JP7478321B1 - Circulating conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a revolving conveyor that can set the direction of rotational revolution as desired regardless of the direction of revolution, and can easily accommodate various storage modes of the conveyed object. [Solution] The revolving conveyor is equipped with a plurality of arm shafts 13 and a first servo motor 30, the first servo motor sets the distance from the revolution axis 34 to each arm shaft as the revolution distance, revolves each arm shaft in one direction around the revolution axis, the second servo motor 30 rotates the suction nozzle 11 attached to each arm 10 in both forward and reverse directions, the suction setting means 60 sets the orientation of the suction surface at the suction operating position to a state facing the conveyed object 20, and the interlocking control means 500 interlocks the revolution, the rotation, and the suction by the suction nozzle, suctions the conveyed object to the suction nozzle, conveys the conveyed object to a suction release position while keeping the suction nozzle under negative pressure, and releases the suction of the suction nozzle at the suction release position. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a rotating conveyor that rotates a suction nozzle along an arcuate path, picks up and conveys an object by suctioning it with the suction nozzle, and releases the suction of the suction nozzle at a discharge position to discharge the object.

In particular, the invention relates to a rotating conveyor that allows the direction of rotation to be set arbitrarily, regardless of the direction of revolution, and can easily accommodate a variety of storage conditions for the transported objects.

The present invention also relates to a circular conveyor that can visually inspect the objects being conveyed during conveyance, and depending on the inspection results, can use different rotation directions at one position, discarding defective objects in one direction and conveying only non-defective objects in the other direction. The present invention also relates to a circular conveyor that can be used as an accumulation conveyor that accumulates objects conveyed from multiple lines in a single downstream accumulation location.

A technology for a circular conveyor is known in which transported objects such as food trays and packaging sheets containing powdered medicines are stored in advance at a predetermined position, and the objects are picked up and transported one by one by a suction nozzle that rotates along a vertical plane, and then discharged onto a downstream conveyor (Non-Patent Document 1).

In this revolving conveyor, the arms that support the radially arranged suction nozzles revolve at a constant angular velocity, and also rotate at a constant angular velocity in the opposite direction to the revolution, allowing the conveyed objects to be smoothly taken in and discharged.

Specifically, the arm rotates about its axis at a constant angular velocity relative to the revolution so that, at the take-in position, the suction surface of the suction nozzle faces the surface to be suctioned of the transported object, and, at the discharge position, the suction surface of the suction nozzle faces the placement surface of the downstream conveyor. In more detail, the arm is rotated about its axis in the direction opposite to the direction of revolution of the transport rotation axis, thereby controlling the orientation of the suction nozzle at the end of the arm.

However, because the suction nozzle's revolution and rotation are linked by mechanical gears and cams, changing the direction of rotation between the revolution and rotation, or changing the timing and angular velocity of the rotation relative to the revolution, requires replacing the mechanical gears and cams, which necessitates replacing the circulating conveyor itself. The same applies when changing the number of pick-up locations, for example from three to four, and this poses the problem of requiring replacement of the circulating conveyor itself.

Specifically, even when trying to change the shape or size of the product packaging, it is necessary to attach the product to a flat, smooth position near the center of gravity of the product being transported. As the position of the attached surface changes depending on the change in the product packaging, it is difficult to accommodate this with a circular transport machine that uses mechanical gears and cams to transport the product.

The orientation in which the transported items are stored must also be set appropriately depending on the material and shape of the transported items. For example, in the case of plastic food trays, the items are stored stacked so that the adsorbed surface is nearly horizontal to avoid deforming the food trays. On the other hand, in the case of packaging sheets, the adsorbed surfaces are often not only stacked horizontally, but also stacked vertically or diagonally.

Even when the position and angle of the adsorption surface of the transported object is changed according to the flow of the production line, conventional revolving transport machines, which link revolution and rotation by mechanical gears and cams, have the problem that it is difficult to adapt to the storage conditions of the transported object.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for an article delivery device in which pickers that adsorb transported articles are arranged radially on a rotating body that rotates vertically, and the pickers rotate vertically to transport sheet-like articles in a circular motion.

The technology described in this document is provided with a swinging means for swinging the picker along a vertical plane. This swinging means causes the sheet-like object to pass the correct discharge position, and then swings it back to the correct discharge position, thereby reducing the inertial force acting on the sheet-like object when it is discharged, and discharging the sheet-like object to the correct discharge position. It is also described that the picker may be swung back and forth using a servo motor as a driving means.

However, even with this technology, the apex of the rotating surface that is rotated is the intake position for the sheet-like object, and the bottom point of the rotating surface is the discharge position for the sheet-like object. If the intake position or discharge position is to be changed in response to changes in the production line, the rotating conveyor itself must be replaced, which is a problem that makes this technology non-versatile.

Patent Document 2 discloses technology for an appearance inspection device that inspects the appearance of transported objects such as capacitors while transporting them in a circular motion, and then separates them into good and bad products before discharging them. According to the transport machine technology described in this document, a sun gear and planetary gears are linked together, and a moving body arranged at equal intervals in a ring shape is rotated around its axis while revolving around the sun gear.

Each time the transported object revolves between stopping positions that are set in a ring at equal intervals in advance, it rotates a specified angle around the central axis of the moving body, and at each of the multiple stopping positions, a surface other than the surface to be attracted is sequentially pointed toward a directly facing camera for an appearance inspection. Furthermore, after the inspection, a position for ejecting non-defective products and a position for discarding defective products are provided, and defective products are released from attraction at the defective product discarding position and discarded from the transport machine.

However, in the technology described in Patent Document 2, revolution and rotation are linked by the mechanical gear meshing between the sun gear and planetary gear. In order to link the rotation and revolution in any manner so that the disposal position can be changed, mechanical parts such as the planetary gear must be replaced, and there is an issue that, as with the technology described in Patent Document 1, it is not possible to use different rotation directions at one position to discard defective products and transport only good products.

