JP7389986B2 - Goods conveyance and supply device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an article conveyance and supply device, and for example, to an article conveyance supply device that picks up an article moving on a conveyance means and supplies it to a downstream conveyance line system or the like.

Patent Document 1 discloses a conveyance means for conveying randomly supplied workpieces, a transfer robot (workpiece transfer device) that holds the workpieces moving on the conveyance means and transfers them onto a receiving member on the downstream side, and A system is disclosed that includes a return conveyor or the like for returning a workpiece that is not held by a changing robot and is carried out from a conveyance means to the upstream side of the conveyance means.

According to this system, the workpieces that are not held by the transfer robot due to crowding of the workpieces, for example, are again supplied to the upstream side of the conveyance means. Therefore, the work moves around on a conveyance path consisting of the conveyance means, a return conveyor, etc., and is finally held by a transfer robot and transferred onto a receiving member.

JP 2017-36113 Publication

If the item to be transferred is, for example, frozen food, if it travels around the conveyance route consisting of the conveyance means disclosed in Patent Document 1, a return conveyor, etc. many times, the frozen state may change and the quality may deteriorate. . Furthermore, similar problems occur not only in frozen foods but also in products such as easily breakable cookies, which may change in condition from their initial state after being moved around many times.

Therefore, instead of installing a return conveyor, it is possible to install multiple article transfer devices attached to the conveyance means so that even if the articles become crowded, one of the article transfer devices can hold and transfer the articles. . However, although it depends on the number of article transfer devices installed, there is a possibility that all the articles may not be transferred depending on the crowded state and may be ejected from the conveyance means and disposed of.

When the article is a food such as the above-mentioned frozen food or cookie, the generation of the article to be discarded is undesirable as it results in wasted food. On the other hand, arranging a large number of article transfer devices in order to prevent the articles from being carried out from the conveying means leads to an increase in the size of the device. Moreover, if the goods are not transported in a crowded state and the goods are normally transported, there will be some goods transfer equipment that is idle without performing any transfer processing, resulting in a system that is unnecessarily large and has a poor operating rate. do not have.

The above-mentioned problems are described as independent ones, and the present invention does not necessarily need to be able to solve all of the described problems, but only needs to be able to solve at least one problem. We also have the intention to acquire rights to a structure to solve this problem through divisional applications, amendments, etc.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the article conveying and supplying device of the present invention includes a first conveying means for conveying articles , and a transfer means for picking up the articles on the first conveying means and transferring them to a second conveying means. a transfer robot; and a return conveyance means for returning the article carried out from the first conveyance means without being picked up by the transfer robot to the first conveyance means, wherein the article is not picked up by the transfer robot. It is assumed that the apparatus is configured to preferentially pick up articles that have been carried out from the first conveyance means and circulated via the return conveyance means.

Even if the transfer robot fails to pick up an article moving on the first conveyance means, the article returns to the first conveyance means via the return conveyance means and is picked up by the transfer robot. obtain. Therefore, the possibility that the article is not picked up and is wasted can be suppressed as much as possible. Since the items that have migrated are picked up with priority, for example, even if the quality or shape of the item changes over time, damage to the item that has been picked up and transferred after being moved can be suppressed. There is no difference from the article that has been picked up and transferred without being circulated, or it can be suppressed to such a level that there is virtually no problem.

(1) In the configuration based on the above-mentioned premise, the first conveyance means separates a first area for conveying the article supplied from the upstream side and a second area for conveying the article that has circulated, The transfer robot may preferentially pick up items on the second area. In this way, articles that have been circulated can be efficiently picked up with a simple configuration and control.

(6) Based on the configuration shown below, it is preferable to detect an article that has passed around from a photographed image and to pick up the article. In this way, for example, it is possible to preferentially pick up the migrating items without having to particularly separate the transport areas for non-migratory items and migrating items.

