JPH07251943A - Cargo handling method and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a cargo handling method wherein the position in the direction of height of an article is detectable without needing excessive operation of an industrial. CONSTITUTION:The position of an article 17 on a topmost stage of a stack is detected by a first height measuring device 12 and an industrial robot perform grasping operation. During grasping operation of the article 17 on a topmost stage, a second height measuring device 13 is operated to detect the position of a next grasping article 17. Based on a detecting value therefrom, grasping operation for the next grasping article 17 is commanded to the industrial robot. In this way, a handling work for stacked articles 12 is continuously carried out. This constitution reduces excessive operation of the industrial robot to detect the upper surface position of the article, shortens a cargo handling time, and improves cargo handling efficiency.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a bound printed matter,
The present invention relates to a load handling method and an apparatus for loading or unloading bagged grains and the like by an industrial robot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Bound printed matter, bagged grains,
An article made of a soft elastic material, such as a raw rubber material, is easily deformed, and in particular, the difference in the thickness, that is, the dimension in the height direction becomes large. Therefore, when a plurality of such articles are stacked on a pallet, it is difficult to specify the height direction position of each article. Therefore, in the article in such a state, the article is loaded or unloaded by the industrial robot by the means described below.

That is, as a first means, a height detecting piece which is arranged so as to project downward from a handle of an industrial robot and is operated by hitting an article is provided, and the handle is lowered at a low speed from above the article to detect the height. The industrial robot is stopped at the position where was operated. The top surface position of the article is detected by reading the coordinates of the industrial robot at this time by the encoder of each axis. Then, based on the detected upper surface position of the article, the next article is stacked on the article.

As a second means, a non-contact type height detector using ultrasonic waves, laser, etc. for measuring the height of the article is provided on one side of the handle of the industrial robot, and the height is detected above the article. Move your body to stop the industrial robot.
Then, the height detector is operated to measure the distance to the upper surface of the article, and the upper surface position of the article is detected from the measured value and the data read from each axis encoder of the industrial robot.
Then, based on the detected upper surface position of the article, the next article is stacked on the article.

[0005]

In the conventional load handling method as described above, the time required for the height detecting piece to descend at a low speed from above the article is long, and the load handling time per article is long. Efficiency is low. Further, since the non-contact height detector needs to stop the industrial robot and then operate it, the stop of the industrial robot is a waste of time and the handling time per item is long and the handling efficiency is low. There was a problem that

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and provides a load handling method and apparatus capable of detecting the position of an article in the height direction without requiring an extra operation of an industrial robot. With the goal.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a handle for an industrial robot in which a position of an article gripped by the handle is measured.
A height measuring instrument and a second height measuring instrument for measuring the position of the article below the article gripped by the handle are provided. Then, the industrial robot is instructed to perform the gripping operation of the article by the grip based on the measurement value of the first height measuring instrument, and the next gripping operation of the article is performed through the measurement value of the second height measuring instrument based on the movement of the gripping article. Commanded by an industrial robot.

Further, in the load handling method according to the second aspect of the present invention, the first height for measuring the position of the industrial robot and the article provided on the handle of the industrial robot and held by the handle. A measuring device, a second height measuring device provided on the handle for measuring the position of the lower part of the product gripped by the handle, and a measurement value of the first height measuring device and the second height measuring device. A control device for instructing the movement of the handle to the industrial robot is provided.

Further, in the load handling method according to the invention of claim 3 of the present invention, the handle of the industrial robot, the first height measuring device for measuring the position of the article held by the handle, and the handle A movable support arm that supports the bottom surface of the formed article and a second height measuring device that is provided near the movable support arm and that measures the position of the article below the article that is gripped by the handle are provided. Then, the upper surface of the uppermost article of the articles, which are horizontally arranged by horizontally moving the plurality of handles and are stacked in multiple stages, are measured at once by the first height measuring device, and the measured values are used to determine the handle. The industrial robot is instructed to perform the gripping operation of the uppermost article, and the industrial robot is instructed to perform the next gripping operation of the article by the measurement value of the second height measuring device through the support of the gripped article by the movable support arm.