Patent Document 1: JP 2017-137178 A Patent Document 2: JP 2000-203713 A

Non-patent literature 1: PACK-SMART INC. YouTube video, [searched October 10, 2023], website URL: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBWO2Ugsuvg>

The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a highly versatile rotating conveyor that can set the direction of rotation on its axis as desired, regardless of the direction of revolution, and can easily accommodate a variety of storage conditions for the objects being conveyed.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a circular conveyor that can visually inspect the objects being conveyed while they are being conveyed, and depending on the inspection results, can use different rotation directions at one position, discarding defective objects in one direction and conveying only non-defective objects in the other direction.

The first invention of the present invention is a revolving conveyor that conveys a conveyed object using a plurality of suction nozzles, and includes a suction means, a revolution means, a plurality of rotation means, and an interlocking control means, and the interlocking control means includes a control means that functions as a revolution position setting means, the suction means includes the suction setting means and the suction nozzle, the revolution means includes a plurality of arm shafts and a first servo motor, each of the arm shafts is arranged around the revolution shaft so as to be parallel to the revolution shaft, the first servo motor sets the distance from the revolution shaft to each of the arm shafts as the revolution distance, and revolves each of the arm shafts in one direction around the revolution shaft, and each of the rotation means includes an arm that intersects with the arm shaft, the suction nozzle provided at the tip of the arm, and a second servo motor, and the second servo motor rotates the arm shaft from the arm shaft. The distance from the target to the suction surface of the suction nozzle is defined as the rotation distance, the suction nozzle is rotated forward and backward in the direction of the revolution, the revolution position setting means sets a revolution position at which the arm and the suction nozzle perform a predetermined operation, the interlocking control means interlocks the revolution by the revolution means, the rotation by the rotation means, and the suction by the suction nozzle at the revolution position, the suction setting means sets the orientation of the suction surface at the suction operating position to a state in which it faces the orientation of the suction surface of the transported object, and in the facing state, the suction nozzle is operated under negative pressure to suction the transported object, the suction nozzle is operated under negative pressure, the transported object is transported in a revolution to a suction release position, and the suction nozzle is released from suction at the suction release position.

According to the first invention, the first servo motor serves as the revolution means, rotating the arm shaft in one direction around the revolution shaft, and the second servo motor serves as the rotation means, rotating the suction nozzle attached to the arm in both forward and reverse directions around each arm shaft. Since the revolution and rotation are controlled separately by each servo motor, the stop position, stop angle, timing, etc. of the suction nozzle's suction surface can be set arbitrarily.

The direction of rotation is preferably in a vertical plane, but is not limited to this, and may be horizontal or any other direction. The number of arm axes is not limited, and they do not necessarily have to be set at equal intervals. It is preferable that each rotation distance is the same, but is not limited to this.

The suction setting means sets the orientation of the suction surface of the suction nozzle in the suction operating position so that it faces directly to the orientation of the suction surface of the transported object. If the angle of the suction surface is tilted from the outer circumferential surface of the revolution, the arm may be bent at an intermediate position between the base of the arm shaft and the suction nozzle, and only the tip of the suction nozzle may be tilted in advance so that the suction surface of the suction nozzle faces directly to the suction surface.

Of course, the arm supporting the suction nozzle can be rotated by a second servo motor to tilt the suction surface. By making it possible to change the revolution distance and rotation distance and allowing only the suction surface of the suction nozzle to be tilted, it becomes possible to easily accommodate different pickup positions and pickup angles for the transported object, resulting in a highly versatile circulating transport machine.

The interlocking control means interlocks the rotational drive of the first servo motor, the rotational drive of the second servo motor, and suction by the suction nozzle. Specifically, the interlocking control means interlocks the first servo motor and the second servo motor to face the suction surface of the suction nozzle directly against the suctioned surface of the transported object at the suction operating position, and causes the suction nozzle to suction the transported object. In addition, the interlocking control means interlocks the first servo motor and the second servo motor to face the suction surface of the suction nozzle toward a discharge surface at the suction release position, such as a transport conveyor surface, to release the suction by the suction nozzle and discharge the transported object.

In addition, on the path from the suction operating position to the suction release position, the transported object can be tilted while still being suctioned to avoid collisions between the transported object and parts of the circulating transport machine. Furthermore, the transported object can be taken in at multiple intake positions, and the transported object can be distributed to multiple positions. Also, inspections can be performed mid-transport, with defective items rotated in one direction to be discarded, and non-defective items rotated in the opposite direction at the same location to be discharged.

According to the first invention, by simply changing the electronic cam settings and suction settings of the two servo motors using the interlocking control means, the circulating conveyor can be applied to a variety of production lines, providing an advantageous effect not found in conventional technology in that it can be made into a highly versatile circulating conveyor.

The second invention of the present invention is the orbital conveyor of the first invention, characterized in that the revolution means comprises a first connection means having a fixed disk and a movable disk, the rotation means comprises a second connection means having an air flow path in a rotatable joint, the fixed disk is fixed to a base that fixes a first servo motor, either the fixed disk or the movable disk has a plurality of annular grooves and a plurality of annular rails arranged concentrically, and the other has a communication tube that communicates with each of the annular grooves and a contact terminal that contacts and slides with each of the annular rails, the fixed disk and the movable disk are arranged to rotate while facing each other and in contact with each other, the first connection means supplies power to the second servo motor by contact between the annular rail and the contact terminal, air is communicated from the annular groove to the communication tube, and further, the second connection means communicates air from the communication tube to the air flow path, generating negative pressure in the suction nozzle.

