TWI673208B - Transport device and transport method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a transfer device, a boxing device, and a transfer method for transferring a workpiece that can be transferred later without interference with the workpiece even when the workpiece changes posture or position. When the workpiece is transported to the detection position, when the front-end side sensor detects that there is no workpiece at the detection position, the control unit determines that the workpiece has been transported abnormally.

Description

   Transfer device and method   

The present invention relates to a transfer device for transferring a workpiece by a transfer means and a transfer method for transferring a workpiece by a transfer means.

Conventionally, a device has been proposed which holds the rice balls and accommodates the held rice balls in a box without relying on manually disposing the rice balls in the box. As such a device, for example, there is a device disclosed in Patent Document 1. In Patent Document 1, when the rice ball is transported to a predetermined position, the rice ball is held by the device, and the held rice ball is moved into the box by the device.

    [Prior technical literature]         [Patent Literature]    

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-251702

However, before a workpiece such as a rice ball is transferred to the held position, there is a possibility that the workpiece changes its posture or position for some reason. When the posture or position is greatly changed, there is a possibility that the device cannot hold the workpiece. When the device cannot hold the workpiece, there is a possibility that the workpiece cannot be placed in the box.

If the workpiece with the changed posture remains in the position held by the holding portion of the device, it will become an obstacle to the next workpiece to be transferred, and there is a possibility that the next workpiece cannot be transferred to the position held by the holding portion. In addition, if the next workpiece cannot be transferred to the position held by the holding unit, the device cannot hold the next workpiece, so there is a possibility that the subsequent workpiece cannot be placed in the box.

Therefore, the present invention is made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a conveying device, a boxing device, and a conveying device that can perform the conveyance of workpieces that can be conveyed later without interference with the workpiece even when the workpiece changes its posture or position. method.

The conveying device of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a conveying means for conveying a workpiece having an acute angle portion having two surfaces crossing at an acute angle; and a guide portion provided so that the guide surface for guiding the workpiece extends along the conveying direction, The stopper portion includes a pressing portion that stops the conveyance of the workpiece by stopping the workpiece, and is formed between the guide surface and the pressing portion. The angle is configured as an acute angle having an angle that is equal to or greater than the angle of the acute angle portion in the workpiece. The first detection means detects an internal detection position located in an area between the guide surface and the pressing portion. Whether the above-mentioned workpiece exists; and a first judgment means, which is judged as the above when the workpiece is transported to the detection position by the first detection means when the workpiece does not exist due to the detection position There is an abnormality in the conveyance of the workpiece.

In the conveying device configured as described above, when the workpiece is not conveyed to the detection position detected by the first detection means in a normal position and posture, the situation can be detected, so the abnormal position can be transferred. The workpieces in posture transfer are removed from the conveying path of the conveying means. Therefore, it is possible to prevent workpieces that are not transported in a normal position and posture from directly staying on the transport path and interfering with workpieces that are to be transported next, and it is possible to efficiently perform continuous workpiece transport.

In addition, there is a passing detection means capable of detecting that the workpiece passes through a trigger position on the upstream side of the conveying direction than the detection position in the conveying means, and the time point is detected by the detection means through the detection means. After the trigger position, the time elapsed between the time when the workpiece is transferred from the trigger position to the detection position may also be elapsed.

After the workpiece passes the trigger position by the detection method, the time taken for the workpiece to be moved from the trigger position to the detection position elapses. The first detection method detects that there is no workpiece due to the detection position. At this time, it is judged that there is an abnormality in the conveyance of the workpiece, so when the workpiece is normally reached to the detection position when the workpiece is normally conveyed, it is detected whether there is a workpiece at the detection position. Therefore, it is possible to reliably detect whether or not the conveyance of the workpiece is normally performed.

The transfer device of the present invention is characterized in that it includes a transfer means that transfers a workpiece having an acute angle portion having two surfaces that intersect at an acute angle, and a guide portion that extends the guide surface that guides the workpiece along the transfer direction. It is provided to guide the conveyance of the workpiece conveyed by the conveyance means; the stopper portion includes a pressing portion that stops the conveyance of the workpiece by stopping the workpiece, and is provided between the guide surface and the pressing portion. The formed angle is configured as an acute angle having an angle that is equal to or greater than the angle of the acute angle portion in the workpiece; a first detection means that detects an internal detection located in an area between the guide surface and the pressing portion. Measuring the presence of the above-mentioned workpiece; the second detecting means detecting whether the above-mentioned workpiece is retained in a detained position on the upstream side than the first detecting means; and the second determining means by using the first When the detecting means detects that the workpiece does not exist due to the detecting position, and the second detecting means detects that the workpiece remains in the retaining position, the judgment is made. It is considered that there is an abnormality in the conveyance of the above-mentioned workpiece.

In the conveying device configured as described above, when a workpiece is trapped in the staying position detected by the second detection means, the situation can be detected, so that the workpiece that is stranded on the conveying path of the conveying means can be self-carried. Remove. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the workpieces stranded in the conveying path from staying in the conveying path directly and interfering with the next conveyed workpieces, and it is possible to efficiently and continuously convey the workpieces.

In addition, the staying position may be located further upstream than the detecting position by at least the length of the workpiece in the conveying direction.

Since the staying position is located more upstream than the detection position by the length of the workpiece along the conveying direction, the situation can be reliably detected when the workpiece is stuck.

In addition, the workpiece may have a shape of a triangular column having three of the acute angle portions.

Because the workpiece has the shape of a triangular column, the workpiece can easily enter the area between the guide surface and the pressing portion, and the presence of the workpiece can be reliably detected by the first detection means at the detection position.

Furthermore, it may be provided with a stopper moving means for stopping the conveyance of the workpiece by the stopper from the pressing section, and a conveying position for stopping the conveyance of the workpiece to the pressing section. mobile.

Since the stopper moves from the stop position where the conveyance of the workpiece is stopped to the conveyance position where the conveyance of the workpiece is not stopped by the stopper moving means, when it is judged that the conveyance of the workpiece is abnormal, the workpiece can be moved to The downstream side of the conveying path conveys and suppresses interference with the workpiece to be conveyed next.

In addition, when it is determined that there is an abnormality in the conveyance of the workpiece, the workpiece may be disposed in a retreat section that is retracted from a conveyance path of the conveyance means.

When it is judged that there is an abnormality in the conveyance of the workpiece, the workpiece is arranged in the retreating section of the retreating path of the self-conveying means, so that the workpiece does not stay on the conveying path directly, and interference with the subsequent conveyed workpiece can be suppressed.

In addition, the conveying method of the present invention is a person who uses a conveying device to convey a workpiece. The conveying device includes: a conveying means for conveying the workpiece having an acute angle portion having two surfaces crossing at an acute angle; and a guide portion for guiding the above. The guide surface of the workpiece extends along the conveying direction to guide the conveyance of the workpiece conveyed by the conveying means; and a stopper portion having a pressing portion that stops the conveyance of the workpiece by stopping the workpiece. And arranged such that the angle formed between the guide surface and the pressing portion becomes an acute angle having an angle equal to or greater than the angle of the acute angle portion in the workpiece, and the conveying method is characterized by having a first detection step, It detects whether the workpiece exists in a detection position inside an area separated by the guide surface and the pressing portion; and a first determination step, in the first detection step, the workpiece is transported to the above At the time of detecting the position, when it is detected that the workpiece does not exist due to the detection position, it is determined that the workpiece is abnormally conveyed.

In the conveying method of the above structure, when the position and posture of the detected workpiece are abnormal, the first judgment step is used to determine that the workpiece has been conveyed abnormally. Therefore, in this case, the workpiece may not be in the normal position. The workpieces in posture transfer are removed from the conveying path of the conveying means. Therefore, it is possible to prevent workpieces that are not transported in a normal position and posture from directly staying on the transport path and interfering with workpieces that are to be transported next, and it is possible to efficiently perform continuous workpiece transport.

In addition, the conveying method of the present invention is a person who uses a conveying device to convey a workpiece. The conveying device includes: a conveying means for conveying the workpiece having an acute angle portion having two surfaces crossing at an acute angle; and a guide portion for guiding the above. The guide surface of the workpiece extends along the conveying direction to guide the conveyance of the workpiece conveyed by the conveying means; and a stopper portion having a pressing portion that stops the conveyance of the workpiece by stopping the workpiece. And arranged such that the angle formed between the guide surface and the pressing portion becomes an acute angle having an angle equal to or greater than the angle of the acute angle portion in the workpiece, and the conveying method is characterized by having a first detection step, It detects whether the workpiece exists in a detection position inside an area separated by the guide surface and the pressing part. The second detection step detects whether the stay position is located on the upstream side than the detection position. The above-mentioned workpiece is stuck; and a second determination step, which detects that the above-mentioned workpiece does not exist at the above-mentioned detection position in the above-mentioned first detection step, When the second detection step to detect the above-described retention retention for the above work position, there is an abnormality is determined to send the transfer of the workpiece.