Further, in the load handling method according to the invention of claim 4, the position of the article which is provided outside the article held by the handle of the industrial robot and is held by the handle is located. A height measuring device for measuring the height is provided, the handles are moved horizontally, and the upper surface of a plurality of articles arranged horizontally is measured at once by the height measuring instrument, and the gripping operation for the plurality of arranged articles by the grip is measured according to the measured value. Is commanded to the industrial robot.

Further, in the load handling method according to the invention of claim 5, a handle of the industrial robot is provided with a height measuring device for measuring the position of the article held by the handle, and the handle is horizontally mounted. When the value measured by the height measuring device for the step difference between the plurality of articles is smaller than the specified value, the industrial robot is instructed to load other articles on top of each other based on the measured values. When the value measured by the height measuring device of the step difference between the articles exceeds the specified value, the operation of loading the other articles on each other is stopped to notify that the article cannot be loaded.

[0012]

In the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention as described above, the position of the uppermost article is detected by the first height measuring device, and the handle of the industrial robot operates. Then, the next operation for gripping the article is instructed to the industrial robot through the operation of the second height measuring device during the gripping operation for the grip, and the article handling operation is continuously performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention as described above, the position of the uppermost article is detected by the first height measuring device, and the handle of the industrial robot operates.
Then, the next operation for gripping the article is instructed to the industrial robot through the operation of the second height measuring device during the gripping operation for the grip, and the article handling operation is continuously performed.

In the invention according to claim 3 of the present invention as described above, the position of the stacked uppermost article is first.
The industrial robot performs a gripping operation by being detected all at once by the height measuring device. Then, the second operation at the time of gripping operation of the uppermost article
The next gripping operation of the articles is instructed to the industrial robot via the operation of the height measuring instrument, and the work of handling the stacked articles is continuously performed.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4 of the present invention as described above, the position of a plurality of horizontally arranged articles is detected at once by the height measuring device, and the handle of the industrial robot operates as a handle. Next, the next position detection of the gripping operation article by the height measuring device is repeated, and the article handling work by the industrial robot is continuously performed.

Further, in the invention according to claim 5 of the present invention as described above, when the measurement value of the upper surface step difference between the plurality of articles arranged in the horizontal direction by the height measuring device is smaller than the specified value, Other articles are stacked on top of each other based on the measurements. Further, when the measured value of the step difference between the tops of the articles exceeds the specified value, the loading of the other articles on top of each other is stopped, and the fact that the articles cannot be loaded is notified.

[0017]

【Example】

Example 1. 1 to 9 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a load handling device, and FIGS. 2 to 5 are vertical diagrams for explaining an article gripping state by the load handling device of FIG. 1, respectively. FIGS. 6 and 7 are elevation views for explaining how the cargo handling device of FIG. 1 releases the grip on the upper surface of the shipping pallet, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are stowed products by the cargo handling device of FIG. 1, respectively. FIG. 7 is an elevational view for explaining how the article is released from the upper surface.

In the figure, (1) is a horizontal joint type industrial robot having a working area (2), including a swivel base (3), an arm (4) and an arm (4).
A handle (7) mounted via a rotating shaft (6) is provided at the most distal end of the operation of the lifting shaft (5) and the arm (4). Also, the handle (7)
Is a base body (8), an elevating piece (9) vertically movable on the base body (8), a suction tool (10) provided on the lower surface of the elevating piece (9), and an L-shaped base body ( It is constituted by a support body (11) provided in 8) and capable of advancing and retracting toward a lower corresponding position of the suction tool (10).

Reference numeral (12) is a first height measuring device provided on the lower surface of the lifting piece (9) for emitting ultrasonic waves, laser beams, etc., and (13) is attached to the support (11) for ultrasonic waves, laser light. It is a second height measuring device that emits a light beam and operates downward. (14) is an industrial robot (1), a control device connected to a supply device and a shipping device described later, (15) is a supply device consisting of a conveyor provided on one side of the industrial robot (1), (16) is A plurality of supply pallets conveyed by a supply device (15), each of which has a plurality of articles (1
7) are placed in a stack.

