TW202007622A - Carrying system including a detection mechanism and a tray separation mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a carrying system capable of carrying trays one by one toward a tray platform from a tray arrangement section where trays capable of accommodating display panels are stacked in a multi-layer state. The carrying system includes: a detection mechanism 28 used for detecting the upper end of a first tray 3A arranged on the uppermost layer in the tray arrangement section, and a tray separation mechanism 29 used for separating a second tray 3B, which is located in the second from the top in the tray arrangement section, from the first tray 3A. In the carrying system, each time a carrying robot carries the first tray 3A from the tray arrangement section to the tray platform, a lifting mechanism 30 raises and lowers the detection mechanism 28 which detects the upper end of the first transferred 3A tray to be carried next, and, based on the detection result of the upper end of the first tray 3A obtained by the detection mechanism 28, a claw member 60 of the tray separation mechanism 29 disposed at a specified position in the up-down direction of the tray arrangement section moves between the first tray 3A and the second tray 3B.

Description

Handling system

The present invention relates to a transport system for transporting trays that can accommodate display panels such as liquid crystal panels.

Previously, a transport system for transporting a small liquid crystal panel has been known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). The transport system described in Patent Document 1 includes: a conveyor that transports a tray that can contain an LCD panel; a tray platform that mounts a tray; a first transport robot that transports a tray between the conveyor and the tray platform; and a second transport robot, The liquid crystal panel is carried out from the tray placed on the tray platform. The first transport robot is a so-called three-axis orthogonal robot, and includes a tray holding portion that holds the tray. The second transport robot is a so-called parallel robot, and includes a panel grip portion that grips the liquid crystal panel.

The conveyance system described in Patent Document 1 includes a conveyor on the supply side and a conveyor on the discharge side as conveyors for conveying pallets, and includes two pallet platforms. The conveyor on the supply side and the conveyor on the discharge side are arranged adjacently in the left-right direction, and the two tray platforms are arranged adjacently in the left-right direction. The first transport robot transports the trays one by one from the conveyor on the supply side toward the tray platform, and transports the trays one by one from the tray platform toward the conveyor on the discharge side.

In the conveyance system described in Patent Document 1, the conveyor linearly conveys the stacked pallets in the front-rear direction. In addition, the conveyor includes a plurality of divided conveyors that are divided in the front-rear direction. The split conveyor arranged on the rear side among the split conveyors constituting the conveyor on the supply side includes a layer number detection mechanism for detecting the number of layers of pallets on the conveyor. In the transport system described in Patent Document 1, the first transport robot operates based on the detection result of the layer number detection mechanism, and transports the tray from the conveyor on the supply side toward the tray platform. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2018-6518

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the conveyance system described in Patent Document 1, when a conveyor on the supply side, one of the two trays contacted in the up-and-down direction sinks into the other, and two or more trays are overlapped When transporting from the conveyor on the supply side to the pallet platform, there is a concern that various problems such as the following: the second transport robot cannot carry out the liquid crystal panel from the pallet mounted on the pallet platform, or is accommodated in the pallet platform. The liquid crystal panel of the tray collides with the panel grip of the second transport robot, and the liquid crystal panel is damaged.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a transport system that can transport trays one by one toward a tray platform from a tray arrangement portion where trays that can accommodate display panels stacked in multiple layers are arranged toward a tray platform. [Technical means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the transport system of the present invention is characterized by including: a tray arrangement section that arranges trays that can accommodate a display panel in a state of being stacked in multiple layers; a tray platform that mounts trays; and a transport robot that faces from the tray arrangement section The pallet platform conveys the pallets one by one; the detection mechanism is used to detect the upper end of the first pallet. The first pallet is the pallet arranged at the uppermost layer among the pallets stacked in multiple layers in the pallet arrangement section; the pallet separation mechanism is used to The second tray is separated from the first tray, and the second tray is a tray disposed second from above among the trays stacked in multiple layers in the tray arrangement portion; and a lifting mechanism for separating the detection mechanism and the tray The mechanism moves up and down relative to the tray arrangement portion. The tray separation mechanism includes: a claw member that enters between the first tray and the second tray; and a claw moving mechanism that allows the claw member to enter the first tray and the second tray between the claw members Between the separation position between the two and the retracted position where the claw member is separated from the first tray and the second tray, the lift mechanism moves the detection mechanism relative to the tray each time the transport robot transports the first tray from the tray arrangement portion toward the tray platform The arranging section relatively moves up and down, and the detection mechanism detects the upper end of the first pallet to be transported next, and according to the detection result of the upper end of the first pallet obtained by the detection mechanism, the arranging section is arranged in a predetermined direction relative to the vertical direction of the pallet arrangement section The claw member at the position moves from the retracted position toward the separated position.

In the present invention, when the tray arranged in the uppermost layer among the trays stacked in multiple layers in the tray arrangement section is set as the first tray, the tray arranged in multiple layers in the tray arrangement section is arranged first from the top When two trays are set as the second tray, the transport system includes a tray separating mechanism for separating the first tray from the second tray. Therefore, in the present invention, the transport robot can transport the trays one by one from the tray arrangement portion where the trays stacked in multiple layers are arranged toward the tray platform.

In addition, the transport system of the present invention includes a detection mechanism for detecting the upper end of the first tray, and a lifting mechanism for relatively raising and lowering the detection mechanism and the tray separation mechanism relative to the tray arrangement portion. A claw member between the tray and the second tray, and a claw moving mechanism that moves the claw member between the separation position and the retracted position. In addition, in the present invention, each time the transport robot transports the first tray from the tray arrangement portion to the tray platform, the elevating mechanism relatively raises and lowers the detection mechanism relative to the tray arrangement portion, and the detection mechanism detects the next first tray to be transported At the upper end of the first tray, and according to the detection result of the upper end of the first tray obtained by the detection mechanism, the claw member disposed at a predetermined position in the vertical direction relative to the tray arrangement portion moves from the retracted position to the separated position.

