Fabric folding device and fabric folding method

Abstract

To provide a fabric folding device capable of picking up cloth components before sewing and gathering the same into a form suitable for transportation.SOLUTION: The fabric folding device comprises: a hand part having a pickup mechanism that winds and holds a portion of a fabric, and a support mechanism that advances / retreats a support plate to a support position below the pickup mechanism and a retreat position away from the support position; and a moving mechanism that moves the hand part along at least one of a vertical direction or a horizontal direction, and folds the fabric held in the hand part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a fabric folding device and a fabric folding method. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacture of clothing products, a cutting machine cuts fabric to produce fabric parts, picks up various fabric parts one by one, assembles them into a group of fabric parts required for one product, and transports them to a sewing work area, where each fabric part is sewn together by a sewing machine, etc. Patent Document 1 discloses a cutting machine that cuts fabric on a cutting table into individual fabric parts by a cutting head that moves in a horizontal plane. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-118988 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The task of picking up each cut cloth part and arranging them in a form suitable for transportation is cumbersome. Therefore, it is desirable to automate part or all of the task of picking up cloth parts before sewing. However, cloth parts come in various sizes and shapes, and are flexible and easily deformed, making them difficult to handle by machines.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a fabric folding device and a fabric folding method capable of picking up unsewn fabric parts and folding them into a shape suitable for transportation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fabric folding device comprising: a hand unit including a pick-up mechanism that wraps and holds a portion of fabric; a support mechanism that moves a support plate back and forth between a support position below the pick-up mechanism and a retracted position away from the support position; and a moving mechanism that moves the hand unit in at least one of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction to fold and overlap the fabric held by the hand unit.

[0007] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fabric folding method comprising the steps of: holding fabric on a supporting surface with a pick-up mechanism of a hand section; moving a support plate of the hand section to a support position below the pick-up mechanism to support the fabric; and moving the hand section in at least one of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction to fold the fabric held by the hand section onto the supporting surface. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the aspects of the present invention, unsewn fabric parts can be picked up and organized into a form suitable for transportation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a fabric folding device according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration related to control of the fabric folding device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a side view that illustrates a schematic configuration of the hand unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the support mechanism for illustrating the movement of the support plate between the support position and the retracted position. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the fabric before and after folding by the fabric folding device. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a first diagram for explaining the fabric folding method according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a second diagram for explaining the fabric folding method according to the present embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the trajectory of the hand portion when folding the fabric. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The components of the embodiments described below can be appropriately combined. In addition, some components may not be used.

[0011] In the following explanation, an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is set, and the positional relationship of each part is explained with reference to this XYZ Cartesian coordinate system. The direction parallel to the X-axis of the horizontal plane is defined as the X-axis direction, the direction parallel to the Y-axis of the horizontal plane perpendicular to the X-axis is defined as the Y-axis direction, and the direction parallel to the Z-axis perpendicular to the horizontal plane (vertical direction) is defined as the Z-axis direction.

[0012] The configuration of the fabric folding device according to this embodiment will be described below. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the fabric folding device 1 according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration related to the control of the fabric folding device.

[0013] As shown in Fig. 1, a fabric folding device 1 is used, for example, in a clothing (fabric product) manufacturing factory. For example, when conveying fabric 6 cut by a cutting machine 2 to a sewing device 3, the fabric folding device 1 can fold the fabric 6 into a shape suitable for conveyance. First, an example of a usage mode of the fabric folding device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 1.

[0014] The cutting machine 2 is a device that cuts the cloth (raw cloth 4) before cutting along a preset pattern (mold). In the example of Fig. 1, the cutting machine 2 cuts out the raw cloth 4 spread on the cutting table 2A into a desired pattern with a cutting head (not shown) that moves horizontally, thereby producing fabric 6 that will become a part of a cloth product. The cutting machine 2 can cut multiple types of fabric 6 from the raw cloth 4.

[0015] In the example of Fig. 1, fabric 6 cut by the cutting machine 2 is arranged on the installation table 5 in units of products to be manufactured. For example, assuming that the fabric parts (fabric 6) required to manufacture one cloth product are parts F1, F2, and F3, parts F1, F2, and F3 are arranged on the installation table 5 to form one unit. Parts F1, F2, and F3 are fabric 6 cut by the cutting machine 2, and each has a different shape.

[0016] The sewing device 3 is, for example, a sewing machine, and produces a cloth product by sewing together cut cloth parts (fabric 6). For example, a sewing worker obtains cloth parts (parts F1 to F3) required to produce one cloth product from the installation table 5, and sews the cloth parts together using the sewing device 3 to produce the cloth product.

[0017] In the usage mode illustrated in FIG. 1, the fabric folding device 1 automatically performs a pick-and-place operation by folding the fabric 6 on the cutting table 2A of the cutting machine 2 into a shape suitable for transportation (i.e., folding it into a small size) and transporting it from the cutting table 2A to the installation stand 5.

[0018] (Outline of fabric folding device) The fabric folding device 1 includes a hand unit 10 and a moving mechanism 11. The fabric folding device 1 further includes a control device 12.

[0019] The hand unit 10 grips and releases the grip of the fabric 6 placed on the cutting table 2A. The hand unit 10 is attached to a moving mechanism 11. The hand unit 10 is electrically connected to a control device 12. The hand unit 10 performs operations such as gripping and releasing the grip of the fabric 6 under the control of the control device 12. The configuration of the hand unit 10 will be described later.

