JP7343383B2 - work picking device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a workpiece picking device that picks workpieces one by one using a robot arm.

For example, a work picking device is widely known in which a robot arm picks out parts such as electrical connector housings and various other items one by one, arranges the orientation, and then sends them out for an assembly process or the like. These picking devices use a camera to acquire image information representing the positions and postures of multiple workpieces placed on a table surface, and based on that information, the robot arm identifies the workpieces that can be picked. are picked up one by one by a robot arm. Then, the picked-up workpieces are transferred from the robot arm to the workpiece dispensing device, and the workpieces are placed one by one in a predetermined direction on a workpiece dispensing tray (for example, a gutter-shaped tray that does not change the orientation of the workpieces when inserted). I try to dispense it into a tray).

By the way, when a workpiece is picked up by a robot arm, as in the device described in Patent Document 1, it is easy to change the direction of the workpiece in the horizontal plane from side to side or back and forth by controlling the posture of the robot arm. However, since the robot arm lifts the workpiece upward and lowers it downward, it is not easy to change its orientation in the vertical plane. For example, you can change a workpiece with its upper and lower outer surfaces facing up and down to one with its upper and lower outer surfaces facing left and right, or change a workpiece with its left and right outer surfaces facing left and right to one with its left and right outer surfaces facing up and down. That cannot be done easily.

As a result, there are fewer options for the posture (orientation) of the workpiece that can be recognized as being pickable by the robot arm, and each time a selection becomes impossible, it is necessary to put the picking operation on "wait" and perform an operation to change the posture of the workpiece on the supply side. , there is a problem that the working time increases accordingly. In addition, there is a method in which the posture of workpieces having different orientations is changed using a turning mechanism or a reversing mechanism installed in a dispensing device, but this method has the problem of complicating the equipment.

Further, Patent Document 2 describes a device that can use an electromagnet to change the orientation of a workpiece that is partially made of a magnetic material, but it is difficult to pick a workpiece that is made of resin such as a connector housing. Not applicable to equipment.

International Publication No. 2017/154719 International Publication No. 2017/94111

As mentioned above, in the past, it was not possible to easily change the orientation of the workpiece picked up by the robot arm while avoiding complication of equipment, and as a result, there were fewer options for the posture of the workpiece that could be picked by the robot arm. There was a problem in that the working time became longer.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to convert various workpieces of any material, such as magnetic materials, from vertical to horizontal with a simple configuration that does not incorporate a special turning device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a workpiece picking device which can be changed from horizontal to vertical, and which can shorten working time (cycle time) as a result.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the work picking device according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to (4).
(1) A robot arm that grabs a workpiece, moves it, and releases the gripped workpiece at the scheduled transfer location;
a control device that controls the operation of the robot arm;
a workpiece dispensing device placed at the scheduled transfer location, receiving a workpiece to be released from the robot arm, and dispensing the workpiece in a predetermined direction toward a dispensing tray;
Equipped with
The dispensing device is
a table on which a workpiece grabbed by the robot arm is placed;
a guide having a height corresponding to the size of the workpiece and arranged adjacent to the workpiece placement area on the table to adjust the position and posture of the workpiece placed on the table;
a work extrusion means for extruding the work placed on the table toward the dispensing tray;
It has
The control device includes:
When delivering the workpiece gripped by the robot arm to the dispensing device, the workpiece is placed directly on the workpiece placement area and released from the robot arm according to the orientation of the workpiece gripped by the robot arm. In the normal placement mode, the workpiece is placed on the edge of the guide adjacent to the workpiece placement area so that the center of gravity is located closer to the workpiece placement area than the edge. Select one of the following mounting modes: a posture conversion mounting mode in which the work is rotated using the edge of the guide as a fulcrum and the direction of the work is changed by separating the work from the robot arm. , controlling the robot arm to operate in a selected loading mode;
A work picking device characterized by:

(2) The guides are arranged along the extrusion direction by the workpiece extrusion means, and are arranged in pairs on the table with the workpiece placement scheduled part in between, and are spaced apart from each other.
When selecting the posture conversion and placement mode, the control device determines a direction in which the workpiece is to be turned for posture conversion according to the direction of the workpiece gripped by the robot arm, and rotates the workpiece in accordance with the determined content. selecting the edge of one of the pair of guides on which to place the work, and controlling the operation of the robot arm so as to place the work on the edge of the selected guide;
The work picking device according to (1) above, characterized in that:

(3) the pair of guides are slidably arranged on the table so that the distance between them can be narrowed or widened;
The control device controls the slide positions of the pair of guides, and after the workpiece is placed on the workpiece placement area on the table, narrows the distance between the pair of guides to change the direction of the workpiece. arrange,
The work picking device according to (2) above, characterized in that:

(4) A plurality of the workpiece dispensing trays are arranged side by side,
The table, the guide, and the workpiece pushing means of the workpiece dispensing device are installed in an insertion unit that can be slid to any position on the workpiece dispensing tray.
The work picking device according to any one of (1) to (3) above, characterized in that:

According to the workpiece picking device configured in (1) above, when the workpiece picked up by the robot arm is delivered to the pick-up device, the control device selects the normal loading mode or the normal loading mode depending on the orientation of the workpiece picked up by the robot arm. Select one of the attitude change mounting modes.
For example, when it is necessary to dispense a workpiece horizontally to the workpiece dispensing tray, if the workpiece gripped by the robot arm is horizontally facing, the control device selects the normal loading mode, and the robot arm holds the workpiece horizontally. Transfer the workpiece from the arm to the table of the workpiece dispensing device. On the other hand, if the orientation of the workpiece gripped by the robot arm is vertical, the control device selects the posture change placement mode and places the workpiece on the edge of the guide with its center of gravity shifted. Then, when the workpiece is released from the robot arm, it rotates 90 degrees around the edge of the guide as a fulcrum and is placed on the table. As a result, the orientation of the workpiece is changed from portrait to landscape. Therefore, all the works can be delivered from the table to the delivery tray in a horizontal position.
On the other hand, for example, if the workpiece needs to be delivered vertically to the workpiece delivery tray, if the workpiece gripped by the robot arm is vertically oriented, the control device selects the normal loading mode and The work piece is transferred from the robot arm to the table of the workpiece dispensing device in a vertical position. On the other hand, if the workpiece gripped by the robot arm is facing sideways, the control device selects the posture change placement mode and places the workpiece on the edge of the guide with its center of gravity shifted. Then, when the workpiece is released from the robot arm, it rotates 90 degrees around the edge of the guide as a fulcrum and is placed on the table. As a result, the orientation of the workpiece is changed from horizontal to vertical. Therefore, all the works can be delivered from the table to the delivery tray in a vertical orientation.
By changing the posture of the workpiece as necessary in this manner, the postures of the workpieces being discharged by the workpiece dispensing device can be aligned. Therefore, the orientation of the workpiece when it is gripped by the robot arm can be set both horizontally and vertically. In other words, the number of postures of workpieces that can be picked increases, increasing picking chances, reducing waiting time for the robot arm, and shortening work time.
Furthermore, since the posture of the workpiece can be changed by simply changing the placement position of the workpiece from the robot arm to the workpiece discharging device, it does not matter whether the workpiece is made of a magnetic material or the like. Moreover, since no special posture change device is provided, the mechanical equipment can be simplified.

