suction force may damage the fruit vegetables, or the pieces of the rotten parts may clog the suction.
In addition, it is difficult to handle not only fruit vegetables but also foods such as side dishes having irregular shapes and sizes because of their uneven shapes. Therefore, it is difficult to automate the handling of such foods, and at present, work such as assortment of lunch boxes is performed manually.
As described above, it has been difficult with the conventional technology to properly hold foods such as fruit vegetables and side dishes that are irregular in shape and size.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for more appropriately holding foods having irregular shapes and sizes.

In order to solve the above problems, a food transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
a conveying means for conveying food;
Data acquisition means for acquiring data on the food transported by the transport means;
individual information acquisition means for acquiring individual information including at least one of the position and quality of the food based on the acquisition result of the data acquisition means;
grasping means for grasping the food to be grasped based on the individual information;
Position detection means for detecting an open/closed position of the movable member, which is one of the positions in the range of opening and closing of the movable member for gripping the food in the gripping means;
a moving mechanism for moving the gripping means to a predetermined position;
Based on the detection result of the position detection means, the open/close position of the movable member, which is one of the positions in the range in which the movable member opens and closes in the gripping means, is associated with the contact force with respect to the food at the open/close position. a control means for controlling the
with
The control means controls the movement in the gripping means by performing a transformation that assigns control energy to velocity or position energy and force energy set corresponding to the gripping movement of the food product .
In a second aspect of the invention, in the invention described in claim 1, storage means for storing a set value of a plurality of levels for the quality of the food is provided, and the control means controls the result obtained by the individual information obtaining means. reading out the set value corresponding to the quality of the food to be gripped from among the set values stored in the storage means, and controlling the operation of the gripping means based on the set value It is characterized by
Furthermore, in a third invention, in the invention described in claim 1 or claim 2 , the gripping means further comprises a weight measuring section for measuring the weight of the gripped food, and the weight measuring section , the gripping means calculates the weight of the food based on parameters in the control for performing the operation of gripping and lifting the food, and the control means calculates the weight of the food based on the weight of the food calculated by the weight measuring unit and determining the weight of the food.
Further, according to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3 , the control means controls, based on the acquisition result of the individual information acquisition means, when the gripping means grips the food. It is characterized by controlling the contact position.
Furthermore, a fifth aspect of the invention is a food gripping device, comprising individual information acquisition means for acquiring individual information about a food to be gripped, including the quality of the food;
grasping means for grasping the food to be grasped based on the individual information;
Position detection means for detecting an open/closed position of the movable member, which is one of the positions in the range of opening and closing of the movable member for gripping the food in the gripping means;
Based on the detection result of the position detection means, the open/close position of the movable member, which is one of the positions in the range in which the movable member opens and closes in the gripping means, is associated with the contact force with respect to the food at the open/close position. a control means for controlling the
with
The control means controls the operation of the gripping means by performing a conversion that assigns control energy to velocity or position energy and force energy set corresponding to the gripping operation of the food. and

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique of holding|maintaining the food of irregular shape and size more appropriately can be provided.
In addition , it is possible to perform an efficient gripping motion that is set in correspondence with the gripping motion.
Furthermore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, by controlling the operation of the hand based on preset reference value data, it is possible to perform a gripping operation suitable for individual conditions of the food to be gripped.
Furthermore, in the third aspect of the present invention, the weight of the food can be determined by the gripping operation of the hand, and the food can be transported to the determined food sorting destination.
Furthermore, according to the invention of claim 4 , it is possible to change the position to be gripped according to the quality of the food, so that the food can be held more appropriately.
Furthermore, according to the invention of claim 5 , it is possible to provide a technique for holding foodstuffs more appropriately.
In addition, it is possible to perform an efficient gripping motion that is set in correspondence with the gripping motion.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a fruit and vegetable transfer system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a hand unit 53; FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the hand unit 53 is rotated from the state shown in FIG. 2A; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the control device 10; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the concept of a control rule in a gripping parameter determination unit 16b; FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of a fruit and vegetable sorting process executed in the fruit and vegetable transfer system 1. FIG.