[0020] The moving mechanism 11 moves the hand unit 10. The moving mechanism 11 is electrically connected to the control device 12. The moving mechanism 11 performs an operation of moving the hand unit 10 under the control of the control device 12. The moving mechanism 11 moves the hand unit 10 in at least one of the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) and horizontal directions (X-axis and Y-axis directions), and folds the fabric 6 held by the hand unit 10. The moving mechanism 11 also causes the hand unit 10 to hold the folded fabric 6, and transports the held fabric 6 from the cutting table 2A to the installation stand 5.

[0021] In the example of FIG. 1, the moving mechanism 11 is a multi-joint robot arm. The type of the multi-joint robot arm may be either a horizontal multi-joint type or a vertical multi-joint type. The moving mechanism 11 has a base unit 11A and a multi-joint arm unit 11B rising from the base unit 11A. Although shown in FIG. 1 as a schematic, the arm unit 11B has, for example, a plurality of joints (rotation axes), an actuator 11C (see FIG. 2) provided for each joint, and a link 11D connecting the joints. The moving mechanism 11 has a hand unit 10 attached to the tip of the arm unit 11B as an end effector. The moving mechanism 11 can control the hand position (position of the hand unit 10) of the arm unit 11B by driving each actuator 11C. The moving mechanism 11 can arbitrarily control the X-axis coordinate, Y-axis coordinate, and Z-axis coordinate of the arm unit 11B within a movable range. The moving mechanism 11 can arbitrarily control the rotational position (orientation) of the arm unit 11B around the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis within the movable range. However, in the description of the operation described below, control of the rotational position around the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis is not particularly necessary. In FIG. 1, the moving mechanism 11 is disposed between the cutter 2 (cutting table 2A) and the installation stand 5, and the movable range of the arm unit 11B includes at least a part of the cutting table 2A and at least a part of the installation stand 5.

[0022] The control device 12 controls the operations of the hand unit 10 and the moving mechanism 11. The control device 12 includes, for example, a robot controller. As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 12 includes, for example, a processor 12A such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a storage unit 12B, and an input / output unit 12C. The storage unit 12B includes a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or a solid state drive. The processor 12A uses the RAM or the like as a working area to execute a program stored in the storage unit 12B, thereby realizing the function of the control device 12 that controls the operations of the hand unit 10 and the moving mechanism 11. The input / output unit 12C is an interface for inputting and outputting signals to and from an external device. The input / output unit 12C inputs and outputs signals between the control device 12 and the moving mechanism 11. The input / output unit 12C inputs and outputs signals between the control device 12 and the hand unit 10. The control device 12 controls the operations of each actuator 11C of the moving mechanism 11 via the input / output unit 12C. The control device 12 controls the operations of a first motor 22, a second motor 24, and a motor 33 (described later) of the hand unit 10 via the input / output unit 12C. The control device 12 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0023] (Hand section configuration) Next, the configuration of the hand unit 10 will be described. Fig. 3 is a side view that shows a schematic diagram of the configuration of the hand unit. For ease of explanation, an ABC orthogonal coordinate system is set as the coordinate system of the hand unit 10 as shown in Fig. 3 below. In the manner in which the hand unit 10 is used, the C axis is the up-down direction of the hand unit 10, and the A axis and the B axis are two orthogonal directions in a horizontal plane (the front-rear direction and width direction of the hand unit 10). One side of the A direction is defined as the A1 direction, and the other side as the A2 direction. The upper side of the C direction is defined as the C1 direction, and the lower side as the C2 direction.

[0024] The hand unit 10 includes a pickup mechanism 20, a support mechanism 30, and a connection unit 40. The hand unit 10 also includes a frame 50 to which these components are assembled. The pickup mechanism 20 and the support mechanism 30 are provided on the lower part (C2 side) of the frame 50. The pickup mechanism 20 and the support mechanism 30 are aligned in a straight line in the A direction. The connection unit 40 is provided on the upper part (C1 side) of the frame 50.

[0025] <Pickup mechanism> The pickup mechanism 20 is a mechanism that holds a part of the fabric 6 (see FIG. 1). The pickup mechanism 20 also includes a first motor 22, a slide mechanism 23, and a second motor 24.

[0026] The pickup roller 21 is disposed at the bottom (C2 side) of the pickup mechanism 20. The pickup roller 21 has a cylindrical shape and can rotate around a rotation axis along the B direction. The pickup roller 21 is provided with a detachable member 21A on the entire circumference of the outer circumferential surface. The detachable member 21A has a brush-like surface in which fibers standing at an angle are densely arranged. The fibers are, for example, polyolefin fibers with a length of 1 mm to 3 mm, a diameter of 0.1 mm or less, and an inclination of 1 degree to 5 degrees. However, the shape and material of the fibers are not particularly limited as long as they are suitable for attaching and detaching the fabric 6. When the detachable member 21A slides against the fabric 6 on the side where the fibers stand, the tips of many fibers get caught on the fabric 6 and adhere to it. When the detachable member 21A slides against the fabric 6 on the side opposite to the side where the fibers stand (the side from the tips of the fibers to the roots), the tips of the fibers slide without getting caught on the fabric 6.

[0027] 3 while in contact with the fabric 6, the pickup roller 21 can adhere the fabric 6 to the detachable member 21A and wrap it around the outer circumferential surface of the roller, thereby holding the fabric 6. The pickup roller 21 can separate the detachable member 21A and the fabric 6 and release the hold of the fabric 6 by rotating in the reverse direction (clockwise in FIG. 3) with the fabric 6 wrapped around it.