According to the workpiece picking device having the configuration (2) above, the direction of rotation of the workpiece when rolling it on the table changes depending on which edge of the pair of guides the workpiece is placed on with its center of gravity shifted. be able to. When a pair of guides are used as left and right guides, for example, if a workpiece is placed on the right edge of the left guide with its center of gravity shifted, the workpiece can be turned to the right side. Therefore, the left side of the workpiece can be directed upward. Furthermore, by placing a workpiece on the left edge of the right guide while shifting the center of gravity, the workpiece can be turned to the left. Therefore, the right side of the workpiece can be directed upward.

According to the workpiece picking device configured in (3) above, by narrowing the width of the guide after the workpiece is placed on the table, even if the workpiece is slanted, it can be turned straight. can. Therefore, the workpiece can be smoothly delivered to the workpiece delivery tray by the pushing means.

According to the workpiece picking device having the configuration (4) above, by positioning the insertion unit on the workpiece delivery tray to which the workpiece is to be delivered, the workpiece can be delivered to any desired workpiece delivery tray.

According to the present invention, with a simple configuration that does not incorporate a special turning device, it is possible to change various types of workpieces, such as magnetic materials, from vertical to horizontal, or from horizontal to vertical. As a result, the working time (cycle time) can be shortened.

The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the mode for carrying out the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment") described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a workpiece picking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the overall configuration of the work picking device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a work supply device included in the work picking device. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the configuration of the work supply device. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a partial configuration of the work supply device. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing the operation mode of the workpiece supply device, and FIG. 6(a) shows tray A raised as the supply side, tray B lowered as the discharge side, and the conveyor rotated normally for conveyance. FIG. 6(b) is a diagram showing the state when tray B is raised to be on the supply side, tray A is lowered to be on the discharge side, and the conveyor is being conveyed in reverse. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a workpiece dispensing device included in the workpiece picking device. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the operation when the robot arm transfers a picked-up work (a workpiece in a horizontal position) to the table of the workpiece dispensing device in the normal loading mode. A front view showing the state where the workpiece is positioned above, Figure 9(b) is a front view showing the state after the workpiece has been transferred from the robot arm to the table, and Figure 9(c) is a front view showing the workpiece placed on the table. FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state in which the width of the left and right guides is narrowed to adjust the posture of the workpiece after the workpiece is fixed. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation when the robot arm transfers a gripped workpiece (a workpiece in a vertical posture) to the table of the workpiece dispensing device in the posture change placement mode, and FIG. 10(a) shows the robot arm. 10(b) is a front view showing a state in which the workpiece is placed on the edge of the guide on the left side of the figure so that the center of gravity is removed from the guide. Figure 10(c) is a front view showing how the workpiece is turned 90 degrees to the right in the figure using the part as a fulcrum and placed on the table in a horizontal position. FIG. 10(d) is a front view showing a state in which the width of the left and right guides is narrowed to adjust the posture of the workpiece. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the tray of the work supply device. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the conveyor of the work supply device. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the imaging operation flow of the camera of the picking device. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the robot arm of the picking device. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the insertion unit of the workpiece dispensing device.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to each figure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of a work picking device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the overall structure of the work picking device.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this workpiece picking device M includes a robot 1 for picking work in the center of the planar layout, and two workpiece supply devices 11 (10) on the left and right sides of the robot 1, 12 (10), a dispensing device (work dispensing device) 7 on the front side of the robot 1, and a dispensing tray device (work dispensing tray device) 8 on the front side of the work dispensing device 7.

In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the workpiece W is a substantially hexahedral (rectangular parallelepiped) electrical connector housing (for example, a connector housing for an automobile), but the example of the workpiece is not limited to this, and the shape and material It doesn't matter.

The rectangular parallelepiped block-shaped workpiece W has six outer surfaces: a front surface, a rear surface, an upper surface, a lower surface, a left surface, and a right surface. The posture of dispensing the workpiece W toward the dispensing tray device 8 by the dispensing device 7 is, for example, such that the front surface is directed forward and the rear surface is directed backward (the reverse is also possible). For convenience of explanation, the upper and lower surfaces are wide surfaces, the left and right surfaces are narrow surfaces, and a posture in which the wide upper and lower surfaces are oriented in the vertical direction and the narrow left and right surfaces are oriented in the left-right direction is referred to as a horizontal posture. In addition, a posture in which the wide upper and lower surfaces are oriented in the horizontal direction and the narrow left and right surfaces are oriented in the vertical direction is called a vertical posture.

The robot 1 includes a robot arm 2 that can rotate horizontally with the center of its main body as a vertical central axis. A chuck 3 that can be opened and closed is provided at the tip of the robot arm 2 for gripping a workpiece W and releasing the gripped workpiece W. The robot arm 2 has a function of freely changing the three-dimensional position of the chuck 3 and the direction of the work W to be gripped and released by the chuck 3, at least within a horizontal plane.

Viewed from the robot 1, the left and right workpiece supply devices 11 and 12 are arranged symmetrically at positions equidistant from the center of the robot 1, and the robot 1 randomly picks up the workpieces W from the left and right workpiece supply devices 11 and 12. can be taken out one by one. The dispensing device 7 receives the workpiece W gripped by the chuck 3 from the robot arm 2, and dispenses the workpiece W in a fixed direction onto one of the gutter-shaped dispensing trays 89 arranged in the dispensing tray device 8. (insert).

An imaging camera 5 as a three-dimensional measuring device is installed above each of the left and right work supply devices 11 and 12 (10). These imaging cameras 5 acquire image information viewed from above of the work W spread on the conveyor 23 (described later) of the work supply devices 11 and 12 (10). The picking device M is equipped with a control device 100 that has a function of recognizing the position and orientation of a specific workpiece W to be picked from the information acquired by the imaging camera 5. This control device 100 has a function of controlling the entire picking device M, such as a function of controlling not only the robot 1 but also the work supply devices 11 and 12 and the payout device 7.

The feature of this workpiece picking device M is that the control device 100 drives and controls the robot 1 to pick a specific workpiece W and picks it up until it is delivered to the delivery device 7. The point is that it is possible to perform such tasks. For example, the control device 100 operates the work supply devices 11 and 12 and the payout device 7 independently of the operation of the robot 1. In addition, in order to search for a target to be picked next, the imaging camera 5 is made to image the workpiece W on the conveyor 23 of either of the workpiece supply devices 11, 12, and the position of the next workpiece to be picked is determined based on the information. and posture.