In the conveying method of the above configuration, when a workpiece is left in the staying position, the second judgment step is used to determine that there is an abnormality in the conveyance of the workpiece. Therefore, the workpiece that is stuck in the conveying path of the conveying means can be removed from the conveying path. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the workpieces stranded in the conveying path from staying in the conveying path directly and interfering with the next conveyed workpieces, and it is possible to efficiently and continuously convey the workpieces.

According to the present invention, when an abnormality occurs in the posture or position when the workpiece is transported, the situation can be detected. Therefore, it is possible to remove the abnormal workpiece from the conveying path, and it is possible to reliably perform the conveyance of the next workpiece. Thereby, continuous workpiece conveyance can be performed reliably.

14‧‧‧Control Department

40‧‧‧Workpiece

50‧‧‧ transport device

51‧‧‧ conveyor belt

52‧‧‧Guide

52a‧‧‧Guide

53‧‧‧Stopper

53a‧‧‧Pressing part

53b‧‧‧rotation axis

53c‧‧‧Motor

54‧‧‧Retreat

55‧‧‧Front sensor

55a‧‧‧Lighting Department

55b‧‧‧Light receiving section

56‧‧‧Retention sensor

56a‧‧‧Lighting Department

56b‧‧‧Light receiving section

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a boxing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the conveying device in the boxing device of FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a front view of a main body portion of the boxing device in the boxing device of FIG. 1.

Fig. 4 (a) is a front view of an adsorption head constituted as a hand-shaped portion of the main body portion of the boxing device of Fig. 3, and (b) is a side view of the adsorption head.

Fig. 5 (a) is a front view of a clamping unit constituted as a hand-shaped portion of the main body portion of the boxing device of Fig. 3, and (b) is a side view of the clamping unit.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the boxing device of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the boxing device in the state of the workpiece being sucked by the suction head in the boxing device of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the boxing device of FIG. 1 in which the front end of the suction head with the suction port is rotated, and the workpiece is arranged on a table after changing the posture.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the boxing device of FIG. 1 in which the four workpieces are placed on a table after changing their postures.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the boxing device in the state of the boxing device of FIG. 1, in which the four workpieces arranged on the table are clamped together by the clamping unit, and the clamping unit is moved toward the box.

11 is a plan view showing a state in which the workpiece is transferred to a holding position in a normal position and posture in the transfer device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a state in which a workpiece is transferred to a holding position in a normal position and posture in the transfer device of FIG. 2.

13 is a plan view showing a state in which the workpiece is transferred to a holding position when the posture of the workpiece is abnormal in the transfer device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a state in which the stopper is moved to retract the workpiece to the retracted position when the posture of the workpiece is abnormal in the transfer device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the structure of the workpiece in the region sandwiched between the stopper portion and the guide portion even when the posture of the workpiece is unstable during the conveyance of the workpiece in the transfer device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a flow when a workpiece is boxed by the boxing apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of the conveying device showing a state in which the workpiece is retained in the conveying device in the boxing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a state in which the plurality of workpieces are retracted to the retracted position by moving the stopper when the plurality of workpieces are stuck in the transfer device of FIG. 16.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a flow when the workpiece is boxed by the boxing apparatus of the second embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a plan view showing an example of a front-end sensor and a retention sensor in another embodiment.

Hereinafter, a boxing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a boxing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the boxing device 10 carries the workpiece 40 and the box 41.

In this embodiment, the workpiece 40 is a rice ball having a triangular column shape. In addition, the workpiece 40 may not be a rice ball, and foods such as sandwiches having a triangular column shape may be used. Moreover, the workpiece 40 may not be a food, and the workpiece 40 may be another article having the shape of a triangular column. The workpiece 40 may not have the shape of a triangular column, as long as it has a portion (acute angle portion) having two surfaces crossing at an acute angle, and as described below, it can be brought into contact with the guide portion and the stopper to form an acute angle. The part can also have other shapes.

The packing device 10 includes a packing device body 11, a transfer device 50 for transferring the workpiece 40 to a holding position where the workpiece 40 is held by the packing device body 11, and a work table 70 for loading by the packing device body 11 The held workpiece 40 is temporarily placed; and a box 41 which houses the workpiece 40 and is supported by a support stand 80.

The conveyance device 50 includes a conveyor belt (conveyance means) 51, a guide portion 52, a stopper portion 53, a retreat portion 54, a front-end side sensor (first detection means) 55, and a retention sensor (second detection means ) 56.

The conveyor belt 51 conveys the workpiece 40 in one direction until the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a. When the workpiece 40 is conveyed by the conveyor belt 51 and the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51 a, the boxing device body 11 holds the workpiece 40 and moves the workpiece 40 to the inside of the box 41.

The guide portion 52 extends along the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt 51 so as to guide the conveyance of the workpiece 40 conveyed on the conveyance belt 51. The guide portion 52 is attached to a conveyance path of the conveyor belt 51. The guide portion 52 is fixedly attached to a frame on the outer side of the conveyor belt 51 such that the guide portion 52 does not move even if the workpiece 40 is moved even if the conveyor belt 51 is driven. Therefore, the guide portion 52 is maintained in a stationary state.

The stopper part 53 is comprised so that the conveyance of the workpiece | work 40 may be stopped by stopping the workpiece | work 40 conveyed on the conveyor 51. The stopper portion 53 includes a pressing portion 53 a that is in contact with the workpiece 40 and blocks the workpiece 40. The stopper part 53 is arrange | positioned so that the pressing part 53a may extend in the direction which cross | intersects the conveyance direction of the workpiece | work 40 which advances by the drive of the conveyance belt 51. As shown in FIG. When the workpiece 40 comes into contact with the pressing portion 53a extending in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction, the conveyance of the workpiece 40 can be stopped.

The stopper part 53 is arrange | positioned so that it may incline with respect to the conveyance direction of the conveyor belt 51. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the pressing part 53a of the stopper part 53 is arrange | positioned diagonally with respect to the guide surface 52a extended along the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt 51. Therefore, the stopper part 53 is arrange | positioned so that the angle formed between the guide surface 52a of the guide part 52, and the pressing part 53a of the stopper part 53 will become an acute angle. In particular, the angle formed between the guide surface 52a and the pressing portion 53a of the stopper portion 53 is arranged to have an acute angle having an angle equal to or greater than the angle of the acute angle portion in the workpiece 40 so that the workpiece 40 can enter the pressing portion. 53a is an area separated from the guide surface 52a.

The stopper 53 includes a rotation shaft 53b and a motor 53c. The rotation shaft 53b is rotationally driven by the motor 53c, so that the portion of the stopper portion 53 where the pressing portion 53a is formed can be rotated around the rotation shaft 53b. In this way, the stopper portion 53 controls the rotational driving of the portion where the pressing portion 53a is formed around the rotational shaft 53b by controlling the rotational driving of the rotational shaft 53b.

When the retreat section 54 determines that there is an abnormality in the conveyance of the workpiece 40, it guides the workpiece 40 to the inside to retreat the workpiece 40 from the conveyance path. The workpiece 40 judged to be abnormal in posture or position is temporarily stored inside the retreating portion 54, and then the workpiece 40 is taken out from the retreating portion 54.

The work table 70 is provided as a space for temporarily arranging the work 40. The work table 70 has a substantially square shape in a plan view, and is installed at a position close to the holding position 51 a of the conveyor belt 51. A sheet 71 having a rectangular shape in a plan view is arranged at a predetermined position on the work table 70. The sheet 71 is formed so that the workpiece 40 can be held by the upper surface. The workpiece 40 that has reached the holding position 51 a of the conveyor belt 51 is held by the boxing device main body 11 and is arranged on the upper surface of the sheet 71 on the work table 70. Thereby, the work 40 is held by the upper surface of the sheet 71 on the work table 70.

The box 41 is supported by a support desk 80. The box 41 is configured so that the workpiece 40 can be accommodated inside. The plurality of workpieces 40 arranged on the upper surface of the sheet 71 of the work table 70 are held together by the boxing device main body 11 so that the plurality of workpieces 40 are housed inside the box 41 together.

