WO2019009290A1

WO2019009290A1 - Robot system and packaging system

Info

Publication number: WO2019009290A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/025208
Authority: WO
Inventors: 和範平田; 健太郎東
Original assignee: 川崎重工業株式会社
Priority date: 2017-07-05
Filing date: 2018-07-03
Publication date: 2019-01-10
Also published as: TW201906698A; JP2019014003A

Abstract

The present invention is provided with: a robot arm (13A) for moving a distal end relative to a proximal end in a three-dimensional space; and a holding unit (26) connected to the distal end of the robot arm. The holding unit comprises: a base part (31) connected to the distal end of the robot arm; a holding part (36) capable of holding an article, the holding part (36) being connected to the base part so as to be rotatable around a turning axis line (Lr) between a first angle position and a second angle position, and extending in the first direction (D2), wherein the turning axis line is inclined relative to the first direction; and a turning drive part (47) for rotating the holding part between the first angle position and the second angle position.

Description

Robot system and packaging system

The present invention relates to a robot system and a packaging system.

There is known a robot hand capable of changing the posture of a workpiece held conventionally (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The robot hand has a main body having one end attached to the end of the robot, a link rotatably provided relative to the main body, and a workpiece holder provided at the free end of the link for holding a workpiece. Then, by rotating the link about the pivoting center line C1 extending in the Y-axis direction, the work holding portion is in the X-axis direction (longitudinal direction of the main body) and the Z-axis direction (shorter direction of the main body) It can be arranged.

JP 2014-124716 A

However, the robot hand described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the space required for the link turning operation is large.

In order to solve the above problems, a robot system according to an embodiment includes a robot arm for moving a distal end in a three-dimensional space with respect to a proximal end, and a holding unit connected to the distal end of the robot arm. , The holding unit is capable of holding an article, with a base connected to the distal end of the robot arm, and rotatable between a first angular position and a second angular position about a pivot axis A holding portion connected to the base and extending in a first direction, and the pivot axis inclines with respect to the first direction, and the holding portion is rotated between the first angular position and the second angular position. And a pivot drive to move.

According to this configuration, by turning the holding unit, it is possible to change the posture of the article held by the holding unit. This makes it possible to reduce the space required for changing the posture of the article, and to prevent interference with surrounding articles.

The present invention produces an effect that the space required for changing the posture of the article can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a perspective view which shows the structural example of the packaging system containing the robot system which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view which shows the structural example of the robot main body of the packaging system of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structural example of the 1st holding | maintenance unit of the packaging system of FIG. 1, and is a figure which shows the state which made the holding | maintenance part be located in a 1st angular position. It is a side view which shows the structural example of the 1st holding | maintenance unit of the packaging system of FIG. 1, and is a figure which shows the state which made the holding | maintenance part be located in a 1st angular position. It is a perspective view which shows the structural example of the 1st holding | maintenance unit of the packaging system of FIG. 1, and is a figure which shows the state which made the holding | maintenance part be located in a 2nd angular position. It is a block diagram which shows roughly the structural example of the control system of the robot system contained in the packaging system of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the packaging system of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the robot system contained in the packaging system of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the operation example of the packaging system of FIG. It is a side view which shows the operation example of the packaging system of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the operation example of the packaging system of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of the 1st holding | maintenance unit of the packaging system containing the robot system which concerns on embodiment.

A robot system according to an aspect comprises a robot arm for moving a distal end relative to a proximal end in a three-dimensional space, and a holding unit connected to the distal end of the robot arm, the holding unit And a base connected to the distal end of the robot arm, capable of holding an article, and pivotally connected to the base between a first angular position and a second angular position about a pivot axis, A holding portion extending in a first direction, the turning axis inclined with respect to the first direction, and a turning drive portion for turning the holding portion between the first angular position and the second angular position; including.

The holding portion includes a first holding piece, a second holding piece facing the first holding piece, a holding position at which the first holding piece and the second holding piece approach each other, the first holding piece, and The base end of the first holding piece and the second holding piece such that at least one of the first holding piece and the second holding piece can be moved between the second holding piece and the release position in which the second holding pieces are separated from each other. A support portion supported by the support portion, and a support member supporting portion rotatably connected to the base between the first angular position and the second angular position around the pivot axis, the first support piece and the support The sheet processing apparatus further includes a sandwiching piece drive unit for moving at least one of the second sandwiching pieces between the sandwiching position and the release position, wherein the sandwiching piece support is positioned at the first angular position in the first direction. Face in which the first holding piece and the second holding piece face each other And it may be a direction orthogonal.

According to this configuration, by turning the holding unit between the first angular position and the second angular position, it is possible to change the attitude of the article held by the holding unit. This makes it possible to reduce the space required for changing the posture of the article, and to prevent interference with surrounding articles.

The holding portion includes an abutting portion that abuts against the article when holding the article, and the base is offset in a second direction orthogonal to the facing direction and the first direction with respect to the abutting portion. May be disposed.

According to this configuration, interference with surrounding articles can be effectively prevented.

The base portion is positioned closer to the proximal end portion from the distal end portion of the first sandwiching piece and the second sandwiching piece than the proximal end portions of the first sandwiching piece and the second sandwiching piece in the first direction. The base end portions of the first holding piece and the second holding piece may be connected to the holding piece supporting portion.

According to this configuration, it is possible to further reduce the space required for changing the posture of the article held by the holding unit.