Next, the work supply device 10 (11, 12) will be explained in detail.
3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the workpiece supply device 10, FIG. 4 is a side view, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a partial configuration of the workpiece supply device 10, and FIG. 6 is an operation of the workpiece supply device 10. It is a schematic side view which shows a form.

The left and right work supply devices 11 and 12 shown in FIG. 1 have the same configuration, and their operations can be controlled independently. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, each workpiece supply device 10 includes two workpiece storage trays (hereinafter also simply referred to as trays) 21 and 22 arranged linearly in the front-rear direction of the workpiece picking device M, and It has one belt-type conveyor 23 arranged between two workpiece storage trays 21 and 22.

The conveyor 23 is capable of forward and reverse conveyance in the front and back directions in a horizontal plane with its conveyance surface (top surface of the belt) 23a facing upward, and the conveyor surface 23a is connected to a table on which a workpiece W to be picked by the robot arm 2 is placed. It is a face. The imaging camera 5 acquires image information of the positions and postures of a plurality of workpieces W placed on the conveyance surface (table surface) 23a in a disjointed manner. Based on the image information, the control device 100 identifies the workpieces W that can be picked by the robot arm 2, and causes the robot arm 2 to pick the workpieces W on the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23 one by one.

The two trays 21 and 22 are arranged at one end and the other end of the conveyor 23 in the transport direction, respectively, and are arranged at one end and the other end of the conveyor 23 in the transport direction. When located on the upstream side, it accommodates the work W to be supplied to the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23, and when located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction, it functions to accommodate the work W discharged from the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23.

In order to distinguish between the two trays 21 and 22, the tray 21 located in front of the conveyor 23 in the work picking device M is called "tray A", and the tray 22 located in the rear side of the conveyor 23 in the work picking device M is called "tray A". It is called "Tray B." In the initial state of operation, the workpiece W is placed on the tray A. Therefore, tray A is formed into a hopper shape.

Tray A and tray B are provided with a bottom plate 35 that slides back and forth in a direction parallel to the conveyance direction of the conveyor 23. Regarding the front-rear direction of the sliding bottom plate 35 of each tray 21, 22, the direction toward the conveyor 23 is referred to as "front", and the direction away from the conveyor 23 is referred to as "rear".

Tray A and tray B are provided with an elevating mechanism 31 for elevating at least the bottom plate 35 up and down. In this embodiment, the entire tray A and tray B, including the peripheral wall, can be moved up and down. Further, the workpieces W accommodated in the trays 21 and 22 are transported by moving the bottom plate 35 of each tray 21 and 22 toward the end of the transport surface 23a of the conveyor 23. A bottom plate drive mechanism 32 is provided for feeding out onto the surface 23a.

The control device 100 controls the lifting and lowering mechanisms 31 of the two trays 21 and 22 to move the bottom plates 35 of the upstream trays 21 and 22 above the transport surface 23a in accordance with the forward and reverse transport directions of the conveyor 23. At the same time, the bottom plates 35 of the trays 21 and 22 on the downstream side in the transport direction are lowered to a height lower than the transport surface 23a.

Here, the transport direction of the conveyor 23 (direction of arrow HA) when transporting the work W from the tray A side to the tray B side is referred to as the "forward transport direction", and the work W is transported from the tray B side to the tray A side. The conveyance direction of the conveyor 23 (direction of arrow HB) at this time is referred to as the "reverse conveyance direction."

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a state when tray A is raised to serve as a supply side, tray B is lowered to serve as a discharge side, and the conveyor 23 is conveyed in normal rotation (conveyed in the direction of arrow HA). 6(b) is a diagram showing a state in which tray B is raised to be on the supply side, tray A is lowered to be on the discharge side, and the conveyor 23 is conveyed in reverse (transported in the direction of arrow HB).

As shown in FIG. 5, each tray 21, 22 has an in-tray sensor 37 that detects whether there is a workpiece in the tray 21, 22, and a tray sensor 37 that detects whether there is a workpiece at the outlet of the tray 21, 22. An exit sensor 38 is provided. Signals from the sensors 37 and 38 are input to the control device 100, and the control device 100 controls the operations of the elevating mechanisms 31 of the trays 21 and 22, the bottom plate drive mechanism 32, etc. based on these signals.

For example, the control device 100 drives the tray raising/lowering mechanism 31 in response to a signal indicating that one of the two trays 21, 22 in the raised position (supply side) is empty. Then, one empty tray 21, 22 (on the supply side) is lowered, and the other tray 21, 22 (on the discharge side) is raised, thereby switching the roles of the supply side and the discharge side. Correspondingly, the conveyance direction of the conveyor 23 is reversed.

Next, the payout device 7 will be explained in detail.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the structure of the dispensing device 7, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the dispensing device 7 is disposed at a location where the workpiece W picked up by the robot arm 2 is scheduled to be transferred. The dispensing device 7 receives the workpieces W released from the robot arm 2 one by one, and dispenses the works W toward the dispensing tray device 8 in a predetermined direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of takeout trays 89 in the takeout tray device 8 are arranged in a horizontal plane in the left-right direction of the picking device M. Each delivery tray 89 extends in the front-rear direction of the picking device M, and the works W delivered from the delivery device 7 are inserted into the rear end of the delivery tray 89 one after another. The inserted workpieces are pushed by the workpieces inserted later and move forward inside the payout tray 89, and the workpieces are arranged one after another in a fixed posture and accumulate inside the payout tray 89. .

The dispensing device 7 includes an insertion unit 70 for inserting (dispensing) a work into a dispensing tray 89. The insertion unit 70 is supported by a slide drive mechanism 71 and a slide rail 72, and is slid by the slide drive mechanism 71 in the left-right direction of the picking device (in the direction of arrows EA and EB in the figure), and is inserted into an arbitrary delivery tray 89. It is arranged to be positioned at a corresponding position.

The insertion unit 70 has a slide base 73 supported by a slide drive mechanism 71 and a slide rail 72 so as to be slidable in the directions of arrows EA and EB in the figure. The slide base 73 includes a table 74 on which the workpiece W grabbed by the robot arm 2 is placed, and a pair of guides 75A arranged on the table 74 to adjust the position and posture of the workpiece W placed on the table 74. , 75B, and an extrusion mechanism (work extrusion means) 77 that extrudes (inserts) the work W placed on the table 74 toward the payout tray 89.

The table 74 is fixedly provided on the slide base 73, and a pair of guides 75A and 75B are arranged on the upper surface of the table 74 so as to face each other in the left-right direction, as shown in FIG. Each of these guides 75A and 75B is made of a square bar-shaped member and extends in the front-rear direction (the direction in which the workpiece W is pushed out). The pair of guides 75A and 75B are set such that the height from the top surface of the table 74 to the top surface of the guides corresponds to the size of the workpiece W. In other words, as will be described later, when the workpiece W is turned and placed on the table 74, the turning angle is exactly 90 degrees (a vertically oriented object becomes horizontally oriented, or a horizontally oriented object becomes vertically oriented). The height is set to a value that is neither too small nor too large. Further, when turning the workpiece W, the distance between the pair of guides 75A and 75B is sufficient for the workpiece W to turn by 90° and prevent it from rolling too much.