The circulating conveyor of the second invention has a first connection means that is a pair of disks that slide facing each other, and a second connection means that rotatably connects two air flow paths. In the second invention, power is supplied to the second servo motor via the first connection means, and negative pressure generated by the negative pressure generator is transmitted to the suction nozzle through the first and second connection means.

Even if the rotary drive shaft of the first servo motor fixed to the base rotates the movable disk and revolves the arm, the air pressure in the communicating tube and the annular groove is the same because the communicating tube is connected to one of the positions in the annular groove, and negative pressure is transmitted to the revolving arm. In addition, since the air flow path is connected to the communicating tube by the second connection means that rotatably connects them, even if the second servo motor rotates the suction nozzle, the air flow path is not twisted and negative pressure from the negative pressure generator is transmitted to the suction nozzle.

The second invention has the effect that the negative pressure generated by the suction means is smoothly transmitted to the suction nozzle, regardless of the rotational angular velocity and rotational direction of the revolution and rotation.

The third invention of the present invention is a revolving conveyor according to the first or second invention, characterized in that, at each of the suction operating position and the suction releasing position, the interlocking control means causes the rotation direction of the rotation means to be opposite to the rotation direction of the revolution means, and controls the passing speed of the suction nozzle to be slow at the suction operating position and the suction releasing position.

According to the third invention, the revolution of the arm by the revolution means and the rotation of the suction nozzle around the arm axis are in opposite directions, so the revolution speed of the suction nozzle by the arm is slowed down by the rotation speed of the suction nozzle, and the passing speed of the suction nozzle can be reduced at the suction activation position and the suction release position.

At the suction operating position, the passing speed can be set according to the material and shape of the transported object so that suction errors do not occur. At the suction release position, the passing speed can be set according to the transport mode of the downstream transport machine; specifically, in the case of an intermittent conveyor or an accumulating conveyor, the machine is stopped, and in the case of a continuous conveyor, the passing speed can be adjusted to match the movement speed of the continuous conveyor.

The third invention has the advantageous effect of making it difficult for suction errors to occur at the suction operating position, and making it difficult for the discharge position to shift at the suction release position. It can also be applied to objects that are easily deformed, such as food trays, and can also be applied to an accumulation conveyor for PTP sheets and the like that are accumulated at the discharge position, thereby increasing the versatility of the circular conveyor.

The fourth invention of the present invention is a revolving conveyor according to the first or second invention, further comprising an appearance inspection means, the appearance inspection means being disposed between the suction operating position and the suction release position, and the interlocking control means interlockingly controls the revolution means and the rotation means at a defective product disposal position downstream of the appearance inspection means to make the rotation and the revolution in the same direction and to release the suction by the suction nozzle, thereby disposing of the conveyed product determined to be defective by the appearance inspection means.

When the transported object is a good product, it is preferable to rotate the suction nozzle in the opposite direction to the revolution direction, as this will slow down the discharge speed. However, in order to separate good products from bad products and discard the bad products at the same revolution position, it is preferable to switch the direction of rotation when discharging good products.

The interlocking control means controls the second servo motor, which constitutes the rotation means, to switch the direction of rotation in accordance with the results of the visual inspection. According to the fourth invention, the effect of sorting out non-defective products and defective products is achieved by controlling the direction of rotation of the second servo motor in accordance with the results of the visual inspection.

The fifth aspect of the present invention is the circular conveyor of the third aspect, further comprising a conveyor downstream, the discharge feed speed being the speed at which the conveyed object is sent along the conveyor after the suction nozzle releases its suction, and the interlocking control means interlocks the revolution means and the rotation means at the suction release position to make the discharge feed speed equal to the conveying speed of the conveyor.

Here, "along the conveyor" refers to the horizontal direction when the conveyor conveys horizontally, and to the inclination direction of the conveyor when the conveyor conveys obliquely. When the conveyor's conveying surface conveys continuously horizontally toward the downstream, the speed of the rotational revolution by the second servo motor and the speed of the revolutional revolution by the first servo motor are changed at the discharge position of the conveyed object, and the difference between the speed of the rotational revolution and the speed of the revolutional revolution is set as the moving speed of the conveying surface of the conveyor.

According to the fifth invention, even if the downstream conveyor is a continuous conveyor, the objects can be discharged without disrupting the intervals at which they are discharged. This has the effect of allowing the objects to be sent out at more even intervals.

The sixth aspect of the present invention is the circular conveyor of the fourth aspect, further comprising a conveyor downstream, the discharge and sending speed being the speed at which the conveyed object is sent along the conveyor after the suction nozzle releases its suction, and the interlocking control means interlocks the revolution means and the rotation means at the suction release position to make the discharge and sending speed equal to the conveying speed of the conveyor.

The seventh aspect of the present invention is the circular conveyor of the third aspect, further comprising an accumulation conveyor downstream, and the interlocking control means interlocks the revolution means and the rotation means at the suction release position to stop the discharge feed of the suction surface, and accumulates the conveyed object that has been released from suction and discharged on top of the pile that was previously stacked on the accumulation conveyor.

The position of the accumulation surface of the accumulation conveyor is fixed in advance, and the accumulation is conveyed after a predetermined number of transported objects have been accumulated on the accumulation surface. Here, "stopping the discharge/sending of the suction surface" means that the speed due to the rotation is made to match the speed due to the revolution, and the transported objects are discharged with the suction surface stopped. The adsorbed transported objects are stacked on top of the previously stacked accumulation to form a predetermined number of accumulations, and then the accumulation is sent out.

According to the seventh invention, the objects transported by each of the multiple suction nozzles can be accumulated at a predetermined accumulation position and then transported downstream. This has the effect of making it possible to discharge the objects downstream as a single accumulation even if the objects are manufactured on multiple production lines and taken into a circular transport machine, eliminating the need for a separate accumulation transport machine on the downstream side.

