JPH11300668A - Article treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the necessity of making a treating head stand by in a release position so as to increase the number of treated articles per unit time by applying required treatment to articles held to a plurality of holding means, by treating means. SOLUTION: When containers 5 are held in holding positions by two sets of vacuum pads 26, 26, 27, 27, a treating head 22 releases the holding state in a release position after cleaning the inside of these containers 5 by air cleaners 28, 29. The treating head 22 does not stand by until cleaning of both containers 5 is completed, but when one container 5 finished with cleaning is released in the release position, the treating head 22 is immediately moved into the holding position while continuing to clean the other container 5, and a following container 5 is held by the free vacuum pads 26, 26. The treating head 22 does not therefore stand by in the release position until cleaning of both containers 5 is completed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article processing apparatus, and more particularly to an article processing apparatus for transferring a container from one side to another and performing air cleaning on the container being transferred.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an article processing apparatus has at least two holding means for detachably holding an article, a processing head for holding the article at a holding position and releasing the article at a release position by the holding means, An article processing apparatus including a control device for controlling the operation of a processing head is known (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-40178). In the apparatus disclosed in the above publication, the processing head is provided with two vacuum pads as holding means, and when the container is held at the holding position by the vacuum pads, the processing head is moved to the other release position, and the processing head is moved to the two vacuum pads. It is configured to simultaneously release the held containers in the release position.

[0003]

Conventionally, in a device for transferring a container from one holding position to the other releasing position as described above, it is desired to perform required processing on two containers during the transfer process. There was a request. For example, 2
During the transfer of two containers, processing such as cleaning the inside of the containers by an air cleaner or reading a bar code attached to the containers has been demanded. Therefore, an apparatus having a configuration in which processing means for performing the above-described required processing is added to the processing head of the above-described conventional article processing apparatus is considered. However, such a configuration has the following disadvantages. In other words, the required processing is performed after the two containers are sequentially held at the holding position, and after the processing is completed, the two containers are simultaneously released at the release position. At this time, since the time required to perform the required processing on each container is longer than the time required to move from the holding position to the release position, the processing head finishes the required processing for both containers in the release position. You have to wait for it. As described above, since there is a dead time in which the processing head waits at the release position, there is a disadvantage that the processing capacity of the container per unit time is reduced.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In view of such circumstances,
According to the present invention, in the article holding device described above, processing means for performing a required process on the article held by each of the holding means is provided, and the control device causes the article to be held at the holding position by each holding means. Performs the required processing by the above-mentioned processing means, and releases the holding state of each holding means at the release position at the release position, and holds the goods in each holding means and finishes the processing by the processing means. Is released in the release position, the operation of each holding means is performed so that the holding means that has released the article holds the article in the holding position prior to the releasing operation of the holding state of the article by the other holding means or the holding operation of the article. Is controlled.

[0005]

According to such a configuration, it is possible to perform required processing by the processing means on the articles held by the plurality of holding means. Further, since it is not necessary to keep the processing head at the release position, the number of articles processed per unit time can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to provide an article processing apparatus having a high processing capability.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, an article processing apparatus 1 includes a robot 2 and a first transport conveyor 3 and a second transport conveyor 4 provided in adjacent positions in parallel with each other. And The robot 2 reciprocates between a holding position A on the first conveyor 3 and a release position B on the second conveyor 4 to receive the container 5 on the first conveyor 3 on the second conveyor 4. It is supposed to pass. At the same time, in this embodiment, the container 5 is held on the first conveyor 3 and then moved to the second
The inside of the container 5 is cleaned with an air cleaner before the container 5 moves to the release position B on the conveyor 4 and releases the holding state. The article processing apparatus 1 includes a straightening means 6 at a position above the second conveyor 4, and the container 5 released by the robot 2 at the release position B.
Is erected from the rollover state to the erect state by the straightening means 6 and is placed on the second conveyor 4. Thus, the containers 5 are arranged in a line vertically in a state of being erected on the second conveyor 4.
The container 5 in the present embodiment is a plastic container having a circular cross section, a mouth 5a protruding from the center of the upper end, and the bottom 5b serving as the lower end is a flat surface.

