JPH07251942A - Cargo handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a cargo handling device which is constituted to perform grasping of articles from a direction in which ordinary stacking is practicable based on a given stacking direction. CONSTITUTION:A cargo handling device comprises a feeding device 11 to feed articles 9, in order, to an industrial robot; and a pushing-up device 17 having a pushing-up body 15 smaller than the bottom of the article 9 and arranged at the end part of the feeding device 11. The article 9 pushed by the end part of the feeding device 11 by the pushing up device 17 is grasped from a direction based on a given stacking direction. This constitution easily and normally lowers the grasped article 9 in a given direction in which stacking on a pallet is practicable and improves the efficiency of a work to handle the articles 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a load handling device for sequentially gripping and moving articles supplied by a supply device by an industrial robot.

[0002]

14 to 16 are views showing a conventional load handling device, FIG. 14 is a side view of a handle portion of an industrial robot of the load handling device, and FIGS. 15 and 16 are articles by the handle of FIG. It is a figure explaining the load handling state of.

In the figure, (1) is an operating tip of an industrial robot (not shown), and (2) is a rotating shaft (3) on the operating tip (1).
The handle attached via the base body (4), the fixed finger (5) provided on one side of the base body (4), and the fixed finger (5) provided on the other side of the base body (4) toward the fixed finger (5). A support portion that is provided on the other side of the movable finger (6) and the base body (4) that move forward and backward, is arranged on the side opposite to the fixed finger (5) of the movable finger (6), and protrudes toward the fixed finger (5) at the lower end. It is constituted by a supporting finger (8) having (7). (9) is an article to be gripped by the handle (2), and (10) is a pallet surface on which the article (9) is placed or a support surface which is an upper surface of the articles (9) previously stacked.

The conventional cargo handling device is constructed as described above, and the articles (9) fed in a certain direction by the feeding conveyor (not shown) are provided at the end of the feeding conveyor.
It is gripped by the handle (2) from a certain direction. In this grasping operation, the article (9) is pinched and lifted by the fixed finger (5) and the movable finger (6), and then the supporting finger (8) is operated to move the supporting section (7) to the bottom edge of the article (9). Is supported.

Then, the grasped article (9) is moved to a predetermined position by the industrial robot, and as shown in FIG. 15, a fixed finger () is attached to the side surface of the article (9) previously stacked on the support surface (10). Five)
Are in contact with each other, and a space A is formed between the support portion (7) and the support surface (10). Then the supporting fingers (8)
Is retracted, the pinching force by the movable fingers (6) is released, and the gripped articles (9) descend and are stacked as shown in FIG.

In the above-mentioned article handling operation of the article (9), in order to easily identify the type of the article (9) loaded on the pallet, the specific surface of the article (9) is directed in a predetermined direction. There is a demand for packing, for example, a demand for packing the side surface of the article (9) on which the product name is printed on the pallet in the outer peripheral direction in the packing form. Since it is necessary to allow the supporting fingers (8) to retreat when lowering the gripped article (9) in response to such a request, the article (9) previously loaded on the pallet is used for supporting fingers.
The backward movement of (8) may be hindered. Therefore,
It becomes impossible to stack articles (9) with a specific surface thereof directed in a predetermined direction.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the conventional load handling apparatus, the following operation is generally performed. That is, a temporary placing table (not shown) for the article (9) is provided between the end of the supply conveyor and the pallet, and the article (9) held by the grip (2) is temporarily placed on the temporary placing table and held. The direction changes to the desired direction. However, changing the gripping direction as described above requires extra work for installing the temporary stand, and requires additional space for installing the temporary stand.
In addition, there is a problem that an extra robot working time is required due to the change operation of the gripping direction of the article (9) and the handling time as a whole becomes long.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a first object of the present invention is to handle a load capable of gripping articles from a direction in which normal gripping can be released based on a required loading direction. To get the equipment.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a second object of the present invention is to handle a load having a handle which does not require a space for retreating the holding member when releasing the holding of the article. To get the equipment.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an industrial robot,
A handle provided on the industrial robot for gripping the article via the side surface and the bottom edge of the article, a supply device whose end is arranged near the industrial robot and sequentially supplies the article, and an opposing portion smaller than the article bottom surface And a push-up device that is provided at the end of the supply device and that pushes up the central portion of the bottom surface of the supplied article.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an industrial robot, and an industrial robot, and a handle provided on the industrial robot for gripping the article via the side and bottom edges of the article. A supply device whose end is located near the industrial robot and sequentially supplies the articles, and a push-up body composed of a facing part smaller than the bottom of the article is provided at the end of the supply device and the bottom of the supplied article is provided. A push-up device for pushing up the central portion and a control device for instructing the industrial robot to perform a gripping operation from a direction in which normal gripping can be released based on a required stacking direction for the articles pushed up by the push-up device are provided.

