TWI617404B - Article holder, transfer robot and article transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

The article holder (7) of the present invention includes: a holder body portion (8) that is releasably held by a movable claw member of a robot hand; a holder movable portion (9) that is displaceably disposed on the holder The main body part (8) can switch the item holding position for holding the item and the item releasing position for releasing the item; and a holding state maintaining mechanism (18, 19, 20), which is cut off from the robot by the item holder (7) In this state, it is used to maintain the movable part (9) of the holder at the article holding position. There is no need for a complicated and expensive device such as a tool changer, and a plurality of types of objects can be conveyed without obstacles by a robot.

Description

Article holder, transfer robot and article transfer method

The present invention relates to an article holder capable of being detachably mounted on a robot hand, a transfer robot having a robot hand on which the article holder is mounted, and an article transfer method using the same.

In recent years, robots have conventionally performed various tasks instead of operators, and a system for automating production processes has been widely put into practical use (Patent Document 1).

For example, for the operation of installing a heavy machine at a specific position in a product under manufacture, there have conventionally been hoisting the machine with a hoist, etc., the operator moved it to a specific position, and bolts were used for the product during manufacture. When a machine is fixed, a robot is used to replace the system's transport operation system.

In this type of system, there are various types of objects to be transferred by a robot, and it is difficult to correspond to a plurality of types of objects by one type of robot hand. In such a case, a tool converter is used as a mechanism for automatically replacing a dedicated robot hand corresponding to a conveyed object at the front end of the robot arm (Patent Document 2).

[Prior technical literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-193155

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-94892

However, in the way of using the tool exchanger to properly exchange a plurality of special hands, the mechanism for driving the tool exchanger is more complicated, and because the tool exchanger itself is expensive, the equipment cost increases, and furthermore, it must be used in robots. There is a problem that a plurality of dedicated hands are placed in the unit, so that it is not easy to miniaturize the robot unit.

In particular, when the object to be transported is a large heavy object, the corresponding special hand is also heavy and large, which leads to an increase in cost and a large robot unit.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art described above, and an object thereof is to provide a robot that can move a plurality of objects to be transferred without obstacles without using a complicated and expensive device such as a tool exchanger. Tool, and a transfer robot having a robot arm equipped with the article holder, and an article transfer method using the transfer robot.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the first aspect of the present invention is characterized in that it is an article holder that is detachably mounted on a robot hand of a transfer robot for carrying an article, and includes a holder body portion, which uses the above The movable claw member of the robot hand is releasably held; the movable part of the holder is displaceably disposed on the holder main body part, and can switch the item holding position for holding the item and the item releasing position for releasing the item; and A state maintaining mechanism for maintaining the movable part of the holder at the item holding position in a state where the item holder is cut off from the robot hand.

A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the article holding position and the article releasing position of the movable portion of the holder can be switched by the movable claw member of the robot hand.

A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect, the holding state maintaining mechanism includes an energizing mechanism for elastically energizing the movable portion of the holder toward the article holding position.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the third aspect, the system is configured to When the article holder releases the article, the movable claw member of the robot hand displaces the movable portion of the holder to the article release position against the empowerment of the energizing mechanism.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, it is configured to hold the above-mentioned article in a state in which the above-mentioned article holder cut off from the robot hand holds the above-mentioned article, The holder main body portion is held by the movable claw member of the robot hand, and the holder movable portion is fixed to the article holding position.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the holder main body portion has contact with the item and cooperates with the holder movable portion to hold the item. Of the abutment holding portion.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the transfer robot includes an article holder as in any one of the first to sixth aspects, and a robot arm that can be freely attached to the article holder.

