JPH09328218A - Sensor for carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely send the timing of processing to a device for operating a target on a moving part of a carrier by providing an operation means which operates at least one of the moving speed and the position of the moving part based on a count value of a count means. SOLUTION: An operation means obtains at least one of the S-directional moving distance of doughnuts D heading from a reset means 14 to a main body 20 side and the moving speed at that time based on a count value and provides an operating device 80 with the pickup timing of the doughnuts D to reach a processing position PP based on the moving speed and distance. A sensor 10 is arranged in the adjacent to the operating device 80 and connected thereto using extremely short electrical wires W1-W3 so as to get the moving speed and distance at a part of a conveyer belt 51 in the adjacent to the processing device 80 and provides them for the processing device 80 as information.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is arranged corresponding to a transfer device having a moving part that moves endlessly to transfer an object, and detects the position of the object on the moving part of the transfer device. It is related to the sensor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example in which a conveyor belt, which is a moving part of an endless conveying device, conveys an object, for example, a donut of food, will be described. FIG. 6 shows a conveyor belt 1 for carrying a donut D of food. This conveyor belt 1 has a sprocket 2,
It can be moved by 3 and sprocket 2
Is driven in the R direction by the motor 4. Therefore, the conveyor belt 1 moves in the S direction to sequentially convey a plurality of donuts D. The donut D is placed in line with the conveyor belt 1 at the position P1, and the placed donut D moves in the S direction by the conveyor belt 1. When approaching the position P2, the robot 5 of a predetermined type picks up the donut D with an arm (not shown) and transfers it to another part. In this way, when the robot 5 sequentially transfers the donuts D at the position P2, the time until the donut D reaches from the position P1 to the position P2 is set in advance, and when the time elapses, the robot 5 comes to the position P2. A possible method is to pick up the donuts D and transfer them.

[0003]

However, in such a conveyor belt installed in a donut manufacturing plant, for example, the electric power supplied to the motor 4 fluctuates considerably, and the rotation of the motor 4 is affected by the fluctuation. Fluctuations occur in the numbers. Therefore, since the moving speed of the conveyor belt 1 in the S direction changes, it is not always the position P1.
~ The time required to move the donut D until reaching the position P2 is not constant. Therefore, if the donut D does not arrive at the position P2 for a predetermined time,
Since the position P2 may be passed, the robot 5 cannot reliably pick up the donut D.

Therefore, the rotation speed of the motor 4 is controlled by the encoder 6
It is also conceivable that the robot 5 picks up the donut D that may have come to the position P2 based on the encoded value. However, the electric wire 7 that connects the motor 4, the encoder 6 and the robot 5 is easily affected by the electric noise generated in the manufacturing plant, which affects the accuracy of the data of the encoder 6. Therefore, the robot 5 cannot reliably pick up the donut D. This is because the electric wire 7 that connects the encoder 6 and the robot 5 is considerably long, so that electric noise is easily picked up.
Therefore, the present invention solves the above problems and, when a transfer device that moves in an endless manner is moving an object, sets the processing timing for the device that operates on the object on the moving part of the transfer device. It is intended to provide a sensor that can reliably send.

[0005]

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned object is arranged corresponding to a transfer device having a moving part that moves endlessly for transferring an object, and the transfer device is moved. A sensor that gives an operation timing to an operation device that operates on an object on a unit, a housing, and a rotating body that is rotatably held by the housing and that contacts and rotates with a moving part of the transport device. Achieved by a sensor having counting means for counting signals obtained by rotation of a rotating body and computing means for computing at least one of a moving speed and a position of a moving part based on a count value of the counting means. To be done.

According to the present invention, the sensor is arranged corresponding to the carrying device having the moving part which moves endlessly for carrying the object. This sensor gives a processing timing to an operation device that operates an object on a moving part of the transfer device. A rotating body is rotatably held in the body of the sensor, and the rotating body comes into contact with the moving portion of the moving transport device to rotate. The rotating body physically generates a signal when it comes into contact with the moving part of the carrier and rotates, and this signal can be counted by the counting means. Based on the count value of the counting means, the calculating means can calculate at least one of the moving speed and the position of the moving part of the conveying device. As a result, the position of the object on the moving part of the transport device with respect to the operating device can be clarified, so that the timing for processing the object can be accurately given to the operating device.

[0007]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention,
Although various technically preferable limitations are given, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these modes unless otherwise specified to limit the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a carrying device equipped with the sensor of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an example of a carrying device, a sensor and an operating device. 1 and 2, the sensor 10
Is provided in proximity to the conveyor belt 51, which is the moving part of the transport device 50, and is located near the operating device 80.