Further, in the article handling apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, an industrial robot, an end portion is provided near the industrial robot, and a supply apparatus for sequentially supplying articles are provided in the industrial robot. A grip for gripping the article through the side surface and the bottom edge of the article, and the supporting portion facing the bottom edge of the article when the grip is released is provided with a handle that retreats without the retracting of the finger facing the side surface of the article. To be

Further, in the load handling apparatus according to the invention of claim 4 of the present invention, the load handling apparatus of claim 3 is provided with a support portion which is formed on a support finger and is pivotally retracted.

[0014]

In the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention configured as described above, the article is pushed up by the pushing device at the end of the feeding device, and the handle of the industrial robot is based on the required loading direction. The article is gripped and conveyed from the direction.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2 of the present invention configured as described above, the article is pushed up by the pushing device at the end of the feeding device, and the industrial robot operates according to a command from the control device. Then, the articles are gripped and conveyed from the direction based on the required stacking direction.

In the invention according to claim 3 of the present invention configured as described above, the article is grasped and conveyed from an appropriate direction by the handle at the end portion of the supply device.
Then, the grip is released in the required stacking direction by the rotation of the grip without the fingers of the grip facing the side surface of the article being retracted.

In the invention according to claim 4 of the present invention configured as described above, the article is gripped and conveyed from the appropriate direction by the handle at the end portion of the supply device.
Then, the grip is released in a desired stacking direction by the rotation of the handle without the retracting of the finger of the handle facing the side surface of the article through the pivotal retracting operation of the support portion.

[0018]

EXAMPLES Example 1. 1 and 2 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a supply device arranged facing an industrial robot of a cargo handling device, and FIG. 2 is a right side view of FIG. Yes, an industrial robot and a handle similar to those in FIGS. 14 to 16 described above except for FIGS. 1 and 2 are provided. In the figure,
(9) is an article to be handled as a load, (11) is a supply device consisting of a roller conveyor whose ends are arranged near an industrial robot and sequentially supplies the article (9), and side guides (1
2) and a blocking plate (13) at the end.

Reference numeral (14) is a pressing device provided on the side surface of the end portion of the supply device (11) for pressing the conveyed article (9) against the side surface guide (12) on one side, and (15) is a supply device (11). A push-up device provided on the floor surface (16) at the end portion, which consists of facing portions smaller than the bottom surface of the article (9) and protrudes from between the rollers of the supply device (11), and the end of the supply device (11). A push-up body (17) for pushing up the central portion of the bottom surface of the article (9) conveyed to the section is provided.

In the cargo handling apparatus constructed as described above, the articles (9) are successively conveyed by the feeder (11) and hit the blocking plate (13) to stop. Then, the article (9) stopped by the operation of the pressing device (14) is a side guide of the supply device (11).
(12) is pressed and positioned. Next, the lifting device (1
5) is operated and positioned, and the article (9) is pushed up by the push-up body (17) above the upper surface of the side guide (12) of the supply device (11).

Then, the gripping of articles from the normal stacking direction based on the required stacking direction on the pallet (not shown) is instructed to the control device of the industrial robot from the host control means (not shown). In response to this command, the article (9) positioned and pushed up by the push-up body (17) above the upper surface of the side guide (12) of the supply device (11), and also pushed up. Since the portion of the body (17) facing the bottom surface of the article (9) is configured to be smaller than the bottom surface of the article (9), the article (9) can be positioned in any direction from the arrow a to the arrow d shown in FIG. ) Can be gripped according to the direction according to the command.

Therefore, the grasped article is not affected by obstacles such as the article (9) previously loaded.
(9) can be easily and normally unloaded in the required loading direction on the pallet. The gripping and releasing of gripping of the article (9) are performed as described below. That is, as in the case of FIGS. 14 to 16 described above, the article (9) is placed in FIGS.
The fixed finger (5) and the movable finger (6) in 6 pinch and lift, and then the supporting finger (8) operates to support the bottom surface of the article (9) by the supporting portion (7).