The front-end sensor 55 includes a light-emitting portion 55 a and a light-receiving portion 55 b. The light-emitting portion 55a and the light-receiving portion 55b of the front-end side sensor 55 are located near the front end of the conveyor belt 51, and the presence or absence of the workpiece 40 is detected at a predetermined position. In this embodiment, the front-end-side sensor 55 detects whether the workpiece 40 has reached the holding position 51 a of the workpiece 40 by the boxing device main body 11 on the conveyor belt 51 in a normal position and posture. In this embodiment, the light emitting portion 55a is provided on a side portion of the conveyor belt 51 on the side where the stopper portion 53 is provided, and the light receiving portion 55b is provided on a side portion opposite to the side on which the stopper portion 53 is provided. The positional relationship between the light emitting portion 55a and the light receiving portion 55b may be reversed. In this embodiment, an LED is used as the light emitting portion 55a. The light receiving section 55b receives light from the light emitting section 55a of the LED.

The stagnation sensor 56 includes a light-emitting portion 56 a and a light-receiving portion 56 b similarly to the front-end side sensor 55. The light-emitting portion 56a and the light-receiving portion 56b of the stagnation sensor 56 detect the presence or absence of the workpiece 40 at a position closer to the upstream side of the conveyor belt 51 than the front-end side sensor 55. The stagnation sensor 56 detects whether the workpiece 40 has reached the position on the conveyor belt 51 on the upstream side from the front-end sensor 55 in a normal position and posture. In this embodiment, the light emitting portion 56a is provided on a side portion of the conveyor belt 51 on the side where the stopper portion 53 is provided, and the light receiving portion 56b is provided on a side portion opposite to the side on which the stopper portion 53 is provided. The positional relationship between the light emitting section 56a and the light receiving section 56b may be reversed. In this embodiment, an LED is used as the light emitting section 56a. The light receiving section 56b receives light from the light emitting section 56a of the LED.

Next, the structure of the boxing device main body part 11 is demonstrated.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the main body portion 11 of the boxing apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the boxing device main body portion 11 is composed of a horizontal articulated dual-arm robot including a pair of robot arms 13.

The boxing device body 11 includes a first robot arm 13A and a second robot arm 13B. A first holding portion 26 is provided at the front end of the first robot arm 13A. A second holding portion 27 is provided at a front end portion of the second robot arm 13B. Hereinafter, when the first robot arm 13A and the second robot arm 13B are not distinguished, they may be simply referred to as the robot arm 13.

The boxing device main body section 11 includes a control section 14 and a vacuum generating device 60.

The control unit 14 is provided, for example, inside the support table 12 of the boxing device main unit 11. However, it is not limited to this, and it may be provided inside the robot arm 13, for example. It can also be installed in other free spaces.

The vacuum generating device 60 is, for example, a vacuum pump or CONVUM (registered trademark). The vacuum generating device 60 is also provided inside the support table 12 similarly to the control unit 14, for example. However, the invention is not limited to this, and the vacuum generating device 60 may be installed in other places such as the inside of the robot arm 13, for example. The vacuum generating device 60 is connected to a suction head 18 described below via a piping (not shown). An on-off valve (not shown) is provided in the piping, and the piping is opened and closed by the on-off valve. The operation of the vacuum generating device and the opening and closing of the on-off valve are controlled by a control device. The vacuum generating device 60 is configured to be capable of generating a negative pressure at the suction port 22 of the suction head 18.

The first robot arm 13A moves the first holding portion 26 within a predetermined operation range. In addition, the second robot arm 13B moves the second holding portion 27 within a predetermined operation range. The robot arm 13 is, for example, a horizontal articulated robot arm, and includes an arm portion 15 and a wrist portion 17. The first robot arm 13A and the second robot arm 13B can operate independently or in association with each other.

The first holding portion 26 and the second holding portion 27 are configured to be capable of holding hand-shaped portions each having a function.

The boxing device body 11 includes a support table 12 and a base shaft 16 extending upward from the support table 12 in the vertical direction. The base shaft 16 is rotatably attached to the support table 12.

An arm portion 15 is attached to the base shaft 16 so as to extend in the horizontal direction. The arm portion 15 is rotatably attached about the base shaft 16.

The arm portion 15 includes a first link 15a and a second link 15b. First link 15a and second link 15b is supported to be mutually rotatable in a horizontal direction. The first robot arm 13A and the second robot arm 13B are connected to the base shaft 16 via the arm portion 15.

The arm portion 15 positions the wrist portion 17 attached to the front ends of the first robot arm 13A and the second robot arm 13B at an arbitrary position within the operating range.

The first link 15 a is connected to the base end 16 and the base shaft 16 of the support table 12 by a rotation joint J1, and is capable of rotating about a rotation axis L1 passing through the axis of the base shaft 16. The second link 15b is connected to the front end of the first link 15a by a rotation joint J2, and can rotate about a rotation axis L2 defined at the front end of the first link 15a.

The wrist part 17 changes the mechanism connected to the front end to an arbitrary posture. The arm portion 17 includes a lifting portion 17a and a turning portion 17b. The elevating portion 17a and the front end portion of the second link 15b are connected by a linear motion joint J3, and can move up and down relative to the second link 15b. The rotation part 17b and the lower end part of the raising-lowering part 17a are connected by the rotation joint J4, and can rotate about the rotation axis L3 prescribed in the lower end of the raising-lowering part 17a.

In this embodiment, the rotation axes L1 to L3 are parallel to each other, and extend in the vertical direction, for example. The extending direction of the rotation axes L1 to L3 and the upward and downward movement direction of the elevation portion 17a are parallel to each other.

The robot arm 13 is provided with a servo motor (not shown) for driving and an encoder (not shown) for detecting the rotation angle of the servo motor in a manner corresponding to each joint J1 to J4. In addition, the rotation axis L1 of the first robot arm 13A and the rotation axis L1 of the second robot arm 13B are on the same straight line, and the first link 15a of the first robot arm 13A and the first link 15a of the second robot arm 13B are Set the height difference between the top and bottom.

Next, a hand-shaped portion that can be held by the first holding portion 26 and the second holding portion 27 will be described. In this embodiment, the first holding portion 26 holds the suction head 18 as a hand-shaped portion.

FIG. 4 (a) shows a front view of the suction head 18, and FIG. 4 (b) shows a side view of the suction head 18. The suction head 18 is configured to be capable of holding the workpiece 40 in a first posture in which the first face 40a is horizontal, and to change the posture of the workpiece 40 from the first posture to a second posture in which the second face 40b is horizontal.

The suction head 18 has a base portion 20 including a rotation portion 17b of a wrist portion 17, a rotation joint J5 having a rotation axis L4 extending in a horizontal direction, and a front end portion 21 which is rotatably connected to the base portion 20; The suction port 22 is provided on the front end portion 21 and sucks the workpiece 40 (the first surface portion 40a).

The base portion 20 is connected to the lifting portion 17a of the wrist portion 17 via the rotation joint J4, and is connected to the front end portion 21 via the rotation joint J5. The base portion 20 is bent into a substantially L-shape when viewed from the side (see FIG. 4 (b)). The base portion 20 is a driving portion 25 provided with a rotary joint J5 inside the L-shaped member.

The distal end portion 21 is connected to the base portion 20 via a rotary joint J5. A suction port 22 is attached to the front end portion 21. The front end portion 21 is bent into a substantially L shape in a side view (see FIG. 4 (b)). In the present embodiment, the suction port 22 is provided at six positions on the front end portion 21. The suction port 22 is connected to the vacuum generating device 60 via a pipe (not shown). An on-off valve (not shown) is provided in the piping, for example. The piping is opened and closed by an on-off valve, whereby suction and release of the workpiece 40 by the suction port 22 is performed.

The workpiece 40 is sucked and held by the suction port 22 of the suction head 18, and the front end portion 21 is rotated 90 degrees relative to the base portion 20 by rotating the joint J5, thereby changing the posture of the workpiece 40 from the first posture to 2nd posture.

The second holding portion 27 holds the holding unit 19 as a hand-shaped portion. FIG. 5 (a) shows a front view of the clamping unit 19, and FIG. 5 (b) shows a side view of the clamping unit 19.

The gripping unit 19 is configured to overlap and hold four workpieces 40 that are supplied to a specific position on the work table 70 in the second posture. The clamping unit 19 includes four pairs of holding members 32 and four driving members 33 capable of independently driving each of the four pairs of holding members 32.

The rotation portion 17b of the wrist portion 17 extends in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the rotation axis L3 in front view. Each holding member 32 is connected to the rotating portion 17 b of the wrist portion 17 via the driving member 33.

