JPH08157070A - Loading method and loading device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a loading method and a loading device having little loading loss time caused by the shift of a feed pallet and the load object recognition on the feed pallet. CONSTITUTION: Image pickup devices 12, 121 are provided correspondingly to multiple object holding positions 6, 61 by an industrial robot 1. The shift of a required feed pallet 4 to one object holding position and the load object recognizing action on the shifted feed pallet 4 are conducted during the loading work of the load object 5 of the feed pallet 4 at the other object holding position. The interruption of the loading work caused by the shift of the feed pallet 4 and the load object recognition on the feed pallet 4 is reduced. The loading loss time caused by the shift of the feed pallet 4 and the load object recognition on the feed pallet 4 is reduced. The loading time by the industrial robot 1 is shortened, and the loading efficiency is improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a loading method and a loading apparatus for loading a required number of plural kinds of articles on one shipping pallet by an industrial robot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional loading apparatus, for example, there is an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-275309. That is, a loading station including a three-dimensional warehouse, a stacker crane, and industrial robots, conveyors, and the like provided on the sides thereof is formed. Then, the supply pallet on which the required articles ordered for shipping are placed is carried out from the three-dimensional warehouse to the vicinity of the industrial robot via the stacker crane and the conveyor. Then, the required number of articles from the supplied supply pallets are loaded on the shipping pallets by the industrial robot.

When the required number of articles have been loaded from the supplied supply pallets, the supply pallets are returned to the three-dimensional warehouse by the stacker crane, and the supply pallets on which the next required articles are placed are placed. It is carried out near the industrial robot. Such a loading operation is repeated for each type of required article, and the required number of each required type article is loaded on the shipping pallet. As a result, the loading work of the shipping pallets relating to one shipping command is completed.

In such a loading apparatus, the position of the articles on the supplied supply pallet may be displaced due to vibration during transfer. As a result, there is a risk that the industrial robot will not grip it, or that it will be incompletely gripped and collide with an item on the previously loaded shipping pallet, resulting in damage to the item or the handle of the industrial robot. There is.

In order to prevent such a problem, a loading device as shown in FIG. 2 can be considered. That is, FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram. In the figure, (1) is an industrial robot having a work area (2), (3) is near the industrial robot (1), that is, the main part is installed in the work area (2). Each of the supply conveyors (4) is a supply pallet that is transferred by the supply conveyor (3), and a plurality of loaded articles (5) of different types from the other supply pallets (4) are placed on each of them. There is. (6) is the work area
It is the article gripping position of the loaded article (5) on the supply pallet (4) installed in (2).

(7) is a storage waiting place for the supplied supply pallets (4) set at the end of the supply conveyor (3), and (8) is a work area.
On the shipping pallet arranged in (2), required loading articles (5) according to the shipping destination are loaded. (9) is the shipping pallet
A shipping conveyor that carries (8) to the shipping area, (10) is a multi-storey warehouse in which a large number of supply pallets (4) are stored and is installed along the length of the supply conveyor (3), and (11) is a supply conveyor.
It is a stacker crane that is provided between both (3) and the three-dimensional warehouse (10) and transfers the supply pallet (4) between them.

(12) is an image pickup device which is provided directly above the article gripping position (6) and which is a vision camera for photographing the condition of the upper surface of the supply pallet (4), and (13) is connected to the image pickup device (12). A recognition device that recognizes the output of the imaging device (12), (14) is an industrial robot (1), a supply conveyor (3), a shipping conveyor
(9), the control device connected to the stacker crane (11) and the recognition device (13) to instruct the required loading operation, (15) is the control device (14) based on the customer-specific order information, for example. It is a shipping instruction that is input, that is, shipping information.

In the loading device configured as described above, the shipping information (15) is input to the control device (14),
At (14), the loading order, number, position, loading direction, etc. of the loaded articles (5) on the shipping pallet (8) are calculated. Based on this calculation, the stacker crane (11) is
A command for delivering the required supply pallet (4) from 0) and a command for the required loading operation are issued to the industrial robot (1).

Then, the supply pallet (4) of the articles (5) to be loaded on the shipping pallet (8) is delivered from the three-dimensional warehouse (10) onto the supply conveyor (3) by the stacker crane (11). Next, the supply conveyor (3) operates to transfer the required supply pallet (4) to the article gripping position (6). Then, the image pickup device (12) picks up an image of the loaded article (5) on the upper surface of the supply pallet (4) at the article gripping position (6), and the recognition device (1
Recognized by 3).

