TW201736066A - Device for picking and placing object and method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for picking and placing an object and a method using the same are provided. The device for picking and placing object includes a conveyer belt, a carrying member, a sweeping member, a mechanical arm, a first sensor member and a control device. The first sensor member is used to sense an item's location outside the carrying member and a space on the carrying member. The control device controls the mechanical arm to pick the item outside the carrying member for putting into the space of the carrying member according to a sense result of the first sensor member.

Description

Pick and place device and application method thereof

The present invention relates to the field of pick and place technology, and more particularly to a pick and place device and method of use thereof.

As a result of the development of computer technology, the versatility and flexibility of industrial robots has greatly increased. Robots can be used in very different types of industrial tasks, including parts for spot welding cars and tasks commonly referred to as picking and placement. Picking and placing tasks include picking up items from a conveyor belt and placing them in a shipping pallet or shipping box.

Patent Publication No. CN102648442A discloses a pick and place system comprising at least one input transport device, at least one output transport device, at least one pick and place robot, for accurately placing individual items on the input transport device onto the output transport device. Position, it is necessary to first determine the available pick-up positions at which the individual items on the input conveyor can be picked up, and to determine the available placement positions on which the individual items can be placed on the output conveyor. Calculating respective picking times and placement times for available picking positions and available placement positions, and instructing the at least one robot to pick up the items at the picking positions in an order determined by the respective picking time and the placing time and Place the item in the placement position. However, the disadvantages of this solution are: 1) at least two conveyor belts (ie, input conveyor and output conveyor) are required, occupying a large position, high cost, and the robot needs to determine the order according to the calculated picking and placing time, and the efficiency is low; 2) When the conveyor speed is too fast, one robot can't process it, and it needs to be added to two robots to increase the cost.

In view of the above problems, those skilled in the art have been seeking solutions.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a pick and place device and method of application thereof that address the deficiencies of existing pick and place devices.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a pick-and-place device comprising: a conveyor belt; a carrier member disposed on the conveyor belt, the carrier member having a plurality of placement positions; and a sweeping member for performing along the conveyor belt Reciprocating to sweep off stacked items; a robotic arm for picking up and placing articles; a first sensing component for sensing an item location outside the load bearing member and a void on the load bearing member; and a control device And controlling the mechanical arm to pick up an item located outside the carrying part and put it into a vacancy of the carrying part according to the sensing result of the first sensing part.

Preferably, in the picking and placing device, the loading and unloading device may further comprise a loading member disposed above the conveyor belt for dispensing the article.

Preferably, in the picking and placing device, the flat sweeping member is a railing, the railing spanning over the conveyor belt and on one side of the loading member of the loading member, along the conveyor belt Reciprocating to sweep off the stacked items.

Preferably, in the picking and placing device, the flat sweeping member is a disc, and the disc is located above the conveyor belt and on one side of the output member of the loading member along the conveyor belt Reciprocating to sweep off the stacked items.

Preferably, in the pick-and-place device, the number of the carrier members is plural, and the plurality of the carrier members are sequentially arranged along the length direction of the conveyor belt.

Preferably, in the picking and placing device, the number of the carrying members is one, and the carrying member has a plurality of carrying areas, each of which has a plurality of placing positions.

Preferably, in the pick-and-place device, the method further includes: an alarm component; and a second sensing component for sensing whether the article on the carrier component where the placement position at the predetermined position of the conveyor belt is filled is If it is not, the feedback signal is sent to the alarm component, and the alarm component performs an alarm.

Preferably, in the picking and placing device, the predetermined position is a position on a conveyor belt at the end of the production line.

The invention further provides an application method of the picking and placing device, the application method of the picking and placing device comprises: placing an article on a conveyor belt, the conveyor belt is provided with a bearing member having a plurality of placing positions; using the flat sweeping member Reciprocating along the conveyor belt to sweep off the stacked items; sensing the position of the item outside the carrying member and the vacancy on the carrying member by the first sensing component; using the control device according to the first sensing The sensing result of the component controls the robotic arm to pick up an item located outside the carrier member and into the vacancy of the carrier member.

Preferably, in the application method of the pick-and-place device, the method further comprises: using the second sensing component to sense whether the article on the carrier member filled in the position where the predetermined position of the conveyor belt is filled is neatly arranged. If not, the feedback signal is sent to the alarm component, and the alarm component performs an alarm.

In the pick-and-place device and application method thereof provided by the present invention, the pick-and-place device includes a conveyor belt, a carrier member, a flat sweeping member, a robot arm, a first sensing component, and a control device, and the first sensing component feels Measuring the position of the item outside the carrying member and the vacancy on the carrying member, and the control device controls the mechanical arm to pick up the item located outside the carrying member according to the sensing result of the first sensing member and put The vacancy of the carrier member. It can be seen that the pick-and-place device of the present invention only needs one conveyor belt and one robot arm to realize picking and placing of articles, and requires at least two conveyor belts compared with the existing pick-and-place device, which reduces the floor space and reduces the cost. In addition, since only one robot arm does not need to accurately calculate the time of picking and placing, the gap can be accurately filled and the work efficiency is improved.