The eighth aspect of the present invention is the orbital conveyor of the fourth aspect, further comprising an accumulation conveyor downstream, and the interlocking control means interlocks the revolution means and the rotation means at the suction release position to stop the discharge feed of the suction surface, and accumulates the transported object that has been released from suction and discharged on top of the pile that was previously stacked on the accumulation conveyor.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by simply changing the electronic cam settings and suction settings of the two servo motors using the interlocking control means, the circulating conveyor can be applied to a variety of production lines, providing an advantageous effect not available in the prior art of being able to make the circulating conveyor highly versatile.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the negative pressure generated by the suction means is smoothly transmitted to the suction nozzle, regardless of the rotational angular velocity and rotational direction of the revolution and rotation.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is an advantageous effect that suction errors are unlikely to occur at the suction operating position, and the discharge position is unlikely to shift at the suction release position.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that non-defective products can be separated from defective products by controlling the rotation direction of the second servo motor in accordance with the result of the appearance inspection.
According to the fifth or sixth aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the transported objects can be sent out at more even intervals.
- According to the seventh or eighth invention of the present invention, even if the transported objects are manufactured on multiple production lines and taken into a circulating conveyor, they can be discharged downstream as a single stack, which has the effect of eliminating the need for a separate stacking conveyor downstream.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a circulating conveyor (first embodiment). FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the main configuration of a circulating conveyor (first embodiment). FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an interlocking control means (first embodiment). FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of interlocking control of each position (first embodiment). FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of interlocking control settings (first embodiment). FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of interlocking control settings (first embodiment). FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of interlocking control settings (first embodiment). FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a stacking conveyor (embodiment 2); FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of transport of two articles (third embodiment).

The circulating conveyor of the present invention is a circulating conveyor in which a first servo motor and a second servo motor are each controlled by an electronic cam, multiple arm shafts are revolved in one direction around the revolution axis by the first servo motor, and suction nozzles are rotated around each arm shaft in any direction by the second servo motor. This makes it possible to take in objects that have been conveyed in a specified position, perform visual inspections during the circulating conveyor, and not only separate good and bad items, but also discharge items according to the needs of downstream conveyors, such as intermittent conveyors and accumulated conveyors.

The circulating conveyor 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7. Fig. 1 shows the structure of the circulating conveyor 1. Fig. 1(A) shows a front view, Fig. 1(B) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in Fig. 1(A), and Fig. 1(C) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in Fig. 1(A). To facilitate understanding, the diagonal lines indicating the cross sections only show a part of the cross section. The imaging means constituting the visual inspection means may be positioned at any position, but an example in which it is positioned horizontally is shown by a solid line, and an example in which it is positioned upward is shown by a thick dashed line (see Fig. 1(A)). Fig. 2 shows the main configuration of the circulating conveyor 1, Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of the interlocking control means, Fig. 4 shows the interlocking state of each position, and Figs. 5 to 7 show the settings of the electronic cam.

The circulating conveyor 1 rotates suction nozzles 11 attached to the tips of four arms 10. The circulating conveyor 1 has a first position (shown as (1) in Fig. 1(A) and Figs. 5 to 7, the same below) as a suction operating position for suctioning the conveyed object 20, a second position (2) for visually inspecting the conveyed object 20, a third position (3) as a suction release position for discarding defective items 21, and a fourth position (4) as a suction release position for discharging non-defective items 22 onto the conveyor. The circulating conveyor 1 is equipped with a first servo motor 30 (see Fig. 1(C)) constituting a revolution means and four second servo motors 40 constituting a rotation means.

The first servo motor 30 is fixed to the bottom plate of a base 31 having an L-shaped cross section (see FIG. 1C), and its rotary drive shaft penetrates a wall plate 32, with the rotary drive shaft 33 serving as an orbital axis 34. A fixed disk 36 forming a first connection means 35 is fixedly provided on the side of the wall plate that rotates around the arm portion 10. The tip of the rotary drive shaft 33 penetrates the wall plate 32 and the fixed disk 36 and is connected to a movable disk 37 that rotates around the orbital axis 34. The movable disk 37 rotates around the orbital axis 34 while sliding against the fixed disk 36.

The fixed disk 36 has an annular groove 38 and an annular rail 39 formed concentrically around the revolution axis 34 on the contact surface side with the movable disk 37. The movable disk 37 is provided with a communication pipe 41 that contacts the annular groove 38 to communicate air, and a contact terminal 42 that contacts the annular rail 39 to supply power to the second servo motor 40. The annular groove 38, the communication pipe 41, the annular rail 39, and the contact terminal 42 are provided in a number corresponding to the number of rotation means.

A cross-shaped arm shaft support plate 43 is fixed to the tip of the rotary drive shaft 33 of the first servo motor. The arm shaft support plate 43 serves as a support for the arms 10, and is rotated about the intersection center of the cross by the rotary drive of the first servo motor 30. A second servo motor 40 is fixed to the arm shaft support plate 43 on the outside of each cross. The rotary shaft 44 of each second servo motor passes through a through hole provided in the arm shaft support plate 43. The position where the arm 10, which has a suction nozzle attached to its tip, is supported is the arm shaft 13.

Engaged gears are attached to the support base of the arm 10 and to the tip of the rotating shaft 44 of the second servo motor 40, and the arm 10 to which each suction nozzle 11 is attached is rotated around the arm shaft 13 by the rotational drive of the rotating shaft 44 of the second servo motor, while the arm 10 is rotated around the revolution axis 34 by the rotational drive shaft 33 of the first servo motor 30.

In other words, each arm 10 rotates around the arm axis 13 while revolving around the revolution axis 34. The distance from the revolution axis 34 to the arm axis 13 is the revolution radius (α: see FIG. 1(C)), and the distance from the arm axis 13 to the suction nozzle 11 is the rotation radius (β: see FIG. 1(C)).