As a result, the position of the loaded article (5) on the upper surface of the supply pallet (4) is verified and input to the control device (14). Position information and control device (14) of this loaded article (5)
The industrial robot (1) operates in response to the loading operation command of (1) to load the loaded article on the supply pallet (4) at the article gripping position (6).
Load the required number of (5) onto the shipping pallet (8).

When the loading operation is completed, the supply pallet (4) at the article gripping position (6) is transferred to the storage standby place (7) by the operation of the supply conveyor (3), and the operation of the stacker crane (11). Is re-stored in a predetermined position of the three-dimensional warehouse (10). Further, the supply pallet (4) of the next loaded article (5) is transferred from the three-dimensional warehouse (10) to the article holding position (6) through the operations of the stacker crane (11) and the supply conveyor (3). Be transferred to.

Next, the image pickup device (12) again picks up an image of the loaded article (5) on the upper surface of the supply pallet (4) at the article gripping position (6), and the recognition device (13) recognizes it and the industrial robot (1).
The required number of loading operations for loading articles (5) on the supply pallet (4) to the shipping pallet (8) are repeated.

[0013]

In the conventional loading device, the time for transferring the supply pallet (4) of the required loading articles (5) to the article gripping position (6) by the operation of the supply conveyor (3) and During the recognition time by the recognition device (13) by imaging the loaded goods (5) on the supply pallet (4) transferred to the goods holding position (6) by the imaging device (12), the industrial robot (1) Loading work is interrupted. Therefore, it takes a long time to load the articles on the shipping pallet (8), and there is a problem that the loading work efficiency becomes low.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and a loading method and a loading apparatus in which the loading loss time is small due to the transfer of the supply pallet and the recognition of the loaded article on the supply pallet. Aim to get.

[0015]

In a loading apparatus according to the present invention, an industrial robot, a plurality of article gripping positions set in a work area of the industrial robot, and a plurality of loaded articles are placed respectively. To capture the status of the corresponding supply pallets that are provided directly above the product gripping position, the supply pallet that is supplied to each of the product gripping positions, the shipping pallet that is placed at the loading position set in the work area Recognizing means for sequentially recognizing the outputs of the respective imaging devices and a control device for instructing the industrial robot to load the articles on the supply pallet onto the shipping pallet through the output of the recognizing means are provided.

Further, in the loading apparatus according to the present invention, the industrial robot, the plurality of article holding positions set in the work area of the industrial robot, and the plurality of loaded articles are respectively placed and the article holding positions are set. A supply pallet to be supplied to each of the above, a shipping pallet arranged at the loading position set in the work area, and an image pickup device provided at a position directly above the article gripping position to capture the situation of the corresponding supply pallet, A switching device that switches the output of any of these imaging devices and connects it to the recognition device; and a control device that commands the industrial robot to load an article on the supply pallet onto the shipping pallet via the output of the recognition device. It is provided.

Further, in the loading method according to the present invention, the industrial robot, a plurality of article holding positions set in the work area of the industrial robot, and a plurality of loaded articles are respectively placed and the article holding positions are set. Supply pallets to be supplied to each of the above, a shipping pallet arranged at the loading position set in the work area, and an image pickup device for respectively photographing the situation of the corresponding supply pallet provided directly above the article gripping position And a control device for instructing the industrial robot to load the articles on the supply pallet onto the shipping pallet through the output of the recognition means. During the loading operation of the uppermost loaded article, the recognizing means recognizes the uppermost loaded article of the supply pallet at the other article gripping position.

Further, in the loading method according to the present invention, the industrial robot, a plurality of article holding positions set in the work area of the industrial robot, and a plurality of loaded articles are respectively placed and the article holding positions are set. Supply pallets to be supplied to each of the above, a shipping pallet arranged at the loading position set in the work area, and an image pickup device for respectively photographing the situation of the corresponding supply pallet provided directly above the article gripping position Is provided with a recognition means for sequentially recognizing the outputs of the above, and a control device for instructing the industrial robot to load the articles on the supply pallet onto the shipping pallet through the output of the recognition means, thereby supplying one of the article gripping positions. During the loading operation of the articles loaded on the uppermost stage of the pallet, the other supply pallet is transferred to the other article holding position, and the supply tray at the other article holding position is also used. DOO uppermost loading article is recognized by the recognition means.

