JPH0977266A - Palletizing hand - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely suck a work even if the upper surface of the work is changed in its position in the vertical direction or tilted. SOLUTION: A work 4 is sucked by a sucked 58. When the vertical position of the work 4 is changed, a spring 57 is contracted so that a rod 53 is slid relative to a bearing plate 51 and the space between the bearing plate 51 and a suction cup mounting plate 56 is narrowed. When the upper surface of the work 4 is tilted, a spherical bearing 55 is bent and the suction cup mounting plate 56 is tilted relative to the rod 53. A slide mechanism is provided in the spherical bearing 55, whereby according to the tilting of the suction cup mounting plate 56, the slide mechanism in the bearing is slid to enable tilting of the plate 56.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a palletizing hand which is provided at the tip of a robot arm to adsorb a work, and in particular adsorbs the work reliably even if the upper surface of the work changes in height or is inclined. It was devised so that it could be done.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Robots are used for palletizing work for loading works (products, etc.) on pallets. In other words, a palletizing hand is provided at the end of the arm of the articulated robot, and the palletizing hand catches the work and packs it into a pallet.

An example of the robot palletizing system will be described with reference to FIG. In the same figure, a vacuum suction type palletizing hand (details will be described later) is provided at the tip of the arm of the articulated robot 1. The work transfer device 2 transfers the work (cardboard box or the like) 4 sent from the previous stage conveyor 3 and positions the work 4 at the work set position 2a. On the other hand, the pallet supply device 5 sets the pallet 6 at the work loading position 7 a of the pallet transport device 7. Then, the palletizing hand of the articulated robot 1 adsorbs the work 4 at the work set position 2a, and the robot 1 operates to load the work 4 on the pallet 6 at the work loading position 7a.
The pallet 6 on which the stacking of the works 4 is completed is conveyed by the pallet conveying device 7.

Next, a conventional vacuum suction type palletizing hand 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The bearing plate 11 of the palletizing hand 10 is attached to the tip of the robot arm. The rod 12 penetrates the bearing plate 11 in a slidable state, and
Is fixed to the suction plate attachment plate 13. A bolt 14 serving as a retaining member is screwed into the base end of the rod 12. The spring 15 is interposed between the bearing plate 11 and the suction cup mounting plate 13,
A spring force is applied in the direction of separating 1 and 13. Adsorption board 1
6 is provided on the lower surface of the suction cup mounting plate 13, and the suction cup 16 sucks the work 4.

In the conventional palletizing hand 10 described above,
The change in the height direction of the work 4 is absorbed by the contraction of the spring 15 and the reduction of the distance between the plates 11 and 13.

[0006]

In the conventional palletizing hand 10, when the upper surface of the work 4 (suction surface sucked by the suction disk 16) is inclined, the suction disk 16 is inclined in accordance with this inclination. In some cases, the work 4 could not be adsorbed. In such a case, the posture of the robot 1 has to be changed so that the suction plate 16 faces the suction surface of the work 4 to cope with the situation. In other words, the inclination of the suction surface of the work 4 cannot be handled by the palletizing hand 10,
This was handled by controlling the posture of the robot 1.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional technique, the present invention can reliably suck a work even if the position of the suction surface (upper surface) of the work changes in the vertical direction and the suction surface is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. The purpose is to provide a palletizing hand.

[0008]

The structure of the present invention for solving the above problems is a palletizing hand which is provided at the tip of a robot arm to adsorb a work, and a bearing plate which is attached to the tip of the robot arm, A plurality of rods, each of which has a retaining member at its base end and slidably penetrates through the bearing plate, a plurality of spherical bearings connected to the tip of each rod, and each spherical bearing are fixed and the suction plate A suction cup mounting plate provided with, and a spring that is interposed between the bearing plate and the suction cup mounting plate to apply a spring force in a direction in which both plates are separated, and further, each spherical bearing is A spherical body fixed to the tip of the rod, a pair of rings for spherically supporting the spherical body, and a suction cup mounting plate fixed to the suction cup mounting plate. Formed by a case that supports the ring while allowing the ring to slide in a plane parallel to the ring and accommodates the ring and the spherical body, and when the suction cup mounting plate is horizontal. It is characterized in that a gap between the case and the ring is secured at a peripheral side position.

According to the present invention, the spring contracts when the work changes in the vertical direction, and when the work tilts, the spherical body moves into the gap of the spherical bearing and tilts the suction cup mounting plate with respect to the rod. In response, the suction plate directly adsorbs to the upper surface of the work.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a palletizing hand 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view thereof. As shown in both figures, the bearing plate 51 of the palletizing hand 50 is attached to the tip of the robot arm, and slide guides 52 are provided at the four corners of the bearing plate 51. The four rods 53 have their base ends (upper ends)
Is provided with a retaining member 54 such as a nut,
It is inserted in the slide guide 52. That is, rod 5
Reference numeral 3 penetrates the bearing plate 51 via a slide guide 52 in a vertically slidable state.

The tip (lower end) of the rod 53 has a spherical bearing 5
5, the spherical bearing 55 is provided on the suction cup mounting plate 56. That is, the lower end of the rod 53 is connected to the suction cup mounting plate 56 via the spherical bearing 55. The internal structure of the spherical bearing 55 will be described later.

