Binding system

Abstract

To suitably bind an intersection point of multiple reinforcement bars.SOLUTION: A binding system 1 comprises a first camera 31 that acquires first information regarding arranged multiple reinforcement bars S, a second camera 51 that moves based on the first information obtained by the first camera 31 and acquires second information regarding an intersection point P of the multiple reinforcement bards S, and a binding device 6 that binds the intersection point P based on the second information obtained by the second camera 51.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a bundling system for bundling reinforcing bars. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a binding system is known in which, for a workpiece in which a plurality of reinforcing bars are combined, the intersections of the intersecting reinforcing bars are bound together with wire. For example, in the case of this type of bundling system described in Patent Document 1, an information acquisition unit such as a sensor and a bundling machine are mounted on the tip of a robot arm. The information acquisition unit acquires information about the workpiece, such as the positions of the intersections of the rebars, and the bundling machine is controlled based on the information about the workpiece. Furthermore, in the bundling system described in Patent Document 2, the entire workpiece having a large number of intersections is photographed by a camera fixed above, and the position of each intersection is determined from the image. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-105958 [Patent Document 2] Chinese Patent Application Publication No. 113264212 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 does not allow for the proper acquisition of position information for each intersection in the entire workpiece. If the position information for each intersection cannot be acquired in advance, it is difficult to efficiently and sequentially bind multiple intersections. On the other hand, the technology described in Patent Document 2 can obtain position information of each intersection point of the entire workpiece based on an image taken by an upper camera. However, images taken by a camera located away from each intersection point cannot be used to appropriately perform control such as position correction during bundling.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has as its object to suitably bind the intersections of multiple reinforcing bars. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the bundling system of the present invention comprises: a first information acquisition unit that acquires first information regarding the plurality of installed reinforcing bars; a second information acquisition unit that moves based on the first information and acquires second information regarding the intersections of the plurality of reinforcing bars; a binding device that binds the intersections based on the second information; Equipped with. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, information such as the positions of multiple intersections and the presence or absence of obstacles in a relatively wide area is obtained based on first information about multiple installed reinforcing bars. Then, a second information acquisition unit moves based on the first information, and more accurate second information in a more localized area is acquired by the second information acquisition unit. The intersections of the reinforcing bars are then tied together based on the second information. Therefore, the intersections of the multiple reinforcing bars can be tied together appropriately. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device main body of the binding system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the binding system according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a side view of a binding device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a binding process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a binding process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 4A and 4B are diagrams showing an example of image data acquired by a first camera according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device main body in a state where the workpiece according to the first embodiment has been moved to a bundling area. [Figure 8A] 5A and 5B are diagrams showing an example of image data acquired by a second camera according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8B] 8B is a diagram showing an example of image data in which height information of reinforcing bars and other positions is added to the image data of FIG. 8A. FIG. [Figure 9] 3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining the shape of a reinforcing bar detected from image data according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a modified example of the binding process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the device main body of the binding system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the binding system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a side view of the binding device according to the second embodiment in a posture when performing a binding operation. [Figure 14] 10 is a schematic view of a workpiece on a holder table of a workpiece holder according to a second embodiment, viewed from above. FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing an intersection where bundling is performed in a first bundling direction according to the second embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing an intersection where bundling is performed in a second bundling direction according to the second embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the intersections where bundling was performed with the "number of bundling times" set to two according to the second embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing an intersection where bundling is performed once in the first direction and once in the second direction according to the second embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation when bundling is performed in the order of (1) outer edge first pattern according to the second embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation when bundling is performed in a center-first pattern (2) according to the second embodiment. [Figure 21]FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation when bundling is performed in the (3) horizontal feed pattern according to the second embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation when bundling is performed in the (4) longitudinal feeding pattern according to the second embodiment. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation when bundling is performed in a pattern (5) with corners first according to the second embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a distinction between "intersections located at corners," "intersections located on outer edges," and other intersections according to the second embodiment. [Figure 25] 10 is a schematic diagram of a workpiece viewed from above in the case where the area formed by the intersections to be bound in the second embodiment has an irregular shape. FIG. [Figure 26] 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure when the bundling system according to the second embodiment executes a bundling process. [Figure 27] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the binding system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 28] FIG. 11 is a plan view of the workpieces subjected to the binding direction determination process according to the third embodiment under the condition (1). [Figure 29] FIG. 11 is a plan view of the workpieces subjected to the binding direction determination process according to the third embodiment under the condition (2). [Figure 30] FIG. 11 is a plan view of the workpieces subjected to the binding direction determination process according to the third embodiment, in accordance with the condition (3). [Figure 31] FIG. 11 is a plan view of the workpieces subjected to the binding direction determination process according to the third embodiment, in accordance with the condition (4). [Figure 32] FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view of an intersection of the workpieces performed according to condition (4) in the process of determining the binding direction according to the third embodiment. [Figure 33] FIG. 11 is a plan view of the workpieces subjected to the binding direction determination process according to the third embodiment in accordance with condition (5). [Figure 34] 14 is a plan view of the binding device of FIG. 13 as seen from one side of the pivot shaft. [Figure 35]FIG. 11 is a plan view of the device main body according to the third embodiment, with a portion of the configuration thereof omitted. [Figure 36] 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure when the bundling system according to the third embodiment executes a bundling process. [Figure 37A] FIG. 10 is a side view showing an example of a binding device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 37B] FIG. 10 is a side view showing an example of a binding device according to a fourth embodiment, with some components not shown. [Figure 37C] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of a binding device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 37D] FIG. 10 is a rear view showing an example of a binding device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 37E] FIG. 11 is a side view seen from the back side showing an example of a binding device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 38] FIG. 10 is a side view showing an internal configuration of an example of a reinforcing bar binding machine according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 39A] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of a binding system according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 39B] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of a binding system according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 40A] 10A and 10B are side views showing an example of the operation of the binding device according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 40B] FIG. 10 is a side view showing an example of the operation of the binding device according to the fourth embodiment, with some components omitted. [Figure 41A] 10A and 10B are side views showing an example of the operation of the binding device according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 41B] FIG. 10 is a side view showing an example of the operation of the binding device according to the fourth embodiment, with some components omitted. [Figure 42] FIG. 10 is a side view of the binding device showing an example of a binding operation according to the fourth embodiment, with some components not shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0010] [Binding system configuration] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus main body 10 provided in a binding system 1 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the binding system 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in these figures, the bundling system 1 binds a work B, which is made up of a plurality of reinforcing bars S arranged in a lattice pattern, at the intersections where the plurality of reinforcing bars S intersect. Specifically, the binding system 1 includes a device main body 10 and a control device 7.

[0011] The device main body 10 includes a workpiece holding unit 2, an overall photographing unit 3, a robot arm 4, an individual photographing unit 5, and a binding device 6. Of these, the workpiece holding unit 2 is disposed inside a stand 11 of the device main body 10, and the overall photographing unit 3, the robot arm 4, the individual photographing unit 5, and the binding device 6 are mounted on the stand 11. In the following description, the X, Y and Z directions refer to the directions shown in Fig. 1. The X, Y and Z directions are perpendicular to each other, the XY plane is a substantially horizontal plane, and the Z direction is a direction substantially along the vertical.

[0012] The mount 11 is formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped that is long in the X direction, and includes four pillars 12 erected at the four corners in the X and Y directions, and four beams 13 that span the upper ends of the pillars 12 in the X and Y directions. Of the area inside the stand 11, approximately half on one side in the X direction (the right side in Figure 1) is the photography area E1 where photography is performed by the overall photography unit 3, and the half on the other side (the left side in Figure 1) is the binding area E2 where binding work is performed by the robot arm 4 and the binding device 6.

[0013] <Work holding part> The workpiece holding unit 2 holds the workpiece B and moves the held workpiece B between the photography area E1 and the binding area E2. Specifically, the workpiece holding unit 2 includes a holding table 21 that holds the workpiece B, rails 22 that movably support the holding table 21, and a drive motor 23 that drives the rails 22. The holder 21 is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate with four sides aligned along the X and Y directions. Support plates 211 that support a plurality of reinforcing bars S that constitute the workpiece B are erected on the four sides of the holder 21. The support plates 211 have a plurality of U-shaped grooves 211a that open upward, and the reinforcing bars S are inserted into the U-shaped grooves 211a. The multiple reinforcing bars S are arranged in a lattice pattern along the X and Y directions with their ends inserted into the U-shaped grooves 211a of the support plates 211. The rails 22 are laid along the X direction and guide the holder 21 in the X direction. In this embodiment, the rails 22 are laid so that the holder 21 (work B) can move at least between the photography area E1 and the binding area E2. However, the rails 22 may be configured to extend to the outside of the stand 11 so that the work B can be moved to a work process before or after binding. The drive motor 23 is a drive source that moves the holder 21. Based on a drive command from the control device 7, the drive motor 23 moves the holder 21 to the photographing area E1 and the binding area E2. It is sufficient that the workpiece holder 2 is capable of at least moving the holder 21 (workpiece B) from the photographing area E1 to the binding area E2.

[0014] <Overall Photography Department> The overall photographing unit 3 photographs the entire workpiece B in the photographing area E1. Specifically, the overall photographing unit 3 includes a first camera 31 arranged above the photographing area E1, and a moving mechanism 32 that movably supports the first camera 31. The first camera 31 is disposed facing downward and photographs the workpiece B held by the workpiece holder 2 from above in the photographing area E1, and acquires signal information including distance information from the reinforcing bar S, which is the first information, and image information of the workpiece B. Specifically, the first camera 31 of this embodiment is a compound eye (for example, four-eye) stereo camera, and acquires distance information in the depth direction (up and down direction) along with image information (monochrome image) in the XY plane, and outputs this to the control device 7. The first camera 31 is an example of a first information acquisition unit according to the present invention. Note that the type of sensor of the first camera 31 is not particularly limited as long as it can acquire distance information (depth information) along with image information, and may be, for example, a TOF (Time of Flight) sensor. The movement mechanism 32 includes a Y-direction slider 33 that extends along the Y direction. The Y-direction slider 33 is hung on a beam 13 that extends along the X direction and is supported by the beam 13 so as to be movable in the X direction. A first camera 31 is suspended from the Y-direction slider 33 so as to be movable in the Y direction. The movement mechanism 32 drives a drive source (not shown) based on a control command from the control device 7, and moves the first camera 31 to a predetermined position (XY coordinates). As will be described later, the moving mechanism 32 is used to photograph the entire workpiece B multiple times in order to obtain an image of the workpiece B with a desired resolution. Therefore, depending on the performance of the first camera 31 and the shape of the workpiece B, the moving mechanism 32 may move the first camera 31 in only one of the X and Y directions, or may not be provided at all.

[0015] <Robot arm> The robot arm 4 is an example of a moving body according to the present invention, and is equipped with an individual photographing unit 5 and a binding device 6, and moves the individual photographing unit 5 and the binding device 6 to desired positions in the binding area E2. The robot arm 4 of this embodiment includes a movement mechanism 46, a robot arm main body 40, and a controller 49.

[0016] The movement mechanism 46 moves the robot arm body 40. The movement mechanism 46 of this embodiment includes a Y-direction slider 461 that is hung on the beam 13 of the base 11. The Y-direction slider 461 moves the robot arm body 40 in the Y direction. However, the specific configuration of the moving mechanism 46 is not particularly limited, and may include, for example, a mechanism for moving the robot arm body 40 in the X direction. Furthermore, if the operating range of the robot arm body 40 can cover the entire binding area E2 without relying on the moving mechanism 46, the moving mechanism 46 may not be provided.

[0017] The robot arm body 40 is a ceiling-suspended vertical articulated robot, and is installed facing downward on a Y-direction slider 461 suspended on the beam 13 in the binding area E2. Specifically, the robot arm body 40 includes a base 41, a plurality of arms 42, an end effector 43, and a plurality of joints 44. The robot arm body 40 is not limited to a vertical articulated robot, as long as it can move the individual photographing unit 5 and binding device 6 mounted thereon. Furthermore, it is preferable that the robot arm 4 be able to change the position on each of the three orthogonal axes and the angle around at least one of the three orthogonal axes for at least one of the individual photographing unit 5 (second camera 51) and the binding device 6.

[0018] The arms 42 are connected in series with the base portion 41 as the base end. The base portion 41 is mounted on a Y-direction slider 461 of the movement mechanism 46 and is supported so as to be movable in the Y direction. The plurality of joints 44 rotatably connect the base 41, the plurality of arms 42, and the end effector 43. Each joint 44 is provided with a motor 441 that drives the arm 42 (or the end effector 43) connected to the tip side of the joint 44, and an encoder 442 that detects the position (speed) of the motor 441 and outputs the position (speed) to the controller 49. The end effector 43 is connected to the tip of the multiple arms 42. The end effector 43 is equipped with an individual photographing unit 5 and a binding device 6. Note that the specific configuration is not particularly limited as long as the tip of the robot arm main body 40 is equipped with the individual photographing unit 5 and the binding device 6. For example, the individual photographing unit 5 may be fixed to the joint unit 44 on the tip side, and the binding device 6 may be connected as an end effector via a tool changer.

[0019] The controller 49 controls the operation of each part of the robot arm 4 based on a control command from the control device 7. Specifically, the controller 49 operates each motor 441 and the moving mechanism 46, and outputs information acquired by each encoder 442 to the control device 7. The controller 49 may locally control the operations of the individual photographing unit 5 and the binding device 6 mounted thereon based on a control command from the control device 7.

[0020] <Individual Photography Department> The individual photographing unit 5 is mounted on the tip of the robot arm main body 40, and individually photographs the intersections P of the rebars S to be bundled in the binding area E2 with a higher resolution than that of the overall photographing unit 3. Specifically, the individual photographing unit 5 includes a second camera 51, an elevation motor 52, and a lighting unit 53. The second camera 51 is attached to the end effector 43 of the robot arm 4 facing the tip (downward) and captures an image of the intersection P of the rebars S to be bundled from above. The second camera 51 is provided so as to be movable toward the tip (up and down) relative to the end effector 43. The second camera 51 in this embodiment is, for example, an RGB camera, and acquires image information (color image) of the intersection P to be bundled and outputs it to the control device 7. The second camera 51 is an example of the second information acquisition unit according to the present invention. Note that the type of sensor, etc., of the second camera 51 is not particularly limited as long as it can acquire an image of at least one intersection P (signal information of the intersection P of the rebars S, which is second information, including the image). The lifting motor 52 is a drive source that moves (lifts) the second camera 51 toward the tip (up and down) relative to the end effector 43. The lighting unit 53 is disposed slightly in front of the second camera 51 and around the shooting range, and illuminates the subject to be shot by the second camera 51. The lighting unit 53 of this embodiment has a plurality of light sources (projectors, not shown) that can illuminate the subject to be shot by the second camera 51 from different angles.

[0021] <Binding device> FIG. 3 is a side view of the binding device 6. As shown in this figure, the binding device 6 is mounted on the tip of the robot arm main body 40. The binding device 6 includes a rebar binding machine 61 that binds the intersections P of the rebars S that make up the workpiece B with wire W, a slack forming unit 62 that pulls out the wire W from a reel 63 and forms slack in the wire W between the binding machine 61 and the reel 63, and a control unit 64 (see FIG. 2) that causes the rebar binding machine 61 to perform the binding operation and the slack forming unit 62 to perform the operation of forming slack in the wire W in accordance with operation commands from the control device 7.

[0022] The rebar binding machine 61 has an entrance section 611 through which two wires W are fed from outside the housing along the feed direction F shown in the figure, and the two wires W fed into the interior from the entrance section 611 are wound around the rebar S, and the two wires W wound around the rebar S are fed in the reverse feed direction R to wrap around the rebar S and cut it, and then the wires W are twisted and the rebar S is bound with the wires W.

[0023] For this reason, the binding machine 61 is equipped with a wire feeding section that feeds the wire W, a wire guide 612 that guides the wire W, a curl guide 613 and a guide guide 614 that wind the wire W around the reinforcing bar S, a cutting section that cuts the wire W wound around the reinforcing bar S, and a binding section that twists the wire W wound around the reinforcing bar S.

[0024] The wire guide 612 is provided in front of the entrance 611 and guides the two wires W so that they enter the entrance 611 along the feeding direction F.

[0025] The wire feeding unit is located inside the entrance 611, and clamps two wires W between a pair of feed gears and feeds them in a feed direction F. The wire feeding unit is equipped with a feed motor 615 (see FIG. 2) that serves as a drive source. This feed motor 615 is driven in a forward rotation to feed the two wires W in the feed direction F, allowing the wires W to be wound around the reinforcing bar S by the curl guide 613 and the induction guide 614 located at the end of the wires. In addition, the feed motor 615 is driven in a reverse rotation to feed the two wires W in the reverse feed direction R, allowing the reinforcing bar S to be tightened by the wires W.