(2) It is preferable to have the above-mentioned structure and an out-of-system carry-out passage for discharging the circulated articles out of the first conveying means without transferring them to the return conveying means. In this way, it is possible to discard an article whose quality has deteriorated due to the same article being circulated many times. For example, there are cases in which an article reaching the out-of-system carry-out passage is not picked up even after being circulated a predetermined number of times (including once), or in a case where the article remains in a migratory state for a certain period of time.

(3) With the configuration based on the above-mentioned premise, migration via the return conveyance means is allowed only once, and if the article that has migrated is not picked up, the article is discharged outside the first conveyance means. It is better to do this. By allowing relocation only once, it is possible to suppress damage to articles due to relocation as much as possible while suppressing waste loss, and maintain quality etc. equivalent to those of articles picked up without relocation.

(4) In addition to the configuration based on the above-mentioned premise, if the circulating article is not picked up after a certain period of time has elapsed after detecting the article on the return conveyance means, the article is discharged outside the first conveyance means. It is recommended to configure In this way, for example, even if the number of times the same article has been circulated cannot be specified, it is possible to suppress the same article from continuing to circulate many times with simple control.

(5) In the configuration based on the above-mentioned premise, it is preferable that the transfer robot pick up the articles moving on the return conveyance means with the highest priority. In this way, articles that were not picked up while moving on the first conveying means can be picked up at an earlier stage. It is preferable that the articles not picked up on the return conveyance means are returned to the first conveyance means and picked up preferentially by the various functions described above.

a first conveyance means for conveying an article ; a transfer robot that picks up the article on the first conveyance means and transfers it to a second conveyance means; and a transfer robot that picks up the article on the first conveyance means and transfers it to a second conveyance means; and a third conveyance means for conveying the article carried out from the first conveyance means, the third conveyance means is arranged along the first conveyance means, and the transfer robot is not picked up and is moved to the first conveyance means. It is preferable to preferentially pick up articles that are carried out from the third conveyance means and move through the third conveyance means. In this way, articles that were not picked up while moving on the first conveying means can be picked up at an earlier stage. For example, in the embodiment, the third conveyance means corresponds to a return conveyance device, but it does not necessarily have to constitute a return path for returning to the first conveyance means.

It is preferable to include a function of returning to the first transport means an article that is not picked up by the transfer robot and is carried out from the third transport means. In this case, the articles that were not picked up while moving on the third conveyance means can be returned to the first conveyance means so that they can be picked up again by the article transfer robot. In this case, it is preferable that the returned article be picked up preferentially.

In each of the above-mentioned inventions, priority is given to an article transfer robot that transfers an article that is not picked up by an article transfer robot while moving on a first conveyance means from the first conveyance means to a second conveyance means. The structure is such that it can be picked up and transferred to the second conveyance means. In the apparatuses of each invention, articles that have been picked up and transferred to the second conveying means are, for example, articles that have been supplied to the first conveying means for the first time and are being moved, and articles that have not been picked up and are being carried out from the first conveying means. The problem can be solved that there is virtually no deterioration or deterioration of quality in the case of products that have been sold.

According to the present invention, even if the product is easily damaged, such as a frozen food or a fragile or soft product, due to the lapse of time and the time difference between when it is first supplied to the first conveyance means due to circulation etc. and when it is picked up. It is possible to suppress damage to articles as much as possible and also to suppress them from being discarded as much as possible.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a packaging system in which an article conveyance and supply device according to the present invention is installed. 1 is a diagram mainly showing an upstream conveyor 12 of a preferred embodiment of the article conveyance and supply device according to the present invention. 1 is a diagram mainly showing a transfer robot 15 of a preferred embodiment of the article conveyance and supply device according to the present invention. 1 is a diagram mainly showing a migratory route of a preferred embodiment of the article conveyance and supply device according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. Note that the present invention is not to be construed as being limited thereto, and various changes, modifications, and improvements can be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a part of a packaging system in which an embodiment of an article conveyance and supply apparatus according to the present invention is implemented. This packaging system includes a first conveying device 11 that conveys articles, a supply conveyor device 10 that is arranged upstream of the first conveying device 11 and supplies articles 1 to the first conveying device 11, and a first conveying device 11, a transfer robot 15 that picks up the article 1 on the first transfer device 11 and transfers it to the second transfer device 14, and the first transfer device a return conveyor 17 disposed along the other side edge of the first conveyor 11; a recovery conveyor 16 that collects articles carried out from the first conveyor 11 and supplies them to the return conveyor 17; The system is provided with an out-of-system carrying-out passage 18, etc., for discharging predetermined articles 1 that are not picked up. Furthermore, although not shown in the drawings, a packaging machine main body for packaging the article 1 and the like are arranged downstream of the second conveyance device 14.