Therefore, in the present invention, even if the pitch in the vertical direction of trays stacked in multiple layers becomes unstable due to the influence of the skew of each tray stacked in multiple layers, the claw member can enter the first tray with a higher probability Between the second tray. Therefore, in the present invention, the tray separation mechanism can be used to separate the first tray from the second tray with a higher probability. As a result, in the present invention, the pallet can be surely conveyed one by one by the conveying robot from the pallet arrangement portion toward the pallet platform.

In the present invention, preferably, when the transport robot transports the first tray from the tray arrangement portion to the tray platform, before the detection mechanism detects the upper end of the next first tray, the elevating mechanism relatively raises and lowers the detection mechanism relative to the tray arrangement portion to the arrangement There is the position of the first pallet to be transported next, and the detection mechanism detects the presence or absence of the first pallet to be transported next. With such a configuration, even if two or more trays in a state of being overlapped are transferred from the tray arrangement portion to the tray platform by the transfer robot, it can be detected that two or more trays are transferred from the tray arrangement portion to the tray platform. Therefore, when two or more trays in an overlapping state are transferred from the tray arrangement portion to the tray platform, a predetermined error process can be performed.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the transport system includes a second transport robot that transports the display panel from the tray mounted on the tray platform, and when the detection mechanism detects that there is no next first tray to be transported, the second transport robot stop. With this configuration, even if two or more trays in an overlapping state are transported by the transport robot from the tray arrangement portion to the tray platform, it is possible to prevent the display panel and the first tray accommodated in the tray placed on the tray platform 2. Damage to the display panel caused by the collision of the transport robot.

In the present invention, it is preferable that an upper inclined surface inclined downward toward the front end of the claw member is formed on the upper surface of the front end portion of the claw member, and that the following surface is formed on the lower surface of the front end portion of the claw member. A lower inclined surface inclined upward toward the front end of the claw member. When configured in this manner, the claw member can enter the first tray and the second tray with a higher probability, and the tray separating mechanism can be used to separate the first tray from the second tray with a higher probability. Therefore, the transport robot can transport the trays one by one from the tray arrangement portion toward the tray platform more reliably. [Effect of invention]

As described above, in the transport system of the present invention, the trays can be transported one by one toward the tray platform from the tray arrangement portion where trays capable of accommodating display panels stacked in multiple layers are arranged toward the tray platform.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Overall structure of conveying system) FIG. 1 is a side view of a transport system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the transport system 1 from the E-E direction in FIG. 1.

The transport system 1 of this embodiment is used in a production line of small liquid crystal displays used in portable devices and the like. The transport system 1 transports the liquid crystal panel 2 as a display panel, and supplies the liquid crystal panel 2 to the processing device 15 (see FIG. 2) that performs predetermined processing on the liquid crystal panel 2. The liquid crystal panel 2 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape.

The transport system 1 includes two conveyors, that is, a conveyor 4 and a conveyor 5 that transport a tray 3 that can accommodate the liquid crystal panel 2. That is, the transport system 1 transports the tray 3. The tray 3 is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape. On the upper surface of the tray 3, a recessed portion for accommodating the liquid crystal panel 2 is formed. In addition, the tray 3 includes resin and is relatively easy to deform. The conveyor 4 and the conveyor 5 linearly transport the stacked trays 3 (stacked trays 3) in a horizontal direction.

In the following description, the direction in which the conveyor 4 and the conveyor 5 transport the pallet 3 (X direction in FIG. 1 etc.) is referred to as the “front-rear direction”, and the direction orthogonal to the vertical direction (vertical direction) and the front-rear direction ( (Y direction in FIG. 1 etc.) is set to "left-right direction". In addition, let the X1 direction side of FIG. 1 etc. which is the front-back direction be the "front" side, and let the X2 direction side of FIG. 1 etc. which are the opposite side be the "rear (rear) side" and let it be left and right The Y1 direction side of FIG. 2 etc. on one side of the direction is referred to as the “right” side, and the Y2 direction side of FIG. 2 etc., which is the opposite side, is referred to as the “left” side. In this embodiment, the processing device 15 is arranged on the rear side of the transport system 1.

In addition, the transport system 1 includes: two pallet platforms, that is, a pallet platform 6 and a pallet platform 7 on which the pallet 3 is placed; a robot 8 as a transport robot, among the conveyor 4, the conveyor 5 and the pallet platform 6, the pallet platform 7 Transfer tray 3; the robot 9 as the second transfer robot transports the liquid crystal panel 2 from the tray 3 placed on the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7; and the supply unit 10 receives the liquid crystal panel 2 from the robot 9 and supplies it to the process装置15。 Device 15. Compared with the conveyor 4 and the conveyor 5, the pallet platform 6 and the pallet platform 7 are arranged on the rear side. Compared to the pallet platform 6 and the pallet platform 7, the supply unit 10 is arranged on the rear side.

In addition, the conveyance system 1 includes a main body frame 11 provided with a conveyor 4, a conveyor 5, a pallet platform 6, a pallet platform 7, a robot 8, and a supply unit 10; and a main body frame 12 provided with a robot 9. The body frame 11 is formed in a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape that is elongated in the front-rear direction and has a low height. On the upper surface of the body frame 11, a conveyor 4, a conveyor 5, a pallet platform 6, a pallet platform 7, a robot 8, and a supply unit 10 are provided. The body frame 12 is a door-shaped frame formed in a substantially door shape, and is provided so as to straddle the rear end side portion of the body frame 11 when viewed from the front-rear direction.