[0026] The cutting unit is located inside the entrance 611, further back than the wire feeding unit. The cutting unit has a movable blade and a fixed blade (not shown), and the movable blade shares a drive source with the binding unit. The movable blade can be moved toward the fixed blade by a torsion motor 616 (see Figure 2), which is the drive source for the binding unit, to cut the two wires. The drive source for the cutting unit may be provided separately and independently.

[0027] 3 is supported by an end effector 43 at the tip of the robot arm 4, and performs binding operations with the rotation axis Zr of the end effector 43 parallel to the Z direction (vertical up-down direction) described above. The binding device 6 is set so that the position where the wire W is bound to the reinforcing bar S is located on the axis of the rotation axis Zr, and during binding, the robot arm 4 positions the binding device 6 so that the intersection P of the reinforcing bar S is located on the axis of the rotation axis Zr.

[0028] The curl guide 613 and the induction guide 614 are located at the tip end of the binding machine 61 (the lower end during binding operation), and are disposed on both sides of the above-mentioned rotation axis Zr. The curl guide 613 has its base end positioned at the end of the entrance 611 in the feed direction F, and a guide path is formed inside to curl the wire W as it moves from the base end to the tip end of the curl guide 613.

[0029] The induction guide 614 is positioned opposite the curl guide 613, and has a guide path formed inside that receives the wire W curled by the curl guide 613 from the tip end and guides the wire W to the base end while maintaining the curled state. By cooperation of the curl guide 613 and the induction guide 614, the wire W can be deformed into a loop and wound around the reinforcing bar S.

[0030] The bundling unit has a locking member that captures the wire W while it is wound around the reinforcing bar S between the base end of the guiding guide 614 and the base end of the curl guide 613. The locking member is rotatably supported inside the bundling machine 611 about a rotation axis that is concentric with the aforementioned pivot axis Zr, and torque for rotational drive is applied to the locking member by the aforementioned torsion motor 616. After the wire W is cut by the cutting unit, the locking member is rotationally driven by the torsion motor 616, and can twist both ends of the wire W to bind the reinforcing bar S.

[0031] Two reels 63 of the wire W are rotatably supported side by side on one side in the direction along the rotation axis Zr of the binding machine 61 (the upper side during binding operation). The two reels 63 are each rotatable around an axis extending perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 3, and are arranged side by side on the axis.

[0032] The slack forming unit 62 is disposed on one side of the binding machine 61 and the two reels 63 in the orthogonal direction Xw that is orthogonal to the rotation axis Zr. The slack forming section 62 has a first slack forming section 621 and a second slack forming section 622 that move past each other, and a slack forming motor 623 that serves as a drive source for these moving past each other.

[0033] The aforementioned feed direction F of the wire W is generally parallel to a plane parallel to the pivot axis Zr and the orthogonal direction Xw. Furthermore, the upstream side of the feed direction F of the wire W is slightly inclined upward in the plane of the paper in FIG. 3 with respect to the orthogonal direction Xw. The first slack forming portion 621 and the second slack forming portion 622 each hold a roller around which two wires W are wound.

[0034] The first slack forming unit 621 and the second slack forming unit 622 perform a passing operation generally along the feed direction F, thereby extending the path length of the wire W from the reel 63 to the inlet 611 of the binding machine 61 and pulling out the wire W from the reel 63. Furthermore, the first slack forming unit 621 and the second slack forming unit 622 perform a returning operation after the passing operation, thereby providing slack to the wire W by the amount pulled out from the reel 63.

[0035] Incidentally, the two wires W are required to be fed into the inlet 611 of the binding machine 61 from a direction close to the feeding direction F (i.e., at an incident angle close to the feeding direction F). The feeding direction F is a direction suitable for deforming the wire W into an appropriate loop shape by the curl guide 613 and the induction guide 614 located at the end of the feeding direction. In order to supply the wire W to the entrance 611 of the binding machine 61 along the feed direction F, the slack forming unit 62 is arranged so that the path from the downstream second slack forming unit 622 to the entrance 611 of the binding machine 61 follows the feed direction F. During passing operations, the second slack forming unit 622 moves away from the entrance 611 of the binding machine 61 along the feed direction F.

[0036] For this reason, the binding device 6 is disposed so that the slack forming portion 62 protrudes largely on one side (the right side of the paper in FIG. 3) in the direction Xw perpendicular to the binding machine 61 (swivel axis Zr). 3, the second camera 51 and the lighting unit 53 of the individual photographing section 5 are disposed on the left side of the binding machine 61 of the binding device 6 in FIG.

[0037] <Control device> 2, the control device 7 is a computer that comprehensively controls the binding system 1. Specifically, the control device 7 includes an operation unit 72, a display unit 73, a storage unit 76, and a control unit 77. The operation unit 72 is an operation means by which the user performs various operations to operate the control device 7, and includes, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard. The display unit 73 is configured with, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or other display, and displays various information based on a display signal from the control unit 77. The display unit 73 may be a touch panel that also serves as part of the operation unit 72, or may output audio.

[0038] The storage unit 76 is a memory configured by a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), etc., and stores various programs and data, and also functions as a work area for the control unit 77. The memory unit 76 of this embodiment pre-stores a bundling program 761 and a rebar arrangement model 764 for executing the bundling process described below, as well as image data 762 and work information 763 acquired during the bundling process.

[0039] The image data 762 is image information of the workpiece B (reinforcing bar S) acquired by the first camera 31 and the second camera 51 during the execution of the bundling process, which will be described later. The work information 763 is various information related to the bundling work. Specific contents of the work information 763 will be described later. The reinforcing bar arrangement model 764 is arrangement information of multiple reinforcing bars S in the workpiece B to be worked on, and includes, for example, information on the number of reinforcing bars S arranged in each of the X, Y, and Z directions. In addition, it may include information such as the spacing between the reinforcing bars S in each of the X, Y, and Z directions, and, if the reinforcing bars S are inclined, information on the angle of the inclination. The storage unit 76 may also store various data other than those described above, which are acquired during the execution of the bundling process described below.

[0040] The control unit 77 is configured by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls the operation of each unit of the control device 7. Specifically, the control unit 77 operates each unit of the control device 7 based on the operation content of the operation unit 72, deploys a program stored in advance in the storage unit 76, and executes various processes in cooperation with the deployed program.

[0041] [Bundling system operation] Next, the operation of the bundling system 1 when performing the bundling process for bundling the workpiece B will be described. Figures 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the steps of the bundling process, and Figures 6 to 9 are figures for explaining the bundling process, with Figure 6 being an example of image data of work B acquired by the first camera 31, Figure 7 being an oblique view of the device main body 10 after work B has been moved to the bundling area E2, Figure 8A being an example of image data of the target intersection Pa acquired by the second camera 51, Figure 8B being an example of image data in which height information of the reinforcing bar S and other positions has been added to Figure 8A, and Figure 9 being a figure for explaining the shape of the reinforcing bar S detected from the image data.

[0042] In the bundling process, a plurality of reinforcing bars S arranged in a lattice pattern along each of the X and Y directions are bundled at intersections P (see FIG. 6) where the plurality of reinforcing bars S intersect. This bundling process is executed by the control unit 77 of the control device 7 reading and developing the bundling program 761 from the storage unit 76. Here, it is assumed that the work B is placed in advance on the support table 21 and placed in the photographing area E1 (see FIG. 1). In the following description, each step is assumed to be executed solely by the control device 7 (controller 77 thereof), but the entity that controls the bundling process is not particularly limited. For example, each component of the bundling system 1 (controller) may execute the steps, or the control device 7 and each component may execute the steps in cooperation with each other.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 4, when the bundling process is executed, first, the control unit 77 of the control device 7 photographs the workpiece B in the photographing area E1 with the first camera 31 of the whole photographing unit 3 (step S1). Here, the control unit 77 acquires image data (monochrome image) of the XY plane including distance information for the entire workpiece B using the first camera 31, which is a stereo camera, and stores the image data in the storage unit . More specifically, the control unit 77 controls the movement mechanism 32 to move the first camera 31 within the XY plane according to the size of the work B, the angle of view of the first camera 31, etc., and photographs the entire work B by dividing it into multiple parts with some overlapping (for example, dividing it into four parts, 2 x 2 in each of the X and Y directions).The control unit 77 then combines the multiple acquired images to generate an image of the entire work B, and stores it in the storage unit 76. As a result, image data 762a including the entire workpiece B, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, is acquired.

[0044] In step S1, it is sufficient to acquire signal information about the multiple intersections P to be bundled. Here, "signal information about intersections P" is data including at least one of the position information of intersections P and the position information of obstacles that may hinder the bundling work at intersections P. Furthermore, the data format of the signal information is not limited to image data, but broadly includes electromagnetic data including optical signals.

[0045] Next, the control unit 77 calculates the positions of all intersections P included in the workpiece B based on the image data acquired in step S1 (step S2). Here, the control unit 77 calculates three-dimensional position information including each of the X, Y and Z coordinates for each intersection point P. In this step, it is sufficient to calculate the positions of a plurality of intersections P among all the intersections P that the workpiece B has. Here, the position of the intersection point P may be calculated using a rebar arrangement model (the intersection shape of intersecting rebars). In this case, when the shape matches the rebar arrangement model, it is regarded as the intersection point P, making it easier to calculate the position.

[0046] Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 77 drives the drive motor 23 of the workpiece holder 2 to operate the holder 21, thereby moving the workpiece B to the bundling area E2 (step S3).

[0047] Next, the control unit 77 selects an intersection P to be bound from among the plurality of intersections P included in the work B (step S4). Here, the control unit 77 selects one intersection P to be bound next from among a plurality of intersections P excluding intersections P that have already been bound (or that have been recognized as having been bound), for example, based on a predetermined binding order. Hereinafter, the intersection P selected here as the next target for binding will be referred to as the "target intersection Pa."

[0048] Next, the control unit 77 causes the second camera 51 of the individual photographing unit 5 mounted on the robot arm 4 to approach the target intersection Pa selected in step S4 in the bundling area E2 (step S5). Here, the control unit 77 controls the operation of the robot arm 4 based on the position information of the target intersection Pa calculated in step S2 and the amount of movement in the X direction of the workpiece B moved in step S3, and moves the second camera 51 to directly above the target intersection Pa. Then, the control unit 77 controls the operation of the lift motor 52 to lower the second camera 51 and bring it within a predetermined distance from the target intersection Pa. As a result, the target intersection Pa is positioned immediately in front of the second camera 51 facing downward, and, for example, only the target intersection Pa falls within the angle of view of the second camera 51 (intersections P other than the target intersection Pa are outside the angle of view).

[0049] Next, the control unit 77 causes the second camera 51, which has been brought close in step S5, to photograph the target intersection Pa and acquire its image data (step S6). Here, the control unit 77 acquires image data (color image) of the target intersection Pa by the second camera 51, and stores it in the storage unit . As a result, as shown in FIG. 8A, for example, image data 762b of the target intersection point Pa is obtained, which has a higher resolution than the image data acquired by the first camera 31 in step S1. In this step, it is sufficient to acquire signal information for at least one of the multiple intersections P. More specifically, it is sufficient to acquire signal information for a smaller number of intersections P than the multiple intersections P for which signal information was acquired by the first camera 31 in step S1. In this step, the control unit 77 may also control the lighting unit 53 to capture images of the target intersection Pa using a plurality of different lighting patterns, thereby generating a three-dimensional image based on changes in the patterns of projected and reflected light, and acquiring distance information.

[0050] Next, the control unit 77 calculates the position of the target intersection Pa based on the image data acquired in step S6 (step S7).

[0051] 5, in calculating the target intersection Pa, the control unit 77 first detects the edge of the reinforcing bar S, which is the contour in the image of the reinforcing bar S, based on contrast information included in the image data of the reinforcing bar S (step S71). Here, the contour (edge) refers to the boundary between the target reinforcing bar S and other parts in the target image. At this time, the control unit 77 binarizes the image data and performs edge detection by scanning from the white side (bright part) to the black side (dark part) (i.e., from the part with a weak signal to the part with a strong signal). However, the image data may not be completely binarized, but may be grayscaled at a predetermined number of gradations. Specifically, in the case of the example of image data 762d shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 77 checks the contrast value, for example, from one side to the other in the X direction. Then, it detects (extracts) a portion where the contrast changes more than a predetermined threshold as an edge Se of the reinforcing bar S. Next, the control unit 77 similarly detects edges Se from the other side to the one side in the X direction. At this time, it confirms that they are both ends of the same reinforcing bar S based on the difference in contrast change from the previously detected edge Se. This detects two edges Se along the Y direction. In the same way, the control unit 77 then detects edges Se along the Y direction and detects two edges Se along the X direction.

[0052] Next, the control unit 77 calculates the reinforcing bar diameter (diameter of the reinforcing bar S) and the reinforcing bar center (central axis along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing bar S) based on the position information of the edge Se (step S72). Here, since the reinforcing bar S is approximately cylindrical, the control unit 77 determines the distance between the edges Se as the reinforcing bar diameter D, and determines the line passing through the center of two edges Se in the same direction as the reinforcing bar center Ax. Here, detailed dimensions of the reinforcing bar S in the height direction (Z direction) can also be obtained.

[0053] Next, the control unit 77 calculates the position of the target intersection Pa (step S73). Here, the control unit 77 determines the position (coordinates) of the target intersection point Pa as, for example, the intersection point of two reinforcing bar centers Ax. Here, the dimensions of the target intersection point Pa can also be obtained from the dimensions of the reinforcing bar S in each of the X and Y directions. In this way, based on the high-resolution image data acquired by the second camera 51, position information of the target intersection Pa with higher accuracy than the position information calculated in step S2 is obtained.

[0054] Next, the control unit 77 calculates the distance from the second camera 51 to the target intersection Pa of the reinforcing bar S (step S74). Here, the control unit 77 acquires height information along the Z direction based on the image data, and determines the distance between the second camera 51 and the target intersection Pa. Regarding distance, image data 762c in FIG. 8B is shown, in which height information of the rebars and other positions, including the target intersection Pa, is added to image data 762b in FIG. 8A. In this way, the acquired height information can determine the distance at which the binding device 6 can approach the target intersection Pa. Here, the amount of gap in the Z direction between the two rebars S at the target intersection Pa can also be acquired.

[0055] Next, the control unit 77 compares the shape information of the reinforcing bars S obtained in the steps up to this point with the reinforcing bar arrangement model 764 of the workpiece B (step S75). Here, the control unit 77 reads out the rebar arrangement model 764 of the work B stored in advance in the storage unit 76 and compares it with the calculated shape information of the rebar S. This allows the control unit 77 to identify the target intersection Pa that is the binding target and confirm the type of rebar combination. In addition to the above, the information on the target intersection Pa may be compared with the information on other intersections P acquired in step S1 or step S6 to identify the target intersection Pa. For example, at an intersection formed by two rebars S along each of the X and Y directions, there is a risk that the image data may mistakenly recognize it as an intersection P where one thick rebar S intersects with another thick rebar S, but by comparing it with the results of other intersections P next to the target intersection Pa or other intersections P present in the same work B, the target intersection Pa can be identified and the type of rebar combination confirmed.

[0056] Next, the control unit 77 determines whether or not the target intersection Pa can be bound (step S76). Here, the control unit 77 determines whether or not a key part of the binding device 6 (such as the curl guide 613) can be inserted between the two rebars S from above, for example, based on the intersection angle of the two rebars S. If it determines that insertion is possible, it determines that binding is possible. If it determines that binding is not possible, the control unit 77 proceeds to other processing, such as suspending the work or issuing a warning. Alternatively, the robot arm 4 and the binding device 6 may be configured to be detachable, and multiple binding devices 6 with different sized insertion sections (portions to be inserted between the rebars S) may be prepared, and the binding device 6 corresponding to the target intersection Pa may be selected. That is, in this case, the control unit 77 selects one of the multiple binding devices 6 (binding machine) that can bind the target intersection Pa of the binding target. In this case, multiple binding devices 6 may be arranged at predetermined positions within the movement range of the robot arm 4, and the robot arm 4 may automatically replace the binding device 6. Here, the control unit 77 determines the binding direction based on the position, posture, etc. of the binding device 6 that can insert a main part between the two reinforcing bars S.

[0057] Next, the control unit 77 calculates the wire length required for bundling the target intersection Pa (step S77). Here, the control unit 77 calculates the length of the wire W (including the pull-back length) required for bundling the two reinforcing bars S that make up the target intersection Pa based on the reinforcing bar diameter D, the intersection angle, etc. Here, the control unit 77 may also set the rotation amount of the wire feed unit (the operation amount of the feed motor 615) when the wire W is bundled (pulled back) by the binding device 6.