The supply conveyor device 10 may be constructed, for example, from an inclined conveyor with a horizontal sun. This supply conveyor device 10 is equipped with horizontal suns 21 extending in the width direction at predetermined intervals on the surface of an endless belt 20 constituting a conveying surface, and the conveying surface of the endless belt 20 is arranged in a downwardly inclined shape toward the downstream side. do. Articles 1 are randomly supplied to the input side of the supply conveyor device 10 from a conveyance path on the upstream side of the supply conveyor device 10 (not shown). As a result, the supplied article 1 is guided to the downwardly inclined conveying surface as the endless belt 20 rotates, and is smoothly conveyed directly to the horizontal sun 21 in front or in contact with the article 1 in front. . Then, the supply conveyor device 10 sequentially supplies the articles 1 to the first conveyance device 11 at the next stage.

The conveying direction of the first conveying device 11 and the conveying direction of the supply conveyor device 10 are perpendicular to each other, and the supply conveyor device 10 is located on one side of the upstream side of the first conveying device 11 (in this embodiment, on the right side in the conveying direction). It is configured to supply the article 1 from. A first guide member 22 is arranged above the conveying surface of the first conveying device 11 and in front of the discharge end of the supply conveyor device 10 . The first guide member 22 is inclined at 45 degrees with respect to the conveyance direction of the first conveyance device 11 and is disposed such that the tip 22a is located on the downstream side, and is arranged in the conveyance direction of the article 1 supplied to the first conveyance device 11. is changed by approximately 90 degrees so that it is along the conveying direction of the first conveying device 11.

The first conveyance device 11 includes an upstream conveyor 12 and a downstream conveyor 13 that are arranged on the same straight line back and forth along the conveyance direction. For example, a vibrating feeder may be used as the upstream conveyor 12. The upstream conveyor 12 using a vibrating feeder has a flat plate 25 constituting a conveyance surface slanted downward toward the downstream side. This flat plate 25 is connected to a vibration generator (not shown), and vibrates by reciprocating in the front and rear directions along the conveyance direction. The article 1 on the upstream conveyor 12 that has received this vibration moves forward on the downwardly inclined flat plate 25.

Further, above the flat plate 25, a predetermined number of partition walls 26 extending in a direction parallel to the conveyance direction are arranged at predetermined intervals in a lateral direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. The predetermined interval has a length corresponding to the width of the article 1, and in this embodiment, nine partition walls 26 are prepared to form a total of 10 conveyance paths 27, including those with both side walls of the upstream conveyor 12. . The article 1 moving on the upstream conveyor 12 passes through any one of the ten conveyance paths 27 in a vertically elongated conveyance posture, and advances to the downstream conveyor 13.

Furthermore, the upstream conveyor 12 has 10 conveyance paths 27 through which the article 1 immediately after being supplied from the supply conveyor device 10 passes, and the article 1 that returns through the return conveyor device 17 and is supplied to the upstream conveyor 12 again. It is set so that the passage through which the article 1 passes through is separated. Specifically, in this embodiment, eight conveyance paths 27 are connected from one side (in this embodiment, the right side in the conveyance direction) of the first conveyance device 11 to which the supply conveyor device 10 is connected and the article 1 is supplied. However, there are two conveyance paths on the other side (in this embodiment, the left side in the conveyance direction) of the first conveyance device 11 which is away from the supply conveyor device 10 and which is the path X through which the article 1 just after being supplied passes. 27 is set in the path Y through which the returned article 1 passes.