[0028] The first motor 22 rotates the pickup roller 21 around a rotation axis. The first motor 22 is an electric motor, and is connected to the pickup roller 21 via a power transmission mechanism consisting of a gear mechanism. The first motor 22 rotates the pickup roller 21 clockwise, counterclockwise, and stops the rotation under the control of the control device 12.

[0029] The slide mechanism 23 is capable of moving the pickup roller 21 (and the first motor 22) along the A direction. The slide mechanism 23 has a guide rail 23A fixed to the frame 50, a slider 23B attached to the guide rail 23A, and a power transmission member 23C. The guide rail 23A extends linearly along the A direction. The slider 23B is capable of sliding in the A direction along the guide rail 23A. The slider 23B holds the pickup roller 21, the first motor 22, and the power transmission member 23C via a subframe 25.

[0030] The second motor 24 moves the pickup roller 21 along the A direction by the slide mechanism 23. The second motor 24 is fixed to the frame 50, and the output shaft is connected to the power transmission member 23C. In the example of FIG. 3, the power transmission member 23C is a rack gear, and meshes with a pinion gear attached to the output shaft of the second motor 24. The second motor 24 rotates the output shaft to move the power transmission member 23C in the A direction, thereby moving the pickup roller 21, the first motor 22, the power transmission member 23C, and the slider 23B, which are assembled to the subframe 25, in the A direction. As a result, the second motor 24 can move the pickup roller 21 in the A1 direction (away from the support mechanism 30), in the A2 direction (towards the support mechanism 30), and stop it under the control of the control device 12.

[0031] <Support mechanism> The support mechanism 30 has a support plate 31, a support plate slide mechanism 32, a motor 33, and a vertical slide mechanism 34. The support mechanism 30 moves the support plate 31 forward and backward between a support position Q1 (see FIG. 4) below (on the C2 side) the pickup mechanism 20 (pickup roller 21) and a retracted position Q2 away from the support position Q1. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the support plate 31 is located at the retracted position Q2.

[0032] The support plate 31 is a flat plate-like member extending in a plane along the A direction and the B direction. The support plate 31 is made of, for example, a resin material, but may be made of a metal material. The support plate 31 is disposed below the pickup roller 21 (C2 side) at the lower limit position of the vertical slide mechanism 34. The support plate 31 is provided so as to be linearly movable in the A direction by the support plate slide mechanism 32. The support plate 31 is disposed below the pickup roller 21 at the support position Q1 (see FIG. 4). At the support position Q1, the tip portion (A1 side end portion) of the support plate 31 passes over the pickup roller 21 and is disposed at a position on the A1 side of the pickup roller 21. When the support plate 31 moves to the retracted position Q2 on the A2 direction side, it is disposed on the A2 side of the pickup roller 21. At the retracted position Q2, the tip portion of the support plate 31 is separated from the pickup roller 21 by a predetermined distance on the A2 side.

[0033] The support plate 31 has a downwardly sloping inclined surface 31A on the top surface of the tip portion on the support position Q1 side (A1 side). The thickness of the support plate 31 decreases toward the A1 side at the location where the inclined surface 31A is formed, and the top surface is inclined by the amount of the decrease in thickness.

[0034] The support plate sliding mechanism 32 holds the support plate 31 so as to be movable along the A direction. The support plate sliding mechanism 32 is attached to the vertical sliding mechanism 34. The support plate sliding mechanism 32 has a guide rail 32A extending linearly along the A direction, a slider 32B attached to the guide rail 32A, and a movable frame 32C attached to the slider 32B. The slider 32B is slidable in the A direction along the guide rail 32A. The movable frame 32C extends linearly from one end (A1 side end) in the A2 direction and then bends in the C2 direction. The movable frame 32C is attached at one end so as to be slidable in the A direction relative to the slider 32B. The movable frame 32C supports the A2 side end of the support plate 31 at the other end on the C2 side.

[0035] The motor 33 moves the support plate 31 back and forth along the direction A. The motor 33 is attached to the up-down slide mechanism 34 with its output shaft facing the direction C2. A rotating arm 33A is attached to the output shaft of the motor 33. The rotating arm 33A extends linearly within the plane AB, and a tip end 33B engages with the support plate 31.