The pivot axis is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the first direction, and the second angular position is a position rotated 180 degrees from the first angular position, and the first holding piece and the second holding piece Each may extend in a second direction orthogonal to the facing direction and the first direction at each of the second angular positions.

According to this configuration, it is possible to switch the vertical and horizontal postures of the article held by the holding unit.

The first pinching piece may be fixed to the pinching piece supporting portion, and the pinching piece supporting portion may support the second pinching piece so as to be movable between the pinching position and the release position.

According to this configuration, it is possible to reduce the disturbance of the posture of the article, which occurs when the article is held by the holding unit.

A first robot arm and a second robot arm that respectively move the distal end relative to the proximal end in a three-dimensional space; a first holding unit connected to the distal end of the first robot arm; A second holding unit connected to a distal end of the two robot arms, wherein the first holding unit and the second holding unit are each connected to a base connected to a distal end of the corresponding robot arm; An article can be held, and is pivotably connected to the base between a first angular position and a second angular position about a pivot axis and extends in a first direction, the pivot axis being relative to the first direction The holder may include a holder that tilts in an inclined manner, and a pivot drive that rotates the holder between the first angular position and the second angular position.

According to this configuration, by turning the holding unit, the postures of a large number of articles held by the holding unit can be changed. This makes it possible to reduce the space required for changing the posture of the article, and to prevent interference with surrounding articles. Moreover, many articles can be put together and packed in a packaging material.

The first holding pieces of each of the first holding unit and the second holding unit are fixed to the holding piece supporting portion, and the holding piece supporting portions of the first holding unit and the second holding unit are The second holding piece is supported so as to be movable between the holding position and the release position, and the first holding piece of the first holding unit is more movable than the second holding piece of the first holding unit. The first holding piece of the second holding unit may be disposed on one side in the facing direction, and the first holding piece of the second holding unit may be disposed on the other side in the facing direction than the second holding piece of the second holding unit. .

According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent interference between the holding piece of the first robot arm and the holding piece of the second robot arm.

In order to solve the above problems, a packaging system according to an aspect comprises an article transport apparatus having a transport path for transporting an aligned article group consisting of a predetermined number of articles aligned in the transport direction to a standby position; A robot system for transferring the group of aligned articles to a packaging position on the side of the transport path, the robot system moving the distal end relative to the proximal end in a three-dimensional space; A holding unit connected to the distal end of the robot arm, the holding unit being capable of holding the base connected to the distal end of the robot arm and the group of alignment articles, and having a pivot axis A holder pivotally coupled to the base between a first angular position and a second angular position and extending in a first direction, the pivot axis being inclined with respect to the first direction; Front of the department A rotation driving unit that rotates between the first angular position the second angular position, may be included.

According to this configuration, it is possible to change the posture of the aligned article group held by the holding unit by pivoting the holding unit. This makes it possible to reduce the space required for changing the posture of the article, and to prevent interference with surrounding articles.

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by the following embodiments. Also, in the following, the same or corresponding elements will be denoted by the same reference symbols throughout all the drawings, and redundant description will be omitted.

[Configuration example of packaging system]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a packaging system 100 including a robot system 1 according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the packaging system 100 is, for example, a device that performs an operation of bagging a plurality of pillow packaged items W in an outer bag 110. The article W is, for example, a thin and stick-shaped elongated article. Further, the outer bag 110 has an opening 111 on the upper surface, and is raised in a state where ten articles W arranged in a line are erected through the opening 111, that is, the longitudinal direction of each article W is directed vertically. It is comprised so that it can accommodate in an inside in a state. The packaging system 100 according to the present embodiment performs an operation of bagging in a state where ten articles W are aligned in a row. The packaging system 100 includes a robot system 1, an article conveying device 60, and a packaging bag conveying device 66.

[Configuration Example of Article Transport Device]
The article transport apparatus 60 has a transport path for transporting an aligned article group G including a predetermined number of articles W aligned in the transport direction Dt to the first standby position P1 and the second standby position P2. That is, the article conveyance device 60 has a conveyance conveyor including an article conveyance belt 61 that is driven to circulate intermittently. The article conveying belt 61 is wound around a pair of sprockets (not shown) and revolves by rotation of one sprocket. Then, on the upper surface of the article conveying belt 61, a first conveying path La and a second conveying path Lb of two articles aligned in the width direction of the article conveying belt 61 are set. The first transport path La is a transport path associated with a first robot arm 13A described later, and the second transport path Lb is a transport path associated with a second robot arm 13B described later. The articles W are transferred and placed on the first conveyance path La and the second conveyance path Lb from an article transfer device (not shown) provided on the upstream side of the conveyance direction Dt of the article conveyance device 60 respectively. The article W placed on the article transport belt 61 is placed on the first transport path La and the second transport path Lb such that the longitudinal direction of the article W faces the width direction of the article transport belt 61. Therefore, the article W placed on the article transport belt 61 is placed on the first transport path La and the second transport path Lb such that the longitudinal direction of the article W is horizontal. Thereby, the article transport apparatus 60 can transport the article W in a stable state. Further, the article transfer apparatus places five articles W in a line in the conveyance direction Dt on the first conveyance path La and the second conveyance path Lb. These five articles W constitute a group of aligned articles G.