In order to guide each article 1 to its corresponding conveyance path 27, an appropriate guide mechanism is provided. The tip 22a of the first guide member 22 that is away from the supply conveyor device 10 is positioned a predetermined distance toward the front without reaching the other side of the first conveying device 11 (in this embodiment, the left side in the conveying direction). As a result, the article 1 discharged from the supply conveyor device 10 is sequentially redirected from the front side by the first guide member 22, so that the first conveyor device 11 (upstream conveyor 12) moves from one side to the center. It is located on the flat plate 25 of the first conveyance device 11 in a state where it is gathered in large numbers, and is conveyed downstream as it is.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, on the upstream side relatively close to the entrance of the two conveyance paths 27 on the other side (in this embodiment, the left side in the conveyance direction) side of the first conveyance device 11 (upstream conveyor 12), A second guide member 28 was placed. The second guide member 28 has an inclined side that is inclined with respect to the conveying direction from the other side toward the center, and is arranged so that the tip 28a of the inclined side is located on the downstream side. As a result, for example, when the article 1 immediately after being supplied from the supply conveyor device 10 is located on the upstream side of the two conveyance paths 27 on the other side and moves downstream on the flat plate 25, the second It contacts the guide member 28 and prevents the article 1 from moving straight into either of the two transport paths 27 . Further, the article 1 that has come into contact with the second guide member 28 is guided by the inclined side of the second guide member 28 and changes its course so as to go toward the center of the upstream conveyor 12 in the width direction. The article 1 separated from the tip 28a of the second guide member 28 moves along the conveyance direction of the upstream conveyor 12 on the flat plate 25, enters one of the eight conveyance paths 27, and enters the conveyance path. Proceed inside 27(X).

In this way, the article 1 supplied from the supply conveyor device 10 passes through any of the eight conveyance paths 27 on one side and moves to the downstream conveyor 13.

On the other hand, as will be described later, the article 1 that has passed through any of the eight conveyance paths 27 and was not picked up by the article transfer robot 15 while moving on the first conveyance device 11 is transferred to the return conveyance device 17. The article 1 is again supplied to the first conveyance device 11, that is, the upstream conveyor 12, and circulates through the return conveyance device 17. ). The specific configuration will be described later.

The downstream conveyor 13 is composed of a belt conveyor. In this embodiment, the downstream end of the partition wall 26 is arranged to protrude above the conveyance surface of the wide endless belt 30 of the downstream conveyor 13. As a result, each article 1 sorted to each conveyance path 27 on the upstream conveyor 12 remains on the extension line of each conveyance path 27 on the conveyance surface of the endless belt 30 even after being transferred to the downstream conveyor 13. Move each area. Therefore, on the downstream conveyor 13 as well, the article 1 immediately after being supplied from the supply conveyor device 10, that is, the article 1 transferred to the downstream conveyor 13 for the first time, moves between the area A and the area A where it returns through the return conveyor 17. Then, the article 1 supplied to the downstream conveyor 13 is again divided into an area B where it moves. That is, the article 1 immediately after being supplied moves through a large area on one side (in this embodiment, the right side in the conveying direction) of the first conveying device 11 to which the article 1 is supplied from the supply conveyor device 10. , the returned article 1 moves in a narrow area on the other side (in this embodiment, the left side in the conveying direction) of the first conveying device 11 that is away from the supply conveyor device 10.