[0036] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the support mechanism 30 for explaining the movement of the support plate 31 between the support position Q1 and the retracted position Q2. As shown in FIG. 4, the A2-side end of the support plate 31 is provided with an engagement portion 31B extending linearly along the B direction. The tip 33B of the rotating arm 33A is engaged with the engagement portion 31B. The relative position of the tip 33B with respect to the engagement portion 31B in the A direction is restricted, and the tip 33B can move freely relative to the engagement portion 31B in the B direction. When the motor 33 rotates the rotating arm 33A in a predetermined direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 4) from the retracted position Q2 in FIG. 4, the tip 33B of the rotating arm 33A moves along an arc-shaped trajectory. The tip 33B maintains an engaged state with the engagement portion 31B while changing its position in the B direction. Therefore, as the position of the tip 33B in the A1 direction changes, the support plate 31 engaged with the tip 33B moves to the A1 side. When the rotating arm 33A rotates about 180 degrees counterclockwise in FIG. 4, the support plate 31 is disposed at the support position Q1. Conversely, when the motor 33 rotates the rotating arm 33A in the clockwise direction in FIG. 4 from the support position Q1 in FIG. 4, the support plate 31 moves to the A2 side. When the rotating arm 33A rotates about 180 degrees clockwise in FIG. 4, the support plate 31 is disposed at the retracted position Q2. As a result, the motor 33 moves the support plate 31 to the support position Q1 on the A1 side and the retracted position Q2 on the A2 side under the control of the control device 12. The support plate 31 moves forward and backward in the A direction together with the movable frame 32C and the slider 32B described above.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 3, the vertical slide mechanism 34 is fixed to the frame 50 and holds the support plate 31, the support plate slide mechanism 32, and the motor 33 so that they can move along the C direction. The vertical slide mechanism 34 has a plurality of shafts 34A extending along the C direction, a pair of fixed plates 34B that respectively hold both ends of the plurality of shafts 34A, and a movable member 34C slidably attached to the plurality of shafts 34A. The movable member 34C is provided with the support plate 31, the support plate slide mechanism 32, and the motor 33. The movable member 34C can move in the C direction along the shaft 34A by a predetermined range St1. When the support plate 31 is held in the air, the movable member 34C is supported by the fixed plate 34B on the C2 side at the lower limit position (C2 side end) of the predetermined range St1. FIG. 4 shows the state of this lower limit position. When an external force acts upward (towards C1) on the support plate 31, such as a reaction force when the support plate 31 comes into contact with the cutting table 2A, the support plate 31 can be displaced upward by a predetermined range St1.

[0038] <Connection> The connection part 40 has a holder 41 and a holder slide mechanism 42. The holder 41 is an attachment part that is attached to the tip of the arm part 11B (see FIG. 1) of the moving mechanism 11. The holder 41 is movable by the holder slide mechanism 42 along the C direction within a predetermined range St2.

[0039] The holder slide mechanism 42 has a plurality of shafts 42A extending in the C direction and a pair of fixed plates 42B that respectively hold both ends of the plurality of shafts 42A. The plurality of shafts 42A are inserted into linear bushes 41A of the holder 41. The fixed plate 42B on the lower side in the C direction is fixed to the frame 50.

[0040] The hand unit 10 is suspended by the tip of the arm unit 11B, and is held in a position in which the pickup roller 21 and the support plate 31 face vertically downward. The holder 41 connected to the arm unit 11B supports the fixed plate 42B on the C1 side via the spacer 42C at the upper limit position (position shown in FIG. 3) of the predetermined range St2. The fixed plate 42B on the C1 side supports the structure below the frame 50 via the shaft 42A and the fixed plate 42B on the C2 side. When picking up the fabric 6, the moving mechanism 11 moves the hand unit 10 downward to bring the pickup roller 21 into contact with the upper surface side of the fabric 6. Even if the moving mechanism 11 moves the hand unit 10 further downward, the holder 41 can be displaced toward the C2 side by the predetermined range St2, so that the pressing force of the moving mechanism 11 is prevented from acting on the fabric 6. As a result, the pressing force applied from the pickup roller 21 to the fabric 6 when picking up the fabric 6 can be kept constant. The pressing force applied to the fabric 6 substantially corresponds to the weight of the hand portion 10 .

[0041] (How to fold fabric) Next, a fabric folding method according to this embodiment will be described. The operation of the fabric folding device 1 is for carrying out the fabric folding method according to this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of fabric before and after folding by the fabric folding device. FIG. 6 is a first diagram for explaining the fabric folding method according to this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a second diagram for explaining the fabric folding method according to this embodiment. The operation control of the fabric folding device 1 is executed by the control device 12.

[0042] As an example of folding, a case will be described in which a long strip-shaped fabric 6 shown in the upper part of Fig. 5 is folded in a zigzag pattern at a certain length as shown in the lower part of Fig. 5 to compactly fold it. Folding in a zigzag pattern means folding the fabric 6 into multiple layers by repeating the following operations: (1) folding one side of a fabric portion (overlapped portion 6A) to the other side and overlapping it on top (valley fold), and (2) folding the other side of the overlapped fabric portion to one side and overlapping it on top (mountain fold). The folded U-turn portions are alternately formed on one side and the other side of the overlapped portion 6A, so that the fabric 6 as a whole has a layered shape with a zigzag cross section. The number of folds is determined by the ratio of the total length of the fabric 6 (denoted as L) and the length d of the overlapped portion 6A. f Since the number of times depends on the length of the folded fabric (i.e., the length of the folded fabric), any number of times greater than one is acceptable. In the following, the folded fabric 6 as shown in the lower part of FIG. 5 is referred to as a "laminate" for convenience.

[0043] As shown in Figure 6, the fabric folding method of this embodiment includes step S1 of holding the fabric 6 on the placement surface PS with the pick-up mechanism 20 of the hand unit 10, step S2 of moving the support plate 31 of the hand unit 10 to a support position Q1 below the pick-up mechanism 20 to support the fabric 6, and step S3 of folding the fabric 6 held by the hand unit 10 onto the placement surface PS.

[0044] In the following description, as shown in FIG. 5, the length direction of the fabric 6 on the placement surface PS of the cutting table 2A (see FIG. 1) is defined as the Y-axis direction.