[0058] Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 77 moves the binding device 6 closer to the target intersection Pa based on the position information of the target intersection Pa calculated in step S7 (S73) (step S8). Here, the control unit 77 controls the operation of the robot arm 4, and brings the binding device 6 mounted on the end effector 43, instead of the second camera 51, closer to the target intersection Pa. At this time, the control unit 77 can position the relevant part of the binding device 6 to face the target intersection Pa with high positional accuracy based on the more accurate positional information of the target intersection Pa obtained in step S7.

[0059] Next, the control unit 77 operates the binding device 6 to bind the target intersection Pa with the wire W (step S9). At this time, the binding device 6 is disposed opposite the target intersection Pa with sufficiently high positional accuracy, and therefore the target intersection Pa can be bound suitably. At this time, the amount of wire W used to bind the target intersection Pa may be calculated and stored in the storage unit 76. The amount of wire W used may be estimated from the actual wire feed amount (not including the amount of retraction) in the wire feed unit. The wire length required for binding, estimated prior to binding in step S77 above, may also be used as the amount of wire W used.

[0060] Next, the control unit 77 determines whether or not to end the bundling process (step S10), and if it determines not to end the bundling process (step S10; No), the process proceeds to step S4 described above. As a result, the processing of steps S4 to S10 is repeated until, for example, all the necessary intersections P are bound. That is, the selection of the next intersection P to be bound (changing the target intersection Pa), and the photographing and binding of the target intersection Pa are sequentially executed. Then, in step S10, when it is determined that the bundling process should be ended because, for example, all the necessary intersections P have been bundled (step S10; Yes), the control unit 77 ends the bundling process.

[0061] [Technical effect of the first embodiment] As described above, according to this embodiment, signal information (first information) regarding the multiple reinforcing bars S that have been placed is acquired by the first camera 31, and based on the first information, signal information (second information) regarding the intersection P of the multiple reinforcing bars S is acquired by the second camera 51. That is, based on the first information acquired by the first camera 31, information such as the positions of multiple intersections P in a relatively wide range and the presence or absence of obstacles is grasped. Then, based on the first information, the second camera 51 and the binding device 6 approach specific intersections P, and the second camera 51 moves in a manner that avoids obstacles at that time. This allows the second camera 51 to acquire more accurate signal information (second information) in a more localized range. Thereafter, the intersections of the rebars are bound based on the second information. That is, the desired intersections P can be bound with high accuracy. Therefore, the intersections P of the multiple reinforcing bars S can be bound together in an appropriate manner.

[0062] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, both the second camera 51 and the binding device 6 are integrally mounted on the robot arm 4 and move. This makes it possible to suppress relative positional deviation between the second camera 51 and the binding device 6, unlike when the second camera 51 and the binding device 6 are moved separately. Therefore, the binding operation of the binding device 6 based on the position information of the intersection P acquired by the second camera 51 can be controlled with higher precision. As a result, the intersection P can be bound with higher precision.

[0063] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the robot arm 4 can change the position on each of the three orthogonal axes and the angle around at least one of the three orthogonal axes for at least one of the second camera 51 and the binding device 6. This allows photographing and binding to be performed by flexibly changing and adjusting the position and posture of the second camera 51 and / or binding device 6. Therefore, photographing and binding can be performed suitably even when, for example, the work B is upright or tilted.

[0064] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the photographing area E1 (first area) where the first camera 31 acquires the signal information (first information) is different from the binding area E2 (second area) where the robot arm 4 can move. This allows the photographing operation by the first camera 31, the photographing operation by the second camera 51, and the binding operation by the binding device 6 to be carried out separately, thereby improving work efficiency.

[0065] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the holder 21 that holds the work B (plurality of reinforcing bars S) can be moved from the photographing area E1 to the bundling area E2. In other words, by moving the work B, work can be performed in each area without moving the equipment on the device side. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of measurement errors that accompany moving the equipment on the device side. Furthermore, the amount of movement can be kept small compared to when the equipment on the device side is moved.

[0066] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the holder 21 that holds the work B (plurality of reinforcing bars S) can be moved from the bundling area E2 to the photographing area E1. In other words, the workpieces B bound in the binding area E2 can be returned to the photographing area E1. Therefore, the workpieces B bound in the binding area E2 can be photographed again in the photographing area E1. This makes it possible to check the binding condition, including detecting binding defects, and compare the condition of the workpieces B before and after binding.

[0067] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the second camera 51 may acquire signal information (second information) regarding the intersections P of the reinforcing bars S in a state where they are bound by the binding device 6. This allows the state of the intersection P after the binding work to be grasped in detail. In addition, the position of the bound intersection P in the entire work B can be grasped.

[0068] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, signal information relating to the intersections P of the reinforcing bars S is stored in the storage unit 76. In other words, the intersection points P of the reinforcing bars S and the position information of obstacles can be recorded at any time and output as appropriate. It is sufficient that storage unit 76 stores at least one of the signal information acquired by first camera 31 (first information) and the signal information acquired by second camera 51 (second information).

[0069] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, work information related to the binding work performed by the binding device 6 may be stored in the storage unit 76. Here, "work information" refers to information related to the binding work performed in the binding area E2, and includes, for example, position information (XYZ coordinates), whether binding is possible, the binding direction (angle), the number of times binding is performed, the binding strength, the binding order, etc. Furthermore, the "work information" may include work log information such as the operation details of the robot arm 4 and the binding device 6 in each binding operation. This allows work information relating to the bundling work to be recorded at any time and output as appropriate.

[0070] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, a map (map information) including position information of each intersection P in the work B (plurality of reinforcing bars S) may be created based on the signal information (second information) acquired by the second camera 51. This allows, for example, a map (position of intersection P) based on the first information acquired by first camera 31 to be updated with the latest, more detailed data acquired by second camera 51. Furthermore, when creating a map of intersections P based on the second information acquired by the second camera 51, the map may be created prior to the bundling work, and then bundling of multiple intersections P may be performed continuously based on the map.

[0071] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the signal information (first information and second information) regarding the intersection P is image data acquired by the first camera 31 and the second camera 51. Therefore, the user can easily check the content of the signal information simply by visually checking the image data.

[0072] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, one of the first camera 31 and the second camera 51 captures a monochrome image, and the other captures a color image. This makes it possible to suppress the occurrence of errors due to color mismatch when comparing image data acquired by first camera 31 and image data acquired by second camera 51, for example.

[0073] [Other technical effects of the first embodiment] Conventionally, there is a known bundling system that automatically ties the intersections of intersecting rebars with wire in order for a workpiece made up of multiple rebars. In this type of bundling system, information on the bundling points, which are the intersections of the rebars, may be obtained using sensors or cameras. For example, the technology described in Patent Publication No. 2022-110556 is applied to a self-propelled binding device that binds rebars while running over them laid on a flat surface.A distance sensor is used to acquire point cloud information in the vertical direction, and the point cloud information is converted into a straight line model to detect the intersections of the rebars. However, the technology described in the above-mentioned JP 2022-110556 A has low accuracy in detecting intersections, making it difficult to grasp the shape of the reinforcing bars, for example, their diameters. In this regard, according to this embodiment, the shape of the reinforcing bar S is detected based on contrast information contained in the image data (signal information) of the reinforcing bar S. This allows the position of the reinforcing bar S to be determined based on the change in contrast, and shape information of the reinforcing bar S, such as the reinforcing bar diameter D and the reinforcing bar center Ax, to be obtained. Therefore, it is possible to suitably detect the shape of the reinforcing bar S. Furthermore, it is also possible to select an optimum binding device 6 based on the reinforcing bar diameter D, for example. In this case, the image data (signal information) is not particularly limited to a particular type (data format) as long as it is substantial image data having contrast information of the reinforcing bars that are the subject of imaging.

[0074] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the edges (contours) Se of the reinforcing bars S are detected based on the contrast information of the image data. Therefore, the shape of the reinforcing bar S can be suitably detected from the image data of the reinforcing bar S. However, if the shape of the reinforcing bar S can be detected based on the contrast information, a portion other than the edge Se may be used.

[0075] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the distance from the second camera 51 to the reinforcing bar S is calculated based on the image data of the reinforcing bar S. This makes it possible to confirm the amount of movement of the binding device 6 required for binding the rebar S (target intersection Pa). Also, compared to using a 3D sensor, distance information (height information) can be obtained by simple processing of two-dimensional image data. Furthermore, the gap in the height direction between the two rebars S at the target intersection Pa can also be confirmed.

[0076] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the length of the wire W required for bundling is calculated (estimated) based on the image data. This makes it possible to detect a shortage of wire W in advance of the actual bundling work, for example, by comparing the remaining amount of wire.

[0077] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the detection of the edge Se of the reinforcing bar S is performed from the light portion to the dark portion (from the portion with a weak signal to the portion with a strong signal) in the image data (signal information) of the reinforcing bar S. This makes it easy to detect the intersection point P even when the types of reinforcement are different (for example, differences in thickness, number of reinforcements, etc.).

[0078] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the amount of wire W used to bind the target intersection Pa may be calculated and stored. This allows the remaining amount of wire in the binding device 6 to be known.

[0079] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, image data (signal information) of the reinforcing bar S (target intersection Pa) after binding may be acquired, and the binding state may be determined based on the image data. The image may be taken by either the second camera 51 or the first camera 31. Specifically, the wire W protruding from the edge Se of the target intersection Pa may be detected, and if the protruding wire W protrudes longer than a predetermined threshold, it may be determined that the binding state of the target intersection Pa is not good. This allows the binding state to be determined easily.

[0080] [Modification of the first embodiment] In the first embodiment, the shape of the reinforcing bar S is determined based on image data acquired by the second camera 51. However, if the target is image data of the reinforcing bar S, image data acquired by the first camera 31 may be used, and even in this case, the bundling process (steps S71 to S77) can be performed in substantially the same manner as in the above embodiment. However, in this case, unlike the above embodiment, the image data contains multiple intersection points P, and based mainly on this point, the following processing may be further executed after step S77, as shown in Fig. 10. In this case, the processing of steps S71 to S77 is executed for each intersection point P. In addition, in the processing of steps S71 to S77 in this case, the "target intersection point Pa" is simply read as "intersection point P."

[0081] Specifically, after executing step S77, the control unit 77 acquires position information of multiple intersections P (step S78a), and detects the ends of the work B (multiple reinforcing bars S) based on the position information (step S78b). Here, the control unit 77 determines whether or not the intersections P are continuous (whether or not adjacent intersections P exist), thereby detecting the intersections P that are located at the ends among the plurality of intersections P. This makes it possible to grasp the overall shape and size of the workpiece B, and determine the range of the work target. As a result, it is possible to plan the movement path of the robot arm 4, for example.

[0082] Next, the control unit 77 detects an obstacle that may hinder bundling based on the image data of the reinforcing bar S (step S79a). Here, the control unit 77 determines that an obstacle exists at each intersection P if the height position of the intersection P differs from other intersections P by a predetermined threshold or more based on the height (Z direction) position of the intersection P. This allows the worker to continue working while avoiding contact with the obstacle, for example, by moving around the obstacle or by changing the binding direction so as not to interfere with the obstacle.

[0083] Next, the control unit 77 selects one of the intersections P based on predetermined selection conditions (step S80a). Here, the control unit 77 selects the intersection P that best matches the selection conditions, such as the shape of the intersection P that can be bound or the arrangement pattern of multiple intersections P, which are stored in advance in the storage unit 76. The selected intersection P may be the target intersection Pa. This allows the intersections P to be bound to be bound in a suitable manner even if they have various patterns. Here, it may be determined based on the above selection conditions whether or not the intersection P can be bound. In other words, an intersection P that does not meet the selection conditions may be determined as not being able to be bound. This allows intersections P that are difficult to bundle to be selected in advance, and reduces the occurrence of errors that make bundling impossible during actual work.

[0084] If the image data includes multiple intersections P, the comparison with the rebar array model 764 in step S75 identifies the approximate positions of the intersections P for comparison and determination, thereby shortening the determination time. Also, by comparing with the rebar array model 764, it is easier to identify the actual intersection locations.

[0085] [Another Modification of the First Embodiment] In the first embodiment, the photographing area E1 (first area) and the bundling area E2 (second area) are different from each other. However, the photographing area E1 and the bundling area E2 may partially overlap or may be integrated (identical).

[0086] Furthermore, it is preferable that the position of an obstacle can be grasped and the insertion direction of the binding device 6 (access route to the intersection P) can be set taking the obstacle into consideration, regardless of whether the signal information is acquired by the first camera 31 or the second camera 51. Furthermore, the data format of the signal information acquired by first camera 31 and second camera 51 is not particularly limited, but if it is image data, it is preferable that one is a monochrome image and the other is a color image. Furthermore, it is preferable that the position information of the obstacle can be acquired in any of the X, Y, and Z directions. In other words, by grasping the position of the obstacle three-dimensionally, the robot arm 4 can perform the task without coming into contact with the obstacle.

[0087] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the workpiece holder 2 moves the workpiece B in the X direction, but it may also be possible to move or rotate the workpiece B in other directions. For example, if the workpiece holder 2 can rotate the workpiece B around a horizontal axis to invert the top and bottom surfaces, it can be used effectively for workpieces B with double reinforcement on the top and bottom.

[0088] In the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a robot arm system using a robot arm has been described. However, the present invention can also be suitably applied to binding methods other than the robot arm method, such as a work transport method in which the work is transported, a gantry method in which the device is moved by a gantry, and a self-propelled method in which the entire device including the binding device is self-propelled above the work. However, the present invention is more suitable for use in a system in which the entire device is installed (fixed) indoors and the workpiece is moved, as in the above embodiment. In the case of a freely moving mobile object such as a self-propelled robot or in outdoor work, applying the structure of the above embodiment can cause problems such as an increased risk of collision with the information acquisition unit, disruption of the acquired signal (camera image) due to a collision, an increase in the size of the entire device, and the need to waterproof the information acquisition unit.

[0089] Second Embodiment A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. This second embodiment discloses a bundling system and a bundling processing program that have a configuration that can solve the problem of low versatility in bundling work using a bundling robot that performs bundling at each intersection in sequence according to a predetermined circular movement, as in the specification of Chinese Patent No. 110328662, which is exemplified as prior art.

[0090] The binding system 1C disclosed in this second embodiment has a binding device 6C and a control device 7C that are partially different in configuration from the binding device 6 and the control device 7 of the binding system 1 disclosed in the first embodiment, but the other configurations are the same as those of the binding system 1. Therefore, in this second embodiment, the binding system 1C will be mainly described in terms of the configurations of the binding device 6C and the control device 7C that are different from those of the binding device 6 and the control device 7, and the configurations that are the same as those of the binding system 1 will be assigned the same reference numerals as those of the binding system 1, and duplicate explanations will be omitted.

[0091] [Binding system configuration] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an apparatus main body 10C provided in a binding system 1C according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the binding system 1C. As shown in these figures, the binding system 1C binds a workpiece B, which is made up of multiple reinforcing bars S arranged in a lattice pattern, using wire W to form a binding body at the intersection P (see Figure 14) where the multiple reinforcing bars S intersect. Specifically, the binding system 1C includes a device main body 10C and a control device 7C. The device main body 10C includes a workpiece holding section 2, an overall photographing section 3, a robot arm 4, an individual photographing section 5, and a binding device 6C.

[0092] <Binding machine> FIG. 13 is a side view of the binding device 6C in a position when performing a binding operation. The binding device 6C is mounted on the tip of the robot arm 4. The binding device 6C includes a rebar binding machine 61C that binds intersections P of the rebars S that make up the workpiece B with wire W, a slack forming unit 62C that pulls out the wire W from a reel 63C and forms slack in the wire W between the binding machine 61C and the reel 63C, and a control unit 64C that causes the rebar binding machine 61C to perform the binding operation and the slack forming unit 62C to form slack in the wire W in accordance with an operation command from the control device 7C.

[0093] The reinforcing bar binding machine 61C has an entrance section 611C through which two wires W are fed from outside the housing along the feed direction F shown in the figure, and the two wires W fed into the interior from the entrance section 611C are wound around the reinforcing bar S, and the two wires W wound around the reinforcing bar S are fed in the reverse feed direction R to be wrapped around the reinforcing bar S and cut, and then the wires W are twisted and the reinforcing bar S is bound with the wires W.

[0094] For this reason, the binding machine 61C is equipped with a wire feeding section that feeds the wire W, a wire guide 612C that guides the wire W, a curl guide 613C and a guide guide 614C that wind the wire W around the reinforcing bar S, a cutting section that cuts the wire W wound around the reinforcing bar S, and a binding section that twists the wire W wound around the reinforcing bar S.

[0095] The wire guide 612C is provided in front of the entrance 611C and guides the two wires W to enter along the feeding direction F into the entrance 611C.

