JP7843530B2 - Hand for storage device, storage device, and storage system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a hand for a storage device, a storage device, and a storage system for storing an open tray containing eggs in a transport container such as a cardboard box.

There are open trays that do not have lids and have an open top, which can be used as containers for holding eggs. Examples of open trays include molded trays, paper trays, and PET trays. Molded trays and paper trays are made from, for example, paper or pulp, while PET trays are made from, for example, plastic. These open trays are used for purposes such as commercial use, where a large number of eggs need to be held. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an open tray that can hold 32 eggs in a 4x8 grid.

Incidentally, when an open tray containing a large number of eggs is lifted from both ends, the tray will sag under the weight of the eggs. Therefore, automating the process of storing egg-filled open trays in transport containers such as cardboard boxes has been difficult, and it has generally been done manually.

In contrast, Patent Document 2 discloses a device that automates the transport of open trays containing eggs by separately lifting the eggs and the open tray and storing them in a transport container. Specifically, the head of the device has the same number of suction members as the number of eggs to be contained and a pair of gripping members. Each suction member suctions each egg, and the pair of gripping members grip both ends of the open tray. The head moves into the transport container while maintaining suction by the suction members and gripping by the gripping members. The gripping members release their grip on the open tray and place the open tray inside the transport container. Each suction member releases its suction on the eggs and places the eggs on the open tray placed inside the transport container.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-202948 International Publication No. 2019/004198

As described above, in the technology of Patent Document 2, the pair of gripping members move into the transport container while gripping both ends of the open tray, and then release the grip (i.e., widen the distance between the pair of gripping members) to place the open tray inside the transport container. Therefore, in order for the pair of gripping members to widen their distance sufficiently inside the transport container, the width of the transport container had to be considerably larger than the width of the open tray. As a result, there was a problem in that a gap was created between the transport container and the stored open tray.

Such gaps are undesirable as they hinder the stable transport of open trays. In particular, since eggs tend to be easily damaged, it is necessary to store open trays in transport containers with as little gap as possible.

The present invention aims to provide a technology that can reduce the gap between the open tray containing eggs and the inner wall of the transport container when the open tray is stored in the transport container, thereby suppressing damage to the eggs on the open tray.

The hand for the storage device of the present invention is
An egg adsorption unit that adsorbs multiple eggs contained in an open tray without a lid,
The tray has a lifting portion for lifting the open tray, and the lifting portion is a tray suction portion in which the egg adsorption portion is provided inside, and the tray suction portion lifts a part of the upper surface of the open tray (preferably a part or all of the peripheral upper surface portion, excluding the egg placement portion) by suction.

The tray suction portion may or may not be in contact with the upper surface of the open tray, either in part or in whole.

With the above configuration, since the eggs are adsorbed by the egg adsorption unit, the object to be suctioned by the tray suction unit can be reduced by the weight of the eggs. Therefore, the tray suction unit can lift the open tray with a relatively small suction force. In this way, the egg adsorption unit adsorbs the eggs contained in the open tray, and the tray suction unit adsorbs the open tray, allowing the eggs and the open tray to be stored in the transport container. As a result, when the open tray containing eggs is stored in the transport container, the gap between the open tray and the inner wall of the transport container can be made smaller than in conventional methods, and damage to the eggs on the open tray can be suppressed.

Furthermore, eggs held by the egg-holding mechanism may float (i.e., be separated from) the open tray. The distance between the floating eggs and the top surface of the open tray can also be relatively small. This helps to minimize egg damage even if the eggs fall from the egg-holding mechanism.

The tray suction portion may be located in a position that does not interfere with the egg adsorption portion, and in a view of the tray suction portion in the lifting direction, it may not protrude beyond the outer edge of the open tray, and may have a hook portion that hooks onto the end of the notch to grip the open tray.

The aforementioned hook portion, when viewed in the lifting direction, does not protrude beyond the outer edge of the open tray.
It is inserted and positioned within the opening area of the notch provided on the outer circumference of the open tray, and is moved toward the center of the tray or perpendicular to the center of the tray to hook into place, and returns to its home position (opens) when opened.
You may perform the following action.
The hook portion may have legs including claws, and the open tray may be gripped by hooking these legs toward the center of the tray into the notch portion.
The hook portion has a pair of legs, including claws, facing each other back to back, and the legs may be spread out in a direction perpendicular to the center of the tray within the notch portion to hook onto the hook.

With the above configuration, the open tray is attracted to the tray suction section and also gripped by the hook section. This allows the open tray to be stored more securely inside the transport container.

The tray suction portion may have a hole-closing portion that closes at least a part of the notch provided on the outer circumference of the open tray.

With the above configuration, at least a portion of the notches provided on the outer circumference of the open tray (generally, notches for inserting fingers so that a person can hold the open tray by hand) is blocked by the hole-blocking portion. This makes the suction of the open tray by the tray suction portion more stable.