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a fruit and vegetable transfer system will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The fruit vegetable transfer system and the fruit vegetable gripping device according to the present invention photograph the fruit vegetables to be sorted with a photographing device, and from the photographed image, the size, shape, characteristics (color, degree of injury, rotten part, etc.) of individual fruit vegetables and presence or absence of raw wounds) and quality information such as weight. Then, when the fruit vegetable is gripped by the gripping robot, based on the acquired quality information of the fruit vegetable, the gripping operation of the fruit vegetable gripping device is started with a preset reference value for the gripping motion as an initial value, and the fruit vegetable gripping device starts the gripping motion. When grasping a fruit vegetable, real haptics are applied based on information on a predetermined position in the vegetable grasping device (for example, information on the position of the slider of the actuator, etc.) or information on the force the vegetable grasping device receives from the vegetable. Provides position (or velocity) and force control.
As a result, it is possible to perform a gripping operation suitable for individual conditions such as the size, shape, surface condition, etc. of the fruit vegetable to be gripped, and to appropriately hold the fruit vegetable.
In this embodiment, the grasping robot picks up and excludes unqualified individuals for processed food and spoiled individuals for disposal from among the fruits and vegetables conveyed by the conveyor. An example will be described in which the weight is determined first, and even if it is an unqualified individual, the one that cannot be used for processed food due to insufficient weight is excluded from being discarded.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a fruit and vegetable transfer system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1 , the fruit and vegetable transfer system 1 includes a control device 10 , a conveying device 20 , a lighting device 30 , an imaging device 40 , and a gripping robot (fruit and vegetable gripping device) 50 .
The control device 10 controls the entire fruit and vegetable transfer system 1 . For example, the control device 10 is configured by an information processing device including an arithmetic processing unit, a memory, a storage device, a communication interface, etc., and implements various functions in the fruit and vegetable transfer system 1 by executing a program by the arithmetic processing unit. . As an example, the control device 10 can be configured by an information processing device such as a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) or a PC (Personal Computer).
Specifically, the control device 10 controls the operation of the transport device 20 (driving, stopping, transport speed, etc.), the ON/OFF of the illumination device 30 and the photographing operation of the photographing device 40 .

In addition, the control device 10 controls the sorting operation (transfer) of fruit vegetables including the gripping operation of the gripping robot 50 by executing the fruit and vegetable sorting process, which will be described later. At this time, the control device 10 controls the position (or speed) and force by applying real haptics based on the information of the predetermined position (or speed) in the grasping robot 50, thereby performing the grasping motion of the fruit vegetable. Control. A functional configuration realized in the control device 10 by executing the fruit and vegetable sorting process will be described later.

The conveying device 20 constitutes a conveyor that conveys fruits and vegetables in multiple rows, and includes a conveying body 21 , a passive pulley 22 , a driving pulley 23 , a conveying motor 24 and a brake plate 25 .
The conveying body 21 receives the supply of fruits and vegetables to be sorted, passes through the photographing area of the photographing device 40 , and then conveys the fruits and vegetables to the pickup area of the grasping robot 50 .

The conveying body 21 in this embodiment includes a plurality of rotating rollers 21a arranged so that their rotation axes are parallel, and has an annular structure in which the plurality of rotating rollers 21a are installed over the entire circumference. there is In the carrier 21, a plurality of rotating rollers 21a are rotatably held at both ends by annular chains or belts. The plurality of rotating rollers 21a are arranged at an array interval such that the fruits and vegetables to be sorted do not fall through the gaps.

The transport body 21 is wound around a passive pulley 22 and a drive pulley 23, and the rotation shaft of the drive pulley 23 is connected to the rotation shaft of a transport motor 24 by a belt member.
Therefore, when the conveying motor 24 rotates, the rotation is transmitted to the driving pulley 23, and the conveying body 21 wound around the driving pulley 23 rotates with the driven pulley 22, thereby continuously conveying. take action.

The brake plate 25 is installed at a specific position (the position where the conveyed fruits and vegetables are rotated) in the passage area of the conveying body 21 and on the lower surface side of the plurality of rotating rollers 21a (the rear surface side with respect to the surface on which the fruits and vegetables are placed). , friction with the surface (cylindrical surface) of each rotating roller 21a. That is, when the conveying body 21 performs the conveying operation, the rotating roller 21a in contact with the brake plate 25 is driven by the friction with the brake plate 25 and rotates. There is an action to rotate the fruit vegetables passing through. Hereinafter, the area where the brake plate 25 is installed will be referred to as a "rotating area" as appropriate. It should be noted that the rotating roller 21a moves in a state where the fruits and vegetables are placed thereon, without substantially rotating, in areas other than the area where the brake plate 25 is installed. Hereinafter, the area other than the area where the brake plate 25 is installed will be referred to as a "non-rotating area" as appropriate.

The illumination device 30 includes a visible light lamp that emits visible light and an ultraviolet light lamp that emits ultraviolet light. In this embodiment, the illumination device 30 is provided upstream and downstream of the photographing device 40 in the conveying direction of fruits and vegetables.

The photographing device 40 is composed of a digital camera capable of photographing a visible light image and an ultraviolet light image, and photographs the visible light image and the ultraviolet light image under the control of the control device 10 . Visible light images are mainly used to recognize the position, size and shape of fruits and vegetables, and ultraviolet light images are mainly used to detect the characteristics of fruits and vegetables (detection of surface or internal rotten parts, raw wounds, etc.). used for
Since the shape, size, and surface/internal state of the conveyed fruits and vegetables are recognized based on the images captured by the imaging device 40, the control device 10 can track the conveyed fruits and vegetables at time intervals The photographing device 40 is controlled so as to photograph with . As an example, the imaging device 40 can alternately capture a visible light image and an ultraviolet light image at intervals of 1/30 second.

The grasping robot 50 is provided with a three-axis parallel link robot (delta-type articulated robot). In this embodiment, two gripping robots 50 are installed, and these two gripping robots 50 share the task of sorting fruit vegetables. Note that the grasping robot 50 may employ other types of robots, such as a 6-axis parallel link robot or a vertically articulated robot, as long as it is capable of picking up fruits and vegetables.