[0096] The wire feeding unit is located inside the entrance 611C, and clamps two wires W between a pair of feed gears and feeds them in a feed direction F. The wire feeding unit is equipped with a feed motor 615C (see FIG. 12) that serves as a drive source. This feed motor 615C feeds the two wires W in the feed direction F by driving in a forward rotation, and the wires W can be wound around the reinforcing bar S by the curl guide 613C and the induction guide 614C located at the end of the motor. In addition, the feed motor 615C feeds the two wires W in the reverse feed direction R by driving in a reverse rotation, and the reinforcing bar S can be tightened by the wires W.

[0097] The cutting unit is located inside the entrance 611C, further back than the wire feed unit. The cutting unit has a movable blade and a fixed blade (not shown), and the movable blade shares a drive source with the binding unit. The movable blade can be moved toward the fixed blade by a torsion motor 616C (see FIG. 12), which is the drive source for the binding unit, to cut the two wires. The drive source for the cutting unit may be provided separately and independently.

[0098] 13 is supported by an end effector 43 at the tip of the robot arm 4, and performs binding operations with the rotation axis Zr of the end effector 43 parallel to the Z direction (vertical up-down direction) described above. The binding device 6C is set so that the position where the wire W is bound to the reinforcing bar S is located on the axis of the rotation axis Zr, and during binding, the robot arm 4 positions the binding device 6C so that the intersection P of the reinforcing bar S is located on the axis of the rotation axis Zr.

[0099] The curl guide 613C and the induction guide 614C are located at the tip end of the binding machine 61C (the lower end during binding operation), and are disposed on both sides of the above-mentioned rotation axis Zr. The curl guide 613C has its base end positioned at the end of the entrance 611C in the feed direction F, and a guide path is formed inside to curl the wire W as it moves from the base end to the tip end of the curl guide 613C.

[0100] The induction guide 614C is positioned opposite the curl guide 613C, and has a guide path formed inside that receives the wire W curled by the curl guide 613C from the tip end and guides the wire W to the base end while maintaining the curled state. The curl guide 613C and the induction guide 614C cooperate to deform the wire W into a loop and wind it around the reinforcing bar S.

[0101] The bundling unit has a locking member that captures the wire W wound around the reinforcing bar S between the base end of the guiding guide 614C and the base end of the curl guide 613C. The locking member is rotatably supported inside the bundling machine 61C about a rotation axis that is concentric with the aforementioned pivot axis Zr, and torque for rotational drive is applied to the locking member by the aforementioned torsion motor 616C. After the wire W is cut by the cutting unit, the locking member is rotationally driven by the torsion motor 616C, and can twist both ends of the wire W to bind the reinforcing bar S.

[0102] Two reels 63C of the wire W are rotatably supported side by side on one side of the bundling machine 61C in the direction along the rotation axis Zr (the upper side during bundling operation). The two reels 63C are rotatable around an axis extending perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 13 and are arranged side by side in the same direction.

[0103] As shown in FIG. 13, the slack forming portion 62C is disposed on one side of the binding machine 61C and the two reels 63C in the orthogonal direction Xw that is orthogonal to the rotation axis Zr. The slack forming section 62C has a first slack forming section 621C and a second slack forming section 622C that move past each other, and a slack forming motor 623C that serves as a drive source for these moving past each other.

[0104] The above-mentioned feed direction F of the wire W is generally parallel to a plane parallel to the pivot axis Zr and the orthogonal direction Xw. Furthermore, the upstream side of the feed direction F of the wire W is slightly inclined upward in the plane of the paper in FIG. 13 with respect to the orthogonal direction Xw. The first slack forming portion 621C and the second slack forming portion 622C each hold a roller around which two wires W are wound.

[0105] The first slack forming unit 621C and the second slack forming unit 622C perform a passing operation generally along the feed direction F, thereby extending the path length of the wire W from the reel 63C to the inlet 611C of the binding machine 61C and pulling out the wire W from the reel 63C. Furthermore, the first slack forming unit 621C and the second slack forming unit 622C perform a returning operation after the passing operation, thereby imparting slack to the wire W by the amount pulled out from the reel 63C.

[0106] Incidentally, the two wires W are required to be fed into the inlet 611C of the binding machine 61C in a direction close to the feeding direction F, that is, at an incident angle close to the feeding direction F. The feeding direction F is a direction suitable for deforming the wire W into an appropriate loop shape by the curl guide 613C and the induction guide 614C located at the end of the feeding direction. In order to supply the wire W to the entrance 611C of the binding machine 61C along the feed direction F, the slack forming unit 62C is arranged so that the path from the downstream second slack forming unit 622C to the entrance 611C of the binding machine 61C follows the feed direction F. During passing operations, the second slack forming unit 622C moves away from the entrance 611C of the binding machine 61C along the feed direction F.

[0107] For this reason, the binding device 6C is disposed so that the slack forming portion 62C largely protrudes on one side (the right side of the paper in FIG. 13) in the direction Xw perpendicular to the binding machine 61C (swivel axis Zr). The second camera 51 and the lighting unit 53 of the individual photographing section 5 are disposed on the left side of the binding machine 61C of the binding device 6C in the plane of FIG.

[0108] <Control device> The control device 7C is a computer that comprehensively controls the binding system 1C. Specifically, the control device 7C includes an operation unit 72, a display unit 73, a storage unit 76C, and a control unit 77C. The operation unit 72 is an operation means by which the user performs various operations to operate the control device 7C, and includes, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard. The display unit 73 is configured with, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or other display, and displays various information based on a display signal from the control unit 77 C. The display unit 73 may be a touch panel that also serves as part of the operation unit 72, or may output audio.

[0109] The storage unit 76C is a memory configured from RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc., and stores various programs and data, and also functions as a work area for the control unit 77C. The storage unit 76C of this embodiment stores in advance a bundling processing program 761C that executes processing related to bundling, which will be described later. In addition, the memory unit 76C, which serves as a recording device, stores image data 762C captured by the first camera 31 and the second camera 51, map data 763C recording information about the work B, first binding condition data 764C storing various binding conditions selected and set by the user as described below, second binding condition data 765C storing various binding conditions prepared in advance for executing multiple operation modes as described below, machine information data 766C indicating the three-dimensional position of the entire surface of the binding device 6C, and surrounding information data 767C indicating the three-dimensional position of the entire surface of obstacles around the robot arm 4 deployed in the coordinate system of the robot arm 4.

[0110] The control unit 77C is configured with, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls the operation of each unit of the control device 7C. Specifically, the control unit 77C operates each unit of the control device 7C based on the operation content of the operation unit 72, loads a program stored in advance in the storage unit 76C, and executes various processes in cooperation with the loaded program.

[0111] <Intersection information acquisition process> The control unit 77C functions as an intersection information acquisition means for acquiring information about the intersections P where the plurality of reinforcing bars S of the work B intersect, by executing the bundling processing program 761C described above. As described above, the control unit 77C controls the device main body 10C to bind the plurality of reinforcing bars S of the workpiece B at the intersection P where they intersect with the wire W as a binding body.

[0112] Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of workpiece B held on support plate 211 of holder 21 of workpiece holder 2, viewed from above in the Z direction. Note that in this schematic diagram, the number of reinforcing bars S of workpiece B is shown to be fewer than in Fig. 11. Also, the multiple double circles in the figure are marks indicating the positions of intersection points P, and do not represent objects that actually exist on workpiece B. Furthermore, because there are so many reinforcing bars S and intersection points P in the figure, only some are labeled. The same applies to the other Figs. 19 to 25.

[0113] The workpiece B has a grid-like structure in which a plurality of rebars S arranged in the Y direction are placed on top of a plurality of rebars S arranged in the X direction. Note that the rebars S arranged in the X direction and the rebars S arranged in the Y direction may be reversed. Also, although the multiple rebars S arranged in each direction are illustrated as being arranged at uniform intervals, the intervals between the rebars S may be uneven. The lengths may also be uneven. Each position where the center lines of multiple reinforcing bars S aligned along the X direction and multiple reinforcing bars S aligned along the Y direction intersect when viewed from the Z direction is an intersection point P, and the binding system 1C can use each of these intersection points P as the binding target.

[0114] The control of the bundling operation by the control unit 77C requires information about the intersection points P for identifying the positions of the intersection points P where the reinforcing bars S of the work B intersect. Therefore, the control unit 77C, which functions as an intersection information acquisition means, executes a first acquisition process to acquire the position of each intersection P from image data 762C captured by the first camera 31 or the second camera 51, and a second acquisition process to acquire map data 763C from outside the binding system 1C.

[0115] The control unit 77C may be configured to be able to execute only one of the first acquisition process and the second acquisition process. For example, if control unit 77C is configured to be able to execute only the first acquisition process, storage unit 76C may be configured not to hold map data 763C.

[0116] In the first acquisition process performed by the control unit 77C, when the image data 762C of the workpiece B on the support table 21 photographed by the first camera 31 or the second camera 51 is two-dimensional planar image data, the control unit 77C extracts the position of the outline of each rebar S in the image using well-known image processing, determines the center line passing through the center of each rebar S, identifies the position where the center lines of each rebar S intersect, and acquires these as the position of the intersection point P. Furthermore, height information of the intersection point P may be obtained by photographing the workpiece B on the support table 21 two or more times while changing the relative position between the first camera 31 or the second camera 51 and the workpiece B, and calculating the height of each position in the image using parallax. This provides three-dimensional position data of all intersection points P of the rebars S of the workpiece B, which can then be expanded into the coordinate system of the robot arm 4 to acquire information about the intersection points P for identifying their positions.

[0117] Furthermore, if the image data 762C of the first camera 31 or the second camera 51 is image data that includes three-dimensional position information, the position information indicated by the image data is expanded into the coordinate system of the robot arm 4 to obtain information about the intersection point P for identifying the position of the intersection point P.

[0118] The second acquisition process performed by the control unit 77C is a process in which the control unit 7C is equipped with a communication device (not shown) that communicates with the outside of the binding system 1C, and requests and acquires map data 763C from another external information processing terminal via a communication network or the like. Alternatively, the control device 7C may be provided with a reading device (not shown) that reads a storage medium storing the map data 763C, and the map data 763C may be acquired by reading from the storage medium.

[0119] The map data 763C records design information of the work B, and includes basic dimensions and three-dimensional position information of each reinforcing bar S, and three-dimensional position information of each intersection P. Therefore, the control unit 77C that executes the second acquisition process acquires information about the intersection P to identify the position of the intersection P by expanding the three-dimensional position information of each intersection P obtained from the map data 763C into the coordinate system of the robot arm 4.

[0120] <Selection of binding conditions> By executing the aforementioned binding processing program 761C, the control unit 77C accepts the selection of the binding conditions for the wire W for the intersection P of the multiple reinforcing bars S of the work B, generates the first binding condition data 764C, and stores it in the memory unit 76C. The control of the bundling operation by the control unit 77C is in accordance with various bundling conditions. The various bundling conditions can be set and input by the user from the operation unit 72 serving as a condition input unit, and the control unit 77C selects the various set bundling conditions and controls the operation of the bundling work. Various binding conditions will now be described. Note that the binding conditions described below are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting.

[0121] The binding conditions included in the first binding condition data 764C include the "presence or absence of binding," "binding direction," "number of bindings," and "binding strength" for each intersection P. Furthermore, the bundling condition includes the "bundling order" for the multiple intersections P of work B. These binding conditions will be explained individually.

[0122] The bundling condition "whether to bundle or not" is selected individually for all intersections P in work B. "whether to bundle or not" is a setting for whether or not each intersection P is to be bound. In other words, it is possible to select whether or not to bundle each intersection P in work B. For "whether or not to bundle," the user inputs via the operation unit 72 whether or not each intersection P of the work B is to be bundled, and the control unit 77C selects the intersection P that is to be bundled and performs the binding.

[0123] The "binding direction" as a binding condition is selected individually for all intersections P that are the target of binding within the work B. The "binding direction" will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16 are plan views showing two types of bundling directions with respect to the intersection P. When viewed from above in the Z direction, the wire W bundled at the intersection P between the X-direction rebar S and the Y-direction rebar S is in one of two directions, inclined at approximately 45 degrees with respect to both the X and Y directions, as shown in FIG. 15 or as shown in FIG. 16. Here, the bundling direction along the diagonally upward right direction on the paper surface of FIG. 15 is referred to as the first direction, and the bundling direction along the diagonally upward left direction on the paper surface of FIG. 16 is referred to as the second direction. The "binding direction" of the binding conditions indicates whether the wire W should be bound in the first direction or the second direction. The "binding direction" here refers to the direction in which the wire W is aligned after binding when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the planar workpiece B.

[0124] The binding device 6C of the binding system 1C is designed to use two wires W for binding in one binding operation, and the two wires W shown in Figures 15 and 16 show the state after one binding operation. The same applies to the subsequent figures. After bundling, both ends of each wire W are twisted to form wound portions, but the wound portions are not shown in FIG. 15 and subsequent figures.

[0125] The "number of times of bundling" as a bundling condition is selected individually for all intersections P that are the target of bundling within the work B. The "number of times of bundling" will be described with reference to FIG. The "number of bundling operations" is the number of times the bundling device 6C performs bundling operations on one intersection P. The number of wires W used for bundling is proportional to the number of bundling operations. Figure 17 shows the bundling state when the "number of bundling operations" is set to two. As mentioned above, two wires W are used in one bundling operation, so bundling is performed with four wires W on the intersection P. The "number of bundling operations" can be selected from one to multiple times. However, there is a limit to the number of times because if the number of operations is repeated, the bundle of wires W bundling at the intersection P will become too large.

[0126] Furthermore, the "number of times of bundling" as a bundling condition may be selectable in combination with the above-mentioned "bundling direction." For example, both the first and second directions may be selected as the "binding direction," and the "number of bindings" may be selected for each direction. Figure 18 shows the binding state when one binding is selected for the first direction and one binding is selected for the second direction. In this case, the order of the bundling operation in the first direction and the bundling operation in the second direction may also be selectable as a bundling condition.

[0127] The "binding strength" as a binding condition is selected individually for all intersections P to be bound within the work B. The "binding strength" indicates the winding strength of the wire W that binds the intersections P. This "binding strength" may be selected numerically or by a level of strength (for example, strong, medium, weak, etc.). As described above, the binding device 6C forms a wound portion by twisting both ends of the wire W. The "binding strength" can be determined by the magnitude of the torque generated by the torsion motor 616C of the binding device 6C that performs the twisting operation on the wire W. For example, if there is a correlation between the torque output by the torsion motor 616C and the current value flowing through the torsion motor 616C, the control unit 77C monitors the current value flowing through the torsion motor 616C of the binding device 6C and controls the torsion motor 616C to twist both ends of the wire W until the current value reaches a value that results in a torque corresponding to the selection of "binding strength."

[0128] The "binding order" as a binding condition will now be described. The "binding order" can be selected from patterns such as (1) outer edge first, (2) center first, (3) horizontal feed (Y direction), (4) vertical feed (X direction), and (5) corner first. Note that these patterns are merely examples, and other patterns may also be selectable. For example, when the user selects and sets one of the patterns (1) to (5) through the operation unit 72, the control unit 77C executes bundling for the multiple intersections P in accordance with the order determined in one of the selected patterns.

[0129] 19 shows the order of progress for each intersection P in the (1) outer edge first pattern. When this (1) outer edge first pattern is selected, the control unit 77C performs bundling with priority to the intersection P located on the outer edge of the area where all the intersections P to be bound of the work B exist. For example, if all intersections P shown in Figure 19 are targets of bundling and the area in which the intersections P exist is rectangular, the control unit 77C will first perform bundling on the intersections P located at the four corners and outer edges along the four sides of the rectangular area.

[0130] In this (1) outer edge first pattern, bundling starts from an intersection P located at one of the four corners, and bundling is performed for each intersection P while going around the outer edge of the area where the intersection P exists in a predetermined direction. The user may be able to select from the operation unit 72 which of the four corners to start bundling from, or it may be decided in advance that a corner at a predetermined position will be the starting position. 19 illustrates an example in which binding is performed by rotating clockwise on the paper surface of the figure, but this is not limiting and may be performed counterclockwise. The rotation direction may be selectable by the user using the operation unit 72, or a default rotation direction may be determined in advance.

[0131] Furthermore, in this (1) outer edge first pattern, for intersections P other than the outer edge, as in the example of Figure 19, bundling can be performed for each intersection P while going around the outer edge of the area consisting of the remaining intersections P in a predetermined direction, and the same process can be repeated inward until bundling is completed for all intersections P. In this case, it is preferable that the direction of each revolution is opposite to that of the previous revolution for each revolution. The robot arm body 40 of the robot arm 4 that moves the binding device 6C performs binding operations while rotating with its rotation axis about an axis along the Z direction aligned with the center position of the workpiece B, but the range of rotation angle of the robot arm body 40 about the axis along the Z direction may be limited to a range of around 360°. When performing binding by circling as described above, the influence of the limited rotation angle range of the robot arm body 40 can be reduced by alternately switching the rotation direction. If the range of rotation angles of the robot arm body 40 is sufficiently wide, it may rotate continuously in a fixed direction.