The tray suction portion may have an outer edge that follows the outer shape of the open tray.

The tray suction portion may have an outer edge that follows the contour of the rectangular open tray.

The above configuration makes it possible to suppress the formation of gaps between the tray suction unit and the open tray. This allows for more stable suction of the open tray by the tray suction unit.

The aforementioned holding portion has a pressure sensor that detects the pressure in the space formed by the tray suction portion and the open tray.
A first attachment/detachment mechanism that performs the suction and detachment of the open tray by the tray suction unit,
The system may further include a control unit that controls the first detachment mechanism so as to detach the open tray into the transport container when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor is below a predetermined value.

According to the above configuration, the pressure in the space formed by the tray suction section and the open tray is
When the pressure sensor detects that the detected pressure is below a predetermined value, it is determined that sufficient suction has been performed by the tray suction unit (i.e., the open tray has been adsorbed onto the tray suction unit), and the control unit controls the first detachment mechanism to release the open tray into the transport container. This ensures that the suction of the open tray by the tray suction unit is reliably performed.

The first attachment/detachment mechanism may further perform the adsorption and detachment of eggs by the egg adsorption part.

With the above configuration, the suction and removal of eggs by the egg adsorption unit and the suction and removal of the open tray by the tray suction unit can be achieved with a single attachment/detachment mechanism. This reduces the cost of the storage device hand compared to a case where the storage device hand has multiple attachment/detachment mechanisms.

The storage device hand may further include a second attachment/detachment mechanism that performs the attachment and detachment of eggs by the egg adsorption part.

According to the above configuration, the first attachment/detachment mechanism performs the suction and detachment of the open tray by the tray suction unit, and the second attachment/detachment mechanism performs the suction and detachment of the eggs by the egg suction unit. This makes it possible to individually control the suction and detachment of the open tray and the suction and detachment of the eggs, thereby making the transfer of eggs and open trays more stable.

The hand for the storage device of the present invention is
An egg adsorption unit that adsorbs multiple eggs contained in an open tray without a lid,
It has a lifting part that lifts the open tray,
The aforementioned gripping portion is a pair of gripping members that grip both sides of the open tray, and when the open tray is placed in the transport container and then removed, its length in the width direction is longer than the length of the open tray in the width direction and shorter than the length of the inner wall of the transport container in the width direction.
It has the pair of gripping members mentioned above.

According to the above configuration, the egg adsorption part adsorbs the eggs contained in the open tray, and the lifting part lifts the open tray. Furthermore, when the lifting part detaches the open tray after it has been placed in the transport container, the width of the lifting part is longer than the width of the open tray, and shorter than the width of the transport container. Therefore, even if the difference between the width of the transport container and the width of the open tray is relatively small, the lifting part can detach the open tray without damaging the transport container, and the open tray can be placed in the transport container. In other words, when the open tray is stored in the transport container,
The gap between the open tray and the inner wall of the transport container can be made smaller than before, which helps to prevent damage to eggs on the open tray.

The aforementioned support part is,
The hand body connected to the storage device,
A first actuator is installed on the hand body and is capable of rotating the pair of gripping members with an axis of rotation parallel to the depth direction of the hand body and perpendicular to the width direction of the hand body as the axis of rotation,
It is acceptable to have it.

According to the above configuration, each of the pair of gripping members rotates toward the inside of the hand body with an axis of rotation parallel to the depth direction which is perpendicular to the width direction of the hand body, thereby contacting the open tray and enabling gripping of both sides of the open tray.

The aforementioned support part is,
The hand body connected to the storage device,
The hand body may also have a second actuator installed thereon, which is capable of expanding or contracting the distance between the pair of gripping members in the width direction of the hand body.

The egg adsorption section may have an equal number of adsorption members for adsorbing one egg, as equal to the number of eggs that can be accommodated in the open tray.
The aforementioned suction member may be a bellows-shaped suction pad.

With the above configuration, one egg is attracted by one adsorption member. This makes the transfer of eggs more stable.

The storage device of the present invention is
A robotic arm and
The system comprises a hand for the storage device provided at the tip of the robot arm.

The robot arm may consist of a vertical articulated robot and a horizontal articulated robot.

The storage system of the present invention is
The above-mentioned storage device,
A first loading unit for loading empty transport containers into the storage device,
A second loading section for loading the open tray containing the eggs into the storage device,
It has an unloading section for unloading the transport container in which the open tray containing the eggs is stored.

When the open tray containing the eggs is placed in the transport container, the gap between the open tray and the inner wall of the transport container can be made smaller than before, thereby suppressing damage to the eggs on the open tray.