The eighth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the seventh aspect, the first holding mode and the second holding mode can be switched. The first holding mode is to maintain the holding state of the article holder to the article while maintaining the holding state of the article. The holder body portion is held by the movable claw member, and the second holding mode is to hold the holder body portion by the movable claw member while releasing the holding state of the article holder to the article.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that it is an article conveying method for conveying an article using a conveying robot of the seventh or eighth aspect, and includes a holder holding step that uses the movable claw member of the robot hand To hold the holder body portion of the article holder that is mounted on the article; an article transfer step that drives the transfer robot to move the article and the article holder to a specific transfer destination; a step of releasing a hold state, It uses the movable claw member of the robot to operate the movable part of the holder of the article holder, and releases the held state of the article from the article holder; and a step of removing the holder, which drives the transfer robot to Installed on the above machine The aforementioned article holder in the state of the hand is removed from the aforementioned article.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect, in the holder holding step, the holder main body portion is held by the movable claw member, and the holder movable portion is fixed to the holder. Items remain in place.

The eleventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the ninth or tenth aspect, in the holding state release step, the holding state of the article holder by the article holder is released while being held by the movable claw member. The holder body portion.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an article holder capable of conveying a plurality of kinds of objects to be conveyed without obstacles by using a robot without using a complicated and expensive device such as a tool changer, and a robot hand provided with the article holder. Transfer robot, and article transfer method using the transfer robot.

1‧‧‧ transfer robot

2‧‧‧ robot arm

3‧‧‧ robot

4‧‧‧ Robot Controller

5‧‧‧ movable claw member

5a‧‧‧Inner surface of movable claw member

5b‧‧‧ Outer surface of movable claw member

6‧‧‧ holding recess

6a‧‧‧ holding the upper surface of the recess

6b‧‧‧ holding lower surface of recess

7‧‧‧ article holder

8‧‧‧ holder body

9‧‧‧ holder with movable part

10‧‧‧Inner cylindrical member

10a‧‧‧Edge-shaped protrusion

11‧‧‧ beam member

12‧‧‧L-shaped member

13‧‧‧ abutment holding member

14‧‧‧outer cylindrical member

14a‧‧‧through hole

14b‧‧‧Inner peripheral surface of outer cylindrical member

15‧‧‧block component

16‧‧‧ Lifting plate

17‧‧‧ Lifting plate support bolt

18‧‧‧ Guide

19‧‧‧ Linear Guide

20‧‧‧ compression spring

21‧‧‧Horizontal Link

22‧‧‧Vertical Link

23‧‧‧Item plate

30‧‧‧ article holder

31‧‧‧ holder body

32‧‧‧ holder with movable part

33‧‧‧ cylindrical member

33a‧‧‧Inner peripheral surface of cylindrical member

34‧‧‧Marginal member

35‧‧‧ Movable retaining member

35a‧‧‧ protrusion

36‧‧‧Linear guidance mechanism

37‧‧‧ movable horizontal plate

38‧‧‧ rocker

39‧‧‧rotation axis

40‧‧‧torsion spring

41‧‧‧Adjustment screw

42‧‧‧ long hole

43‧‧‧ movable vertical plate

44‧‧‧ short pivot

L‧‧‧ wrist axis

W‧‧‧ Workpiece

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a transfer robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a robot hand of the transfer robot shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 2B is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the robot hand of the transfer robot shown in FIG. 1 along line B-B in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3A is a plan view schematically showing an article holder mounted on a robot hand of the transfer robot shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3B is a diagram schematically showing a front view of the article holder shown in FIG. 3A, and is a diagram showing a state where the movable portion of the holding portion is located at the article holding position.

Fig. 3C is a side view schematically showing the article holder shown in Fig. 3A, and is a view showing a state where the movable portion of the holding portion is located at the article holding position.

FIG. 3D is a diagram schematically showing a front view of the article holder shown in FIG. 3A, and is a diagram showing a state where the movable portion of the holding portion is located at the article release position.

FIG. 3E is a schematic front view of the article holder shown in FIG. 3A, and shows Diagram of the other state where the movable part of the holding part is located at the article release position.

FIG. 4A is a plan view schematically showing a state where the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is mounted on an article.

FIG. 4B is a front view schematically showing a state where the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is mounted on the article. FIG.