In this embodiment, areas A and B are divided for convenience on the belt surface of the same endless belt 30, and different endless belts may be arranged in parallel or physically separated by, for example, providing a partition wall. It's not what I'm doing. The upstream conveyor 12 divides the articles 1 into eight rows and two columns, conveys them in a vertically long posture, and sends them to the downstream conveyor 13. Therefore, on the downstream conveyor 13, the articles 1 that have been sent are separated in the width direction with respect to the conveyance direction. It moves forward without making any lateral movement. Therefore, with a simple configuration in which a wide endless belt is used as in this embodiment, the article 1 that reaches the downstream conveyor 13 for the first time after being supplied from the supply conveyor device 10 passes through the area A, and the article 1 that has been circulating passes through the region A. passes through region B.

The second conveyance device 14 is composed of a belt conveyor and is arranged along one side of the first conveyance device 11 . The conveying direction of the second conveying device 14 is opposite to the conveying direction of the first conveying device 11.

In this embodiment, four transfer robots 15 are provided along the conveyance direction. The transfer robot 15 is composed of a parallel link robot 31, and the suction hand has five suction parts arranged in a line. The movable area R of the suction hand by the parallel link robot 31 is within the circle indicated by the two-dot chain line or the solid line in FIGS. 1 and 3. As is clear from the figure, the entire widthwise area of the conveying surface of the downstream conveyor 13 and the entire widthwise area of the second conveying device 14 are covered. The movable region R is set so as not to cover the transport surface of the return transport device 17.

As a result, the suction hand moves to a predetermined position on the conveyance surface of the downstream conveyor 13 by the parallel link robot, picks up and holds the articles one by one on the five suction parts, and the five articles 1 are lined up. The group of articles 2 is moved to a predetermined position on the second conveyance device 14, and the suction is released and transferred and supplied.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, two transfer robots 15 lined up one after the other form a group, and each group recognizes the position of the article 1 on the downstream conveyor 13 based on photographic data from one camera installed in each group. Pick up article 1. In other words, each camera has an area covering the movable region R of the suction hands by the parallel link robots 31 of the two corresponding transfer robots 15 as a photographing area.

The collection conveyor 16 is arranged at the discharge end side of the downstream conveyor 13. The collection conveyor 16 is a belt conveyor, whose conveyance direction is orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the first conveyance device 11, and is configured to move from one side of the first conveyance device 11 to the other side. Furthermore, the collection conveyor 16 crosses the downstream conveyor 13 in the width direction, and furthermore, the distal end in the conveyance direction is arranged to protrude outward.

As a result, when the article 1 moving in the area A of the downstream conveyor 13 reaches the downstream end of the downstream conveyor 13 without being picked up by any of the transfer robots 15, it is discharged as is and transferred onto the collection conveyor 16. be transferred to. The article 1 on the recovery conveyor 16 moves along the conveyance direction of the recovery conveyor 16 and is transferred onto the return conveyance device 17.

The return conveyance device 17 is composed of a belt conveyor and is arranged along the other side of the first conveyance device 11 . The return conveyance device 17 includes a main conveyor 33 whose conveyance direction is opposite to the conveyance direction of the first conveyance device 11 , and an auxiliary conveyance path 34 arranged on the discharge end side of the main conveyor 33 . The auxiliary conveyance path 34 has a conveyance direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the main conveyor 33 and is configured to move from the main conveyor 33 side toward the upstream conveyor 12.

Furthermore, the main conveyor 33 is preferably arranged at an angle so that its conveying surface gradually becomes higher toward the discharge end side, that is, toward the upstream side of the first conveying device 11. The height of the main conveyor 33 at the discharge end side is set higher than the height of the adjacent upstream conveyor 12 by a predetermined distance. The discharge end of the auxiliary conveyance path 34 is made to protrude above the area where the partition wall 26 of the upstream conveyor 12 is provided. Furthermore, the discharge end 34a of the auxiliary conveyance path 34 has an inclined side so as to intersect with the conveyance direction, and one end located on the downstream side of the upstream conveyor 12 in the conveyance direction is located on the other side of the upstream conveyor 12. However, the other end of the upstream conveyor 12 located on the downstream side in the conveying direction is located near the upper part of the second partition wall 26 from the other side.