Further, in the loading apparatus according to the present invention, the industrial robot, the plurality of article holding positions set in the work area of the industrial robot, and the plurality of loaded articles are respectively placed and the article holding position is set. Each of the supply pallets supplied by the supply conveyor, the shipping pallet arranged at the loading position set in the work area, and the position of the corresponding supply pallet provided immediately above the article gripping position are photographed. The recognition means for sequentially recognizing the outputs of the image pickup devices and the transfer of the required supply pallet by the supply conveyor to the position just before the article gripping position are instructed, and the load of the articles on the supply pallet to the shipping pallet is output through the output of the recognition means. A control device for instructing the industrial robot to perform a stacking work is provided.

Further, in the loading apparatus according to the present invention, the industrial robot, the three or more article gripping positions set in the work area of the industrial robot, and a plurality of loaded articles are respectively placed on the article. Imaging that captures the situation of the supply pallets that are supplied to each of the grip positions, the shipping pallets that are arranged at the loading position set in the work area, and the positions of the corresponding supply pallets that are provided immediately above the article grip position. Recognizing means for recognizing any output of the apparatus in a timely manner, and a control apparatus for instructing the industrial robot to load an article on the supply pallet onto the shipping pallet through the output of the recognizing means are provided. .

[0021]

In the loading device configured as described above, during the work of loading the articles on the supply pallet at one of the article holding positions by the industrial robot, the transfer of the required supply pallet to the other article holding position and The loading article recognition operation on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position is performed.

Further, in the loading device configured as described above, the load of the supply pallet at one of the article gripping positions is set through the operation of the switching device that switches any output of the image pickup device and connects it to the recognition device. During the loading operation of the loaded robot by the industrial robot, the required supply pallet is transferred to the other article gripping position and the loaded article recognition operation on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position is performed.

Further, in the loading method as described above, during the loading operation of the loading pallet of the supply pallet at one article holding position by the industrial robot, the loading article on the supply pallet at the other article holding position is loaded. A recognition operation is performed.

Further, in the loading method as described above, during the work of loading the articles on the supply pallet at one of the article holding positions by the industrial robot, the transfer of the required supply pallet to the other article holding position and The loading article recognition operation on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position is performed.

Further, in the loading device configured as described above, the transfer of the required supply pallet to the position immediately before the article gripping position is performed by the supply conveyor. In addition, during the loading operation of the loading pallet on the supply pallet at one article gripping position by the industrial robot, the transfer of the required supply pallet to the other article gripping position and the loading article on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position. A recognition operation is performed.

Further, in the loading device configured as described above, during the loading work of the articles loaded on the supply pallet at one article gripping position by the industrial robot, the supply pallets required at other article gripping positions are changed. The loading and recognizing operation of the loaded article on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position is performed.

[0027]

【Example】

Example 1. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, (1) is an industrial robot having a work area (2), (3) is a supply conveyor installed in the work area (2), the main part of which is arranged to surround the industrial robot (1) in a square shape, Reference numeral (4) is a supply pallet transferred by each supply conveyor (3), and a plurality of loaded articles (5) of different types from the other supply pallets (4) are placed on each supply pallet. (6) is a first article gripping position which is installed in the work area (2) and is arranged on one side of the industrial robot (1), at which position the loaded articles (5) on the supply pallet (4) are gripped. To be done.

(61) is a second article gripping position which is installed in the work area (2) and is arranged on the other side of the industrial robot (1), and at this position, the loaded articles (5 ) Is gripped.
(7) is a storage standby place for the supplied supply pallets (4) set at the end of the supply conveyor (3), and (8) is a shipping pallet arranged in the work area (2), depending on the shipping destination. Required loading items
(5) is loaded. (9) is a shipping conveyor that carries the shipping pallet (8) to the shipping site, and (10) is a large number of supply pallets.
It is a three-dimensional warehouse in which (4) is stored and is provided along the length of the supply conveyor (3).