A large number of partition members 7 are provided on the mounting surface of the first transport conveyor 3 at equal intervals in the transport direction so as to be orthogonal to the transport direction. The surface P forms a pocket P for storing the container 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the height of the partition member 7 from the mounting surface is set lower than the height of the upper outer peripheral portion of the container 5 in the rolled state. The partition member 7 is set to a material and a color that can be easily identified as the partition member 7 when the container 5 in the pocket P is photographed by the CCD camera 8 described later. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the first conveyor 3 including the bucket conveyor is configured such that the end on the downstream side in the conveyance direction is higher than the end on the upstream side in the conveyance direction. In addition, they are arranged as inclined as a whole. Since the first transport conveyor 3 is configured as described above, when containers 5 are sequentially supplied onto the first transport conveyor 3 by an inclined feeder (not shown) at the upstream end of the first transport conveyor 3, Each container 5
Are stored in each pocket P of the first conveyor 3. Since the first conveyor 3 is inclined as a whole, the containers 5 in the respective pockets P come into contact with the partition member 7 on the upstream side in the conveyance direction. Thus, in the present embodiment, the containers 5 in a rollover state orthogonal to the transport direction of the first transport conveyor 3 are stored in each pocket P of the first transport conveyor 3, and in this state, each container 5 is placed on the downstream side. It is transported to the destination.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a rubber plate-shaped member 11 is provided above the first conveying conveyor 3 during the conveying process. The lower end of the plate-like member 11 is adapted to engage with the container 5 in the pocket P, whereby the container 5 is securely inserted in each pocket P.
Only the pieces are stored.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the robot 2
The first transport conveyor 3 which is disposed on one side of the downstream end of the first transport conveyor 3 and which is located upstream of the robot 2
A CCD camera 8 as a detecting means is disposed on the transport path of the camera. The CCD camera 8 includes the first conveyor 3
Captures the placement state of each container 5 to be transported, that is, the placement position of the container 5 in the width direction of the first transport conveyor 3 in each pocket P, and inputs the image to the control device 12. I have. A rotary encoder 13 is connected to a downstream end of the first conveyor 3 and a rotary encoder 14 is also connected to a driving source of the correcting means 6. The pulse signals detected by the rotary encoders 13 and 14 are connected to the rotary encoder 13. Is input to the control device 12.
The operation of the robot 2 is controlled by a control device 12, and the control device 12 includes a CCD camera 8
The processing head 2 of the robot 2 is moved to the holding position A and the release position B on the basis of the image of the container 5 input from the robot and the pulse signals input from the rotary encoders 13 and 14.
2 is reciprocated, and the inside of the container 5 is cleaned by the robot 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the robot 2 includes a first drive shaft 15 having a large diameter in the vertical direction, and a first arm 16 supported horizontally on an upper end of the first drive shaft 15. The base is connected. A second drive shaft 17 oriented vertically is rotatably provided at the tip end of the first arm 16. The base of a second arm 18 supported in the horizontal direction is connected to the second drive shaft 17. I have. And this second
A small-diameter third drive shaft 21 is provided at the tip of the arm 18 so as to be able to move up and down and rotate. A processing head 22 is attached to the lower end of the third drive shaft 21. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the processing head 22 of the present embodiment includes a rectangular plate-shaped support member 23.
Is supported horizontally with its longitudinal center connected to the lower end of the third drive shaft 21. Therefore, when the third drive shaft 21 rotates, the support member 23 can rotate forward and backward on the horizontal plane. Air cylinders 24 and 25 are attached to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the support member 23 vertically downward, respectively.
A set of two vacuum pads 26, 26 (27, 27) are respectively attached to the pistons 4 and 25 via brackets.
Are connected downward. In the present embodiment, one set of vacuum pads 26, 26 (27, 27) adsorbs and holds one end and the other end of the outer periphery of the container 5 across the center in the longitudinal direction. Thereby, the container 5 held by the vacuum pads 26, 26
Is held in a state where its axis is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the support member 23. Thus, the two sets of vacuum pads 26, 26 and the two containers 5 held by the vacuum pads 27, 27 are supported in parallel with each other, and as shown in FIG. To be located on the side of the air cleaners 28 and 29 to be cleaned.
Furthermore, the intervals between the vacuum pads 26, 26 (27, 27) of the air cylinders 24, 25 are as follows:
The axes of the containers 5 in the adjacent pockets P on the first conveyor 3 are matched with the dimension of the container 5. Therefore, when the processing head is located at the holding position on the first transport conveyor, the vacuum pads 26, 26 (27, 2) are placed above the containers 5 stored in the adjacent pockets P.
7) is located (see FIG. 2).