The table 74 has a central region in the left and right width direction as a workpiece placement area, and the pair of guides 75A and 75B are arranged adjacent to the workpiece placement area so as to sandwich the central workpiece placement area. has been done. Further, these pair of left and right guides 75A, 75B are slidably arranged on the table 74 so that the distance between them can be widened or narrowed (that is, opened and closed). That is, the pair of left and right guides 75A and 75B are symmetrical with respect to the center line in the left and right width direction of the table 74, and are synchronized with each other to move outward in the width direction (in the direction of arrow GA in FIG. 8) or inward (in the direction of arrow GA in FIG. 8). It is connected to a slide movable body of an opening/closing mechanism 78 provided on a slide base 73 so as to slide in a direction (direction).

Since the guides 75A and 75B are provided so as to be openable and closable in this manner, the position and posture of the workpiece W placed on the table 74 can be adjusted. That is, by closing the guides 75A and 75B at an appropriate interval, even if the position of the work W is shifted from the center in the width direction of the table 74, the position of the work W can be brought to the center. At the same time, even if the orientation of the workpiece W is somewhat oblique with respect to the front-rear direction, the front face of the workpiece W can be reoriented straight forward.

Furthermore, as a drive source for the extrusion mechanism 77, an extrusion drive mechanism 79 is provided on the slide base 73. The slide movable body of the push-out drive mechanism 79 is connected to a back-and-forth moving bracket 76 that is moved back and forth by the push-out drive mechanism 79, and the rear end of the insertion stick 77A is connected and supported by the back-and-forth move bracket 76. The insertion stick 77A is a main element of the work pushing out means 77, and is disposed at an intermediate position between the pair of guides 75A and 75B, that is, at an intermediate position in the width direction of the table 74, and extends in the front-rear direction. The insertion stick 77A is operated forward when the position and posture of the workpiece W are adjusted by the pair of guides 75A and 75B, so that the workpiece W on the table 74 is inserted into the rear end of the payout tray 89. It has become.

Next, the posture conversion process of the workpiece W executed by the robot 1 using the dispensing device 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

In the description of this embodiment, changing the posture of the workpiece W means changing the posture of the workpiece W gripped vertically by the robot arm 2 and placing it horizontally on the table 74 of the dispensing device 7, or This means that the workpiece gripped horizontally by the arm 2 is placed on the table 74 of the dispensing device 7 with its orientation changed vertically.

This will be explained using a specific workpiece shape sample as an example.
Here, since the work W is in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped block, it has six outer surfaces: a front surface, a rear surface, an upper surface, a lower surface, and left and right side surfaces. The robot arm 2 grabs the workpiece W with its front and rear surfaces facing forward and backward (or vice versa), and transfers the workpiece W to the workpiece dispensing device 7 while keeping the horizontal direction as it is. Hand over. At this time, the posture of the workpiece W gripped by the robot arm 2 is either a posture with the upper and lower surfaces facing in the vertical direction (horizontal posture) or a posture with the left and right surfaces facing in the vertical direction (vertical posture).

When the control device 100 transfers the workpiece W grabbed by the robot arm 2 to the dispensing device 7, the control device 100 selects either a normal placement mode or a posture change placement mode depending on the orientation of the workpiece W grabbed by the robot arm 2. or one of the loading modes. Then, the robot arm 2 is controlled to operate in the selected placement mode, and the workpiece W is delivered to the dispensing device 7.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the operation when the robot arm 2 transfers the gripped work W (work W in a sideways posture) to the table 74 of the dispensing device 7 in the normal loading mode, and FIG. FIG. 9(b) is a front view showing a state in which the robot arm 2 is positioned above the table 74, and FIG. ) is a front view showing a state in which the width of the left and right guides 75A, 75B is narrowed to adjust the posture of the work W after the work W is placed on the table 74.

Further, FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation when the robot arm 2 transfers the gripped work W (work W in a vertical posture) to the table 74 of the dispensing device 7 in the posture change placement mode. 10(a) is a front view showing a state in which the robot arm 2 is positioned to place the workpiece W on the edge of the guide 75B on the left side in the figure with the center of gravity off, and FIG. FIG. 10(c) is a front view showing how the workpiece W rotates 90 degrees to the right in the figure using the edge of the guide 75B as a fulcrum and is placed on the table 74 in a horizontal position. FIG. 10(d) is a front view showing a state in which the workpiece W is placed on the table 74 in a state where the workpiece W is placed on the table 74, and FIG. .

The normal placement mode is a placement mode in which the workpiece W is directly placed on the planned workpiece placement area on the table 74 and separated from the robot arm 2, as shown in FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b). It is. When this mounting mode is selected, the center of the robot arm 2 is positioned at the center of the workpiece placement area on the table 74 without changing the posture, and the workpiece W is placed on the table 74 in this state. be placed. After being placed, as shown in FIG. 9(c), the left and right guides 75A and 75B are closed to an appropriate opening degree (in the direction of arrow GB in FIG. 9(c)), so that the posture of the workpiece W is adjusted. It will be done.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b), the attitude change mounting mode refers to one of the left and right guides 75A and 75B (in the illustrated example, the left guide when viewed from the front). Placement of placing the workpiece W on the edge (inner edge) on the side adjacent to the scheduled workpiece placement area of 75B) with the center of gravity positioned closer to the planned workpiece placement area than the edge. It refers to the mode. That is, in this mounting mode, the center of gravity (approximately the center of the figure) of the workpiece W is located on the side of the planned workpiece placement area (the center side in the width direction of the table 74) with respect to the vertical line L passing through the edge of the guide 75B. Then, the work W is placed on the edge of the guide 75B on the center side in the width direction of the table 74. Then, as shown in FIG. 10(b), the workpiece W is released from the robot arm 2 in this state. By doing so, the workpiece W is rotated 90 degrees by tilting the workpiece W using the edge of the guide 75B as a fulcrum to the center side in the width direction of the table 74, that is, to the right side of the figure as shown by the arrow R. The workpiece W is placed on the table 74 while changing its orientation from vertical to horizontal (FIG. 10(c)).

Even when this placement mode is selected, as shown in FIG. 10(d), after the workpiece W is placed on the table 74, the left and right guides 75A and 75B are closed to an appropriate opening degree ( In FIG. 10(d) in the direction of arrow GB), the posture of the workpiece W is adjusted.

By the way, when changing the posture of the workpiece W from vertical to horizontal, there are two ways: horizontal with the top surface facing up, or horizontal with the top surface facing down. For example, in FIG. 10(a), in order to turn the left side surface of the workpiece W in the figure upward, it is necessary to roll the workpiece W to the right in the direction of the arrow R as shown in FIG. 10(b). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10(a), the guide on which the workpiece W is placed is set to the guide 75B on the left side in the figure.