[0029] (11) is a supply conveyor (3) and a three-dimensional warehouse (10)
Between the two and the supply pallet between them.
It is a stacker crane that transfers (4). (12) is the first
Supply pallet provided directly above the article gripping position (6)
The first imaging device, which is a vision camera for photographing the situation of the upper surface of (4), (121) is provided directly above the second article gripping position (61) and photographs the situation of the upper surface of the supply pallet (4). A second image pickup device composed of a vision camera, (16) is a switching device connected to the first image pickup device (12) and the second image pickup device (121).

A recognition device (13) is connected to the switching device (16) and recognizes one of the outputs of the first imaging device (12) and the second imaging device (121), and (17) is a switching device (16). ) And recognition device (13)
It is a recognition means constituted by. (14) is an industrial robot
A controller connected to (1), a supply conveyor (3), a shipping conveyor (9), a stacker crane (11) and a recognition means (17) to instruct a required loading operation, and (15) is, for example, for each customer. This is a shipping instruction, that is, shipping information, which is input to the control device (14) based on the order information.

In the loading device configured as described above, the shipping information (15) is input to the control device (14) and
At (14), the loading order, number, position, loading direction, etc. of the loaded articles (5) on the shipping pallet (8) are calculated. Based on this calculation, the stacker crane (11) is
A command for delivering the required supply pallet (4) from 0) and a command for the required loading operation are issued to the industrial robot (1).

Then, the supply pallet (4) of the first articles (5) to be loaded on the shipping pallet (8) is discharged from the three-dimensional warehouse (10) onto the supply conveyor (3) by the stacker crane (11). Next, the supply conveyor (3) is operated to transfer the required supply pallet (4) to the first article gripping position (6). Then, the first image pickup device (12) is used to hold the first article gripping position.
The uppermost loaded article (5) of the supply pallet (4) of (6) is imaged and recognized by the recognition device (13), that is, recognition means (17) through the operation of the switching device (16). .

Thus, the position of the uppermost loaded article (5) of the supply pallet (4) at the first article gripping position (6) is verified and input to the control device (14). This loading item
The industrial robot (1) operates by the position information of (5) and the loading operation command of the control device (14), and the first article gripping position (6)
The required number of articles (5) to be loaded on the supply pallet (4) are loaded onto the shipping pallet (8).

In this case, when the number of loaded articles (5) at the uppermost stage on the supply pallet (4) at the first article gripping position (6) is insufficient with respect to the required number of loaded articles (5), The following operations are commanded during the loading operation of the industrial robot (1) for the loaded articles (5) on the supply pallet (4) at the first article gripping position (6) at the latest. That is, the secondary supply pallet (4) on which the same article (5) as the first article (5) to be loaded on the shipping pallet (8) is placed is transferred from the three-dimensional warehouse (10) to the stacker crane (1).
It is dispensed onto the supply conveyor (3) by 1).

Next, the supply conveyor (3) is operated to transfer the secondary supply pallet (4) to the second article gripping position (61). Then, the uppermost loaded article of the secondary supply pallet (4) at the second article gripping position (61)) by the second imaging device (121).
(5) is imaged and the recognition device through the operation of the switching device (16)
It is recognized by (13), that is, by the recognition means (17). Thereby, the position of the uppermost loaded article (5) of the secondary supply pallet (4) at the second article gripping position (61) is verified and input to the control device (14).

Then, the industrial robot having the number of loaded articles (5) on the uppermost stage on the supply pallet (4) at the first article gripping position (6)
When the loading onto the shipping pallet (8) by (1) is completed, the verified position information and control of the secondary loading pallet (4) at the second article gripping position (61) and the top loading article (5) The industrial robot (1) operates according to the loading operation command of the device (14), and the required number of the loading pallets (4) and the loading pallets (5) at the top of the second article gripping position (61) are shipped to the shipping pallet. Load in (8).

As described above, the number of articles to be loaded (5) at the top of the supply pallet (4) at the first article gripping position (6) is the required article to be loaded.
(5) If the number is insufficient compared to the number, at the latest, during the loading operation by the industrial robot (1) of the supply pallet (4) at the first article holding position (6) and the top loading article (5), The transfer of the secondary supply pallet (4) to the second article gripping position (61) and the loading article recognition operation of the uppermost stage of the secondary supply pallet (4) at the second article gripping position (61) are performed.

Therefore, in order to transfer the supply pallet (4) and to recognize the loaded article (5) at the top stage of the supply pallet (4),
The loading work of the industrial robot (1) is not interrupted, and the loading work is continued. For this reason, supply pallets
(4) Transfer and supply pallet (4) Top-level loading item (5)
The load loss time due to the recognition can be reduced, the load time of the industrial robot (1) onto the shipping pallet (8) can be shortened, and the load work efficiency can be improved.

