JPH02109893A - Automatic packing and packer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To rapidly and accurately position a plug regardless of deformation and different shapes of a vessel, by automatically guiding a charge nozzle to a detected plug position by a visual sensor for the plug position of a vacant vessel to charge a fluid into the vacant vessel and by measuring said charged fluid. CONSTITUTION:A plug detection station A is located at the place where a fitting position of a plug 2 on a top plate of four vessels 1 plased on a pallet 9 can be all detected and a visual sensor is arranged to detect the plug position. Two cameras 10 are used as a visual sensor and arranged on a frame 11 mounted on a transfer conveyor 5 in such a way that top plates of all vessels 1 are taken in an image. The whole top plate of all vessels 1 on the pallet 9 is monitored to detect rough fitting position of the plug 2 on the top plate of the whole vessels 1. In a plug opening station B, the plug 2 of the vessel 1 transferred from the plug detection station A by the transfer conveyor 5 is detected by a hand-eye 12 to open accurately respective plugs of the vessels 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an automatic filling method and apparatus, particularly an automatic filling method and apparatus capable of automatically filling a container by positioning the opening of the container in a non-contact manner. Regarding.

[Conventional technology]

In the conventional automatic filling method and device, the container is mechanically rotated to determine the location of the cap, and then a fluid substance such as liquid is filled (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1954-1982).
Publication No. 4).

In other words, a pre-opened container is placed on the floor or a barrento, the top plate of the container is adsorbed with a suction pad provided in the cap position detection device, the container is lifted with an air cylinder, and the container is placed under that condition. After releasing the suction band and releasing the container while holding the container with the driving roller, detect the spout position on the top plate of the container with a micro-sinch while rotating the container with the drive roller, and then move the positioning pin to the spout position. Insert the container into the filling port, position the filling port, operate the air cylinder while it is inserted, and place the container 1a on the floor or pallet. After that, remove the positioning pin, move the filling nozzle above the positioned filling port, operate the air cylinder, insert the filling nozzle into the filling port of the container, and use a positive displacement flowmeter or mass flowmeter, etc. A predetermined amount of fluid substance is filled, and after the filling is completed, the filling nozzle is pulled back and the filling operation, including closing the spout, is completed.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, the spout position detection device attached to the conventional automatic filling device mechanically rotates the container by applying a drive roller, a microswitch, a positioning pin, etc. to the container. If the container is deformed, the spout will not rotate along the planned path, and as a result, the spout will not rotate along the planned path. The micro-sinch was unable to perform its original operation and detect the plug, making it impossible to insert the positioning pin and fill with fluid.

In addition, in order to position the spout, it is necessary to pass through multiple operating steps in which drive rollers, microswitches, positioning pins, etc. operate, which takes time and results in It took a long time to fill the fluid material.

Additionally, whenever the dimensions, shape, etc. (JIJt) of the container to be filled change, the mechanisms such as the drive roller, microsinch, and positioning pins that make up the above-mentioned spout detection device change to the new shape of the container. The spout detection device had to be adjusted so that it would operate appropriately, and the adjustment work was also complicated.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic filling device that is capable of visually detecting the position of the cap of a container and automatically guiding a filling nozzle to the detected position to fill a predetermined amount of fluid substance into the container. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention includes a spout position detection step in which the spout position of an empty container is detected by a visual sensor, and a filling nozzle is guided to the spout position detected by the spout position detection step. The above object has been achieved by providing an automatic filling method characterized by comprising a filling and measuring step of filling the empty container with a fluid substance and measuring the filled fluid substance.

Further, the present invention provides a device suitable for carrying out the automatic filling method described above, which includes a visual sensor that detects the position of the spout of an empty container, a positional coordinate value of the detected position of the visual sensor, and a system that calculates the positional coordinate value of the detected position of the visual sensor. This invention provides an automatic filling device characterized by comprising a robot that guides a filling nozzle and fills the fluid material based on the robot, and a measuring device that needles the fluid material filled via the robot. .