Then, the article transport apparatus 60 drives the article transport belt 61 to sequentially arrange the group of aligned articles G placed on the first transport path La and the second transport path Lb at the first standby position P1 and the second standby state. The article conveying belt 61 is configured to be stopped when it is conveyed toward the position P2 and the aligned article group G of each conveyance path is positioned at the first standby position P1 and the second standby position P2, respectively. At this time, a signal may be output to notify that the aligned article group G of each transport path is located at the first standby position P1 and the second standby position P2, respectively. The second standby position P2 is set on the upstream side of the first standby position P1 by one stage in the transport direction Dt. Thereby, interference between the first holding unit 26 (details will be described later) moving on the article conveyance belt 61 and the second holding unit 27 (details will be described later) can be prevented.

Further, on both sides of the article conveying belt 61, a pair of side walls 62 extending in the conveying direction Dt are disposed along the side edges of the article conveying belt 61. The pair of side walls 62 prevent the article W placed on the article transport belt 61 from deviating from the top of the article transport belt 61.

[Composition of packing bag conveying device]
The packaging bag transport device 66 moves the outer bag 110 toward the packaging position Pa set to the side of the first transport path La and the second transport path Lb and positions it at the packaging position Pa. In addition, the packaging bag conveying device 66 moves the outer bag 110 stuffed with the article W from the packaging position Pa. That is, the packaging bag conveying apparatus 66 has a conveyor including the packaging bag conveying belt 67 which is driven to circulate intermittently. The packaging bag conveying belt 67 is wound around a pair of sprockets (not shown) and revolves by rotation of one sprocket. A plurality of packaging bag holders 68 aligned in the transport direction Dt are provided on the top surface of the packaging bag transport belt 67. The packaging bag holder 68 holds the end of the outer bag 110 and keeps the opening 111 of the outer bag 110 open. Thereby, the deformation of the outer bag 110 is prevented.

Then, the packaging bag transport device 66 drives the packaging bag transport belt 67 to sequentially transport the outer bag 110 toward the packaging position Pa, and when the outer bag 110 is positioned at the packaging position Pa, the packaging bag transport belt 67 is stopped. Let At this time, a signal may be output to notify that the outer bag 110 is located at the packaging position Pa.

[Example of Overall Configuration of Robot System]
The robot system 1 (see FIG. 6) is a single outer bag with the aligned article group G located at the first standby position P1 and the aligned article group G located at the second standby position P2 aligned together in a row Work to store in 110. The robot system 1 includes a robot body 10, a first holding unit 26, a second holding unit 27, and a control device 7 (see FIG. 6).

[Configuration example of robot body]
FIG. 2 is a front view showing a configuration example of the robot main body 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the robot body 10 is, for example, a horizontal articulated double arm robot including a robot arm unit 13 having a pair of robot arms (a first robot arm 13A and a second robot arm 13B). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the robot arm may be a vertical articulated robot arm.

The robot body 10 includes a carriage 12 and a robot arm unit 13 supported by the carriage 12. That is, the first robot arm 13A and the second robot arm 13B are supported by the carriage 12.

The carriage 12 has wheels 12 a and is configured to be movable. The carriage 12 includes a base shaft 16, and the base shaft 16 is fixed to the upper surface of the carriage 12. Further, the control device 7 is accommodated in the carriage 12. Therefore, the robot body 10 can be easily moved.

The robot arm unit 13 is configured to be capable of holding a holding unit (a first holding unit 26 and a second holding unit 27) to be described later, and to move the holding unit held within a predetermined operation range.

The robot arm unit 13 includes a first robot arm 13A and a second robot arm 13B.

The first robot arm 13A is configured to move the distal end relative to the proximal end in a three-dimensional space. Also. The first robot arm 13A is configured to be capable of holding the first holding unit 26 at the distal end, and is configured to move the held first holding unit 26 within a predetermined operation range.

The first robot arm 13A is a horizontal articulated robot arm as described above, and includes an arm unit 21, a wrist unit 22, a hand 23, and a robot arm drive unit 24 (see FIG. 6).

The arm unit 21 positions the wrist unit 22 and the hand 23 at an arbitrary position within the operation range. The arm portion 21 includes a first link 21a and a second link 21b extending in the horizontal direction. The first link 21 a is connected at its proximal end to the base shaft 16 of the carriage 12 by the rotary joint J 1 and is rotatable around a rotation axis L 1 passing through the axial center of the base shaft 16. The second link 21b is connected to the distal end of the first link 21a by the revolute joint J2 and is rotatable about a rotational axis L2 defined at the distal end of the first link 21a.

The wrist unit 22 changes the height position of the hand 23 connected to the end and changes the posture to an arbitrary posture around the rotation axis L3. The wrist unit 22 includes an elevation unit 22a and a rotation unit 22b.

The lifting unit 22a is connected to the distal end of the second link 21b by the linear motion joint J3 and can move up and down with respect to the second link 21b. The pivoting portion 22b is connected to the lower end portion of the lifting and lowering portion 22a by the revolute joint J4, and can pivot about a rotation axis L3 defined at the lower end of the lifting and lowering portion 22a.

In the present embodiment, the rotation axes L1 to L3 are parallel to each other, and extend, for example, in the vertical direction. Further, the extending direction of the rotation axes L1 to L3 and the moving direction of the moving up and down unit 22a are parallel to each other.

The robot arm drive unit 24 includes a servomotor (not shown) for driving provided so as to correspond to each of the joints J1 to J4 and an encoder (not shown) for detecting the rotation angle of the servomotor. Including. 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 21a of the first robot arm 13A and the first link 21a of the second robot arm 13B. And are arranged with a height difference at the top and bottom. Thus, the dual arm robot arm unit 13 can be configured compactly. In addition, the configuration of the dual arm robot arm unit 13 can be simplified.