[0132] FIG. 20 shows the order of progress for each intersection P in the (2) center-first pattern. When this (2) center-first pattern is selected, the control unit 77C starts bundling from the intersection P that is closest to the center of the area in which all of the intersections P to be bound of the workpieces B exist. The center of the area may be defined as, for example, the geometric center (center of gravity). Also, if the area in which all of the intersections P to be bound of the workpieces B exist is not rectangular, the center of gravity of the rectangle in which the area is inscribed may be defined as the center of the area.

[0133] For example, if all the intersection points P shown in Figure 20 are targets of bundling and the area in which the intersection points P exist is rectangular, the control unit 77C, when (2) selecting a center-first pattern, starts from the central intersection point P, moves to the intersection points P located around it, and performs bundling in order toward the outer intersection points P while going around.

[0134] In this (2) center-first pattern, the rotation direction alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise on the paper surface for each revolution, as shown in Figure 20. The reason for this is the same as the reason for alternately switching the rotation direction in the (1) outer edge-first pattern described above. Therefore, if the range of rotation angles of the robot arm body 40 is sufficiently wide, it may rotate continuously in a fixed direction.

[0135] 21 shows the order of progress for each intersection P in the (3) horizontal feed pattern. When this (3) horizontal feed pattern is selected, the control unit 77C starts binding from the row of intersection P closest to one side in the Y direction among the rows of intersection P lined up along the X direction in the area where all of the intersections P to be bound of the work B exist, and continues binding row by row in the Y direction.

[0136] The user may be able to select and set from the operation unit 72 which of the rows of intersection points P aligned along the X direction should start bundling from both ends in the Y direction, or which of the rows of intersection points P aligned along the X direction should start bundling from, or these may be determined in advance. 21 illustrates an example in which the direction of binding in a row of intersections P aligned along the X direction is opposite to that of the previous row. This reduces the amount of movement of work B to all of the intersections P, enabling work to be performed quickly.

[0137] 21, the rows of intersections P aligned along the X direction are bound one row at a time in the Y direction, but this is not limiting. For example, among the rows of intersections P aligned along the X direction, binding may be performed alternately between the row on one end side in the Y direction and the row on the other end side, and binding may be completed at the middle row in the Y direction.

[0138] 22 shows the order of progress for each intersection P in the (4) vertical feed pattern. When this (4) vertical feed pattern is selected, the control unit 77C starts binding from the row of intersection P closest to one side in the X direction among the rows of intersection P lined up along the Y direction in the area where all of the intersections P to be bound of the work B exist, and continues binding row by row in the X direction.

[0139] The user may be able to select and set from the operation unit 72 which row at both ends in the X direction of the rows of intersection points P lined up along multiple Y directions from which to start bundling, or which intersection point P at both ends of the rows of intersection points P lined up along the Y direction from which to start bundling, or these may be determined in advance. 22 illustrates an example in which the direction of binding in a row of intersections P aligned along the Y direction is opposite to that of the previous row. This reduces the amount of movement of the work B to all of the intersections P, enabling work to be performed quickly.

[0140] 22, the rows of intersections P aligned along the Y direction are bound one row at a time in the X direction, but this is not limiting. For example, among the rows of intersections P aligned along the Y direction, binding may be performed alternately between the row on one end side in the X direction and the row on the other end side, and binding may be completed at the middle row in the X direction.

[0141] 23 shows the order of progress for each intersection P in the (5) corner-first pattern. When this (5) corner-first pattern is selected, the control unit 77C first performs bundling for the intersection P located at the corner in the area where all the intersections P to be bound of the work B exist. For example, if all intersections P shown in FIG. 23 are targets of bundling and the area in which the intersections P exist is rectangular, the control unit 77C identifies the intersections P located at the corners of the rectangle and performs bundling first.

[0142] In this (5) corner-first pattern, binding is performed for each intersection P located at the four corners in a predetermined order. The order in which the four corner intersections P are bound may be selectable and set by the user using the operation unit 72, or a default order may be determined in advance. For example, binding may be performed starting from the first of the four corner intersections P and moving around, or binding may be performed on the intersection P located diagonally opposite the first of the four corner intersections P, and binding may be performed in the same manner on the remaining two corner intersections P.

[0143] In addition, in this (5) corner-first pattern, any of the above-mentioned patterns (1) to (4) may be executed for the bundling order for intersections P other than corners. Therefore, when selecting the (5) corner-first pattern, any of the patterns (1) to (4) may be selectable for intersections P other than corners. This selection may be made selectable and set by the user from the operation unit 72, or any of the patterns (1) to (4) may be predetermined as a default setting.

[0144] Incidentally, when a selection is made regarding the "order of binding" as a binding condition, the control unit 77C needs to identify "intersection P located at the corner" and "intersection P located at the outer edge" within the area in which the intersection P exists. FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram in which "A" is written for "intersections P located at corners," "B" is written for "intersections P located on the outer edge," and "C" is written for other intersections P.

[0145] The control unit 77C identifies an intersection P that has two adjacent intersection points P, such as the intersection P marked with "A" within the area Ra surrounded by the dotted line in Figure 24, as an "intersection P located at a corner." In addition, the control unit 77C identifies an intersection P that has three or fewer adjacent intersections P, such as the intersection P marked with "B" within the area Rb surrounded by the dotted line in Figure 24, as an "intersection P located on the outer edge." Then, the control unit 77C identifies an intersection P that has four adjacent intersections P, such as the intersection P marked with "C" in the area Rc surrounded by the dotted line in Figure 24, as an intersection P other than an "intersection P located at a corner" and an "intersection P located at the outer edge."

[0146] It should be noted that the above-mentioned "adjacent intersections P" refers to intersections adjacent to each other via reinforcing bars S. In other words, it refers to intersections P adjacent to each other in the X or Y direction, and does not include intersections P diagonally adjacent to each other in the X or Y direction. Furthermore, when we say "an intersection P located on the outer edge," we mean an intersection with three or fewer other adjacent intersections P, so it also includes an "intersection P located at a corner" with two other adjacent intersections P.

[0147] Furthermore, patterns (1) to (5) of the "binding order" have been explained using the example of all intersections P being the target of binding and the area in which the intersections P exist being rectangular, but there are also cases where some intersections P are not the target of binding, or where the work B is not a rectangular planar grid but has a shape with some parts missing. For example, if work B is installed in a location where there is an obstacle such as a pillar, a portion of the rebar S will be removed to avoid the obstacle before or after the tying work at intersection P, resulting in a missing shape. Also, intersection P that is within the range where a portion of the rebar S is expected to be removed due to an obstacle may not be subject to tying.

[0148] 25 is a schematic diagram of the work B on the support table 21 viewed from above, showing a case where some intersections P are not subject to binding or where part of the rebar S of the work B has been removed, causing part of the rectangle to be missing, resulting in an irregular shape of the area to be bound. Note that all intersections P marked with double circles in this figure are considered to be subject to binding.

[0149] Even in the case of an area with such an irregular shape, the control unit 77C can perform binding in the order defined in the patterns (1) to (5) by identifying the "intersection P located at the corner," the "intersection P located at the outer edge," and other intersections P according to the definitions described above.

[0150] For example, as shown in Figure 25, all intersections P numbered on the inside are "intersections P located on the outer edge," and among these intersections P, the intersections P numbered "1," "7," "13," "17," and "21" are "intersections P located at the corners."

[0151] Therefore, in the (1) outer edge first pattern, bundling may be performed first at the intersections P numbered "1" to "33." In this case, bundling may be performed in numerical order, for example. In the center-first pattern (2), the center of the region is found according to the definition described above, and binding is performed from the intersection P closest to the center. In the (3) horizontal feed pattern, binding may be performed for a plurality of rows of intersections P aligned along the X direction in the above-described order. In addition, in the (4) vertical feed pattern, binding may be performed in the above-mentioned order for a plurality of rows of intersection points P aligned along the Y direction. In addition, in the (5) corner-first pattern, binding may be performed first at the intersections P numbered "1," "7," "13," "17," and "21."

[0152] As described above, in the bundling system 1C, the above-mentioned bundling conditions, namely, "whether to bundle," "bundling direction," "number of bundling times," "bundling strength," and "bundling order," can all be selected and set by the user via the operation unit 72. When these selections are made, the control unit 77C generates first bundling condition data 764C that defines the bundling conditions in accordance with the selected settings, and records the data in the storage unit 76C. The control unit 77C can read out this first binding condition data 764C any number of times, and can read out the same first binding condition data 764C for multiple works B each time and perform binding operation control according to the same binding conditions. If the user selects and sets different content for each of the above bundling conditions from the operation unit 72, new first bundling condition data 764C is generated and recorded in the storage unit 76C. In this case, each of the first bundling condition data 764C is recorded with identification information so that the existing first bundling condition data 764C and the new first bundling condition data 764C can be distinguished from each other, and the configuration is such that individual first bundling condition data 764C can be selected to execute bundling operation control.

[0153] <Operation mode as a binding condition> Furthermore, in order to reduce the workload of the user in selecting and setting all of the binding conditions from the operation unit 72, the memory unit 76C stores a plurality of second binding condition data 765C in which the contents of "whether or not to bind," "binding direction," "number of bindings," "binding strength," and "binding order" are predetermined. The multiple second bundling condition data 765C are each individually associated with multiple operating modes, and the control unit 77C can read out the corresponding second bundling condition data 765C according to the selected operating mode and perform the bundling operation for each intersection P. The operation modes include, for example, a "standard mode," a "strength priority mode," a "speed priority mode," etc. These various operation modes will be described below.

[0154] The "standard mode" is a mode for performing standard bundling. In principle, this "standard mode" can be executed by the user's selection. Also, even if the user does not select "whether to bundle," "bundling direction," "number of bundlings," "bundling strength," or "bundling order," and does not select an operation mode, and inputs a command to execute the bundling operation, the "standard mode" is automatically selected and the bundling operation is executed. In the "standard mode," for example, the "presence or absence of bundling" is set so that all intersections P in the work B are targeted for bundling. Furthermore, the "binding direction" is set so that all intersections P in work B are in either the first direction or the second direction, and all intersections P have a different "binding direction" from other adjacent intersections P. In other words, all intersections P in work B are bound in a staggered arrangement in which binding in the first direction and binding in the second direction are alternately arranged in the X direction, and all intersections P in work B are bound in a staggered arrangement in which binding in the first direction and binding in the second direction are alternately arranged in the Y direction. Furthermore, the "number of times of bundling" is set so that all intersections P in the work B are bound once. Additionally, the "bond strength" is set to a default standard value. In addition, the "order of binding" is set to (1) outer edge first.

[0155] The "strength priority mode" is a mode for performing bundling with higher bundling strength than the "standard mode." The "strength priority mode" is the same as the "standard mode" in the various setting conditions except for "binding strength". The "strength priority mode" is set so that the "binding strength" is a value higher than the predetermined standard value (for example, about 1.2 to 2 times the standard value).

[0156] The "speed priority mode" is a mode for bundling more quickly than the "standard mode." The "speed priority mode" is the same as the "standard mode" in the various setting conditions except for the "binding direction" and "binding order". In the "speed priority mode," the "binding direction" is aligned in the first direction (or second direction) for all intersections P within the work B, reducing the frequency of rotation of the binding device 6C around an axis along the Z direction to speed up continuous binding operations. Furthermore, in the "speed priority mode," either (1) outer edge first or (2) center first is set for the "binding order." In either of these "binding orders," the path from the first intersection P to the last intersection P does not pass through the same position twice, which speeds up the binding work. Furthermore, in these modes, the distance between the first intersection P where binding begins and the last intersection P is closer than in (3) horizontal feed and (4) vertical feed, so when multiple workpieces B are bound consecutively, the return operation to the binding start position for the next workpiece B can be speeded up.

[0157] <Bundling system operation> Next, the operation of the binding system 1C will be described. FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the procedure when the bundling system 1C executes the bundling process. The CPU of the control unit 77C of the control device 7C executes the following bundling process in accordance with the bundling process program 761C.

[0158] By executing the bundling processing program 761C, the control unit 77C functions as an intersection information acquisition means, and executes processing for acquiring information about the intersection P where the multiple reinforcing bars S of the work B intersect. In this case, the control unit 77C determines whether or not the user has selected to use the map data 763C via the operation unit 72, for example (step S101).

[0159] When the use of map data 763C is selected, control unit 77C reads map data 763C from storage unit 76C (step S103). At this time, if map data 763C is not prepared in storage unit 76C, map data 763C is acquired by external communication or by reading from a recording medium.

[0160] On the other hand, if the use of map data 763C is not selected, the control unit 77C photographs the entire work B on the holding table 21 of the work holding unit 2 arranged in the photographing area E1 of the stand 11 using the first camera 31 of the overall photographing unit 3 (step S105).

[0161] When the map data 763C is read or the workpiece B is photographed by the first camera 31, the control unit 77C obtains three-dimensional position data of all intersections P of the reinforcing bars S of the workpiece B from the map data 763C or image data 762C, and develops this data in the coordinate system of the robot arm 4. This makes it possible to identify the positions of all intersections P (step S107). Therefore, the control unit 77C functions as an intersection specifying means.

[0162] Next, the control unit 77C drives the drive motor 23 of the workpiece holder 2 to move the holder 21 and the workpiece B to the bundling area E2 (step S109).

[0163] Next, the control unit 77C determines whether or not the user has selected to use the first bundling condition data 764C in which each bundling condition has been individually selected and set (step S111). If the use of the first binding condition data 764C is selected, the first binding condition data 764C is read from the storage unit 76C (step S113). At this time, if a plurality of pieces of first binding condition data 764C are held in the storage unit 76C, a specific piece of first binding condition data 764C is read in accordance with the user's selection. Then, the process proceeds to step S121.

[0164] On the other hand, if the use of the first bundling condition data 764C is not selected, the control unit 77C determines whether or not an operation mode is selected (step S115). If an operation mode is selected, the control unit 77C determines whether to execute the "standard mode," "strength priority mode," or "speed priority mode" based on the user's selection, and reads the setting conditions from the corresponding second binding condition data 765C in the storage unit 76C according to the selected operation mode. Then, the process proceeds to step S121.

[0165] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S115 that an operation mode has not been selected, the control unit 77C selects the "standard mode" (step S119), reads the setting conditions from the corresponding second binding condition data 765C in the storage unit 76C, and then proceeds to step S121.

[0166] In step S121, the control unit 77C identifies the intersection P in the work B that will be bound first, based on the selection of "whether to bind" and "order of binding" in the binding conditions acquired in step S113, step S117, or step S119. Furthermore, the control unit 77C calculates the position coordinates of the intersection P that will be bound first, based on the information about the intersection P for identifying the position of the intersection P acquired in step S107.

[0167] Then, the control unit 77C controls the robot arm 4 to position the second camera 51 at a photographing position of the intersection P where binding will be performed first, and drives the lifting motor 52 to move the second camera 51 closer to the intersection P (step S121).

[0168] Next, the control unit 77C causes the second camera 51 to photograph the intersection P (step S123). The second camera 51 captures an image closer to the intersection P than the first camera 31, and therefore the position of the intersection P can be determined with higher accuracy based on the image data 762C.

[0169] Therefore, the control unit 77C recalculates the position of the intersection P based on the image data 762C from the second camera 51 (step S125), and positions the binding position of the binding device 6C closer to the newly obtained position of the intersection P (step S127). At this time, the control unit 77C determines the orientation of the binding device 6C around an axis along the Z direction according to the "binding direction" included in the binding conditions acquired in step S113, step S117 or step S119.

[0170] Then, the control unit 77C operates the binding device 6C to bind the intersection P with the wire W (step S129). At this time, the control unit 77C performs bundling with the wire W in accordance with the bundling conditions "number of bundling times" and "bundling strength" (including "bundling direction" if "number of bundling times" and "bundling direction" are selected in combination) acquired in step S113, step S117 or step S119.

[0171] Then, the control unit 77C determines whether the intersection P that has been bound is the last intersection P or not, based on the positions of all intersections P using the information about intersections P for identifying the positions of intersections P obtained in step S107, and the selection of the binding conditions "whether or not to bind" and "order of binding" obtained in step S113, step S117, or step S119 (step S131). As a result, if the intersection P at which bundling has been performed is not the last intersection P, the control unit 77C identifies the next intersection P at which bundling will be performed (step S133), and repeats the processes from step S121 to step S133. On the other hand, if the intersection P where bundling was performed is the last intersection P, the control unit 77C ends the bundling process for the work B.

[0172] <Technical effect of the second embodiment> The control device 7C of the binding system 1C includes a control unit 77C that can select binding conditions for the wire W to the intersections P of the reinforcing bars S of the workpiece B. Therefore, by appropriately selecting the contents of the bundling conditions, it is possible to perform appropriate bundling processing of the wire W for various works B, and it is possible to provide a highly versatile bundling system 1C.