(18) is a shipping device comprising a conveyor provided on the other side of the industrial robot (1), and (19) is a shipping device (18) on which the required articles (17) corresponding to the shipping command are loaded. It is a shipping pallet transported by. The article (17) is made of a bundle of printed matter, a bag of grains, and a soft elastic material such as raw rubber material.

In the load handling device configured as described above, the articles (17) loaded on the respective supply pallets (16)
, Outline dimensions, stacking layout of each stage, number of stacking stages, and cargo handling requirements such as theoretical calculation position of the uppermost article (17) on the top of the stowed industrial robot (1) Registered in device (14). Then, the supply device (15) is operated by a command from the control device (14) based on the shipping procedure, and the supply pallet (16) on which the required article (17) is placed is placed at the position facing the industrial robot (1). To do.

Further, the shipping device (18) is operated by a command from the control device (14) based on the shipping procedure, and the shipping pallet (19) consisting of empty pallets is arranged at a position facing the industrial robot (1). The upper surface position of the shipping pallet (19) with respect to the industrial robot (1) is registered in the control device (14).

Next, the industrial robot (1) operates according to a command from the control device (14) based on the shipping procedure, and the required supply pallet (1) placed at the opposite position of the industrial robot (1).
At the upper position of the article (17) placed at the top of (6), the suction tool (1
0) is placed. In this state, the lifting piece (9) is arranged at the uppermost part of the vertical portion of the base body (8) to be in the state shown in FIG.

In this state, the first height measuring instrument (11) is urged and the handle (7) is lowered at a low speed. Then, when the distance between the upper surface of the article (17) arranged on the uppermost stage of the supply pallet (16) and the suction tool (10) becomes the specified dimension A shown in FIG. 3, the handle (7) is lowered. Stopped and the first height measuring instrument
(11) is deactivated.

Next, the lifting piece (9) moves down to adsorb the upper surface of the opposed article (17), and the lifting piece (9) moves up to raise the adsorbed article (17) and support it. The body (11) is operated and inserted into the lower side of the adsorbed article (17) to be in the state shown in FIG. Then, the lifting piece (9) descends and the sucked article (17) is supported by the support body (11) as shown in FIG. Also, the second height measuring instrument (13) is urged at the same time when the ascending / descending piece (9) starts to descend, and the article (17) below the article (17) adsorbed by the inserting operation of the support (11) The upper surface position of () is measured, and the measured value is registered in the control device (14).

Then, the industrial robot (1) operates to operate as shown in FIG.
The article (17) gripped as shown in Fig.
The upper surface position with respect to is transported to the shipping pallet (19) registered in the control device (14) and arranged as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the lower surface of the support body (11) supporting the article (17) is arranged at a position where a small void B defined with respect to the upper surface of the shipping pallet (19) is formed. Next, the support body (11) moves backward, the suction tool (10) is deenergized, and the article (17) descends and is placed at a predetermined position on the shipping pallet (19) as shown in FIG. With the first height measuring device
(12) is activated.

Then, in a state where the article (17) shown in FIG. 7 is placed at a predetermined position on the shipping pallet (19) and is stationary, the upper surface position of the article (17) is the first height measuring instrument (12). Is registered in the control device (14) according to the measured value of. Industrial robot
(1) is repeated, and all the articles (17) on the uppermost stage of the required supply pallets (16) arranged at the facing positions of the industrial robot (1) are stacked on the shipping pallet (19).

Further, the article (17) at the second stage of the required supply pallet (16) arranged at the position opposite to the industrial robot (1), that is, the article (17) at the uppermost stage is conveyed and becomes the upper surface. Goods
The transportation of (17) is performed as described below. That is, the upper surface position of the article (17) on the second stage of the required supply pallet (16) is
The control device (14) measured by the second height measuring instrument (13) during the gripping operation of the uppermost article (17) of the supply pallet (16).
Registered in. Therefore, the handle (7) is directly placed at the position shown in FIG. 3 by the operation of the industrial robot (1).