This is a schematic diagram showing a storage system, which is one embodiment of the system. This is a schematic diagram showing a hand for a storage device of the first embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing the back side of the storage device hand of the first embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing an example of an open tray. This flowchart shows the suction and detachment operations of an open tray containing eggs. This is a schematic diagram showing the hook portion of the storage device hand of the second embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the hook and the open tray when viewed in the -z direction. This is a schematic diagram showing the hook portion of the storage device hand of the second embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing the state in which the egg adsorption part of the storage device hand of the third embodiment has adsorbed an egg (not shown). This is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a pair of gripping members grip an open tray in a storage device hand of the third embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing the extended state of the cylinder of the second actuator in the hand for the storage device of the third embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing the state in which the cylinder of the first actuator is retracted in the hand for the storage device of the third embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing a hole-blocking portion included in the tray suction section of a storage device hand according to another embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing the outer edge portion of a hand for a storage device according to another embodiment, which follows the outer shape of the open tray.

(Overview of the storage system)
An overview of a storage system, which is one embodiment of the present invention, will be described with reference to Figure 1.
This is a schematic diagram showing a storage system according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the storage system 1 includes a storage device 11, a first loading section 13, an intermediate conveyor 15, a second loading section 17, a first conveyor 19, an unloading section 21, a second conveyor 23, and a third conveyor 25.
The storage system 1 is controlled by a main control unit 10 provided in a management system that comprehensively manages the storage system 1. The storage system 1 may also be controlled by individually provided control units. The main control unit 10 and the individual control units may be implemented, for example, by a dedicated circuit, firmware, or a combination of hardware such as a processor and memory and a program that defines the control procedure.

The storage device 11 includes a robot arm 12 and a storage device hand 14. The storage device hand 14 is provided at the tip of the robot arm 12. The storage device 11 stores open trays containing eggs (hereinafter referred to as egg-filled open trays) inside the transport container 100. An open tray is a tray without a lid and with an open top. Examples include molded trays made from pulp, paper trays made from paper, and PET trays made from plastic. In this embodiment, the transport container 100 is a cardboard box, but is not limited to this and may be any container such as a plastic container. Details of the storage device hand 14 will be described later.

The first loading section 13 includes a roller conveyor and the like, and stores empty transport containers 100 in a storage device 1
Transport to 1. Although not shown in the diagram, in this embodiment, a box-making machine is located upstream of the first loading section 13, and the first loading section 13 is continuous with the box-making machine. The first loading section 13 transports the empty cardboard boxes assembled by the box-making machine to standby positions 13a and 13b below the storage device 11. Once the first loading section 13 has transported the cardboard boxes to standby positions 13a and 13b,
The cardboard boxes are transported to the intermediate conveyor 15.

The intermediate conveyor 15 is adjacent to the first loading section 13 and includes a first detection sensor 15b. The first detection sensor 15b detects whether the transport container 100 has arrived on the intermediate conveyor 15. The first detection sensor 15b may, but is not limited to, a load sensor or an optical sensor.
The intermediate conveyor 15 includes a holding portion 15a. The holding portion 15a is the transport container 10
The movement of the transport container 100a is suppressed by contacting the flap of 0a. Although not shown, the intermediate conveyor 15 includes one more pressing section on the opposite side of the pressing section 15a (a position opposite to the pressing section 15a in the y-direction). This pressing section contacts the flap of the transport container 100b, which is upstream of the transport container 100a, and suppresses the movement of the transport container 100b.
The second loading section 17 includes a belt conveyor and the like, and the egg-filled open trays are stored in a storage device 11
The eggs are transported to the first conveyor. Although not shown in the diagram, in this embodiment, an egg-filling device for filling open trays with eggs is located upstream of the second input section 17, and the second input section 17 is continuous with the egg-filling device. A first conveyor 19 is located downstream of the second input section 17. The second input section 17 transports the open trays containing eggs to the first conveyor 19.

The first conveyor 19 includes a second detection sensor (not shown). The second detection sensor (not shown) detects whether an open tray containing eggs has reached the first conveyor 19.
(Illustration not shown) For example, it may be a load sensor or an optical sensor, but is not limited to these.
The control unit 10 detects when the open tray containing eggs is on the first conveyor 19 using the second detection sensor (not shown).
When it is detected that the tray has reached the top, the control unit 10 determines whether there is a defect in the open tray containing the eggs. For example, the control unit 10 uses a third detection sensor (not shown) to determine whether the eggs in the open tray are undamaged and whether the eggs are contained in all rows of the open tray (or in several rows of the open tray). The third detection sensor (not shown) may, but is not limited to, a load sensor, an optical sensor, an image sensor, or an ultrasonic sensor. If the control unit 10 determines that there is no defect in the open tray containing the eggs, it controls the storage device 11 to lift the open tray containing the eggs and store it in the transport container 100 on the intermediate conveyor 15.