The hand 23 is a mechanism that is attached to the wrist unit 22 and holds various tools. In the present embodiment, the hand 23 of the first robot arm 13A holds the first holding unit 26. The hand 23 includes a base 23a having a proximal end attached to the wrist portion 22, a pair of holders 23b (see FIG. 1) extending horizontally from the distal end of the base 23a, and a pair of holders 23b. And an open / close drive mechanism (not shown) for moving in a direction (open / close direction).

As shown in FIG. 1, the pair of holding members 23b are disposed to face each other in the opening and closing direction. The pair of holding members 23b has a recess formed on the opposite surface facing the other holding member 23b, and the connection members 32 of the first holding unit 26 described later (FIGS. 5, and is configured to release the held connection portions 32 by opening the pair of holding members 23b. Therefore, the first holding unit 26 held by the hand 23 of the first robot arm 13A is connected in series to the tip of the first robot arm 13A.

The second robot arm 13B is configured to move the distal end relative to the proximal end in a three-dimensional space. Further, the second robot arm 13B is configured to be capable of holding the second holding unit 27 at the distal end, and is configured to move the held second holding unit 27 within a predetermined operation range. . The other configuration of the second robot arm 13B is the same as that of the first robot arm 13A, and thus the detailed description thereof is omitted.

Thus, the first robot arm 13A and the second robot arm 13B are configured to be operable independently of each other.

In the present embodiment, the hand 23 of the first robot arm 13A is configured to operate on the downstream side in the conveyance direction Dt of the article transfer device 60 and the packaging bag transfer device 66 of the hand 23 of the second robot arm 13B. ing. In the following, in the transport direction Dt of the article transport device 60 and the packaging bag transport device 66, the side from the one robot arm to the other robot arm and the side from the other robot arm to the one robot arm 10 Inside, and the opposite direction may be called the outside of the robot body 10.

[Configuration Example of First Holding Unit and Second Holding Unit]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the first holding unit 26, and shows a state in which the holding portion 36 is positioned at a first angular position. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a configuration example of the first holding unit 26, and shows a state in which the holding portion 36 is positioned at a first angular position. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the first holding unit 26, and shows a state in which the holding portion 36 is positioned at the second angular position.

The first holding unit 26 collectively holds and holds the group of aligned articles G located at the first standby position P1 of the first conveyance path La. In addition, the first holding unit 26 releases and holds the held aligned article group G. As shown in FIG. 1, the first holding unit 26 is held by the hand 23 of the first robot arm 13A and connected to the distal end of the first robot arm 13A. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first holding unit 26 includes a base 31, a holding portion 36, a sandwiching piece driving portion 46 (see FIG. 6), and a swing driving portion 47 (see FIG. 6). .

The base 31 is a portion connected to the distal end of the first robot arm 13A. The base 31 is, as shown in FIG. 4, a first sandwiching piece 37 (details will be described later) in the first direction D2 more than the base end 51c of the contact part 51 of the first sandwiching piece 37 and the second sandwiching piece 38. And it is located in the side which goes to base end 51c from tip part 51d (details are mentioned below) of contact part 51 of the 2nd clamping piece 38. That is, in the first direction D2, the proximal end 51c of the contact portion 51 of the base 31, the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38, and the contact portion 51 of the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38. It is configured to line up in the order of the tip 51d. This makes it possible to reduce the space required to change the attitude of the aligned article group G.

The base 31 includes a connection 32. The connection portion 32 is configured to engage with the concave portions of the pair of holding members 23 b by closing the pair of holding members 23 b of the hand 23. For example, the connection portion 32 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a flange portion protruding in the radial direction is formed at the upper end portion and the middle portion. Then, the recessed portion between the both hooks is configured to be fitted with the recessed portion of the pair of holding members 23 b of the hand 23.

The holding portion 36 is a portion for holding the aligned article group G collectively. As described in detail below, in the present embodiment, the holding portion 36 is configured to hold the aligned article group G by sandwiching, but the holding means is not limited to this. The holding portion 36 includes a first holding piece 37, a second holding piece 38, and a holding piece supporting portion 39.

The first sandwiching piece 37 is a plate, and includes an abutting portion 51 that abuts on the aligned article group G when sandwiching the aligned article group G, and an extension 52 attached to the sandwiching piece support 39. In the present embodiment, one of the side edges 51 a of the pair of side edges extending in the longitudinal direction extends linearly in the first direction D2 described later. As a result, the workability in picking up the aligned article group G on the article transport belt 61 can be improved. Further, the extension portion 52 extends upward (in the second direction D3 described later) from a portion on the base end portion 51c side of the other side edge 51b of the pair of side edges extending in the longitudinal direction of the contact portion 51. Thus, the first clamping piece 37 is formed in a substantially L-shape.

The second holding piece 38 is a plate, and the inner side surface is disposed to face the inner side surface of the first holding piece 37. The direction in which the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38 face each other is referred to as a facing direction D1. For example, the first robot arm 13A and the second robot arm 13B move the first holding unit 26 and the second holding unit 27 so that the facing direction D1 is horizontal, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The second holding piece 38 is configured in the same manner as the first holding piece 37, and thus the detailed description thereof is omitted. The proximal end portions of the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38 are connected to the holding piece supporting portion 39. The sandwiching piece supporting portion 39 includes a pivoting portion 40, a connecting portion 41 and a guiding portion 42.