FIG. 5A is a plan view for explaining the operation when the robot holdings the article holder shown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 5B is a front view for explaining the operation when the robot holds the article holder shown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 6A is a plan view schematically showing a state where the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is held by a robot hand.

FIG. 6B is a front view schematically showing a state where the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is held by a robot hand.

FIG. 7A is a plan view for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is removed from the article. FIG.

FIG. 7B is a front view for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is removed from the article. FIG.

FIG. 8A is another plan view for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is removed from the article. FIG.

FIG. 8B is another front view for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is removed from the article.

FIG. 9A is another plan view for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is removed from the article. FIG.

FIG. 9B is another front view for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is removed from the article.

Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in Fig. 3A is removed from the article; Other front view.

FIG. 11A is another plan view for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is removed from the article. FIG.

FIG. 11B is another front view for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is removed from the article. FIG.

FIG. 12 is another front view for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is removed from the article.

FIG. 13 is another front view for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in FIG. 3A is removed from the article.

14A is a plan view schematically showing another article holder that can be mounted on the robot hand of the transfer robot shown in FIG. 1.

Fig. 14B is a sectional view taken along the line B-B in Fig. 14A.

Fig. 14C is a view taken along the line C-C in Fig. 14A.

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view for explaining an operation when the article holder shown in FIG. 14A is mounted on an article.

FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the article holder shown in FIG. 14A is mounted on an article.

FIG. 17 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view for explaining the operation when the robot holdings the article holder shown in FIG. 14A.

FIG. 18A is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a state in which the article holder shown in FIG. 14A is held by a robot hand.

FIG. 18B is a plan view schematically showing a state in which the article holder shown in FIG. 14A is held by a robot hand.

FIG. 19 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in FIG. 14A is removed from the article.

Fig. 20 is a diagram for explaining the operation when the article holder shown in Fig. 14A is removed from the article; Other longitudinal section views.

21 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a state in which the article holder shown in FIG. 14A is removed from the article.

Hereinafter, a transfer robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, an article holder used with the transfer robot, and an article transfer method using the transfer robot will be described with reference to the drawings.

The transfer robot 1 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a multi-joint robot arm 2, a robot hand 3 installed at the front end of the robot arm 2, and a robot controller 4 that drives and controls the robot arm 2 and the robot hand 3. . In this example, a 6-axis multi-joint robot is used, but the robot to which the present invention is applied is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to various robots.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the robot hand 3 is formed into a substantially cylindrical shape as a whole, and has three movable claw members arranged at equal angular intervals around the wrist axis L at the front end surface (lower surface in FIG. 2B). 5. In this example, the number of the movable claw members 5 is set to three, but it may be set to two or four or more.

Each movable claw member 5 can be moved in the radial direction by a driving force from a power source such as a servo motor, and can perform a closing operation near the wrist axis L and an opening operation away from the wrist axis L. By closing the movable claw member 5, the object can be held by the inner surface 5 a of the movable claw member 5. When the ring-shaped object is held on its inner peripheral surface, the movable claw member 5 can be opened to hold the object by the outer surface 5 b of the movable claw member 5.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the inner surface 5a of the movable claw member 5 is formed with a holding recess 6 recessed outward in the radial direction. The upper surface 6a of the holding recess 6 has a larger size in the radial direction than the lower surface 6b. . A convex portion (for example, a flange-shaped portion) of the object can be fitted into the holding recessed portion 6 of the movable claw member 5 to hold the object with the movable claw member 5.

As shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, the article holder 7 according to this embodiment includes a holder body portion 8 and a holder movable portion 9 which is movably disposed on the holder body portion 8.

The holder body portion 8 includes an inner cylindrical member 10 that is held by a closing operation of the movable claw member 5 of the robot hand 3, and a beam member 11 is provided on a lower surface of the inner cylindrical member 10. A peripheral protrusion 10 a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the upper end of the inner cylindrical member 10 to be fitted into the holding recess 6 of the movable claw member 5 of the robot hand 3.