Each pair of holding members 32 is configured to hold each of the workpieces 40 that overlap at a predetermined position on the work table 70 in a second posture in which the first surface portion 40a faces the first direction.

In this embodiment, each pair of holding members 32 is configured to sandwich the second surface portion 40b of the work 40 from both sides thereof. Each holding member 32 has a shape corresponding to the inclination of the second surface portion 40 b of the work 40, and has a contact surface 32 a that abuts the work 40. The holding member 32 has, for example, a rectangular flat plate shape.

The material of the holding member 32 is, for example, a resin plate or a metal plate. In this embodiment, a triangular-shaped rice ball is used for the work piece 40. Therefore, each pair of holding members 32 is arranged so that the space between them is narrowed toward the upper end portion, and is formed in a mountain shape (inverted V shape) that expands downward. .

The driving member 33 is configured to be able to move the pair of holding members 32. The driving member 33 includes an actuator (not shown) and the like, and in this embodiment, each of the pair of holding members 32 can be moved linearly. Thereby, the interval between a pair of holding members 32 can be changed. When the workpiece 40 is clamped by the clamping unit 19, the pair of holding members 32 are narrowed by the driving member 33, and the workpiece 40 is sandwiched and held between the pair of holding members 32.

In the present embodiment, the pair of holding members 32 are controlled in such a manner that the angle formed by each other is maintained at an angle (approximately 60 degrees) that coincides with the inclination of the second surface portion 40b of the workpiece 40, and the other side The direction of the arrow of 5 (b) makes the space between each other expand and contract. In the present embodiment, the workpiece 40 is held by the frictional force generated when the contact surface 32 a of the holding member 32 comes into contact with the second surface portion 40 b of the workpiece 40. In addition, a suction port is provided on the contact surface 32a, and the workpiece 40 may be held by a suction force from the suction port.

Next, the control unit 14 that controls the operation of the boxing device main unit 11 will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration example of a control system of the main body unit 11 of the boxing apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 14 includes a calculation unit 14 a, a memory unit 14 b, and a servo control unit 14 c.

The control unit 14 is, for example, a robot controller including a computer such as a microcontroller. In addition, the control unit 14 may be constituted by a single control unit 14 that is controlled collectively, or by a plurality of control units 14 that are distributed and controlled in coordination with each other.

The memory 14b stores information such as a basic program as a robot controller and various fixed data. The arithmetic unit 14a reads out and executes software such as a basic program stored in the memory unit 14b, and controls various operations of the boxing device main body unit 11. That is, the calculation unit 14a generates a control command of the boxing device main unit 11 and outputs it to the servo control unit 14c.

The servo control unit 14c is configured to control and box each joint J1 to J4 of the first robot arm 13A and the second robot arm 13B of the main body unit 11 based on a control command generated by the computing unit 14a. Drive by corresponding servo motor.

Next, an operation when the workpiece 40 is boxed by the boxing device 10 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the boxing device 10 with the suction head 18 holding the suction port 22 to the workpiece 40. In this embodiment, the workpiece 40 is conveyed by the conveyor 51 in a first posture in which the first surface portion 40a is horizontal. The workpiece 40 is conveyed while being guided by a guide portion 52 provided on the conveyor belt 51 so as to extend in the conveying direction. The workpiece 40 is transported, and when the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51 a, the workpiece 40 comes into contact with the pressing portion 53 a of the stopper portion 53. When the workpiece 40 comes into contact with the pressing portion 53 a of the stopper portion 53, the workpiece 40 is sucked by the suction port 22 of the suction head 18.

At this time, the suction head 18 (the lifting portion 17 a of the wrist portion 17) is lowered, and the suction port 22 is brought into contact with the first surface portion 40 a of the workpiece 40 on the conveyor belt 51. The workpiece 40 holding the first posture is sucked by the suction head 18.

The workpiece 40 that is sucked and held by the suction head 18 is temporarily placed on the work table 70. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the boxing device 10 in a state where one workpiece 40 is arranged on the work table 70.

The workpiece 40 sucked and held by the suction head 18 is arranged on a sheet 71 provided on the work table 70. The sheet 71 is provided with a pair of supporting members 72 for supporting one of the workpieces 40 when the workpiece 40 is disposed. Therefore, the workpiece 40 disposed on the sheet 71 is stably supported.

When the workpiece 40 is placed on the sheet 71, the control unit 14 controls the operation of the first robot arm 13A, so that the front end portion 21 of the suction head 18 is rotated 90 degrees about the rotation axis L4 with respect to the base portion 20 by the rotation joint J5 . Thereby, the suction port 22 is rotated 90 degrees from the reference position. By the rotation of the front end portion 21 of the suction head 18, the posture of the workpiece 40 suction-held in the first posture is changed from the first posture to the second posture. When the posture of the work 40 is changed to the second posture, the work 40 is placed on the sheet 71.

At this time, the control unit 14 controls the operation of the first robot arm 13A, and supplies the workpiece 40 held in the second posture to the position of the sheet 71 of the work table 70 by the suction head 18. The sheet 71 can support four workpieces 40 at the same time. Therefore, it is possible to arrange four workpieces 40 by repeating the arrangement operation of the workpieces 40 on the sheet 71 four times.

By repeating the above operation, the four workpieces 40 are sequentially supplied to the sheet 71 of the work table 70.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the boxing device 10 in a state where four workpieces 40 are arranged on the sheet 71.

When four workpieces 40 are arranged on the sheet 71, the control unit 14 controls the operation of the second robot arm 13B, and supplies the second position to the position on the sheet 71 of the work table 70 by the clamping unit 19 Each work 40 is held in an overlapping manner. In FIG. 9, the four workpieces 40 are held together by the clamping unit 19.

Next, the four workpieces 40 held by the holding unit 19 are accommodated inside the box 41. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the boxing device 10 in a state where the clamping unit 19 holds the four workpieces 40 together and moves them inside the box 41.

At this time, the control unit 14 controls the movement of the second robot arm 13B to control the movement of the clamping unit 19. Since the four workpieces 40 arranged on the sheet 71 can be arranged inside the box 41 together, the boxing of the workpieces 40 can be performed efficiently.

As described above, by using the boxing device 10 of the present embodiment to box the workpiece 40, the work of loading the workpiece 40 into the box 41 can be efficiently performed.

(Detection of workpiece 40 by front-end sensor 55)

Next, the transfer of the workpiece 40 by the transfer device 50 which transfers the workpiece 40 to the holding position 51a which holds the workpiece 40 by the boxing device main body part 11 is demonstrated.

The workpiece 40 is transported by using the conveyor belt 51, and the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a at which the workpiece 40 can be adsorbed by the adsorption head 18 of the box body main body 11.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the periphery of the holding position 51 a in the conveying device 50 in a state where the workpiece 40 is moved to the holding position 51 a in a normal position and posture. FIG. 12 is a side view of the periphery of the holding position 51 a in the conveying device 50 in a state where the workpiece 40 is moved to the holding position 51 a in a normal position and posture. 13 is a plan view of the periphery of the holding position 51 a in the conveying device 50 when the position and posture of the workpiece 40 are abnormal.

When the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a, the light emitting portion 55a of the front-end side sensor 55 emits light. When the light emitting section 55a emits light, if the workpiece 40 is arranged at the holding position 51a in a normal position and posture, the light from the light emitting section 55a is blocked by the workpiece 40 and does not reach the light receiving section 55b. When the light from the light-emitting portion 55a is not received by the light-receiving portion 55b, it is determined that the workpiece 40 is disposed at the holding position 51a in a normal position and posture.

When the light emitting unit 55a emits light, if there is an abnormality in the position or posture of the workpiece 40, the light reaches the light receiving unit 55b without being blocked by the workpiece 40. When the light from the light emitting section 55a is received by the light receiving section 55b, it is determined that the position and posture of the workpiece 40 is abnormal.

In this way, when the workpiece 40 is transported to the detection position of the front-end sensor 55, and when the workpiece 40 is not detected due to the detection position of the front-end sensor 55, it is determined that the position and posture of the workpiece 40 are present. abnormal. That is, if the workpiece 40 is transported to the detection position of the front-end side sensor 55 and the front-end side sensor 55 detects that the workpiece 40 does not exist due to the detection position, it is determined that the workpiece 40 has been transported. abnormal. In the present embodiment, the control unit 14 functions as a judgment means (a first judgment means) for determining whether there is an abnormality in the conveyance of the workpiece 40.

