Article transfer device

Abstract

To provide an article transfer device that transfers a flat article having a flat face and an uneven face on front and rear faces thereof to a predetermined transfer position while adsorbing either face of the front and rear faces and prevents a crack and a chip of a fragile article .SOLUTION: An article transfer device 10 transfers a flat article M having a flat face and an uneven face on front and rear faces thereof to a predetermined transfer position while adsorbing either face of the front and rear faces. The article transfer device 10 comprises; a camera 18 that photographs an image of the article M placed on a conveying surface 12A of a supply conveyor 12 that acts as a placement surface without getting the front and rear faces lined up; a front / rear face determining part 24 that determines which face of the front and rear faces of the article M to be transferred is pointed upward, on the basis of the photographed image; a robot 16 comprising an adsorption head 26 that can adsorb a flat face Ma and an uneven face Mb of the article M, which moves the article M while adsorbing the article; and a controller 22 that controls motion of the robot 16. When the article transfer device 10 adsorbs the flat face Ma of the article M, the controller 22 makes the adsorption head 26 separate upward from the conveying surface 12A more than when the device adsorbs the uneven face Mb.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an article transfer device that adsorbs either the front or back surface of a flat article having a flat surface and an uneven surface on its front and back surfaces, and transfers the article to a predetermined transfer location. [Background technology]

[0002] In a material supplying device using a vision tracking robot system, there is known a device that processes the image of the workpiece using the image from a camera installed on the supply conveyor, and performs pick-and-place operation of the robot based on the obtained detection data of the workpiece. For example, in a production line for instant noodles, flat material such as tempura, which has a flat surface on one side and an uneven surface on the other side, is handled as a workpiece. The tempura is picked up by the robot on either the flat surface or the uneven surface and transferred (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7328499 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, ingredients (workpieces) such as tempura are dried and brittle, and can crack or chip when subjected to impacts during suction or transfer. In particular, when the shape of the workpiece differs between the front and back, such as with tempura, the workpiece may crack or chip if suction and release are performed using the same control when suctioning the front side and when suctioning the back side. For example, when an uneven surface is in contact with the placement surface (uneven surface facing downwards), the contact is unstable, so if the suction cup is pressed against a flat surface during suction, it is likely to crack. Similarly, when transferring, there is the problem that the uneven surface is likely to crack if pressed against the transfer location.

[0005] The present invention has an objective of preventing fragile objects from cracking or chipping in an object transfer device that adsorbs either the front or back of a flat object having a flat surface and an uneven surface on both sides and transfers the object to a predetermined transfer location. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The first invention of the present invention is an article transfer device that adsorbs either the front or back surface of a flat article having a flat surface and an uneven surface on its front and back and transfers it to a predetermined transfer location, and is equipped with an imaging means for taking an image of the article placed on the loading surface without aligning the front and back surfaces, a front / back determination means for determining from the captured image whether the article to be transferred is placed with the front or back surface facing upward, an article moving means for adsorbing and moving the article by having an suction part that can adsorb the flat and uneven surfaces of the article, and a control means for controlling the operation of the article moving means, wherein the control means causes the article moving means to adsorb the suction part at a position above the loading surface when adsorbing the flat surface of the article compared to when adsorbing the uneven surface.

[0007] The second invention of the present invention is an article transfer device, which is characterized in that in the first invention, when the control means transfers an article adsorbed by the article moving means to a predetermined transfer location, if the suction portion is adsorbing a flat surface of the article, the suction portion is moved upwardly away from the transfer location to release suction, compared to when the suction portion is adsorbing an uneven surface. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, in an article transfer device that adsorbs either the front or back of a flat article having a flat surface and an uneven surface on both sides and transfers it to a designated transfer location, it is possible to prevent fragile articles from cracking or chipping. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the arrangement of the article transfer device of the present embodiment. [Diagram 2]11 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic comparison of the height of the suction head when suctioning an object on a flat surface and when suctioning an object on an uneven surface; FIG. [Diagram 3] 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic comparison of the height of the suction head when a flat surface is suctioned and when an uneven surface is suctioned when transferring a picked-up article; FIG. [Figure 4] 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic comparison of the height of the suction head when suctioning the topmost item of a pile of items and when suctioning a single item. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic side view showing the arrangement of an article transfer device according to the present embodiment.