Specifically, the gripping robot 50 has three arms 51a to 51c extending from a housing 50a, extension and retraction motors 52a to 52c for controlling extension and retraction of the respective arms 51a to 51c, and arms 51a to 51c. and a rotating motor 54 for horizontally rotating the hand unit 53 .
FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the hand unit 53. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the hand unit 53 is configured as a tool for grasping fruits and vegetables, and includes movable members 53a to 53c that come into contact with the fruits and produce a holding action, and opening and closing tools that control the opening and closing of the movable members 53a to 53c. A motor 53d and a vertical motor 53e for moving the hand unit 53 in the vertical direction are provided.

In the present embodiment, the expansion/contraction motors 52a to 52c of the gripping robot 50, the opening/closing motor 53d of the hand unit 53, the vertical motor 53e, and the rotation motor 54 operate under the control of the control device 10. FIG.
For example, the expansion/contraction motors 52a-52c control the expansion/contraction of the arms 51a-51c so that the hand unit 53 moves to the position of the fruit vegetable to be gripped under the control of the control device 10. FIG.

Further, the opening/closing motor 53d opens and closes the movable members 53a to 53c according to the control of the control device 10 so that the movable members 53a to 53c are in the opening/closing position and the contact force based on the real haptics according to the fruit vegetable to be gripped. control behavior. In this embodiment, the opening/closing motor 53d includes a position detection sensor 53d-1 that detects the rotational position of the motor rotation shaft. The detection result of the position detection sensor 53d-1 is information indicating the open/closed positions of the movable members 53a to 53d, and is used as input (input of the gripping parameter determination unit 16b, which will be described later) in fruit and vegetable sorting processing, which will be described later. In addition, the initial values (position and force) of the gripping operation of the movable members 53a to 53c are values (preset standard value data). After the hand unit 53 has gripped the fruit vegetable to be gripped (after the gripping operation has started), the control device 10 sequentially calculates the rotational position and rotational torque of the motor rotation shaft of the opening/closing motor 53d, so that the movable member The open/closed positions and contact forces of 53a-53c are controlled.
As a result, the hand unit 53 according to the present embodiment can perform a gripping operation suitable for individual conditions such as the size, shape or softness of the fruit vegetable to be gripped.

Further, the vertical motor 53e has a position detection sensor 53e-1, and is controlled according to the control of the control device 10 so that the distance between the rotating motor 54 and the movable members 53a to 53c is kept constant. Furthermore, the vertical motor 53e performs control based on real haptics (control of at least one of the position (or speed) and force in the operation of lifting the hand unit 53) according to the weight of the fruit vegetable to be gripped. can be measured. That is, the weight of the grasped fruit vegetable can be detected based on the drive current or the like that flows when the vertical motor 53e grasps the fruit vegetable. Further, it can be determined from the load of the vertical motor 53e or the detection result of the position detection sensor 53e-1 that the hand unit 53 has come into contact with an object (such as fruit vegetables) in the vertical direction.

The rotation motor 54 rotates the hand unit 53 in the horizontal direction to change the positions of the movable members 53a to 53c with respect to the fruit vegetable to be gripped.
FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the hand unit 53 has rotated from the state shown in FIG. 2A.
As shown in FIG. 2B, by rotating the hand unit 53 with respect to the fruit vegetables from the state of FIG. It is possible to suppress the adhesion of fragments of decayed parts to the
In addition, when gripping the fruit vegetables to be gripped from the densely flowing fruits and vegetables, the movable members 53a to 53c are positioned in the gaps between the fruits and vegetables to prevent the movable members 53a to 53c from coming into contact with surrounding fruits. be able to.

[Functional configuration]
Next, a functional configuration of the control device 10 in the fruit/vegetable transfer system 1 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the control device 10. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the control device 10 executes the fruit and vegetable sorting process, the functional configuration includes an image acquisition unit 11, an image analysis unit 12, an item determination unit 13, a fruit and vegetable identification unit 14, and a robot. A control section 15, a hand unit control section 16, a weight determination section 17, a transport control section 18, and a control data storage section 19 are formed.

The image acquisition unit 11 outputs an imaging instruction to the imaging device 40 to alternately capture a visible light image and an ultraviolet light image, and acquires the captured visible light image and ultraviolet light image.
The image analysis unit 12 analyzes the visible light image (object recognition, color detection, etc.) to recognize the position where the fruit and vegetables are distributed on the carrier 21, the size, color, injury, and shape of the fruit and vegetables. . Further, the image analysis unit 12 analyzes the ultraviolet light image (luminance detection, etc.) to recognize the presence or absence of rotten parts such as water rot of fruits and vegetables and fresh wounds. In this embodiment, when recognizing the size, color, injury, and shape of fruit vegetables, the image analysis unit 12 refers to the visible light image of the rotation area in the conveying device 20, and When recognizing the detection of raw wounds, etc., the ultraviolet light image of the rotating area in the conveying device 20 is referred to. In addition, the image analysis unit 12 associates each fruit and vegetable captured in the visible light image of the rotation area of the conveying device 20 with each fruit and vegetable captured in the ultraviolet light image, and tracks each fruit and vegetable individually. Then, the image analysis unit 12 refers to the visible light image of the non-rotating area in the conveying device 20 (the image in which the rotation of the vegetable is stopped), and recognizes the position of each fruit vegetable conveyed to the pick-up area. As a result, the size, shape, and characteristics (color, degree of injury, presence or absence of rotten parts and fresh wounds, etc.) of individual fruits and vegetables can be recognized. Further, the image analysis unit 12 stores these recognition results (position and quality) as individual information.