Here, the time when the workpiece 40 is transported to the detection position of the front-end sensor 55 is the detection position (trigger position) of the workpiece 40 after passing through the detection position (trigger position) of the retention sensor 56 and the detection from the retention sensor 56. The elapsed time is the time taken for the workpiece 40 to be transported from the measurement position to the detection position of the front-end side sensor 55. Since the stagnation sensor 56 is installed on the upstream side than the front-end side sensor 55, it can detect the passage of the workpiece 40 at a position closer to the upstream side than the detection position of the front-end side sensor 55 in the conveying direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, it functions as a passing detection means for detecting the passage of the workpiece 40 through the position on the upstream side in the conveying direction than the detection position of the front-end side sensor 55.

Thus, in the present embodiment, the stay sensor 56 also has a function of detecting the passage of the workpiece 40 through the detection means at a position upstream of the conveyance direction than the detection position of the front-end side sensor 55. Therefore, the sensor for detecting whether a plurality of workpieces 40 are trapped in the position on the upstream side closer to the conveying direction than the detection position of the front-end sensor 55 and the sensor for the front-end sensor The detection position of 55 is located on the upstream side of the conveyance direction, and the sensors passing through the workpiece 40 are configured as the same sensor. However, the sensor for detecting whether a plurality of workpieces 40 are trapped in the position on the upstream side of the conveying direction than the detection position of the front-end sensor 55 and the sensor for the front-end sensor The detection position of 55 is closer to the position upstream of the conveying direction, and different sensors may be used between the sensors that pass the workpiece 40.

If the passing of the workpiece 40 is detected at the detection position (trigger position) of the stay sensor 56, the signal is transmitted to the control unit 14. After the control unit 14 detects the position at which the workpiece 40 passes the detection position of the stagnation sensor 56, the control unit 14 spends on transporting the workpiece 40 from the detection position of the stagnation sensor 56 to the detection position of the front side sensor 55 When the time has elapsed, it is determined whether there is a workpiece 40 at the detection position of the front-end sensor 55.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the periphery of the holding position 51 a in the conveyance device 50 as viewed from the light emitting portion 55 a side of the front-end side sensor 55. As shown in FIG. 12, a light emitting portion 55 a is mounted so that an optical axis L that emits light from the light emitting portion 55 a in the front-end side sensor 55 passes below the guide portion 52. The optical axis L, which is emitted by the light emitting portion 55a in the front-end side sensor 55, advances toward the light receiving portion 55b through a gap formed between the guide portion 52 and the conveyor belt 51. Therefore, when there is a workpiece 40 at the detection position of the front-end-side sensor 55, light emitted from the light emitting portion 55a through the gap formed between the guide portion 52 and the conveyor belt 51 is blocked by the workpiece 40 without being emitted by the workpiece 40. It will reach the light receiving part 55b. When there is no workpiece 40 at the detection position of the front-end-side sensor 55, the light emitted from the light emitting portion 55a is received by the light receiving portion 55b through the gap formed between the guide portion 52 and the conveyor belt 51.

When it is determined that there is an abnormality in the position or posture of the workpiece 40, the conveyor belt 51 is driven and the stopper portion 53 is moved. The rotation shaft 53b is rotated by the drive motor 53c, so that the portion of the stopper portion 53 where the pressing portion 53a is formed is moved in a direction retracting from the transport path of the workpiece 40.

FIG. 13 shows a region R1 separated by the guide surface 52 a of the guide portion 52 and the pressing portion 53 a of the stopper portion 53. The track of the light emitted by the light emitting portion 55 a of the front-end-side sensor 55 passes through a region R1 separated by the guide surface 52 a of the guide portion 52 and the pressing portion 53 a of the stopper portion 53. That is, the detection position of the front-end side sensor 55 is located inside the region R1 separated by the guide surface 52 a of the guide portion 52 and the pressing portion 53 a of the stopper portion 53. The front-end side sensor 55 detects whether a workpiece 40 exists in a detection position inside a region R1 separated by the guide surface 52a and the pressing portion 53a. In this embodiment, the detection position of the front-end side sensor 55 is conveyed by the conveyer belt 51 inside the region R1 separated by the guide surface 52a of the guide portion 52 and the pressing portion 53a of the stopper portion 53. Position on the downstream side of the direction. At the position on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 51 in the region R1 separated by the guide surface 52a and the pressing portion 53a, it is detected whether there is an abnormality in the position or posture of the workpiece 40.

Here, the region R1 separated by the guide surface 52a and the pressing portion 53a is set as the length of the overlapping portion of the pressing portion 53a and the region R1, and is equal to the length of the overlapping portion of the guiding surface 52a and the region R1. That is, the length of the portion where the region R1 overlaps with the guide surface 52a is the same as the length of the pressing portion 53a protruding toward the inside of the conveyance path compared to the guide surface 52a.

Fig. 14 is a plan view of the conveying device 50 in a state where a portion of the stopper portion 53 where the pressing portion 53a is formed is moved in a retracting direction.

The stopper portion 53 is located from a position arranged to extend along the direction that interrupts the conveying path of the conveyor belt 51 as shown in FIG. 13 to a position arranged so as to extend along the conveying path of the conveyor belt 51 as shown in FIG. 14. mobile. That is, the stopper part 53 moves from the stop position which stops the conveyance of the workpiece 40 by the conveyor belt 51 toward the conveyance position which does not stop the conveyance of the workpiece 40 by the conveyor belt 51. At this time, the motor 53c functions as a stopper moving means which moves the stopper 53 from a stop position to a conveyance position. Since the conveyor belt 51 is driven and the stopper portion 53 is also moved, the workpiece 40 is further transported to a position further downstream than the stopper portion 53. As shown in FIG. 14, the workpiece 40 is put in and disposed in the retreat portion 54. Inside. The workpiece 40 disposed inside the retreat portion 54 is taken out by, for example, a person, and is removed from the conveyance device 50.

(Structure of Stopper 53)

When the stopper part 53 is arrange | positioned so that the conveyance of the workpiece | work 40 may be stopped, as shown in FIG. 15, it is arrange | positioned diagonally with respect to the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyor belt 51. The stopper part 53 is arrange | positioned obliquely so that the front end part of the stopper part 53 may become more upstream than the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt 51. As shown in FIG.

Since the stopper portion 53 is disposed obliquely, the pressing portion 53 a of the stopper portion 53 that stops the conveyance of the workpiece 40 is inclined with respect to the conveyance direction of the conveyor belt 51. Therefore, it is comprised so that the angle formed between the guide surface 52a of the guide part 52 which guides conveyance, and the pressing part 53a becomes less than 90 degree | times, and becomes an acute angle.

Since the angle formed between the pressing portion 53a of the stopper portion 53 and the guide surface 52a of the guide portion 52 is formed at an acute angle, two pieces of the workpiece 40 having a triangular shape in plan view have two surfaces that intersect at an acute angle. An acute angle portion (acute angle portion) is sandwiched between the pressing portion 53a and the guide surface 52a. Since the portion of the workpiece 40 formed at an acute angle is held between the pressing portion 53a and the guide surface 52a and held at the holding position 51a, the workpiece 40 that has reached the holding position 51a is surely held by the pressing portion 53a and the guide surface 52a.

As shown in FIG. 15, the workpiece 40 may be inclined in such a manner that a part of the front direction in the conveyance direction is away from the guide surface 52 a in the guide portion 52 (40 c), or a posture of the work 40 may be part of the guide portion 52 in the rear direction in the conveyance direction When the guide surface 52a is inclined away (40d). The relatively small change in posture of the workpiece 40 can be corrected by sandwiching the workpiece 40 between the pressing portion 53a and the guide surface 52a.

When the workpiece 40 enters the region R1 separated by the pressing portion 53a and the guide surface 52a, the entrance of the region R1 separated by the pressing portion 53a and the guide surface 52a is relatively wide, so the workpiece 40 easily enters the region R1. . Moreover, since the stopper part 53 is arrange | positioned diagonally with respect to the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt 51, the area | region R1 is formed so that it may become narrow as it goes downstream in a conveyance direction. Therefore, as the workpiece 40 faces downstream in the region R1, the position and posture of the workpiece 40 is corrected by the pressing portion 53a and the guide surface 52a, so that the workpiece 40 faces the holding position 51a with the correct posture and position. Therefore, when the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a, the workpiece 40 is highly likely to be arranged in the correct position and posture.

In this way, even if the position and posture of the workpiece 40 changes before entering the region R1, the position and posture can be corrected within the region R1. Therefore, even if the position and posture of the workpiece 40 is slightly shifted before the workpiece 40 enters the region R1, the shift can be corrected within the region R1. Therefore, when reaching the holding position 51a, the workpiece 40 can be arranged in a correct position and posture.