[Operation] According to the automatic filling method using the automatic filling device of the present invention,
When the position of the stopper of the empty container is detected by the visual sensor, the filling nozzle is automatically guided to the detected position of the stopper to fill the empty container with the fluid substance, and then the filled fluid substance is metered. .

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below based on the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the automatic filling device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a control configuration diagram showing a control system of the embodiment device shown in FIG.

First, an embodiment of an automatic filling device suitable for carrying out the method of the present invention will be described along with its operation.

The apparatus of this embodiment includes a stopper detection station that detects the position of the stopper 2 of the container L, an opening station B that opens the stopper IA of the container 1 detected at the stopper detection stage SYN A, A filling/weighing station C fills a fluid substance such as a liquid into the filling port 1A opened at the opening station B and weighs the filled fluid substance; The filling port IA is provided with a closing station D that closes a plug 2 to the filling port IA.

Furthermore, the apparatus of this embodiment is equipped with a labeling station E that affixes a label 3 on which the type of fluid substance, filling amount, etc., are written to the closed container 1 and carries it out to the next process.

Thus, the device of this embodiment performs the second operation according to the computer 4.
As shown in the figure, it is configured to control all operations at each of the stations A to M.

Next, for each of the stations A to E, see Figures 1 and 2.
This will be explained with reference to the figures.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, two lines of the plug detection station A to the stopper station D are arranged in tandem, and the stations A to D of the two cough lines are connected to each other by a conveyor conveyor 5.5.

Furthermore, a rail 6 is installed along between the two lines of conveyors 5 and 5.
are arranged in parallel, and the rail 6 is connected to the container 1 of the robot I/7.
It is configured to reciprocate in ζ according to the filling operation.

That is, at the upstream end of the transport conveyor 5.5, as shown in FIG. The spout detection station A is removed from the material rack 8 in the loaded state.
It is configured to be transferred to a transport conveyor 5.5.

The cap detection station A is a place where the mounting positions of the caps 2 on the top plates of the four containers 1 placed on the pallet 9 are collectively detected. It is configured. In this embodiment, two cameras 10.10 are used as visual sensors. As shown in the figure, the top plates of all the containers 1 are arranged so as to be insured at once, and the entire top plate of all the containers 1 on the pallet 9 is visualized.
The caps 2 are attached to the top plates of all the containers 1 so that their approximate positions can be detected.

This detection can be done by controlling the filling device as shown in Fig. 2. 11C
This is done based on the detection command from PU4B. Upon receiving the detection command, the camera 10.10 determines the position of the spout using all the top plates of the four containers 1 as one position coordinate, and detects the distribution state of each spout 2 as an approximate position coordinate value. Then, the detection signal is transmitted to the control CPU 4B. The control CPU
413 sends a positioning operation command to the robot 7 based on the received detection signal, and also sends the above-mentioned approximate position coordinate value to make the robot 7 wait at the next tap-opening station B.

The cap opening station B is a place where the cap 2 of the container 1 conveyed from the cap detection station A by the conveyor 5.5 is opened, and the robot 7 is driven based on the approximate position coordinate values. The hand eye 12 detects accurate positional coordinate values of the spout 2 for each container l, and is configured to accurately open each container 1. In this embodiment, a hand eye 12 is attached to the hand 7A of the robot 7 as a visual sensor, and based on the above-mentioned operation command and approximate position coordinate values, the robot 7 moves to the towing trolley 13, which is a hangar, as shown in FIG. From cap seama 14
grasp and take it out, extend the hand 7A and bring the hand eye 12 close to one of the containers 1, and use the hand eye 12 to determine the exact positional coordinates of the spout 2 on the top plate of one container 1. It is configured to detect with high precision and to position the cap seamer 14 on the spout 2.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the control CPU 4B sends an opening command to the cap seamer 14 to operate it, removes the cap 2 from the container 1, and then the robot 7 operates the hand 7A to remove the towing cart 13. Temporarily place the spout 2 on the lid plate holder installed above, complete the series of operations, and then perform this series of operations continuously on all four containers 1 until all containers 1 are opened. Trying to finish the stopper. The cap seamer 14 includes a chuck that fixes the seamer to the filling port IA of the container, a driver that opens and closes the cap 2 by rotating an air motor, and a cap that grasps the opened cap 2 and removes it from the filling port IA. It is constructed with a chuck and further has an automatic centering mechanism to absorb errors in tilting and positioning the container 1.