The pivoting portion 40 is fixed to a pivot shaft 49 (details will be described later), is connected to the base 31, and is shown at a first angular position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and around the pivot axis Lr (see FIG. 4). It is configured to be rotatable between the second angular position. The pivot axis Lr is inclined with respect to the first direction D2. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the turning axis Lr is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the first direction D2. Then, for example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38 respectively extend in a first direction D2 orthogonal to the facing direction D1 at a first angular position. The position is defined. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the second angular position is defined at a position rotated 180 degrees from the first angular position. Accordingly, the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38 are configured to extend in the second direction D3 orthogonal to the facing direction D1 and the first direction D2 at the second angular position, respectively. Note that, for example, the first robot arm 13A and the second robot arm 13B move the first holding unit 26 and the second holding unit 27 so that the first direction D2 faces in the horizontal direction and the second direction D3 faces in the vertical direction. Although it does not limit to this.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the pivot axis Lr is configured to pass through the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38 when viewed from the facing direction D1. That is, when the pivot axis Lr, the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38 are projected on a plane perpendicular to the facing direction D1, the pivot axis Lr is configured to pass through the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38 It is done. As a result, the space required for changing the posture of the alignment article group G can be further reduced.

The connecting portion 41 connects the rotating portion 40 and the guiding portion 42 as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. The connecting portion 41 is, for example, a plate-like body, one surface of which is attached to the pivoting portion 40 and the other surface of which is attached to the support portion 43 of the guiding portion 42. Between the pivoting portion 40 and the guiding portion 42 Intervenes in the

The guide portion 42 supports the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the guide portion 42 separates the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38 from each other at the holding position Pn where the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38 approach each other. The base end portions of the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38 are supported so that at least one of the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38 can be moved between the release position Pw and the release position Pw. In the present embodiment, the guide portion 42 supports the extension 52 of the second holding piece 38 so as to be movable between the holding position Pn and the release position Pw. That is, the guide portion 42 moves the second holding piece 38 in the facing direction D1 to make the second holding piece 38 approach the first holding piece 37, and the second holding piece 38 performs the first holding. It is configured to be moved between the release position Pw spaced apart from the piece 37. The guide portion 42 includes a support portion 43 and a movable portion 44. The support portion 43 is attached to the connection portion 41 as described above. The support portion 43 has a pair of guide holes that extend in the anti-curling direction D1 (not shown). The first holding piece 37 is fixed to the holding piece supporting portion 39 by fixing the extension portion 52 to the supporting portion 43. The movable portion 44 is a pair of rod-like bodies extending in the facing direction D1, and is engaged with the pair of guide holes of the support portion 43. The movable portion 44 is configured to move in the facing direction D1 by sliding on the guide hole of the support portion 43. The extension portion 52 of the second holding piece 38 is fixed to the movable portion 44 and supported by the guide portion 42.

Therefore, the base 31 and the pinching piece supporting portion 39 are in the second direction with respect to the contact portion 51 of the first pinching piece 37 and the second pinching piece 38 in a state where the pinching piece supporting portion 39 is positioned at the first angular position. It is arranged offset to D3. That is, the base 31 and the sandwiching piece supporting portion 39 are closer to one side from the one side edge 51a in the second direction D3 than the one side edge 51a of the contact portion 51 of the first sandwiching piece 37 and the second sandwiching piece 38 It is comprised so that it may be located in the side which faces edge 51b.

Further, in a state where the sandwiching piece supporting portion 39 is positioned at the second angular position, the sandwiching piece supporting portion 39 is disposed to be offset in the first direction D2 with respect to the contact portions 51 of the first sandwiching piece 37 and the second sandwiching piece 38 . That is, the base 31 and the sandwiching piece supporting portion 39 are closer to the other side from the one side edge 51a in the first direction D2 than the one side edge 51a of the contact portion 51 of the first sandwiching piece 37 and the second sandwiching piece 38 It is comprised so that it may be located in the side which faces edge 51b.

The sandwiching piece drive unit 46 moves the movable part 44 to move at least one of the first sandwiching piece 37 and the second sandwiching piece 38 between the sandwiching position Pn and the release position Pw. The sandwiching piece drive unit 46 includes an actuator which is a drive source of the movable portion 44. In the present embodiment, the pinching piece drive unit 46 moves the movable portion 44 relative to the support portion 43 in the facing direction D1 direction, and includes the pinching position Pn and the release position Pw of the second pinching piece 38. Move in the section.

The turning drive unit 47 rotates the holding unit 36 between the first angular position and the second angular position. The swing drive unit 47 includes a motor 48 (see FIG. 4) which is a rotational drive source of the holding unit 36. The motor 48 is provided, for example, inside the base 31. The motor 48 is a motor capable of controlling the rotation angle, and is, for example, a servomotor. The motor 48 is connected to the pivot shaft 49, and rotationally drives the pivot shaft 49 to pivot the holding portion 36 about the pivot axis Lr.

The second holding unit 27 collectively holds and holds the group of aligned article groups G located at the second standby position P2 of the second conveyance path Lb. In addition, the second holding unit 27 releases and holds the held aligned article group G. The second holding unit 27 is held by the hand 23 of the second robot arm 13B and connected to the distal end of the second robot arm 13B. The configuration of the second holding unit 27 is the same as the configuration of the first holding unit 26, and thus the detailed description thereof is omitted.