[0011] The article transfer device 10 of this embodiment is an apparatus that transfers a flat article M having a flat surface and an uneven surface on the front and back sides from a conveying surface 12A of a supply conveyor 12, which serves as a placement surface for the article M, to a predetermined transfer location on a conveying surface 14A of a transport conveyor 14, using a robot (article moving means) 16 such as a parallel link robot. The supply conveyor 12 and the transport conveyor 14 are, for example, belt conveyors, and the article M is, for example, a brittle, flat ingredient such as tempura that is put into instant noodles. The uneven surface is formed by placing ingredients such as shrimp on the flat surface, and the tempura is placed on the noodles with the uneven surface facing up, so in this embodiment, the uneven surface is the front and the flat surface is the back.

[0012] A plurality of objects M are continuously and randomly supplied onto the conveying surface 12A of the supply conveyor 12 from a hopper 18 disposed adjacent to the upstream end of the supply conveyor 12. That is, the objects M on the conveying surface 12A of the supply conveyor 12 are not aligned with respect to their front and back sides or positions, but are scattered and some are overlapping each other.

[0013] A transport conveyor 14 is disposed adjacent to the downstream end of the supply conveyor 12. In Fig. 1, the transport direction of the transport conveyor 14 is perpendicular to the supply conveyor 12. A robot 16 is disposed above the downstream end of the supply conveyor 12, and a transfer location for the article M is set at a predetermined position on the transport conveyor 14 within its operating range.

[0014] A predetermined area downstream of the supply conveyor 12 is set as a pickup area where the robot 16 picks up the items M. A camera (imaging means) 18 is installed above the pickup area to capture images of the items M on the conveying surface 12A in the pickup area. Lights 20 used to capture images of the items M in the pickup area are disposed above both sides of the supply conveyor 12. The imaging range of the camera 18 for the items M is set so that the items M moving at the most downstream position within the pickup area are included in the image.

[0015] The driving of the supply conveyor 12, the robot 16, and the camera 18 is controlled based on a signal from a controller (control means) 22. In addition, an image signal of the camera 18 is transmitted to the controller 22. The image of the article M on the conveying surface 12A taken by the camera 18 is image-processed in the controller 22 to grasp the position of the article M to be transferred, and is analyzed in a front / back determining unit (front / back determining means) 24 incorporated in the controller 22 to determine the front / back of the article M to be transferred. The controller 22 determines the article M located at the most downstream position among the articles M conveyed in the pickup area as the transfer target by the robot 16, grasps the outline of the article M, and detects the position of the center of gravity. The robot 16 is controlled based on the analysis result of the front / back determining unit 24, and sequentially picks up and moves each article M in the pickup area on the supply conveyor 12, and transfers it to a transfer position set on the conveying surface 14A of the conveying conveyor 14.

[0016] Deep learning using AI (artificial intelligence) is employed for the analysis of the article M by the front / back determination unit 24. This makes it possible not only to determine the front / back of a single article M, but also to grasp the contour of the topmost article M in a group of articles consisting of multiple overlapping articles M. When such an article group is at the most downstream of the pickup area, the controller 22 operates the robot 16 to pick up the topmost article M of the group with priority over the article M located at the most downstream position. Note that if there are no overlaps among the supplied articles M and only the front / back of the articles M needs to be determined, it is also possible to make the determination by grasping the differences in shape and color through image processing without using AI.

[0017] The camera 18 takes an image every time an article M is picked up. As a result, even if the positions of the other articles M shift when the top article M in the group of articles is picked up, the positions are grasped again by the controller 22.

[0018] A suction head (suction unit) 26 that suctions and holds an article M is provided at the tip of the arm 16A of the robot 16. In this embodiment, the suction head 26 is composed of a suction cup 26A with a bellows 26B. The arm 16A of the robot 16 is controlled so that the suction cup 26A of the suction head 26 suctions the center of gravity of the article M to be transferred.