Based on the analysis result of the image analysis unit 12, the item determination unit 13 determines standard evaluation items for fruit vegetables. The items determined by the item determination unit 13 include the size and shape of fruit vegetables (classification of size and shape in the standard), characteristics of fruit vegetables (color and degree of injury, presence or absence of rotten parts and raw wounds), fruit vegetable Items related to quality such as weight are included. In addition, in this embodiment, the weight of fruit vegetables is determined by the weight determination part 17 mentioned later.

The fruit and vegetable identification unit 14 assigns a fruit vegetable to be picked up to each gripping robot 50 and identifies the fruit vegetable to be picked up by each gripping robot 50 . Specifically, the fruit/vegetable identification unit 14 sequentially identifies the position of each fruit/vegetable to be picked up and sorted by each of the two gripping robots 50 in each fruit/vegetable transported to the pick-up area by the transporter 21 . The positions of the fruits and vegetables in the pick-up area can be specified based on the positions of the fruits and vegetables in the non-rotating area recognized by the image analysis unit 12 and by taking into consideration the conveying speed of the conveying device 20 . In this embodiment, from among the fruits and vegetables transported to the pick-up area by the transporter 21, only non-standard individuals and rotten individuals are picked up by a grasping robot and excluded. Fruit vegetables are transported to a workshop, etc., where different individuals are sorted.

The robot control unit 15 outputs drive signals for the expansion and contraction motors 52a to 52c that control the expansion and contraction of the arms 51a to 51c, so that the hand unit of the grasping robot 50 moves to the position of each fruit vegetable specified by the fruit and vegetable specifying unit 14. Move 53. In addition, the robot control unit 15 vertically moves the hand unit 53 by outputting a drive signal for the vertical motor 53e according to control of at least one of vertical position (or speed) and force based on real haptics. move. In this case, the robot control unit 15 inputs the current position of the rotating shaft of the vertical motor 53e (or the current position corresponding to the rotating shaft, such as the current position of the hand unit 53 in the vertical direction). (for example, calculation according to formulas (1) and (2) to be described later) in at least one area of (1) to determine the parameters representing the operation of the vertical motor 53e. In addition, the robot control unit 15 selects the fruit and vegetable sorting destination (“rotten fruit”, “unqualified”, etc.) based on the determination result of the evaluation item of the fruit and vegetable by the item determination unit 13 and the determination result of the weight of the fruit and vegetable by the weight determination unit 17. ) is determined, and the fruits and vegetables are transported to the determined sorting destination of fruits and vegetables. In this embodiment, storage boxes corresponding to sorting destinations of fruits and vegetables are installed on the side of the pick-up area of the conveying device 20 .

The hand unit control section 16 performs a gripping operation suitable for individual conditions such as the size, shape or softness of the fruit vegetable to be gripped.
Specifically, the hand unit control section 16 includes a rotation motor drive section 16a, a gripping parameter determination section 16b, an opening/closing motor drive section 16c, a movable member position acquisition section 16d, and a grip success/failure determination section 16e. and have.

The rotation motor drive unit 16a controls the driving of the rotation motor 54 in the fruit vegetable gripping operation. Specifically, the rotation motor drive unit 16a determines whether the movable members 53a to 53c of the hand unit 53 are correct based on the analysis results of the quality of the fruit vegetables (presence or absence of spoiled parts such as water rot and fresh scratches) by the image analysis unit 12. The hand unit 53 is rotated horizontally so as not to touch the position of the rotten part or fresh wound of the fruit vegetable to be gripped. Further, the rotation motor driving section 16a rotates the hand unit 53 in the horizontal direction so that the movable members 53a to 53c from the positions of the fruits and vegetables by the image analysis section 12 do not come into contact with surrounding fruits and vegetables.

The gripping parameter determination unit 16b receives as input the current position of the rotation shaft of the opening/closing motor 53d (or the current positions corresponding to the rotation shaft such as the current positions of the movable members 53a to 53c), and determines at least the position (or speed) or force. A parameter representing the operation of the opening/closing motor 53d is determined by performing calculations in one area. Note that the gripping parameter determination unit 16b reads out the reference value of the gripping motion stored in the control data storage unit 19 based on the quality of the fruit vegetable recognized by the image analysis unit 12 at the start of the gripping motion. Using the reference value as an initial value, the position and force (rotational torque) of the rotating shaft of the opening/closing motor 53d are controlled.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the concept of the control law in the gripping parameter determination unit 16b based on real-haptics technology.
As shown in FIG. 4, the control law in the gripping parameter determination unit 16b includes an opening/closing motor 53d (system to be controlled), a force/velocity assignment conversion block 110, an ideal force source block 120 or an ideal velocity (position) source block. 130 and an inverse transform block 140 as a control law.