Since the posture change of the workpiece 40 can be corrected, when the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a, the workpiece 40 is more surely arranged in the normal position and posture at the holding position 51a. Since the workpiece 40 is arranged in a normal position and posture when the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a, the workpiece 40 can be reliably adsorbed when the workpiece 40 is adsorbed by the adsorption head 18 of the boxing device main body 11. Therefore, the work 40 can be more reliably arranged on the sheet 71 in the work table 70.

In the case where the pressing portion of the stopper portion is arranged to extend in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt, the posture of the workpiece cannot be corrected when the workpiece reaches the holding position, and the workpiece is held in the same position as the workpiece. Boxing of workpieces. In this case, when the posture of the workpiece is shifted, the workpiece may not be accurately held. Therefore, when the workpiece is held, the workpiece is held in an offset state, and there is a possibility that the packing of the workpiece cannot be performed correctly.

In this embodiment, since the angle formed between the pressing portion 53a of the stopper portion 53 and the guide surface 52a of the guide portion 52 is formed as an acute angle, the workpiece 40 is sandwiched between the pressing portion 53a and the guide surface 52a and is stabilized. To keep. Therefore, when the boxing is performed by the boxing device main body 11, the workpiece 40 can be reliably held, and the boxing can be performed more accurately.

(Packing process)

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart when the boxing operation of the workpiece 40 is performed by the boxing device 10.

When the workpiece 40 is conveyed by the conveyor belt 51 and reaches the holding position 51a (S1), it is determined by the front-end side sensor 55 whether the workpiece 40 has reached the holding position 51a in a normal position and posture. Whether the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a in a normal position or posture is determined based on whether or not the workpiece 40 has been detected by the front-end-side sensor 55 when the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a (S2). At this time, it is detected whether a workpiece 40 exists in a detection position inside a region R1 separated by the guide surface 52a and the pressing portion 53a (first detection step).

When the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a, the light emitting portion 55a of the front-end side sensor 55 emits light. If the light is not received by the light receiving portion 55b, it is determined that the workpiece 40 is in the holding position 51a in a normal position and posture. If it is determined that the work 40 is in the normal position and posture at the holding position 51a, it is determined that the work 40 is disposed at the holding position 51a in a posture that can be accurately held by the suction head 18 (S3).

If it is determined that the work 40 is disposed at the holding position 51a in a posture capable of being accurately held by the suction head 18, the suction head 18 holds the work 40 by suction, and arranges the work 40 on the sheet 71 of the work table 70 (S4) . In this embodiment, while the suction head 18 is approaching the workpiece 40 and the suction head 18 is holding the workpiece 40 while holding it, the conveyance by the conveyor 51 is stopped. With the conveyor belt 51 stopped, the suction head 18 sucks and holds the workpiece 40.

If the arrangement of the workpieces 40 on the sheet 71 of the work table 70 is repeated, and the number of the workpieces 40 that can be arranged on the sheet 71 is arranged, the workpieces 40 on the sheet 71 are taken together by the clamping unit. 19 Hold. In this embodiment, the four workpieces 40 are held together by the clamping unit 19. If the workpieces 40 on the sheet 71 are held by the clamping unit 19 together, the clamping unit 19 moves to the box 41 so that the workpieces 40 held by the clamping unit 19 are arranged inside the box 41 (S5). Thereby, the workpiece 40 can be efficiently arranged inside the box 41.

On the other hand, in S2, when the workpiece 40 fails to detect the workpiece 40 by the front-end side sensor 55 when the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a, it is determined that the position and posture of the workpiece 40 are abnormal (S6) . That is, when the workpiece 40 is transported to the detection position of the front-end side sensor 55 and it is detected that the workpiece 40 does not exist due to the detection position of the front-end side sensor 55, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the transport of the workpiece (No. 1 judgment step). When the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a, when the light-emitting portion 55a of the front-end side sensor 55 emits light, and the light from the light-emitting portion 55a is received by the light-receiving portion 55b, it is determined that there is no light at the predetermined position of the holding position 51a. Covered objects. Therefore, it is determined that the workpiece 40 does not exist in the detection position inside the holding position 51a, and the workpiece 40 is not arranged in the holding position 51a in a normal position and posture. Therefore, it is determined that the posture and position of the workpiece 40 are abnormal.

If it is determined that there is an abnormality in the posture or position of the workpiece 40, there is a possibility that the suction and holding of the suction head 18 cannot be performed accurately, so the workpiece 40 is moved to the retreat portion 54 and the workpiece 40 is retracted from the conveyance path (S7).

When the workpiece 40 is moved toward the retreating portion 54, the conveyance belt 51 is driven to carry the workpiece 40 while the stopper portion 53 is moved to the downstream side in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 51. Thereby, the workpiece | work 40 moves to the downstream side of the conveyance direction of the conveyor belt 51 rather than the holding position 51a. When reaching the end portion on the downstream side in the conveyor belt 51, the workpiece 40 is inserted into the retreat portion 54. Thereby, the workpiece 40 is arranged inside the retreat portion 54.

When the workpiece 40 is disposed inside the retreat portion 54, the workpiece 40 is removed from the retreat portion 54 by a person (S8). Thereby, the workpiece 40 is removed from the conveyance device 50.

As described above, according to the method for transporting the workpiece 40 in this embodiment, when the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a, if the posture or position of the workpiece 40 is abnormal, the situation can be detected. When an abnormality is detected in the posture and position of the workpiece 40, the workpiece 40 can be retracted to the retreating portion 54 to exclude the workpiece 40 from the conveying path.

When there is an abnormality in the position or posture of the workpiece 40, the abnormal workpiece 40 is excluded from the conveying path, so the abnormal workpiece 40 does not hinder the adsorption and holding of the workpiece 40 that is subsequently transferred to the holding position 51a. Therefore, the boxing operation of the workpieces 40 that are continuously conveyed can be performed more smoothly.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the workpiece 40 retracted to the retreat portion 54 is removed by a human hand, but the present invention is not limited to this. The workpiece 40 that has been retracted to the retreat section 54 may be automatically removed from the conveying device 50. The workpiece 40 that has been retracted to the retreat section 54 is returned to the conveyor belt 51 and transported again. The workpiece 40 may be held by the boxing device main body section 11 and disposed inside the box 41.

(Second Embodiment)

Next, a boxing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, the description of the part having the same configuration as the first embodiment is omitted, and only the different part will be described.

In the first embodiment, the front-end side sensor 55 detects whether or not the workpiece 40 is arranged at the holding position 51a in a normal position and posture. In the second embodiment, the front-end side sensor 55 and the stay sensor 56 are used to detect whether or not a plurality of workpieces 40 are left around the holding position 51a.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the periphery of the holding position 51a in the conveying device 50 in a state where the plurality of workpieces 40 are arranged around the holding position 51a and the workpieces 40 stay.

The work 40 reaches the holding position 51 a by being conveyed by the conveyor belt 51. At this time, if the position and posture of the first workpiece 40 are abnormal, and the next workpiece 40 is continuously conveyed, the workpiece 40 having abnormal positions and postures will prevent the workpiece 40 being transferred after being held. Possibility of stagnation of each workpiece 40. Therefore, it is also possible to detect whether a plurality of workpieces 40 are left around the holding position 51a. When stagnation of the plurality of workpieces 40 occurs, the stagnation of the plurality of workpieces 40 can also be removed from the transport path.

When detecting whether a plurality of workpieces 40 are retained, first, when the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a, the light emitting portion 55a of the front-end side sensor 55 emits light. When the light emitting unit 55a emits light, if there is an abnormality in the position or posture of the workpiece 40, the light reaches the light receiving unit 55b without being blocked by the workpiece 40. When the light from the light emitting portion 55a is received by the light receiving portion 55b, there is a high possibility that the position and posture of the workpiece 40 is abnormal. In the second embodiment, it has not been determined at this stage that the conveyance of the workpiece 40 has detected an abnormality. In this state, since the workpiece 40 is not detected at the position of the front-end side sensor 55, the conveyer belt 51 is continuously driven to continue the conveyance of the workpiece 40. Therefore, after that, the workpiece 40 is continuously conveyed toward the holding position 51a.

FIG. 17 shows a state in which, when there is an abnormality in the position and posture of the first workpiece 40, two workpieces 40 are continuously transported toward the holding position 51a, and a total of three workpieces 40 are transported to the holding position 51a. Surrounding. Therefore, three workpieces 40 are retained around the holding position 51a.