[0019] In addition, in the article transfer device 10, the controller 22 detects the position of the article M to be transferred among the articles M transported on the supply conveyor 12, and the suction head 26 moves to follow the transport speed of the supply conveyor 12 to adsorb the article M to be transferred. Therefore, if overlapping articles M (articles M of an article group) are transferred while the transport speed of the supply conveyor 12 is maintained constant, while the robot 16 is transferring the topmost article M to be transferred to the transport conveyor 14, the most downstream article M below the overlapping article may be transported outside the downstream side of the pickup area. Therefore, in this embodiment, when it is determined that the suction head 26 cannot keep up with the adsorption of the next article M to be transferred, the controller 22 slows down or stops the supply conveyor 12.

[0020] The suction head 26 is constantly sucked by a blower (not shown), and suction is cut off when the suction of the item M is released, and suction is resumed while the head moves to suck up the next item M, and when the suction head 26 sucks up the item M, the head approaches the item M in the suction state.

[0021] Next, the details of the suction and transfer operation of the object M in this embodiment using the robot 16 will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. Figures 2 to 4 are explanatory diagrams that typically show a comparison of the height of the suction head 26 in each state described below.

[0022] In the suction and transfer operation of this embodiment, the suction head 26 selects a suction method for the object M depending on the difference between the front and back sides of the object M and the presence or absence of overlapping, as determined by the front and back side determination unit 24. Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the suction operation of a single object M (without overlapping objects M). Fig. 2(a) shows the object M with the flat surface Ma facing up on the right side and the object M with the uneven surface Mb facing up on the left side, just before they are suctioned by the suction head 26, and Fig. 2(b) shows the object M with the flat surface Ma facing up on the right side and the object M with the uneven surface Mb facing up on the left side, both of which have been suctioned by the suction head 26. It can be seen that the position of the suction head 26 suctioning the flat surface Ma is higher than when suctioning the uneven surface Mb, and is spaced upward from the conveying surface 12A (placing surface).

[0023] 2(a), when suctioning an object M with its uneven surface Mb facing up, the suction head 26 is lowered to a height where the suction cups 26A come into contact with and cover the uneven surface Mb. This is because the suction cups 26A easily adhere to and suction the flat surface Ma, whereas the suction cups 26A have difficulty adhering to the uneven surface Mb due to the unevenness, and so it is necessary to press the suction cups 26A against the uneven surface Mb to increase the suction force and perform suction.

[0024] 2(a), when suctioning an article M with the flat surface Ma facing up (article M with the uneven surface Mb facing down), the suction head 26 stops descending at a height that is higher than when suctioning the uneven surface Mb shown on the left side, and suctions the article M. This height is set so that the suction cups 26A of the suction head 26 do not come into contact with the flat surface Ma for articles M having varying thicknesses, and so that the suction cups 26A do not come into contact with the article M but are high enough to suction the article M with the suction force of the suction head 26.

[0025] Fig. 2(b) shows a state in which the article M with the uneven surface Mb facing up and the article M with the flat surface Ma facing up are sucked by the suction cups 26A and slightly lifted up from the conveying surface 12A. Note that in this state, the height of the suction head 26 itself remains the same as the height shown in Fig. 2(a), and shows a state in which the article M is sucked by the suction cups 26A and the bellows 26B is compressed by the suction force of the suction head 26 to lift up the article M. From this state, the arm 16A of the robot 16 is operated to move the article M.

[0026] Fig. 3 shows the state when the object M adsorbed by the suction head 26 is transferred to a transfer location set on the transport surface 14A of the transport conveyor 14. The right side of Fig. 3 shows the state when the object M adsorbed on the flat surface Ma is transferred onto the transport surface 14A, and the left side shows the state when the object M adsorbed on the uneven surface Mb is transferred onto the transport surface 14A, and it can be seen that the position of the suction head 26 adsorbing the flat surface Ma is higher than when the uneven surface Mb is adsorbed, and is separated upward from the transfer location set on the transport surface 14.