Then, the gripped article (9) is moved to a predetermined position by the industrial robot, and as shown in FIG. 15, a fixed finger () is attached to the side surface of the article (9) previously stacked on the support surface (10). Five)
Are in contact with each other, and a space A is formed between the support portion (7) and the support surface (10). Then the supporting fingers (8)
Is retracted, the pinching force by the movable finger (6) is released, and the gripped articles (9) descend and are stacked as shown in FIG.

In this case, although it is necessary to allow the supporting fingers (8) to retreat when lowering the gripped article (9), the article positioned in any direction of the arrows a to d shown in FIG. (9) is capable of being gripped, and when the article (9) is unloaded, the article (9) or other obstacle previously stacked,
The article (9) positioned in a direction that does not prevent the backward movement of the supporting finger (8) is gripped. Therefore, the grasped articles (9) can be easily unloaded normally in the required loading direction on the pallet.

As a result, it is necessary to install the temporary table for changing the gripping direction of the article (9), an extra space is required for installing the temporary table, and the operation of changing the gripping direction. It is possible to solve the problem that the cargo handling time becomes longer as a whole due to the extra time, and the cargo handling work efficiency of the article (9) can be improved.

Example 2. 3 to 13 are views showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a side view of a grip portion of an industrial robot of a cargo handling device, FIG. 4 is a right side view of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 and FIG. 3A and 3B are views for explaining a load handling state of an article by the handle of FIG. 3, respectively, and a bottom view of FIG. 3, and FIGS. 7 to 11 are views for explaining a load handling state of an article by the handle of FIG. 3 respectively. FIG.

In the figure, (1) is an operating tip of an industrial robot (not shown), and (2) is a rotating shaft (3) on the operating tip (1).
The handle attached via the base body (4), the fixed finger (5) provided on one side of the base body (4), the movable finger (6) provided on the other side of the base body (4), and the fixed finger. (5) is provided with a hook-shaped support part (7) protruding from the fixed finger (5) at the lower end part, and the support finger (8) is rotatably operated, and is provided on the base body (4) and movable. Fix finger (6) Finger (5)
It is composed of a drive mechanism (18) for advancing and retreating with respect to and a rotating mechanism (19) provided on the base body (4) for rotating the supporting finger (8).

(9) is an article handled by the handle (2), (1
(0) is a pallet surface on which the article (9) is placed or a support surface consisting of the upper surface of the article (9) previously stacked, and (11) is an article (9) whose end is located near the industrial robot. Is a supply device composed of a roller conveyor for sequentially supplying. Note that the fixed finger (5)
The movable finger (6) is manufactured to have the same thickness, and is as thin as possible within a range where a gripping function can be obtained, for example, a thickness of about 10 mm.

In the load handling device configured as described above, the articles (9) are sequentially transported by the supply device (11),
By the operation of the control device (not shown) of the supply device (11), the edge of the article (9) is arranged at a position protruding from the end of the supply device (11) as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the grip (2) is arranged so as to surround the article (9) by the fixed finger (5) and the movable finger (6). Then the handle (2) moves and the fixed finger
The state in which the movable finger (6) is moved in the direction of the fixed finger (5) while the (5) is applied to the article (9), and the supporting finger (8) is rotated to move the supporting portion (7) to the state shown in FIG. To the projected position shown in FIG. As a result, a gap B is formed between the bottom surface of the article (9) and the support portion (7).
The state shown in FIG.

When the handle (2) is raised in the state shown in FIG. 8, the article (9) descends with respect to the handle (2) and the bottom surface of the article (9) is supported by the support portion (7) as shown in FIG. In the state shown, the article (9) is gripped and conveyed. Then, in the state shown in FIG. 9, the handle (2) is rotated so that the articles (9) are oriented in the required stacking direction, and as shown in FIG. 10, the outside of the fixed finger (5) is stacked first. The article (9) attached is placed so that a gap C is formed between the support surface (10) and the support portion (7).