The arm 10 is a hollow shaft, the tip of which is fitted with a suction nozzle 11, and the base of the hollow shaft is connected to a second connection means 45 which has an air flow path in a rotatable joint. The air flow path from the second connection means 45 to the movable disk 37 is connected to a communication tube 41 of the movable disk, which opens into the annular groove 38 of the corresponding fixed disk, allowing air at negative pressure to flow.

In the circulating conveyor 1 of the first embodiment, the fixed disk has an annular groove 38 and the movable disk has a connecting pipe 41. However, it is of course possible to provide the connecting pipe 41 on the fixed disk and the annular groove 38 on the movable disk and circulate negative pressure air. Similarly, the annular rail 39 and the contact terminal 42 may be provided on one side of the fixed disk 35 and the other on the movable disk 37.

In the negative pressure generating device 50, which constitutes the suction means, the air pressure is controlled by the interlocking control means 500 (see FIG. 3) so that negative pressure is generated in each suction nozzle 11 at the required timing. The negative pressure generated by the negative pressure generating device 50 is transmitted in sequence to the annular groove 38 of the fixed disk, the communicating tube 41 of the movable disk, the air flow path in the second connecting means 45, the hollow shaft of the arm 10, and the suction nozzle 11, and the transported object 20 is sucked by the suction nozzle 11. In addition, the negative pressure is released in the negative pressure generating device 50 at the appropriate timing, and the transported object 20 is discarded or discharged from the suction nozzle 11.

Air is allowed to flow by contact between the annular groove 38 of the fixed disk and the communication tube 41 of the movable disk, so even when the rotary drive shaft 33 is rotated by the first servo motor 30 and the arm 10 revolves, negative pressure air can flow from the communication tube 41 to the suction nozzle 11 via the air flow path of the second connection means 45.

In addition, because negatively pressurized air is circulated to the suction nozzle 11 via the rotatable joint formed by the second connection means 45, the air flow path does not twist even when the arm 10 rotates forward and backward, and the negative pressure generated by the negative pressure generator 50 is transmitted to the suction nozzle 11. In addition, the power supply to the second servo motor 40 is maintained regardless of the rotation of the arm shaft support plate 43 due to the contact between the annular rail 39 of the fixed disk and the contact terminal 42 of the movable disk.

The revolution direction of the arm 10 is not limited, but can be one-way, and in the circulating conveyor 1, the arm shaft support plate 43 is rotated clockwise (see the dashed line in Figure 1). The rotation direction of the arm 10 is not limited, and the rotation can be controlled to move forward or backward relative to the revolution direction.

The circulating conveyor 1 comprises a revolution means 100, a rotation means 200, a suction means 300, an appearance inspection means 400, and an interlocking control means 500 that interlocks the operations of these means (see FIG. 2). The revolution means 100 comprises a first servo motor 30 fixed to a base 31, an arm shaft support plate 43, and a first connection means 35 consisting of a fixed disk 36 and a movable disk 37. The rotation means 200 comprises a second servo motor 40 fixed to the arm shaft support plate 43, an arm 10, a suction nozzle 11, and a second connection means 45 equipped with a rotatable joint that allows air to flow.

The suction means 300 is composed of a suction nozzle 11, a suction setting means 60, and a negative pressure generating device 50. The suction setting means 60 makes the suction surface of the suction nozzle 11 face the surface to be suctioned of the transported object 20. The interlocking control means 500 that controls the rotational drive of the first servo motor 30 and the second servo motor 40 may function as the suction setting means 60, which faces the suction surface and the surface to be suctioned on the path of the rotation of the arm 10. In addition, the tip position of the arm 10 may be made into a tiltable arm structure, and the arm structure may be included in the suction setting means 60.

The appearance inspection means 400 is composed of an imaging means 401 and an appearance judgment means 402. The camera constituting the imaging means 401 is caused to capture an image of a surface of the transported object 20 other than the surface to be attracted, and the appearance judgment means 402 judges the quality of the transported object. The surface other than the surface to be attracted is not limited to the reverse side of the surface to be attracted. For example, when the transported object is a PTP sheet, the flat surface of the PTP sheet may be used as the surface to be attracted, and the color, shape, etc. of the tablet protrusions may be photographed from the side to judge the quality.

The interlocking control means 500 may be a production PC, programmable logic controller (hereinafter referred to as PLC), etc. that controls the operation of the circulating conveyor. The production PC or PLC, etc., is composed of a control means 510 consisting of a central processing means, and a storage means 520 consisting of a memory, HDD, etc. (see Figure 3).

The control means controls the operation of the first servo motor 30, the second servo motor 40, and the negative pressure generator 50 on the path from (1) to (4), and controls the rotation direction, rotation speed, and negative pressure state of the suction nozzle 11. The memory means 520 pre-stores the operation processing rules for the first servo motor 30, the second servo motor 40, and the suction nozzle 11 on the path from (1) to (4).

The control means 510, which constitutes the interlocking control means, is composed of a revolution position setting means 511, a first electronic cam angular velocity setting means 512, a second electronic cam angular velocity setting means 513, an adsorption state setting means 514, and an appearance determination means 402. The revolution position setting means 511 sets a revolution position at which the arm 10 and the adsorption nozzle 11 perform a predetermined operation. In the first embodiment, the arm 10 is at the tip of the cross shape, so positions (1) to (4) are set based on four revolution positions in the revolution path, but if one revolution is divided into three equal parts, three revolution positions are sufficient. It goes without saying that the intermediate positions between (1) to (4) may be set as the revolution position.