After passing through the state shown in FIG. 4, the article (17) in the second stage of the supply pallet (16) is gripped and conveyed to the shipping pallet (19) as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the upper surface position of the article (17) on the uppermost stage of the required supply pallet (16) previously stacked on the shipping pallet (19) is the first height measuring device ( 12) Measured by controller (1
It is registered in 4). Therefore, the handle (7) is directly moved by the industrial robot (1) to the position shown in FIG.
The lower surface of the support body (11) supporting (17) forms a small void C defined with respect to the upper surface of the article (17) previously stacked on the shipping pallet (19) as shown in FIG. Placed in position.

Then, the support body (11) moves backward, the suction tool (10) is de-energized, and the article (17) descends, so that the shipping pallet (19) is first loaded as shown in FIG. The article (17) is placed at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the article (17) and the first height measuring instrument (12) is urged. Then, the article (17) loaded afterward as shown in FIG. 9 is loaded on the shipping pallet (19) first (1
7) The first height measuring instrument (12) is the upper surface position of the article (17) that is loaded afterward while being placed at a predetermined position on the upper surface and standing still.
Is registered in the control device (14) according to the measured value of.

The above operation is repeated by the industrial robot (1), and all the articles (17) in the second stage of the required supply pallet (16) arranged at the position opposed to the industrial robot (1) are shipped first to the shipping pallet ( The article (17) stacked in 19) is stacked on the upper surface. In this way, the articles (17) on and after the third stage of the required supply pallet (16) are sequentially gripped and conveyed, and the shipping pallet (1
The article (17) stacked in 9) is stacked on the upper surface. Then, the upper surface position of the article (17) to be gripped on the supply pallet (16) and the stacked article (17) on the shipping pallet (19) are measured and registered during the gripping operation and the stacking operation of the article (17). To be done.

Therefore, it is possible to reduce unnecessary operations of the industrial robot (1) such as lowering the article (17) at a low speed from above to detect the upper surface position of the article (17) and temporarily stopping the industrial robot (1). it can. As a result, the load handling time per article (17) can be shortened and the load handling efficiency can be improved. It should be noted that in the above description of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 9, a handle of a type that supports and holds the lower surface of the article (17).
Although (7) is provided, it can be easily applied to a case in which a handle for adsorbing only the upper surface of the article (17) is provided by applying the above-described embodiment, and FIG. The same operation as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 can be obtained.

Further, in the above description of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 9, each time the industrial robot (1) grips the article (17) arranged on the uppermost stage of the required supply pallet (16), First
The height measuring device (11) was urged to measure the position of the corresponding article (17). On the other hand, when the required supply pallet (16) is placed at the position opposite to the industrial robot (1), the grip (7) moves all the articles (1) at the top of the supply pallet (16).
Move the industrial robot (1) horizontally so that it passes above the center position of 7).

As a result, the positions of all the articles (17) on the uppermost stage of the supply pallet (16) are measured at once and the control device
By registering in (14), the handles (7) for all the articles (17) on the uppermost stage of the supply pallet (16) can be directly arranged at the positions shown in FIG. Therefore, every time the gripping operation is performed on the article (17) arranged on the uppermost stage of the supply pallet (16), the elevating piece (9) descends and the first height measuring device (1)
It is possible to save the time required to measure the position of the corresponding article (17) by urging 1). As a result, it is possible to further shorten the load handling time per article (17), and further improve the load handling efficiency.

Further, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 9, the industrial robot (1) is of horizontal joint type, but this is for the following reason. That is, the handle (7)
When the industrial robot (1) is moved horizontally so that it passes over the center position of all articles (17) at the top of the supply pallet (16), the vertical axis (5) of the industrial robot (1) There is no movement. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the delay element between the vertical operation command that is generally generated and the actual mechanical operation, so that even if the industrial robot (1) is horizontally operated, the article (1
The advantage of making the measurement value of the height direction position of 7) accurate is obtained.