The second conveyor 23 is normally (initial state) facing upwards (in the z direction). In Figure 1,
The second conveyor 23b is facing upwards. When the control unit 10 determines that there is a defect in the open tray containing eggs, it lowers the second conveyor 23. In Figure 1, the second conveyor 23a is in the lowered position. When the second conveyor 23 is lowered, the control unit 10 lowers the first conveyor 19
Then, the second conveyor 23 is activated to transport the open trays containing eggs to the third conveyor 25.
When the open tray containing eggs is transported to the third conveyor 25, the control unit 10 will then move to the second conveyor 2
Raise 3 again.

The control unit 10 detects whether a predetermined number of open trays containing eggs have been stored in the transport container (i.e., whether the transport container is full). For example, the control unit 10 counts the number of times the storage device 11 stacks the trays. If the count reaches a predetermined number, it determines that the transport container is full. If the count does not reach the predetermined number, it determines that the transport container is not full. The storage device 11 stores the open trays containing eggs in the transport container 100 until the control unit 10 detects that the transport container is full. Once the control unit 10 detects that the transport container is full, the intermediate conveyor 15 transports the transport container to the unloading section 21. The storage device 11 may also place empty open trays that do not contain eggs on top of the open trays containing eggs on the top surface of the transport container. The empty open trays function as lids for the open trays containing eggs on the top surface, preventing damage to the eggs.
The discharge section 21 is adjacent to the intermediate conveyor 15 and includes a roller conveyor, etc. Although not shown in the figures, in this embodiment, a scale is located downstream of the discharge section 21 to measure the weight of the transport container containing the open trays of eggs, and the weight is adjusted as needed. A sealing machine is located downstream of the scale, and a palletizer is located downstream of the sealing machine. The discharge section 21 is continuous with the scale and transports the transport container containing the open trays of eggs to the scale.

(First Embodiment)
Next, a first embodiment of the storage device hand 14 will be described with reference to Figure 2. Figure 2
This is a schematic diagram showing a hand for a storage device according to the first embodiment.
The storage device hand 14 includes an arm connection part 140, an egg adsorption part 141, a holding part 143, a tool changer 146, a first attachment/detachment mechanism 145, and a second attachment/detachment mechanism 147.
The robot arm 12 is attached to the arm connection part 140.

The egg adsorption section 141 and the holding section 143 will be described with reference to Figure 3. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the back side (i.e., a view of the storage device hand 14 in the z direction) of the storage device hand 14 of the first embodiment. The holding section 143 is a box-shaped tray suction section 149 that does not have a bottom surface (i.e., is open).
, and a pressure sensor 151. The tray suction section 149 includes a rectangular outer edge 153. The tray suction section 149 is sized so that the outer edge 153 can contact the outer edge of the open tray. Details of the open tray will be described later. The pressure sensor 151 detects the pressure inside the tray suction section 149. The location of the pressure sensor 151 is not limited to the example in Figure 3.
Multiple egg adsorption units 141 are provided inside the tray suction unit 149. Each egg adsorption unit 141 includes a bellows-shaped adsorption pad, and one egg adsorption unit 141 adsorbs one egg. The number of egg adsorption units 141 is equal to the number of eggs that can be accommodated in the open tray. The egg adsorption units 141 are arranged to correspond to the positions where the eggs are lined up on the open tray. In this embodiment, as an example, x
An open tray is used, which can hold 8 eggs in the direction and 5 eggs in the direction of the y, and has 40 egg adsorption sections 14
1 is provided.

The open tray will be described with reference to Figure 4. Figure 4 shows an example of the open tray in this embodiment. The open tray 102 has an egg placement section 104, a peripheral edge section 106, and a notched section 1
Includes 08. The open tray 102 does not have a lid. The egg placement section 104 includes a plurality of recesses, 1
One egg is placed in each recess. The peripheral portion 106 surrounds the egg placement portion 104 and includes a flat portion. The outer edge 153 of the tray suction portion 149 contacts the flat portion of the peripheral portion 106 of the open tray 102. The notches 108 are recesses that face toward the center of the open tray 102 relative to the peripheral portion 106 (towards the tray center), forming a space into which a person's finger can be inserted. The open tray 102 can be carried by a person inserting their finger into the notches 108. As an example, the open tray 102 has two notches 108 on one short side and one notch 108 on the other short side. Note that the open tray shown in Figure 4 is just an example, and the number of recesses in the egg placement portion 104 and the location and/or number of notches 18 are not limited to this.