[0045] In step S1 of FIG. 6, the fabric folding device 1 causes the pickup mechanism 20 (pickup roller 21) to hold one end of the fabric 6. First, the control device 12 controls the movement mechanism 11 (see FIG. 1) to move the hand unit 10 downward from a position above the fabric 6 with the A direction of the hand unit 10 aligned with the Y axis direction and the C direction of the hand unit 10 aligned with the Z axis direction. As a result, the movement mechanism 11 brings the lower part (C2 side end) of the pickup roller 21 into contact with one end 6B of the fabric 6 on the placement surface PS. At this time, the support plate 31 is disposed at the retracted position Q2. Note that the support plate 31 comes into contact with the placement surface PS before the pickup roller 21 does, but is displaced in the C1 direction by the vertical slide mechanism 34 to a position substantially the same as the lower end of the pickup roller 21.

[0046] The control device 12 rotates the pickup roller 21, which is in contact with one end 6B of the fabric 6, in the winding direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 5) by the first motor 22 (see FIG. 3). At this time, the control device 12 slides the pickup roller 21 in the A1 direction by the second motor 24 (see FIG. 3). As the pickup roller 21 rotates, it attaches one end 6B of the fabric 6 to the detachable member 21A while winding and holding the end 6B around the outer circumferential surface of the roller. The control device 12 rotates the pickup roller 21, for example, 180 degrees. Step S1 in FIG. 6 shows a state in which winding of the fabric 6 around the pickup roller 21 is completed.

[0047] In step S2, the support mechanism 30 supports the lower side of the fabric 6 below the holding part by placing the support plate 31 at the support position Q1 while the pickup mechanism 20 (pickup roller 21) holds one end side of the fabric 6. First, the control device 12 controls the moving mechanism 11 (see FIG. 1) to move the hand unit 10 upward to separate the pickup roller 21 and the support plate 31 upward from the placement surface PS. Then, the control device 12 controls the motor 33 (see FIG. 4) of the support mechanism 30 to move the support plate 31 from the retracted position Q2 to the support position Q1. As a result, the support plate 31 is placed below the pickup roller 21, and supports a part of the fabric 6 hanging down from the pickup roller 21 on the upper surface. As a result, the fabric 6 held by the hand unit 10 is held in a form that hangs down from the tip of the support plate 31. Step S2 in FIG. 6 shows a state in which the support plate 31 is placed at the support position Q1.

[0048] In step S3, the movement mechanism 11 moves the hand unit 10 supporting the dough 6 by the pickup mechanism 20 (pickup roller 21) and the support plate 31 above the placement surface PS, and folds the lifted dough 6 onto the placement surface PS.

[0049] The movement mechanism 11 moves the hand unit 10 holding one end of the fabric 6 in a combination of reciprocating movement in one horizontal direction (Y-axis direction) and movement in the up-down direction (Z-axis direction), thereby folding the fabric 6 in a zigzag pattern over the other end (i.e., overlapping portion 6A) of the fabric 6 placed on the placement surface PS. That is, as shown in Fig. 6, the movement mechanism 11 executes an operation of moving the hand unit 10 from one side to the other in the Y-axis direction to fold the fabric 6, and an operation of moving the hand unit 10 from the other side to one side in the Y-axis direction to fold the fabric 6 in the opposite direction a predetermined number of times. As a result, the fabric 6 is folded in a zigzag pattern.

[0050] 8 is a diagram showing an example of the trajectory of the hand unit 10 when folding the fabric 6. For convenience of explanation, in FIG. 8, the trajectory of the hand unit 10 is shown as a change in position of point P at the right end of the pickup roller 21 in the figure. The control device 12 determines whether point P of the hand unit 10 is at the start position P 0 From point P 1 , point P 2 , point P 3 , point P 4 , , end position P n The moving mechanism 11 is controlled so that the point P 4 The trajectory of the

[0051] The hand unit 10 is at the starting position P 0 During the zigzag movement from the support position Q1, the pickup mechanism 20 (pickup roller 21) and the support mechanism 30 are stopped. In other words, the control device 12 maintains the first motor 22, the second motor 24, and the motor 33 of the hand unit 10 in a stopped state. Therefore, during the folding operation of the fabric 6, one end side of the fabric 6 is not further wound around the pickup roller 21, and the support plate 31 is not moved from the support position Q1 to the retracted position Q2.

[0052] When folding the fabric 6 in a zigzag pattern, the moving mechanism 11 moves the fabric 6 from the start position P 0 The hand unit 10 is moved along a zigzag trajectory consisting of a combination of linear movements from a point P i From the next point P i+1 The trajectory up to is a straight line.

[0053] starting position P 0 The Y and Z coordinates are calculated by the formula (1).

number

[0054] And the point P at the i-th movement iの Target coordinates (P iy ,P iz ) (where i is 1 to n) can be calculated using formula (2).

number

[0055] Information on the fabric 6 to be folded (length e of overlapping portion 6A, length c of remaining portion, total length L, extra length E, number of folds n) is preset in the control device 12 for each type of cloth part. Information on the dimensions of the hand unit 10 (radius r, distance a in the Y-axis direction, distance b in the Z-axis direction) is known from the specifications of the hand unit 10 and is preset in the control device 12.

[0056] The control device 12 determines the starting position P of the point P based on the equations (1) and (2). 0 From end position P n Up to each point P i The position coordinates of the end position P are calculated, and the moving mechanism 11 is controlled based on the calculated position coordinates. As a result, the fabric 6 spread on the placement surface PS becomes a zigzag-folded laminate as shown in FIG. 5. n and immediately before (P n-1 The coordinates of the position θ may be different from those of the position θ in consideration of the operation in step S4 and subsequent steps described later.