The arrangement relation of each element of the holding portion 36 of the first holding unit 26 is the plane perpendicular to the arrangement relation of each element of the holding portion 36 of the second holding unit 27 and the facing direction D1, that is, the first direction D2 and the first It is an arrangement relation which becomes mirror symmetry with respect to a plane extending in two directions D3. That is, the first holding piece 37 of the first holding unit 26 is disposed closer to the one side in the facing direction D1 than the second holding piece 38 of the first holding unit 26, and the first holding piece 37 of the second holding unit 27. Is disposed on the other side of the second holding unit 38 of the second holding unit 27 in the facing direction D1. The second holding piece 38 of the first holding unit 26 is positioned inside the robot body 10 in a state where the holding portion 36 of the first holding unit 26 is positioned at the first angular position, and the second holding piece 38 of the first holding unit 26 is The holding portion 36 is configured to be positioned outside the robot body 10 in a state in which the holding portion 36 is positioned at the second angular position. Similarly, the second holding piece 38 of the second holding unit 27 is positioned inside the robot body 10 in a state where the holding portion 36 of the second holding unit 27 is positioned at the first angular position, and the second holding unit 27 The holding portion 36 is configured to be positioned outside the robot body 10 in a state in which the holding portion 36 is positioned at the second angular position.

[Configuration Example of Control Device]
FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration example of a control system of the robot system 1.

As shown in FIG. 6, the control device 7 includes a control unit 71 and a storage unit 72. The control device 7 may be configured by a single controller that performs centralized control, or may be configured by a plurality of controllers that perform distributed control.

The control unit 71 includes, for example, a microcontroller, a CPU, an MPU, a logic circuit, and an arithmetic unit such as a PLC. The control unit 71 controls the holding piece drive unit 46 of the first holding unit 26 and the second holding unit 27 to control the operation of the second holding piece 38 of the first holding unit 26 and the second holding unit 27. Further, the control unit 71 controls the swing drive unit 47 of the first holding unit 26 and the second holding unit 27 to control the operation of the holding unit 36 of the first holding unit 26 and the second holding unit 27. Furthermore, the control unit 71 controls the robot arm drive unit 24 of the first robot arm 13A and the second robot arm 13B to control the operations of the first robot arm 13A and the second robot arm 13B, and further, the first robot arm 13A and the second robot arm 13B. The position of the first holding unit 26 held by the robot arm 13A and the position of the second holding unit 27 held by the second robot arm 13B are controlled. The storage unit 72 has a memory such as a ROM and a RAM. The storage unit 72 stores a predetermined program, and the control unit 71 reads and executes these programs to perform various processes. In addition, the storage unit 72 stores position information relating to a first target position to a fourth target position described later in detail.

[Operation example]
Next, an operation example of the packaging system 100 will be described.

FIG. 7A is a flowchart showing an operation example of the packaging system 100. FIG. 7B is a flowchart showing an operation example of the robot system 1. 8 and 10 are perspective views showing an operation example of the robot system 1. FIG. 9 is a side view showing an operation example of the robot system 1.

First, the article conveying apparatus 60 drives the article conveying belt 61 to position the aligned article group G at the first standby position P1 and the second standby position P2 (step S11). In addition, the packaging bag transport device 66 drives the packaging bag transport belt 67 to position the outer bag 110 at the packaging position Pa (step S12).

Next, the robot system 1 executes a packaging operation of packing the aligned article group G respectively located at the first standby position P1 and the second standby position P2 into the outer bag 110 (step S2). The robot system 1 may, for example, a signal notifying that the aligned article group G is positioned at the first standby position P1 and the second standby position P2, and a signal notifying that the outer bag 110 is positioned at the packaging position Pa. May be configured to start the packaging operation according to step S2.

In the packaging operation, first, the control unit 71 of the robot system 1 positions the holding portions 36 of the first holding unit 26 and the second holding unit 27 at the first angular position as shown in FIG. The contact portions 51 of the second and third holding pieces 37 extend in the first direction D2. Further, the control unit 71 positions the second holding piece 38 of the first holding unit 26 and the second holding unit 27 at the release position Pw (steps S211 and S212).

Next, the control unit 71 operates the first robot arm 13A to move the first holding unit 26 to the first target position (step S221). The first target position is a position where the group of aligned articles G located at the first standby position P1 is located in the space between the first sandwiching piece 37 and the second sandwiching piece 38 of the first holding unit 26. At this time, the control unit 71 directs the facing direction D1 in the transport direction Dt, and moves the first holding unit 26 while maintaining this state. Further, after the first holding unit 26 is positioned right above the first target position, the control unit 71 lowers the first holding unit 26 toward the first target position to make the first holding unit 26 first. Position at the target position. Thereby, interference with the first holding unit 26 and the alignment article group G located at the first standby position P1 can be prevented.