Then, the supporting finger (8) is rotated to move the supporting portion.
When (7) is changed from the state shown in FIG. 5 to the retracted position shown in FIG. 6, the article (9) descends from the handle (2). Then, by raising the handle (2) in the state shown in FIG. 11, the required product which is separated by the thickness dimension of the fixed finger (5) with respect to the obstacles such as the article (9) previously stacked is obtained. The articles (9) are unloaded and stacked at a predetermined position in the mounting direction. At this time, the gripping members such as the movable fingers (6) facing the side surface of the article (9) of the grip (2) are released without being retracted, that is, without requiring room for the gripping members to retract. Goods
You can take down (9).

By such gripping and gripping releasing operation of the article (2), the directionality in the gripping operation of the article (9) by the grip (2) disappears, and the restriction by the gripping direction of the article (2) is eliminated. To be done. As a result, in the supply device (11)
Even if the grip (2) is used to grip the (9) from a certain direction, the article can be easily
(9) can be normally stacked at a predetermined position in the required stacking direction.

Therefore, it is unnecessary to install the temporary stand for changing the gripping direction of the article (9), an extra space is required for installing the temporary stand, and an extra operation is required for changing the holding direction. It is possible to solve the problem that it takes a long time and the handling time becomes long as a whole.
It is possible to improve the load handling work efficiency of (9).

Example 3. 12 and 13 are views showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 12 and 13 are views for explaining the load handling state of the articles by the handle of FIG. 3, respectively. 11 is a view corresponding to FIG. Further, in addition to FIGS. 12 and 13, a handle, a supply device, etc. are shown in FIGS.
The configuration is similar to that of the above-mentioned embodiment. In the figure, FIG.
11, and the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

Also in the embodiment of FIGS. 12 and 13, the article (9) is gripped and the grip (2) is rotated so that the article (9) is required as in the embodiment of FIGS. 7 to 11. Turned in the loading direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the outer side of the movable finger (6) is applied to the article (9) which has been stacked first, and the supporting surface (10) and the supporting portion are
It is arranged with a gap C formed between (7).

Then, the supporting finger (8) is rotated to move the supporting portion.
When (7) is changed from the state shown in FIG. 5 to the retracted position shown in FIG. 6, the article (9) descends from the handle (2). Then, by raising the handle (2) in the state shown in FIG. 13, the required product which is separated by the thickness dimension of the movable finger (6) from the obstacles such as the article (9) previously stacked is obtained. The articles (9) are unloaded and stacked at a predetermined position in the mounting direction. At this time, the gripping member such as the movable finger (6) facing the side surface of the product (9) of the handle (2) does not move backward, that is, the product (9) does not require room for the gripping member to retract. Can be lowered.

By such gripping and gripping releasing operation of the article (2), the directionality in the gripping operation of the article (9) by the grip (2) disappears, and the restriction by the gripping direction of the article (2) is eliminated. To be done. Therefore, although detailed description is omitted, FIG.
It is apparent that the same effects as those of the embodiments of FIGS. 7 to 11 can be obtained in the embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 13.

[0038]

As described above, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention has an industrial robot, a handle provided on the industrial robot for gripping an article through the side and bottom edges of the article, and an end. A supply device, which is arranged near the industrial robot and sequentially supplies the articles, and a push-up body composed of an opposing portion smaller than the bottom surface of the article is provided at the end of the supply device and the central portion of the bottom surface of the supplied article And a push-up device for pushing up.

As a result, the articles are pushed up by the pushing device at the end of the supply device, and the articles can be grasped by the handle of the industrial robot from the direction based on the required stacking direction. Then, the grasped articles can be easily and normally unloaded in the required loading direction for the pallet without being affected by obstacles such as the articles previously loaded, thereby improving the load handling work efficiency of the articles. effective.

As described above, the invention according to claim 2 of the present invention has an industrial robot, a handle provided on the industrial robot for gripping the article through the side and bottom edges of the article, and an end. Part is located near the industrial robot and sequentially supplies articles, and a push-up body consisting of facing parts smaller than the bottom surface of the article is provided at the end of the supply device and the center of the bottom of the supplied article is provided. A push-up device that pushes up a section and a control device that instructs the industrial robot to perform a gripping operation from a direction in which the articles pushed up by the push-up device can be normally loaded based on the required loading direction Is.

As a result, the article is pushed up by the push-up device at the end of the supply device, the industrial robot operates according to a command from the control device, and the article is gripped and conveyed from the direction based on the required stacking direction. It Then, the grasped articles can be easily and normally unloaded in the required loading direction for the pallet without being affected by obstacles such as the articles previously loaded, thereby improving the load handling work efficiency of the articles. effective.