[0057] As shown in Fig. 7, the fabric folding method according to this embodiment includes step S4 of moving the support plate 31 from the support position Q1 to the retracted position Q2 to release the support after the fabric 6 has been folded (after step S3). The control device 12 controls the motor 33 (see Fig. 4) of the support mechanism 30 to move the support plate 31 from the support position Q1 to the retracted position Q2. By moving to the retracted position Q2, the support plate 31 is pulled out from between one end 6B of the fabric 6 held by the pickup roller 21 and the fabric portion below the one end 6B. The support plate 31 is disposed at a position away from the stack of fabric 6 in the Y-axis direction.

[0058] In step S4, even after the support of the fabric 6 by the support plate 31 is released, the hand unit 10 maintains the state in which the fabric 6 is held by the pickup roller 21. The control device 12 keeps the first motor 22 (see FIG. 3) stopped from rotating, and keeps one end 6B of the fabric 6 wrapped around the outer circumferential surface of the pickup roller 21. Step S4 in FIG. 7 shows a state in which the support plate 31 is disposed at the retracted position Q2 while the fabric 6 is held by the pickup roller 21.

[0059] Next, the fabric folding method according to the present embodiment includes step S5 in which, after the fabric 6 is folded, the support plate 31 is moved from the retracted position Q2 to the support position Q1 to place the support plate 31 between the fabric 6 and the placement surface PS. In step S5, the control device 12 controls the movement mechanism 11 to bring the support plate 31 into contact with the placement surface PS. Next, the control device 12 controls the motor 33 (see FIG. 4) of the support mechanism 30 to move the support plate 31 from the retracted position Q2 to the support position Q1. By moving to the support position Q1, the support plate 31 is inserted between the lower surface of the stack (the lower surface of the overlapping portion 6A) and the placement surface PS. The support plate 31 enters the lower side of the stack so as to make the stack ride up onto the inclined surface 31A.

[0060] Thus, in step S5, after the fabric 6 is folded, the support mechanism 30 moves the support plate 31 from the retracted position Q2 to the support position Q1 to position the support plate 31 between the fabric 6 and the placement surface PS. In this way, the support mechanism 30 supports the entire stack of fabric 6 from below with the support plate 31. Note that, in addition to moving the support plate 31 to the support position Q1, the control device 12 may control the movement mechanism 11 to move the entire hand unit 10 in the Y-axis direction to insert the support plate 31 under the fabric 6.

[0061] The fabric folding method according to this embodiment also includes step S6 of moving the stack of fabrics 6 to a destination. In this embodiment, the destination is the installation table 5 (see FIG. 1). In step S6, as shown in FIG. 1, the control device 12 controls the movement mechanism 11 to move the hand unit 10, which is supporting the stack from below, from the cutting table 2A to the installation table 5. The support plate 31 of the hand unit 10 is placed on the upper surface of the installation table 5. Thus, in step S6, the movement mechanism 11 moves the hand unit 10, which is supporting the folded fabrics 6 from below with the support plate 31, to the destination (installation table 5).

[0062] Next, in step S7, the hand unit 10 releases the fabric 6 (laminated body). First, the hand unit 10 releases the fabric 6 from the pickup roller 21. The control device 12 controls the first motor 22 (see FIG. 3) to rotate the pickup roller 21 in the reverse direction (clockwise in FIG. 7). At this time, the control device 12 causes the second motor 24 (see FIG. 3) to slide the pickup roller 21 in the A2 direction. The pickup roller 21 moves in the Y direction (A2 direction) along the upper surface of the laminate while releasing one end 6B of the fabric 6 from the detachable member 21A. As a result, the pickup roller 21 overlaps one end 6B of the fabric 6 that was wound around the outer circumferential surface of the roller on the laminate.

[0063] Next, with the support plate 31 of the hand unit 10 placed on the upper surface of the installation table 5, the control device 12 controls the motor 33 (see FIG. 4) of the support mechanism 30 to move the support plate 31 from the support position Q1 to the retracted position Q2. By moving to the retracted position Q2, the support plate 31 is pulled out from between the lower surface of the fabric 6 and the upper surface of the installation table 5. As a result, the stack of fabric 6 is placed on the installation table 5. Step S7 in FIG. 7 shows a state in which the pickup roller 21 releases the fabric 6 and the support plate 31 is pulled out from the lower surface of the fabric 6.

[0064] In this way, one piece of fabric 6 (cloth part) is folded into a shape suitable for transportation and transported from the cutting table 2A to the installation stand 5, completing the pick-and-place operation.

[0065] The fabric folding device 1 performs the above steps S1 to S7 for each piece of fabric 6 on the cutting table 2A, thereby sequentially transporting the pieces of fabric 6 to the installation table 5. The control device 12 arranges each piece of fabric 6 on the installation table 5 together according to a preset type of fabric 6 (cloth parts) so that the cloth parts (parts F1, F2, and F3) required to manufacture one cloth product form one unit.

[0066] [effect] As described above, the fabric folding device 1 according to the embodiment includes a hand unit 10 including a pick-up mechanism 20 that wraps around and holds a portion of the fabric 6, a support mechanism 30 that moves a support plate 31 back and forth between a support position Q1 below the pick-up mechanism 20 and a retracted position Q2 away from the support position Q1, and a moving mechanism 11 that moves the hand unit 10 in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) and at least one horizontal direction (Y-axis direction) to fold the fabric 6 held by the hand unit 10.