The conveyor 4 and the conveyor 5 are roller conveyors including a plurality of rollers. The conveyor 4 and the conveyor 5 are arranged adjacent to each other in the left-right direction. The conveyor 4 conveys the stacked tray 3 toward the rear side, and the conveyor 5 conveys the stacked tray 3 toward the front side. A plurality of liquid crystal panels 2 are housed in the tray 3 conveyed by the conveyor 4. On the other hand, the liquid crystal panel 2 is not accommodated in the tray 3 conveyed by the conveyor 5, and the tray 3 conveyed by the conveyor 5 becomes an empty tray. In addition, the conveyor 4 and the conveyor 5 may be a belt conveyor or the like.

The conveyor 4 includes a plurality of division conveyors divided in the front-rear direction, that is, the division conveyor 16 to the division conveyor 20. For example, the conveyor 4 includes five division conveyors, that is, division conveyor 16 to division conveyor 20. The dividing conveyor 16 to the dividing conveyor 20 are arranged in this order from the front side to the rear side. Similarly, the conveyor 5 includes five divided conveyors divided in the front-rear direction, that is, the divided conveyor 21 to the divided conveyor 25. The dividing conveyor 21 to the dividing conveyor 25 are arranged in this order from the front side to the rear side. The split conveyor 16 to the split conveyor 25 can be individually driven.

On the split conveyor 16, the stacked trays 3 that are transported by the worker from a temporary placement shelf (not shown) are placed. The tray 3 placed in the stacked state of the split conveyor 16 is conveyed toward the rear side by the conveyor 4. The stacked trays 3 conveyed to the split conveyor 20 are unstacked by the robot 8 as described later. In addition, as described later, the robot 8 stacks the empty trays 3 on the dividing conveyor 25. When the trays 3 are stacked to a predetermined number of layers, the stacked trays 3 are transported by the conveyor 5 toward the front side. The stacked trays 3 conveyed to the split conveyor 21 are transported by the operator to a rack for empty trays.

The dividing conveyor 20 is provided with a detection mechanism 28, a tray separating mechanism 29, and a lifting mechanism 30. The detecting mechanism 28 is used to detect the upper end of the tray 3 arranged in the uppermost layer among the trays 3 stacked in multiple layers on the dividing conveyor 20 , The tray separating mechanism 29 is used to separate the tray 3 arranged second from the top among the trays 3 stacked in multiple layers on the split conveyor 20 and the tray 3 arranged on the uppermost layer, and the lifting mechanism 30 is used to detect The mechanism 28 and the tray separation mechanism 29 move up and down relative to the split conveyor 20 (refer to FIGS. 3 and 4 ). The specific structures of the detection mechanism 28, the tray separation mechanism 29, and the elevating mechanism 30 will be described later. In addition, the split conveyor 20 of the present embodiment is a tray arrangement portion that arranges trays 3 that can accommodate the liquid crystal panel 2 in a stacked state.

A tray 3 is placed on the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7. The pallet platform 6 and the pallet platform 7 are arranged with a predetermined gap in the left-right direction. The pallet platform 6 is arranged at substantially the same position as the conveyor 4 in the left-right direction, and the pallet platform 7 is arranged at substantially the same position as the conveyor 5 in the left-right direction. In addition, the pallet platform 6 is arranged immediately after the dividing conveyor 20, and the pallet platform 7 is arranged immediately after the dividing conveyor 25. The upper surface of the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7 becomes a plane orthogonal to the up-down direction.

The robot 8 is a so-called three-axis orthogonal robot. The robot 8 includes: a body frame 35 formed in a door shape; a movable frame 36 held in the body frame 35 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction relative to the body frame 35; and a movable frame 37 held in the front-rear direction relative to the movable frame 36 The movable frame 36 is slidably held; the movable frame 38 is held in the movable frame 37 so as to be slidable up and down relative to the movable frame 37; and the tray holding portion 39 is attached to the movable frame 38. The robot 8 includes a drive mechanism that slides the movable frame 36 in the left-right direction, a drive mechanism that slides the movable frame 37 in the front-rear direction, and a drive mechanism that slides the movable frame 38 in the vertical direction.

The main body frame 35 is provided in the left-right direction so as to straddle the rear end portions of the split conveyor 19 and the split conveyor 24 and the front end portions of the split conveyor 20 and the split conveyor 25. The body frame 35 is fixed to the upper surface of the body frame 11 so as to stand up from the upper surface of the body frame 11. The movable frame 36 is mounted on the upper surface side of the body frame 35, the movable frame 37 is mounted on the right side of the movable frame 36, and the movable frame 38 is mounted on the rear end side of the movable frame 37. The tray grip 39 is attached to the lower end of the movable frame 38. The tray grip 39 includes a plurality of suction parts that suction the tray 3. When the robot 8 transports the tray 3, the suction portion contacts the upper surface of the tray 3 to vacuum-suck the tray 3.

The robot 8 conveys the pallet 3 one by one from the conveyor 4 toward the pallet platform 6 and the pallet platform 7, and conveys the pallet 3 one by one from the pallet platform 6 and the pallet platform 7 toward the conveyor 5. Specifically, the robot 8 transports the stacked pallets 3 transferred to the split conveyor 20 to the pallet platform 6 or the pallet platform 7 one by one, and unstacks the stacked pallets 3 on the split conveyor 20. In addition, the robot 8 transfers a pallet 3 that has become an empty pallet from the pallet platform 6 or the pallet platform 7 to the split conveyor 25, and stacks the pallets 3 on the split conveyor 25 up to the number of layers of the pallet 3 stacked on the split conveyor 25 It becomes the prescribed number of floors.