At the same time, the control unit 71 operates the second robot arm 13B to move the second holding unit 27 to the second target position (step S222). The second target position is a position where the group of aligned articles G located at the second standby position P2 is located in the space between the first holding piece 37 and the second holding piece 38 of the second holding unit 27. Also in this operation, as in step S221, the control unit 71 directs the facing direction D1 in the transport direction Dt, and moves the second holding unit 27 while maintaining this state. In addition, after the second holding unit 27 is positioned directly above the second target position, the control unit 71 lowers the second holding unit 27 toward the second target position to make the second holding unit 27 second. Position at the target position. This can prevent interference between the alignment article group G located at the second standby position P2 and the second holding unit 27. Further, the base 31 and the sandwiching piece supporting part 39 contact the contacting part 51 of the first sandwiching piece 37 and the second sandwiching piece 38 in a state where the sandwiching piece supporting part 39 of the second holding unit 27 is positioned at the first angular position. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, the interference between the first sandwiching piece 37 and the second sandwiching piece 38 and the side wall 62 of the article transport device 60 can be avoided as shown in FIG.

Next, the control unit 71 positions the second holding piece 38 of the first holding unit 26 at the holding position Pn (step S231). At the same time, the control unit 71 causes the second holding piece 38 of the second holding unit 27 to be positioned at the holding position Pn (step S232). By this, the alignment article group G is held by the first holding unit 26 and the second holding unit 27 while maintaining the alignment state. As described above, since the second holding piece 38 is moved toward the first holding piece 37 with reference to the first holding piece 37, the alignment article group G generated when holding the alignment article group G It is possible to reduce the disturbance of the posture of

Next, the control unit 71 operates the first robot arm 13A to move the aligned group of aligned articles G toward the third target position set above the opening 111 of the outer bag 110, The holding portion 36 of the first holding unit 26 is rotated and positioned at the second angular position (step S241). At this time, the control unit 71 moves the first holding unit 26 while maintaining the state in which the facing direction D1 is directed to the transport direction Dt.

At the same time, the control unit 71 operates the second robot arm 13B to move the aligned group of aligned articles G toward the fourth target position set above the opening 111 of the outer bag 110, The holding portion 36 of the second holding unit 27 is rotated and positioned at the second angular position (step S242). In this operation, as in step S241, the control unit 71 moves the second holding unit 27 while maintaining the state in which the facing direction D1 is directed to the transport direction Dt. The fourth target position is set on the upstream side of the transport direction Dt of the third target position.

As a result, in the first standby position P1 and the second standby position P2, the aligned article group G placed on the article transport belt 61 in a posture in which the longitudinal direction is laid so as to face the horizontal direction is above the outer bag 110. At the position, the longitudinal direction of each article W is turned to the up and down orientation. Further, at the first standby position P1 and the second standby position P2, the second gripping piece 38 located inside the robot body 10 is switched so as to be located outside the robot body 10 above the outer bag 110. Be done.

Furthermore, when the pinching piece support portion 39 is positioned at the second angular position, the contact portions 51 of the first pinching piece 37 and the second pinching piece 38 with respect to the base 31 and the pinching piece support portion 39 in the first direction D2. Positioned offset. That is, viewed from the transport direction Dt, the moving distance of the first holding unit 26 is a distance obtained by adding the moving distance by the rotation from the first angular position to the second angular position to the moving distance of the first robot arm 13A. . The same applies to the second holding unit 27. As a result, the moving distance of the first holding unit 26 and the second holding unit 27 by the robot arm can be shortened, and the working speed for bagging can be increased.

Next, the control unit 71 positions the second holding piece 38 of the first holding unit 26 at the release position Pw (step S251). At the same time, the control unit 71 causes the second holding piece 38 of the second holding unit 27 to be positioned at the release position Pw (step S252). As a result, the second holding pieces 38 of each of the first holding unit 26 and the second holding unit 27 open to the outside of the robot body 10, and the two groups of alignment article groups G maintain the alignment state. Be dropped. Then, the dropped two groups of aligned article groups G are accommodated in the outer bag 110 through the opening 111 of the outer bag 110. Thereby, two groups of aligned articles G can be accommodated together in one outer bag 110. Further, since the second holding piece 38 is converted to be positioned outside the robot body 10 by the rotation of the holding portion 36 at the third target position and the fourth target position, the second holding piece 38 is held at the holding position When moving from Pn to the release position Pw, interference between the second holding piece 38 of the first holding unit 26 and the second holding piece 38 of the second holding unit 27 can be prevented. Then, the packaging operation of the robot system 1 is ended.

Thus, in the robot system 1, the first robot arm 13 </ b> A and the second robot arm 13 </ b> B transport the ten articles W divided into the two alignment article groups G to the upper side of the outer bag 110. Since the group G is configured to be dropped at the same time, a large number of articles W can be effectively packed into one outer bag 110 and bagged. Moreover, when bagging many articles | goods W, it can prevent effectively that the alignment state of articles | goods W collapse | crumbles.

Then, when the packaging operation of the robot system 1 is completed, the article conveying device 60 drives the article conveying belt 61 to position the next aligned article group G at the first standby position P1 and the second standby position P2 (step S31). ). In addition, the packaging bag transporting device 66 drives the packaging bag transporting belt 67 to position the next outer bag 110 at the packaging position Pa (step S32). And the packaging operation which concerns on step S2 is performed again.

As described above, the packaging system 100 changes the posture of the aligned article group G held by the holding unit 36 by pivoting the holding unit 36 between the first angular position and the second angular position. Can. This makes it possible to reduce the space required to change the posture of the aligned article group G, and to prevent interference with the environment (such as surrounding articles).

<Modification>
In the above embodiment, the guide portions 42 of the first holding unit 26 and the second holding unit 27 support the second holding piece 38 so that the second holding piece 38 can move in the facing direction D1, but the present invention is not limited thereto. is not. Instead of this, as shown in FIG. 11, the guide portion 242 of the first holding unit 26 (and the second holding unit 27) movably supports the first holding piece 237 in the facing direction D1, and The clamping piece 238 may be movably supported in the facing direction D1.