Further, the processing head 22 of this embodiment is similar to that of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, a pair of air cleaners 28 and 29 are connected to the bottom surface of the support member 23, and the inside of the container 5 held by the vacuum pads 26 and 26 (27 and 27) is separated by these air cleaners 28 and 29. , Cleaning. One air cleaner 28 includes an air cylinder 31 connected to the center of the bottom surface of the support member 23.
And an L-shaped bracket 32 connected to the piston of the air cylinder 31, and a conical mounting member 33 attached to the tip of the bracket 32. The other air cleaner 29 includes an air cylinder 34 connected to the center of the bottom surface of the support member 23 and the air cylinder 34.
And a conical mounting member 36 attached to the tip of the bracket 35. The pistons of the two air cylinders 31, 34 are connected to the vacuum pads 26, 26 (27,
27) is located on the side of the mouth 5a of the container 5 held by the bracket 5, and by independently moving the air cylinders 31, 34 between the forward end position and the retreat end position, the brackets 32, 35 The attached mounting members 33 and 36 can be brought into contact with and separated from the mouth 5 a of the container 5. Mounting member 3
3 and 36 have the same configuration, so that one of the mounting members 3
Only the configuration 3 will be described. That is, as shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 9, the mounting member 33 includes an outer pipe 33A penetrating the bracket 32 and an inner pipe 3 penetrating the outer pipe 33A and having one end protruding forward of the outer pipe 33A.
3B and a conical closing member 33 surrounding the outer pipe 33A and having a small-diameter end connected to the end face of the bracket.
C. The other end of the inner pipe 33B is connected to a supply source of compressed air via a conduit (not shown), and the other end of the outer pipe 33A is open to the atmosphere.

As shown in FIG. 7, the vacuum pad 2
When the container 5 at the holding position A is held by the air cylinders 6, 26 (27, 27), the mounting members 33, 36 are also located at the forward end positions by the air cylinders 31, 34, respectively. Therefore, in this state, the mounting members 33 and 36 and the mouth 5a of the container 5 are largely separated from each other. When the vacuum pads 26, 26 and 27, 27 holding the container 5 are raised to the rising ends shown in FIG. 6 by the air cylinders 24, 25, the mouth 5a of the container 5 is the same as the mounting member 33 (36). Height so that they face each other. When the mounting member 33 (36) is positioned at the retreat end by the air cylinder 31 (34) from this state, the mounting member 33 (36) is mounted on the mouth 5 a of the container 5.
In this state, as shown in FIG. 9, one end of the outer pipe 33A and the inner pipe 33B are inserted into the container 5 through the opening of the mouth 5a, and the mouth 5a is closed by the closing member 33C.
The opening is closed. At the same time as the air cylinder 31 (34) is retracted, compressed air is supplied from one end of the inner pipe 33B.
Compressed air is introduced into the inside. Thereby, the air in the container 5 is forcibly replaced and discharged to the outside of the container 5 via the outer pipe 33A. In this manner, the inside of the container 5 is cleaned by discharging the dust and the like interposed in the container 5 to the outside. In this embodiment,
In this manner, the time for mounting the mounting members 33 and 36 on the mouth 5a of the container 5 and performing the cleaning is set to about 1 second.

The control device 12 of the present embodiment controls the operation of the processing head 22 configured as described above, so that each of the vacuum pads 2 is held at the holding position A on the first conveyor 3.
6, 26 and 27, 27 sequentially hold the container 5;
After performing air cleaning on the held container 5,
The holding state of the container 5 is released at the release position B on the second conveyor 4. Here, as described above, the cleaning time for the container 5 is set to about 1 second, but the moving time required for the processing head 22 to move from the holding position A to the release position B is the cleaning time. Shorter than. Therefore, after holding both containers 5 sequentially at the holding position A, cleaning is immediately started on each of them,
Thereafter, when the processing head 22 is immediately moved from the holding position A to the release position B, the cleaning of the first container 5 is completed, and the processing head 22 is completely cleaned until the cleaning of the second container 5 is completed. 22 needs to wait at the release position B. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the operation of the processing head 22 is controlled by the control device 12 so that the waiting time of the processing head 22 at the release position B is eliminated and the processing head 22 can efficiently transfer the container 5. I try to control.

(Specific operation explanation) That is, first, the control device 12 moves the processing head 22 to the holding position A on the first conveyor 3 (FIG. 1). At this point, the vacuum pad 2 is operated by both air cylinders 24 and 25.
6, 26 (27, 27) are located at the rising end shown in FIG.
3 and 36 are also located at the forward end. Next, the processing head 2
The image of the first container 5 is input to the control device 12 by the CCD camera 8 until the position 2 moves to the holding position A. Then, based on the image of the first container 5 input from the CCD camera 8, the control device 12 rotates the processing head so that the opening 5 a is positioned on both the air cleaners 28 and 29, and then controls the vacuum pad 26. , 26 are positioned above the first container 5, and then the vacuum pads 26, 26 are lowered by the air cylinder 24. As a result, the vacuum pad 2 to which a negative pressure has already been introduced.
The first container 5 is sucked and held by 6, 6 (FIG. 7). Here, FIG. 10 shows the relationship between the elapsed time after the start of the work and the work process. In the time zone indicated by I in FIG.
6 and 26 hold it by suction. When the first container 5 is suction-held by the vacuum pads 26, 26, the control device 12 raises the vacuum pads 26, 26 to the original ascending position by the air cylinder 24. It is supported above the first conveyor 3 with the rollover state held by 26. The opening 5a of the first container 5 is located on the mounting member 33 side of the air cleaner 28 (FIG. 6).