When the three workpieces 40 are in the stagnated state, the stagnated workpieces 40 are detected by the dwell sensor 56. The stagnation sensor 56 detects the presence or absence of the workpiece 40 at a position more upstream than the front-end sensor 55. The detection position (stagnation position) of the stagnation sensor 56 is located more upstream than the detection position of the front-end side sensor 55 by at least the length of the workpiece 40 along the conveyance direction. Since the detection position of the retention sensor 56 is located more upstream than the detection position of the front-end side sensor 55 by the length of the workpiece 40, it is possible to detect the situation when the retention is caused by the plurality of workpieces 40. Based on the detection result of the presence or absence of the workpiece 40 by the front-side sensor 55 and the detection result of whether the workpiece 40 is retained by the retention sensor 56, it is possible to detect whether there is a plurality of retentions. Workpiece 40.

The light emitted from the light emitting section 56a in the staying sensor 56 is in a state of being blocked by the staying workpiece 40 and not being received by the light receiving section 56b. If it is in this state, the presence of the workpiece 40 at the detection position of the retention sensor 56 is detected, and the plurality of workpieces 40 are retained by the retention sensor 56.

In this way, when it is detected that the workpiece 40 does not exist due to the detection position of the front-end side sensor 55 and it is detected that the workpiece 40 is retained due to the detection position (retention position) of the retention sensor 56, it is determined that there are multiple workpieces 40. The workpiece 40 is retained. Therefore, it is determined that the conveyance of the workpiece 40 is abnormal. At this time, the control unit 14 functions as a determination means (a second determination means) for determining whether an abnormality has occurred in the conveyance of the workpiece 40.

When a plurality of workpieces 40 are detected, as shown in FIG. 18, the conveyor 51 is driven and the stopper 53 is moved. The rotation shaft 53b is rotated by the drive motor 53c, so that the portion of the stopper portion 53 where the pressing portion 53a is formed is moved in a direction retracting from the transport path of the workpiece 40.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of the conveying device 50 in a state where a portion of the stopper portion 53 where the pressing portion 53a is formed is moved in a retreating direction in a state where a plurality of workpieces 40 are staying.

If a stagnation is detected due to the plurality of workpieces 40, the stopper portion 53 is positioned from the position arranged to extend along the direction that interrupts the conveying path of the conveyor belt 51 as shown in FIG. The position moved along the conveying path of the conveyor belt 51 is moved. That is, the stopper part 53 moves from the stop position which stops the conveyance of the workpiece 40 by the conveyor belt 51 toward the conveyance position which does not stop the conveyance of the workpiece 40 by the conveyor belt 51. At this time, the motor 53c functions as a stopper moving means which moves the stopper 53 from a stop position to a conveyance position.

Since the conveyor belt 51 is driven and the stopper portion 53 is moved, the plurality of workpieces 40 are further transported to a position further downstream than the stopper portion 53. As shown in FIG. 18, the plurality of workpieces 40 are put in and arranged in the retreat portion. 54 inside. The workpiece 40 disposed inside the retreat portion 54 is taken out by, for example, a person, and is removed from the conveyance device 50.

(Packing process)

FIG. 19 shows a flowchart when the boxing operation of the workpiece 40 is performed by the boxing device 10.

When the workpiece 40 is conveyed by the conveyor belt 51 and reaches the holding position 51a (S21), it is judged by the front-end side sensor 55 whether the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a in a normal position and posture. Whether the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a in a normal position or posture is determined based on whether or not the workpiece 40 can be detected by the front-end sensor 55 at the time point when the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a (S22) (No. 1 Detection steps).

When the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a, the light emitting part 55a of the front-end side sensor 55 emits light. If the light is not received by the light receiving part 55b, it is determined that the workpiece 40 is in the normal position and posture at the holding position 51a, and it is determined as a workpiece 40 is arranged at the holding position 51a in a posture capable of being accurately held by the suction head 18 (S23).

If it is determined that the workpiece 40 is disposed at the holding position 51a in a posture capable of being accurately held by the suction head 18, the suction head 18 holds the workpiece 40 by suction and arranges it on the sheet 71 of the work table 70 (S24) . In this embodiment, while the suction head 18 approaches the workpiece 40 and the suction head 18 wants to hold the workpiece 40 while holding it, the conveyance of the conveyor belt 51 is stopped. With the conveyor belt 51 stopped, the suction head 18 sucks and holds the workpiece 40.

If the arrangement of the workpieces 40 on the sheet 71 of the work table 70 is repeated four times, and the arrangement of the four workpieces 40 on the sheet 71 is performed, the four workpieces 40 on the sheet 71 are collectively taken by the clamping unit 19 Hold on. If the four workpieces 40 on the sheet 71 are held by the clamping unit 19 together, the clamping unit 19 moves to the box 41, and the four workpieces 40 held by the clamping unit 19 are arranged inside the box 41 (S25) .

In S22, even when the workpiece 40 fails to detect the workpiece 40 by the front-end side sensor 55 even when the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a, it is not determined that there is an abnormality in the conveyance in the second embodiment. When the workpiece 40 cannot be detected by the front-end sensor 55, the presence or absence of the workpiece 40 is detected by the retention sensor 56 (S26). In other words, the stay sensor 56 detects whether or not the workpiece 40 is retained at a position (stay position) that is closer to the upstream side than the detection position of the front-end sensor 55 (second detection step).

When the light emitted from the light emitting section 56a in the staying sensor 56 is not received by the light receiving section 56b, it is determined that the workpiece 40 shields the light between the light emitting section 56a and the light receiving section 56b, and the light emitting section 56a and the light receiving section There is a workpiece 40 between 56b. That is, the work 40 is detected by the stay sensor 56. When the workpiece 40 is detected by the retention sensor 56, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the position and posture of the workpiece 40, and a plurality of workpieces are arranged around the holding position 51 a, and the plurality of workpieces 40 are retained (S27). That is, when it is detected that the workpiece 40 does not exist due to the detection position of the front-end-side sensor 55 and it is detected that the workpiece 40 is retained due to the detection position (retention position) of the retention sensor 56, it is determined that a plurality is generated Of the workpieces 40 remained. Therefore, it is determined that the conveyance of the workpiece 40 is abnormal. In this way, it is determined whether an abnormality has occurred in the conveyance of the workpiece 40 (second determination step).

If it is determined by the retention sensor 56 that a plurality of workpieces 40 are retained, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the conveyance of the workpieces 40 and there is a possibility that the adsorption and holding of the adsorption head 18 may not be performed correctly. Therefore, the plurality of workpieces 40 are moved to the retreat section 54 and the plurality of workpieces 40 are retracted from the conveyance path (S28).

When the plurality of workpieces 40 are moved to the retreating portion 54, the conveyance belt 51 is driven to carry the workpiece 40 while the stopper portion 53 is moved to the downstream side in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 51. As a result, the plurality of workpieces 40 that have stayed move toward the downstream side in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 51 more than the holding position 51a. When the plurality of workpieces 40 reach the end portion on the downstream side of the conveyor belt 51, the plurality of workpieces 40 are put into the retreat portion 54. Thereby, the plurality of workpieces 40 are arranged inside the retreat portion 54.

In the present embodiment, at the time point when the three workpieces 40 are arranged around the holding position 51a, the workpiece 40 is detected by the retention sensor 56 and the workpiece 40 is retained. Therefore, when the three workpieces 40 stay around the holding position 51a, the three workpieces 40 are moved to the downstream side of the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 51 than the holding position 51a, and the three workpieces 40 are arranged inside the retreat portion 54.

If the plurality of workpieces 40 are arranged inside the retreat portion 54, the person removes the plurality of workpieces 40 from the retreat portion 54 (S29). Thereby, the plurality of workpieces 40 are excluded from the conveyance device 50.

When the workpiece 40 is not detected by the retention sensor 56 in S26, the workpiece 40 is not detected by the front-end sensor 55, and the workpiece 40 is not detected by the retention sensor 56. Therefore, the conveyance is performed. The belt 51 continues the conveyance of the workpiece 40. The flow returns to S22.

If the next workpiece 40 reaches the periphery of the holding position 51a, then in S22, it is judged again by the front-end side sensor 55 whether the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a in a normal position and posture. When the workpiece 40 reaches the holding position 51a, the workpiece 40 is detected by the front-end side sensor 55 (S22).

In the following, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the conveyance of the workpiece 40 according to the above-mentioned flow.

In this way, in order to determine whether there is an abnormality in the conveyance of the workpiece 40, it is not only determined based on the detection result of the presence or absence of the workpiece at the detection position of the front-side sensor 55, but is detected by using the retention sensor 56 It is determined whether a plurality of workpieces 40 are retained. Therefore, in the second embodiment, it is determined that the abnormality in the conveyance of the workpiece 40 is caused when the workpiece 40 is detained.