Returning to Figure 2, we will continue the explanation of the tool changer 146, the first attachment/detachment mechanism 145, and the second attachment/detachment mechanism 147. The egg suction part 141 and the holding part 143 are attached to the robot arm 12 via the tool changer 146. The tool changer 146 makes it possible to attach another set of egg suction parts 141. This makes it possible to realize a storage device hand 14 that can accommodate various open trays with different numbers of eggs that can be stored.
The first attachment/detachment mechanism 145 performs the suction and detachment of the open tray from the open tray containing eggs. The first attachment/detachment mechanism 145 includes a first pipe 155 and a first pipe connection 157. The first pipe 155 is connected to a first vacuum blower (not shown). The first pipe connection 157 connects the first pipe 155 to the tray suction unit 149. The first vacuum blower (not shown) has a switching valve,
The system switches between drawing in and exhausting air from the first piping 155 and the tray suction section 149. When the first vacuum blower (not shown) draws in air, the pressure inside the tray suction section 149 decreases, and the open tray 102 is attracted to the tray suction section 149. When the first vacuum blower (not shown) exhausts air, the pressure inside the tray suction section 149 increases, and the open tray 102 detaches from the tray suction section 149.

The second detachment mechanism 147 performs the adsorption and detachment of eggs from the open tray containing eggs. Since the second detachment mechanism 147 has the same configuration as the first detachment mechanism 145, only the differences from the first detachment mechanism 145 will be explained. The second detachment mechanism 147 includes the second piping 161 and the second piping connection part 16
Includes 3. The second pipe 161 is connected to the second vacuum blower (not shown), and the second pipe connection part 1
63 connects the second pipe 161 to the egg adsorption section 141. The second vacuum blower (not shown) has a switching valve and switches between sucking in and exhausting air in the second pipe 161. When the egg adsorption section 141 is in contact with the egg, and the second vacuum blower (not shown) sucks in air, the egg falls to the egg adsorption section 141.
The eggs are adsorbed onto the egg. When the second vacuum blower (not shown) exhausts the air, the eggs detach from the egg adsorption part 141.

(Adsorption/detachment operation of an open tray containing eggs)
The explanation of the suction and detachment operations of the open tray containing eggs will continue with reference to Figure 5. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the suction and detachment operations of the open tray containing eggs. For example, the control unit 10 starts the process shown in Figure 5 in response to a startup instruction from the administrator of the storage system 1.
When the control unit 10 starts the process shown in Figure 5, it starts sucking air from the first vacuum blower (not shown) and the second vacuum blower (not shown) (S10). Subsequently, the control unit 10 detects that the transport container 100 has arrived on the intermediate conveyor 15 using the first detection sensor 15b (S10).
2) Next, the control unit 10 detects, using a second detection sensor (not shown), that the open tray containing eggs has arrived on the first conveyor belt 19 (S14). Subsequently, the control unit 10 determines, using a third detection sensor (not shown), whether the open tray containing eggs is defective (S16).
When the control unit 10 determines that there is a defect in the open tray containing eggs (S16: No), it lowers the second conveyor 23 and transports the defective open tray containing eggs to the third conveyor 25 (S2
0) Return to S14. Meanwhile, if the control unit 10 determines that there are no defects in the open tray containing the eggs (S16: Yes), it moves the storage device hand 14 above the open tray containing the eggs and starts suction of the eggs and the open tray (S18).

Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 151 is below a predetermined value (S22). If it is determined that the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 151 is below a predetermined value (S22: Yes), it is determined that the egg has been adsorbed by the egg adsorption unit 141 and the open tray has been adsorbed by the tray suction unit 149, and the process proceeds to S24. On the other hand, if the control unit 10 determines that the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 151 is not below a predetermined value (S22: Yes), it proceeds to S24.
o) If it is determined that at least one of the egg and the open tray is not adsorbed by the egg adsorption unit 141 or the tray suction unit 149, the error is notified, for example by sounding an alarm (S26)
The process is then terminated. When the control unit 10 moves to S24, it moves the storage device hand 14 above the transport container 100 on the intermediate conveyor 15 and stores the eggs and open tray inside the transport container 100 (S24). Specifically, the control unit 10 switches the air intake to the air exhaust using the switching valves of the first vacuum blower (not shown) and the second vacuum blower (not shown).

Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the transport container 100 is full (S28). As an example,
The control unit 10 counts the number of times the open tray containing eggs is stacked, determines if the count has reached a predetermined value, and if the count has reached the predetermined value, determines that the transport container 100 is full (S28: Yes), and if it is less than the predetermined value, determines that the transport container 100 is not full (S28: No). If it is determined that the transport container 100 is not full (S28:
No), the process returns to S14 and repeats the suction and detachment operations of the open tray containing eggs (S14 to S24) until it is determined that the transport container 100 is full. When it is determined that the transport container 100 is full (S28: Yes), the control unit 10 transports the transport container 100 to the unloading unit 21 and increments the box counter by 1 (S30). Subsequently, the control unit 10 determines whether the box counter count is a predetermined value (S32). If it is determined that the box counter count is not a predetermined value (S32: No), the process returns to S12 and repeats S12 to S30 until the count reaches the predetermined value. When the control unit 10 determines that the box counter count is a predetermined value (S32: Yes), the process ends.