Next, when the first container 5 is held by the vacuum pads 26, 26 and supported at the raised end position, the control device 12 immediately retracts the mounting member 33 by the air cylinder 31. The member 33 is attached to the mouth 5a of the first container 5 (see FIGS. 8 and 9). Thus, the first cleaning of the container 5 is started (at the time of IC ′ in FIG. 10). After this, the control device 12
Based on the image of the second container 5 from the CCD camera 8, the second
When the container 5 is stored in the pocket P such that the mouth 5a of the container 5 is on the side of the air cleaner 29, the control device 12 immediately controls the vacuum pad 27,
27 is lowered. At this point, vacuum pad 2
Since the negative pressure is introduced into the vacuum containers 7 and 27, the second container 5 is suction-held by the vacuum pads 27 and 27 (time zone II in FIGS. 4 and 10). The control device 12
Thereafter, the vacuum pad 2 is moved by the air cylinder 25.
Since the first and second containers 27 and 27 are raised to the upper end position, the second container 5 is also supported at the upper end position. Note that when the container 5 in the pocket P is to be held by the vacuum pads 26, 26 (27, 27), the opening 5a of the container 5 stored in the pocket P is opposite to the above-described direction. When the controller 12 is in operation, the control device 12 rotates the processing head 22 by 180 degrees about the third drive shaft 21 as a rotation center, and then suction-holds the container 5 by the vacuum pads 26, 26 (27, 27). That is, the control device 12 rotates the entire processing head 22 by 180 degrees in accordance with the storage direction of the container 5 in the pocket P input from the CCD camera 8,
Finally, as shown in FIG.
6, 26 (27, 27) sucks and holds each container 5 so that the mouth 5a becomes the air cleaner 28, 29.

As described above, even when the second container 5 is sucked and held by the vacuum pads 27, 27, the cleaning of the first container 5 by the air cleaner 29 is continued (the time period of IC in FIG. 10). ). When the second container 5 held by the vacuum pads 27, 27 is supported at the rising end position, the control device 12 causes the mounting member 36 of the air cleaner 29 to retreat by the air cylinder 34, and the second container 5 To the mouth 5a. Thus, the cleaning of the second container 5 by the air cleaner 29 is also started (at the time of IIC ′ in FIG. 10). Thereafter, the processing head 22 immediately moves from the holding position A to the release position B.
Moved to Before the processing head 22 is located at the release position B, the first cleaning of the container 5 has already been completed (at the time of IC '' in FIG. 10). When the cleaning is completed, the controller 12 stops the introduction of the negative pressure to the mounting member 33, advances the mounting member 33 to the forward end position, and separates the mounting member 33 from the opening 5a of the first container 5 (FIG. 6
State). Thereafter, the control device 12 stops the introduction of the negative pressure to the vacuum pads 26, 26, so that the first holding state of the container 5 by the vacuum pads 26, 26 is released (the time zone I 'in FIG. 10). ). In this way,
The first container 5 which is released after the internal cleaning is completed and falls down is turned upside down by the straightening means 6 from the rolled state to the upright state, and is placed on the second conveyor 5 in that state. (FIG. 1).

At this time, since the cleaning of the second container 5 is continuously performed (the time period of the IIC in FIG. 10), the second container 5 cannot be released at the release position. Therefore, when the first container 5 is released at the release position B, the control device 12 immediately moves the processing head 22 to the release position B while continuing to clean the second container 5 held on the vacuum pads 27, 27. To the holding position A. And the control device 12
Is based on the image of the third container 5 from the CCD camera 8,
Vacuum pads 26 and 2 are located just above third container 5.
After positioning the vacuum pad 6, the vacuum pads 26, 26 are lowered. Thereby, the third container 5 is sucked and held by the vacuum pads 26, 26 (III in FIG. 10).
Time zone). By this time, the cleaning of the second container 5 held by the other vacuum pads 27, 27 has been completed (at the time of IIC ′ in FIG. 10). Therefore, at this time, the control device 12 has already stopped the introduction of the negative pressure to the mounting member 36, and then advances the mounting member 36 to the forward end position and separates the mounting member 36 from the mouth 5a of the second container 5. I have. On the other hand, when the third container 5 is sucked and held by the vacuum pads 26, 26, the control device 12
26 is raised to the rising end position, and the mounting member 33 of the air cleaner 28 is retracted, so that the mounting member 33 is mounted on the mouth 5a of the third container 5 and cleaning is started (IIIC ′ in FIG. 10). Time). Further, the controller 12 moves the processing head 22 from the holding position A to the release position B at the same time as raising the vacuum pads 26, 26 to the rising end position. When the processing head 22 is located at the release position B, since the cleaning of the second container 5 has already been completed at this time, the control device 12
Stops the introduction of the negative pressure to the vacuum pads 27, 27 and releases the holding state of the second container 5 by the vacuum pads 27, 27 (time period II 'in FIG. 10). In this way, the second container 5 which is released after the cleaning of the inside is completed and falls down is turned from the rolled state by the straightening means 6 to the erect state, and in this state, the second conveyor 5 5 (FIG. 1).