On the other hand, if it is necessary to turn the right side surface of the work W in the figure upward, it is necessary to roll the work W to the left in the figure. Therefore, the guide 75A on the right side of the figure is selected as the guide on which the workpiece W is placed.

Therefore, when selecting the posture conversion placement mode, the control device 100 determines the direction in which the workpiece W is to be turned for posture conversion according to the direction of the workpiece W gripped by the robot arm 2, and the determined content According to the selected guide 75A, 75B, the work W is placed on the edge of the selected guide 75A, 75B. Controls the operation of the robot arm 2.

In both cases, when the normal placement mode is selected and the workpiece W is placed on the table 74, and when the posture change placement mode is selected and the workpiece W is placed on the table 74, the control device 100, when the workpiece W is placed on the scheduled workpiece placement area on the table 74, the slide position of the pair of guides 75A and 75B is controlled to narrow the distance between the pair of guides 75A and 75B. Adjust the direction of W.

To summarize the above contents, when the robot arm 2 grabs the workpiece W in either of the two orientations, horizontal or vertical, the dispensing device 7 receives the workpiece W in the gripped orientation, and There is no problem if the workpiece W can be delivered to the delivery tray 89 corresponding to the above. However, if the dispensing tray 89 accepts only horizontally oriented works W, for example, the vertically oriented works W cannot be dispensed as is. Similarly, if the dispensing tray 89 accepts only portrait-oriented workpieces W, horizontally oriented workpieces W cannot be dispensed as they are.

Therefore, when it is necessary to dispense a workpiece W horizontally to the dispensing tray 89 that only accepts horizontally oriented works W, the control device 100 selects the normal loading mode for the workpiece W gripped horizontally by the robot arm 2. Then, the robot arm 2 places the workpiece W on the table 74 of the dispensing device 7 in the same posture. Further, since the workpiece W gripped by the robot arm 2 in a vertical orientation cannot be delivered in the same posture, the control device 100 selects the posture conversion loading mode and changes the posture of the workpiece W from vertical to horizontal. . That is, the workpiece W gripped vertically by the robot arm 2 is placed on the edges of the guides 75A and 75B of the workpiece dispensing device 7 with its center of gravity shifted. By doing so, the workpiece can be turned by 90 degrees and turned sideways on the table 74.

Similarly, when it is necessary to dispense a work W vertically to the dispensing tray 89 that only accepts vertically oriented works W, the control device 100 normally handles the vertically gripped work W by the robot arm 2. The placing mode is selected and the robot arm 2 places the workpiece W on the table 74 of the dispensing device 7 in the same posture. Furthermore, since the workpiece W gripped by the robot arm 2 in a horizontal orientation cannot be delivered in the same posture, the control device 100 selects the posture conversion placement mode to change the posture of the workpiece W from horizontal to vertical. That is, the work W gripped by the robot arm 2 sideways is placed on the edges of the guides 75A, 75B of the dispensing device 7 with its center of gravity shifted. By doing so, the workpiece W can be turned by 90° and placed vertically while rolling on the table 74.

The posture change of the workpiece is executed depending on where the robot arm 2 places and releases the workpiece W gripped by the chuck 3 on the table 74 of the dispensing device 70 . Therefore, the control device 100 that controls the operation of the robot 1 has the function of realizing this. The control device 100 also controls the sliding operation and positioning of the insertion unit 70, the opening/closing operation and positioning of the guides 75A and 75B, and the forward and backward movement of the insertion stick 77A by issuing commands to each drive mechanism of the dispensing device 70. It also has the ability to

Next, the flow of the operation of the picking device M will be explained with reference to a flowchart.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the trays 21 and 22 of the work supply device 10.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the tray operation control starts, it is checked in step S101 whether or not there is a workpiece in tray A. If there is a workpiece in tray A (YES), the process advances to step S102, and it is checked whether the bottom plate 35 of tray A is at an intermediate position (a position that is neither the front end nor the rear end). If the bottom plate 35 of tray A is in the intermediate position (YES), the process advances to step S103, moves the bottom plate of tray A to the rear end position, and returns to the start.

If it is determined in step S102 that the bottom plate 35 of tray A is not at the intermediate position (determined as NO), the process proceeds to step S104, and it is checked whether there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray A. If there is a workpiece at the exit of tray A (YES), there is no need to move the bottom plate 35 to push the workpiece toward the exit, and the process returns to the start.

If it is determined in step S104 that there is no work at the exit of tray A (NO), the bottom plate 35 is moved to push the work toward the exit. That is, the process proceeds to step S105, where the bottom plate 35 of tray A is advanced by one pitch, and the workpiece is pushed out to the exit side. By doing so, the work can be supplied to the conveyor 23. Note that this forward motion of the bottom plate 35 may be performed one pitch at a time, or may be performed continuously. When the process of step S105 is completed, the process returns to the start.

Next, when there are no more works in tray A, the determination in step S101 becomes NO, and the process proceeds to step S106. In step S106, it is checked whether or not the bottom plate 35 of tray A is at the front end position. If it is not at the front end position (NO), the process advances to step S104. In other words, even if there is no workpiece in tray A, if the bottom plate 35 has not advanced to the front end, check whether there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray A (step S104), and if there is no workpiece at the outlet, the bottom plate of tray A 35 toward the front end (step S105).

When the workpiece in tray A is gone and the bottom plate 35 of tray A has also moved to the front end position (when the determination in step S101 is NO and the determination in step S106 is YES), it is determined that tray A is empty for the first time. The process then proceeds to step S107, where the bottom plates 35 of trays A and B are moved to the rear end positions, and then the process proceeds to step S108, where tray A is lowered and tray B is raised. That is, in order to switch the roles of the trays on the supply side and the discharge side, the vertical relationship of trays A and B is reversed.

Next, since tray B is on the supply side, the process advances to step S109, and it is checked whether the bottom plate of tray B is at the front end position. If the workpiece is not at the front end position, the process advances from step S109 to step S110, and it is checked whether there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray B. If there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray B (YES in step S110), there is no need to move the bottom plate 35, and the process returns to step S109. If there is no work at the exit of tray B (if the determination in step S110 is NO), the bottom plate 35 is moved to push the work toward the exit. That is, the process proceeds to step S111, where the bottom plate 35 of tray B is advanced by one pitch, and the workpiece is pushed out to the exit side. By doing so, the work can be supplied to the conveyor 23. When the process of step S111 is completed, the process returns to step S109.

If it is determined in step S109 that the bottom plate 35 of tray B has moved to the front end position (decision is YES), the process advances to step S112, in which the bottom plate 35 of tray B is moved to the rear end position, and then in step S113. Then, tray B is moved upward and tray B is lowered. That is, in order to switch the roles of the trays on the supply side and the discharge side, the vertical relationship of trays A and B is reversed. When the process of step S113 is completed, the process returns to the start.