Furthermore, the first image pickup device (12) and the second image pickup device
Both outputs of (121) are recognized by the switching device (16) by the recognition device (13). Therefore, only one recognition device (13) is required, and the equipment cost of the loading device can be reduced.

Even if the number of articles (5) at the uppermost stage of the secondary supply pallet (4) at the second article gripping position (61) is loaded, the number of articles (5) required is still insufficient. When carrying out the loading operation of the secondary supply pallet (4) at the second article gripping position (61) and the top loading article (5) by the industrial robot (1) at the latest, the first article gripping position (6 ) Of the supply pallet (4), the recognition operation of the uppermost loaded article is performed. Then, after the industrial robot (1) has finished loading the uppermost article (5) of the secondary supply pallet (4) at the second article gripping position (61), the first article gripping position
The industrial pallet (1) loads the article (6) on the supply pallet (4) and the uppermost loaded article (5).

When the required loading work is completed, the supply pallet (4) at the first article gripping position (6) and the secondary supply pallet (4) at the second article gripping position (61) are loaded to the next load. Timely supply conveyor (3) when it is no longer necessary to handle the work
Is transferred to the storage standby place (7) and is again stored in a predetermined position of the three-dimensional warehouse (10) by the operation of the stacker crane (11).

In addition, before the completion of the loading work by the industrial robot (1) corresponding to the previous shipping information (15), the loading articles (5) to be loaded corresponding to the next shipping information (15) are stored. The supply pallet (4) is either the first article gripping position (6) or the second second article gripping position (61) from the three-dimensional warehouse (10) through the operations of the stacker crane (11) and the supply conveyor (3). It is transferred to the article holding position without the supply pallet (4).

Then, again, the first image pickup device (12) or the second image pickup device (121) images the uppermost loaded article (5) of the supply pallet (4) at the article gripping position, and the recognition means (17). Recognition operation by the industrial robot (1) and the required number of loading operations corresponding to the next shipping information (15) to the shipping pallet (8) of the loading pallet (4) top loading article (5) by the industrial robot (1) is repeated Done.

As described above, the article loaded on the uppermost stage of the supply pallet (4) at one of the article holding positions by the industrial robot (1)
During the loading operation of (5), the transfer operation of the next supply pallet (4) to the other article gripping position and the next supply pallet (4) of the other article gripping position of the top loading article recognition operation At least one is done.

Therefore, the loading operation of the industrial robot (1) can be continuously performed, and the transfer of the supply pallet (4) and the recognition of the loaded article (5) at the top stage of the supply pallet (4) The loading operation of the industrial robot (1) is not interrupted. For this reason, the loading loss time due to the transfer of the supply pallet (4) and the recognition of the loaded article (5) at the top of the supply pallet (4) is reduced, and the industrial robot (1) transfers to the shipping pallet (8). It is possible to shorten the article loading time and improve the loading work efficiency.

Example 2. Since the dispensing position of the supply pallet (4) and the article gripping position are apart,
(4) Transfer and supply pallet (4) Top-level loading item (5)
It takes time for recognition. Therefore, loading items
There is a possibility that interruption of the industrial robot (1) loading operation may occur during the loading operation for the shipment information (15) in which the number of items loaded in each type (5) is small and the number of types of articles (5) loaded is large. To be For such a situation, the loading apparatus can be easily configured as described below by applying the embodiment of FIG.

That is, a plurality of the supply pallets (4) of the loaded articles (5) of the type corresponding to the shipping information (15) are loaded in the stacking order from the three-dimensional warehouse (10) by the operation of the stacker crane (11). Pay out to 3). Then, these supply pallets (4) are transferred to the article gripping position before the loading operation by the industrial robot (1) to recognize the top loaded article (5) of the supply pallet (4).

Further, three or more article gripping positions are provided to increase the time margin of the transfer operation of the supply pallet (4) and the operation of recognizing the loaded article (5) at the uppermost stage of the supply pallet (4). With this configuration, the number of articles to be loaded (5) is small for each type, and interruption of the loading operation of the industrial robot (1) can be reduced in the loading operation for various types of shipping information (15). Therefore, the loading work efficiency can be improved.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, an image pickup device is provided corresponding to each of a plurality of article gripping positions of an industrial robot, and the articles loaded by the industrial robot are loaded on the supply pallet at one of the article gripping positions. During the loading operation, the required supply pallet is transferred to the other article gripping position and the loaded article recognition operation on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position is performed.