When the workpiece 40 is transported, the workpiece 40 may be intermittently transported in the transport path because it is judged to be inappropriate in the inspection of the upstream-side workpiece 40 and removed from the transport path. In this case, if the workpiece 40 is retracted to the retreat section 54 when the workpiece 40 is not detected at the time when the workpiece 40 is transported, the number of retreat steps of the workpiece 40 to the retreat section 54 is increased, and accordingly, It takes a long time to transport the workpiece 40. In addition, although the workpiece is normally transferred, the retreat step to the retreat section 54 may be performed, and time may be consumed excessively.

In this embodiment, when a plurality of workpieces 40 are stagnated, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the transportation of the workpieces 40. Therefore, when the workpiece 40 is transferred by intermittent transfer, and when the workpiece 40 is not detected at the time when the workpiece 40 is transferred, the retreat step to the retreat portion 54 is not performed, and the next workpiece 40 is transferred to the holding position 51a. . Therefore, the number of unnecessary retraction steps can be reduced, and the workpiece 40 can be transferred more efficiently. Since the workpiece 40 can be transferred more efficiently, the time taken to transfer the workpiece 40 can be reduced. Therefore, the cost for conveying the workpiece 40 can be reduced.

As described above, according to the conveying method of the present embodiment, when a plurality of workpieces 40 are stagnated at positions around the holding position 51a, the situation can be detected. When the stagnation of the plurality of workpieces 40 is detected, the plurality of workpieces 40 can be retracted to the retreating section 54 and the plurality of workpieces 40 can be excluded from the conveyance path. Thereby, the workpiece 40 can be transferred and boxed afterwards, and continuous workpiece 40 can be transferred and boxed.

(Other embodiments)

Moreover, in the said embodiment, the form which the front-end side sensor 55 and the retention sensor 56 consisted of the optical sensor provided with the light emitting part and the light receiving part, and using LED as a light emitting part was demonstrated. However, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. As the light emitting section and the light receiving section, other optical configurations may be used. For example, the light emitting section may use a form that emits laser light. As long as the presence or absence of the workpiece 40 can be detected between the light emitting section and the light receiving section, any light emitting section and light receiving section can be used.

In addition, the front-end side sensor 55 and the retention sensor 56 may be configured by mechanical sensors. FIG. 20 is a plan view showing an example in which a mechanical sensor is used as the front-end sensor 55.

As shown in FIG. 20, a sensor member 57 is disposed in a region separated by the pressing portion 53 a of the stopper portion 53 and the guide surface 52 a of the guide portion 52. The sensor member 57 is configured such that the abutting portion 57 a that abuts against the work 40 can rotate around the rotation shaft 57 b. In addition, the sensor member 57 includes a detection unit 57c that is in contact with the contact portion 57a and detects that the workpiece 40 is in contact with the contact portion 57a. The detection unit 57c is configured to be capable of abutting against the abutting portion 57a when the abutting portion 57a rotates around the rotation shaft 57b as a center, thereby detecting the abutment with the abutting portion 57a.

When the workpiece 40 is transported and reaches an area separated by the pressing portion 53a of the stopper portion 53 and the guide surface 52a of the guide portion 52, the workpiece 40 comes into contact with the contact portion 57a, and the contact portion 57a and the detection portion 57c abuts, and the situation can be detected by the detecting section 57c. Thereby, when the workpiece 40 reaches an area separated by the pressing portion 53a and the guide surface 52a, the situation can be detected by the sensor member 57.

In this way, the front-end side sensor 55 and the staying sensor 56 may be configured by mechanical sensors.

In addition, the front-end side sensor 55 and the staying sensor 56 may be constituted by mechanical sensors of a different form from the sensor member 57 described above. As long as the presence or absence of the workpiece 40 can be detected at the respective detection positions, it can be any other type of sensor. In addition, the front-end side sensor 55 and the retention sensor 56 may use different types of sensors.

Claims (9)

A conveying device is characterized by comprising: conveying means for conveying a workpiece having an acute angle portion having two faces crossing at an acute angle; and a guide portion provided in such a manner that the guide surface for guiding the workpiece extends along the conveying direction, Guide the conveyance of the workpiece conveyed by the conveying means; the stopper portion has a pressing portion that stops the conveyance of the workpiece by stopping the workpiece, and is formed between the guide surface and the pressing portion The angle becomes an acute angle configuration with an angle greater than the angle of the acute angle portion in the workpiece; the first detection means detects whether the detection position inside the area between the guide surface and the pressing portion is There is the above-mentioned workpiece; and a first judging means, when the above-mentioned workpiece is transported to the detection position, when the first detection means detects that the workpiece does not exist due to the detection position, it is judged as the workpiece There are abnormalities in the transportation. The conveying device according to claim 1, comprising a passing detection means capable of detecting that the workpiece passes a trigger position upstream of the conveying direction of the conveying means from the conveying means, the above The time point is the time elapsed after the passage of the workpiece from the trigger position to the detection position after the trigger position is detected by the detection means. A conveying device is characterized by comprising: conveying means for conveying a workpiece having an acute angle portion having two faces crossing at an acute angle; and a guide portion provided in such a manner that the guide surface for guiding the workpiece extends along the conveying direction, Guide the conveyance of the workpiece conveyed by the conveying means; the stopper portion has a pressing portion that stops the conveyance of the workpiece by stopping the workpiece, and is formed between the guide surface and the pressing portion The angle becomes an acute angle configuration with an angle greater than the angle of the acute angle portion in the workpiece; the first detection means detects whether the detection position inside the area between the guide surface and the pressing portion is The above-mentioned workpiece exists; the second detection means, which detects whether the above-mentioned workpiece is retained at a retention position on the upstream side of the first detection means; and the second determination means, which uses the first detection means When it is detected that the workpiece does not exist at the detection position, and the second detection means detects that the workpiece stays at the retention position, it is determined that the transportation of the workpiece is abnormal. The conveying device according to claim 3, wherein the stagnation position is located upstream of the detection position by at least the length of the workpiece along the conveyance direction. The conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the workpiece has a triangular column shape having three acute angle portions. The conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which includes stopper moving means that stops the stopper from the pressing part to stop the conveyance of the workpiece The pressing portion does not move the transfer position where the transfer of the workpiece is stopped. The conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, when it is determined that the conveyance of the workpiece is abnormal, the workpiece is arranged in a retreat portion retreating from the conveyance path of the conveying means. A conveying method which uses a conveying device for conveying a workpiece. The conveying device includes: conveying means for conveying the workpiece having an acute angle portion having two surfaces crossing at an acute angle; a guide portion for guiding the workpiece The guide surface is provided to extend along the conveying direction to guide the conveyance of the workpiece conveyed by the conveying means; and the stopper portion has a pressing portion that stops the conveyance of the workpiece by blocking the workpiece, and It is arranged such that the angle formed between the guide surface and the pressing portion becomes an acute angle having an angle equal to or greater than the angle of the acute angle portion in the workpiece; and the conveying method is characterized by having: a first detection step, which detects Detecting whether the workpiece exists in the detection position inside the area between the guide surface and the pressing portion; and a first judgment step in which the workpiece is transported to the detection in the first detection step At the time of the position, if the workpiece does not exist at the detected position, it is determined that the conveyance of the workpiece is abnormal. A conveying method which uses a conveying device for conveying a workpiece. The conveying device includes: conveying means for conveying the workpiece having an acute angle portion having two surfaces crossing at an acute angle; a guide portion for guiding the workpiece The guide surface is provided to extend along the conveying direction to guide the conveyance of the workpiece conveyed by the conveying means; and the stopper portion has a pressing portion that stops the conveyance of the workpiece by blocking the workpiece, and It is arranged such that the angle formed between the guide surface and the pressing portion becomes an acute angle having an angle equal to or greater than the angle of the acute angle portion in the workpiece; and the conveying method is characterized by having: a first detection step, which detects Measure whether the workpiece exists in the detection position inside the area between the guide surface and the pressing portion; in the second detection step, it detects whether there is a stagnation position in the retention position on the upstream side of the detection position The above-mentioned workpiece; and a second judgment step, which detects that the above-mentioned workpiece does not exist due to the above-mentioned detection position in the above-mentioned first detection step, and detects that the above-mentioned retention position remains in the above-mentioned second detection step In the case of a workpiece, it is judged that the conveyance of the above-mentioned workpiece is abnormal.