[0067] According to the embodiment, the underside of the fabric 6 held by the pickup mechanism 20 can be supported by the support plate 31 arranged at the support position Q1. As a result, even if the fabric 6 is long or has a large surface area, when the fabric 6 is lifted by the hand unit 10, the support plate 31 supports the fabric 6 from below, reducing the force acting on the pickup mechanism 20 and preventing the fabric 6 from falling off. Then, by moving the hand unit 10 in at least one horizontal direction (Y-axis direction) while holding the fabric 6, the fabric 6 can be folded compactly along the movement direction (Y-axis direction). As a result, the unsewn cloth part (fabric 6) can be picked up and organized into a form suitable for transportation.

[0068] The support mechanism 30 supports the lower side of the fabric 6 from the holding portion by disposing the support plate 31 at the support position Q1 while the pickup mechanism 20 holds one end of the fabric 6. The moving mechanism 11 moves the hand unit 10, which supports the fabric 6 by the pickup mechanism 20 and the support plate 31, above the placement surface PS, and folds the lifted fabric 6 onto the placement surface PS. This allows one end of the fabric 6 to be suspended from above by the hand unit 10 and folded onto the other end of the fabric 6 on the placement surface PS. Since the fabric 6 on the placement surface PS is folded on the spot, the fabric 6 can be folded compactly without being dragged. Therefore, even if the fabric 6 is long or has a large area, the fabric 6 can be prevented from being soiled due to dragging when folding.

[0069] After the fabric 6 is folded, the support mechanism 30 moves the support plate 31 from the retreat position Q2 to the support position Q1 to place the support plate 31 between the fabric 6 and the placement surface PS. The moving mechanism 11 moves the hand unit 10, which supports the folded fabric 6 from below by the support plate 31, to the destination (installation table 5). This not only organizes the pre-sewn fabric parts (fabric 6) into a shape suitable for transportation, but also allows a pick-and-place operation to transport the organized fabric parts to the destination. At this time, the support plate 31 not only supports the bottom of the part held by the pickup mechanism 20 when the fabric 6 is folded, but also scoops up the entire compactly folded fabric 6 and supports it from below when the fabric 6 is transported. This allows even a long fabric 6 or a fabric 6 with a large area to be transported to the destination while effectively preventing it from being dragged or dropped.

[0070] The support plate 31 has a downwardly sloping surface 31A on the upper surface of the tip portion on the support position Q1 side. This allows the support plate 31 to be inserted between the folded fabric 6 and the placement surface PS while the lower surface of the fabric 6 rides up onto the sloping surface 31A. This allows the support plate 31 to be inserted smoothly without destroying the shape of the folded fabric 6.

[0071] The moving mechanism 11 moves the hand unit 10 holding one end of the fabric 6 in a combination of reciprocating movement in one direction (Y-axis direction) and movement in the up-down direction (Z-axis direction), thereby folding the fabric 6 in a zigzag pattern over the other end of the fabric 6 placed on the placement surface PS. This allows the entire fabric 6 to be folded quickly while still holding one end of the fabric 6. For example, compared to a method of repeatedly folding the fabric 6 in half by holding one end of the fabric 6 and then holding the folded-back middle part and folding it in half again, there is no need to repeatedly hold and release the fabric 6, so the entire fabric 6 can be folded compactly in a short time.

[0072] When folding the dough 6 in a zigzag pattern, the movement mechanism 11 moves the hand unit 10 from a start position P0 above the placement surface PS along a zigzag trajectory consisting of a combination of linear movements. This allows the dough 6 to be folded in a zigzag pattern simply by combining simple linear movements. This simplifies the control of the movement mechanism 11, and makes it easy to set the trajectory of the hand unit 10 for folding the dough 6.

[0073] During the zigzag movement from the start position P0, the hand unit 10 stops the pickup mechanism 20 (pickup roller 21) and the support mechanism 30. In other words, the fabric 6 is folded over by simply moving the hand unit 10 in a zigzag manner by the movement mechanism 11. This simplifies the control of the fabric folding device 1 compared to when the fabric 6 is folded over by combining, for example, the rotation of the pickup roller 21 and the movement of the support plate 31.

[0074] The moving mechanism 11 includes an articulated robot arm, which allows the moving mechanism 11 to be made smaller than when the moving mechanism 11 is configured using, for example, a ceiling-suspended gantry robot.

[0075] In addition, the fabric folding method of the embodiment includes a step (S1) of holding the fabric 6 on the placement surface PS with the pick-up mechanism 20 of the hand unit 10, a step (S2) of moving the support plate 31 of the hand unit 10 to a support position Q1 below the pick-up mechanism 20 to support the fabric 6, and a step (S3) of moving the hand unit 10 in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) and at least one horizontal direction (Y-axis direction) to fold the fabric 6 held by the hand unit 10 onto the placement surface PS.

[0076] According to the embodiment, the underside of the fabric 6 held by the pickup mechanism 20 can be supported by the support plate 31 arranged at the support position Q1. As a result, even if the fabric 6 is long or has a large surface area, when the fabric 6 is lifted by the hand unit 10, the support plate 31 supports the fabric 6 from below, reducing the force acting on the pickup mechanism 20 and preventing the fabric 6 from falling off. Then, by moving the hand unit 10 in at least one horizontal direction (Y-axis direction) while holding the fabric 6, the fabric 6 can be folded compactly along the movement direction (Y-axis direction). As a result, the unsewn cloth part (fabric 6) can be picked up and organized into a form suitable for transportation.

[0077] (Other embodiments) In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the hand unit 10 is moved in a zigzag trajectory to fold the fabric 6 in a zigzag manner. The fabric may be folded in half by, for example, holding one end of the fabric 6 and folding it in half, and then holding the folded-back middle portion and folding it in half again, in other words, by repeating folding in half.

