WO2019167921A1

WO2019167921A1 - Container feeding device

Info

Publication number: WO2019167921A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/007211
Authority: WO
Inventors: 和範平田; 将司三澤
Original assignee: 川崎重工業株式会社
Priority date: 2018-02-27
Filing date: 2019-02-26
Publication date: 2019-09-06
Also published as: TW201937454A; JP7057155B2; JP2019147585A

Abstract

The present invention is a container feeding device for, while holding an aggregate of a plurality of containers that have edges and that are vertically stacked on multiple stages, separating n (n is natural number of 1 or higher) containers from the aggregate so as to feed the containers to prescribed positions. This container feeding device is provided with: a base; a first support part; a second support part; and a control unit. The control unit controls operations of the first support, the second support, and a press-down part so that the first support supports the edge of the (n+1)th container from the bottom by taking a first attitude, the second support changes the attitude thereof to a second attitude from a state where the second support supports the edge of the lowest container by taking the first attitude, and the press-down part presses down the edge of the n-th container so as to cause the n containers to drop from the aggregate.

Description

Container supply device

The present invention relates to a container supply device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a container supply apparatus that supplies containers one by one from the lowest container among a plurality of containers stacked up and down is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). In the cup-type vending machine described in Patent Document 1, the edge of the lowermost cup supported by being in contact with the upper surface of the rotating body fits into a groove formed in the rotating body as the rotating body rotates. And descend. This separates the lowest cup from the cup assembly.

In addition, the cup delivery device described in Patent Document 2 has a cup delivery cam having a taper formed on the side surface, and the edge of the lowest cup is supported by the taper. Rotates as a fulcrum Thereby, the support by the taper is released, and the lowest cup is separated from the cup assembly.

JP-A-6-28573 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-27771

However, in the above prior art, the edge of the lowest container supported and supported by the rotating body descends along the groove or taper formed in the rotating body by the rotation of the rotating body, and the lowest container is the container. Separated from the collection of For this reason, when the edge of the lowest container does not rest on the rotating body, there may occur a case where the lowermost container is not separated even if the rotating body operates. As a result, for example, when an operation is performed to fill containers with ingredients such as soup while sequentially supplying empty containers to the transport apparatus at a food manufacturing site, there is a problem that work efficiency is reduced. This is a common problem when not only the lowest container but also two or more containers are separated from the bottom.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to reliably take out containers sequentially from the bottom from an assembly of a plurality of rimmed containers stacked in multiple stages in the vertical direction.

In order to achieve the above object, a container supply device according to an aspect of the present invention holds n aggregates (n is A container supply device that separates and supplies a predetermined number of containers to a predetermined position, and includes a base, an edge of the lowest container, and an edge of the n + 1th container from the bottom A first position having a shape that can be inserted between the first position and a second position that can support the edge of the (n + 1) th container from below, and a second position that releases the support; A first support portion and a second posture provided on the base portion and configured to operate between a first posture capable of supporting an edge of the lowest container from below and a second posture releasing the support. N + 1 from the bottom and the bottom edge of the lowermost container provided on the support and the base A push-down portion having a shape that can be inserted between the edges of the container, and configured to be able to push down the edge of the nth container from below, the first support portion, the second support portion, and A controller for controlling the operation of the push-down unit, wherein the control unit supports the edge of the n + 1th container from the bottom with the first support unit taking the first posture, and the first unit 2 The support portion takes the first posture and changes the posture of the second support portion to the second posture from the state where the edge of the lowest container is supported, and the push-down portion causes the edge of the nth container By pushing down from above, the operations of the first support part, the second support part, and the push-down part are controlled so as to drop n containers from the assembly.

According to the above configuration, for example, from the state in which the edge of the second container from the bottom is supported by the first support part and the edge of the lowest container is supported by the second support part, the support by the second support part is performed. Release and push the edge of the lowest (first from the bottom) container down from above. Thereby, since the lowest container falls from the aggregate | assembly of the several edged container accumulated in multiple steps up and down, a container can be reliably taken out in order from the bottom.