At this time, since the third container 5 is continuously cleaned (time zone IIIC in FIG. 10), the holding state cannot be released at the release position B. Therefore, when the control device 12 releases the second container 5 at the release position B as described above, the processing head 2
2 from the release position B to the holding position A, and
In step 4, the vacuum pads 27, 27 are lowered to
(Time zone IV in FIG. 10). Thereafter, the control device 12 raises the vacuum pads 27, 27 to the rising end, and retreats the mounting member 36 of the air cleaner 29 to mount the mouth 5a of the fourth container 5.
At this time, since a negative pressure is introduced into the mounting member 36,
Cleaning of the fourth container 5 is started (IV in FIG. 10).
At the same time when the vacuum pads 27, 27 are located at the rising end, the processing head 22 is moved from the holding position A to the release position B at the same time. When the processing head 22 is located at the release position B, the cleaning of the third container 5 has already been completed (III in FIG. 10).
C ″), the control device 12 controls the vacuum pads 26, 26
Stop the introduction of negative pressure to As a result, the holding state of the third container 5 is released at the release position B, and the falling container 5 is turned upside down from the rolled state by the straightening means 6 and then placed on the second transport conveyor 5 (FIG. 10
III '). At this time, since the cleaning of the fourth container 5 has not been completed, the holding state cannot be released yet. Therefore, the control device 12
When the container 5 is released at the release position B, the processing head 22 is immediately moved from the release position B to the holding position A,
Vacuum pads 26, 26 based on images from camera 8
Is lowered to hold the fifth container 5 at the holding position A (time zone indicated by V in FIG. 10).

Thereafter, the control device 12 raises the vacuum pads 26, 26 to the rising end, and retreats the mounting member 33 of the air cleaner 28 to mount it on the mouth 5a of the fifth container 5. At this time, since a negative pressure has been introduced into the mounting member 33, cleaning of the fifth container 5 is started (at the time indicated by VC ′ in FIG. 10), and the vacuum pads 26, 26 are positioned at the rising ends. Then, the processing head 22 is moved from the holding position A to the release position B. When the processing head 22 is located at the release position B, the cleaning of the fourth container 5 has already been completed (see FIG. 1).
At the time of IVC ″ of 0), the controller 12 stops the introduction of the negative pressure to the vacuum pads 27, 27. As a result, the holding state of the fourth container 5 is released at the release position B, and the falling container 5 is turned upside down from the rolled state by the straightening means 6, and then placed on the second conveyor 5 (FIG. 10 (IV ′). As described above, the controller 12 controls each set of the vacuum pads 26, 2
6 (27, 27), the containers 5 are alternately held, and after the containers 5 are cleaned with the air cleaners 28, 29, the set of vacuum pads 26, 26 (27, 27) at the release position B. The container 5 is released from the holding state. Then, one set of the vacuum pads 26,
As soon as 26 (27, 27) releases the containers 5 at the release position B, the processing head 22 is moved from the release position B to the holding position A.
To move the vacuum pads 26, 2 in the empty state.
At 6 (27, 27), a new container 5 is held. Since the control device 12 of the present embodiment controls the operation of the processing head 22 in this manner, the processing head 22 waits above the release position B until the cleaning of the container 5 that has started cleaning later is completed. No need. Therefore, cleaning and delivery of the container 5 can be performed efficiently. Therefore, compared with the processing method based on the conventional concept described later, the delivery amount of the container 5 per unit time by the article processing apparatus 1 can be increased, and the article processing apparatus 1 with high processing capacity can be provided. . In addition, since the time required for cleaning one container 5 can be set relatively long, the processing head 22 can be operated stably. Since the configuration of the correcting means 6 is the same as that disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-40178, the description of the configuration of the correcting means 6 will be omitted.