The pick-and-place device and its application method proposed by the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments. Advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from the description and appended claims. It should be noted that the drawings are all in a very simplified form and both use non-precise proportions, and are only for convenience and clarity to assist the purpose of the embodiments of the present invention.

Embodiment 1

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a top view of the pick-and-place device of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the pick-and-place device includes: a conveyor belt 1 , a carrier member 2 , a flat sweeping member 4 , a robot arm 5 , and a first a sensing member 6 and a control device 7; wherein a carrier member 2 having a plurality of placement positions is disposed on the conveyor belt 1; the flat member 4 reciprocates along the conveyor belt 1 to sweep off stacked articles; The robot arm 5 is used for picking up and placing articles; the first sensing component 6 is for sensing the position of the article 10 outside the carrier component 2 and the vacancy on the carrier component 2; Controlling, according to the sensing result of the first sensing component 6 , the robot arm 5 picking up an article located outside the carrier member 2 (ie, not in the placement position of the carrier member) and putting the article into the carrier member 2 In the vacancy.

In this embodiment, the pick-and-place device further includes a loading member 3 disposed above the conveyor belt 1 for dispensing an article. Due to the presence of stacking when the articles are placed, the stacked articles are swept back and forth along the conveyor belt 1 by the flat sweeping member 4 to initially cause the partial articles to enter the placement position 20 in the carrier member 2, leaving the remaining unplaced positions. The item is placed in the vacant position in the carrying member after being picked up by the robot arm. Preferably, the flat sweeping member 4 is a railing that spans over the conveyor belt 1 and is located on one side of the output port of the loading member 3, reciprocating along the conveyor belt to sweep off the stack Items.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the number of the carrier members 2 is plural, and a plurality of the carrier members are sequentially arranged along the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt. In addition, the number of the carrying members is also one, and the carrying member has a plurality of carrying areas, each of which has a plurality of placing positions.

Preferably, referring to FIG. 1 , in order to ensure that the articles 10 of the placement position 20 on the carrying member 2 are placed neatly, the picking and placing device of the embodiment further includes a second sensing component 9 and an alarm component 8 . The second sensing component 9 is configured to sense whether the article 10 on the carrier component 2 where the placement position 20 located at the predetermined position of the conveyor belt 1 is filled is neatly arranged, and if not, feedback signals to the alarm component 8, The alarm component 8 performs an alarm for subsequent manual personnel to manually adjust the unplaced article 10; wherein the predetermined position 100 is on the conveyor belt 1 at the end of the production line (ie, at the end of the production line direction) The location is shown in Figure 1.

In this embodiment, when a plurality of carrier members 2 are disposed on the conveyor belt, the carrier members 2 are first placed on the conveyor belt to perform picking and placing of the articles, and the space is first filled on the carrier members. The process, when all the vacancies on the current carrying member 2 are accommodated with the article, the control device controls the robot arm to stop placing the article to the carrying member 2, at which time the control device 7 controls the next bearer of the robot arm 5 to the conveyor belt 1. The items are placed in the vacancies of the part 2, and so on, until the vacancies on each of the carrying parts 2 on the conveyor are filled. The entire process requires only one robot arm and one conveyor belt, so there is no need to accurately calculate the time for picking and placing items, reducing the space required to place the pick and place device, reducing costs and increasing work efficiency.

Embodiment 2

The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the flat sweeping member is a disc, and the disc is located above the conveyor belt and on one side of the output member of the loading member, and reciprocates along the conveyor belt. To sweep off the stacked items.

Embodiment 3

Accordingly, the present invention also provides an application method of a pick and place device. The application method of the pick-and-place device of the present embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

First, step S1 is executed to place the article 10 on the conveyor belt 1, on which the carrier member 2 having a plurality of placement positions 20 is disposed.

Next, step S2 is performed to reciprocate along the conveyor belt 1 by the flat member 4 to sweep off the stacked articles 10.

In particular, since the position of the loading member 3 is fixed, when the loading member 3 is placed in a large amount, the article may have a stacking phenomenon, which is disadvantageous for the articles to be quickly placed in the placement positions of the different bearing members 2, Based on this problem, the pick-and-place device of the present invention is provided with a flat sweeping member 4 that traverses the conveyor belt and can be repeatedly moved along the conveyor belt, thereby dropping a portion of the article into the vacancy of the carrier member 2, and the remaining portion of the article falls into the carrier member 2 outside the conveyor belt 1 for subsequent robot picking and placement.

Next, step S3 is performed to sense the position of the article outside the carrier member 2 and the vacancy on the carrier member 2 by the first sensing component 6.

Next, step S4 is executed, and the control device 7 controls the robot arm 5 to pick up the article 10 located outside the carrier member 2 and put it into the vacancy of the carrier member 2 according to the sensing result of the first sensing component 6. in.