As a result, the articles supplied from the collection conveyor 16 are moved toward the upstream side of the first conveyance device 11 by the main conveyor 33, and the moving direction is changed on the auxiliary conveyance path 34 to a predetermined position on the upstream conveyor 12. is supplied falling. By configuring the position of the discharge end 34a of the auxiliary conveyance path 34 as described above, its predetermined position becomes two conveyance paths 27(Y) from the other side.

The conveyance force applied to the article 1 on the auxiliary conveyance path 34 may be determined, for example, by arranging the auxiliary conveyance path 34 so that the tip (on the upstream conveyor 12 side) is inclined downward, or by using various pushers. The article 1 may be pushed by a member, a finger, etc., and various forms can be taken.

By taking the above-mentioned migratory route (recovery conveyor 16, return conveyance device 17, etc.), the article 1 that was not picked up by the transfer robot 15 among the articles moving on the downstream conveyor 13 is transferred to the upstream conveyor 12 again. It is returned, passes through a predetermined conveyance path of the upstream conveyor 12, reaches the downstream conveyor 13, and is picked up by the transfer robot 15. Therefore, even if some articles 1 are not transferred to the second conveyance device 14 by the transfer robot 15 in a situation where the articles 1 are conveyed in a dense manner, for example, the articles 1 can be circulated without being discarded. Since it moves again on the downstream conveyor 13, there is a high possibility that it will be picked up by the transfer robot 15, and food loss due to disposal is suppressed as much as possible.

Furthermore, as described above, in this embodiment, the position of the discharge end 34a of the auxiliary conveyance path 34 is above the first and second conveyance paths 27 (Y) from the other side of the first conveyance device 11, so that the return The circulating article 1 that has been moved through the conveyance device 17 falls from the auxiliary conveyance path 34, enters the first or second conveyance path 27 (Y), and moves. Then, the article 1 that has traveled around moves in area B on the downstream conveyor 13.

In such a configuration, the transfer robot 15 is configured to preferentially pick up the article 1 moving in the area B when picking up the article 1 moving on the downstream conveyor 13. That is, when an article 1 existing in area B is detected, control is performed to pick up the article 1.

As a result, for example, the article 1 supplied from the supply conveyor device 10 is not picked up by the transfer robot 15 as it is, but is carried out from the downstream conveyor 13 and circulated, returns to the downstream conveyor 13 again, and the article 1 is moved. , are preferentially transferred to the second transport device 14. Even if the article 1 is a frozen food, the frozen state and quality are almost the same as the article 1 that was picked up the first time without being circulated, even if it is circulated once.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, instead of the article 1 being regularly and permanently not being picked up and moving around, the four transfer robots 15 normally operate as appropriate to pick up all the articles flowing through the area A. The system is set up and adjusted so that for some reason the articles flowing in area A become densely packed and cannot be picked up, so that the items that cannot be picked up are circulated and moved to area B.

For example, if one article 1 moves around every few minutes to 10 minutes on average, even if article 1 flowing through area B is picked up with priority, article 1 flowing through area A at the same time will also be picked up. Even if the item 1 flowing in the new area A cannot be picked up because the item in area B is picked up and goes to the return conveyance device 17 and moves around, such an event will continue. Therefore, items are regularly picked up without going around, and even if they do go around, they can be picked up only once. Note that if an event occurs in which articles are always picked up from area B, it is preferable to adjust the average amount of articles 1 to be supplied from the upstream side.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, an extra-system carrying-out passage 18 is provided at the carrying-out end side of the region B of the downstream conveyor 13. If the article 1 passing through the area B is not picked up, the article 1 is discharged through the out-of-system carry-out passage 18 without reaching the collection conveyor 16. As a result, the number of trips is limited to one time, so the article group 2 transferred to the second conveyor device 14 is either the article 1 that has not been transferred immediately after being supplied from the supply conveyor device 10, or the article that has been transferred only once. Since it is composed of 1 item, the frozen state and quality are guaranteed.