When the capping is completed at the capping station B, the container 1 is transported to the filling/weighing station C by the transport conveyor 5.5.

The filling/measuring station C is a place where the opened container 1 is filled with a fluid substance and the filled fluid substance is measured, and includes a filling nozzle 15 for filling the fluid substance and a measuring device 16
It is composed of:

The filling nozzles 15 are attached via horizontal arms 18 to support columns 17 arranged laterally of each transport conveyor 5.5. As shown in FIG. 1, the horizontal arm 18 is configured to be horizontally movable in accordance with the position of the filling port IA of the container l. Note that the filling nozzle 15 is configured to automatically follow the surface of the fluid substance, and when the long nozzle is inserted into the container 1, there may be measurement errors due to the buoyancy of the nozzle and the fluid substance may adhere to the outer wall of the nozzle. We are trying to prevent contamination caused by this. The robot 7 grips the filling nozzle 15 supported by the horizontal arm 18 with the hand 7A, and adjusts the filling port I based on the detection signal of the hand eye 12.
The filling nozzle 15 is positioned at position A with high precision, and the filling nozzle 15 is inserted into the container 1.

On the other hand, the weighing device 16 is arranged so as to be movable up and down between the conveyors 5.5, and when not weighing, it is lowered to a position lower than the horizontal position of the conveyor conveyor 5.5 and retracted. , the container l is transported by the transport conveyor 5.5 to the position of the weighing device 16, and when it is to be weighed, the container l is raised to the transport conveyor 75.5 slightly above the horizontal position and lifted together with the balent 9. In this state, the fluid substance filled by the filling nozzle I5 is successively discharged. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, when the control CPU 4B receives the filling possibility notification from the process control CP04C, it starts the process system? After sending a transfer start command to the CPU 11C, a filling valve opening command is sent to the filling nozzle 15 to open the valve (not shown) and start filling with the fluid substance. The CPU 4 sends a message to the measuring device 16, operates the measuring device 16, and sequentially controls the measured value from the measuring device 16 as described above.
B is configured to make a call. Control CPU4
B compares the preset filling amount value with the sequentially received measured value, and when the measured value reaches the filling amount value, the filling nozzle 15
The device is configured to issue a filling valve closing command to close the valve and finish filling. When filling is completed, the weighing device 1G is lowered and retracted between the conveyors 5.5 and 5.5. During filling, the robot 7 releases the filling nozzle 15 and performs other filling operations, so that the robot 7 does not have idle time, and the filling capacity can be improved.

At the filling/weighing station C, when all the containers 1 have been filled and weighed, the containers 1 are transported to the uncorking station D by the transport conveyor 5.5.

At the capping station D, the robot 7 is the cap seamer 1.
4 from the towing cart 13 and closes the spout 2 to the filling port IA of the container L, the robot 7 grips the cap seamer 14 again with the hand 7A and closes the filling port IA of the container 1.
It is configured to sequentially close all the containers 1 by transporting the containers 1 to the position shown in FIG. 1 and receiving a capping command from the control CPU 4B.

Further, in this embodiment, a resin protector (not shown in FIG. 1) or the like can be attached to the plug 2 at the plugging station D. For installation, a protect seamer 19 is used, as shown in Figure 2.
The protect seamer 19 is held and controlled by the hand 7A of the robot 7 in the same way as the cap seamer 14. ! +
The protector and the like are attached based on the attachment command from the 1 CPU 4B, and is comprised of a suction band that attracts the protector and a mounting mechanism that attaches the protector and the like to the spout 2. Of course, the protect seamer 19 is also constructed with a base chuck, an automatic centering mechanism, etc., like the camp seamer 14 described above.