[0027] As shown on the left side of Fig. 3, when the article M with the uneven surface Mb sucked is transferred onto the conveying surface 14A, the suction head 26 is lowered to a height where the lower surface (flat surface Ma) of the article M sucked onto the suction cups 26A contacts the conveying surface 14A, and the suction is released. On the other hand, when the article M with the flat surface Ma sucked is transferred onto the conveying surface 14A, the suction head 26 stops lowering at a height that is higher than the height when the uneven surface Mb shown on the left side is sucked, and the suction of the article M is released. This height is set so that when the suction cups 26A suck the article M, the uneven surface Mb of the lower surface generally does not contact the conveying surface 14A, and when the suction is released, the bellows 26B extends and the article M is approximately grounded on the conveying surface 14A, but the load of the suction cups 26A and the bellows 26B is not applied to the article M. As a result, when the flat surface Ma is sucked and transferred, the suction is interrupted and released at an earlier timing than when the uneven surface Mb is sucked and transferred.

[0028] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the topmost object M is picked up by the suction head 26 from a pile of overlapping objects M.

[0029] The left side of Fig. 4 shows how the suction head 26 suctions the upper article M from a stack of two overlapping articles M, and the right side shows how a single article M is suctioned for comparison. The left side of Fig. 4 shows a state in which the upper article M to be suctioned has its flat surface Ma facing up, and the right side shows a case in which a single article M is suctioned with its corresponding flat surface Ma facing up. In the illustrated example, the lower article M has its concave-convex surface Mb facing up.

[0030] The robot 16 controls the height of the suction head 26 in the same manner as when suctioning a single object M as described with reference to Figure 2, depending on whether the topmost object M among the stacked objects M has its flat surface Ma or its uneven surface Mb facing up.

[0031] In this embodiment, when the controller 22 detects the presence of a group of articles, the front / back determining unit 24 grasps the outline of the topmost article M in the group of articles and determines its front / back, and based on this, the height of the suction head 26 when adsorbing the topmost article M of the overlapping group is controlled. That is, when adsorbing the topmost article M of the group of articles, the suction unit is moved upward from the conveying surface 12A to adsorb it, compared to when adsorbing a single article M without overlaps, and the thickness (height) of the article M located below the article M to be transferred is taken into account, and a preset offset value is added to reflect this in the height at which the suction cup 26A adsorbs it. When the height of the suction head 26 that adsorbs the lower article M of the group of articles is used as a reference, the height of the suction head 26 is raised by the offset value to adsorb the upper article M.

[0032] Furthermore, as shown on the left side of Fig. 4, when the topmost article M of the group of articles to be transferred has the flat surface Ma facing up, i.e., when the flat surface Ma is to be adsorbed, the suction head 26 is arranged to be spaced upward from the conveying surface 12A compared to when the uneven surface Mb is adsorbed, similar to when a single article M is adsorbed. Therefore, although not shown, when the topmost article M of the group of articles to be transferred has the uneven surface Mb facing up, the height of the suction head 26 is lower than that shown on the left side of Fig. 4, and the article is adsorbed at a position closer to the conveying surface 12A.

[0033] As described above, when suctioning the topmost object M from a pile of multiple overlapping objects M, the height of the suction head 26 and suction cups 26A is spaced above the conveying surface 12A by the thickness of the overlapping objects M (offset value) compared to when suctioning a single object M. When the object M sucked by the suction head 26 is transferred to a transfer location on the conveying surface 14A of the transport conveyor 14, it is processed in the same manner as described in FIG.

[0034] As described above, with the article transfer device of this embodiment, when adsorbing a flat surface, the suction head is positioned higher from the mounting surface than when adsorbing an uneven surface, and the suction cup of the suction head is not pressed against the unstable uneven surface when it is in contact with the mounting surface, so that cracking or chipping of the article can be prevented even when adsorbing and transferring a fragile, flat article that has flat and uneven surfaces on both sides.