[0173] Furthermore, the control unit 77C of the control device 7C of the binding system 1C makes it possible to select, as a binding condition, the order of binding the wire W to the plurality of intersections P of the workpiece B from a plurality of patterns. This makes it possible to achieve strong bundling of the work B and rapid bundling.

[0174] In particular, the control unit 77C makes it possible to select from multiple operating modes that specify the order in which the wire W is bound to multiple intersections P of the work B, so that in the binding process of the work B, the wire W can be bound to each intersection P in the appropriate order depending on the purpose.

[0175] Furthermore, some or all of the selectable operation modes bind the wire W along the outer edge of the workpiece B from the outer edge to multiple intersections P. Before bundling, the multiple reinforcing bars S constituting the workpiece B are supported at both ends by the support plates 211 of the support base 21. This makes it easy for the reinforcing bars S to bend in the center, resulting in gaps in the center when stacked one above the other. In this case, bundling starting from the intersection P on the outer edge reduces the gap between the upper and lower reinforcing bars S before bundling the reinforcing bars S in the center, thereby reducing the amount of deflection of the reinforcing bars S when bundling the reinforcing bars S in the center. This reduces misalignment of the workpiece B after bundling due to deflection of the reinforcing bars S when bundling the reinforcing bars S in the center. The outer edge here refers to the outermost part of the overall area consisting of the inner and outer regions of the workpiece B, and the outside refers to the outermost part of the workpiece that includes a regularly spaced group of intersections. In other words, bundling from the outer edge refers to bundling workpieces of various shapes from intersections facing the external space. The external space refers to space that does not form a group of intersections, including the space surrounding the workpiece and the space inside the workpiece.

[0176] The control device 7C of the binding system 1C also includes an operation unit 72 for inputting binding conditions, and the control unit 77C executes binding with the wire W at the multiple intersections P in accordance with the binding conditions input from the operation unit 72. This makes it easy for the user to select binding conditions that correspond to the actual work B, and even for various types of work B or irregular work B, it is possible to appropriately select binding conditions to achieve strong binding, rapid binding, or smooth binding.

[0177] In addition, the control unit 77C of the control device 7C of the binding system 1C functions as an intersection information acquisition means for acquiring information regarding the intersection P and an intersection identification means for identifying the intersection P at which the wire W is to be bound from the acquired information regarding the intersection P of the work B, so that the binding work can be performed from a position corresponding to the intersection P of the work B to be bound, thereby optimizing the binding work and achieving good binding.

[0178] Furthermore, the bundling system 1C has a storage unit 76C that can record map data 763C, which is information relating to the intersection P obtained from the outside, and therefore the position of the intersection P can be identified from the map data 763C prepared externally. Therefore, the positions of all intersections P of work B can be obtained without performing processes such as photographing work B, extracting intersections from the image data obtained by photographing, and identifying the intersection positions, which makes it possible to speed up the bundling process and reduce the processing burden.

[0179] Furthermore, the control unit 77C of the control device 7C executes the bundling processing program 761C to realize the function of enabling selection of bundling conditions, so that it is easy to obtain this function from an existing bundling system without adding new hardware resources, thereby enabling reduction in the development burden of hardware resources and the manufacturing costs of the system.

[0180] <Use of aircraft information data and surrounding information data> The memory unit 76C of the control device 7C of the binding system 1C stores machine information data 766C indicating the three-dimensional position of the entire surface of the binding device 6C and surrounding information data 767C indicating the three-dimensional position of the entire surface of obstacles around the robot arm 4. The control unit 77C may use these data 766C and 767C to determine whether or not the "binding direction" which is a binding condition can be selected when the selection is made.

[0181] In other words, since the machine information data 766C includes three-dimensional position data of the entire machine surface of the binding device 6C, it is possible to obtain each position on the surface of the binding device 6C when the binding device 6C is supported by the end effector 43 of the robot arm 4. During the binding operation of the binding device 6C, when the binding device 6C is rotated around the rotation axis Zr in accordance with the selection of the "binding direction," the possibility of interference between the binding device 6C and the obstacle can be determined based on each position on the surface of the binding device 6C and the surrounding information data 767C that indicates the three-dimensional position of the entire surface of the obstacle around the robot arm 4. Therefore, when the user selects the "binding direction", which is a binding condition, from the operation unit 72, the control unit 77C determines the possibility of interference between the binding device 6C and an obstacle, and if there is a possibility of interference, the control unit 77C may perform processing such as notifying the user of the possibility of interference through the display unit 73, rejecting the current selection of the "binding direction", or automatically changing the current selection of the "binding direction". Furthermore, each of the above processes may be executed when the first binding condition data 764C or the second binding condition data 765C, the machine information data 766C, and the peripheral information data 767C are all stored in the storage unit 76C. Alternatively, machine information data 766C and surrounding information data 767C may be prepared in memory unit 76C, and this may be performed when the user selects the first binding condition data 764C or the second binding condition data 765C, which may cause the above-mentioned interference, to perform the binding process for work B.

[0182] <Other matters in this embodiment> The third embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the embodiment, a component integrally formed from a single member may be replaced with a component divided into multiple members connected or fixed to each other. Furthermore, a component formed by connecting multiple members may be replaced with a component integrally formed from a single member. In addition, the details shown in the embodiment may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0183] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, in the bundling system 1C, the user selects the bundling conditions using the operation unit 72, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which a user selects setting conditions using an information processing terminal or the like that is not included in the bundling system 1C to create first bundling condition data 764C, and the control device 7C of the bundling system 1C acquires the first bundling condition data 764C via communication or acquires a recording medium on which the first bundling condition data 764C is recorded via its reading device.

[0184] Furthermore, the binding system 1C may be configured to acquire information about the intersections P that identify each intersection P of the workpiece B from only the map data 763C. In that case, the first camera 31 and the second camera 51 are not essential to the binding system 1C. However, since the second camera 51 allows the binding device 6C to be positioned with respect to the intersection P with higher accuracy, a configuration may be adopted in which only the first camera 31 is omitted and the second camera 51 is provided. If the first camera 31 is omitted from the configuration of the binding system 1C, the rail 22 and drive motor 23 of the workpiece holder 2 that moves the workpiece B between the photography area E1 and the binding area E2 can also be eliminated.

[0185] In addition, in the binding system 1C of this embodiment, a binding device 6C that binds reinforcing bars S with two wires W is exemplified, but this is not limited to this, and a binding device that binds reinforcing bars S with one or three or more wires W may also be used.

[0186] Furthermore, in the binding system 1C, a configuration has been exemplified in which the binding device 6C and the individual photographing unit 5 are moved by the robot arm 4, but this is not limiting. For example, the binding device 6C and the individual photographing unit 5 may be mounted on the head of a gantry-type moving device in the XY directions, and the binding device 6C and the individual photographing unit 5 may be made movable up and down from the head along the Z direction and rotatable around an axis along the Z direction. Alternatively, the binding device 6C and the individual photographing unit 5 may be mounted on a self-propelled moving device that moves relative to the workpieces B held in a lattice pattern.

[0187] Furthermore, the bundling system 1C of this embodiment is a stationary bundling system that is placed or fixedly installed in an indoor work space. Therefore, unlike outdoor work bundling systems, bundling work can be performed without being affected by weather or the outdoor environment. Furthermore, since there is no need for equipment that is waterproof, dustproof, high-temperature, low-temperature, or other measures to withstand harsh outdoor environments, it can be equipped with equipment for precision work indoors, and precise bundling work can be performed on work B. However, it is also possible to eliminate these advantages and configure a bundling system for outdoor use that has the features of this embodiment.

[0188] The means for solving the problems in the second embodiment will be described below. [Solution 1] A binding system for binding a workpiece having an intersection where reinforcing bars intersect with a binding body at the intersection, A bundling system including a control unit capable of selecting a bundling condition of the bundling body for the intersection. [Solution 2] the workpiece has a plurality of the intersections, The control unit is configured to select an order of bundling of the bundling bodies with respect to the plurality of intersections as the bundling condition. The bundling system according to Solution 1. [Solution 3] The control unit is capable of selecting an operation mode that specifies the order of binding of the binding bodies with respect to the plurality of intersections. The bundling system according to solution 2. [Solution 4] The operation mode is to perform binding of the binding body along the outer edge of the workpiece from the outer edge to the plurality of intersections. The bundling system according to solution 3. [Solution 5] A condition input unit for the binding condition is provided, The control unit executes bundling of the bundling bodies at the plurality of intersections in accordance with the bundling conditions input from the condition input unit. The bundling system according to solution 2. [Solution 6] An intersection information acquisition means for acquiring information about the intersection; An intersection specifying means for specifying an intersection for binding the bound body from the acquired information about the intersection of the workpiece is provided. The bundling system according to Solution 1. [Solution 7] a recording device capable of recording information about intersections acquired from outside the bundling system; The bundling system according to Solution 1. [Solution 8] A computer controls a bundling system that binds a workpiece having an intersection where a plurality of reinforcing bars intersect with a bundling body at the intersection, a bundling processing program that realizes a function that enables selection of a bundling condition for the bundling body with respect to the intersection;

[0189] Third Embodiment A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This third embodiment discloses a bundling system and a bundling processing program that have a configuration that can solve the problem of a decrease in bundling strength occurring when a bundling element is bundled in the same uniform direction around a single reinforcing bar that constitutes a workpiece, as in Patent Publication No. 2013-35052 and Patent Publication No. 6-219420, which are exemplified as prior art. The bundling system 1D disclosed in this third embodiment has a control device 7D that is partially different in configuration from the control device 7C of the bundling system 1C disclosed in the second embodiment, and the configuration of the device main body 10C is the same as that of the bundling system 1C. Therefore, in this third embodiment, the bundling system 1D will be mainly described with respect to the configuration of the control device 7D that is different from the control device 7C, and the same configuration as that of the bundling system 1C will be assigned the same reference numerals as those of the bundling system 1C, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0190] [Binding system configuration] FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the binding system 1D. The binding system 1D binds a work B, in which a plurality of reinforcing bars S are arranged in a lattice pattern, with wire W at intersections P (see FIG. 14) where the plurality of reinforcing bars S intersect to form a binding body. Specifically, the binding system 1D includes a device main body 10C and a control device 7D.

[0191] <Control device> The control device 7D is a computer that comprehensively controls the binding system 1D. Specifically, the control device 7D includes an operation unit 72, a display unit 73, a storage unit 76D, and a control unit 77D.

[0192] The storage unit 76D is a memory configured from RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc., and stores various programs and data, and also functions as a work area for the control unit 77D. In addition, the memory unit 76D, which serves as a recording device, stores image data 762D captured by the first camera 31 and the second camera 51, map data 763D in which information about the work B is recorded, binding direction data 764D generated in the binding direction determination process described below, machine information data 766D indicating the three-dimensional position of the entire surface of the binding device 6C, and surrounding information data 767D indicating the three-dimensional position of the entire surface of obstacles around the robot arm 4 deployed in the coordinate system of the robot arm 4.

[0193] The control unit 77D is configured with, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls the operation of each unit of the control device 7D. Specifically, the control unit 77D operates each unit of the control device 7D based on the operation content of the operation unit 72, loads a program stored in advance in the storage unit 76D, and executes various processes in cooperation with the loaded program.

[0194] <Intersection information acquisition process> The control unit 77D acquires information about the intersections P at which the plurality of reinforcing bars S of the work B intersect, by executing the bundling processing program 761D described above. As described above, the control unit 77D controls the device main body 10C to bind the plurality of reinforcing bars S of the workpiece B at the intersection P where they intersect with the wire W as a binding body.

[0195] Similar to the binding system 1C described above, the work B has a plurality of reinforcing bars S arranged along the Y direction on top of a plurality of reinforcing bars S arranged along the X direction, forming a lattice pattern (Figure 14). Each position where the center lines of multiple reinforcing bars S aligned along the X direction and multiple reinforcing bars S aligned along the Y direction intersect when viewed from the Z direction is an intersection point P, and the binding system 1D can use each of these intersection points P as the binding target.

[0196] The control of the bundling operation by the control unit 77D requires information about the intersection points P for identifying the positions of the intersection points P where the reinforcing bars S of the work B intersect. Therefore, the control unit 77D executes an intersection information acquisition process for acquiring information about the intersections P for identifying the positions of all the intersections P of the work B. This intersection information acquisition process consists of a first acquisition process that acquires the position of each intersection P from image data 762D captured by the first camera 31 or the second camera 51, which function as an intersection information acquisition means, and a second acquisition process that acquires map data 763D from outside the binding system 1D.

[0197] The control unit 77D may be configured to be able to execute only one of the first acquisition process and the second acquisition process. For example, if the control unit 77D is configured to be able to execute only the first acquisition process, the storage unit 76D may be configured not to hold the map data 763D.

[0198] In the first acquisition process performed by the control unit 77D, when the image data 762D of the workpiece B on the support table 21 photographed by the first camera 31 or the second camera 51 is two-dimensional planar image data, the control unit 77D extracts the position of the outline of each rebar S in the image using well-known image processing, determines the center line passing through the center of each rebar S, identifies the position where the center lines of each rebar S intersect, and acquires these as the position of the intersection point P. Furthermore, height information of the intersection point P may be obtained by photographing the workpiece B on the support table 21 two or more times while changing the relative position between the first camera 31 or the second camera 51 and the workpiece B, and calculating the height of each position in the image using parallax. This provides three-dimensional position data of all intersection points P of the rebars S of the workpiece B, which can then be expanded into the coordinate system of the robot arm 4 to acquire information about the intersection points P for identifying their positions.

[0199] Furthermore, if the image data 762D of the first camera 31 or the second camera 51 is image data that includes three-dimensional position information, information regarding the intersection P is obtained to identify the position of the intersection P by expanding the position information indicated by the image data into the coordinate system of the robot arm 4.

[0200] The second acquisition process performed by the control unit 77D is a process in which the control unit 7D is equipped with a communication device (not shown) that communicates with the outside of the binding system 1D, and requests and acquires map data 763D from another external information processing terminal via a communication network or the like. Alternatively, the control device 7D may be provided with a reading device (not shown) that reads a storage medium that stores the map data 763D, and the map data 763D may be acquired by reading from the storage medium.

[0201] The map data 763D records design information of the work B, and includes basic dimensions and three-dimensional position information of each reinforcing bar S, as well as three-dimensional position information of each intersection P. Therefore, the control unit 77D that executes the second acquisition process acquires information about the intersection P for identifying the position of the intersection P by expanding the three-dimensional position information of each intersection P obtained from the map data 763D into the coordinate system of the robot arm 4.

[0202] <Determining the bundling direction> The control unit 77D executes the bundling processing program 761D described above, thereby executing the process of determining the bundling direction for the intersection P of the reinforcing bars S of the work B. The process of determining the binding direction for each intersection P of work B is performed for all intersections P of work B based on the intersections P for identifying the positions of all intersections P of work B acquired by the intersection information acquisition process. Hereinafter, a method for the control unit 77D to determine the bundling direction of the reinforcing bars S of the workpiece B with respect to the intersections P will be described.

[0203] The "binding direction" of the workpiece B relative to the intersection point P is as explained in the second embodiment. That is, referring to the aforementioned Figures 15 and 16, the wire W tied to the intersection P between the X-direction rebar S and the Y-direction rebar S is in either the first direction shown in Figure 15 or the second direction shown in Figure 16, which is inclined at approximately 45 degrees with respect to both the X and Y directions, when viewed from above in the Z direction. In the bundling direction determination process, the control unit 77D determines the "bundling direction" for all intersections P of the work B to be either the first direction or the second direction. The "binding direction" here refers to the direction in which the wire W is aligned after binding when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the planar workpiece B.

[0204] The binding device 6C of the binding system 1D is designed to use two wires W for binding in one binding operation, and the two wires W shown in Figures 15 and 16 show the state after one binding operation. The same applies to the subsequent figures. After bundling, both ends of each wire W are twisted to form wound portions, but the wound portions are not shown in the drawings of this embodiment.

