Positional deviation detection device

Abstract

To make it possible to surely detect, even when a positional deviation amount is large, a positional deviation state of a positional deviation absorber at a low cost.SOLUTION: A positional deviation detection device 10 comprises: first and second contact type sensors 11, 12 which are arranged at one positional deviation element 8 (9) side or the other side in a positional deviation absorber 4 that relatively causes positional deviation; a first switching shape part 13 which is arranged at the side of the positional deviation element 9 (8) different from the element where the first contact type sensor 11 is arranged and has a shape in which on-state and off-state of the first contact type sensor 11 can be switched by positional deviation in a first direction d1; and a second switching shape part 14 which is arranged at the side of the positional deviation element 9 (8) different from the element where the second contact type sensor 12 is arranged and has a shape in which on-state and off-state of the second contact type sensor 12 can be switched by positional deviation in a second direction d2 crossing the first direction d1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a positional deviation detection device, and more particularly to a positional deviation detection device capable of detecting a positional deviation state of a positional deviation absorbing device. [Background technology]

[0002] A positional deviation absorbing device (this type of positional deviation absorbing device is also called a compliance unit or a floating unit) may be attached to a transport device using a gantry loader or a robot arm to absorb any deviation in the transfer position on the transport device side when transferring an object to be transported.

[0003] Thus, when installing a misalignment absorbing device on a conveying device as a measure against misalignment, it is important to select a misalignment absorbing device that can absorb the expected amount of misalignment. If misalignment occurs beyond the expected range, interference with the surrounding equipment may occur, which may result in damage to the surrounding equipment or the conveying device. Damage to such equipment may result in a long-term stoppage of production activities, and is an event that should be avoided as much as possible to ensure productivity.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a position error absorbing device for absorbing position errors that occur in a transport arm, in which an upper plate fixed to the transport arm and a lower plate provided with a part gripping section are connected by an elastic cylinder, and multiple guide pins fixed to the lower plate are inserted into guide holes provided in the upper plate to restrict excessive horizontal movement of the lower plate relative to the upper plate. This patent document also discloses a position error absorbing device in which a strain gauge is attached to the side of the elastic cylinder to measure deformation of the elastic cylinder. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-79716 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, when transporting heavy objects such as gantry loaders used in automobile manufacturing processes, the force acting on the positional deviation absorbing device is also huge, so even if a mechanism for restricting movement in the positional deviation direction is provided as in Patent Document 1, the restricting mechanism itself may be damaged by the force received during positional deviation. In that case, a method of measuring the deformation amount of the elastic cylindrical body and thus the positional deviation amount using a strain gauge as also described in Patent Document 1 is conceivable, but this method requires many strain gauges, so an increase in costs is unavoidable. In addition, a means for measuring the positional deviation amount using a strain gauge is not suitable for measuring a large positional deviation amount that would cause damage to the positional deviation absorbing device.

[0007] The above-mentioned problems are not limited to conveying devices, but may occur in any machine to which a position deviation absorbing device may be attached.

[0008] In view of the above circumstances, the present specification has as its technical problem to be solved how to reliably and inexpensively detect the misalignment state of a misalignment absorbing device even when the amount of misalignment is large. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The above-mentioned problem is solved by a positional deviation detection device according to the present invention. That is, the detection device is a device for detecting a positional deviation state of a positional deviation absorbing device capable of absorbing a positional deviation of a second member relative to a first member, and is characterized in that it includes first and second contact sensors provided on the side of one or the other of the positional deviation elements that cause a relative positional deviation in the positional deviation absorbing device, a first switching shape portion provided on the side of the positional deviation element different from the first contact sensor and shaped to be able to switch between an ON state and an OFF state of the first contact sensor depending on a positional deviation in a first direction, and a second switching shape portion provided on the side of the positional deviation element different from the second contact sensor and shaped to be able to switch between an ON state and an OFF state of the second contact sensor depending on a positional deviation in a second direction intersecting the first direction.