When a vertical joint type industrial robot is installed and horizontally operated as described above, it is necessary to operate the joints of the respective axes, and when the robot is operated at a high speed, there is a delay between the operation command and the actual mechanical operation. Is delayed. Therefore, the article
The measurement of the position in the height direction of (17) may be inaccurate.

In order to prevent such a problem in the vertical joint type industrial robot, it is necessary to operate the robot at a low speed so that no delay occurs between the operation command and the actual mechanical operation. However, since only the uppermost article (17) in the article (17) stacked in multiple steps is the target of the position measurement in the height direction, conveyance of all the articles (17) on the supply pallet (16). The ratio of height direction position measurement time to time is small. Therefore, there is little influence on the load handling efficiency of all articles (17) on the supply pallet (16), and the type of the industrial robot (1) is not limited to the horizontal joint type in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 9. However, it is also possible to use a vertical joint type industrial robot.

Example 2. 10 and 11 are views showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing an article stacking arrangement of an odd number of stages by the load handling device, and FIG. 11 is an even number stage by the load handling device in FIG. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the article stacking arrangement of FIG. 10, and a load handling device similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 9 except for FIGS. 10 and 11 is configured. Although not shown in the figure, a plurality of second height measuring devices (13) are mounted separately from each other on the horizontal portion of the support arm (11). The same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 9 indicate corresponding parts.

In the cargo handling device configured as described above, the loading arrangement of the articles (17) and the loading position of each article (17) are registered in advance in the control device (14), and the cargo handling is performed based on this information. Various operations are performed. Then, a cargo handling operation similar to that of the embodiment shown in FIGS.
The upper article (17) is sucked by the suction tool (10), and the lifting piece (9)
The article (17) that has been moved down and adsorbed is supported by the support (11) as shown in FIG. At this time, the grasped article
The second height measuring instrument (13) near the center of the article (17) on the supply pallet (16) below the (17) is energized.

Next, the grasped articles (17) are stacked over a plurality of the articles (17) on the shipping pallet (19) which have already been stacked. For this reason, multiple items (1
The higher of the height positions of 7) is set as the position of the loaded articles (17). And this stowed article (1
Based on the position 7), the handle (7) is directly moved by the industrial robot (1) to the position shown in FIG. 8, that is, the lower surface of the support body (11) supporting the article (17) is moved to the position shown in FIG. The article (17) previously placed on the shipping pallet (19) is placed at a position where a small void C defined is formed on the upper surface of the article (17).

Then, the support body (11) moves backward, the suction tool (10) is de-energized, and the article (17) descends, so that the shipping pallet (19) is first loaded as shown in FIG. The article (17) thus placed is placed at a predetermined position on the upper surface. In addition, if the height positions of a plurality of stacked articles (17) adjacent to each other are different from each other by more than a specified value, they are placed on the stacked articles (17). In order to prevent the articles (17) from falling, the control device (14) prevents the loading operation in FIG.

As described above, the upper surface positions of the articles (17) to be gripped on the supply pallet (16) and the stacked articles (17) on the shipping pallet (19) are in the gripping operation and the stacking operation of the articles (17). Will be measured and registered at. Therefore,
It is possible to reduce unnecessary movements of the industrial robot (1) such as lowering of the handle (7) at a low speed from above the article (17) for detecting the upper surface position of the article (17) and temporary stop of the industrial robot (1). it can. Therefore, it is apparent that the same effects as those of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 9 can be obtained in the embodiments of FIGS. 10 and 11.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 10 and 11, the load handling operation of transferring the articles (17) on the supply pallet (16) to the shipping pallet (19) has been described. However, this handling operation moves the article (17) on the supply pallet (16) to the end of the article (17) discharge conveyor (not shown), the end of the article (17) supply conveyor (not shown). It can be easily applied to the cargo handling operation of transferring from a department to a shipping pallet (19). In such a case, the height position of the end of the article (17) discharge conveyor and the height position of the end of the article (17) supply conveyor are known, and the same operation as the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 can be obtained. Is obvious.