The control unit drops the n containers from the assembly by pushing down the edge of the nth container from above by the push-down unit, and then moves the second support unit to the first posture. The first support portion and the second support portion operate so as to drop the aggregate by n steps by changing the posture to the second posture and changing the posture of the first support portion to the second posture. May be controlled.

Further, the predetermined position is on the transport path of a transport device that transports a container in a transport direction along the transport path, and the container supply device has the base attached to a wrist, and the base is The robot further includes a robot arm that can be moved in the transport direction of the transport device. The operation of the robot arm is controlled by the control unit, and the control unit determines whether the n containers that have dropped on the transport path are predetermined. You may make it control operation | movement of the said robot arm, the said 1st support part, the said 2nd support part, and the said pushing-down part so that it may rank on the said conveyance path | route at intervals.

The present invention has the above-described configuration, and can reliably take out the containers in order from the bottom from the assembly of a plurality of edged containers stacked in multiple stages in the vertical direction.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a container supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view schematically showing an example of the overall configuration of the robot shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the end effector of the left arm of FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the end effector of the right arm of FIG. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the control device. FIG. 6 is a first explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the container supply device. FIG. 7 is a second explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the container supply device.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings, and redundant description thereof is omitted. Further, the drawings schematically show each component for easy understanding.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a container supply device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the container supply apparatus 1 is introduced into a food production site or the like, for example. In this embodiment, the case where the container 11 is configured by the robot 11 will be described. The robot 11 is a double-arm robot including a pair of robot arms (hereinafter also simply referred to as “arms”) 13 and 13 supported by a base 12. However, the container supply apparatus 1 is not limited to the case where it is configured by the robot 11. As the robot 11, a horizontal articulated double-arm robot will be described, but a vertical articulated double-arm robot can be used. The robot 11 can be installed in a limited space (for example, 610 mm × 620 mm) corresponding to one person. Hereinafter, the direction in which the pair of arms are spread is referred to as the left-right direction, the direction parallel to the axis of the base shaft is referred to as the up-down direction, and the direction orthogonal to the left-right direction and the up-down direction is referred to as the front-rear direction.

A table 80 is arranged on the left side of the robot 11. On the table 80, a container placing table 82 for placing the container 41 is disposed. The container 41 is, for example, a reverse frustoconical cup container. The container 41 is made of thin paper or synthetic resin. The container 41 is placed on the container mounting table 82 in a state where it is stacked in multiple stages in the vertical direction (hereinafter also simply referred to as “aggregate 40”).

A transfer device 50 is disposed in front of the robot 11. The transport device 50 is a belt conveyor that transports the containers 41 supplied by the robot 11 in the transport direction along the transport path 51 (from left to right in the figure). The conveyance path 51 of this embodiment is formed in a straight line. A passage sensor 90 is provided in the transport path 51. The passage sensor 90 is configured to detect that the container 41 has passed the detection position on the transport path 51 and output a detection signal to the robot controller of the robot 11. In the present embodiment, the passage sensor 90 is a photoelectric sensor including a light projecting unit provided on one side wall of the conveyance path 51 and a light receiving unit provided on the other side wall. A filling device 60 is disposed on the front side of the transport device 50. The filling device 60 is configured to fill a liquid food material (for example, soup) from a filling nozzle 61 into a container 41 conveyed on the conveyance path 51. The filling nozzle 61 is configured to be rotatable in the transport direction (right direction in the drawing) along the movement of the container 41 after filling in order to prevent dripping. A table 81 is arranged on the right side of the robot 11. A measuring instrument 70 is disposed on the table 81. The scale 70 is used for measuring the weight of the container 41 filled with soup.