In the embodiment described above, the out-of-system carry-out passage 18 is provided on the out-of-system conveyance side of the region B of the downstream conveyor 13, and if an article that has been circulated once cannot be picked up, it is discarded as is. A mechanism is provided to sort items to either the carry-out passage 18 or the circulation route (recovery conveyor 16/return conveyance device 17), allowing for multiple circulation, and when predetermined conditions are met, the articles are led to the out-of-system carry-out passage 18 and disposed of. You may also do so. Alternatively, the transfer robot 15 or the like may be used to carry out the transfer out of the system without providing the out-of-system carry-out passage 18.

The predetermined condition may be, for example, a case in which the number of times the item has been circulated is counted and the number of times the item has been passed exceeds a predetermined number. In addition, if the number of times that the same article has moved around cannot be counted, the predetermined condition is, for example, that even if a predetermined period of time (for example, 3 minutes) has elapsed since the article entered the return conveyance device 17, the movement path remains unchanged. It is preferable to use this when the item exists in In this way, if an item remains on the migratory route even after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, there will be cases where the same item continues to circulate, and cases where the item is not the same but is not picked up one after another on the first try. In either case, it is a good idea to dispose of the items outside the system and reset the status. Furthermore, the starting point for elapse of the predetermined time is not limited to when the article enters the return conveyance device 17 (detected at the entrance), but also when the article is taken out from the return conveyance device 17 (detected at the exit). Various reference points can be set, such as when the vehicle passes a predetermined position on the transport path on the return transport device 17.

Such a system that allows multiple rounds is suitable for items such as cookies, which are fragile but maintain their original shape after several rounds. In the case of such articles, it is good to allow them to be circulated multiple times because they can be picked up more reliably, and articles that have been circulated multiple times and are damaged can be reliably discarded.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, where the circulating articles are preferentially picked up and taken out, the area B for conveying the circulating articles on the same conveying device (downstream conveyor 13) and the area B for conveying the circulating articles In this embodiment, the area A where the items are transported is divided, and the item 1 in the area B is taken out with priority, but the present invention is not limited to this. In such a configuration, a function may be provided to identify the article 1 that has been circulating, and the identified article may be picked up with priority.

The function of identifying migratory goods may be achieved by, for example, marking migratory goods from a photographed video, and picking up the marked goods with priority. For example, when an image recognition system, image detection system, etc. is used to detect an article supplied from the return conveyance device 17 to the first conveyance device 11, the article is continued to be tracked in the photographed image data, and if the article is one of the It is preferable to pick up the transfer robot 15 when it enters the operation area. Alternatively, when the article 1 supplied from the first conveyance device 11 to the return conveyance device 17 is detected, the article may be continued to be tracked in the photographed image data. Further, in this case, the number of times the article 1 that is being followed in the photographed image data moves around or the elapsed time may be measured.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, articles moving on the downstream conveyor 13 made of the same endless belt are picked up. It is preferable to use different endless belts to convey the articles, and to stop the endless belts for conveying the articles that have been circulated until they reach the take-out position so that the articles are always picked up on the first trip.

Further, for example, it is preferable to extend the movable region R of the transfer robot 15 to the return conveyance device 17 so that the article 1 moving on the return conveyance device 17 is picked up preferentially. Further, the main conveyor 33 of the return conveyance device may not be operated continuously but may be operated intermittently. In this case, instead of returning to the upstream conveyor 12, it may be carried out of the system from the upstream end of the main conveyor 33.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the area A where the article 1 transferred to the downstream conveyor 13 moves and the area A where the article 1 that has returned through the return conveyance device 17 and is supplied to the downstream conveyor 13 again moves. Although the regions A and B are virtually divided so that corresponding articles reach each region, a partition wall may be provided between the regions A and B on the belt surface of the endless belt 30 to physically separate the regions. .