L-shaped members 12 are respectively provided on the lower surfaces of both ends of the beam member 11, and abutment holding members 13 abutted on the lower surface of the article (workpiece) on the upper surface of the front end of the L-shaped member 12.

The holder movable portion 9 has a larger diameter and a shorter outer cylindrical member 14 than the inner cylindrical member 10, and a through hole 14 a through which the inner cylindrical member 10 is inserted is formed in the center of the outer cylindrical member 14. The outer cylindrical member 14 can be relatively displaced in the central axis direction of the inner cylindrical member 10 without interfering with the inner cylindrical member 10. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3C, three block members 15 are provided inside the outer cylindrical member 14 at equal angular intervals around the center axis thereof.

Below the beam member 11, a lifting plate 16 shorter than the beam member 11 is provided with a width substantially the same as that of the beam member 11. The lifting plate 16 is screwed with a front end portion of the lifting plate supporting bolt 17 at the center of the longitudinal direction of the lifting plate 16. . The lift plate support bolt 17 is a through hole formed in the center of the inner cylindrical member 10 with a gap. On the upper surfaces of both ends of the lifting plate 16, guide rods 18 are erected, respectively, and the guide rods 18 are supported by a cylindrical linear guide rod 19 provided on the beam member 11 to move freely in the vertical direction.

On the guide rod 18, a spiral compression spring (energizing mechanism) 20 is provided. The upper end of the compression spring 20 abuts on a flange portion formed on the lower end of the linear guide 19, and the lower end of the compression spring 20 abuts on the lifting plate 16 on the surface. As shown in FIG. 3D, when the lifting plate 16 is raised against the urging force of the compression spring 20, the outer cylindrical member 14 is raised integrally therewith.

Moreover, since the lifting plate supporting bolts 17 are fastened, the lifting plate 16 is made as shown in FIG. 3E. Being pulled closer to the inner cylindrical member 10 side, the lifting plate 16 can be maintained in the upper position (the article release position).

As shown in FIG. 3A, a pair of horizontal connecting rods 21 is provided at a central portion in the longitudinal direction of the lifting plate 16 and extends in one of the straight directions of the lifting plate 16. The horizontal connecting rod 21 is connected to the lower surface of the outer cylindrical member 14 by a vertical connecting rod 22. One horizontal connecting rod 21 is supported by two vertical connecting rods 22 sandwiching the beam member 11 in the middle and arranged on both sides.

A pair of article pressing plates 23 are provided at the ends of the horizontal connecting rod 21, and the pair of pressing plates 23 are arranged on both sides with the beam member 11 interposed therebetween. The article holding plate 23 may be integrated with the outer cylindrical member 14 and relatively move up and down with respect to the holder body portion 8 (the inner cylindrical member 10, the beam member 11 and the like). Thereby, the article holding plate 23 can switch between the article holding position (lower position) holding the article (workpiece) and the article releasing position (upper position) releasing the article (workpiece).

The guide rod 18, the linear guide rod 19, and the compression spring 20 in this embodiment form a holding state maintaining mechanism in the present invention, that is, in a state where the article holder is cut away from the robot hand, the holder is movable. The holding state maintaining mechanism that maintains the part at the article holding position. In addition, in a case where the article can be sufficiently held by the article pressing plate 23 by the gravity acting on the article pressing plate 23 or the guide rod 18, the compression spring 20 can be omitted to constitute a holding state maintaining mechanism.

Next, a method for transferring an article (workpiece) using the transfer robot 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, as a preparation stage, the worker attaches the article holder 7 to a workpiece (article) W having a complicated shape as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. That is, the lifting plate supporting bolt 17 is tightened and the article holding plate 23 is lifted against the urging force of the compression spring 20, and the workpiece W is inserted therebetween in a state where the space between the article holding plate 23 and the abutment holding member 13 is enlarged. In addition, the article holding plate 23 is released by releasing the lifting plate supporting bolt 17, and is lowered by the urging force of the compression spring 20 and gravity, and the article holding plate 23 is pressed against the upper surface of the workpiece W. Thereby, the work W is sandwiched and held by the article holding plate 23 and the abutment holding member 13.