[0205] In the bundling direction determination process, the control unit 77D determines the bundling direction of each intersection P in accordance with each of the following bundling direction conditions (1) to (5). [Condition (1)] For each of all intersections P of the work B, for one reinforcing bar S and the other reinforcing bar S that form the intersection P, at least one other intersection P different from the intersection P formed by one reinforcing bar S and the other reinforcing bar S in one reinforcing bar S and at least one other intersection P different from the intersection P formed by one reinforcing bar S and the other reinforcing bar S in the other reinforcing bar S are tied together with wire W along a direction different from the intersection P formed by one reinforcing bar S and the other reinforcing bar S. [Condition (2)] Assuming condition (1), of all the intersection points P within the working area for the workpiece B, for the intersection point P located at the corner of the working area, the direction in which the wire W is bound is set to be as close to parallel as possible to the straight line connecting the intersection point P and the center of the working area. [Condition (3)] Subject to condition (2), of all intersections P within the working area for the workpiece B, for at least one of the two intersections P adjacent to the intersection P located at the corner of the working area, the binding direction of the wire W is set to be the same as the direction of the intersection P located at the corner of the working area. [Condition (4)] Subject to condition (2), of all intersection points P within the working area for work B, for the intersection point P located on the outer edge of the working area, the binding direction of the wire W is set to be as close to parallel as possible to the straight line connecting the intersection point P and the center of the working area of work B. [Condition (5)] Assuming that condition (1) is met, the wire W is bound to each of all intersections P of the workpiece B in a direction different from that of all other adjacent intersections P.

[0206] Here, when determining the bundling direction of each intersection P according to the bundling direction conditions (1) to (5), the control unit 77D needs to identify "intersection P located at a corner" and "intersection P located at an outer edge" within the work area. The definitions of "intersection P located at a corner" and "intersection P located at an outer edge" are the same as those explained in FIG. 24 of the second embodiment described above. Furthermore, the "working area" in the binding direction conditions (2) to (4) refers to the narrower area between the outer edge of the range of motion (the range within which the binding device 6C can move) of the binding device 6C set when the robot arm 4 holding the binding device 6C in the binding system 1D performs binding work on the work B, and the outer edge of the area in which all intersection points P of the work B exist. It may be assumed that the movable range of the binding device 6C and the area in which all of the intersection points P of the work B exist are both rectangular. 14, in this embodiment, the area inside the four support plates 211 of the holder 21 is a rectangular movable area, which coincides with the rectangular area in which all intersection points P of the workpiece B exist. In this case, the area inside the four support plates 211 of the holder 21 is a rectangular "working area."

[0207] Within the above-mentioned working area, the control unit 77D identifies, among all the intersections P within the working area, an intersection P that has two other adjacent intersections P, such as the intersection P marked with "A" within the area Ra surrounded by a dotted line, as an "intersection P located at the corner of the working area," as shown in Figure 24. In addition, the control unit 77D identifies an intersection P that has three or fewer adjacent intersections P, such as the intersection P marked with "B" within the area Rb surrounded by the dotted line in Figure 24, as an "intersection P located on the outer edge of the work area." Then, the control unit 77D identifies an intersection P with four adjacent intersections P, such as the intersection P marked with "C" in the area Rc surrounded by the dotted line in Figure 24, as an intersection P other than "an intersection P located at the corner of the work area" and "an intersection P located on the outer edge of the work area."

[0208] The above-mentioned "adjacent intersections P" refers to adjacent intersections P via reinforcing bars S. In other words, it refers to adjacent intersections P in the X or Y direction, and does not include adjacent intersections P in a direction diagonal to either the X or Y direction. Furthermore, when we say "an intersection P located on the outer edge of the work area," we mean an intersection with three or fewer other adjacent intersections P, so it also includes "an intersection P located at the corner of the work area" with two other adjacent intersections P.

[0209] The above-mentioned condition (1) will be explained with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, one reinforcing bar S and the other reinforcing bar S that form an intersection P are designated as Sx and Sy, respectively, and the intersection P between these is designated as Po. This condition (1) requires that the bundling direction of the wire W is such that at least one of the intersection points P other than the intersection point Po in one reinforcing bar Sx is in a direction different from the intersection point Po, and that at least one of the intersection points P other than the intersection point Po in the other reinforcing bar Sy is in a direction different from the intersection point Po. Since the bundling direction of the wire W can only be either the first direction or the second direction as mentioned above, "different bundling directions" means that one intersection point P is in the first direction and the other intersection point P is in the second direction.

[0210] Condition (1) requires that when bundling is performed at the intersection Po along the second direction, the reinforcing bar Sx is bundled with the wire W along the first direction at any other intersection P other than the intersection Po. Similarly, the reinforcing bar Sy is also bundled with the wire W along the first direction at any other intersection P other than the intersection Po. Then, the same requirement is applied to all intersection points P of work B as to intersection point Po. In this embodiment, the condition (1) is exemplified as a case where all intersections P of the work B are required to be the same as the intersection Po, but is not limited to this. For example, the condition (1) may be such that only one intersection P or some intersections P of the work B are required to be the same as the intersection Po.

[0211] The above-mentioned condition (2) will be explained with reference to Figures 29 and 32. This condition (2) is based on the premise that the condition (1) is established. Here, as shown in the figure, of all the intersection points P within the working area U for the workpiece B, the intersection point located at the corner of the working area U is designated as Pc. The control unit 77D can identify the working area U according to the definition described above and can determine the center C of the working area U. The center C of the working area U can be determined from the center of gravity (centroid) of the working area U, for example. Furthermore, the control unit can identify all of the intersection points P located at the corners of the work area U according to the definition in Fig. 24. In the example in Fig. 29, the intersection points P where the reinforcing bars S1 and S2 located at both ends of the work area U in the Y direction intersect with the reinforcing bars S3 and S4 located at both ends of the work area U in the X direction are the four intersection points Pc located at the corners of the work area U. Then, as shown in FIG. 29, a straight line Lc passing through the center C and each of the intersection points Pc located at the corners can be identified. 32, the intersection angle between the wire W facing in the first direction and the straight line Lc at the intersection point Pc located at the corner and the intersection angle between the wire W facing in the second direction and the straight line Lc at the same intersection point Pc are calculated, and the direction with the smaller intersection angle is determined to be "more parallel" to the straight line Lc and is determined as the bundling direction at the intersection point Pc. Note that in both cases, it is assumed that the line of sight is from the Z direction. In the above case, the crossing angle between the wire W and the straight line Lc can be an acute crossing angle or an obtuse crossing angle, but the acute crossing angle will be used for comparison. Depending on the shape of the working area, the intersection angle between the wire W facing in the first direction and the straight line Lc may be equal to the intersection angle between the wire W facing in the second direction and the straight line Lc. In such a case, the control unit 77D may select either the first direction or the second direction for the intersection point Pc. In this case, the control unit 77D may determine in advance whether to decide on the "first direction" or the "second direction."

[0212] The above-mentioned condition (3) will be explained with reference to Fig. 30. This condition (3) is based on the premise that the condition (2) is established. Here, as shown in the figure, the intersection Pc located at the corner of the work area U is adjacent to the intersection Pn on one side. At the intersection Pn adjacent to the four intersections Pc located at the corners of the work area U, the wire W is required to be bound in the same direction as the intersection Pc. Therefore, in the case of Figure 30, at the intersection Pn next to the intersection Pc located in the upper left corner of the figure, the wire W performs bundling along the second direction, at the intersection Pn next to the intersection Pc located in the upper right corner of the figure, the wire W performs bundling along the first direction, at the intersection Pn next to the intersection Pc located in the lower left corner of the figure, the wire W performs bundling along the first direction, and at the intersection Pn next to the intersection Pc located in the lower right corner of the figure, the wire W performs bundling along the second direction. The intersection Pc located at the corner of the work area U has two adjacent intersections P, and both of these intersections P may be bound in the same direction as the intersection Pc located at the corner.

[0213] The above-mentioned condition (4) will be explained with reference to Figures 31 and 32. This condition (4) is based on the premise that the condition (2) is established. The control unit 77D can identify the center C of the work area U and all of the intersection points P located on the outer edge of the work area U in accordance with the definition described above, and can therefore identify a straight line Lc passing through the center C and each of the intersection points P located on the outer edge, as shown in Figure 31. 32, the intersection angle between the wire W facing in the first direction and the straight line Lc at the intersection point P located on the outer edge and the intersection angle between the wire W facing in the second direction and the straight line Lc at the same intersection point P are calculated, and the direction with the smaller intersection angle between the first direction and the second direction is determined to be the "direction closer to being parallel" to the straight line Lc and is determined as the bundling direction at the intersection point P. Note that in both cases, it is assumed that the line of sight is from the Z direction.

[0214] In the above case, the crossing angle between the wire W and the straight line Lc can be an acute crossing angle or an obtuse crossing angle, but the acute crossing angle will be used for comparison. Furthermore, the crossing angle between the wire W facing the first direction and the straight line Lc and the crossing angle between the wire W facing the second direction and the straight line Lc may both be equal. For example, a wire W that passes through the center C of the work area U and performs bundling at an intersection P located on the outer edge of a rebar S that is parallel to the X direction, or a wire W that passes through the center C of the work area U and performs bundling at an intersection P located on the outer edge of a rebar S that is parallel to the Y direction, has the same crossing angle in the first direction as the crossing angle in the second direction. In such a case, the control unit 77D may select either the first direction or the second direction for the intersection point P. In this case, the control unit 77D may determine in advance whether to decide on the "first direction" or the "second direction."

[0215] The above-mentioned condition (5) will be explained with reference to Fig. 33. This condition (5) is based on the premise that the condition (1) is met. This condition (5) specifies that the wire W is bound to each of all intersection points P of the work B in a direction different from that of all other adjacent intersection points P, so that the wire W bound to each intersection point P is arranged in a so-called staggered pattern, as shown in Figure 33, in which the first direction and the second direction are alternately arranged for all rows of intersection points lined up in the X direction, and the first direction and the second direction are alternately arranged for all rows of intersection points lined up in the Y direction.

[0216] Regarding the bundling direction of each intersection P that satisfies condition (5), there are two cases: the case shown in the example of Figure 33, and the case where the bundling direction of the wire W is reversed between the first direction and the second direction for all intersections P in Figure 33. Therefore, it is preferable that the control unit 77D predetermines a condition for selecting either the pattern of FIG. 33 or a pattern that is the reverse of that of FIG. 33 for each intersection P of the workpiece B. For example, it is preferable to define a condition such that the bundling direction of the wire W is the first direction (or the second direction) at an intersection P located at a specific position on the work B (for example, an intersection P located at a specific corner). This allows the control unit 77D to uniquely determine the direction in which the wire W is bound for all intersections P with respect to the workpiece B. In this embodiment, the condition (5) is exemplified as a case where it is required that the direction in which the wire W is bound for all intersections P of the workpiece B is different from that of all other adjacent intersections P, but is not limited to this. For example, the condition (5) may be such that it is required that the direction in which the wire W is bound for only one intersection P or some intersections P of the workpiece B is different from that of all other adjacent intersections P.

[0217] The binding system 1D may be configured so that the user can select some or all of the above-mentioned conditions (1) to (5) from, for example, the operation unit 72. In this case, the control unit 77D determines the direction in which the wire W is bound for all intersections P with respect to the workpiece B based on any of the conditions (1) to (5) selected by the user. Furthermore, in the binding system 1D, the control unit 77D may be configured to determine the direction in which the wire W is bound for all intersections P with respect to the workpiece B based on only one of the conditions (1) to (5).

[0218] Here, the usefulness of the bundling direction of the wire W relative to the intersection point P of the workpiece B based on each of the conditions (1) to (5) will be described. In the case of condition (1), if the control unit 77D determines the binding direction of the wire W at each intersection P so as to satisfy this condition, all of the intersections P of the rebars S that make up the workpiece B will not be bound in the same direction. If all of the intersections on a rebar S are bound to other rebars S in the same binding direction, they will receive stress in the same direction from each intersection P, which can easily cause gaps between the rebars S and reduce the binding strength. However, if the binding direction for each intersection P of the workpiece B is determined according to condition (1), it is possible to avoid a reduction in binding strength and achieve strong binding to the workpiece B.

[0219] In the case of condition (5), when the control unit 77D determines the bundling direction of the wire W at each intersection P so as to satisfy this condition, bundling is performed alternately in the first direction and the second direction at multiple intersections P on a single reinforcing bar S. This distributes the direction of stress at each intersection P lined up along the reinforcing bar S, further reducing the gaps between the reinforcing bars S and enabling stronger bundling to the workpiece B more effectively.

[0220] The cases of conditions (2) to (4) will be described with reference to FIGS. 34 and 35 in addition to the above-mentioned FIGS. 34 is a plan view of the binding device 6C of FIG. 13 as seen from one side of the rotation axis Zr (for example, from above in the binding operation), and FIG. 35 is a plan view of the device main body 10C with some of the configuration omitted.

[0221] As described above, the binding device 6C is structured such that the slack forming section 62C is positioned on one side of the perpendicular direction Xw, which is the alignment direction of the curl guide 613C and the guide guide 614C, relative to the rebar binding machine 61C, in order to deform the wire W into an appropriate loop shape using the curl guide 613C and the guide guide 614C. As shown in FIG. 34, the binding device 6C protrudes most greatly around the pivot axis Zr toward one side of the orthogonal direction Xw, which is the slack forming portion 62C side. When bundling the wire W in a predetermined bundling direction, the robot arm main body 40 rotates the bundling device 6C about the rotation axis Zr. In this case, if there is a portion around the rotation axis Zr that protrudes to one side of the orthogonal direction Xw, there is a concern that the bundling device 6C may come into contact with an object standing in the Z direction around the bundling device 6C or an object located higher than the workpiece B in the Z direction. 35, in the device main body 10C, there is a particular concern that the support columns 12 of the stand 11 may come into contact with the binding device 6C. Although the device main body 10C only has one support column 12 at each of the four corners, if the overall weight of the device main body 10C increases, more support columns 12 may be provided along each beam 13. Furthermore, depending on the installation environment of the device main body 10C, obstacles other than the support poles may occur.

[0222] Therefore, when binding the workpiece B with the wire W, it is preferable that the protruding portions of the binding device 6C, particularly the slack forming portion 62C, do not protrude outside the working area U. 31, the silhouette of the binding device 6C in a plan view is depicted by a two-dot chain line when the pivot axis Zr, which is the binding position of the binding device 6C, is positioned relative to the multiple intersections P. In the silhouette of the binding device 6C in a plan view, the end that forms a semicircle in the longitudinal direction is the end on the individual photographing unit 5 side in the orthogonal direction Xw, and the end that forms a rectangle in the longitudinal direction is the end on the slack forming unit 62C side.

[0223] For example, as shown in Figure 31, when conditions (2) to (4) are satisfied, at intersection P, which is a corner within the working area U, a binding direction that intersects with the outer edge of the working area U is selected, so that the binding operation can be performed with the slack forming part 62C, which is the most protruding part of the binding device 6C, facing the inside of the working area U, thereby reducing the possibility of contact between obstacles around the working area U and the slack forming part 62C, which is the most protruding part of the binding device 6C. If a direction that does not satisfy conditions (2) to (4) is selected at the corner intersection P, for example, if the first direction is selected at the corner intersection P at the upper left of the paper in Figure 31, the slack forming portion 62C will protrude to the left or upper side of the paper in Figure 31 toward the outside of the work area U, creating the possibility of contact with obstacles around the work area U. If conditions (2) to (4) are met, it is possible to eliminate the selection of a binding direction that may unavoidably cause the slack forming portion 62C to protrude outside the working area U, thereby reducing the possibility of contact between the slack forming portion 62C and an obstacle.

[0224] Furthermore, in the case of condition (3), the bundling operation is also performed at the intersection P next to the corner intersection P in the same direction as the corner intersection P. If the bundling direction is not selected appropriately for the intersection P near the corner, there is a possibility that the slack forming portion 62C will protrude outward outside the working area U, just like the corner, so in the case of condition (3), it is possible to reduce the possibility of contact between the slack forming portion 62C and an obstacle. Furthermore, since the binding operation for the intersection P adjacent to the corner intersection P is performed in the same direction as the corner intersection P, the frequency of the pivoting operation of the binding device 6C can be reduced, and the binding operation can be speeded up.

[0225] Furthermore, in the case of condition (4), the binding direction at intersection P located on the outer edge including the corner is selected to be close to parallel to the straight line connecting the center C of the working area U and intersection P, so that the binding operation can be performed with the slack forming part 62C, which is the most protruding part of the binding device 6C, facing the inside of the working area U, thereby reducing the possibility of contact between obstacles outside the working area U and slack forming part 62C. In particular, among the intersection points P located on the outer edge, the closer to the corners, the more likely it is that the binding direction will be such that the slack forming portion 62C will unavoidably protrude outside the working area U; however, if condition (4) is met, this possibility can be reduced, and the possibility of contact between the slack forming portion 62C and an obstacle can be reduced.