The robot 9 is a so-called parallel robot. The robot 9 includes a body portion 45, three joysticks 46 connected to the body portion 45, three arm portions 47 connected to the three joysticks 46, a head unit 48 connected to the three arm portions 47, and a head mounted on the head The panel grip 49 of the unit 48. The body portion 45 is fixed to the upper surface portion 12a of the body frame 12, and the robot 9 is disposed below the upper surface portion 12a. That is, the robot 9 is provided on the upper surface portion 12a so as to be suspended from the upper surface portion 12a. In addition, the body portion 45 is arranged above the pallet platform 6 and the pallet platform 7, and is arranged on the rear side of the body frame 35 of the robot 8.

The three joysticks 46 are connected to the body portion 45 so as to extend substantially radially toward the outer peripheral side of the body portion 45 at substantially equal angular intervals. That is, the three joysticks 46 are connected to the body portion 45 so as to extend radially toward the outer peripheral side of the body portion 45 at a substantially 120° pitch. In addition, the base ends of the three joysticks 46 are rotatably connected to the main body 45. A motor 50 that rotates the joystick 46 is arranged at the connecting portion between the main body 45 and the joystick 46. The robot 9 of this form includes three motors 50 that respectively rotate the three joysticks 46.

The base end side of the arm portion 47 is rotatably connected to the front end side of the joystick 46. Specifically, the arm portion 47 includes two linear arms 52 parallel to each other, and the base end sides of the two arms 52 are rotatably connected to the front end side of the joystick 46. The head unit 48 is rotatably connected to the front end sides of the three arm portions 47. The panel grip 49 is attached to the lower end of the head unit 48. The panel holding portion 49 includes a plurality of suction portions that vacuum suction the liquid crystal panel 2, and the upper surface of the liquid crystal panel 2 is suctioned by the suction portions, thereby holding the liquid crystal panel 2. In addition, at the upper end of the head unit 48, a motor that rotates the panel grip 49 using the up-down direction as the axis of rotation is attached.

In the robot 9, the three motors 50 are individually driven, so that the head unit 48 can be kept in a fixed posture in a predetermined area (specifically, in the panel holding portion) 49 is always facing the lower side), moving to any position in the up-down direction, left-right direction, and front-rear direction. The robot 9 carries out the liquid crystal panel 2 one by one from the tray 3 placed on the tray platform 6 or the tray 3 placed on the tray platform 7. Specifically, the robot 9 carries out the liquid crystal panel 2 one by one from the tray 3 until the tray 3 placed on the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7 becomes an empty tray, and is carried into the supply unit 10.

The supply unit 10 includes: a data reading device that reads data such as inspection data recorded on a portion of the liquid crystal panel 2 that is away from the display area; an alignment device that performs liquid crystal reading before the data reading device reads the data of the liquid crystal panel 2 The alignment of the panel 2; and the robot, the liquid crystal panel 2 after the data reading device reads the data is transferred to the processing device 15. The supply unit 10 receives the liquid crystal panel 2 from the robot 9 and supplies it to the processing device 15.

(Structure of detection mechanism, tray separation mechanism and lifting mechanism) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the split conveyor 20 shown in FIG. 1. 4 is a plan view for explaining the structure of the F part of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the structure of the detection mechanism 28, the tray separation mechanism 29, and the like shown in FIG.

The lifting mechanism 30 is an electric cylinder 30. Therefore, in the following description, the lifting mechanism 30 is expressed as "electric cylinder 30". The electric cylinder 30 is provided on both end sides of the split conveyor 20 in the left-right direction. The two electric cylinders 30 provided on both end sides of the split conveyor 20 in the left-right direction are arranged at the same position in the front-rear direction. In addition, the electric cylinder 30 is arranged at a substantially central position of the split conveyor 20 in the front-rear direction. The electric cylinder 30 is arranged so that the rod of the electric cylinder 30 protrudes upward.

A fixing plate 55 is fixed to the upper end of the rod of the electric cylinder 30. A guide shaft 56 for guiding the fixed plate 55 in the vertical direction is fixed to the fixed plate 55. The guide shaft 56 extends downward from the fixed plate 55. The guide shaft 56 is inserted through the guide sleeve 57 fixed to the split conveyor 20. In addition, the lifting mechanism 30 may include a ball screw and a motor that rotates the screw shaft of the ball screw. The ball screw has a screw shaft rotatably supported by the split conveyor 20 and a nut fixed to a fixed plate 55.

The detection mechanism 28 is a transmissive optical sensor that includes a light emitting unit 58 and a light receiving unit 59 that receives light emitted from the light emitting unit 58. The light-emitting portion 58 and the light-receiving portion 59 are provided so as to sandwich the tray 3 placed on the split conveyor 20 in the left-right direction. In addition, the light-emitting portion 58 and the light-receiving portion 59 are fixed to the upper surface side of the fixing plate 55, and the light-emitting portion 58 and the light-receiving portion 59 are arranged at the same position in the front-rear direction. In addition, the detection mechanism 28 may be a reflective optical sensor.

When the tray 3 arranged in the uppermost layer among the trays 3 stacked in multiple layers on the dividing conveyor 20 is set to "first tray 3A", the tray 3 arranged in multiple layers on the dividing conveyor 20 is arranged in the When the second tray 3 from the top is set to "second tray 3B", the tray separating mechanism 29 includes a claw member 60 that enters between the first tray 3A and the second tray 3B, and a claw moving mechanism that moves the claw member 60 61. The claw moving mechanism 61 is an air cylinder. Therefore, in the following description, the claw moving mechanism 61 is expressed as "air cylinder 61".