In addition, the article holder 7 in this example is formed in a shape in which the upper central portion is opened or as The workpiece W having the shape of an edge at the outer peripheral portion of the upper portion is used as a holding object. Therefore, in order to press the edge or the outer portion of the upper portion of the workpiece W, the article holding plate 23 is not provided directly below the beam member 11 but clamps the beam member 11 on In the middle, a pair is provided on both sides. In the case of a workpiece with a shape different from the above, for example, in the case where the upper central portion is not opened and can be directly pressed, one article pressing plate may be provided directly below the beam member.

If the article holder 7 is mounted on the workpiece W as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the robot arm 2 is driven by the robot controller 4, and the robot hand 3 is moved directly above the workpiece W as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. . At this time, as shown in FIG. 5A, the three movable claw members 5 of the robot hand 3 are located directly above the three block members 15 of the article holder 7 provided on the outer cylindrical member 14. The three movable claw members 5 are in an opened state.

According to the state shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the inner upper surface 6 a of the holding recessed portion 6 of the movable claw member 5 abuts the upper surface of the inner cylindrical member 10, and the lower end of the movable claw member 5 abuts to the block member 15. On the upper surface, the robot hand 3 is lowered and stopped there. According to this state, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the closing action of the three movable claw members 5 is performed, and the holding recesses 6 of the movable claw member 5 are fitted into the edge-shaped protrusions 10 a of the inner cylindrical member 10. Thereby, the article holding tool 7 is hold | maintained by the robot hand 3 (holding tool holding | maintenance process).

In this state, as shown in FIG. 6B, since the lower end of the movable claw member 5 is in contact with the upper surface of the block member 15, the outer cylindrical member 14 cannot be relatively raised relative to the inner cylindrical member 10. Since the outer cylindrical member 14 is integrated with the article holding plate 23 and the inner cylindrical member 10 is integrated with the abutting holding member 13, the state is maintained in which the article holding plate 23 and the abutting holding member 13 are sandwiched by the workpiece W and held.

Next, the robot controller 4 drives the robot arm 2 to transfer the workpiece W to a specific transfer destination together with the article holder 7 (item transfer step). In this article transfer step, the workpiece W is held and held by the article holding plate 23 and the abutment holding member 13 as described above, so that the workpiece W does not fall off during the transfer.

When the workpiece W is transferred to a specific transfer destination and placed, the robot W 4 drives the robot hand 3, as shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, with three movable claw members 5 to perform an opening operation, and switches from a closed state to an opened state. Thereby, the holding state of the article holder 7 of the robot hand 3 is released.

Next, the robot controller 4 drives the robot hand 3 to rotate the robot hand 3 around the wrist axis L. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the movable claw member 5 is moved from a position directly above the block member 15 to a non- Right above. From this state, the closing operation is performed by the movable claw member 5, and as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the inner cylindrical member 10 is held again by the movable claw member 5.

In addition, the robot arm 2 is driven by the robot controller 4 to lower the robot hand 3 slightly. At this time, as described above, the movable claw member 5 is moved from a position directly above the block member 15 to a position not directly above, so the lowering action of the movable claw member 5 is not prevented by the block member 15.

If the robot hand 3 is slightly lowered with the movable claw member 5 holding the inner cylindrical member 10, the workpiece W is not moved at a specific transport destination, so it is integrated with the inner cylindrical member 10 as shown in FIG. The beam member 11 and the contact holding member 13 are lowered. Thereby, the holding state in which the workpiece W is sandwiched and held by the article holding plate 23 and the abutment holding member 13 is released (holding state release step). In addition, in the holding state release step, the compression spring 20 further contracts with the lowering operation of the beam member 11.