In the food manufacturing site of this embodiment, the robot 11 holds the assembly 40 of the containers 41 placed on the container mounting table 82 on the table 80, and conveys the lowest container 41 while holding the assembly 40. The materials are sequentially supplied onto the conveyance path 51 of the apparatus 50, and the container 41 on the conveyance path 51 is filled with ingredients such as soup by the filling apparatus 60. Thereafter, the robot 11 places the container 41 filled with soup on the weighing table of the weighing instrument 70. In the present embodiment, the weighing operation of the container 41 is performed by the operator visually reading the value of the weighing instrument 70. Accordingly, the work area of the robot 11 is an area that covers a part of the table 80 on which the container table 82 is arranged, the table 81 on which the weighing instrument 70 is arranged, and a conveyance path 51 of the conveyance device 50.

FIG. 2 is a front view schematically showing the overall configuration of an example of the robot 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the robot 11 includes a base 12 fixed to the carriage, a pair of

robot arms

13 and 13 supported by the base 12, and a control device 14 housed in the base 12. . Each arm 13 is a horizontal articulated robot arm configured to be movable with respect to the base 12, and includes an arm unit 15, a wrist unit 17, and end

effectors

18 and 19. The right arm 13 and the left arm 13 may have substantially the same structure. Further, the right arm 13 and the left arm 13 can operate independently or operate in association with each other.

In this example, the arm portion 15 is composed of a first link 15a and a second link 15b. The first link 15 a is connected to a base shaft 16 fixed to the upper surface of the base 12 by a rotary joint J <b> 1 and is rotatable around a rotation axis L <b> 1 passing through the axis of the base shaft 16. The second link 15b is connected to the distal end of the first link 15a by the rotary joint J2, and is rotatable around the rotation axis L2 defined at the distal end of the first link 15a.

The list unit 17 includes an elevating unit 17a and a rotating unit 17b. The raising / lowering part 17a is connected with the front-end | tip of the 2nd link 15b by the linear motion joint J3, and is movable up / down with respect to the 2nd link 15b. The rotating part 17b is connected to the lower end of the elevating part 17a by the rotary joint J4, and can be rotated around the rotation axis L3 defined at the lower end of the elevating part 17a.

The

end effectors

18 and 19 are connected to the rotating part 17b of the wrist part 17, respectively. The end effector 18 is provided at the tip of the right arm 13, and the end effector 19 is provided at the tip of the left arm 13.

Each arm 13 having the above configuration has each joint J1 to J4. The arm 13 is provided with a drive servomotor (not shown) and an encoder (not shown) for detecting the rotation angle of the servomotor so as to be associated with each joint J1 to J4. It has been. The rotation axes L1 of the

first links

15a and 15a of the two

arms

13 and 13 are on the same straight line, and the first link 15a of one arm 13 and the first link 15a of the other arm 13 are up and down. It is arranged with a height difference.

Next, the configuration of the end effector 18 of the left arm 13 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing the configuration of the end effector 18. FIG. 3B is a front view showing the end effector 18 holding the assembly 40 of the containers 41. FIG. 3C is a plan view seen from the direction of the arrow in FIG. The end effector 18 includes a base portion 20 including a rotating portion 17 b of the wrist portion (wrist portion) 17, a first support portion 21 and a second support portion 22 provided above and below the base portion 20, and a first support portion 21. A third support portion 23 provided and a push-down portion 24 provided on the first support portion 21 are provided (see FIG. 3A).

The first support portion 21 has a pair of claws having a shape that can be inserted between the edge 40a of the lowest-order (first from the bottom) container 41 and the edge 40a of the second-most container 41 from the bottom. The thickness of the first support portion 21 in the vertical direction is smaller than the size of the gap formed between the edges 41a of the containers 41 stacked vertically. Each nail is curved inward along the outer periphery of the upper portion of the container 41 (see FIG. 3A). These claws (21) are driven by a single actuator (for example, an air cylinder) provided on the base 20, and translate (left and right in the figure) so as to approach and separate from each other while maintaining parallelism. Thereby, the first support portion 21 is between a support posture (first posture) capable of supporting the edge 41a of the second container 41 from the bottom (first posture) and a release posture (second posture) for releasing the support. (See FIG. 3B). The first support portion 21 and the second support portion 22 are provided with a gap in the vertical direction. The vertical gap between the first support portion 21 and the second support portion 22 is larger than the edge 41a of the container 41 deposited vertically.