In S22, the control unit 10 determines whether the egg and open tray have been adsorbed to the egg adsorption unit 141 and the tray suction unit 149 based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 151, but it is not limited to this. For example, the pressure inside the second pipe 161 may be detected by a pressure sensor (not shown), and the determination of whether the egg has been adsorbed to the egg adsorption unit 141 may be made based on the pressure value.

(Effects)
According to the first embodiment, since the egg is adsorbed by the egg adsorption unit 141, the tray suction unit 1
49 does not need to adsorb the eggs; it is sufficient to adsorb the open tray 102. Open tray 10
Since the 2 is lighter than the egg, the tray suction unit 149 can suck it up with a relatively small suction force. Also, since the first attachment/detachment mechanism 145 sucks up and detaches the open tray 102, and the second attachment/detachment mechanism 147 sucks up and detaches the egg, the suction force of the first attachment/detachment mechanism 145 can be adjusted to a size appropriate for the weight of the open tray, and the suction force of the second attachment/detachment mechanism 147 can be adjusted to a size appropriate for the weight of the egg. As a result, the open tray 102
This allows the eggs to be stored more securely within the transport container 100.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the storage device hand will be described. The storage device hand 14a of the second embodiment differs from the storage device hand 14 of the first embodiment in that the tray suction part 149 has a hook part 200. The other configurations of the storage device hand 14a are the same as those of the first embodiment, so their description will be omitted.

The hooking portion 200 will be described with reference to Figures 6 to 8. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing the hooking portion 200 in the storage device hand 14a of the second embodiment. In Figure 6, the egg E is in a state where it is adsorbed by the egg adsorption portion 141 (the same applies to Figure 8). The hooking portion 200 is installed inside the tray suction portion 149. For the sake of explanation, the tray suction portion 149 is not shown in Figure 6, and only a part of the tray suction portion 149 as seen in the -x direction is shown.
The hook portion 200 is positioned inside the tray suction portion 149 so as to fit inside the notch portion 108 of the open tray 102. This will be explained in detail with reference to Figure 7. Figure 7 shows the positional relationship between the hook portion 200 and the open tray 102 when viewed in the -z direction. In Figure 7, for the sake of explanation, the components of the storage device hand 14a other than the hook portion 200 (tray suction portion 149, etc.) are shown.
The illustration is omitted. As shown in Figure 7, the hook portion 200 is positioned so as to fit within the opening area of the notch portion 108 of the open tray 102, and does not protrude beyond the outer edge D of the peripheral edge portion 106 of the open tray 102. In other words, when viewed in the lifting direction of the tray suction portion 149 (when the tray suction portion 149 is viewed in the z direction), the hook portion 200 does not protrude beyond the outer edge D of the open tray 102.

Returning to Figure 6, let's continue the explanation. The hook portion 200 consists of a pair of legs (202a, 202b) and
It has a solenoid valve 204. Each leg (202a, 202b) includes a claw (206a, 206b), and the claws (206a, 206b) are arranged facing each other (i.e., back to back).
The solenoid valve 204 switches the power supply ON/OFF, thereby controlling the legs (202a, 202b)
Opens and closes. Note that in Figure 6, the wiring for energizing the solenoid valve 204 is omitted from the illustration. Figure 6 shows the legs (202a, 202b) in the open position, and Figure 8 shows the legs (202a, 202
b) shows the closed state. As shown in Figure 6, the legs (202a, 202b) move away from each other in a direction parallel to the direction perpendicular to the direction toward the center of the open tray 102 (-x direction) (y direction) from the state shown in Figure 8 (closed state), causing the claws (206a
The 206b) catches on the notch 108, and the hook 200 grips the open tray 102.

(Effects and Benefits)
According to the second embodiment, the open tray 102 is attracted to the tray suction unit 149 and gripped by the hooking unit 200. That is, the open tray 102 is transported into the transport container 100 by both the tray suction unit 149 and the hooking unit 200. This allows the open tray 102 to be stored in the transport container 100 more stably.

(Third Embodiment)
Next, the differences between the third embodiment of the storage device hand and the first embodiment will be explained. Figure 9 is a schematic diagram showing the storage device hand 14b of the third embodiment. The storage device hand 14b has a gripping part 300 and an egg suction part 303. The gripping part 300 includes an arm connecting part 301, a support part 305, a hand body 307, a tool changer 308, a first actuator 309, a second actuator 311, a joining member 313, a pair of gripping members 315, and a slide base 317.
The arm connection part 301 is installed on the upper surface of the hand body 307, and the robot arm 12 is attached to it. The egg suction part 303 is attached to the support part 305. The support part 305 is connected to the shaft 306
The shaft 306 is attached to the lower surface of the hand body 307. In Figure 9, as an example,
Fifty-four egg-sucking units 303 are installed, nine in the x-direction and six in the y-direction (not shown). A tool changer 308 is attached to the top surface of the hand body 307. The tool changer 308 makes it possible to attach another set of egg-sucking units 303. This allows,
This enables the realization of a storage device handle 14b that can accommodate various open trays with different egg capacity limits.
The first actuator 309 is attached to the joining member 313 and the gripping member 315 by inserting bolts or the like into the joining holes A and B. The joining member 313 is attached to the slide base 31
Mounted on 7, the slide base 317 is attached to the second actuator 311. The gripping member 315 is attached to the slide base 317 by fitting a bolt or the like into the joining hole C.
It is attached to the gripping member 315. The gripping member 315 includes two flat plates 315a and 315b whose angle is greater than 90° and less than 180° (for example, 160°). Instead of the flat plates 315a and 315b, it may be constructed by bending a single flat plate.