The filling apparatus of this embodiment is configured to transfer all the containers 1 to the lahering station located at the downstream end of the filling apparatus when the work in each stage 3 A to D described above is completed. There is.

The above-mentioned Lahering Station E stamps the product name, NET, LOT/No., etc. on the top plate and side of the filled container l by a method such as a rigid plate using a template or a label. The labeling robot 20 is configured to perform this labeling at the location where the labeling is performed. 1. The labeling robot 20 determines the label attachment position based on the position coordinate values of the spout 2 of the container 1 detected by the camera 10, and attaches the label 3 to the container I.
It is designed to be pasted in place.

Label 3 above includes product name, NET, LOT No.
etc. may be used, but in this example, the necessary items are printed on a plain label immediately before pasting them, so even if there are many product items, labels 3 for the number of products can be printed in advance. This can be done without having to stock up, simplifying the management of the labels 3, and reducing the cost of labeling.

In addition, the labeling robot 20 does not need to be attached to each filling line, but one labeling robot 20 can be installed in a plurality of filling lines, and as shown in FIG.
1 is configured to transport the container 1 to the labeling station E.

The labeling robot 20 has the product name, NE, on the label 3.
To print and issue T, LOT-No, etc. and attach the label 3 to the top plate of the container 1, suck the label 3 with a suction pad attached to the hand, and then attach the label 3 to the opening of the spout detection station A. The label 3 is affixed by pressing an adsorption band to a label affixing position determined by calculation from the coordinate value of the stopper position and the position coordinate value of the center of the container.

Further, in order to attach the labels 3 to the side surfaces of the containers l, the pallet 9 is horizontally rotated about its center point, and the labels 3 are sequentially attached to the side surfaces of each container l. When the label 3 has been attached to all the containers 1 in this manner, the pallet 9 is transported to the container conveyor container 22 (see FIG. 2).

In the device of this embodiment, the computer 4 automatically controls a series of operations from opening the container l to lahering, manages data such as the actual filling amount and the number of bottles filled, and performs other functions related to filling. It is configured to be connected to equipment via a network to perform data communication.

Then, the control CPU 4B controls the production schedule CP04.
From A to product name, NET, LOT/No.

After receiving data necessary for filling, etc., and after filling is completed, it sends filling performance data etc. to the production scheduling CPU 4A, and also sends commands such as starting and stopping transfer of fluid materials such as filling to the process control CPU 4C. , sends a shipping command for containers to be used for filling to the empty container management CPU 4D, sends a warehousing command for product containers to the product warehouse management CPU 4B, and sends a product warehouse management CPU
It is configured to transport filled product containers to a product warehouse by an automatic guided vehicle connected to the lower part of 4E.

Next, one embodiment of the automatic filling method of the present invention will be described using the apparatus of the above embodiment.

First, in the computer 4, when the production scheduling CPU 4A sends filling schedule data to the control CP04B, it sends a container delivery command to the empty container management CPtJ4D. When the container 1 is delivered to the stopper detection station A, the control CPU 4B moves to the stopper detection stage nA.
A detection command is sent to the cameras 10 and 10.

At the stopper detection station A, the camera 10.10 collectively images the four containers 1 on the pallet 9'' that have been carried into the stopper detection station based on the detection command. The approximate position of the spout 2 on the top plate is detected and the approximate position coordinate value is transmitted to the control CPU 4B.Then, the control CPU 4B transmits a positioning command and the above approximate position coordinate value to the robot 7.

At the uncorking station B, the robot 7 extends the hand 7A to any one of the containers 1 carried into the uncorking station by the transport conveyor 5.5 based on the received approximate position coordinate values, and moves the container 1 from the towing cart 13 to the container 1. While holding the taken-out cap seamer I4, the hand eye 12 is brought close to the top plate of the cap seamer I4, and accurate position coordinate values of the spout 2 are transmitted to the robot 7.