[0010] In this way, the position deviation detection device according to the present invention uses two so-called switch-type contact sensors that are switched between an ON state and an OFF state by contact, and these two contact sensors can be switched between an ON state and an OFF state by a position deviation in a direction that crosses each other. This makes it possible to specify the direction of the position deviation by detecting which contact sensor has switched from an OFF state to an ON state. Furthermore, by arranging each contact sensor and the switching shape portion in advance at an appropriate position, it becomes possible for the corresponding contact sensor to detect the occurrence of a position deviation of a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction. Thus, it is possible to prevent excessive position deviation beforehand, and it becomes possible to avoid damage to peripheral equipment or the position deviation absorbing device. Furthermore, if the position deviation direction can be specified, it is also possible to relatively easily correct the position. Furthermore, since the switch-type contact sensor according to the present invention is very inexpensive, it is possible to add the above-mentioned position deviation detection function to the position deviation absorbing device at low cost.

[0011] In addition, in the position deviation detection device of the present invention, the first and second switching shape portions may each have an elongated hole shape with the short side being the direction in which the corresponding contact sensor can be switched between an on state and an off state, and the long side being the direction in which the corresponding contact sensor can be switched between an on state and an off state.

[0012] By forming the switching shape portion in the shape of an elongated hole as described above, when a positional deviation occurs in the first direction, for example, the corresponding first contact sensor comes into contact with the long side of the first switching shape portion in the shape of an elongated hole, and is switched to the ON state. On the other hand, the second contact sensor moves in the longitudinal direction of the second switching shape portion in response to a positional deviation in the first direction, so that if the second switching shape portion is formed in the shape of an elongated hole with the same shape and dimensions, the second contact sensor will not come into contact with the second switching shape portion at the time when the first contact sensor comes into contact. Therefore, by appropriately setting the short-side dimension and the long-side dimension of each elongated hole, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection and accurately detect the positional deviation direction even in a detection device using two switch-type contact sensors. In addition, it is possible to accurately set the amount of positional deviation to be detected at that time.

[0013] The position shift detection device according to the present invention may further include a pair of brackets attached so as to sandwich both of the position shift elements. In this case, the first and second contact sensors and the first and second switching shape portions may be provided on portions of each bracket that protrude from the position shift element to which the bracket is attached.

[0014] By providing a pair of brackets in this way and providing the contact sensors and switching shape portions on the portions of the brackets that protrude from the misalignment elements, it becomes possible to very easily add a misalignment detection device to the misalignment absorbing device afterwards. Also, since there is no need to place any elements inside the misalignment absorbing device, the number of steps is small, and it is possible to build a misalignment detection device at low cost overall.

[0015] The position deviation detection device described above can reliably and at low cost detect the position deviation state of the position deviation absorbing device even when the amount of position deviation is large, and therefore can be suitably provided, for example, as a conveying device including this position deviation detection device, a holding part as a first member that holds the object to be conveyed, a driving part as a second member capable of driving the holding part, and a position deviation absorbing device that can absorb the position deviation of the holding part relative to the driving part.

[0016] Furthermore, when configuring the above-mentioned conveying device, the conveying device of the present invention may further include a control unit that controls the drive unit, and the control unit may be configured to display the positional deviation state of the holding unit on a specified display unit based on the operating state of the contact sensor, and to correct the position of the holding unit or stop driving of the holding unit based on the content of the positional deviation state.

[0017] By displaying the positional deviation state as described above, the worker can immediately understand the positional deviation state. Moreover, by configuring the control unit as described above and stopping the driving of the holding unit, damage to the positional deviation absorbing device or surrounding equipment can be prevented reliably in advance. Furthermore, if position correction is possible, the position of the holding unit can be automatically corrected because the direction and amount of positional deviation are known at the time when the positional deviation state is detected. Therefore, it becomes possible to continue work using the equipment equipped with the positional deviation absorbing device without stopping it. Effect of the Invention