The force/velocity assignment conversion block 110 defines a coordinate conversion that inputs a value (reference value) that serves as a reference for the operation of the opening/closing motor 53d and the current position of the rotating shaft of the opening/closing motor 53d. This coordinate transformation converts an input vector whose elements are a reference value and current velocity (or position) into an output vector consisting of velocity (or position) for calculating a control target value of velocity (or position), It converts an input vector whose elements are a value and a current force into an output vector composed of force for calculating a force control target value. Specifically, the coordinate conversion in the force/velocity assignment conversion block 110 is represented by the following equations (1) and (2).

dX2=[H].dX1 (1)
F2=[H]·F1 (2)

However, in equation (1), d is an operator representing first-order differentiation, dX2 is a velocity vector for deriving the state value of velocity, and dX1 is a reference value and a velocity based on the action of the opening/closing motor 53d ( A vector whose elements are the speed of the rotating shaft of the motor 53d, or the speed of the portions corresponding to the rotating shaft of the opening/closing motor 53d, such as the movable members 53a to 53c, and H is a conversion matrix representing the gripping function. In equation (2), d ² F2 (where d ² is an operator representing second-order differentiation) is a force vector for deriving the force state value, and d ² F1 is a reference value and the action of the opening/closing motor 53d. (rotational torque of the rotating shaft of the opening/closing motor 53d, or forces of the portions corresponding to the rotating shaft of the opening/closing motor 53d, such as the movable members 53a to 53c).

The ideal force source block 120 is a block that performs calculations in the force domain according to the coordinate transformation defined by the force-velocity assignment transformation block 110 . In the ideal force source block 120, a target value is set for the force when performing calculations based on the coordinate transformation defined by the functional force/velocity assignment transformation block 110. FIG. This target value is set as a fixed value or a variable value in accordance with the gripping function that grips the fruit vegetable to be gripped in accordance with individual conditions.

The ideal velocity (position) source block 130 is a block that performs operations in the velocity (position) domain according to the coordinate transformation defined by the force-to-velocity assignment transformation block 110 . In the ideal velocity (position) source block 130, a target value for velocity (position) is set for calculation based on the coordinate transformation defined by the force/velocity assignment transformation block 110. FIG. This target value is set as a fixed value or a variable value in accordance with the gripping function that grips the fruit vegetable to be gripped in accordance with individual conditions.

The inverse conversion block 140 is a block that converts the values of the velocity (position) and force regions into the values of the input region (for example, voltage value or current value) to the opening/closing motor 53d.
As a result, when position information of the opening/closing motor 53d is input to the force/velocity assignment conversion block 110, force/velocity assignment conversion is performed using velocity (position) and force information obtained based on the position information. At block 110, control laws are applied for each of the position and force domains depending on the gripping function adapted to the individual conditions of the fruit vegetable to be gripped. An ideal force source block 120 calculates a force corresponding to the function, and an ideal velocity (position) source block 130 calculates a velocity (position) corresponding to the function. Control energy is distributed to each.

The calculation results in the ideal force source block 120 and the ideal velocity (position) source block 130 serve as information indicating the control target of the opening/closing motor 53d. be.
As a result, the opening/closing motor 53d performs the operation according to the function defined by the force/velocity assignment conversion block 110 (the gripping function for gripping the fruit vegetable to be gripped while adapting it to the individual conditions), and the target hand unit A grasping action of 53 is realized. That is, the gripping robot 50 performs a gripping operation based on real haptics according to formulas (1) and (2), and adapts to individual conditions such as the size, shape, or surface/internal state of the fruit vegetable to be gripped. A grasping motion is realized.

Returning to FIG. 3, the opening/closing motor driving section 16c controls driving of the opening/closing motor 53d in the fruit vegetable gripping operation. For example, the opening/closing motor drive unit 16c performs control using a parameter representing a gripping motion set in advance as an initial value for control in the gripping motion, and after the start of the gripping motion, the gripping parameter determination unit 16b determines the Control is performed using the determined parameters (parameters sequentially calculated based on the above control law).

The movable member position acquiring unit 16d acquires the current position of the rotating shaft of the opening/closing motor 53d (or the current positions corresponding to the rotating shaft such as the current positions of the movable members 53a to 53c) from the position detection sensor 53d-1. The current position of the rotating shaft of the opening/closing motor 53d can be acquired by, for example, a rotary encoder. In addition, when obtaining the current positions of the movable members 53a to 53c, they can be obtained by an encoder or the like that detects the positions of the ends of the movable members 53a to 53c. It is also possible to estimate the position from the electrical characteristics of the motor without using a sensor such as an encoder.