The operation of the storage device hand 14b will be explained further with reference to Figures 9-12.
In 12, the illustration of the egg is omitted for the sake of explanation. The storage device hand 14b first adsorbs the egg. Figure 9 shows the state in which the egg adsorption unit 303 has adsorbed the egg. As shown in Figure 9,
When eggs are being held, the flat plates 315a of the pair of gripping members 315 are facing outwards (away from the open tray 102) with respect to the direction perpendicular to the hand body 307 (z-direction).

The storage device hand 14b grips the open tray 102 once the egg suction is complete. Figure 10 shows the state in which the pair of gripping members 315 grip the open tray 102. As shown in Figure 10, the cylinder 309a of the first actuator 309 extends, and the gripping member 3 on the right side of the paper
15 rotates clockwise around the joint hole C as the axis of rotation, and the gripping member 315 on the left side of the paper rotates counterclockwise around the joint hole C as the axis of rotation. As a result, each flat plate 315a moves to the hand body 3
With respect to the direction perpendicular to 07 (z-direction), it faces inward (towards the center of the hand body 307). As a result, each flat plate 315a contacts the peripheral edge 106 of the open tray 102 and grips the open tray 102. In this way, the first actuator 309 is able to rotate the pair of gripping members 315 with an axis of rotation that is parallel to the depth direction (y-direction) of the hand body 307 and perpendicular to the width direction (x-direction) of the hand body 307.
Furthermore, since the open tray 102 is soft and easily compressed when force is applied, in Figure 10, the flat plate 315a of the gripping member 315 is positioned inward (hand body 30) of the peripheral edge 106 of the open tray 102.
It is being compressed in the direction toward the center of 7. Also, in Figure 10, the open tray 102 is bending -
It is curved in the z direction. However, Figure 10 is just one example, and the flat plate 315a of the gripping member 315
Without compressing the peripheral edge 106 of the open tray 102, the peripheral edge 10 of the open tray 102
The outer edge (6) may be grasped, and the open tray 102 does not need to be curved.

Once the storage device hand 14b has finished gripping the open tray 102, it moves into the transport container and places the open tray 102 inside the transport container. Subsequently, the storage device hand 14b,
The cylinder 311a of the second actuator 311 is extended. Figure 11 shows the state in which the cylinder 311a of the second actuator 311 is extended. As described above, the second actuator 311 is joined to the slide base 317, and the slide base 317 is joined to the gripping member 315. When the cylinder 311a of the second actuator 311 is extended, the slide base 317 and gripping member 315 on the right side of the paper move in the -x direction, and the slide base 317 and gripping member 315 on the left side of the paper move in the x direction, widening the distance between the pair of gripping members 315. As shown in Figure 11, each flat plate 315a of each gripping member 315 is connected to the hand body 3
With respect to the direction perpendicular to 07 (z-direction), it is maintained in a state facing inward (towards the center of the hand body 307).

Next, the storage device hand 14b retracts the cylinder 309a of the first actuator 309. Figure 12 shows the state in which the cylinder 309a of the first actuator 309 is retracted. As shown in Figure 12, the first actuator 309 retracts the flat plates 31 of each gripping member 315
Until 5a is parallel to the direction perpendicular to the hand body 307 (z-direction), the cylinder 30
The 9a is retracted. When the retraction of the cylinder 309a is complete, the storage device hand 14b releases the suction by the egg suction part 303, places the egg on the open tray 102, and moves it out of the transport container. However, Figure 12 is just one example, and the flat plate 315a of the gripping member 315 is the hand body 3
Not parallel to the direction perpendicular to 07 (z-direction), but inward by a predetermined angle (hand body 30
It's okay if it's facing the direction towards the center of 7.

(Effects and Benefits)
According to the third embodiment, the pair of gripping members 315 grip the open tray 102 by driving the first actuator 309 and the second actuator 311. In addition, the storage device hand 14b is in the width direction of the storage device hand 14b (the longitudinal direction of the hand body 307, the x direction)
The length can be adjusted so that it is smaller than the width of the transport container. More specifically, the spacing between each gripping member 315 (d1 in Figure 10, d2 in Figure 11, and d3 in Figure 12) can be made smaller than the width of the inner wall of the transport container. This allows the open tray to be placed without damaging the transport container when the storage device hand 14b moves into and out of the transport container.