[0018] As described above, the positional deviation detection device according to the present invention can reliably and inexpensively detect the positional deviation of the positional deviation absorbing device even when the amount of positional deviation is large, thereby ensuring the safety and ease of operation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a main portion of a conveying device to which a positional deviation detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached. [Diagram 2]2 is a front view of a main part of the conveying device, illustrating an operating state of the position deviation absorbing device shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a front view of the positional deviation detection device shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4(a) is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the first contact sensor and the first switching shape portion shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4(b) is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the second contact sensor and the second switching shape portion shown in FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] (a) a planar view of the positional relationship between a first contact sensor and a first switching shape portion when a predetermined amount of positional deviation occurs in a first direction, and (b) a planar view of the positional relationship between a second contact sensor and a second switching shape portion. [Figure 6] (a) a planar view of the positional relationship between a first contact sensor and a first switching shape portion when a predetermined amount of positional deviation occurs in a second direction, and (b) a planar view of the positional relationship between a second contact sensor and a second switching shape portion. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a position shift detection device according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 8 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the second contact sensor and the second switching shape portion shown in FIG. 7 as viewed from the direction of arrow A. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 1A is an enlarged front view of a main part showing the positional relationship between a first contact sensor and a first switching shape portion when a predetermined amount of positional deviation occurs in a first direction; and FIG. 1B is an enlarged oblique view of a main part showing the positional relationship between a second contact sensor and a second switching shape portion when a predetermined amount of positional deviation occurs in a first direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Hereinafter, the contents of a position deviation detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the position deviation detection device according to the present invention is attached to a position deviation absorbing device of a conveying device. In addition, in this embodiment, the vertical direction is taken as the z direction.

[0021] 1 and 2 are front views of an arm portion which is a main part of a conveying device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The conveying device 1 is, for example, configured as a gantry loader, and includes a holding portion 2 which forms the tip of the arm portion, a driving portion 3 which drives the arm portion including the holding portion 2, a position deviation absorbing device 4 which is disposed between the holding portion 2 and the driving portion 3, and a position deviation detecting device 10 which can detect a position deviation state of the position deviation absorbing device 4. In this embodiment, the conveyed object 5 held by the holding portion 2 is moved by the driving portion 3 and introduced into a transfer portion 7 provided on a jig 6 or the like, so that the conveyed object 5 can be transferred in a state where it is positioned on the jig 6.

[0022] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, if the introduction position of the transported object 5 into the receiving section 7 is misaligned, one of the misalignment elements 8 of the misalignment absorbing device 4 is misaligned with the other misalignment element 9 in a direction that eliminates the misalignment (see FIG. 2), thereby making it possible to absorb the misalignment of the transported object 5 (holding section 2).

[0023] 3 shows a front view of the positional deviation detection device 10 according to this embodiment. The positional deviation detection device 10 includes first and second contact sensors 11 and 12, a first switching shape portion 13 having a shape capable of switching between an ON state and an OFF state of the first contact sensor 11 in response to a positional deviation in a first direction d1, and a second switching shape portion 14 having a shape capable of switching between an ON state and an OFF state of the second contact sensor 12 in response to a positional deviation in a second direction d2.

[0024] In this embodiment, the positional deviation detection device 10 further includes a pair of brackets 15, 16 and a control unit 17. In this case, the contact sensors 11, 12 and the switching shape units 13, 14 are provided on the portions of the brackets 15, 16 that protrude outward from the positional deviation absorbing device 4. Each element will be described in detail below.

[0025] Both the first contact sensor 11 and the second contact sensor 12 have detection units 11a, 12a that are activated by contact with another object. The detection units 11a, 12a are activated by contact with another object, so that each of the contact sensors 11, 12 can be switched between an ON state and an OFF state. In this embodiment, each of the contact sensors 11, 12 is configured to be in an ON state while the detection units 11a, 12a are in contact with another object, and to be in an OFF state when not in contact with the other object. In this embodiment, each of the contact sensors 11, 12 is configured to be able to transmit an ON state as a signal to the control unit 17 by wire or wirelessly, and, for example, each of the contact sensors 11, 12 can transmit a predetermined signal to the control unit 17 only when the contact sensors are in an ON state.