The second support part 22 is a pair of claws having the same shape as the pair of claws of the first support part 21. These claws (22) are driven by a single actuator (for example, an air cylinder) provided on the base 20, and translate (left and right in the figure) so as to approach and separate from each other while maintaining parallelism. Thereby, the 2nd support part 22 operate | moves between the support attitude | position (1st attitude | position) which can support the edge 41a of the lowest container 41 from the bottom, and the releasing attitude | position (2nd attitude | position) which releases the support. can do.

The third support portion 23 is provided on the upper surface of the first support portion 21 so as to protrude upward, and supports the side portion of the assembly 40 of the containers 41. Here, the 3rd support part 23 is four support | pillars provided in four places (refer FIG.3 (C)).

The push-down portion 24 is provided in the first support portion 21 and includes a tip portion 24a and a drive portion 24b that drives the tip portion 24a (see FIG. 3C).

The front end portion 24 a has a shape that can be inserted between the edge 41 a of the lowest container 41 and the edge 41 a of the second container 41 from the bottom at the same height as the first support portion 21. The thickness in the vertical direction of the distal end portion 24a is smaller than the size of the gap formed between the edges 41a of the containers 41 deposited vertically.

The driving unit 24b has an actuator (for example, an air cylinder) inside, and is configured to drive the tip 24a up and down. Thereby, the front end portion 24 a can move downward with respect to the first support portion 21 from the reference position having the same height as the first support portion 21. Thereby, the edge 41a of the lowest container 41 can be pushed down from the top. The end effector 18 is configured to be able to separate the lowest container 41 from the assembly 40 while holding the assembly 40 of containers 41.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the end effector 19 of the right arm 13. As shown in FIG. 4, the end effector 19 includes a base portion 30 including a rotating portion 17 b of a wrist portion (wrist portion) 17, and a grip portion 31 provided on the base portion 30. The grip part 31 has a pair of claws. Each claw is curved inward along the outer periphery of the upper portion of the container 41. These claws (31) are driven by a single actuator (for example, an air cylinder) provided on the base 30 and translate (left and right in the figure) so as to approach and separate from each other while maintaining parallelism. As a result, the gripping unit 31 can support the edge 41a of the container 41 arranged at a predetermined position (on the transport path 51 of the transport device 50) from below, and a release to release the support. It can operate between postures (second postures). The end effector 19 is configured to hold the container 41 and move it to a predetermined position (on the weighing table of the weighing instrument 70 in FIG. 1).

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the control device 14 of the robot 11. As shown in FIG. 5, the control device 14 includes a calculation unit 14a such as a CPU, a storage unit 14b such as a ROM and a RAM, and a servo control unit 14c. The control device 14 is a robot controller including a computer such as a microcontroller. The control device 14 may be configured by a single control device 14 that performs centralized control, or may be configured by a plurality of control devices 14 that perform distributed control in cooperation with each other.

The storage unit 14b stores information such as a basic program as a robot controller and various fixed data. The calculation unit 14a controls various operations of the robot 11 by reading and executing software such as a basic program stored in the storage unit 14b. That is, the arithmetic unit 14a generates a control command for the robot 11 and outputs it to the servo control unit 14c. The servo control unit 14c is configured to control the driving of actuators such as servo motors corresponding to the joints J1 to J4 of each arm 13 of the robot 11 based on the control command generated by the calculation unit 14a.

Next, the operation of the container supply device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the control device 14 controls the operation of the left robot arm 13 so that the end effector 18 holds the container assembly 40 placed on the container mounting table 82 on the left table 80. Then, the operation of the left robot arm 13 is controlled to move the assembly 40 of the containers 41 held by the end effector 18 onto the transport path 51 of the transport device 50 (see FIG. 6).