First, the transport device 50 will be described. The transfer device 50 includes a conveyor belt 51, a sprocket 53,
It has 55 and a motor 56. Sprocket 5
3, 55 hold the conveyor belt 51 endlessly, and the motor 56 gives a driving force to the sprocket 53, whereby the conveyor belt 51 can be moved endlessly in the arrow S direction. As the motor 56, for example, a DC motor can be adopted. The donut D, which is an object, is located near the supply side SS of the conveyor belt 51.
Is provided. The donut D of the food, which is the object, can be supplied from the supply unit 60 to the supply side SS of the conveyor belt 51. The sensor 10 and the operating device 80 described above are arranged at a position between the supply side SS and the discharge side ES and close to the discharge side ES.

Next, the sensor 10 will be described. The sensor 10 has a main body 20 and reset means 14 as shown in FIGS. The main body 20 includes a copying roller 11, an encoder 12, a counter (counting means) 13
And a calculation means 15. The main body 20 has an appearance as shown in FIG. The main body 20 is fixed by screws 26 on a support 25 provided on the side of the conveyor belt 51 in the flow direction. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main body 20 of FIG. 3 taken along the line AA.
Etc. are provided. That is, the copying roller 11 is set inside the housing 30 by using the follow-up means 27 in the hollow portion of the housing 30. Specifically, the pin 2 of the copying roller 11
The follower 8 is rotatably supported by the follower 27. The follow-up means 27 is provided with a spring 29 and a damper 31 so that the copying roller 11 can always rotate in physical contact with the upper surface 51a of the conveyor belt 51. The spring 29 exerts a force to press the copying roller 11 against the upper surface 51a of the conveyor belt 51, and the damper 31 properly absorbs the fluctuation when the upper surface 51a of the conveyor belt 51 moves up and down in the arrow Z direction.

The encoder 12 is arranged inside the follow-up means 27 or the housing 30. The encoder 12 converts the rotation speed of the copying roller 11 into an encoded value. The encoded value EV obtained by the encoder 12 is counted by the counter 13 of FIG.
It is sent to the calculation means 15. The calculation means 15 is a counter 13
On the basis of the encoded value EV counted by, the moving speed and the moving distance of the conveyor belt 51 in the S direction are calculated at least, preferably both. That is, the moving distance of the conveyor belt 51 can be obtained from the encoding value EV in the calculating means 15, and the moving speed of the conveyor belt 51 can be obtained by differentiating the moving distance.

In order to allow the copying roller 11 shown in FIG. 4 to rotate with respect to the upper surface 51a of the conveyor belt 51 without idling, the surface of the copying roller 11 is provided with a rubber coating material having a large friction coefficient, for example. Is desirable.
The upper surface 51a of the conveyor belt 51 is also made of a material that is not slippery, such as urethane foam, so that the donut D that is the object does not move during transportation.

Next, the reset means 1 of the sensor 10 shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 4 is provided between the main body 20 and the motor 56 as shown in FIG. 1, and is provided substantially in front of the main body 20 in correspondence with the conveyor belt 51. The reset means 14 includes a light projector 14a and a light receiver 14b. Projector 14a
Is for generating a laser beam L, for example, and the light receiver 1
4b can receive the laser beam L. When the donut D enters between the light projector 14a and the light receiver 14b as shown in FIG. 1, the laser light L emitted from the light projector 14a does not reach the light receiver 14b. Otherwise, when the donut D comes out between the light projector 14a and the light receiver 14b, the laser light L of the light projector L can be received by the light receiver 14b. The count value of the counter 13 can be reset to 0 each time the light receiver 14b outputs the reset signal RS when the laser light L is not received.

Next, the operating device 80 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the operating device 80 is arranged near the sensor 10. The sensor 10 can give the operation device 80 the timing of the operation of the donut D that has reached the processing position PP on the conveyor belt 51. The sensor 10 is as close as possible to the operating device 80, and is connected to the motors M1, M2, M3 of the operating device 80 from the calculating means 15 of the main body 20.
It is desirable to make the lengths of the electrical wires W1, W2, W3 connected to, etc. as short as possible. The reason why the electric wires W1 to W3 are shortened in this way is to prevent electric noise generated in the donut manufacturing plant from being picked up as much as possible. That is, if the sensor 10 is arranged as close to the operating device 80 as possible and in the vicinity of the conveyor belt 51, it will not be affected by electrical noise in the manufacturing plant.

The operating device 80 is, for example, a multi-joint type robot, and includes an arm 81, an arm 82, a column 83 and the like as shown in FIG. Column 83 is arm 81
One end of the arm 81 is rotatably supported, and when the motor M3 operates, the other end of the arm 81 can swing by a required angle. On the other end side of the arm 81, one end side of the arm 82 is rotatably supported. The arm 82 can be swung with respect to the other end side of the arm 81 by operating the motor M2. A clamper 84 is provided on the other end side of the arm 82, and the clamper 84 can be rotated or moved up and down in the Z direction by operating the motor M1. The operating device 80 is for sequentially transferring the donuts D, which may have reached the processing position PP, from the conveyor belt 51 to another processing section. The operation timing of the operation device 80 which is about to be transferred is given from the sensor 10 described above. That is, based on the information of at least one of the moving speed and the moving distance of the conveyor belt 51 calculated by the calculating means 15, the calculating means 15 operates the motors M1 to M3 of the operating device 80 to reach the processing position PP. The donut D is picked up with the clamper 84 and is discharged to a processing unit (not shown).