[0026] In this embodiment, the detection units 11a, 12a of the contact sensors 11, 12 are configured to be in an ON state when they detect a force component in the axial direction (z direction in FIG. 4), in other words, when they receive a force in the axial direction, it is determined that the detection units 11a, 12a are in contact with another object. Also, when no force component in that direction is detected, it is determined that the detection units 11a, 12a are not in contact with the other object, and it is configured to be in an OFF state.

[0027] The first switching shape portion 13 has a shape that can switch between an ON state and an OFF state of the first contact sensor 11 due to a positional deviation in the first direction d1. In other words, the first switching shape portion 13 has a shape that can switch between a contact state and a non-contact state with the detection unit 11a of the first contact sensor 11 due to a positional deviation in the first direction d1.

[0028] In this embodiment, the first switching shape portion 13 is formed of a first oblong hole 18, and the orientation of the first oblong hole 18 is set so that its short side direction coincides with the first direction d1 (see FIG. 4(a)). Therefore, when the detection unit 11a of the first contact sensor 11 is located inside the first oblong hole 18 and is not in contact with the long side portion 18a of the first oblong hole 18, the first contact sensor 11 is in an OFF state. Then, when a positional deviation occurs in the first direction d1 and the detection unit 11a comes into contact with the long side portion 18a of the first oblong hole 18 as shown in FIG. 5(a) (more precisely, when the detection unit 11a is pushed in the axial direction by the long side portion 18a), the first contact sensor 11 switches from an OFF state to an ON state. In this case, the short side dimension W1 of the first oblong hole 18 is set to a predetermined size according to the threshold value of the positional deviation amount in the first direction d1 to be detected.

[0029] The second switching shape portion 14 is shaped so that the second contact sensor 12 can be switched between an ON state and an OFF state depending on a positional deviation in a second direction d2 intersecting with the first direction d1. In other words, the second switching shape portion 14 is shaped so that the second contact sensor 12 can be switched between a contact state and a non-contact state depending on a positional deviation in the second direction d2.

[0030] In this embodiment, the second switching shape portion 14 is formed of a second oblong hole 19, and the orientation of the second oblong hole 19 is set so that its short side direction coincides with the second direction d2 (see FIG. 4(b)). Therefore, when the detection portion 12a of the second contact sensor 12 is located inside the second oblong hole 19 and is not in contact with the long side portion 19a of the second oblong hole 19, the second contact sensor 12 is in an OFF state. Then, when a positional deviation occurs in the second direction d2 and the detection portion 12a comes into contact with the long side portion 19a of the second oblong hole 19 (more precisely, when the detection portion 12a is pushed in the axial direction by the long side portion 19a), the second contact sensor 12 switches from an OFF state to an ON state. In this case, the short side dimension W2 of the second oblong hole 19 is set to a predetermined size according to the threshold value of the positional deviation amount in the second direction d2 to be detected.

[0031] On the other hand, from the viewpoint of avoiding a situation in which the first contact sensor 11 switches from an off state to an on state when the second contact sensor 12 switches from an off state to an on state, the longitudinal dimension L1 of the first oblong hole 18 is set to a value larger than the lateral dimension W2 of the second oblong hole 19. From the same viewpoint, the longitudinal dimension L2 of the second oblong hole 19 is set to a value larger than the lateral dimension W1 of the first oblong hole 18.

[0032] The angle between the first direction d1 and the second direction d2 can be set arbitrarily, but is set to 90° in this embodiment for ease of calculation processing.

[0033] The contact sensors 11, 12 and the switching shape portions 13, 14 configured as described above are provided on portions of a pair of brackets 15, 16 that are attached so as to sandwich the misalignment absorbing device 4, the portions protruding outward from the misalignment absorbing device 4. In this embodiment, the first contact sensor 11 is attached to a first protruding portion 15a of one of the substantially disc-shaped brackets 15 attached to the side of one of the misalignment elements 8, and the second contact sensor 12 is attached to a second protruding portion 15b of the one of the brackets 15.