Preferably, in order to maintain the load-bearing component of the conveyor belt output to meet the requirements of industrial production standards, the control device controls the robot arm to pick up items located outside the carrier member according to the sensing result of the first sensing component. After being placed in the vacancy of the carrying part, the following steps are also included:

Using the second sensing component 9 to sense whether the article 10 on the carrier member 2 where the placement position of the predetermined position 100 of the conveyor belt 1 is filled is aligned, and if not, feedback the signal to the alarm component 8, the alarm component 8 to alert.

The various embodiments in the present specification are described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on differences from other embodiments, and the same similar parts between the various embodiments may be referred to each other.

In summary, in the pick-and-place device and application method thereof provided by the present invention, the pick-and-place device includes a conveyor belt, a carrier member, a flat sweeping member, a robot arm, a first sensing component and a control device, and a first sense The measuring component senses the position of the item located outside the carrying part and the vacancy on the carrying part, and the control device controls the mechanical arm to pick up the item located outside the carrying part according to the sensing result of the first sensing part And placed in the vacancy of the carrying member. It can be seen that the pick-and-place device of the present invention only needs one conveyor belt and one robot arm to realize picking and placing of articles, and requires at least two conveyor belts compared with the existing pick-and-place device, which reduces the floor space and reduces the cost. In addition, since only one robot arm does not need to accurately calculate the time of picking and placing, the gap can be accurately filled and the work efficiency is improved.

The above description is only for the description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any changes and modifications made by those skilled in the art according to the above disclosure are within the scope of protection of the patent application. .

1‧‧‧Conveyor belt
2‧‧‧Loading parts
20‧‧‧Place location
3‧‧‧Feeding parts
4‧‧‧Flat parts
5‧‧‧ Robotic arm
6‧‧‧First sensing component
7‧‧‧Control device
8‧‧‧Alarm parts
9‧‧‧Second sensing unit
10‧‧‧ Items
100‧‧‧Predetermined location
S1, S2, S3, S4‧‧‧ steps

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a plan view of a pick and place device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a flow chart of a method of applying a pick and place device in another embodiment of the present invention.

1‧‧‧Conveyor belt

2‧‧‧Loading parts

20‧‧‧Place location

3‧‧‧Feeding parts

4‧‧‧Flat parts

5‧‧‧ Robotic arm

6‧‧‧First sensing component

7‧‧‧Control device

8‧‧‧Alarm parts

9‧‧‧Second sensing unit

10‧‧‧ Items

100‧‧‧Predetermined location

Claims (10)

A picking and placing device comprising: a conveyor belt; a carrier member disposed on the conveyor belt, the carrier member having a plurality of placement positions; a flat sweeping member for reciprocating along the conveyor belt to sweep the stacked articles a mechanical arm for picking up and placing an item; a first sensing component for sensing a position of the item outside the carrier member and a vacancy on the carrier member; and a control device for The sensing result of the sensing component controls the robotic arm to pick up an item located outside the carrier member and into the vacancy of the carrier member. The picking and placing device of claim 1, further comprising a loading member disposed above the conveyor belt for dispensing the article. The pick-and-place device of claim 2, wherein the sweeping member is a rail that spans over the conveyor belt and is located on one side of the output member of the loading member, reciprocating along the conveyor belt Exercise to sweep off stacked items. The pick-and-place device of claim 2, wherein the flat member is a disc located above the conveyor belt and located on one side of the output member of the loading member, reciprocating along the conveyor belt Exercise to sweep off stacked items. The pick-and-place device of claim 1, wherein the number of the bearing members is plural, and the plurality of carrier members are sequentially arranged along the length direction of the conveyor belt. The picking and placing device of claim 1, wherein the number of the carrying members is one, and the carrying member has a plurality of carrying areas, each of the plurality of carrying areas having a plurality of the placing positions. The picking and placing device of claim 1, further comprising: an alarm component; and a second sensing component for sensing that the placement position at a predetermined position of the conveyor belt is filled Whether the items on the carrying member are placed neatly, and if not, a feedback signal is sent to the alarm component, and the alarm component performs an alarm. The pick-and-place device of claim 7, wherein the predetermined position is a position on the conveyor at the end of the production line. An application method of the pick-and-place device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising: placing an article on the conveyor belt, the conveyor belt being provided with the carrier member having a plurality of placement positions Reciprocating along the conveyor belt to sweep off the stacked items by the flat sweeping member; sensing the position of the article located outside the load bearing member and the vacancy on the load bearing member by the first sensing member; and utilizing the control device according to The sensing result of the first sensing component controls the robotic arm to pick up an item located outside the carrier member and into the vacancy of the carrier member. The method of applying the pick-and-place device of claim 9, further comprising: sensing, by the second sensing component, the loading member at a position where the predetermined position of the conveyor belt is filled Whether the items are placed neatly, if not, feedback signals to the alarm component, which alerts the alarm.