In contrast to the above-described embodiment, the processing head 2
Even if the configuration 2 is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, it is difficult to improve the processing capability if the operation control of the processing head 22 by the control device 22 is a process based on the conventional general idea. That is, two sets of vacuum pads 26, 2
6 (27, 27), the two containers 5 are sequentially held at the holding position A, and after holding each of the containers 5, cleaning is immediately started, and the processing head 22 is moved from the holding position A to the release position B. This is a case where the two containers 5 that have been cleaned at the release position B are simultaneously released. In this case, even if the first container 5 that has been cleaned first is released at the release position B first,
It is necessary to keep the processing head 22 at the release position B until the cleaning of the other container 5 being cleaned is completed. If such a wasteful waiting time occurs, the processing capability of the article processing apparatus 1 cannot be improved.
This case will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
First, two vacuum pads 26, 26 (27, 2
7), the containers 5 are sequentially held at the holding position A (FIG. 1).
1, time periods indicated by I and II). Each vacuum pad 2
As soon as the container 5 is held at 6, 26 (27, 27), air cleaning is immediately started (IC ', IIC').
At the time). Thereafter, the processing head 22 is moved from the holding position A to the release position B. Even when the processing head 22 is located at the release position B, the cleaning of both containers 5 is not completed. Then, the processing head 22 waits in the state where it is located at the release position B. After that, the cleaning of the first container 5 is completed, and then the cleaning of the second container 5 is completed. The containers 5 are simultaneously released from the holding state (time zones I ′ and II ′ in FIG. 1). Next, the processing head 22 moves from the release position B to the holding position A, and sequentially holds the third container 5 and the fourth container 5 (time zones indicated by III and IV in FIG. 11). As soon as the containers 5 are held by the vacuum pads 26, 26 (27, 27), the air cleaning is started immediately (at the time of IIIC 'and IVC' in FIG. 11). At the same time, the processing head 22 is moved from the holding position A to the release position B. Even when the processing head 22 is located at the release position B, the cleaning of both containers 5 has not been completed. Therefore, the processing head 22 waits in a state where it is located at the release position B, and thereafter,
When the cleaning of the third container 5 is completed and then the cleaning of the fourth container 5 is completed, the processing head 22 simultaneously releases the holding state of the two containers 5 (III ′ and IV ′ in FIG. 11). Time zone). When the control device 12 controls the operation of the processing head 22 in this manner, the processing head 22 needs to wait at the release position B until the cleaning of the container 5 is completed.
The waiting time of 2 results in a decrease in the processing capacity of the article processing apparatus 1 per unit time. Compared with the operation control of the processing head 22 by the control device 12, according to the present embodiment, as described above, it is possible to provide the article processing apparatus 1 having a high processing capability. In the embodiment described above, the processing head 22 is provided with two air cylinders 24 and 2.
5 and two sets of vacuum pads 26, 2
6 (27, 27) is applied to the present invention, but the present invention is also applicable to a configuration in which three air cylinders are provided in the processing head 22 and a set of two vacuum pads is provided in each of them. The invention can be applied.

(Second Embodiment) Next, FIGS.
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIG. This second embodiment is an article processing apparatus 101 in which two robots 43 and 44 each store a total of four containers 45 in two in a decorative box 42 conveyed at equal intervals by a conveyor 41. , 102 to which the present invention is applied. That is, the transport conveyor 41 transports the empty decorative box 42 in the direction of the arrow while maintaining a predetermined interval.
On one side of the transport process of the transport conveyor 41, the supply conveyors 46, 47, 48,
49 are arranged. The empty makeup box 42 is set to have a size that can accommodate four containers 45 in a rollover state. The conveyor 4 between these supply conveyors 46 and 47
A robot 43 and a control device 51 for controlling the operation of the robot 43 are arranged on one side. Also, supply conveyors 48, 4
The robot 44 and a control device 52 for controlling the operation of the robot 44 are arranged on one side of the conveyor 41 between the positions 9 and 9. Each of the supply conveyors 46 and 47 supplies the cardboard box 52 to holding positions A1 and A1 ′ adjacent to the robot 43. In addition, each supply conveyor 48, 49
Also, the cardboard box 52 is supplied to the holding positions A2 and A2 ′ adjacent to the robot 44. The cardboard box 52 has an open upper surface, and the container 45 after capping is stored in an upright state in the cardboard box 52. The cardboard box 52 at the holding positions A1 and A1 'is held by the robot 43 of the article processing apparatus 101 on the upstream side.
2 containers 45 are sequentially taken out from the conveyor 4
1 is stored in the makeup box 42 at the release position B on the upper side, and the robot 44 of the article processing apparatus 102 on the downstream side sequentially moves from the cardboard box 52 at the holding positions A2 and A2 ′ to 2
The individual containers 45 are taken out and stored in the makeup box 42 at the release position B in which the two containers 42 are already stored. Therefore, these two robots 43 and 44
Are placed in the decorative box 42, and a total of four containers 45
Is to be stored. In this embodiment, the two robots 43 and 44 hold the container 45 at the holding positions A1 and A1 ′ (A2 and A2 ′) and then store the container 45 in the makeup box 42 at the release position B. The bar code of the label L attached to each container 45 is read to check whether each container 45 is a container 45 to be stored in the decorative box 42. Here, each article processing apparatus 10
1 and 102 are the same, so that one of the article processing apparatuses 1
Only 01 will be described. That is, as shown in FIG. 13, the robot 43 of the article processing apparatus 101
And a processing head 101A for detachably holding the processing head 101A.