[0034] Furthermore, in the substantially disk-shaped other bracket 16 attached to the side of the other position displacement element 9, a first protruding portion 16a is provided at a position facing the first protruding portion 15a of the one bracket 15 to which the first contact sensor 11 is attached, and a first oblong hole 18 is formed at a predetermined position of this first protruding portion 16a as the first switching shape portion 13. In addition, in the other bracket 16, a second protruding portion 16b is provided at a position facing the second protruding portion 16a of the one bracket 15 to which the second contact sensor 12 is attached, and a second oblong hole 19 is formed at a predetermined position of this second protruding portion 16b as the second switching shape portion 14.

[0035] In this embodiment, the protruding portions 15a, 15b on the side where the contact sensors 11, 12 are attached are bent to adjust the distance to the protruding portions 16a, 16b of the other bracket 16 facing each other.

[0036] As shown in Fig. 3, the control unit 17 is configured to be able to communicate with the first and second contact sensors 11, 12. Specifically, when the first and second contact sensors 11, 12 are turned on, a signal indicating that the contact sensors 11, 12 are in the on state is transmitted to the control unit 17 from each of the contact sensors 11, 12. When the control unit 17 receives a signal indicating that the contact sensors 11, 12 are in the on state, the control unit 17 determines which or both of the contact sensors 11, 12 the signal is from, and displays the misalignment state on the display unit 20 based on the signal. This allows the operator to recognize the misalignment state of the holding unit 2 and therefore the transported object 5 in real time.

[0037] The control unit 17 may be controlled to stop driving the conveying device 1 based on the above-mentioned signal. That is, the control unit 17 may be configured to determine that the holding unit 2 (transported object 5) is misaligned in the first direction d1 by a predetermined distance when the control unit 17 receives a signal indicating an on state from the first contact sensor 11, and to transmit a signal to stop driving the conveying device 1 to the driving unit 3 or a device that controls the driving unit 3. Alternatively, the control unit 17 may be configured to transmit a signal to drive the conveying device 1 in a direction that eliminates the misalignment of the holding unit 2 (transported object 5) when the control unit 17 receives a signal indicating an on state from the first contact sensor 11, to the driving unit 3 or a device that controls the driving unit.

[0038] As described above, the position deviation detection device 10 according to this embodiment uses two so-called switch-type contact sensors 11 and 12 that are switched between an ON state and an OFF state by contact, and can be switched between an ON state and an OFF state by a position deviation in the directions d1 and d2 in which the two contact sensors 11 and 12 intersect each other. This makes it possible to specify the direction of the position deviation by detecting which of the contact sensors 11 and 12 has switched from an OFF state to an ON state. In addition, by previously disposing the contact sensors 11 and 12 and the corresponding switching shape portions 13 and 14 at appropriate positions, it becomes possible for the corresponding contact sensors 11 and 12 to detect that a position deviation of a predetermined distance has occurred in the predetermined directions d1 and d2. This makes it possible to prevent excessive position deviation beforehand, and to avoid damage to the peripheral equipment or the position deviation absorbing device 4. In addition, if the position deviation direction can be specified, the position can be relatively easily corrected. Furthermore, since the switch-type contact sensors 11 and 12 as in this embodiment are available at very low cost, it is possible to add the above-mentioned positional deviation detection function to the positional deviation absorbing device 4 at low cost.