The spring 57 surrounds each rod 53,
It is interposed between the bearing plate 51 and the suction cup mounting plate 56, and imparts a spring force in the direction of separating the plates 51 and 56.

The suction plate 58 is attached to the suction plate mounting plate 56 and sucks the work 4 by drawing a vacuum with a hose 59.

Next, the structure of the spherical bearing 55 will be described.
Will be described with reference to FIG. 3, which shows the arrangement state, FIG. 4, which is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 5, which is a lateral sectional view.

As shown in these figures, the spherical bearing 55
Is a spherical body 55a to which the tip of the rod 53 is fixed, and a pair of rings 55b spherically supporting the spherical body 55a,
The ring 55b is supported while allowing the ring 55b to slide in a plane parallel to the suction cup mounting put 56 and the ring 5
5b and a case 55c for accommodating the spherical body 55a. Moreover, a gap 55d is formed between the case 55c and the ring 55b. As shown in FIG. 5, when the suction cup mounting plate 56 is in the horizontal state, the gap 55d is located outside. That is, considering the surface of the suction cup mounting plate 56, the spherical bearing 55 is configured so that the gap 55d is located not on the center side of the surface but on the peripheral side of the surface.

The case 55c is a suction plate mounting plate 56.
It is fixed to. In addition, the ring 55b has an inner diameter smaller than that of the spherical body 55a, and the inner diameter of the pair of rings 55b contacts and fits in a state of sandwiching the spherical surface of the spherical body 55a. Spherical body 55
a is spherically supported.

In the palletizing hand 50 of this embodiment having the above-mentioned structure, the spring 57 can contract and the gap between the plates 51 and 56 can be narrowed to absorb the change in the vertical position of the work 4. Therefore, even if there is a change in the vertical position of the work 4, the work 4 can be reliably sucked by the suction plate 58.

When the upper surface (suction surface) of the work 4 is inclined, the following operation is performed. For convenience of description, the four spherical bearings 55 shown in FIG.
The description will be given with the number of 4. The rods 55 connected to the spherical bearings # 1 to # 4 are also numbered # 1 to # 4.

The upper surface of the work 4 is inclined so that the vertical positions of the # 1 and # 2 spherical bearings 55 are the same as the # 3 and # 4 spherical bearings 55.
It is assumed that the height is higher than the vertical position of. At this time, in the # 1, # 2 spherical bearings 55, the # 1, # 2
The spherical body 55a moves in the direction of the gap 55d as the rod 53 moves upward. Thus, the spherical body 55
Since a moves toward the gap 55d side, even though the distance between the rods 53 of # 1 and # 4 and the distance between the rods 53 of # 2 and # 3 are constant, the rods 53 of # 1 and # 2 are fixed. The upward movement of can be done smoothly. As a result, the suction plate 58
Corresponds to the inclination of the upper surface of the work 4, and the work 4 can be surely adsorbed.

Even if the inclination is in another state, in the spherical bearing 55 connected to the rod 53 that has moved upward, the spherical portion 55a moves toward the gap 55d, so that the workpiece 4 is attracted in accordance with the inclination. The board 58 is tilted, and the work 4 can be reliably sucked.

[0022]

As described above in detail with the embodiments, according to the present invention, the vertical contraction of the work piece is dealt with by the contraction of the spring and the change of the distance between the bearing plate and the suction plate. Since the spherical part of the spherical bearing is slid and the suction plate is tilted with respect to the rod, the suction plate can be moved upward or downward even if the work surface changes vertically. The workpiece can be surely adsorbed by directly facing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a palletizing hand according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the palletizing hand of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the arrangement of spherical bearings.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing a spherical bearing.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a spherical bearing.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a palletizing system mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional palletizing hand.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 Articulated robot 2 Work supply device 2a Work set position 3 Conveyor 4 Work 5 Pallet supply device 6 Pallet 7 Pallet transfer device 7a Work loader 10 Palletizing hand 11 Bearing plate 12 Rod 13 Sucker mounting plate 14 bolts 15 springs 16 suction plate 50 palletizing hand 52 slide guide 53 rod 54 retaining member 55 spherical bearing 56 suction plate mounting plate 57 spring 58 suction plate 59 hose

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A palletizing hand provided at the tip of a robot arm for adsorbing a work, comprising a bearing plate attached to the tip of the robot arm, and a retaining member at the base end, and sliding on the bearing plate. Multiple rods that penetrate freely,
A plurality of spherical bearings connected to the tip of each rod, a suction cup mounting plate on which each spherical bearing is fixed and which is provided with a suction cup, and a spherical bearing interposed between the bearing plate and the suction cup mounting plate. The plate is provided with a spring that imparts a spring force in a separating direction, and each of the spherical bearings has a spherical body fixed to the tip of the rod, and a pair of rings that spherically support the spherical body,
A case that is fixed to the suction cup mounting plate and that supports the ring while allowing the ring to slide in a plane parallel to the suction cup mounting plate, and that accommodates the ring and the spherical body, Moreover, the palletizing hand is characterized in that a gap between the case and the ring is secured at a peripheral position when the suction cup mounting plate is horizontal.