The operation of the conveyor 23 is also controlled in response to the operations of trays A and B as described above.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the conveyor 23 of the work supply device 10.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the operation control of the conveyor 23 starts, in step S201, it is checked whether tray A or tray B is in the raised position. In other words, check which tray is on the supply side. If tray A is on the top (supply side), the process advances to step S202, and it is checked whether there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray A. If there is a workpiece at the exit of tray A (in the case of YES), the process advances to step S203, and the conveyor 23 is caused to rotate forward and convey by a predetermined pitch. Here, the conveyor 23 is configured to convey by an appropriate pitch (conveyance distance) as necessary, and the number of pitches is set arbitrarily.

If there is no workpiece at the outlet of tray A (if the judgment in step S202 is NO), in step S204, it is checked whether the bottom plate 35 of tray A is at the front end position, and the bottom plate 35 of tray A is at the front end position. If there is no work, repeat steps S202 and S204 and wait until there is a work at the outlet of tray A. Alternatively, wait until the bottom plate 35 of tray A moves to the front end position. However, if there continues to be no workpiece at the outlet of tray A, priority is given to the operation control on the tray side.

Even if there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray A (if the determination in step S202 is YES) or if there is no workpiece at the outlet of tray A (if the determination in step S202 is NO), the bottom plate 35 of tray A is at the front end position. If so (if the determination in step S204 is YES), the process advances to step S203, and the conveyor 23 is caused to rotate forward and convey by a predetermined pitch.

When the conveyor 23 is conveyed in forward rotation (or reverse conveyance), the workpiece sent out from tray A (or tray B) is conveyed to the imaging area of the imaging camera 5, that is, the picking area, while being placed on the conveyance surface 23a. It will be done. After confirming the image data captured by the imaging camera 5 in step S205, it is determined in step S206 whether there is a work that can be picked (there is a work to be taken out), and if there is no work that can be picked, the process returns to the start. If there is a work that can be picked, a picking request (transport request) is issued to the robot, and then the robot returns to the start. Note that if there is a work that can be picked, the conveyor 23 will maintain a state where the robot can pick it.

When tray A is on the top (supply side), the process proceeds as described above, but when tray B is on the top (supply side), the process proceeds in the same way. That is, if tray B is on the top (supply side), the process advances from step S201 to step S208, and it is checked whether there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray B. If there is a workpiece at the exit of tray B (in the case of YES), the process advances to step S209, and the conveyor 23 is reversely conveyed by a predetermined pitch.

If there is no workpiece at the outlet of tray B (if the determination in step S208 is NO), it is checked in step S210 whether or not the bottom plate 35 of tray B is at the front end position, and the bottom plate 35 of tray B is at the front end position. If there is no work, repeat steps S208 and S210 and wait until there is a work at the outlet of tray B. Alternatively, wait until the bottom plate 35 of tray B moves to the front end position. However, if there continues to be no work at the exit of tray B, the operation control on the tray side shown in FIG. 11 takes priority over the operation control on the conveyor 23 side.

Even if there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray B (if the determination in step S210 is YES) or if there is no workpiece at the outlet of tray B (if the determination in step S208 is NO), the bottom plate 35 of tray B is at the front end position (YES in step S210), the process advances to step S209, and the conveyor 23 is reversely conveyed by a predetermined pitch. After that, the process advances to step S205, and the same process as in the case of tray A is performed.

The details of the operation control of the imaging camera 5 corresponding to the movement of the conveyor 23 described above will be described below.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of the imaging operation of the imaging camera 5. As shown in FIG.

In this imaging operation flow of the imaging camera 5, it is determined whether there is a work that can be picked among the plurality of works placed on the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23. Whether or not a workpiece can be picked is determined by the workpiece posture being such that it can be picked up from above by the chuck 3 of the robot arm 2, and by the presence of obstacles around the target workpiece (such as other workpieces or other workpieces). At least one criterion is that there are no walls (such as walls, etc.). The image judgment as to whether or not the workpiece is a pickable workpiece is carried out by determining whether one workpiece image among the images acquired by the imaging camera 5 is an image of several extraction surfaces registered in advance (an image of a pickable workpiece). This is done based on whether it matches or not.

Here, it is assumed that the control device 100 has registered in advance an image (an image of the extraction surface) of the work to be picked that corresponds to a state in which it can be picked.

As shown in FIG. 13, when the operation control of the imaging camera 5 starts, the work on the conveyor 23 is photographed by the imaging camera 5 in step S301. At this time, necessary image processing may be performed. Next, in step S302, a work that can be picked is searched for. Here, the image 1 of the extraction surface 1 and the photographed image are compared. If there is a workpiece that matches the take-out surface 1, the process advances to steps S303 and 304, and it is checked whether or not there is a chuckable area around the workpiece when the robot arm 2 grasps the workpiece in a horizontal or vertical position. , Check to see if there are any workpieces, walls, etc. around the robot arm 2 that may obstruct the gripping work of the robot arm 2. Here, the "horizontal posture" refers to a posture with the wide side of the workpiece facing up, and the "vertical posture" refers to a posture with the narrow side of the workpiece facing up.

If the chuckable area is secured, the determination in step S303 or step S304 is YES, and the process advances to step S305. In step S305, information on the position and orientation of the workpiece to be picked, information on the take-out surface (the surface that becomes the top surface when gripping), information on the orientation of the chuck of the robot arm 2 to be picked, etc. are mainly sent to the control unit of the robot. Output and complete the series of processing.

If it is determined in steps S303 and 304 that a chuckable area is not secured, the process advances to step S306 to repeat the search for other pickable surfaces 2 to 6 to see if there is a workpiece that can be picked. If there is a workpiece that matches any of the extraction surfaces 2 to 6, the process advances to step S305. If there is no work that matches a pickable work on all the extraction surfaces, the process advances to step S307, outputs a signal indicating "no pickable work", and ends the series of processing. The work supply device 10 operates in response to this signal indicating that "no pickable work exists" so that the pickable work is spread out on the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23.

The operation control of the robot 1, which is performed in parallel with the operations of the work supply device 10 (trays A, B, conveyor) and the imaging camera 5 described above, will now be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the robot arm 2 of the picking device.

As shown in FIG. 14, when control of the picking operation of the robot 1 starts, the robot 1 goes to pick up the workpieces on the conveyor 23 in steps S401 to S403. That is, the robot arm 2 is moved above the conveyor 23 to open the chuck 3, and then the robot arm 2 is moved to the workpiece gripping position, the chuck 3 is closed, and the workpiece is gripped.

Next, in steps S404 to S408, the gripped workpiece is placed on the dispensing device 7. That is, the robot arm 2 that has grabbed the workpiece on the conveyor 23 is moved upward, the robot arm 2 is moved above the workpiece unloading position, and after waiting for the workpiece unloading permission signal to be issued, the robot arm 2 is moved to the workpiece unloading position. The robot arm 2 is moved, the chuck 3 is opened, and the workpiece is deposited into the payout device 7.