From the state shown in FIG. 10, the robot hand 3 is driven by the robot controller 4, as shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, the movable claw member is used to perform the opening operation, and the self-closed state is switched to the open state. Thereby, the radial outer surface (outer surface 5b in FIG. 2B) of the movable claw member 5 is pressed against the inner peripheral surface 14b of the outer cylindrical member 14. As a result, the outer cylindrical member 14 is held by the movable claw member 5.

In this state, the inner upper surface 6 a of the holding recessed portion 6 of the movable claw member 5 is maintained in a state of being in contact with the upper surface of the inner cylindrical member 10. That is, the upper surface of the inner cylindrical member 10 is pressed against the inner upper surface 6 a of the holding recessed portion 6 of the movable claw member 5 by the urging force of the compression spring 20.

From the state shown in FIG. 11B, the robot arm 2 is driven by the robot controller 4 to make the machine The arm 2 rises slightly. Thereby, since the outer cylindrical member 14 of the article holder 7 is held by the movable claw member 5 of the robot hand 3, it is integrated with the robot hand 3, and the article holder 7 is raised slightly. As a result, the article holding plate 23 of the article holder 7 is separated from the upper surface of the workpiece. As shown in FIG. 12, the workpiece W and the article holder 7 are in a non-contact state.

From the state shown in FIG. 12, the robot controller 4 drives the robot arm 2 to move the article holder 7 in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the long side direction of the beam member 11. As shown in FIG. 13, it is unloaded from the workpiece W. The article holding tool 7 (holding tool removing step).

With the above operation, the transfer operation of the workpiece W using the transfer robot 1 and the article holder 7 of this embodiment is terminated.

Next, other article holders that can be mounted on the robot hand 3 of the transfer robot 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 14A to 14C, the article holder 30 includes a holder body portion 31 and a holder movable portion 32 which is movably disposed on the holder body portion 31. The holder body portion 31 includes a cylindrical member 33 held by the opening operation of the movable claw member 5 of the robot hand 3, and a marginal member 34 is provided on the lower surface of the cylindrical member 33.

The holder movable portion 32 has three movable locking members 35 arranged at equal angular intervals around the central axis of the cylindrical member 33. The movable locking members 35 are provided on the edge member 34 of the holder body portion 31. The linear guide mechanism 36 on the surface is movably supported in a radial direction. A lower end of the movable locking member 35 is formed with a protruding portion 35a extending inward in the radial direction. A movable horizontal plate 37 is fixed to a radially inner upper end of the movable locking member 35.

On the upper surface of the edge-shaped member 34 of the holder body portion 31, three rocking levers 38 are provided corresponding to the movable locking members 35. Each rocking lever 38 is at an intermediate position, and a rotating shaft 39 extends in the vertical direction. fixed. Thereby, the rocking lever 38 can rotate integrally with the rotation shaft 39. A torsion spring 40 is provided on the rotation shaft 39, and the rocking lever 38 is energized in a clockwise rotation direction in FIG. 14A by the urging force of the torsion spring 40.

The rocking lever 38 is provided with an adjusting screw 41 at one end thereof, and sandwiches the rotating shaft 39 in the middle. A long hole 42 is formed on the opposite side of the adjusting screw 41. The long hole 42 is movably inserted through a short support shaft 44 provided on a movable vertical plate 43 fixed to the upper surface of the movable horizontal plate 37.

The movable locking member 35, the movable horizontal plate 37, and the movable vertical plate 43 are integrally moved. When the movable vertical plate 43 moves in the radial direction, the edge of the long hole 42 of the swing lever 38 is pressed by the short support shaft 44 of the movable vertical plate 43 to swing the swing lever 38.

As described above, the rocker lever 38 is energized by the torsion spring 40, and thus the energizing force is transmitted to the movable vertical plate 43 and the movable horizontal plate 37 via the short support shaft 44, and the movable horizontal plate 37 is energized in the radial direction. Thereby, the movable locking member 35 integrated with the movable horizontal plate 37 is also energized in the radial direction.