[0039] In this embodiment, the first and second switching shape portions 13, 14 are respectively configured as elongated holes 18, 19 whose short side direction is the direction in which the corresponding one contact sensor 11 (12) can be switched between the ON state and the OFF state, and whose long side direction is the direction in which the other contact sensor 12 (11) can be switched between the ON state and the OFF state. By forming the switching shape portions 13, 14 as elongated holes in this manner, when a positional deviation occurs in, for example, the corresponding first contact sensor 11 comes into contact with the long side portion 18a of the first elongated hole 18 as the first switching shape portion 13, and is switched from the OFF state to the ON state (see FIG. 5(a)). On the other hand, since the second contact sensor 12 moves in the longitudinal direction of the second slot 19 as the second switching shape portion 14 in response to a positional shift in the first direction d1, if the first slot 18 and the second slot 19 have the same shape and the dimensional relationship as described above, the second contact sensor 12 will not come into contact with the second switching shape portion 14 at the time when the first contact sensor 11 comes into contact (see FIG. 5(b)). Alternatively, if a positional shift occurs in the second direction d2, the corresponding second contact sensor 12 comes into contact with the long side portion 19a of the second slot 19 as the second switching shape portion 14, and is switched from the OFF state to the ON state (see FIG. 6(b)). On the other hand, since the first contact sensor 11 moves in the longitudinal direction of the first oblong hole 18 as the first switching shape portion 13 in association with the positional shift in the second direction d2, the first contact sensor 11 does not come into contact with the first switching shape portion 13 at the time when the second contact sensor 12 comes into contact with the first switching shape portion 13 (see FIG. 6(a)). As described above, when the switching shape portions 13, 14 are both constituted by oblong holes 18, 19, by appropriately setting the short side dimensions W1, W2 and the longitudinal dimensions L1, L2 of the oblong holes 18, 19, even in the position shift detection device 10 using two switch-type contact sensors 11, 12, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection and accurately detect the position shift direction. In addition, it is possible to accurately set the amount of position shift to be detected at that time.

[0040] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a pair of brackets 15, 16 are provided to sandwich both misalignment elements 8, 9 constituting the misalignment absorbing device 4, and the first and second contact sensors 11, 12 and the first and second switching shape portions 13, 14 are provided on the portions of each bracket 15, 16 protruding from the misalignment elements 8, 9 to which they are to be attached (the first protruding portions 15a, 16a and the second protruding portions 15b, 16b). This makes it possible to very easily add the misalignment detection device 10 to the misalignment absorbing device 4 afterwards. Furthermore, since there is no need to dispose any elements inside the misalignment absorbing device 4, the number of steps is small, and it is possible to construct the misalignment detection device 10 at low cost overall.

[0041] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the position deviation detection device according to the present invention can have configurations other than those described above without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0042] Fig. 7 is a front view of a position shift detection device 20 according to another embodiment of the present invention. This position shift detection device 20 is characterized in that the shape of the switching shape portions 13, 14 capable of switching the ON and OFF states of the contact sensors 11, 12 is different from the shape of the switching shape portions 13, 14 of the embodiment shown in Fig. 3. That is, in this embodiment, the first switching shape portion 13 is composed of a first protrusion 21 provided with a first inclined surface 21a inclined along a first direction d1. Similarly, the second switching shape portion 14 is composed of a second protrusion 22 provided with a second inclined surface 22a inclined along a second direction d2 (see Fig. 8).

[0043] When no positional deviation occurs, the detection unit 11a of the first contact sensor 11 and the first inclined surface 21a are in a non-contact state (see FIG. 7). Similarly, when no positional deviation occurs, the detection unit 12a of the second contact sensor 12 and the second inclined surface 22a are in a non-contact state. Here, when a positional deviation occurs by a predetermined amount in the first direction d1, for example, the first contact sensor 11 moves by a predetermined amount in the first direction d1 relative to the first protrusion 21, and therefore, by appropriately setting the position and inclination angle of the first inclined surface 21a, the detection unit 11a of the first contact sensor 11 and the first inclined surface 21a are in contact with each other (more precisely, the detection unit 11a is pushed in the axial direction by the first inclined surface 21a) (see FIG. 9(a)). On the other hand, when a positional deviation occurs in the first direction d1 by a predetermined amount, the second contact sensor 12 moves in the first direction d1 relative to the second protrusion 22 by a predetermined amount, but the second inclined surface 22a provided on the second protrusion 22 is inclined along the second direction d2 intersecting with the first direction d1 (preferably perpendicular as shown in the figure), and is not inclined in the first direction d1. Therefore, regardless of the amount of positional deviation, the second contact sensor 12 and the second inclined surface 22a do not come into contact with each other due to a positional deviation along the first direction d1 (see FIG. 9(b)). Therefore, even if each switching shape portion 13, 14 is formed of the inclined surfaces 21a, 22a, it is possible to accurately detect the direction and amount of positional deviation by appropriately setting the direction and angle of each inclined surface 21a, 22a.