Example 3. FIG. 12 is also a view showing another embodiment of the present invention, which is an elevational view of the grip portion of the industrial robot and is a view corresponding to the main part of FIG. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 indicate corresponding parts, and (10) is a compression coil spring on the base body (8).
It is a suction tool attached through (20). The expandable range of the compression coil spring (20) is set to be sufficiently large so as to absorb the difference in the thickness dimension of the article (17). Also,
The height measuring device (12) mounted on the lower surface of the base (8) is
It is arranged at a position apart from the suction tool (10) so that ultrasonic waves, laser beams, etc. directed downward during operation in a state where the article (17) is adsorbed by the article (17) are not blocked by the adsorbed article (17). ing.

In the cargo handling device configured as described above, the industrial robot (1) operates according to a command from the control device (14) based on the shipping procedure, and the industrial robot (1) is required to be placed at a facing position. The suction tool (10) is arranged above the article (17) arranged on the uppermost stage of the supply pallet (16). In this state, the height measuring instrument (12) is urged to horizontally move the industrial robot (1) so as to pass over the center position of the article (17) arranged on the uppermost stage of the supply pallet (16). Let

As a result, the positions of all the articles (17) on the uppermost stage of the supply pallet (16) are measured at once and the measured values are registered in the control device (14). And the article to be held (17)
After moving the grip (7) directly above the suction tool (10) to contact the article (17), the grip (17) is lowered by a specified distance to suck the article (17) facing the suction tool (10). To do. Then adsorbed articles (17)
Is lifted to a position away from the article (17) below it, and in this state the height measuring instrument (12) is urged to move the industrial robot (1) horizontally and The height of the top surface of the article (17) is measured and registered in the control device (14).

The above operation is repeated to supply the pallet (16)
All the articles (17) above are grasped and conveyed. Then, the gripped and conveyed articles (17) are stacked on the shipping pallet (19) as described below. That is, at the stacking position in the shipping pallet (19) whose height position is known, with a small gap formed between the lower surface of the gripped article (17) and the upper surface of the shipping pallet (19), the suction tool The adsorption of (10) is released and they are stacked.

Next, the handle (7) is raised to a position where a space is formed between the suction tool (10) and the top surface of the loaded articles (17).
In this state, the height measuring instrument (12) is activated and the industrial robot
(1) moves horizontally to move the center of the loaded articles (17), and the height of the top surface of the loaded articles (17) is measured and registered in the control device (14). By repeating such operations, the loading of the first-stage articles (17) on the shipping pallet (19) is completed,
Articles (17) on and after the second stage on the shipping pallet (19) are stacked on the basis of the upper surface height measurement value of the stacked articles (17).

As described above, the upper surface positions of the articles (17) to be gripped on the supply pallet (16) and the stacked articles (17) on the shipping pallet (19) are set during the gripping operation and the stacking operation of the articles (17). Will be measured and registered at. Therefore,
The operation of the industrial robot (1) for detecting the upper surface position of the article (17) can be reduced. Therefore, it is clear that the embodiment of FIG. 12 can obtain substantially the same operation as the embodiment of FIGS.

In the above description of the embodiment of FIG. 12, it is assumed that the suction type grip (7) for sucking and transporting the upper surface of the article (17) is provided, but the embodiment of FIG. It can be easily applied to the case where a grip type gripper that grips the side surface of the article (17) by applying an example or a grip for gripping the article (17) by another method is provided. , Fig. 12
It is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the embodiment.

In the embodiment of FIG. 12, the supply pallet (16) for supplying the article (17) and the shipping pallet (19) for loading the article (17) are handled as articles of the same type (17). I explained the case. However, the embodiment of FIG. 12 can be easily applied even when articles of different types (17) of different sizes are loaded on the supply pallet (16) and the shipping pallet (19). It is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the embodiment.

[0052]

As described above, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is held by the handle of the industrial robot, the first height measuring device for measuring the position of the article held by the handle, and the handle. A second height gauge is provided for measuring the position of the article below the article. Then, the industrial robot is instructed to carry out the gripping operation of the article by the grip according to the measurement value of the first height measuring instrument, and the gripping operation for the next article is performed through the measurement value of the second height measuring instrument by the movement of the gripping article. It is a command to the industrial robot.