The gripping success/failure determination unit 16e determines whether or not the hand unit 53 has actually successfully gripped the fruit vegetable to be gripped. This determination result is stored as part of the data of the results of the sorting work in the fruit and vegetable transfer system 1, or the gripping parameter determination unit 16b corrects an algorithm (for example, formula correction of the elements of the transformation matrix H in (1) and (2), etc.). In addition, when the grasping is successful, the grasping robot 50 transfers the fruits and vegetables to a predetermined storage box.

The weight determination unit 17 determines the weight of the fruit vegetable gripped by the hand unit 53 . In the present embodiment, the weight determining unit 17 includes a force/velocity assignment conversion block 110 and an ideal force source block 120 or an ideal velocity ( position) source block 130 and an inverse transform block 140, and from the position and force parameters obtained from the vertical motor 53e (position detection sensor 53e-1) by the real-haptics technique described above, Determine the weight of the fruit vegetable being gripped. As a result of the determination of the weight of the fruit vegetables by the weight determining unit 17, determination of all standard determination items such as the size, shape, characteristics and weight of the fruit vegetables is completed, and the sorting destination of the grasped fruit vegetables is determined. Note that the weight determination unit 17 stores the determined weight by including it in the individual information.

The conveying control unit 18 controls the conveying of fruit vegetables in the conveying device 20 by controlling the rotational speed and rotational torque of the conveying motor 24 . Further, the transport control unit 18 adjusts the pace of sorting of fruit vegetables by the gripping robot 50 based on the number of fruit vegetables transported to the pick-up area of the gripping robot 50 and the number of fruit vegetables sorted by the gripping robot 50. It is determined whether or not the pace of conveying fruits and vegetables according to 20 is below. Then, when the transportation control unit 18 determines that the pace of fruit vegetable sorting by the gripping robot 50 is lower than the pace of fruit vegetable transportation by the transport device 20, the transport control unit 18 temporarily stops the transport device 20 (or reduces the speed). Let

The control data storage unit 19 stores data set in advance for executing the fruit and vegetable sorting process (parameters representing preset gripping operation reference values) and various data generated by executing the fruit and vegetable sorting process (gripping parameters determined by the parameter determination unit 16b). In the present embodiment, as the parameter representing the reference value of the grasping motion, values classified into a plurality of stages are prepared for each of the size of the fruit vegetable and the characteristics of the fruit vegetable. For example, with respect to the sizes of fruits and vegetables, reference values for positions corresponding to S size, M size, and L size are set in advance. Similarly, with respect to the characteristics of fruit vegetables, reference values of forces corresponding to good products (no rotten parts) and defective products (with rotten parts) are set in advance. The gripping parameter determination unit 16b reads the reference value parameter stored in the control data storage unit 19 as an initial value according to the size and characteristics of the fruit vegetable determined by the item determination unit 13, and starts gripping operation. .

[motion]
Next, the operation of the fruit and vegetable transfer system 1 will be described.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the fruit and vegetable sorting process executed in the fruit and vegetable transfer system 1. As shown in FIG.
The fruit and vegetable sorting process is started in response to an operation of instructing execution of the fruit and vegetable sorting process in the control device 10 .

In step S1, the image acquisition unit 11 outputs an imaging instruction to the imaging device 40 to alternately capture a visible light image and an ultraviolet light image, and acquires the captured visible light image and ultraviolet light image.
In step S2, the image analysis unit 12 analyzes the visible light image (object recognition, color detection, etc.) to determine the position of the fruit and vegetable distribution on the carrier 21, the size, color, injury, and Recognize shapes.

In step S3, the image analysis unit 12 analyzes the ultraviolet light image (luminance detection, etc.) to recognize the presence or absence of rotten parts such as water rot of fruit vegetables and raw wounds.
In step S<b>4 , the item determination unit 13 determines standard evaluation items for fruit vegetables based on the analysis result of the image analysis unit 12 . The items to be judged at this time include the size and shape of fruit vegetables (classification of size and shape in the standard), and characteristics of fruit vegetables (color, degree of injury, presence or absence of rotted parts and fresh wounds).

In step S<b>5 , the fruit and vegetable identification unit 14 allocates the fruit and vegetable to be picked up to each gripping robot 50 and identifies the fruit and vegetable to be picked up by each gripping robot 50 . At this time, the fruit/vegetable specifying unit 14 specifies the position of each fruit/vegetable to be picked up and sorted by each of the two gripping robots 50 in each fruit/vegetable transported to the pick-up area by the transporter 21 .

In step S6, the robot control unit 15 outputs drive signals for the extension/contraction motors 52a to 52c that control the extension/contraction of the arms 51a to 51c, so that the robot grasps the fruits and vegetables at the positions specified by the fruit/vegetable specifying unit 14. 50 hand units 53 are moved. In addition, the robot control unit 15 vertically moves the hand unit 53 by outputting a drive signal for the vertical motor 53e according to control of at least one of vertical position (or speed) and force based on real haptics. move.
In step S7, the hand unit control section 16 performs a gripping operation suitable for individual conditions such as the size, shape or softness of the fruit vegetable to be gripped. At this time, the hand unit control section 16 implements a gripping function of gripping the fruit vegetables to be gripped in conformity with individual conditions according to the control rule shown in FIG. 4 .