This reduces the interruption of the loading operation of the industrial robot for transferring the supply pallet to the other article gripping position and recognizing the loaded article on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position. Therefore, the loading loss time due to the transfer of the supply pallet and the recognition of the loaded article on the supply pallet is reduced, the time for loading the article onto the shipping pallet by the industrial robot can be shortened, and the effect of improving the loading work efficiency can be achieved. is there.

Further, as described above, the present invention provides a switching device which is provided with an image pickup device corresponding to each of a plurality of positions where an industrial robot grips an article, and which switches the output of one of the image pickup devices to connect to the recognition device. Through the operation, during the work of loading the articles on the supply pallet at one article gripping position by the industrial robot, the transfer of the required supply pallet to the other article grasping position and on the supply pallet at the other article grasping position The operation for recognizing a loaded article is performed.

This reduces the interruption of the loading operation of the industrial robot for transferring the supply pallet to the other article gripping position and recognizing the loaded article on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position. Therefore, the loading loss time due to the transfer of the supply pallet and the recognition of the loaded article on the supply pallet is reduced, the time for loading the article onto the shipping pallet by the industrial robot can be shortened, and the effect of improving the loading work efficiency can be achieved. is there. In addition, one of the outputs of the plurality of imaging devices is recognized by the switching device by the recognition device, so that only one recognition device is required, and there is an effect of reducing the equipment cost of the loading device.

As described above, according to the present invention, the image pickup device is provided corresponding to each of a plurality of article holding positions of the industrial robot, and the article loaded by the industrial robot is loaded on the supply pallet at one of the article holding positions. During the loading operation, the loaded article recognition operation on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position is performed.

This reduces the interruption of the loading operation of the industrial robot for recognizing the loaded articles on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position. Therefore, the loading loss time due to the recognition of the loaded articles on the supply pallet is reduced, and the loading time of the articles on the shipping pallet by the industrial robot can be shortened, which has the effect of improving the loading work efficiency.

As described above, according to the present invention, the image pickup device is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of article holding positions of the industrial robot, and the articles loaded on the supply pallet at one of the article holding positions are loaded by the industrial robot. During the loading operation, the required supply pallet is transferred to the other article gripping position and the loaded article recognition operation on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position is performed.

This reduces the interruption of the loading operation of the industrial robot for transferring the supply pallet to the other article gripping position and recognizing the loaded article on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position. Therefore, the loading loss time due to the transfer of the supply pallet and the recognition of the loaded article on the supply pallet is reduced, the time for loading the article onto the shipping pallet by the industrial robot can be shortened, and the effect of improving the loading work efficiency can be achieved. is there.

Further, as described above, according to the present invention, the image pickup device is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of article holding positions by the industrial robot, and the required supply pallet is transferred to the position just before the article holding position by the supply conveyor. is there.
In addition, during the loading operation of the loading pallet on the supply pallet at one article gripping position by the industrial robot, the transfer of the required supply pallet to the other article gripping position and the loading article on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position. The recognition operation is performed.

This reduces the interruption of the loading operation of the industrial robot for transferring the supply pallet to the other article gripping position and recognizing the loaded article on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position. Therefore, the load loss time due to the delivery of the supply pallet to the supply conveyor, the transfer of the supply pallet, and the recognition of the loaded product on the supply pallet is reduced, and the time for loading the product on the shipping pallet by the industrial robot can be shortened. It has the effect of improving the loading work efficiency.

As described above, according to the present invention, the image pickup device is provided corresponding to each of the three or more article holding positions of the industrial robot, and the industrial robot of the article loaded on the supply pallet at one article holding position is provided by the industrial robot. During a loading operation, a required supply pallet is transferred to another article gripping position and a loaded article recognition operation on the supply pallet at the other article gripping position is performed.