The first electronic cam angular velocity setting means 512 sets the angular velocity of the first servo motor 30, and the second electronic cam angular velocity setting means 513 sets the angular velocity of the second servo motor 40. The suction state setting means 514 sets whether or not the negative pressure of the suction nozzle 11 is enabled and the transported object 20 is in a state of being suctioned at the revolution positions (1) to (4) set by the revolution position setting means. The appearance determination means 402 determines whether or not the object 20 is of good quality based on the appearance of the photographed object 20.

The memory means 520, which constitutes the interlocking control means, functions as the revolution position memory means 521 and stores the revolution position set by the revolution position setting means, such as (1) to (4). The first electronic cam angular velocity memory means 522 stores the angular velocity of the first servo motor 30 set by the first electronic cam angular velocity setting means 512 at the set revolution position. The second electronic cam angular velocity memory means 523 stores the rotation direction and angular velocity of the second servo motor 40 set by the second electronic cam angular velocity setting means 513 at the set revolution position. The suction state memory means 524 stores the negative pressure state of the suction nozzle at the set revolution position. The judgment condition memory means 525 stores the criteria for judging the quality of the transported object 20 based on the appearance of the transported object 20 captured by the imaging means 401.

The operation process of the circulating conveyor 1, the revolution direction, the rotation direction, and the negative pressure state in (1) to (4) will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 4. In (1), the circulating conveyor 1 picks up the conveyed object 20 with the suction nozzle 11, in (2), the image capturing means 401 captures the appearance of the conveyed object 20, and between (2) and (3), the appearance of the conveyed object 20 is compared with the judgment conditions stored in the judgment condition storage means, and the appearance judgment means 402 judges the conveyed object 20 as good or bad. In (3), the defective object 21 is discarded, and in (4), the good object 22 is discharged onto the continuous transport conveyor 70 (see FIG. 1(A)).

The first servo motor 30 rotates in one direction at the same angular velocity in all positions (1) to (4), and the arm shaft 13 supported by the arm shaft support plate 43 revolves clockwise (see dashed arrow in FIG. 1(A)). The second servo motor rotates the arm shaft 13 on its axis in each of positions (1) to (4) to suit pickup, photography, disposal, and discharge (see dashed arrow in FIG. 1(A)). The suction nozzle 11 is put under negative pressure in (1), the negative pressure continues in (2), the negative pressure is released in the case of a defective product in (3), the negative pressure continues in the case of a good product, and the negative pressure is released for both good and defective products in (4).

Now, referring to Figures 5 to 7, the interlocking control state of the first servo motor 30, the second servo motor 40, and the negative pressure generator 50 will be described in detail. In Figures 5 to 7, row (A) shows the angular velocity of the first servo motor 30, row (B) shows the angular velocity of the second servo motor 40, and row (C) shows the negative pressure state of the suction nozzle 11 by the negative pressure generator 50. Figure 5 shows the interlocking state from when the transported object is suctioned by the suction nozzle to when it is imaged, Figure 6 shows the interlocking state from when it is imaged to when the defective product is discarded, and Figure 7 shows the interlocking state from when it is imaged to when the non-defective product is discharged.

First, since the arm 10 revolves clockwise at a constant speed, the angular velocity of the first servo motor 30 is constant K (rad/min: hereafter, units are omitted) from (1) through (4) to returning to (1). In (1), the speed of the arm 10's clockwise movement due to revolution is slowed down so that the suction surface of the suction nozzle 11 can be directly opposed to the suction surface of the transported object 20 and adsorbed. The arm 10 is rotated slightly clockwise in advance before reaching (1), and the rotation drive of the second servo motor 40 is controlled so that the arm 10 rotates counterclockwise when passing through (1). If the angular velocity due to the rotation of the arm 10 in (1) is -a = K x (α/β), the angular velocity due to the rotation cancels out the angular velocity due to the revolution, and the transported object 20 can be adsorbed to the suction nozzle 11 in a directly opposed state.

The angular velocity of the rotation orbit by the second servo motor 40 from (1) to (2) can be set arbitrarily so that both the angular velocity and the orbit direction change smoothly so that the transported object 20 does not interfere with other objects and the rotational movement is not excessive (see dashed line from a to b). In (2), depending on the state when the arm 10 arrives at (2), the arm 10 is rotated counterclockwise at an angular velocity so that the transported object 20 faces the lens of the imaging means 401 directly (see Figure 5 (B)).

If the arm 10 is already in a state where it crosses sideways relative to the arm shaft support plate 43 in (2) (see the arm in (2) solid line), -bs0 should be an angular velocity close to 0. On the other hand, if the arm is already in a state where it is adsorbing the transported object in (1) in (2) (see the arm in (2) dashed line), it should rotate at an angular velocity of -bs1 that faces the lens directly when passing in front of the lens (see Figure 5 (B)).

Since the image is captured instantaneously, the transported object 20 only needs to pass directly facing the camera, and the rotation direction may be either clockwise or counterclockwise. For example, if the camera is located above the central axis of revolution (Fig. 1(A)), it may be rotated in the same direction as the revolution direction (see Fig. 7(B) bu). However, in order to slow down the passing speed during image capture without excessively increasing the rotation speed, it is preferable to rotate the transported object 20 counterclockwise after it has passed the camera in advance (see dashed line in Fig. 5(B)).

Between (2) and (3), the product is judged to be good or bad. If the transported object 20 is judged to be a bad product 21, the second servo motor 40 is driven to rotate the arm 10 clockwise, the same as the revolution direction, and the bad product is rotated at an arbitrary angular velocity d at (3) (see line (B) of FIG. 6), the suction is released (see line (C) of FIG. 6), and the bad product 21 is discarded (see FIG. (A)). If the transported object 20 is judged to be good, the arm 10 is rotated counterclockwise in the opposite direction to the revolution direction, and passes through (3) while still suctioning the transported object 20 (see FIG. 4).