In addition, as described above, the invention according to claim 3 of the present invention is provided in the industrial robot, the industrial robot, the end portion is disposed near the industrial robot, and the supply device sequentially supplies the articles. A grip is provided for gripping the article through the side surface and the bottom edge of the article, and the support portion facing the bottom edge of the article when the grip is released is provided with a handle that retreats without the retreat of the finger facing the side surface of the article. It is a thing.

As a result, the article is grasped and conveyed from the appropriate direction by the handle at the end of the supply device.
Then, the grip is released in a desired stacking direction by the rotation of the handle without the retracting of the finger of the handle facing the side surface of the article through the retracting operation of the support portion. Therefore, even if the article is gripped from a certain direction in the supply device, the article can be easily and normally unloaded in the required loading direction without being affected by an obstacle such as the article previously loaded. This has the effect of improving the work efficiency of handling cargo.

Further, as described above, the invention according to claim 4 of the present invention is such that the load handling apparatus according to claim 3 is provided with the support portion which is formed on the support finger and which is pivotally retracted.

As a result, the article is grasped and conveyed from the appropriate direction by the handle at the end of the supply device. Then, the grip is released in a desired stacking direction by the rotation of the handle without the retracting of the finger of the handle facing the side surface of the article through the pivotal retracting operation of the support portion. Therefore,
Even if the supply device grips articles from a certain direction, they can be easily and normally unloaded in the required loading direction without being affected by obstacles such as previously loaded articles. It has the effect of improving handling efficiency.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view of a supply device arranged to face an industrial robot of a load handling device.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a second embodiment of the present invention and is a side view of a grip portion of an industrial robot of a cargo handling device.

FIG. 4 is a right side view of FIG.

5 is a view for explaining a load handling state of articles by the handle of FIG. 3, and is a bottom view of FIG. 3.

6 is a bottom view of FIG. 3 for explaining another handling condition of the article by the handle of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a load handling state of articles by the handle of FIG. 3, and is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 described above.

8 is a diagram for explaining another load handling state of the article by the handle of FIG. 3, and is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 described above.

9 is a view for explaining another load handling state of the article by the handle of FIG. 3, corresponding to FIG. 2 described above.

10 is a view for explaining another load handling state of the article by the handle of FIG. 3, corresponding to FIG. 2 described above.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining another load handling state of the article by the handle of FIG. 3, and is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 described above.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention and is the same as FIG.
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a load handling state of the article by the handle of FIG.

13 is a view for explaining another load handling state of the article by the handle of FIG. 3 described above in FIG. 12, and is a view corresponding to FIG. 11 described above.

FIG. 14 is a side view of a grip portion of an industrial robot showing a conventional load handling device.

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining a state in which an article is handled as a load by the handle of FIG. 14;

16 is a view for explaining another handling state of articles by the handle shown in FIG. 14;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Handle 5 Fixed finger 6 Movable finger 7 Support part 8 Support finger 9 Article 11 Supply device 15 Pushing device 17 Pushing body

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An industrial robot, a handle provided on the industrial robot for holding the article via side and bottom edge portions of the article, and an end portion arranged near the industrial robot to sequentially supply the article. And a pushing-up device that is provided at the end of the feeding device provided with a push-up body that is smaller than the bottom face of the article and that pushes up the bottom central portion of the fed article. A cargo handling device equipped. 2. An industrial robot, a handle provided on the industrial robot for holding the article via side and bottom edge portions of the article, and an end portion arranged near the industrial robot to sequentially supply the article. And a feeding device that is provided at the end portion of the feeding device provided with a push-up body that is smaller than the bottom surface of the article, and that pushes up the bottom central portion of the fed article, A load handling device comprising: a control device for instructing the industrial robot to perform a gripping operation from a direction in which normal gripping can be released based on a required stacking direction of the articles pushed up by the lifting device. 3. An industrial robot, a supply device having ends arranged near the industrial robot to sequentially supply the articles, and the industrial robot provided on the industrial robot to grip the articles via side and bottom edges of the articles. And a handle which has a supporting portion facing the edge of the bottom surface when the grip is released, and a retracting operation without retracting the finger facing the side surface. 4. The load handling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the load handling device is a support portion formed on a support finger and capable of rotating and retracting.