Based on this position coordinate value, the robot 1-7 guides the cap seamer 14 held by the hand 7A to the position of the spout 2, and the control CPU 4B sends an opening command to the cap seamer 14, and activates the camp seamer 14. Open the spout 2 from the filling port IA of the container 1, and pull the spout 2 onto the tow truck 13.
Place the container on the upper temporary storage stand, and perform this series of operations for all containers l on the pallet 9.

At the filling/weighing station C, the control CPU 4B moves the robot 7 to the filling/weighing station C, causes the hand 7A to grip the filling nozzle 15 of the horizontal arm 18, and also controls the robot 7 based on the approximate position coordinate values of the spout 2 stored in advance. The robot 7 then moves the filling nozzle 15 close to the filling port IA, detects the exact position coordinates of the filling port IA with the hand eye 12, and sets the filling nozzle 15 at that position.After the zero positioning, the robot 7 releases the filling nozzle 15. After that, the control tncpu 4B issues a filling valve opening command, opens the valve of the filling nozzle 15, and starts filling the container l with the fluid substance. At this time, the weighing device 16 receives a weighing command from the control CPU 4 and is in a state of weighing the fluid substance in the container l. Therefore, the metering device 16 fills the container I with the fluid substance and sequentially records the measured value on the side 1c.
A message is sent to PU4B, and when the measured value reaches a predetermined value, the control CP
tJ 4B issues a filling valve close command to the filling nozzle 15 to close the valve of the filling nozzle 15 and complete the filling.

After performing these series of operations for all four containers I on the barrel 71-9, the weighing device 16
As it descends further downwards, the conveyor container 5.5 conveys the container l on the pallet 9 to the uncorking station D.

At the opening station D, the control CPU 4B controls the robot 7.
The robot 7 moves the previously stored cap seamer 14 from the tow truck 13 to the opening station D, and the robot
A is gripped and taken out, and all the containers 1 are sequentially closed while positioning the filling ports IA of the containers 1 on the pallet 9 in accordance with the above-mentioned opening operation.

After all containers 1 have been capped, if it is necessary to attach protectors, the protect seamer 19 operates in the same manner as the cap seamer 14 to attach protectors to all containers 1. Next, the containers 1 along with the pallets 9 are transferred to the labeling station via the automatic guided vehicle 21, and predetermined labels 3 are sequentially applied to all the containers 1 by the labeling robot 20.

As explained above, according to one embodiment of the method of the present invention using the device of this embodiment, the position of the stopper of the container l is visually detected by the camera 10.10 and the hand eye 12, so that The spout 2 can be positioned quickly and with high precision, and the fluid substance can be automatically filled without being influenced by deformation or differences in the shape of the container 1.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the computer 4 manages opening/closing, filling, labeling, etc. all at once based on accurate positional coordinate value data of the spout 2, and automates each operation. It can be unmanned.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, it is possible to visually detect the position of the cap of the container, automatically guide the filling nozzle to the detected position, and fill the container with a predetermined amount of the fluid substance. can.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an automatic filling device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a control configuration diagram showing a control system of the embodiment device shown in FIG. 1; Container 2; Spout 4: Combi 1-Tough; Robot 10; Camera (visual sensor) 12; Hand eye (
visual sensor)

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A spout position detection step in which the spout position of the empty container is detected by a visual sensor, and a filling nozzle is guided to the spout position detected by the spout position detection step to fill the empty container with a fluid substance. An automatic filling method characterized by comprising a filling and measuring step of measuring the filled fluid substance at the same time. (2) The method further comprises the steps of: guiding a seamer to the spout position detected in the spout position detection step to open the spout; and closing the spout. ) Automatic filling method described. (3) A visual sensor that detects the position of the cap of an empty container, and a robot that calculates the positional coordinate values of the detected position of the visual sensor and guides the filling nozzle based on the coordinate value position to fill the fluid substance. An automatic filling device comprising: a measuring device that measures a fluid substance filled via the robot. (4) The automatic filling device according to claim (3), further comprising a seamer that opens and closes the cap of the container based on the position coordinate value.