(Another embodiment)
(1) In the first embodiment, the storage device hand 14 has a first attachment/detachment mechanism 145 and a second attachment/detachment mechanism 147, but it may also have a single attachment/detachment mechanism for adsorbing and detaching the open tray 102 and the eggs.

(2) In the first embodiment, the tray suction portion 149 may have a hole-blocking portion 400 that blocks at least a part of the notch portion 108 provided on the outer circumference of the open tray 102. Figure 1
Figure 3 shows an example of the hole-blocking portion 400. The hole-blocking portion 400 is the notch portion 108 of the open tray 102.
It is provided inside the tray suction section 149 to correspond to the position. The hole blocker 400 may be made of sponge, for example. Note that in Figure 13, the hole blocker 400 is provided when the storage device hand has one attachment/detachment mechanism 401, but if there are two attachment/detachment mechanisms 145,
A hole-blocking portion 400 may be provided in the storage device hand 14 having 147.
As described above, the open tray 102 has a notch 108 formed therein. Therefore,
When the outer edge 153 of the tray suction section 149 is brought into contact with the peripheral edge 106 of the open tray 102,
A gap may form between the outer edge 153 and the notch 108, which could cause the suction force to weaken.
In contrast, by providing a hole-blocking portion 400 in the tray suction portion 149, the gap caused by the notch portion 108 can be reduced, and more stable suction by the tray suction portion 149 can be achieved.

(3) In the first embodiment, the tray suction portion 149 has a rectangular outer edge portion 153, but it is not limited to this, and as shown in Figure 14, it may also have an outer edge portion 500 that follows the outer shape of the open tray. In Figure 14, the outer edge portion 500 is provided when the storage device hand has one attachment/detachment mechanism 401, but the outer edge portion 500 may also be provided on the tray suction portion 149 in the storage device hand 14 which has two attachment/detachment mechanisms 145, 147. By providing the outer edge portion 500, the gap caused by the notch portion 108 can be reduced, and the tray suction portion 14
It can achieve a more stable suction than the 9th generation.

(4) In the second embodiment, the hook portion 200 has a single leg including a claw, and the leg is moved in a direction toward the center of the open tray 102 (towards the center of the tray) to open the notch portion 208
You can also hook it onto the tray and grip the open tray.

(5) In the third embodiment, the storage device hand 14b is the first actuator 309
The device has both the first actuator and the second actuator 311, but it may have either one or not. In this case, it is preferable that the distance between each gripping member 315 becomes smaller than the width of the inner wall of the transport container when the storage device hand 14b moves into the transport container and when it moves out of the transport container.
Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the flat plate 315a of the gripping member 315 may move to the notch 108 of the open tray 102 and grip the open tray 102 by contacting the notch 108.

1 Storage system 10 Control unit 12 Robot arm 13 First loading section 14 Hand for storage device 17 Second loading section 21 Unloading section 102 Open tray 108 Notch 141 Egg suction section 143 Holding section 145 First attachment/detachment mechanism 147 Second attachment/detachment mechanism 149 Tray suction section 151 Pressure sensor 153 Outer edge section 200 Hook section 300 Holding section 303 Egg suction section 307 Hand body 309 First actuator 311 Second actuator 315 Gripping member 400 Hole blocking section 500 Outer edge section

Claims (5)

An egg adsorption unit that adsorbs multiple eggs contained in an open tray without a lid,
It has a lifting part that lifts the open tray,
The aforementioned support part is,
The open tray has a pair of gripping members that contact the notches on both sides of the open tray and grip both sides of the open tray, and place the open tray inside the transport container,
The pair of gripping members contact the notches on both sides of the open tray, compressing the open tray and causing it to curve downwards in a convex shape, thereby gripping both sides of the open tray.
Hand for storage device. The storage device has a mechanism for adjusting the widthwise length of the hand for the storage device to be smaller than the widthwise length of the transport container, and the distance between the pair of gripping members is adjusted to be smaller than the width of the inner wall of the transport container.
A hand for a storage device according to claim 1 . The aforementioned support part is,
The hand body connected to the storage device,
A first actuator is installed on the hand body and is capable of rotating the pair of gripping members with an axis of rotation parallel to the depth direction of the hand body and perpendicular to the width direction of the hand body as the axis of rotation.
A second actuator is installed on the hand body and is capable of expanding or contracting the distance between the pair of gripping members in the width direction of the hand body,
A hand for a storage device according to claim 1 or 2 , having the following features. A robotic arm and
A storage device comprising a storage device hand according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , which is provided at the tip of the robot arm. The storage device according to claim 4 ,
A first loading unit for loading empty transport containers into the storage device,
A second loading section for loading the open tray containing the eggs into the storage device,
A storage system comprising: an unloading section for unloading the transport container in which the open tray containing the eggs is stored.