The air cylinder 61 is fixed to the upper surface of the fixed plate 55, and the two air cylinders 61 are provided so as to sandwich the tray 3 placed on the split conveyor 20 in the left-right direction. In addition, the two cylinders 61 are arranged so that the rod of the cylinder 61 protrudes inward in the left-right direction. The claw member 60 is formed integrally with the fixing member 62 fixed to the front end portion of the rod of the air cylinder 61, and the two claw members 60 are provided so as to sandwich the tray 3 placed on the dividing conveyor 20 in the left-right direction. The fixing member 62 is formed in a flat plate shape orthogonal to the left-right direction. The claw member 60 is connected to the lower surface of the fixing member 62. In addition, the claw member 60 protrudes inward in the left-right direction from the fixing member 62.

On the upper surface of the front end portion of the claw member 60, an upper inclined surface 60a inclined downward toward the front end of the claw member 60 is formed, and on the lower surface of the front end portion of the claw member 60, the following claw member is formed. The front end of 60 is a lower inclined surface 60b inclined upward. That is, on the upper surface of the left end portion of the claw member 60 placed on the right side of the tray 3 of the split conveyor 20 and the claw member 60 placed on the left side of the tray 3 of the split conveyor 20 An upper inclined surface 60 a is formed on the upper surface of the right end portion, and is arranged on the lower surface of the left end portion of the claw member 60 disposed on the right side of the tray 3 placed on the split conveyor 20 and on the split conveyor 20. The lower surface of the right end of the claw member 60 on the left side of the tray 3 is formed with a lower inclined surface 60b.

The tray 3 is formed with an annular (frame-like) flange portion 3a that expands toward the outer peripheral side of the tray 3, and the claw member 60 enters between the flange portion 3a of the first tray 3A and the flange portion 3a of the second tray 3B . The air cylinder 61 moves the claw member 60 between the separation position 60A (the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5) and the retreat position 60B (the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5 ). The separation position 60A is The claw member 60 enters the position between the first tray 3A and the second tray 3B (specifically, between the flange portion 3a of the first tray 3A and the flange portion 3a of the second tray 3B), and the retracted position 60B It is a position where the claw member 60 is separated from between the first tray 3A and the second tray 3B.

(Operation of tray separating mechanism and lifting mechanism during tray transportation) FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining operations of the tray separating mechanism 29, the lifting mechanism 30, and the like when the tray 3 is transferred from the split conveyor 20 shown in FIG. 1 to the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7.

When the tray 3 in the stacked state is transported to the split conveyor 20, the rod of the electric cylinder 30 protrudes upward, and the fixed plate 55 moves to a predetermined upper limit position (see (A) of FIG. 6 ). When the thickness of the tray 3 (thickness of the stacked trays 3 in the vertical direction) is set to t (see FIG. 5 ), after the fixed plate 55 moves to the upper limit position, it is lowered by the same distance as the thickness t each time until the detection mechanism 28 The first tray 3A is detected and stopped (see (B) of FIG. 6 ). In addition, the first tray 3A is detected by the detection mechanism 28 to detect the number of layers of the tray 3 placed on the dividing conveyor 20. In addition, at this time, the optical axes of the light-emitting section 58 and the light-receiving section 59 (that is, the optical axis of the detection mechanism 28) are arranged on the lower side in the vertical direction than the upper end of the first tray 3A. In addition, when the fixed plate 55 moves up and down, the claw member 60 is arranged at the retracted position 60B.

After that, the fixed plate 55 rises until the detection mechanism 28 detects the upper end of the first tray 3A and stops (refer to (C) of FIG. 6 ). That is, the electric cylinder 30 raises and lowers the detection mechanism 28 relative to the dividing conveyor 20, and the detection mechanism 28 detects the upper end of the first tray 3A. Thereafter, based on the upper end of the first tray 3A detected by the detection mechanism 28, the fixed plate 55 is raised and lowered until the claw member 60 enters between the flange portion 3a of the first tray 3A and the flange portion 3a of the second tray 3B After the position, the claw member 60 located at the retracted position 60B moves toward the separated position 60A (see (A) of FIG. 7 ). That is, after the electric cylinder 30 raises and lowers the tray separating mechanism 29 relative to the dividing conveyor 20 based on the detection result of the upper end of the first tray 3A obtained by the detecting mechanism 28, the air cylinder 61 moves the claw member 60 from the retracted position 60B toward the separated position 60A mobile.

In addition, in the vertical direction, the detection mechanism 28 detects the position of the upper end of the first tray 3A and the position where the claw member 60 enters between the flange portion 3a of the first tray 3A and the flange portion 3a of the second tray 3B . In this case, when the fixed plate 55 rises until the detection mechanism 28 detects the upper end of the first tray 3A and stops, the claw member 60 located at the retreat position 60B moves directly to the separation position 60A.

When the claw member 60 moves to the separation position 60A, the tray holding portion 39 of the robot 8 vacuum-absorbs the upper surface of the first tray 3A, and transfers the first tray 3A from the split conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7 (refer to FIG. 7(A)). When the first tray 3A is transported by the robot 8 from the dividing conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, the claw member 60 located at the separation position 60A moves toward the retreat position 60B. In addition, in order to prevent the collision between the tray holding portion 39 and the first tray 3A, the robot 8 operates based on the detection result of the number of layers of the tray 3 placed on the dividing conveyor 20.

In addition, when the first tray 3A is transported by the robot 8 from the dividing conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, the fixed plate 55 is lowered in the vertical direction until the optical axis L of the detection mechanism 28 is arranged at the next position. The position of the first tray 3A being transported (that is, the second tray 3B before the first tray 3A is being transported) is stopped (see (B) of FIG. 7 ). That is, when the first tray 3A is transported by the robot 8 from the split conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, the electric cylinder 30 lowers the detection mechanism 28 relative to the split conveyor 20 to the position where the next to be transported is arranged. For the position of one tray 3A, the detection mechanism 28 detects the presence or absence of the first tray 3A to be transferred next.