At (4), the negative pressure is released and the non-defective products 22 are discharged (see FIG. 1(A)). To match the moving speed of the non-defective products with the moving speed of the continuous transport conveyor 70, the moving speed at the angular velocity p of left rotation due to rotation around its axis is made greater than the moving speed at the angular velocity K of right rotation due to revolution (see line (B) of FIG. 7). In other words, the moving speed at "(angular velocity of left rotation: p) - (angular velocity of right rotation: K)" should match the "moving speed of the continuous transport conveyor". By doing so, the continuous transport conveyor 70 can discharge the transported objects 20 at a predetermined interval at (4).

If the transported object 20 is a defective product 21, the defective product has already been discarded in (3), and the arm 10 may be in the same mode as the arm 10 that circulated the transported object of a non-defective product 22 before returning to (1). The arm 10 that discharged the non-defective product in (4) may be rotated slightly to the right before returning to (1), and the rotation of the second servo motor 40 may be controlled to rotate counterclockwise when passing through (1) (see dashed line in FIG. 7(B)).

In the second embodiment, the circulating conveyor 2 used as the accumulation conveyor 80 will be described with reference to FIG. 8. The structure of the circulating conveyor 2 and the interlocking mechanism of the interlocking control means 500 are the same as those of the circulating conveyor 1 in the first embodiment, so the structure and mechanism of the circulating conveyor 2 are the same as those of the first embodiment, and detailed explanations will be omitted. Only the aspect of the accumulation conveyor 80 in which the packet sheets 23 are accumulated will be briefly described.

Figure 8 (A) is an explanatory diagram of an accumulation and conveyance machine 80 that takes in packing sheets 23, 23 manufactured at different upstream locations from the left (1) and above (2) in Figure 8 with suction nozzles 11, 11, visually inspects them between (2) and (3), discards defective products at (3), and accumulates and conveys non-defective products at (4). Figure 8 (B) is an explanatory diagram of how defective products are discarded and then non-defective products are accumulated, and Figure 8 (C) is an explanatory diagram of the state in which the accumulated stack 24 is pushed to the side.

In (1) and (2), the arm supported by the arm shaft support plate 43 is rotated clockwise by the first servo motor. In (1) and (2), the arm is rotated counterclockwise by the second servo motor to face the suction nozzle 11 directly against the packaging sheet 23 to pick it up and take it in. In (3), the arm that has picked up the defective product is rotated clockwise, and the arm that has picked up the good product is rotated counterclockwise. In (4), the speed of the rotation cancels out the speed of the revolution, and the horizontal movement of the arm 10 is stopped. In this state, the newly transported packaging sheet 23 is stacked on top of the stack 24 of the previously discharged packaging sheet (see FIG. 8B).

After (2), to select defective products by visual inspection and then discard the defective products, the second servo motor 40 rotates the arm 10 in the same direction as the revolution direction of the first servo motor 30, and the defective packaging sheet 23 is discarded in a disposal location in (3). After the defective products are discarded, the rotation direction of the second servo motor 40 is reversed to avoid interference with the disposal location (see FIG. 8(B)).

After a predetermined number of good packaging sheets 23 are accumulated in the accumulation position to form an accumulation 24, the accumulation placement table 25 is slid downward and pushed onto the accumulation transport rail 26 by the push rod 27, and the accumulation 24 is transported downstream (see Figure 8 (C)).

In the third embodiment, the circulating conveyor 3 that places contents in a container and conveys them intermittently will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 9. The circulating conveyor 3 is a circulating conveyor that adjoins the container by suctioning the contents to a suction nozzle at (1), and then suctions the container at an adjacent nozzle at (2), and rotates the contents and container together in one revolution at (4), placing the contents in the container.

The circular conveyor 3 functions as a circular conveyor that conveys two different types of objects as conveyed objects, stacking the contents 28 conveyed later on top of the container 27 that was conveyed earlier. The contents 28 are taken in from the upstream (1), and the container 27 is taken in from the downstream (2), and they are conveyed alternately. Since the contents 28 and the container 27 are conveyed alternately, the contents 28 remain attached to the upstream arm 10 when the container 27 is placed on the intermittent conveyor 71.

With the intermittent transport conveyor 71 stopped, the speed of rotation is controlled to cancel the speed of revolution of the container 27, and the container 27 is placed on the intermittent transport conveyor 71. After the container 27 is placed, the arm shaft support plate 43 rotates a quarter of a revolution, and the rotation and revolution are controlled in the same way as when the container 27 was placed, and the contents 28 are placed in the container 27. Then the intermittent transport conveyor 71 is moved horizontally.

Furthermore, when the arm shaft support plate 43 has made a quarter revolution, the container 27 is adsorbed to the downstream side of the suction nozzle 11 at the end of two consecutive arms 10 where neither the container 27 nor the contents 28 are adsorbed to the suction nozzle 11, and the contents 28 are adsorbed and transported in a circular motion. The container 27 and the contents 28 are then similarly transported.

(others)
The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and should not be considered restrictive. The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above description but is indicated by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.
In the first embodiment, the interlocking control of the first servo motor and the second servo motor is explained using angular velocity for ease of understanding. However, it goes without saying that the interlocking control may also be performed using angular acceleration.
In the first embodiment, an example of a conveying machine having one rotating orbital surface on the revolution shaft is shown, however, it is of course possible to provide multiple rotating orbital surfaces on the revolution shaft, and to make it a revolving conveying machine that simultaneously adsorbs and conveys multiple conveyed objects.
In the first embodiment, when the conveying direction of the continuous transport conveyor is set to the left, the speed due to the revolution is greater than the speed due to the rotation, and when the conveying direction is set to the right, the speed due to the revolution is smaller than the speed due to the rotation.