Although examples of various modifications have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be implemented. However, the configuration described in the embodiment is preferable because it can preferentially pick up and take out circulating articles with a simple configuration and control.

Although various aspects of the present invention have been described above using embodiments and modified examples, these embodiments and explanations are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. I would like to add that this is provided for the benefit of the public. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the configuration or manufacturing method explicitly described in the specification, but also includes combinations of various aspects of the invention disclosed herein. Of the present invention, the structure for which a patent is sought has been specified in the attached claims, but at present, even if the structure is not specified in the claims, it is not disclosed in this specification. I would like to state this just to be sure that there is a possibility that I may file a patent claim for this configuration in the future.

1: Article 2: Article group 10: Supply conveyor device 11: First conveyor device 12: Upstream conveyor 13: Downstream conveyor 14: Second conveyor 15: Transfer robot 16: Collection conveyor 17: Return conveyor 18: External delivery path 22: First guide member 25: Flat plate 26: Partition wall 27: Conveyance path 28: Second guide member 30: Endless belt 31: Parallel link robot 33: Main conveyor 34: Auxiliary conveyance path

Claims (6)

a first conveyance means for conveying the article;
a transfer robot that picks up the article on the first conveyance means and transfers it to a second conveyance means;
return conveyance means for returning the article carried out from the first conveyance means without being picked up by the transfer robot to the first conveyance means;
The transfer robot is configured to preferentially pick up articles that have been carried out from the first conveyance means without being picked up and have circulated via the return conveyance means ,
The first conveyance means separates a first area for conveying the article supplied from the upstream side and a second area for conveying the article that has circulated,
The article conveying and supplying apparatus is characterized in that the transfer robot picks up articles on the second area with priority. a first conveyance means for conveying the article;
a transfer robot that picks up the article on the first conveyance means and transfers it to a second conveyance means;
return conveyance means for returning the article carried out from the first conveyance means without being picked up by the transfer robot to the first conveyance means;
The transfer robot is configured to preferentially pick up articles that have been carried out from the first conveyance means without being picked up and have circulated via the return conveyance means ,
An article conveying and supplying device comprising an out-of-system carrying-out passage for discharging the circulated articles out of the first conveying means without transferring them to the return conveying means. a first conveyance means for conveying the article;
a transfer robot that picks up the article on the first conveyance means and transfers it to a second conveyance means;
return conveyance means for returning the article carried out from the first conveyance means without being picked up by the transfer robot to the first conveyance means;
The transfer robot is configured to preferentially pick up articles that have been carried out from the first conveyance means without being picked up and have circulated via the return conveyance means ,
The article conveyance and supply device is characterized in that the article is allowed to travel through the return conveyance means only once, and if the article that has been circulated is not picked up, the article is discharged to the outside of the first conveyance means. . a first conveyance means for conveying the article;
a transfer robot that picks up the article on the first conveyance means and transfers it to a second conveyance means;
return conveyance means for returning the article carried out from the first conveyance means without being picked up by the transfer robot to the first conveyance means;
The transfer robot is configured to preferentially pick up articles that have been carried out from the first conveyance means without being picked up and have circulated via the return conveyance means ,
An article conveying and supplying device characterized in that, if a migrating article is not picked up after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since detecting the article on the return conveying means, the article is ejected out of the first conveying means. a first conveyance means for conveying the article;
a transfer robot that picks up the article on the first conveyance means and transfers it to a second conveyance means;
return conveyance means for returning the article carried out from the first conveyance means without being picked up by the transfer robot to the first conveyance means;
The transfer robot is configured to preferentially pick up articles that have been carried out from the first conveyance means without being picked up and have circulated via the return conveyance means ,
The article conveyance and supply apparatus is characterized in that the transfer robot picks up articles moving on the return conveyance means with the highest priority. The article conveyance and supply device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the article conveying and supplying device detects a traveling article from a photographed image and picks up the article.

Images