[0078] In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the hand unit 10 is moved in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) and one horizontal direction (Y-axis direction) when folding the fabric 6. The movement direction of the hand unit 10 when folding the fabric 6 may be the X-axis direction instead of the Y-axis direction, or may be both the Y-axis direction and the X-axis direction.

[0079] In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the hand unit 10 moves along a zigzag trajectory consisting of a combination of linear movements when folding the fabric 6. The trajectory when folding the fabric 6 may be other than a combination of linear movements. For example, the hand unit 10 may move along a curved zigzag trajectory.

[0080] In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the pickup roller 21 and the support mechanism 30 are stopped when the fabric 6 is folded, but the pickup roller 21 and the support mechanism 30 may be operated when the fabric 6 is folded. In this case, although the control of the fabric folding device 1 becomes more complicated, it may be possible to shorten the moving distance of the hand unit 10 when folding (the total length of the trajectory of point P).

[0081] In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the moving mechanism 11 is configured as a multi-joint robot arm. The moving mechanism may be a gantry robot or the like. The moving mechanism may also be equipped with multiple arms (manipulators) such as a dual-arm robot, in which case each arm may be provided with a hand unit 10.

[0082] In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the moving mechanism 11 folds the fabric 6 and then moves the hand unit 10, which supports the folded fabric 6 from below by the support plate 31, to the destination (installation table 5). The fabric folding device may only fold the fabric 6 and not transport the fabric 6 to the destination. For example, the fabric folding device may only fold the fabric 6 on the cutting table 2A, and the folded fabric 6 may be transported by another transport robot or manually carried by a sewing worker. Even in this case, when the fabric 6 is spread out on the cutting table 2A, it is difficult for a general transport robot to transport it without dragging it and compact it, and it is cumbersome for a sewing worker to fold the fabric 6 one by one, so it is useful to fold the fabric 6 compactly by the fabric folding device.

[0083] In the above-described embodiment, an example of the pickup mechanism 20 in which the fabric 6 is wrapped around and held by the pickup roller 21 is shown, but the pickup mechanism may also be configured to hold the fabric by air (negative pressure) adsorption, electrostatic adsorption, gripping with a gripper or needle, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 1...Fabric folding device, 2...Cutting machine, 2A...Cutting table, 3...Sewing device, 4...Original fabric, 5...Installation table, 6...Fabric, 6A...Overlapping portion, 6B...One end portion, 6C...Space, 10...Hand portion, 11...Moving mechanism, 11A...Base portion, 11B...Arm portion, 11C...Actuator, 11D...Link, 12...Control device, 12A...Processor, 12B...Memory portion, 12C...Input / output portion, 20...Pickup mechanism, 21...Pickup roller, 21A...Detachable member, 22...First motor, 23...Slide mechanism, 23A...Guide rail, 23B...Slider, 23C...Power transmission member , 24...second motor, 30...support mechanism, 31...support plate, 31A...inclined surface, 31B...engagement portion, 32...support plate slide mechanism, 32A...guide rail, 32B...slider, 32C...movable frame, 33...motor, 33A...rotating arm, 33B...tip portion, 34...up-down slide mechanism, 34A...shaft, 34C...movable member, 34B...fixed plate, 40...connection portion, 41...holder, 41A...linear bush, 42...holder slide mechanism, 42A...shaft, 42B...fixed plate, 42C...spacer, 50...frame, PS...mounting surface, Q1...support position, Q2...retracted position

Claims

1. A pick-up mechanism for holding a portion of the fabric; a support mechanism that moves a support plate forward and backward between a support position below the pickup mechanism and a retreat position away from the support position; A hand unit including: a moving mechanism for moving the hand unit in at least one of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction and folding the fabric held by the hand unit, Fabric folding device.

2. the support mechanism supports a lower side of the holding portion of the fabric by disposing the support plate at the support position while the pickup mechanism holds one end side of the fabric, The moving mechanism moves the hand unit, which supports the dough by the pickup mechanism and the support plate, above the placement surface, and folds the lifted dough onto the placement surface. The fabric folding device according to claim 1.

3. After the dough is folded, the support mechanism moves the support plate from the retracted position to the support position to position the support plate between the dough and a placement surface; The moving mechanism moves the hand unit, which supports the folded fabric from below by the support plate, to a destination. The fabric folding device according to claim 1.

4. The support plate has a downwardly inclined surface on the upper surface of the tip portion on the support position side. The fabric folding device according to claim 3.

5. The moving mechanism moves the hand unit holding one end side of the fabric by a combination of reciprocating movement along the one direction and vertical movement, thereby folding the fabric in a zigzag pattern onto the other end side of the fabric placed on a placement surface. The fabric folding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The moving mechanism moves the hand unit along a zigzag path consisting of a combination of linear movements from a start position above the placement surface when folding the fabric in a zigzag pattern. The fabric folding device according to claim 5.

7. the hand unit stops the pickup mechanism and the support mechanism during the zigzag movement from the start position. The fabric folding device according to claim 6.

8. The moving mechanism includes an articulated robot arm. The fabric folding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

9. holding the fabric on the placement surface by a pick-up mechanism of the hand unit; a step of moving a support plate of the hand unit to a support position below the pickup mechanism to support the fabric; and moving the hand unit along at least one of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction to fold the fabric held by the hand unit onto the placement surface. How to fold fabric.

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