When the robot 8 transports only one tray 3 from the split conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7 (that is, the case where only the first tray 3A is transported), when the vertical direction, the fixed plate 55 is lowered until detection When the optical axis L of the mechanism 28 is arranged at the position where the first tray 3A to be transferred next is placed and stopped, as shown in FIG. 7(B), the detection mechanism 28 detects the next first tray 3A. On the other hand, when two or more pallets 3 in a state of being overlapped are transferred from the dividing conveyor 20 to the pallet platform 6 and the pallet platform 7 by the robot 8, when the pallet 3 is stacked in the vertical direction, the fixed plate 55 is lowered to the detection mechanism When the optical axis L of 28 is arranged at the position where the first tray 3A to be transferred next is placed and stopped, the detection mechanism 28 cannot detect the next first tray 3A.

That is, after the robot 8 transports the first tray 3A from the split conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, the electric cylinder 30 lowers the detection mechanism 28 relative to the split conveyor 20 to the position where the next to be transported is arranged. For the position of one pallet 3A, the detection mechanism 28 detects the presence or absence of the first pallet 3A to be transported. This allows the robot 8 to transport two overlapping states from the dividing conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7 Carry out the detection of the pallet 3 above the block.

When the fixing plate 55 is lowered in the up-down direction until the optical axis L of the detection mechanism 28 is arranged at the position where the first tray 3A to be transported is arranged and stopped, when the detection mechanism 28 detects that there is no next When the first pallet 3A that has been transported (that is, when the detection mechanism 28 cannot detect the next first pallet 3A), it is determined that the robot 8 has transferred two pieces in a state of being overlapped from the dividing conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7 With the above tray 3, the robot 9 stops, and the liquid crystal panel 2 is unloaded from the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7 on the tray platform 7. In addition, the robot 8 also stops.

On the other hand, when the fixing plate 55 is lowered in the up-down direction until the optical axis L of the detection mechanism 28 is arranged at the position where the first tray 3A to be transported is arranged and stopped, when the detection mechanism 28 detects the presence A first tray 3A that should be transported (ie, when the detection mechanism 28 detects the next first tray 3A), the robot 9 continues to move, and the fixed plate 55 rises until the detection mechanism 28 detects the upper end of the first tray 3A and stops (Refer to (C) of FIG. 7).

Thereafter, based on the upper end of the first tray 3A detected by the detection mechanism 28, the fixed plate 55 is raised and lowered until the claw member 60 enters between the flange portion 3a of the first tray 3A and the flange portion 3a of the second tray 3B After the position, the claw member 60 located at the retracted position 60B moves toward the separated position 60A (see (A) of FIG. 7 ). In addition, as described above, when in the up-down direction, the detection mechanism 28 detects the position of the upper end of the first tray 3A and the claw member 60 enters between the flange portion 3a of the first tray 3A and the flange portion 3a of the second tray 3B When the positions of the two are the same, when the fixing plate 55 rises until the detection mechanism 28 detects the upper end of the first tray 3A and stops, the claw member 60 located at the retreat position 60B moves directly to the separation position 60A.

When the claw member 60 moves to the separation position 60A, the tray holding portion 39 of the robot 8 vacuum-absorbs the upper surface of the first tray 3A, and transfers the first tray 3A from the split conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7 (refer to FIG. 7(A)). When the first tray 3A is transported by the robot 8 from the dividing conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, the claw member 60 located at the separation position 60A moves toward the retreat position 60B.

In addition, when the first tray 3A is transported by the robot 8 from the dividing conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, the fixed plate 55 is lowered in the vertical direction until the optical axis L of the detection mechanism 28 is arranged at the next position. The position of the first tray 3A being transported is stopped (see (B) of FIG. 7 ), and when the detection mechanism 28 detects the presence of the first first tray 3A to be transported, the fixed plate 55 is raised until the detection mechanism 28 detects The upper end of the first tray 3A stops (see (C) of FIG. 7 ). Thereafter, the operations shown in FIGS. 7(A) to 7(C) are repeated until all the trays 3 placed on the split conveyor 20 are carried out to the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7.

In this manner, in this embodiment, each time the robot 8 transports the first tray 3A from the dividing conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, the electric cylinder 30 moves the detection mechanism 28 relative to the dividing conveyor 20 relatively to detect The mechanism 28 detects the upper end of the first pallet 3A to be transported next, and according to the detection result of the upper end of the first pallet 3A obtained by the detection mechanism 28, is disposed at a predetermined position with respect to the vertical direction of the dividing conveyor 20 The member 60 moves from the retracted position 60B to the separated position 60A.

In addition, in this embodiment, when the robot 8 transports the first tray 3A from the split conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, the electric cylinder 30 causes the detection by the detection mechanism 28 before detecting the upper end of the next first tray 3A The mechanism 28 moves up and down relative to the split conveyor 20 to the position where the first tray 3A to be transported next is arranged, and the detection mechanism 28 detects the presence or absence of the first tray 3A to be transported next.

In addition, from the state shown in FIGS. 6(B) and 7(B), the fixing plate 55 may be temporarily raised to the optical axis L of the detection mechanism 28 and arranged above the upper end of the first tray 3A. After the predetermined position, the fixing plate 55 descends until the detection mechanism 28 detects the upper end of the first tray 3A and stops.

(The main effect of this form) As described above, in this embodiment, the split conveyor 20 is provided with the tray separation mechanism 29 for separating the first tray 3A and the second tray 3B. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the robot 8 can transport the pallets one by one from the split conveyor 20 where the pallets 3 stacked in multiple layers are arranged toward the pallet platform 6 and the pallet platform 7.