[0035] In addition, according to the item transfer device of this embodiment, when items are overlapping, the suction head is positioned higher above the mounting surface than when non-overlapping items are being suctioned, and even in this case, when suctioning a flat surface, the suction head is positioned higher above the mounting surface than when suctioning an uneven surface, thereby preventing cracking or chipping not only of the items to be transferred but also of the items below them.

[0036] Furthermore, when the sucked object is released at a predetermined transfer location, if the flat surface of the object is sucked, the suction head is moved upward from the transfer location to release the suction, compared to when the uneven surface is sucked, and the unstable uneven surface is not pressed against the transfer location, so that the object can be prevented from cracking or chipping. In addition to the suction head being moved upward from the placement surface of the object to perform suction, or the sucked object being moved upward from the transfer location to release suction, the speed or acceleration of the suction head approaching the object or the transfer location may be reduced when sucking the uneven surface or when transferring the object to the transfer location while sucking the uneven surface, thereby further improving the prevention of cracking or chipping of the object. In this case, the acceleration of the suction head is reduced within a range in which the speed of the entire transfer process falls within an allowable range.

[0037] In the description of this embodiment, a case has been described in which deep learning using AI (artificial intelligence) is adopted as a front / back determination means to analyze the article M and recognize the top article M in the group of articles, but as another means, a 3D camera can be adopted as an imaging means or a separate sensor for measuring height can be used to detect the height of the top article M in the group of articles and the height of the suction part can be controlled based on this. When the height of the group of articles can be measured in this way, it is possible to switch the suction height of the suction head in multiple steps depending on the height, not limited to two-step overlap as shown in this embodiment, but also in cases where three or more steps overlap or where the second step overlaps at a large angle, and to control the suction head to move variably to a height corresponding to the measured height value.

[0038] The article to be processed by the article transfer device of this embodiment is not limited to ingredients such as tempura, but can also be applied to articles that have a brittle and flat shape and have irregularities on one side, such as rice crackers and cookies. Moreover, it is also effective for articles that are brittle and flat and have one side that is raised with irregularities or protrusions, not limited to food.

[0039] The article moving means is not limited to a parallel link type robot, but may also be an industrial robot such as a vertical articulated robot, a horizontal articulated robot, or an orthogonal robot.

[0040] In this embodiment, the article is transferred to a transfer location set on the transport conveyor, but the transfer location to which the article is transferred is not limited to the conveying surface of the carry-out conveyor, but may be a placement platform for handing over to a transfer device such as another robot, inside a container for storing articles (for example, on top of dried noodles) as shown in Patent Document 1, or a placement platform of an article inversion device that inverts the article, and is effective in application to a place (transfer location) where the article needs to be transferred without being damaged. Also, it is possible to select the transfer location for the article based on the front / back determination by the front / back determination means. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 10 Article transfer device 12A Transport surface (loading surface) 16 Robot (Means of moving goods) 22 Controller (control means) 24 Front / back determination unit (front / back determination means) 26 Suction head (suction part) M Goods

Claims

1. An article transfer device that adsorbs either the front or back surface of a flat article having a flat surface and an uneven surface on its front and back sides and transfers the article to a predetermined transfer location, An image capturing means for capturing an image of an item placed on a placement surface with the front and back sides not aligned; A front / back determination means for determining whether the front or back side of the object to be transferred is facing upward from the captured image; an article moving means for adsorbing and moving the article by having an adsorption portion capable of adsorbing a flat surface and an uneven surface of the article; A control means for controlling the operation of the article moving means, The object transfer device is characterized in that the control means, by the object moving means, causes the suction portion to be spaced higher from the placement surface when suctioning a flat surface of the object than when suctioning an uneven surface.

2. The article transfer device described in claim 1, characterized in that when the article adsorbed by the article moving means is transferred to a predetermined transfer location, if the suction portion is adsorbing a flat surface of the article, the suction portion is moved upward away from the transfer location to release the suction, compared to when the suction portion is adsorbing an uneven surface.

Images