At this time, as shown in FIG. 7A, the control device 14 includes the first support portion 21 and the first support portion 21 so as to maintain the first support portion 21 and the second support portion 22 of the end effector 18 in the support posture. The operation of the second support portion 22 is controlled. Thereby, the edge 41 a of the lowest container 41 is supported from below by the first support portion 21. Further, the side portions of the assembly 40 of the containers 41 are supported from four directions by the third support portion 23.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the control device 14 changes the posture of the first support portion 21 that supports the edge 41a of the lowermost container 41 from the bottom to the release posture, and the second support portion. The operation of the first support portion 21 and the second support portion 22 is controlled so as to maintain 22 in the support posture. Thereby, in the end effector 18, the assembly 40 falls by one step, and the edge 41 a of the lowest container 41 is supported from below by the second support portion 22.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7C, the control device 14 controls the operation of the first support portion 21 in the end effector 18 so that the first support portion 21 changes its posture from the release posture to the support posture. . The 2nd support part 22 which supports the edge 41a of the lowest container 41 is maintained in a support posture. As a result, the first support portion 21 supports the edge 41a of the second container 41 from the bottom, and the second support portion 22 supports the edge 41a of the lowest container 41.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7D, the control device 14 supports the edge 41 a of the second container 41 from the bottom in the first effector 18 in the end effector 18, and From the state in which the second support portion 22 takes the support posture and the edge 41a of the lowest container 41 is supported, the second support portion 22 is changed to the release posture, and the push-down portion 24 causes the lowermost container 41 to The operations of the first support portion 21, the second support portion 22, and the push-down portion 24 are controlled so as to push the edge 41a downward from above. Thereby, the lowest container 41 can be dropped from the assembly 40 onto the transport path 51 of the transport device 50.

After dropping the lowest container 41 from the assembly 40 in this way, the second container 41 from the lowest is the next lowest, and the assembly 40 is again in the state of FIG. Return.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the control device 14 changes the posture of the first support portion 21 that supports the edge 41 a of the next lowest container 41 from below to the release posture, and the second support portion 22. Are controlled in the support posture, and the operations of the first support portion 21 and the second support portion 22 are controlled. As a result, the aggregate 40 drops by one stage, and the edge 41a of the next lowest container 41 is supported from below by the second support portion 22. Thereafter, the next lowest container 41 can be dropped by repeating the operations described in FIGS. 7C and 7D.

In the food manufacturing site of the present embodiment, the control device 14 sequentially drops the lowest container 41 from the assembly 40 so that the dropped containers 41 are arranged at predetermined intervals on the conveyance path 51 of the conveyance device 50. Next, the operations of the left robot arm 13, the first support portion 21, the second support portion 22, and the push-down portion 24 are controlled (see FIG. 1). The filling device 60 fills the container 41 on the transport path 51 with ingredients such as soup. Thereafter, the control device 14 controls the operation of the right robot arm 13 according to the detection signal from the passage sensor 90 and holds the container 41 filled with soup by the end effector 19. Then, the container 41 held by the end effector 19 is placed on the weighing table of the weighing instrument 70. Finally, the operator measures the container 41 and ships the container 41 that satisfies the standard.

In addition, although the container supply apparatus 1 of this embodiment was comprised so that the lowest container (1st from the bottom) container 41 might be isolate | separated from the assembly 40 of the container 41, two or more containers 41 are isolate | separated collectively. It may be configured as follows. That is, the control device 14 supports the edge 41a of the n + 1 (n is a natural number of 2 or more) container 41 from the bottom with the first support portion 21 in the support posture, and the second support portion 22 supports the support posture. From the state where the edge 41a of the lowest container 41 is supported, the second support part 22 is changed to the released posture, and the push-down part 24 pushes the edge 41a of the nth container 41 downward from above. You may make it control operation | movement of the 1st support part 21, the 2nd support part 22, and the push-down part 24 so that n containers may be dropped from the aggregate | assembly 40 by lowering. Thereby, for example, when n is 2, two containers 41 can be separated together.