In step S8, the hand unit control section 16 (gripping success/failure determination section 16e) determines whether or not the hand unit 53 has actually successfully gripped the fruit vegetable to be gripped.
When the hand unit 53 succeeds in actually gripping the fruit vegetable to be gripped, YES is determined in step S8, and the process proceeds to step S9.
On the other hand, if the hand unit 53 has not actually grasped the fruit vegetable to be grasped, it is determined as NO in step S8, and the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S<b>9 , the weight determination unit 17 determines the weight of the fruit vegetable gripped by the hand unit 53 .
In step S<b>10 , the robot control unit 15 selects the fruit and vegetable sorting destination (“rotten fruit”, “extraordinary ”, etc.), and transport the fruits and vegetables to the decided sorting destination of fruits and vegetables.

In step S<b>11 , the transport control unit 18 determines the pace at which the gripping robot 50 selects fruit vegetables based on the number of fruit vegetables transported to the pickup area of the gripping robot 50 and the number of fruit vegetables sorted by the gripping robot 50 . It is determined whether or not the pace is below the pace at which fruit vegetables are conveyed by the conveying device 20 .
When the picking pace of fruit vegetables by the gripping robot 50 is lower than the conveying pace of fruit vegetables by the conveying device 20, YES is determined in step S11, and the process proceeds to step S12.
On the other hand, if the picking pace of the fruit vegetables by the gripping robot 50 is not lower than the conveying pace of the fruit vegetables by the conveying device 20, NO is determined in step S11, and the process proceeds to step S1.

In step S<b>12 , the transport control unit 18 temporarily stops (or slows down) the transport device 20 .
After step S12, the control device 10 repeats the fruit and vegetable sorting process until an instruction to end the fruit and vegetable sorting process is performed.

As described above, the fruit/vegetable transfer system 1 according to the present embodiment captures information (quality information) about quality such as the size, shape, or characteristics of fruit/vegetables transported by the transporting device 20, captured by the imaging device 40. Analysis based on images, etc. Then, the gripping robot 50 performs a gripping operation that is suitable for individual conditions such as the size, shape, surface condition, etc. of the fruit vegetable to be gripped under control based on real haptics.
Therefore, in the fruit and vegetable transfer system 1, it is possible to more reliably hold fruit and vegetables having irregular shapes and sizes. In addition, even soft fruit vegetables can be held with a gripping force according to the softness of the fruit vegetables without damaging the surface.
Therefore, according to the fruit vegetable transfer system 1, it is possible to appropriately hold fruit vegetables.

In addition, since the gripping robot 50 outputs a gripping force corresponding to each individual fruit vegetable without using a force sensor, the gripping force can be quickly determined without being affected by the convergence of vibration when gripping the fruit vegetable. Then, it becomes possible to transport fruits and vegetables. Note that a force sensor may be provided to assist control based on real haptics in this embodiment.
Further, at the start of the gripping motion, the gripping parameter determination unit 16b determines the gripping motion reference value stored in the control data storage unit 19 based on the size of the fruit vegetable and the characteristics of the fruit vegetable recognized by the image analysis unit 12. is read out, and the read reference value is used as an initial value to control the position and force (rotational torque) of the rotating shaft of the opening/closing motor 53d.
Therefore, regardless of the fruit vegetable to be gripped, the fruit vegetable can be transferred with a more appropriate gripping force. For example, even a fruit vegetable that is extremely soft due to putrefaction, overripeness, or the like can be appropriately grasped without crushing or collapsing.
Furthermore, even if the orientation of the fruit changes while the fruit is being transported, the hand unit 53 operates so as to maintain the gripping force, so that the fruit can be continuously gripped without dropping.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified and improved within the scope of the effects of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the fruit and vegetable transfer system 1 uses a grasping robot to pick up and exclude non-standard individuals and rotten individuals from the fruit and vegetables conveyed by the conveyor, and pack them into boxes according to the standard of the fruit and vegetables. Although the case where fruit vegetables are conveyed to a workshop (such as a workshop for sorting individual products) installed on the downstream side has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited to this.
That is, the fruit and vegetable transfer system 1 picks up and excludes non-standard individuals and rotten individuals from the fruit and vegetables conveyed by the conveyor by the grasping robot 50, and grasps and measures the weight of the individual products. However, it is also possible to pack directly into boxes for each class. In this case, the processing line in the fruit and vegetable transfer system 1 can be simplified.
In the above-described embodiment, the fruits and vegetables are directly placed on the conveying device and conveyed. It is also possible to
Alternatively, the gripping robot 50 may grip and box fruit vegetables that have been sorted in advance by a fruit sorting machine according to standards.