Next, the sensor 10 and the transfer device 50 described above.
An operation example of the processing device 80 will be described. In FIG. 1, the supply unit 60 supplies the ring-shaped donut D to the supply side SS of the conveyor belt 51. The plurality of heat-treated donuts D placed on the conveyor belt 51 are carried in the S direction by the conveyor belt 51 for the purpose of packaging. When the donut D reaches between the light emitter 14a and the light receiver 14b of the reset means 14, the light emitter 1 of the sensor 14
The laser light L of 4a does not reach the light receiver 14b. As a result, the resetting means 14 is operated by the resetting means 14 with respect to the counter 13.
Since the reset signal RS of (A) is sent, the count value of the counter 13 is reset to the initial value 0. From that point on, the roller 11 measures the movement amount of the conveyor belt 51 while directly contacting it, and the rotation speed of the copying roller 11 is sent to the encoder 12 and converted into the encoded value EV. The encoded value EV is counted by the counter 13 and sent to the calculation means 15. When the reset signal RS is applied, the encode value EV is counted by the counter 13 to obtain the count value CV of FIG. 5 (B). Then, the calculating means 15 obtains at least one of the moving distance in the S direction from the reset means 14 of the donut D toward the main body 20 and the moving speed at that time based on the count value CV, and the moving speed and the moving distance. 2 gives the operating device 80 the timing for picking up the donut D that will reach the processing position PP. As a result, the clamper 84 can firmly clamp the donut D that may have reached the processing position PP and transfer it to another processing unit (not shown). The operating device 8 of FIG.
The operation timing signal TS of 0 is given as shown in FIG.

In this way, the sensor 10 is operated by the operating device 8
Very short electrical wires W1-W placed close to 0
By using 3 to connect, it is possible to obtain the moving speed and the moving distance in the portion of the conveyor belt 51 close to the processing device 80, and provide the information to the processing device 80. That is, since the moving speed of the conveyor belt is not obtained from the motor for moving the conveyor belt as in the conventional case, a long electric wire is not required, and therefore, it is less susceptible to the electric noise generated in the manufacturing plant.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, the donut D that is food is taken as an example of the object, and an example of the articulated robot is shown as the operation device. However, the object is not limited to food and may be other mechanical or electrical parts. The processing device may be a two-dimensional moving device such as an XY moving device or a three-dimensional linear moving device such as XYZ other than the articulated robot.

The endless type conveying device is not limited to a device having a conveyor belt, and other types can be adopted. For example, it is conceivable that two chains are used and an object is placed between the two chains to be transported. Also, in the illustrated embodiment, an example in which one set of sensors and operating devices is applied to one conveyor belt is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and sensors and operating devices are provided for multiple rows of conveyor belts, respectively. Of course, it is also possible to arrange them.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the transport device that moves in an endless manner is moving the target object, the processing timing can be reliably sent to the device that operates on the target object on the moving part of the transport device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a carrying device and a processing device including a sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the transport device, the sensor, and the processing device of FIG. 1 in more detail.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main body of a sensor.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the main body of the sensor.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the transport device and the like.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional transport device.

[Explanation of symbols]

D ... Donut (object), 10 ... Sensor, 11
... Copying roller (rotating body), 12 ... Encoder,
13 ... Counter (counting means), 14 ... Reset means, 15 ... Calculation means, 20 ... Main body, 30
... Housing, 50 ... Conveying device, 51 ... Conveyor belt, 56 ... Motor, 80 ... Operating device, CV ... Count value

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An operation device that is arranged corresponding to a transfer device having a moving part that moves in an endless manner to transfer an object and that operates on an object on the moving part of the transfer device. A sensor that gives the timing of the rotation, a housing, a rotating body that is rotatably held in the housing, and rotates in contact with the moving part of the transport device, and a counting means that counts the signal obtained by rotating the rotating body And a computing unit that computes at least one of the moving speed and the position of the moving unit based on the count value of the counting unit. 2. The sensor according to claim 1, further comprising resetting means for resetting a count value of the counting means when an object on the moving part passes by. 3. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the moving unit of the conveying device is a conveyor belt, and the operating device is a robot that picks up an object. 4. The sensor according to claim 3, wherein the housing is provided with a follow-up means for bringing the rotating body into contact with the shake of the conveyor belt during movement.