FIG. 13 shows only one processing head 101A because it is a side view. The processing head 101A has a pair of left and right grippers 54A (54) for holding the container 45 at a predetermined interval.
B). These two grippers 54A (54
An adsorbing mechanism 55A (55B) for adsorbing the outer peripheral portion of the container 45 is provided at a position adjacent to B). At a position adjacent to the two grippers 54A and 54B, a bar code reader 56A (56B) for reading the bar code of the label L attached to the container 45 is provided. Gripper 54A (54
B) is adapted to be opened and closed in conjunction with the air cylinder 57A (57B), so that the upper end of the container 45 can be detachably gripped. Gripper 54A (54B), air cylinder 57A (57B) and suction mechanism 55A (5
5B) is lowered by a raising / lowering cylinder 58A (58B) to a rising end position shown in the figure and a lowering end position lowered by a predetermined amount from this position. Further, the suction mechanism 55
A and 55B can swing about the pin 53 as a swing center. As shown by the imaginary line, the suction position is supported by the vertical direction shown by the solid line in conjunction with the air cylinder 59A (59B). It is adapted to be moved to a swinging-up position in a state of being substantially sideways. Also, a barcode reader 5
The air cylinder 6A (56B) is moved by the air cylinder 60A (60B) to a rising end position shown by a solid line and a falling end position shown by an imaginary line. The grippers 54A and 54B holding the container 45 are raised to the raised position shown in FIG. 13, and the bar code reader 56A (56B)
Is located at the lower end, the bar code reader 56A (56
The label L is located at the position opposite to B), and the barcode of the label L can be read by the barcode reader 56A (56B). The gripper 54A (54
The configuration of B) and the suction mechanism 55A (55B) are known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-142411, and therefore detailed description is omitted. The control device 51 of the article processing apparatus 101 reciprocates the processing head 101A between the holding positions A1 and A1 ′ and the decorative box 42 at the release position B on the transport conveyor 41, and also controls the processing head 101A. The operation of each component is controlled as follows.

(Explanation of operation) That is, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 13, the gripper 54A (54B) and the bar code reader 56A (56B) are at the rising end position, and the suction mechanism 5
In a state where 5 is also at the swinging-up position indicated by the imaginary line, the control device 51 moves the processing head 101A to the holding position A1. Next, since the control device 51 lowers the gripper 54A and lowers the air cylinder 57A via the lifting cylinder 58A, the first container 45 in the cardboard box 52 is held by the gripper 54A. Thereafter, the control device 51 immediately raises the elevating cylinder 58A to the upper end, and lowers the barcode reader 56A to the lower end indicated by the imaginary line by the air cylinder 60A. Thereby, reading of the barcode of the label L by the barcode reader 56A is started. At the same time as the lifting cylinder 58A is raised as described above, the suction mechanism 55A is lowered by the air cylinder 59A to the suction position shown by the solid line. At this time, since a negative pressure is introduced into the suction mechanism 55A, two locations on the outer peripheral portion of the container 45 are suction-held by the suction mechanism 55A. The bar code of the label L read by the bar code reader 56A is
The control device 51 compares the bar code number stored in advance with the bar code number input from the bar code reader 56A, and determines that the numbers are the same. Confirm whether or not. If they are the same, the air cylinder 57A is raised to release the holding state of the container 45 by the gripper 54A, while the suction mechanism 55A is moved by the air cylinder 59A to the swing-up position indicated by the imaginary line.

Next, the control device 51 similarly controls the holding position A
1, the other gripper 54B is moved up and down the cylinder 58B.
And the air cylinder 57B is lowered, so that the second container 45 is moved by the gripper 54B.
Is held. Thereafter, the controller 51 immediately raises the lifting cylinder 58B to the rising end, and lowers the barcode reader 56B to the lowering end indicated by the imaginary line by the air cylinder 59B. Thereby, reading of the barcode of the label L by the barcode reader 56B is started. When the control device 51 raises the lifting cylinder 58B to the rising end, the control device 51 immediately moves the processing head 101A to the first decorative box 42 at the release position B on the transport conveyor 41.
Move up. When the processing head 101A is positioned on the decorative box 42, the suction mechanism 55A that holds the gripper 54A and the first container 45 in a rolled state by the air cylinder 58A while moving the processing head 101A following the movement of the decorative box 42. The whole is lowered, and the holding state of the container 45 by the suction mechanism 55A is released. Thereby, the first container 45 is stored in the decorative box 42 with its longitudinal direction orthogonal to the transport conveyor 41 and its upper end positioned on the robot 43 side. At this point, the reading of the label of the second container 45 and the confirmation of the correctness have been completed, but the second operation by the air cylinder 59B has been completed.
At this point, the second container 45 cannot be released at the release position B because the movement of the container 45 to the swinging-up position has not been completed. Therefore, the controller 51 immediately moves the processing head 101A to the holding position A1 'upon releasing the holding state of the first container 45 by the suction mechanism 55A. In this movement process, the air cylinder 59B is raised and the second container 45 held by the suction mechanism 55B is moved.
Is moved to the swinging-up position indicated by the imaginary line and is supported in a rollover state. Then, when the processing head 101A in this state moves to the holding position A1 ', the control device 51 lowers the air cylinder 57A and holds the container 45 (third container) in the cardboard box 52 at the holding position A1'. . Next, the control device 51 immediately raises the elevating cylinder 58A to the raising end, and lowers the barcode reader 56A to the lowering end indicated by the imaginary line by the air cylinder 59A. Thereby, the third bar code reader 56A
The reading of the barcode of the label L of the container 45 is started.