At this time, the control device 100 recognizes in advance the posture of the workpiece gripped by the chuck 3 (horizontal or vertical), so whether the workpiece is transferred to the dispensing device 7 in the above-mentioned normal loading mode or the posture change is performed. Select whether to transfer the workpiece to the dispensing device 7 in the loading mode. Then, in accordance with the selected content, the position for delivering the workpiece to the dispensing device 7 is determined, and the workpiece is deposited at the determined position.

Note that when the robot arm 2 moves out of the camera imaging area above the conveyor at step S405, a work delivery permission signal is issued to the robot (step S430).

After the robot arm 2 deposits the workpiece into the dispensing device 7, the arm is raised and evacuated in step S409. Then, in steps S410 and 411, the robot arm 2 is returned to its original position, and the robot 1 is returned to its original position, and the process ends. Note that when the robot arm 2 rises out of the interference range at step S409, an operation command signal is issued to the dispensing device 7 (step S440).

Next, the details of the operation control of the insertion unit 70 of the dispensing device 7 in response to the movement of the robot arm 2 will be described. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the insertion unit 70.

As shown in FIG. 15, when the process starts, in step S501, the insertion unit 70 is moved to the work receiving position. Further, the guides 75A and 75B are closed to an opening degree corresponding to the width of the work to be received. These operations can be performed in conjunction with the operation of the robot arm 2 to pick the workpieces on the conveyor 23.

In the next step S502, an ejection enable signal is sent to the robot 1 in response to the completion of movement of the insertion unit 70. Next, in step S503, it is checked whether the robot arm 2 has placed the workpiece on the insertion unit 70 and retreated upward. After this operation is completed, the process advances to step S504, and the insertion unit 70 is moved to the workpiece insertion position (dispensing position). If the receiving position and the inserting position of the workpiece are the same, this step S504 is omitted. Next, in step S505, it is checked whether insertion permission has been issued, and if YES, the workpiece is inserted into the payout tray 89 in step S506. In other words, the insertion stick 77A is advanced to push out the work toward the payout tray 89.

Thereafter, in step S507, the insertion stick 77A is retreated to the original position, and in step S508, the insertion unit 70 is returned to the original position, and the process returns to the start.

Next, the effects of the picking device M of the embodiment described above will be summarized.

According to the work supply device 10 (11, 12) of the embodiment, by switching the conveyance direction of the conveyor 23 while switching the vertical positions of the work storage trays 21 and 22 at both ends of the conveyor 23, the two trays 21, The workpiece W can be alternately moved back and forth between the 22 locations. Therefore, along with the movement, the positions and postures of the plurality of workpieces W developed on the transport surface 23a can be changed significantly. In other words, along with the switching operation, the workpieces W can be developed on the conveyance surface 23a in new positions and postures one after another. Therefore, the probability of finding a workpiece W that can be picked by the robot arm 2 can be increased, and the efficiency of the picking operation can be improved.

In addition, since the workpieces W are alternately moved back and forth between the two trays 21 and 22 until the workpieces W are used up, there is no need for a person to collect and reload the workpieces W, and while reducing wasted time, the transfer surface 23a The workpiece W can be automatically unfolded in a state where it can be picked upward. Moreover, since the trays 21 and 22 on the supply side are raised and the trays 21 and 22 on the discharge side are lowered during conveyance on the conveyor 23, the work W is supplied to the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23, and the workpieces W are not supplied from the conveyance surface 23a. The workpiece W can be smoothly discharged. Further, since only one conveyor 23 is required for such operations, the equipment configuration is simplified.

Further, according to the work supply device 10 (11, 12) of the embodiment, when the trays 21 and 22 on the supply side of the work W become empty, the trays 21 and 22 on the supply side and the tray 21 on the discharge side, Since the roles of the parts 22 and 22 are alternated, there is less unnecessary movement, the operation is stable, and the reliability of the equipment is increased.

Further, by providing a mechanism for advancing the bottom plates 35 of the trays 21 and 22, it is possible to reliably send all the works W in the trays 21 and 22 to the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23.

Further, according to the workpiece picking device M of the embodiment, when delivering the workpiece W grabbed by the robot arm 2 to the dispensing device 7, the control device 100 controls the direction of the workpiece W grabbed by the robot arm 2, depending on the direction of the workpiece W grabbed by the robot arm 2. Select either normal mounting mode or attitude change mounting mode.

For example, when it is necessary to pay out the work W sideways to the payout tray 89, if the direction of the work W gripped by the robot arm 2 is sideways, the control device 100 selects the normal loading mode, and is transferred from the robot arm 2 to the table 74 of the dispensing device 7 while lying sideways. On the other hand, if the orientation of the workpiece W gripped by the robot arm 2 is vertical, the control device 100 selects the attitude change placement mode and places the workpiece W on the edges of the guides 75A and 75B with the center of gravity shifted. Then, when the workpiece W is released from the robot arm 2, the workpiece W is rotated by 90 degrees using the edges of the guides 75A and 75B as fulcrums, and placed on the table 74. As a result, the orientation of the workpiece W is changed from portrait to landscape. Therefore, all the works W can be delivered from the table 74 to the delivery tray 89 in a horizontal position.

On the other hand, if the workpiece W needs to be delivered vertically to the delivery tray 89, for example, if the workpiece W gripped by the robot arm 2 is oriented vertically, the control device is set to the normal loading mode. is selected, and the workpiece W is transferred from the robot arm 2 to the table 74 of the payout device 7 while maintaining the vertical orientation. On the other hand, if the orientation of the workpiece W gripped by the robot arm 2 is sideways, the control device 100 selects the posture change placement mode and places the workpiece W on the edges of the guides 75A and 75B with the center of gravity shifted. Then, when the workpiece W is released from the robot arm 2, the workpiece W is rotated by 90 degrees using the edges of the guides 75A and 75B as fulcrums and placed on the table 74. As a result, the orientation of the workpiece W is changed from horizontal to vertical. Therefore, all the works W can be delivered from the table 74 to the delivery tray 89 in a vertical orientation.

By changing the posture of the workpiece W as necessary in this manner, the postures of the workpieces W to be discharged by the dispensing device 7 can be aligned. Therefore, the orientation of the workpiece W when gripped by the robot arm 2 can be set both horizontally and vertically. In other words, since the number of postures of the work W that can be picked increases, the picking chances can be increased, and the waiting time of the robot arm 2 can be reduced, thereby shortening the working time.

Further, since the attitude of the workpiece W can be changed by simply changing the placement position of the workpiece W from the robot arm 2 to the dispensing device 7, it does not matter whether the workpiece W is made of a magnetic material or the like. Moreover, since no special posture change device is provided, the mechanical equipment can be simplified.