When using the article holder 30 described above to transport the ring-shaped workpiece (item) W shown in FIG. 15, first as a preparation stage, the operator pushes the movable buckle outward in the radial direction to oppose the ability of the torsion spring 40. In the state of the stopper member 35, the work W is positioned inside the movable stopper member 35. The movable locking member 35 is released in this state, and the biasing force of the torsion spring 40 causes the movable locking member 35 to be locked to the work W as shown in FIG. 16.

When the article holder 30 is mounted on the workpiece W as shown in FIG. 16, the robot arm 2 is driven by the robot controller 4, and the robot hand 3 is moved directly above the workpiece W as shown in FIG. 17. At this time, the three movable claw members 5 of the robot hand 3 are closed.

The robot hand 3 is lowered from the state shown in FIG. 17, and the movable claw member 5 is positioned inside the cylindrical member 33 of the holder body portion 31. From this state, the movable claw member 5 of the robot 3 is opened, and as shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, the radial outer surface of the movable claw member 5 (the outer surface 5 b in FIG. 2B) is pressed against the cylindrical member 33. Within the perimeter. Thereby, the cylindrical member 33 of the holder body portion 31 is held by the three movable claw members 5 (the holder holding step in the first holding mode).

In the holder holding step, the movable claw member 5 of the robot hand 3 holds the position of the cylindrical member 33 of the holder body portion 31, as shown in FIG. 18B, which is the radial direction of the movable claw member 5. The outer end portion abuts the position of the head of the adjusting screw 41 of the rocking lever 38. That is, if the cylindrical member 33 of the holder main body 31 is held by the movable claw member 5 of the robot hand 3, along with this, the radially outer end of the movable claw member 5 abuts against the adjusting screw 41 of the swing lever 38. head.

As a result, in FIG. 18B, the rotation of the rocker lever 38 in the counterclockwise rotation direction is restricted, and further, the movement to the outside of the radial direction of the movable locking member 35 is restricted. That is, in the holder holding step, the holding state of the article W by the article holder 30 is maintained.

Next, the robot controller 4 drives the robot arm 2 to transfer the workpiece W together with the article holder 30 to a specific transfer destination (item transfer step). In this article transfer step, the workpiece holder 30 is held in a state in which the workpiece is held by the article holder as described above, so that the workpiece W does not fall off during the transfer.

When the workpiece W is transported to a specific transport destination and placed, the robot controller 4 drives the robot hand 3 to perform the closing operation with the three movable claw members 5 and switches from the open state to the closed state. Thereby, the holding state of the article holder 30 of the robot hand 3 is released.

Next, the robot controller 4 drives the robot hand 3 to rotate the robot hand 3 around the wrist axis L. As shown in FIG. 19, the movable claw member 5 of the robot hand 3 is moved to the movable lock of the article holder 30. A position corresponding to the member 35. From this state, the movable claw member 5 of the robot hand 3 is opened, and as shown in FIG. 20, the movable vertical plate 43 is displaced outward in the radial direction by the radially outer end portion of the movable claw member 5. Thereby, the movable locking member 35 is displaced to the outside in the radial direction, and the holding state of the workpiece W is released.

At this time, the radial outer peripheral surface of the movable claw member 5 (the outer surface 5 b in FIG. 2B) is pressed against the inner peripheral surface 33 a of the cylindrical member 33 of the article holder 30, thereby being held by the movable claw member 5. The state of the article holder 30. That is, in this example, the holding state of the workpiece W of the article holder 30 is released, and the article holder 30 is held by the movable claw member 5 (second holding mode).

From the state shown in Fig. 20, the robot arm 2 is driven by the robot controller 4, as shown in Fig. 21 As shown, the robot hand 3 is raised, and the article holder 30 is removed from the work W (the holder removal step).