As a result, the position of the topmost article is set to the first position.
The handle of the industrial robot is operated by being detected by the height measuring device. Then, the next operation for gripping the article is instructed to the industrial robot through the operation of the second height measuring device during the gripping operation of the article for the grip, and the article handling work is continuously performed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce unnecessary operations of the industrial robot for detecting the upper surface position of the article, shorten the load handling time, and improve the load handling efficiency.

In addition, as described above, the invention according to claim 2 of the present invention is the first height measurement for measuring the position of the industrial robot and the article provided on the handle of the industrial robot and held by the handle. Via a measuring instrument, a second height measuring instrument provided on the handle for measuring the position of the article below the article grasped by the handle, and the measurement values of the first height measuring instrument and the second height measuring instrument And a control device for instructing the movement of the handle to the industrial robot.

As a result, the position of the uppermost article is detected by the first height measuring device, and the handle of the industrial robot operates. Then, the next operation for gripping the article is instructed to the industrial robot through the operation of the second height measuring device during the gripping operation of the article for the grip, and the article handling work is continuously performed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce unnecessary operations of the industrial robot for detecting the upper surface position of the article, shorten the load handling time, and improve the load handling efficiency.

Further, as described above, the invention according to claim 3 of the present invention is carried by the handle of the industrial robot, the first height measuring device for measuring the position of the article held by the handle, and the handle. A movable support arm that supports the bottom surface of the article and a second height measuring device that is provided near the movable support arm and that measures the position of the article below the article gripped by the handle are provided. Then, the upper surface of the uppermost article of the articles, which are horizontally arranged by horizontally moving the plurality of handles and are stacked in multiple stages, are measured at once by the first height measuring device, and the measured values are used to determine the handle. The industrial robot is instructed to carry out the gripping operation of the uppermost article, and the industrial robot is commanded to carry out the next gripping operation of the article by the measurement value of the second height measuring device through the support of the gripped article by the movable supporting arm.

As a result, the position of the stacked uppermost articles is detected at once by the first height measuring instrument, and the industrial robot grips. Then, the next operation of gripping the article is instructed to the industrial robot through the operation of the second height measuring device during the gripping operation of the uppermost article, and the work of handling the stacked articles is continuously performed. Therefore, it is possible to further reduce unnecessary operations of the industrial robot for detecting the upper surface position of the article, and it is possible to shorten the load handling time and further improve the load handling efficiency.

Further, as described above, in the invention according to claim 4 of the present invention, the position of the article which is disposed outside the article provided on the handle of the industrial robot and held by the handle and which is held by the handle is set. A height measuring device for measuring is provided. Then, the handle is horizontally moved to measure the upper surface of the article in which a plurality of items are arranged in the horizontal direction at once by the height measuring instrument, and the measurement value is used to instruct the industrial robot to perform a handle operation for the plurality of arranged items. is there.

As a result, the positions of a plurality of horizontally arranged articles are detected at once by the height measuring instrument, and the grip of the industrial robot operates. Next, the next position detection of the gripping operation article by the height measuring device is repeated, and the article handling work by the industrial robot is continuously performed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce unnecessary operations of the industrial robot for detecting the upper surface position of the article, shorten the load handling time, and improve the load handling efficiency.

In the load handling method according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the handle of the industrial robot is provided with a height measuring device for measuring the position of the article held by the handle, and the height is measured in the horizontal direction. When the value measured by the height measuring device for the height difference of the upper surface of a plurality of articles arranged is smaller than the specified value, the industrial robot is instructed to perform the loading operation of other articles on top of each other based on the measured values. When the value measured by the height measuring device of the step difference between the upper surfaces of the articles exceeds the specified value, the operation of stacking other articles on top of each other is stopped to notify that the articles cannot be stacked.