From the above description, many modifications and other embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description should be taken as exemplary only, and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the present invention. The structural and / or functional details may be substantially altered without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

D1 Countering Direction D2 First Direction D3 Second Direction Lr Turning Axis Pn Holding Position Pw Release Position 1 Robot System 10 Robot Body 13A First Robot Arm 13B Second Robot Arm 26 First Holding Unit 27 Second Holding Unit 31 Base 36 Holding Part 37 first pinching piece 38 second pinching piece 39 pinching piece support portion 46 pinching piece drive portion 47 turning drive portion 60 article transport device 61 article transport belt 100 packaging system

Claims

A robotic arm that moves the distal end relative to the proximal end in three-dimensional space;
A holding unit connected to the distal end of the robot arm;
The holding unit
A base connected to the distal end of the robot arm;
An article can be held, and is pivotably connected to the base between a first angular position and a second angular position about a pivot axis and extends in a first direction, the pivot axis being relative to the first direction The inclined holding portion,
A robot system, comprising: a turning drive unit configured to turn the holding unit between the first angular position and the second angular position.
The holding portion includes a first holding piece, a second holding piece facing the first holding piece, a holding position at which the first holding piece and the second holding piece approach each other, the first holding piece, and The base end of the first holding piece and the second holding piece such that at least one of the first holding piece and the second holding piece can be moved between the second holding piece and the release position in which the second holding pieces are separated from each other. A support portion supported by the base, and supported by the base rotatably about the pivot axis between the first angular position and the second angular position;
It further includes a pinching piece drive unit that moves at least one of the first pinching piece and the second pinching piece between the pinching position and the release position.
The first direction is a direction orthogonal to an opposing direction in which the first holding piece and the second holding piece face each other in a state where the holding piece supporting portion is positioned at the first angular position. Robot system described.
The holding portion includes an abutting portion that abuts against the article when holding the article,
The robot system according to claim 2, wherein the base portion is disposed to be offset in a second direction orthogonal to the facing direction and the first direction with respect to the contact portion.
The base portion is positioned closer to the proximal end portion from the distal end portion of the first sandwiching piece and the second sandwiching piece than the proximal end portions of the first sandwiching piece and the second sandwiching piece in the first direction. And
The robot system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein base ends of the first holding piece and the second holding piece are connected to the holding piece supporting portion.
The pivot axis is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the first direction,
The second angular position is a position rotated 180 degrees from the first angular position,
The robot according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the first holding piece and the second holding piece extend in a second direction orthogonal to the facing direction and the first direction at the second angular position, respectively. system.
The first holding piece is fixed to the holding piece supporting portion,
The robot system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the pinching piece supporting portion supports the second pinching piece so as to be movable between the pinching position and the release position.
A first robot arm and a second robot arm each moving the distal end relative to the proximal end in a three-dimensional space;
A first holding unit connected to the distal end of the first robot arm;
A second holding unit connected to the distal end of the second robot arm;
The first holding unit and the second holding unit are respectively
A base connected to the distal end of the corresponding robotic arm;
An article can be held, and is pivotably connected to the base between a first angular position and a second angular position about a pivot axis and extends in a first direction, the pivot axis being relative to the first direction The inclined holding portion,
A robot system, comprising: a turning drive unit configured to turn the holding unit between the first angular position and the second angular position.
The holding portion includes a first holding piece, a second holding piece facing the first holding piece, a holding position at which the first holding piece and the second holding piece approach each other, the first holding piece, and The base end of the first holding piece and the second holding piece such that at least one of the first holding piece and the second holding piece can be moved between the second holding piece and the release position in which the second holding pieces are separated from each other. A support portion supported by the base, and supported by the base rotatably about the pivot axis between the first angular position and the second angular position;
It further includes a pinching piece drive unit that moves at least one of the first pinching piece and the second pinching piece between the pinching position and the release position.
The first direction is a direction orthogonal to the facing direction in which the first holding piece and the second holding piece face each other in a state where the holding piece supporting portion is positioned at the first angular position. Robot system described.
The first holding pieces of each of the first holding unit and the second holding unit are fixed to the holding piece supporting portion,
The holding piece supporting portions of the first holding unit and the second holding unit are supported by the second holding piece so as to be movable between the holding position and the release position.
The first holding piece of the first holding unit is disposed closer to the one side in the facing direction than the second holding piece of the first holding unit.
9. The robot system according to claim 8, wherein the first holding piece of the second holding unit is disposed on the other side in the opposite direction to the second holding piece of the second holding unit.
An article transport apparatus having a transport path for transporting an aligned article group consisting of a predetermined number of articles aligned in the transport direction to a standby position;
A robot system for transferring the group of aligned articles located at the standby position to a packaging position on the side of the transport path;
The robot system is
A robotic arm that moves the distal end relative to the proximal end in three-dimensional space;
A holding unit connected to the distal end of the robot arm;
The holding unit
A base connected to the distal end of the robot arm;
The group of aligned articles can be held, and is pivotably connected to the base between a first angular position and a second angular position about a pivot axis and extends in a first direction, the pivot axis being the first axis. A holder inclined to the direction,
A packaging system, comprising: a pivot drive that pivots the holding portion between the first angular position and the second angular position.