According to this embodiment as described above, the article holders 7 and 30 are prepared only according to the shape of the workpiece W to be transferred, and a common robot hand 3 can be used for transportation without using a complicated and expensive device such as a tool changer. A plurality of workpieces W having different shapes.

Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the holding state of the workpieces W of the article holders 7 and 30 is maintained by holding the article holders 7 and 30 by the robot hand 3, so that it is possible to reliably prevent the workpieces W from being dropped during transportation. drop.

In the article holder 30 shown in FIG. 14A to FIG. 14C, the movement of releasing the holding state of the workpiece W of the article holder 30 by the movable claw member 5 of the robot arm 3 is also held by the movable claw member 5. The operation of the article holder 30 can simplify the operation steps and shorten the operation time.

7‧‧‧ article holder

8‧‧‧ holder body

9‧‧‧ holder with movable part

10‧‧‧Inner cylindrical member

10a‧‧‧Edge-shaped protrusion

11‧‧‧ beam member

12‧‧‧L-shaped member

13‧‧‧ abutment holding member

14‧‧‧outer cylindrical member

14a‧‧‧through hole

16‧‧‧ Lifting plate

17‧‧‧ Lifting plate support bolt

18‧‧‧ Guide

19‧‧‧ Linear Guide

20‧‧‧ compression spring

21‧‧‧Horizontal Link

22‧‧‧Vertical Link

23‧‧‧Item plate

Claims (11)

An article holder is detachably mounted on a robot hand of a transfer robot for conveying articles, and includes a holder body portion that is releasably held by a movable claw member of the robot hand; the holder A movable part which is displaceably provided on the holder body part and can switch the item holding position for holding the item and the item releasing position for releasing the item; and a holding state maintaining mechanism for holding the item holder from the robot hand In the cut-off state, the movable part of the holder is maintained at the article holding position. For example, the article holder of claim 1 is configured such that the article holding position and the article release position of the movable part of the holder can be switched by the movable claw member of the robot hand. If the article holder of item 1 or 2 is requested, the above-mentioned holding state maintaining mechanism includes an energizing mechanism for ejecting and energizing the movable portion of the holder to the above-mentioned article holding position. If the article holder of claim 3 is configured, when the article is released from the article holder, the movable claw member of the robot arm opposes the empowerment of the energizing mechanism to make the holder movable part. Move to the above item release position. The article holder of claim 1 or 2 is configured to hold the article holder by using the movable claw member of the robot hand in a state where the article holder cut away from the robot hand holds the article. The main body part fixes the movable part of the holder to the article holding position. The article holder of claim 1 or 2, wherein the holder main body portion includes an abutment holding portion that abuts on the article and cooperates with the movable portion of the holder to hold the article. A transfer robot includes: the article holder according to any one of claims 1 to 6; and a robot arm capable of detachably mounting the article holder. For example, the transfer robot of item 7 can switch between the first holding mode and the second holding mode. The first holding mode maintains the holding state of the article holder by the article holder, and maintains the holding by the movable claw member. The second holding mode is to hold the holder body portion by the movable claw member while releasing the holding state of the article holder by the article holder. An article transfer method is an article transfer method for transferring an article using a transfer robot of claim 7 or 8, and includes a holder holding step for holding the above-mentioned article mounted on the article by the movable claw member of the robot hand. The above-mentioned holder body portion of the article holder; the article transfer step, which drives the transfer robot to transfer the article and the article holder to a specific transfer destination; and the holding state release step, which uses the above-mentioned robot hand The movable claw member operates the movable part of the holder of the article holder to release the holding state of the article of the article holder; and a step of removing the holder, which drives the transfer robot to be in a state of being mounted on the robot hand. The article holder is removed from the article. According to the item transfer method of claim 9, in the holder holding step, the holder movable portion is fixed to the item holding position by holding the holder main body portion with the movable claw member. If the item transfer method of item 9 or 10 is requested, in the above holding state release step While the holding state of the article holder by the article holder is released, the holder body portion is held by the movable claw member.