In addition, the control device 14 supports the second support portion 22 after dropping the n containers from the assembly 40 by pressing the edge 41a of the nth container 41 downward from above by the push-down portion 24. The operation of the first support part 21 and the second support part 22 so that the aggregate 40 is dropped by n stages by changing the attitude to the attitude and changing the attitude of the first support part 21 to the released attitude. May be controlled.

The control device 14 also includes the robot arm 13, the first support unit 21, the second support unit 22, and the push-down unit so that the n containers 41 dropped on the transfer route 51 are arranged on the transfer route 51 at predetermined intervals. You may make it control 24 operation | movement.

In addition, in the foodstuff manufacturing site of this embodiment, although the conveyance path 51 of the conveyance apparatus 50 was formed in linear form, the conveyance path 51 may be a circulation type conveyance path which has a folding | turning part.

In the food manufacturing site of this embodiment, the weighing operation of the container 41 is performed by an operator (see FIG. 1), but the weighing operation may be automated by the robot 11. For example, the robot 11 may be configured to include a weighing unit at the tip of the right arm 13 and to measure the weight of the container 41 by the weighing unit in a state where the container 41 is gripped by the end effector 19.

From the above description, many modifications and other embodiments of the present invention are apparent to persons skilled in the art. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be construed as illustrative only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. The details of the structure and / or function may be substantially changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The present invention is useful in the field of food production.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container supply apparatus 11 Robot 12 Base 13 Robot arm 14 Control apparatus 17

Wrist part

18, 19 End effector 20 Base part 21 First support part 22 Second support part 23 Third support part 24 Push-down part 30 Base part 31 Grasping part 40 Assembly 41 Container 41a Edge 50 Transfer device 51 Transfer path 60 Filling device 70 Weighing

device

80, 81 Table 82 Container stand 90 Passing sensor

Claims

A container supply device for separating n containers (n is a natural number of 1 or more) from the aggregate and supplying the container to a predetermined position while holding an aggregate of a plurality of edged containers stacked in multiple stages in the vertical direction Because
The base,
A first portion which is provided at the base and can be inserted between an edge of the lowest container and an edge of the (n + 1) th container from below, and which can support the edge of the (n + 1) th container from below from below. A first support configured to operate between a posture and a second posture releasing its support;
A second support portion provided on the base and configured to operate between a first posture capable of supporting an edge of the lowest container from below and a second posture for releasing the support;
The base is provided with a shape that can be inserted between the edge of the lowest container and the edge of the (n + 1) th container from the bottom, and is configured to be able to push down the edge of the nth container from the bottom. The pressing part,
A control unit that controls operations of the first support unit, the second support unit, and the push-down unit,
The controller is
The first support portion takes the first posture to support the edge of the n + 1th container from the bottom, and the second support portion takes the first posture to support the edge of the lowest container. The n containers are dropped from the assembly by changing the posture of the second support portion to the second posture and pressing the edge of the nth vessel downward from above by the push-down portion. The container supply device controls the operations of the first support unit, the second support unit, and the push-down unit.
The controller is
After the n containers are dropped from the assembly by pushing down the edge of the nth container from above by the push-down part, the second support part is changed in posture to the first posture, And controlling the operations of the first support part and the second support part so as to drop the aggregate by n stages by changing the posture of the first support part to the second posture. Item 2. The container supply device according to Item 1.
The predetermined position is on the transport path of the transport device that transports the container in the transport direction along the transport path,
The base is attached to the wrist, and further includes a robot arm that can move the base in the transport direction of the transport device,
The operation of the robot arm is controlled by the controller,
The controller is
Controlling the operations of the robot arm, the first support unit, the second support unit, and the push-down unit so that the n containers dropped on the transfer route are arranged on the transfer route at predetermined intervals. The container supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.