[0044] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, for example, sensors capable of detecting the axial positions of the detection units 11a, 12a movable in the axial direction may be used for the first and second contact sensors 11, 12. In this case, although not shown, when no positional deviation occurs, the detection unit 11a of the first contact sensor 11 and the first inclined surface 21a are in contact with each other, and the axial position of the detection unit 11a in this contact state is set as the reference position. When a positional deviation occurs in a direction along the inclination direction of the first inclined surface 21a, the detection unit 11a protrudes or retreats, making it possible to determine the direction of the positional deviation. By setting the second contact sensor 12 in the same manner as the first contact sensor 12, when a positional deviation occurs in a direction along the second inclined surface 22a, it becomes possible to determine the direction of the positional deviation by detecting the axial movement direction of the detection unit 12a from the reference position. By configuring the contact sensors 11, 12 and the inclined surfaces 21a, 22a as described above, the contact sensors 11, 12 (their detection sections 11a, 12a) and the inclined surfaces 21a, 22a also function as position deviation direction detection sections or position deviation amount detection sections. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1. Transport device 2 Holding part 3 Drive unit 4. Position-shift absorbing device 5. Transported goods 6 Jig 7. Receiving section 8,9 Misalignment elements 10,20 Position deviation detection device 11,12 Contact sensors 11a, 12a Detector 13,14 Switching shape section 15,16 Bracket 15a, 16a First protruding part 15b, 16b Second protrusion 17 Control Unit 18,19 Slot 18a, 19a Long side 21,22 Protrusion 21a,22a Slope L1, L2 Longitudinal dimensions W1, W2 Short side dimensions

Claims

1. 1. A device for detecting a misalignment state of a misalignment absorbing device capable of absorbing a misalignment of a second member relative to a first member, comprising: a first contact sensor and a second contact sensor provided on a side of one or the other of the misalignment elements that relatively cause a misalignment in the misalignment absorbing device; a first switching shape portion that is provided on a side of a positional displacement element different from that of the first contact sensor and that has a shape that can switch between an on state and an off state of the first contact sensor in response to a positional displacement in a first direction; A position misalignment detection device characterized by having a second switching shape portion provided on a side of a position misalignment element different from the second contact sensor, and having a shape that can switch between an on state and an off state of the second contact sensor depending on a position misalignment in a second direction intersecting the first direction.

2. The position deviation detection device described in claim 1, wherein the first and second switching shape portions each have an elongated hole shape with a short side direction in which the corresponding one of the contact sensors can be switched between an on state and an off state, and a long side direction in which the corresponding other contact sensor can be switched between an on state and an off state.

3. A pair of brackets are attached so as to sandwich both of the misalignment elements, 2. The positional deviation detection device according to claim 1, wherein the two contact sensors and the two switching shape portions are provided on portions of the brackets that protrude from the one of the positional deviation elements to which the brackets are attached.

4. A conveying device comprising: a positional deviation detection device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3; a holding section as the first member that holds an object to be conveyed; a drive section as the second member capable of driving the holding section; and a positional deviation absorption device capable of absorbing positional deviation of the holding section relative to the drive section.

5. A control unit for controlling the drive unit is further provided. The conveying device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit displays the positional deviation state of the holding unit on a specified display unit based on the operating state of the contact sensor, and corrects the position of the holding unit or stops driving the holding unit based on the content of the positional deviation state.

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