Accordingly, when the height difference between the plurality of articles arranged in the horizontal direction by the height measuring device is small, another article is stacked on the other articles based on the measured value. Also, when there is a large difference in top surface between the articles,
The loading of other articles on top of each other is stopped and a notification is made that loading is impossible. Therefore, it is possible to reduce unnecessary operations of the industrial robot for detecting the upper surface position of the article, shorten the load handling time, and improve the load handling efficiency. Further, when there is a large difference in level between the articles, there is an effect of preventing the articles from falling due to the stacking of other articles on top of each other.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention and is an overall configuration diagram of a load handling device.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view for explaining a state of gripping an article by the load handling device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an elevation view for explaining another situation of gripping an article by the load handling device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an elevation view for explaining another situation of gripping an article by the load handling device of FIG.

5 is an elevation view for explaining another situation of gripping an article by the load handling device of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view for explaining the state of releasing the grip of articles on the upper surface of the shipping pallet by the cargo handling apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an elevation view for explaining another state of releasing the grip of the article on the upper surface of the shipping pallet by the load handling apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view for explaining how to release the grip of articles on the top surface of the stacked articles by the load handling device of FIG. 1;

9 is an elevational view for explaining another state of releasing gripping of articles on the top surface of stacked articles by the load handling device of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a view showing the second embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view showing an article stacking arrangement of odd-numbered stages by a load handling device.

11 is a plan view showing an even-numbered article stacking arrangement by the load handling device in FIG. 10. FIG.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a third embodiment of the present invention, and is a view corresponding to the main part of FIG. 2 and showing a handle in the load handling device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Industrial Robot 7 Handle 10 Adsorption Tool 11 Support Arm 12 First Height Measuring Instrument, Height Measuring Instrument 13 Second Height Measuring Instrument 14 Control Device 17 Article

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A first height measuring device for a handle of an industrial robot for measuring a position of an article held by the handle, and a second height measuring device for measuring a position of an article below the article held by the handle.
A height measuring device is provided, and the industrial robot is instructed to perform a grip operation of the article by the grip based on the measurement value of the first height measuring instrument, and the second height measuring device of the second height measuring instrument is operated by the grip of the article. A load handling method for instructing the industrial robot to perform the next gripping operation on the article through the measured value. 2. An industrial robot, a first height measuring device provided on a handle of the industrial robot to measure a position of an article gripped by the grip, and a first height measuring device provided on the grip and gripped by the grip. A second height measuring instrument that measures the position of the article below the article, and commands the industrial robot to operate the handle through the measurement values of the first height measuring instrument and the second height measuring instrument. Load handling device with a control device for controlling. 3. An industrial robot grip, a first height measuring device for measuring the position of an article gripped by the grip, a movable support arm for supporting a bottom surface of the article gripped by the grip, and the movable support arm. A second height measuring device, which is provided in the vicinity and measures the position of the article below the article grasped by the handle, is provided, and the handle is horizontally moved to arrange a plurality of pieces in a horizontal direction. The upper surface of the uppermost article of the articles stacked and arranged on the upper surface of the article is measured at once by the first height measuring instrument, and the measurement value is used to instruct the industrial robot to perform a gripping operation of the uppermost article by the handle. Gripping by a movable supporting arm A load handling method for instructing the industrial robot the next gripping operation of the article by the measurement value of the second height measuring device through the support of the article. 4. A height measuring device provided on a handle of an industrial robot and arranged outside the article gripped by the grip to measure the position of the article gripped by the grip, and the grip moves horizontally. Then, the upper surface of the plurality of articles arranged in the horizontal direction is measured at once by the height measuring instrument, and the load handling method for instructing the industrial robot to carry out a gripping operation for the plurality of arranged articles by the grips. 5. An industrial robot handle is provided with a height measuring device for measuring a position of an article gripped by the handle, and a plurality of the height measuring devices are arranged in a horizontal direction so as to have a step difference between upper surfaces of the articles. When the measured value by is smaller than the specified value,
When the industrial robot is instructed to load another above-mentioned article on the above-mentioned article based on the above-mentioned measured value, and the measured value by the height measuring device of the upper surface step of the above-mentioned article exceeds a specified value. , A method of handling a load, in which a loading operation of another article is stopped on each other to notify that the article cannot be loaded.