In the above-described embodiment, it was explained that two gripping robots 50 were installed, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, in consideration of the number of fruits and vegetables to be sorted, the required sorting pace, etc., more grasping robots 50 can be installed, or one grasping robot 50 can sort fruit vegetables.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the specific form of the hand unit 53 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 2, and various configurations are possible. For example, the movable members 53a to 53c in the hand unit 53 can have various shapes. As an example, the tips of the movable members 53a to 53c can be bent inward to make it easier to hold fruit vegetables.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the transformation matrices in equations (1) and (2) can be changed according to the purpose. The parameters describing the operation of 53d can be easily changed. In other words, by changing the conversion matrix, parameters representing operations according to purposes, such as a state in which the movable members 53a to 53c generate gripping force by elastic force, a state in which a constant gripping force is maintained, etc., can be output. is possible.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the image capturing device 40 captures a visible light image and an ultraviolet light image has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, if it is a method that can recognize the quality such as the appearance and characteristics of fruit vegetables, for example, by irradiating with a laser beam, an image (shape data) representing the shape of the fruit vegetables and three-dimensional data representing the overlapping of fruit vegetables can be obtained. It is possible to use a method of acquiring various data on fruit vegetables, such as acquiring the sugar content of fruit vegetables by infrared rays.
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a plurality of pieces of quality information are used to determine the operation of the opening/closing motor 53d and the transfer destination, but at least one piece of quality information may be used depending on the purpose.

Moreover, it is possible to implement the present invention by appropriately combining the examples described in the above embodiments.
The processing for control in the above-described embodiments can be executed by either hardware or software.
In other words, the fruit/vegetables transfer system 1 only needs to have a function capable of executing the above-described processing, and the functional configuration and hardware configuration for realizing this function are not limited to the above example.

Furthermore, although this embodiment has been described with respect to the fruit and vegetable gripping device, it can also be applied to a food gripping device that handles food of irregular shape.

It should be noted that the above embodiment shows an example to which the present invention is applied, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. That is, the present invention can make various modifications such as omissions and substitutions without departing from the gist of the present invention, and can take various embodiments other than the above-described embodiments. Various embodiments and modifications thereof that can be taken by the present invention are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and their equivalents.

1 fruit and vegetable transfer system, 10 control device, 11 image acquisition unit, 12 image analysis unit, 13 item determination unit, 14 fruit and vegetable identification unit, 15 robot control unit, 16 hand unit control unit, 16a rotation motor drive unit, 16b gripping Parameter determination unit 16c Opening/closing motor drive unit 16d Movable member position acquisition unit 16e Grip success/failure determination unit 17 Weight determination unit 18 Conveyance control unit 19 Control data storage unit 20 Conveying device 21 Conveying body 21a rotating roller, 22 passive pulley, 23 drive pulley, 24 transport motor, 25 brake plate, 30 lighting device, 40 photographing device, 50 gripping robot (moving mechanism), 50a housing, 51a to 51c arms, 52a to 52c telescopic 53 Hand unit 53a to 53c Movable member 53a to 53c Movable member 53d Opening and closing motor 53d-1, 53e-1 Position detection sensor 53e Vertical motor 54 Rotation motor 110 Force/velocity allocation conversion Blocks 120 ideal force source block 130 ideal velocity (position) source block 140 inverse transform block

Claims (5)

a conveying means for conveying food;
Data acquisition means for acquiring data on the food transported by the transport means;
individual information acquisition means for acquiring individual information including at least one of the position and quality of the food based on the acquisition result of the data acquisition means;
grasping means for grasping the food to be grasped based on the individual information;
Position detection means for detecting an open/closed position of the movable member, which is one of the positions in the range of opening and closing of the movable member for gripping the food in the gripping means;
a moving mechanism for moving the gripping means to a predetermined position;
Based on the detection result of the position detection means, the open/close position of the movable member, which is one of the positions in the range in which the movable member opens and closes in the gripping means, is associated with the contact force with respect to the food at the open/close position. a control means for controlling the
with
The control means controls the operation of the gripping means by performing a conversion that assigns control energy to velocity or position energy and force energy set corresponding to the gripping operation of the food. Food transfer system. A storage means for storing multiple stages of setting values for the quality of the food,
The control means reads the setting value corresponding to the quality of the food to be gripped from among the setting values stored in the storage means based on the acquisition result of the individual information acquisition means, and reads the setting value 2. The food transfer system according to claim 1 , wherein the operation of said gripping means is controlled based on the following. The gripping means further comprises a weight measuring unit that measures the weight of the gripped food,
The weight measuring unit calculates the weight of the food based on parameters in the control for the gripping means to grip and lift the food,
3. The food transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the control means determines the weight of the food based on the weight of the food calculated by the weight measuring section. 4. The control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the control unit controls a contact position when the gripping unit grips the food based on the acquisition result of the individual information acquisition unit. food transfer system. individual information acquisition means for acquiring individual information about the food to be gripped, including the quality of the food;
grasping means for grasping the food to be grasped based on the individual information;
Position detection means for detecting an open/closed position of the movable member, which is one of the positions in the range of opening and closing of the movable member for gripping the food in the gripping means;
Based on the detection result of the position detection means, the open/close position of the movable member, which is one of the positions in the range in which the movable member opens and closes in the gripping means, is associated with the contact force with respect to the food at the open/close position. a control means for controlling the
with
The control means controls the operation of the gripping means by performing a conversion that assigns control energy to velocity or position energy and force energy set corresponding to the gripping operation of the food. A food gripping device.

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