In addition, in this embodiment, each time the robot 8 transports the first tray 3A from the split conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, the electric cylinder 30 moves the detection mechanism 28 up and down relative to the split conveyor 20, and the detection mechanism 28 The upper end of the first tray 3A to be transported next is detected, and based on the detection result of the upper end of the first tray 3A obtained by the detection mechanism 28, the claw member 60 disposed at a predetermined position with respect to the vertical direction of the dividing conveyor 20 It moves from the retracted position 60B to the separated position 60A.

Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the pitch of the trays 3 stacked in the vertical direction becomes unstable due to the influence of the skew of the trays 3 stacked in multiple layers, the claw member 60 can be entered with a higher probability Between the flange portion 3a of the first tray 3A and the flange portion 3a of the second tray 3B. Therefore, in this embodiment, the tray separation mechanism 29 can be used to separate the first tray 3A from the second tray 3B with a higher probability. As a result, in this embodiment, the pallet 3 can be reliably conveyed one by one by the robot 8 from the dividing conveyor 20 toward the pallet platform 6 and the pallet platform 7.

In addition, in this embodiment, the upper inclined surface 60a is formed on the upper surface of the front end portion of the claw member 60, and the lower inclined surface 60b is formed on the lower surface of the front end portion of the claw member. Therefore, the claw can be made with a higher probability The member 60 enters between the flange portion 3a of the first tray 3A and the flange portion 3a of the second tray 3B, and the tray separation mechanism 29 can be used to separate the first tray 3A and the second tray 3B with a higher probability. Therefore, in this embodiment, the pallet 3 can be conveyed one by one by the robot 8 from the split conveyor 20 toward the pallet platform 6 and the pallet platform 7 more reliably.

In this form, when the robot 8 transports the first tray 3A from the split conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, the electric cylinder 30 causes the detection mechanism 28 before the detection mechanism 28 detects the upper end of the next first tray 3A Raising and lowering to the position where the first tray 3A to be transported next is arranged, the detection mechanism 28 detects the presence or absence of the first tray 3A to be transported next. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if two or more pallets 3 are transported by the robot 8 from the dividing conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, as described above, it is possible to detect the direction from the dividing conveyor 20 toward the tray The platform 6 and the pallet platform 7 transported two or more pallets 3.

In this form, when the fixing plate 55 is lowered to the position where the optical axis L of the detection mechanism 28 is arranged at the position where the first tray 3A to be transported next is arranged, when the detection mechanism 28 detects that there is no next one to be transported In the first tray 3A, the robot 9 stops. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if two or more trays 3 are transported by the robot 8 from the dividing conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, it can be prevented from being stored on the tray platform 6, The liquid crystal panel 2 of the tray 3 of the tray platform 7 collides with the robot 9 and is damaged due to the collision.

(Other embodiments) The above-mentioned form is an example of a suitable form of the present invention, but it is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

In the above-mentioned form, the conveyance system 1 may include the raising-lowering mechanism for raising and lowering the tray 3 mounted on the dividing conveyor 20. In this case, the detection mechanism 28 and the tray separation mechanism 29 are fixed in the vertical direction, and the electric cylinder 30 is not required. In addition, in this case, each time the robot 8 transports the first tray 3A from the split conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, the lifting mechanism raises and lowers the split conveyor 20, and the detection mechanism 28 detects the next transported first The upper end of a pallet 3A, and the lifting mechanism raises and lowers the dividing conveyor 20 according to the detection result of the upper end of the first tray 3A obtained by the detecting mechanism 28, and is arranged at a predetermined position with respect to the vertical direction of the dividing conveyor 20 The claw member 60 moves from the retracted position 60B to the separated position 60A.

In addition, in this case, when the robot 8 transports the first tray 3A from the dividing conveyor 20 toward the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7, before the detection mechanism 28 detects the upper end of the next first tray 3A, the lifting mechanism causes the next The first tray 3A to be transported is raised and lowered to the position where the detection mechanism 28 is arranged, and the detection mechanism 28 detects the presence or absence of the first tray 3A to be transported next.

In the above-described form, a detection mechanism for detecting that two or more pallets 3 are carried into the pallet platform 6 and the pallet platform 7 may be provided on the pallet platform 6 and the pallet platform 7. In this case, the detection mechanism 28 may not detect the presence or absence of the first tray 3A to be transferred next. In addition, in the above-described aspect, the dividing conveyor 20 may be provided with an elevating mechanism that elevates the detection mechanism 28 and an elevating mechanism that elevates the tray separation mechanism 29.

In the above-mentioned form, the split conveyor 20 having the transport function of the tray 3 becomes the tray arrangement portion where the trays 3 stacked in multiple layers are arranged, but the stage not equipped with the transport function of the tray 3 may also be arranged in a state stacked in multiple layers The tray arrangement portion of the tray 3. In addition, in the above-mentioned form, the conveyor 4 and the conveyor 5 include a plurality of divided conveyors, but the conveyor 4 and the conveyor 5 may be an integrated conveyor. The conveyor 4 in this case is a tray arrangement portion where trays 3 capable of accommodating the liquid crystal panel 2 in a stacked state are arranged.

In the above-described aspect, the transport system 1 may transport the liquid crystal panel 2 discharged from the processing device 15. In this case, the tray 3 conveyed by the conveyor 4 becomes an empty tray, and a plurality of liquid crystal panels 2 are accommodated in the tray 3 conveyed by the conveyor 5. In the above-described aspect, the transport system 1 may transport the liquid crystal panel 2 to supply the liquid crystal panel 2 to the processing device 15 and transport the liquid crystal panel 2 discharged from the processing device 15.

In the above-described form, the plurality of trays 3 can also be placed on the tray platform 6 and the tray platform 7 without overlapping each other. In addition, in the above-mentioned form, the number of pallet platforms included in the transport system 1 may be one, or may be three or more. Furthermore, in the above-mentioned form, the number of conveyors included in the transport system 1 may be one, or may be three or more. In the above-described aspect, the upper inclined surface 60 a may not be formed on the upper surface of the front end portion of the claw member 60, or the lower inclined surface 60 b may not be formed on the lower surface of the front end portion of the claw member 60.