This reduces the interruption of the loading operation of the industrial robot for transferring the supply pallet to another article gripping position and recognizing the loaded article on the supply pallet at another article gripping position. Therefore, the loading loss time due to the transfer of the supply pallet and the recognition of the loaded goods on the supply pallet is reduced, and the time for loading the goods onto the shipping pallet by the industrial robot can be shortened, thus improving the loading work efficiency. Has the effect of In particular, in the case of various types of loading work in which the number of articles to be loaded is small and various, interruption of the loading work of the industrial robot can be reduced, and the loading work efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing a conventional loading device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Industrial Robot, 3 Supply Conveyor, 4 Supply Pallet, 5 Loaded Goods, 6 First Goods Holding Position, 61
Second article gripping position, 8 shipping pallet, 12 first imaging device, 121 second imaging device, 13 recognition device, 14 control device, 16 switching device, 17 recognition means.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An industrial robot, a plurality of article gripping positions set in a work area of the industrial robot, and a supply pallet on which a plurality of loaded articles are respectively placed and supplied to each of the article gripping positions. , Sequentially recognizing the output of each of the shipping pallets arranged at the loading position set in the work area and the image pickup device provided at the position immediately above the article gripping position and capturing the status of the corresponding supply pallet. A loading device comprising a recognition means and a control device for instructing the industrial robot to load an article on the supply pallet onto the shipping pallet through an output of the recognition means. 2. An industrial robot, a plurality of article gripping positions set in a work area of the industrial robot, and a supply pallet on which a plurality of loaded articles are respectively placed and are supplied to each of the article gripping positions. Any of these imaging devices, an imaging device that is provided at a loading position set in the work area, and an imaging device that is provided directly above the article gripping position and that captures the status of the corresponding supply pallet, respectively. A switching device for switching the output to connect to the recognition device, and a control device for instructing the industrial robot to load the articles on the supply pallet onto the shipping pallet via the output of the recognition device. Loading equipment. 3. An industrial robot, a plurality of article gripping positions set in a work area of the industrial robot, and a supply pallet on which a plurality of loaded articles are respectively placed and supplied to each of the article gripping positions. , Sequentially recognizing the output of each of the shipping pallets arranged at the loading position set in the work area and the image pickup device provided at the position immediately above the article gripping position and capturing the status of the corresponding supply pallet. A recognizing means and a control device for instructing the industrial robot to load an article on the supply pallet onto the shipping pallet through the output of the recognizing means are provided.
A loading method for recognizing the loaded article on the uppermost stage of the supply pallet at the one of the article gripping positions by the recognition means during the loading operation of the loaded article on the uppermost stage of the supply pallet at the other article gripping position. 4. An industrial robot, a plurality of article gripping positions set in a work area of the industrial robot, and a supply pallet on which a plurality of loaded articles are respectively placed and supplied to each of the article gripping positions. , Sequentially recognizing the output of each of the shipping pallets arranged at the loading position set in the work area and the image pickup device provided at the position immediately above the article gripping position and capturing the status of the corresponding supply pallet. A recognizing means and a control device for instructing the industrial robot to load an article on the supply pallet onto the shipping pallet through the output of the recognizing means are provided.
Loading of the uppermost pallet of the supply pallet at one of the above-mentioned article gripping positions During the loading operation of the other pallets, the transfer of the other pallet to the above other article gripping position and the uppermost pallet of the supply pallet at the above other article gripping position. A loading method for recognizing a loaded article by the above-mentioned recognizing means. 5. An industrial robot, a plurality of article gripping positions set in a work area of the industrial robot, and a plurality of loaded articles are respectively placed and supplied to each of the article gripping positions by a supply conveyor. The output of each of the supply pallet, the shipping pallet arranged at the loading position set in the work area, and the image pickup device for photographing the situation of the corresponding supply pallet provided directly above the article gripping position A recognition means for sequentially recognizing and an instruction to transfer the required supply pallet by the supply conveyor to a position immediately before the article gripping position, and a load of the articles on the supply pallet to the shipping pallet via the output of the recognition means. A loading device including a control device for instructing the industrial robot to perform a loading operation. 6. An industrial robot, three or more article gripping positions set in a work area of the industrial robot, and a plurality of articles to be loaded are respectively placed and supplied to each of the article gripping positions. Output of any one of the pallet, the shipping pallet arranged at the loading position set in the work area, and the image pickup device for photographing the situation of the corresponding supply pallet provided directly above the article gripping position And a control device for instructing the industrial robot to load an article on the supply pallet onto the shipping pallet through an output of the recognition means.