Further, according to the picking device M of the embodiment, the workpiece W is rolled onto the table 74 depending on the edge of which of the pair of guides 75A, 75B the workpiece W is placed on while shifting the center of gravity. The direction of rotation of W can be made different. For example, if the work W is placed on the right edge of the left guide 75A while shifting its center of gravity, the work W can be rotated to the right. Therefore, the left side of the workpiece W can be directed upward. Further, by placing the work W on the left edge of the right guide 75B while shifting the center of gravity, the work W can be turned to the left. Therefore, the right side of the workpiece W can be directed upward.

Further, according to the picking device M of the embodiment, by narrowing the width of the guides 75A and 75B after the work W is placed on the table 74, even if the work W is oriented diagonally, it can be oriented straight. I can fix it. Therefore, the workpiece W can be smoothly delivered to the delivery tray 89 by the pushing mechanism 77.

Further, according to the picking device M of the embodiment, by positioning the insertion unit 70 on the payout tray 89 from which the workpiece W is to be delivered, the workpiece W can be delivered to any delivery tray 89 .

Note that the type of workpiece does not matter, and the number of types of workpieces may be one or more types.

Here, the features of the workpiece picking device according to the embodiment of the present invention described above will be briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [4].
[1] A robot arm (2) that grabs the workpiece (W), moves it, and releases the gripped workpiece (W) at the scheduled transfer location;
a control device (100) that controls the operation of the robot arm (2);
a workpiece dispensing device that receives a workpiece (W) placed at the scheduled transfer location and released from the robot arm (2), and dispenses the workpiece (W) in a predetermined direction toward a dispensing tray (89); (7) and
Equipped with
The dispensing device (7) is
a table (74) on which the workpiece (W) grabbed by the robot arm (2) is placed;
It has a height corresponding to the size of the workpiece (W) and is arranged adjacent to the workpiece placement area on the table (74), and the position of the workpiece (W) placed on the table (74) and Guides (75A, 75B) to adjust your posture,
a work extrusion means for extruding the work (W) placed on the table (74) toward the dispensing tray;
It has
The control device (100) includes:
When delivering the workpiece (W) gripped by the robot arm (2) to the dispensing device (7), the workpiece placement schedule is determined according to the orientation of the workpiece (2) gripped by the robot arm (2). a normal mounting mode in which the workpiece (W) is placed directly on the part and separated from the robot arm (2), and an edge of the guide (75A, 75B) on the side adjacent to the part where the workpiece is to be placed The workpiece (W) is placed on the robot arm (2) so that the center of gravity is located closer to the workpiece placement area than the edge, and in this state, the workpiece (W) is separated from the robot arm (2). Select one of the following mounting modes: a posture conversion mounting mode in which the workpiece (W) is rotated using the edge of the guide as a fulcrum and the direction of the workpiece (W) is changed; and the selected mounting mode. controlling the robot arm (2) to operate;
A work picking device (M) characterized by the following.

[2] The guides (75A, 75B) are arranged along the extrusion direction by the workpiece extrusion means (77), and are spaced apart from each other on the table (74) with the workpiece placement planned area in between. There are a pair of
When selecting the posture change placement mode, the control device (100) controls the workpiece (W) to change its posture depending on the orientation of the workpiece (W) gripped by the robot arm (2). Determine the direction of rotation, select the edge of the pair of guides (75A, 75B) on which the workpiece (W) is to be placed, depending on the decision, and place the workpiece (W) on the edge of the selected guide. controlling the operation of the robot arm so as to place the workpiece (W) on the robot arm;
The work picking device (M) according to the above [1], characterized in that:

[3] The pair of guides (75A, 75B) are slidably arranged on the table (74) so that the distance between them can be narrowed or widened,
The control device (100) controls the slide positions of the pair of guides (75A, 75B), and after the workpiece (W) is placed on the workpiece placement area on the table (74), the pair of guides (75A, 75B) adjusting the orientation of the workpiece (W) by narrowing the interval between the guides (75A, 75B);
The work picking device (M) according to the above [2], characterized in that:

[4] A plurality of the workpiece dispensing trays (89) are arranged side by side,
The table (74), the guides (75A, 75B), and the workpiece pushing means (77) of the workpiece dispensing device (7) can be slid to any position of the workpiece dispensing tray (89). The insertion unit (70) is equipped with
The work picking device (M) according to any one of [1] to [3] above, characterized in that:

M Work picking device W Work 2 Robot arm 3 Chuck 7 Work dispensing device 8 Work discharging tray device 70 Insertion unit 74 Table 75A, 75B Guide 77 Extrusion mechanism (work extrusion means)
77A Insertion stick 100 Control device

Claims (4)

a robot arm that grabs a workpiece, moves it, and releases the gripped workpiece at the scheduled transfer location;
a control device that controls the operation of the robot arm;
a workpiece dispensing device placed at the scheduled transfer location, receiving a workpiece to be released from the robot arm, and dispensing the workpiece in a predetermined direction toward a dispensing tray;
Equipped with
The dispensing device is
a table on which a workpiece grabbed by the robot arm is placed;
a guide having a height corresponding to the size of the workpiece and arranged adjacent to the workpiece placement area on the table to adjust the position and posture of the workpiece placed on the table;
a work extrusion means for extruding the work placed on the table toward the dispensing tray;
It has
The control device includes:
When delivering the workpiece gripped by the robot arm to the dispensing device, the workpiece is placed directly on the workpiece placement area and released from the robot arm according to the orientation of the workpiece gripped by the robot arm. In the normal placement mode, the workpiece is placed on the edge of the guide adjacent to the workpiece placement area so that the center of gravity is located closer to the workpiece placement area than the edge. Select one of the following mounting modes: a posture conversion mounting mode in which the workpiece is rotated using the edge of the guide as a fulcrum and the direction of the workpiece is changed by separating the workpiece from the robot arm. , controlling the robot arm to operate in a selected loading mode;
A work picking device characterized by: The guides are arranged along the extrusion direction by the workpiece extrusion means, and are arranged as a pair on the table at a distance from each other with the workpiece placement scheduled part in between,
When selecting the posture conversion and placement mode, the control device determines a direction in which the workpiece is to be turned for posture conversion according to the direction of the workpiece gripped by the robot arm, and rotates the workpiece in accordance with the determined content. selecting the edge of one of the pair of guides on which to place the work, and controlling the operation of the robot arm so as to place the work on the edge of the selected guide;
The work picking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pair of guides are slidably arranged on the table so that the distance between them can be narrowed or widened,
The control device controls the slide positions of the pair of guides, and after the workpiece is placed on the workpiece placement area on the table, narrows the distance between the pair of guides to change the direction of the workpiece. arrange,
The work picking device according to claim 2, characterized in that: A plurality of the workpiece discharging trays are arranged side by side,
The table, the guide, and the workpiece pushing means of the workpiece dispensing device are installed in an insertion unit that can be slid to any position on the workpiece dispensing tray.
The work picking device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:

Images