In the above aspect, at least one of the robot 8 and the robot 9 may be a vertical articulated robot or a horizontal articulated robot. In the above-mentioned aspect, the display panel transported by the transport system 1 is the liquid crystal panel 2, but the display panel transported by the transport system 1 may be a display panel other than the liquid crystal panel 2. For example, the display panel transported by the transport system 1 may be an organic electroluminescence (EL) panel.

1‧‧‧Transport system 2‧‧‧LCD panel (display panel) 3‧‧‧Tray 3a‧‧‧Flange 3A‧‧‧The first tray 3B‧‧‧Second tray 4, 5‧‧‧ conveyor 6, 7‧‧‧ Pallet platform 8‧‧‧Robot (transfer robot) 9‧‧‧Robot (second transfer robot) 10‧‧‧Supply unit 11, 12, 35‧‧‧ Body frame 12a‧‧‧Upper surface 15‧‧‧Processing device 16～19、20、21～25‧‧‧‧Conveyor 20‧‧‧Split conveyor (pallet configuration section) 28‧‧‧ detection mechanism 29‧‧‧Tray separation mechanism 30‧‧‧Electric cylinder (lifting mechanism) 36, 37, 38 ‧‧‧ movable frame 39‧‧‧pallet grip 45‧‧‧Body 46‧‧‧ Joystick 47‧‧‧arm 48‧‧‧Head unit 49‧‧‧Panel grip 50‧‧‧Motor 52‧‧‧arm 55‧‧‧Fixed board 56‧‧‧Guide shaft 57‧‧‧Guide bush 58‧‧‧Lighting Department 59‧‧‧Receiving Department 60‧‧‧Claw member 60A‧‧‧Disconnect position 60B‧‧‧Retreat position 60a‧‧‧Upper inclined surface 60b‧‧‧Lower slope 61‧‧‧Cylinder (claw moving mechanism) 62‧‧‧Fixed member L‧‧‧optic axis t‧‧‧thickness X, X1, X2, Y, Y1, Y2

FIG. 1 is a side view of a transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the transport system from the E-E direction of FIG. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the split conveyor shown in Fig. 1. 4 is a plan view for explaining the structure of the F part of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the structure of the detection mechanism, the tray separation mechanism, and the like shown in FIG. 4. 6 is a diagram for explaining operations of a tray separating mechanism, a lifting mechanism, and the like when the tray is transported from the split conveyor shown in FIG. 1 to the tray platform. 7 is a diagram for explaining operations of the tray separating mechanism, the lifting mechanism, and the like when the tray is transported from the split conveyor shown in FIG. 1 to the tray platform.

3‧‧‧Tray

3a‧‧‧Flange

3A‧‧‧The first tray

3B‧‧‧Second tray

28‧‧‧ detection mechanism

29‧‧‧Tray separation mechanism

30‧‧‧Electric cylinder (lifting mechanism)

39‧‧‧pallet grip

55‧‧‧Fixed board

58‧‧‧Lighting Department

59‧‧‧Receiving Department

60‧‧‧Claw member

60A‧‧‧Disconnect position

60B‧‧‧Retreat position

61‧‧‧Cylinder (claw moving mechanism)

62‧‧‧Fixed member

L‧‧‧optic axis

X, Y‧‧‧ direction

Claims (4)

A conveying system, characterized in that it includes: A tray arrangement portion, which arranges trays capable of accommodating display panels in a state of being stacked in multiple layers; a tray platform, on which the tray is placed; a transport robot, which transports the trays one by one from the tray arrangement portion toward the tray platform; A detection mechanism for detecting the upper end of the first tray, the first tray being the tray arranged in the uppermost layer among the trays stacked in multiple layers in the tray arrangement portion; a tray separation mechanism for The second tray is separated from the first tray, and the second tray is the tray arranged second from the top among the trays stacked in multiple layers in the tray arrangement portion; and an elevating mechanism, For raising and lowering the detection mechanism and the tray separating mechanism relative to the tray arrangement portion, The tray separating mechanism includes: a claw member that enters between the first tray and the second tray; and a claw moving mechanism that allows the claw member to enter the first tray and the first A separation position between the two trays and a retreat position where the claw member leaves from between the first tray and the second tray, Whenever the transport robot transports the first tray from the tray arrangement portion to the tray platform, the elevating mechanism moves the detection mechanism relatively up and down relative to the tray arrangement portion, the detection mechanism Detecting the upper end of the first tray to be transported next, and according to the detection result of the upper end of the first tray obtained by the detecting mechanism, arranged at a predetermined position with respect to the vertical direction of the tray arrangement portion Of the claw member moves from the retracted position toward the separated position. The conveying system as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, in which When the transport robot transports the first tray from the tray arrangement portion to the tray platform, the lifting mechanism causes the detection mechanism before the detection mechanism detects the upper end of the next first tray The detection mechanism detects the presence or absence of the first tray to be transported next to the position where the first tray to be transported is arranged relative to the tray arrangement portion. The transfer system as described in item 2 of the patent application scope further includes a second transfer robot that transfers the display panel from the tray mounted on the tray platform, and When the detection mechanism detects that there is no first tray to be transported next, the second transport robot stops. The conveying system as described in any one of items 1 to 3 of the patent application scope, wherein, On the upper surface of the front end portion of the claw member, an upper inclined surface inclined downward toward the front end of the claw member is formed, and On the lower surface of the front end portion of the claw member, a lower inclined surface inclined upward toward the front end of the claw member is formed.

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