1, 2, 3...Circulating conveyor,
10: arm; 11: suction nozzle; 13: arm shaft;
20 ... object to be conveyed, 21 ... defective product, 22 ... good product, 23 ... package sheet,
24 ... stack, 25 ... stack placement table, 26 ... stack transport rail, 27 ... push rod,
27 ... container, 28 ... contents,
30: first servo motor; 31: base; 32: wall plate; 33: rotation drive shaft;
34... revolution shaft, 35... first connection means, 36... fixed disk, 37... movable disk,
38... annular groove, 39... annular rail,
40: second servo motor; 41: communication pipe; 42: contact terminal;
43: Arm shaft support plate; 44: Rotating shaft; 45: Second connecting means;
50: negative pressure generating device, 60: suction setting means, 70: continuous transport conveyor,
71: Intermittent conveyor; 80: Accumulation conveyor;
100... revolution means, 200... rotation means, 300... suction means,
400: appearance inspection means, 401: imaging means, 402: appearance determination means,
500: Interlocking control means, 510: Control means, 520: Storage means,
511... revolution position setting means, 512... first electronic cam angular velocity setting means,
513: second electronic cam angular velocity setting means; 514: attraction state setting means;
521... revolution position storage means, 522... first electronic cam angular velocity storage means,
523: second electronic cam angular velocity storage means, 524: adsorption state storage means,
525: Determination condition storage means

Claims (8)

In a circular conveyor that conveys a conveyed object by a plurality of suction nozzles,
The device includes an adsorption means, a revolution means, a plurality of rotation means, and an interlocking control means,
The interlocking control means includes a control means that functions as a revolution position setting means,
the suction means includes the suction setting means and the suction nozzle,
The revolution means includes a plurality of arm shafts and a first servo motor,
Each of the arm shafts is arranged around the revolution axis so as to be parallel to the revolution axis,
a first servo motor, which defines a distance from the revolution shaft to each of the arm shafts as an orbital distance, and causes each of the arm shafts to revolve around the revolution shaft in one direction;
each of the rotation means includes an arm intersecting with the arm axis, the suction nozzle provided at the tip of the arm, and a second servo motor;
a second servo motor, which rotates the suction nozzle in a forward and reverse direction relative to the revolution direction, with the distance from the arm shaft to the suction surface of the suction nozzle being a rotation distance;
the revolution position setting means sets revolution positions at which the arm portion and the suction nozzle perform predetermined operations;
the interlocking control means interlocks the revolution by the revolution means, the rotation by the rotation means, and the suction by the suction nozzle at the revolution position;
the suction setting means sets the orientation of the suction surface at the suction operating position to a state in which the suction surface is directly opposed to the orientation of the suction target surface of the transported object;
In the facing state, the suction nozzle is operated under negative pressure to suction the transported object,
While the suction nozzle is operated under negative pressure, the transported object is transported in a circular movement to a suction release position, and the suction of the suction nozzle is released at the suction release position.
A circulating conveyor characterized by the above. the revolving means includes a first connecting means having a fixed disk and a movable disk,
the rotation means comprises a second connection means having an air flow passage in the rotatable joint;
The fixed disk is fixed to a base that fixes a first servo motor,
A plurality of annular grooves and a plurality of annular rails are concentrically formed on either the fixed disk or the movable disk, and the other disk is provided with communication pipes that communicate with each of the annular grooves and contact terminals that slide in contact with each of the annular rails,
The fixed disk and the movable disk are arranged to rotate while facing each other and in contact with each other,
In the first connecting means, power is supplied to the second servo motor by contact between the annular rail and the contact terminal, and air is communicated from the annular groove to the communication pipe,
Furthermore, in the second connecting means, air is communicated from the communication pipe to the air flow path, generating a negative pressure in the suction nozzle.
2. The circulating conveyor according to claim 1. At each of the attraction operating position and the attraction releasing position,
The interlocking control means
The rotation direction of the rotation means is made to be opposite to the rotation direction of the revolution means,
a passing speed of the suction nozzle is controlled to be slow at the suction operating position and the suction releasing position;
3. The circulating conveyor according to claim 1 or 2. Further, a visual inspection means is included,
the appearance inspection means is disposed between the suction operating position and the suction releasing position,
at a defective product disposal position downstream of the visual inspection means, the interlocking control means controls the revolution means and the rotation means in an interlocking manner to make the rotation and the revolution in the same direction and release the suction by the suction nozzle, thereby disposing of the transported product determined to be a defective product by the visual inspection means.
3. The circulating conveyor according to claim 1 or 2. Furthermore, a conveyor is provided downstream,
a discharge/feed-out speed is a speed at which the transported object is sent along the transport conveyor after the suction nozzle is released from suction;
At the suction release position, the interlocking control means interlocks the revolution means and the rotation means to make the discharge/feeding speed coincide with the transport speed of the transport conveyor.
4. The circulating conveyor according to claim 3. Furthermore, a conveyor is provided downstream,
a discharge/feed-out speed is a speed at which the transported object is sent along the transport conveyor after the suction nozzle is released from suction;
At the suction release position, the interlocking control means interlocks the revolution means and the rotation means to make the discharge/feeding speed coincident with the transport speed of the transport conveyor.
5. The circulating conveyor according to claim 4. Furthermore, a stacking conveyor is provided downstream,
At the suction release position, the interlocking control means interlocks the revolution means and the rotation means to stop the discharge/sending of the suction surface, and stacks the transported object that has been released from suction and discharged onto the stack that was previously stacked on the stacking conveyor.
4. The circulating conveyor according to claim 3. Furthermore, a stacking conveyor is provided downstream,
At the suction release position, the interlocking control means interlocks the revolution means and the rotation means to stop the discharge/sending of the suction surface, and stacks the transported object that has been released from suction and discharged onto the stack that was previously stacked on the stacking conveyor.
5. The circulating conveyor according to claim 4.

Images