The control device 51 includes a lifting cylinder 58
As soon as A is raised to the rising end, the processing head 101
A is moved from the holding position A1 'to the decorative box 4 on the conveyor 41.
Move up to 2. When the processing head 101A is
When the processing head 101A is positioned above, the entire suction mechanism 55B holding the gripper 54B and the second container 45 in the rolled state is lowered by the air cylinder 58B while moving the processing head 101A following the movement of the decorative box 42, and the suction is performed. The holding state of the second container 45 by the mechanism 55B is released. Thereby, the second container 45 is also stored in the decorative box 42 in the same direction as the first container 45. At this point,
Reading of the label L of the third container 45 and confirmation of correctness have been completed, but the third container 4 by the air cylinder 59A has been completed.
At this point, the third container 45 cannot be released at the release position B because the movement of the fifth container 5 to the swinging-up position (support for the rollover state) has not been completed. Therefore, the control device 5
1 releases the holding state of the second container 45 by the suction mechanism 55B described above, and immediately moves the processing head 101A again from the release position B to the holding position A1. In this movement process, the air cylinder 59A is raised, and the third container 45 held by the suction mechanism 55A is moved to the swing-up position. That is, it is supported in a rollover state. Then, when the processing head 101A in this state moves to the holding position A1, the control device 51 lowers the air cylinder 57B and holds the container 45 (fourth container) in the cardboard box 52. As described above, the control device 51 immediately releases the holding state of the container 45 by the one gripper 54A (54B) at the position immediately above the decorative box 42 at the release position B on the transport conveyor 41, and immediately moves the processing head 101A to the holding position. A
1 (A1 ') to hold the next container 45. Therefore, the processing head 101A is positioned just above the dressing box 42 at the release position B on the transport conveyor 41 until the other container 45 is in the rolled state (the swinging position).
No need to wait. Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide the article processing apparatus 101 having a high processing capacity per unit time. The downstream article processing apparatus 102 performs the same processing as the upstream processing apparatus 101, and sequentially stores the remaining two containers 45 in the same direction in the decorative box. Also, the barcode reader 54A (5
If it is confirmed that the label L of the container 45 read in 4B) is not a predetermined label, the controller 51 (5)
2) removes the processing head 101A from the collection box 60 (6).
1), and the suction mechanism 55A (5
5B), the holding state of the defective container 45 is released.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an article processing apparatus having a high processing ability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a right side view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a right side view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a front view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a front view showing different operating states of the members shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a front view showing different operating states of the members shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the operation of the main part of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and the elapsed time.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the relationship between the operation of the device based on the conventional concept and the elapsed time.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

13 is a front view of a processing head provided in the robot shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 article processing apparatus 2 robot 3 first transport conveyor 4 second transport conveyor 5 container 12 control device 22 processing head 26 vacuum pad 27 vacuum pad 28 air cleaner (processing means) 29 air cleaner (processing means) A holding position B release position

Claims (3)

[Claims] At least 2 for detachably holding an article
An article processing apparatus having a holding head for holding an article at a holding position and releasing the article at a release position by the holding means, and a control device for controlling the operation of the processing head. Processing means for performing required processing on the articles held by the means, the control device causing the holding means to hold the articles at the holding position, and then causing the articles to perform the required processing by the processing means; When the article which has been processed by the processing means is released at the release position from the holding state by each holding means at the release position, and the article which has been processed by the processing means is held at each holding means and released at the release position, the holding means which has released the article is released. As to hold the article in the holding position prior to the release operation of the holding state of the article by another holding means or the holding operation of the article, Article processing apparatus and controls the operation of the holding means. 2. The article according to claim 1, wherein the article is an empty container, and wherein the processing means comprises an air cleaner for cleaning the inside of the container, wherein the air cleaner is provided in the processing head. Processing equipment. 3. An article stored in a box at a release position, wherein said processing means comprises a bar code reader for reading a bar code of the container held by said holding means, said bar code reader comprising a processing head. The article processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article processing apparatus is provided in the apparatus.