[0226] If the binding directions of all intersections P of the workpiece B are determined according to condition (1) alone, the number of combinations will be extremely large, so it is preferable to determine the conditions for narrowing down the options in advance. The narrowing down conditions include, for example, the ratio of the number of intersections P in the first direction to the number of intersections P in the second direction in each reinforcing bar S, the lower limit of the number of intersections P in the first direction or the lower limit of the number of intersections P in the second direction in each reinforcing bar S, the ratio of the number of intersections P in the first direction to the number of intersections P in the second direction in all intersections P in work B, the degree of dispersion of intersections P in the first direction and intersections P in the second direction in the arrangement of all intersections P in work B (for example, dividing the area in which all intersections P of work B exist into multiple areas and making the number of intersections P in the first direction and the number of intersections P in the second direction in each divided area closer to equality), etc. Furthermore, for intersection points P for which the binding direction cannot be determined even when taking into consideration condition (1) and the narrowing down conditions, it is more preferable to decide in advance whether to make all of them the first direction, all of them the second direction, or to make the ratio of the first direction to the second direction more equal.

[0227] Furthermore, when determining the binding directions of all intersections P of workpiece B according to condition (2) alone, the number of combinations becomes extremely large, so it is preferable to determine the conditions for narrowing down the options in advance. For example, in the work area U, for the intersections P other than the intersections P located at the respective corners, the binding direction may be set to the same as the intersection P located at the nearest corner. In addition, the same narrowing condition as the condition (1) may be added. Furthermore, for intersection points P for which the binding direction cannot be determined even when taking into consideration condition (2) and the narrowing down conditions, it is more preferable to decide in advance whether to make all of them the first direction, all of them the second direction, or to make the ratio of the first direction to the second direction more equal.

[0228] Furthermore, when determining the binding directions of all intersections P of workpiece B according to condition (3) alone, the number of combinations becomes extremely large, so it is preferable to determine the conditions for narrowing down the options in advance. For example, in the work area U, the intersections P other than the intersections P located at each corner and the intersections P adjacent to them may be set to have the same binding direction as the intersection P located at the nearest corner. In addition, the same narrowing condition as condition (1) may be added. Furthermore, for intersection points P whose binding direction cannot be determined even when taking into consideration condition (3) and the narrowing down conditions, it is more preferable to decide in advance whether to make all of them the first direction, all of them the second direction, or to make the ratio of the first direction to the second direction more equal.

[0229] Furthermore, when determining the binding directions of all intersections P of workpiece B according to condition (4) alone, the number of combinations becomes extremely large, so it is preferable to determine the conditions for narrowing down the combinations in advance. For example, within the work area U, for intersections P other than those located at the corners and those located on the outer edge, the binding direction may be set to the same as that of the intersection P located at the nearest corner or the intersection P located on the outer edge. In addition, the same narrowing condition as condition (1) may be added. Furthermore, for intersection points P for which the binding direction cannot be determined even when taking into consideration condition (4) and the narrowing down conditions, it is more preferable to decide in advance whether to make all of them the first direction, all of them the second direction, or to make the ratio of the first direction to the second direction more equal.

[0230] Furthermore, when determining the binding direction of all intersections P of work B according to condition (5) alone, there are only two possible combinations, so as mentioned above, it is sufficient to predetermine whether a specific intersection P will be in the first direction or the second direction.

[0231] <Bundling system operation> Next, the operation of the binding system 1D will be described. FIG. 36 is a flowchart showing the procedure when the bundling system 1D executes the bundling process. The CPU of the control unit 77D of the control device 7D executes the following bundling process in accordance with the bundling process program 761D.

[0232] By executing the bundling processing program 761D, the control unit 77D executes an intersection information acquisition process, and executes a process for acquiring information about the intersection P where the multiple reinforcing bars S of the work B intersect. In this case, the control unit 77D determines whether or not the user has selected to use the map data 763D via the operation unit 72, for example (step S201).

[0233] When the use of the map data 763D is selected, the control unit 77D reads the map data 763D from the storage unit 76D (step S203). At this time, if the map data 763D is not prepared in the storage unit 76D, the control unit 77D acquires the map data 763D by external communication or by reading from a recording medium.

[0234] On the other hand, if the use of map data 763D is not selected, the control unit 77D photographs the entire work B on the holding table 21 of the work holding unit 2 arranged in the photographing area E1 of the stand 11 using the first camera 31 of the overall photographing unit 3 (step S205).

[0235] When the map data 763D is read or the workpiece B is photographed by the first camera 31, the control unit 77D obtains three-dimensional position data of all intersections P of the reinforcing bars S of the workpiece B from the map data 763D or image data 762D, and expands this data into the coordinate system of the robot arm 4. This makes it possible to identify the positions of all intersections P (step S207). Therefore, the control unit 77D functions as an intersection specifying means.

[0236] Next, the control unit 77D drives the drive motor 23 of the workpiece holder 2 to move the holder 21 and the workpiece B to the bundling area E2 (step S209).

[0237] Next, the control unit 77D determines the binding direction for all intersections P within the work B or the working area U based on the determined binding direction determination condition (any of the above-mentioned conditions (1) to (5)). In this case, the narrowing down conditions described above may also be taken into consideration for each of the conditions (1) to (5) (step S211). When the control unit 77D determines the bundling directions for all intersections P in the work B or the working area U, it generates and records bundling direction data 764D in the storage unit 76D. This bundling direction data 764D may be used without performing the processing of step S211 when performing a bundling operation on another work B with the same design conditions.

[0238] Then, the control unit 77D controls the robot arm 4 to position the second camera 51 at a photographing position of the intersection P where binding will be performed first, and drives the lifting motor 52 to move the second camera 51 closer to the intersection P (step S213). The order of binding for each intersection P is determined according to predetermined operating conditions and the like.

[0239] Next, the control unit 77D causes the second camera 51 to photograph the intersection P (step S215). The second camera 51 captures an image closer to the intersection P than the first camera 31, and therefore is able to determine the position of the intersection P with higher accuracy based on the image data 762D.

[0240] Therefore, the control unit 77D recalculates the position of the intersection P based on the image data 762D from the second camera 51 (step S217), and positions the binding position of the binding device 6C closer to the newly obtained position of the intersection P (step S219). At this time, the control unit 77D determines the orientation of the binding device 6C around the axis along the Z direction in accordance with the binding direction determined for the intersection P in step S211.

[0241] Then, the control unit 77D operates the binding device 6C to bind the intersection P with the wire W (step S221). Thereafter, the control unit 77D again controls the robot arm 4 to position the second camera 51 at the shooting position of the intersection P, and drives the lifting motor 52 to move the second camera 51 closer to the intersection P (step S223), and performs shooting (step S225).

[0242] Then, the control unit 77D determines whether or not the bundling is performed in the bundling direction determined in step S211 based on the image data 762D obtained by this photograph (step S227). As a result, if the bundling direction is not the one determined in step S211, an error is notified (step S229), and the bundling operation is terminated. The method of notifying the occurrence of an error may be to prepare and activate a dedicated notification device such as a notification lamp or buzzer, or to display the notification on the display unit 73. Furthermore, if the control device 7D is equipped with a device for communicating with the outside, notification may be sent to the outside via communication.

[0243] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S227 that the binding has been performed in the binding direction determined in step S211, the control unit 77D determines whether the intersection P at which the binding has been performed is the last intersection P based on the information about the intersection P for identifying the position of the intersection P obtained in step S207 (step S231). As a result, if the intersection P at which bundling has been performed is not the last intersection P, the control unit 77D identifies the next intersection P at which bundling will be performed (step S233), and repeats the processes from step S213 to step S233. On the other hand, if the intersection P where bundling was performed is the last intersection P, the control unit 77D ends the bundling process for the work B.

[0244] As shown in step S229, an example of processing has been given in which an error is reported and the bundling operation is terminated if the bundling direction is not as determined, but it is also possible to report the occurrence of an error, record the error content, proceed to step S231, and continue the bundling operation for the subsequent intersection P.

[0245] <Technical effect of the third embodiment> The control device 7D of the above-mentioned binding system 1D is equipped with a control unit 77D that binds at least one other intersection P different from the intersection P formed by one reinforcing bar S and the other reinforcing bar S in one reinforcing bar S and at least one other intersection P different from the intersection P formed by one reinforcing bar S and the other reinforcing bar S in the other reinforcing bar S with wire W along a direction different from the intersection P formed by the one reinforcing bar S and the other reinforcing bar S. This reduces the gaps between the reinforcing bars S that make up the work B, making it possible to bind the work B firmly.

[0246] Furthermore, the control unit 77D binds the wire W at the intersection P located at the corner of all the intersections P within the working area U for the workpiece B along a direction nearly parallel to the straight line Lc connecting the intersection P and the center C of the working area U. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of contact between the slack forming part 62C, which is a protruding part of the binding device 6C, and an obstacle outside the working area U during the binding operation at the intersection P located at the corner.

[0247] Furthermore, the control unit 77D binds at least one of the intersections P adjacent to an intersection P located at a corner of the working area U with the wire W in the same direction as the intersection P located at the corner, among the multiple intersections P within the working area U for the workpiece B. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of contact between the slack forming part 62C, which is a protruding part of the binding device 6C, and an obstacle outside the working area U during the binding operation of the intersection P adjacent to the intersection P located at the corner. Furthermore, this reduces the frequency of the pivoting operation of the binding device 6C, making it possible to speed up the binding operation.

[0248] Furthermore, the control unit 77D binds the intersection P located on the outer edge of the working area U with the wire W in a direction more nearly parallel to the line Lc connecting the intersection P and the center of the working area U. This makes it possible to reduce the possibility of contact between the slack forming part 62C, which is a protruding part of the binding device 6C, and an obstacle outside the working area U during the binding operation of the intersection P located on the outer edge.

[0249] Furthermore, the control unit 77D binds each of all intersections P of the workpiece B with wire W in a direction different from that of all other adjacent intersections P. This distributes the direction of stress at each intersection P aligned along the reinforcing bars S, further reducing the gaps between the reinforcing bars S and enabling more effective and stronger binding of the workpiece B.

[0250] In addition, the binding system 1D is provided with a second camera 51, which is installed next to the binding device 6C and serves as an intersection information acquisition means for acquiring information regarding the intersection P. Therefore, during the binding operation, it is possible to determine whether the binding direction of the bound wire W is appropriate, and to detect the occurrence of improper binding.

[0251] Furthermore, the control unit 77D of the control device 7D executes the binding processing program 761D to realize the function of controlling the binding of the wire W along a predetermined binding direction relative to the intersection P of the work B. Therefore, this function can be obtained from an existing binding system without adding new hardware resources, thereby reducing the development burden of hardware resources and the manufacturing costs of the system.

[0252] <Use of aircraft information data and surrounding information data> The memory unit 76D of the control device 7D of the binding system 1D stores machine information data 766D indicating the three-dimensional position of the entire surface of the binding device 6C and surrounding information data 767D indicating the three-dimensional position of the entire surface of obstacles around the robot arm 4. The control unit 77D may use these data 766D and 767D to determine whether the "binding direction" determined for each intersection P of the work B is acceptable.

[0253] In other words, since the machine information data 766D includes three-dimensional position data of the entire machine surface of the binding device 6C, it is possible to obtain each position on the surface of the binding device 6C when the binding device 6C is supported by the end effector 43 of the robot arm 4. During the binding operation of the binding device 6C, when the binding device 6C is rotated around the rotation axis Zr in accordance with the determination of the "binding direction," the possibility of interference between the binding device 6C and the obstacle can be determined based on each position on the surface of the binding device 6C and the surrounding information data 767D that indicates the three-dimensional position of the entire surface of the obstacle around the robot arm 4. Therefore, when the control unit 77D determines the "binding direction," it determines the possibility of interference between the binding device 6C and an obstacle, and if there is a possibility of interference, the control unit 77D may perform a process to notify the user of the possibility of interference via the display unit 73, etc., or a process to automatically change the current determination of the "binding direction."

[0254] <Other matters in this embodiment> The third embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the embodiment, a component integrally formed from a single member may be replaced with a component divided into multiple members connected or fixed to each other. Furthermore, a component formed by connecting multiple members may be replaced with a component integrally formed from a single member. In addition, the details shown in the embodiment may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0255] For example, the control unit 77D performs processing to determine the binding direction for each intersection P of the workpiece B, but in addition to determining the binding direction, it may also determine in which direction the slack forming portion 62C, which is a protruding portion of the binding device 6C, faces relative to the pivot axis Zr. In this case, it is preferable to determine that the slack forming portion 62C, which is a protruding portion of the binding device 6C, faces toward the inside of the working area U (the side opposite to the outer edge of the working area U) relative to the pivot axis Zr.

[0256] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when explaining the conditions (1) to (5) under which the control unit 77D determines the binding direction, an example was given in which the working area U is a rectangular area with no missing parts, but even if the working area U has any other shape, the binding direction can still be effectively determined. For example, even if the working area U has a rectangular shape with missing parts in each part, by identifying the "intersection P located at the corner" and the "intersection P located on the outer edge" according to the definition shown in Figure 24, the binding direction of each intersection P can be determined according to each of the conditions (1) to (5). Furthermore, if there is a missing part such as a hole inside the work area U, the area around the hole is also recognized as the outer edge of the work area U, and the binding direction of each intersection point P can be determined according to each of the conditions (1) to (5).

[0257] Furthermore, it is also possible to determine in which direction the slack forming portion 62C, which is the protruding portion of the binding device 6C, faces relative to the pivot axis Zr for the irregular working area U described above. For example, in the case of a working area U that has a missing part such as a hole, the slack forming portion 62C can be determined to face the opposite side of the outer edge of the working area U around the hole, where the intersection point P is closest to the pivot axis Zr.

[0258] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the case has been exemplified where the outer edge of the range of motion of the binding device 6C, which is set when the robot arm 4 performs the binding work on the work B, coincides with the outer edge of the area in which all of the intersection points P of the work B exist, but these do not have to coincide. For example, if the area in which all of the intersection points P of the work B exist is larger than the range of motion of the binding device 6C, the area in which all of the intersection points P of the work B exist may be divided into multiple areas, and the robot arm 4 and the work B may be moved hypothetically to perform the binding operation for each of the divided areas.

[0259] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the bundling system 1D has been exemplified in which the control unit 77D performs the process of determining the bundling direction of the wire W with respect to each intersection P of the workpiece B, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 77D may not make a judgment as to whether to determine the bundling direction of the wire W for each intersection P of the work B, but may use bundling direction data created by the user determining the bundling direction for each intersection P of the work B via the operation unit 72 so as to satisfy one of the bundling direction conditions (1) to (5) described above, and the control unit 77D may perform the bundling operation in accordance with the bundling direction data. Alternatively, the control unit 77D may obtain bundling direction data, in which the bundling direction has been determined so as to satisfy one of the bundling direction conditions (1) to (5) described above for each intersection P of the work B, from outside the bundling system 1D via communication or the like, and the control unit 77D may perform the bundling operation in accordance with the bundling direction data. In addition, a recording medium reading device may read a recording medium on which binding direction data is recorded, in which the binding direction is determined for each intersection P of the work B so as to satisfy one of the above-mentioned binding direction conditions (1) to (5) by an information processing terminal or the like not included in the binding system 1D, and the control unit 77D may perform the binding operation in accordance with the binding direction data.

[0260] Furthermore, the binding system 1D may be configured to acquire information about the intersections P that identify each intersection P of the workpiece B from only the map data 763D. In that case, the first camera 31 and the second camera 51 are not essential to the binding system 1D. However, since the second camera 51 allows the binding device 6C to be positioned with respect to the intersection P with higher accuracy, a configuration may be adopted in which only the first camera 31 is omitted and the second camera 51 is provided. When the first camera 31 is omitted from the configuration of the binding system 1D, the movement mechanism 32 for moving the work B between the photographing area E1 and the binding area E2 can also be eliminated.

[0261] In addition, in the binding system 1D of this embodiment, a binding device 6C that binds reinforcing bars S with two wires W is exemplified, but this is not limited to this, and a binding device that binds reinforcing bars S with one or three or more wires W may also be used.

[0262] Furthermore, in the binding system 1D, a configuration in which the binding device 6C and the individual photographing unit 5 are moved by the robot arm 4 is exemplified, but this is not limiting. For example, the binding device 6C and the individual photographing unit 5 may be mounted on the head of a gantry-type moving device in the XY directions, and the binding device 6C and the individual photographing unit 5 may be made movable up and down from the head along the Z direction and rotatable around an axis along the Z direction. Alternatively, the binding device 6C and the individual photographing unit 5 may be mounted on a self-propelled moving device that moves relative to the workpieces B held in a lattice pattern.

[0263] Furthermore, the bundling system 1D of this embodiment is a stationary bundling system that is placed or fixedly installed in an indoor work space. Therefore, unlike outdoor work bundling systems, bundling work can be performed without being affected by weather or the outdoor environment. Furthermore, since there is no need for equipment that is waterproof, dustproof, high-temperature, low-temperature, etc., to withstand harsh outdoor environments, it can be equipped with equipment that performs precision work indoors, and precise bundling work can be performed on the work B. However, it is also possible to eliminate these advantages and configure a bundling system for outdoor use that has the features of this embodiment.

[0264] The means for solving the problems in the third embodiment will be described below. [Solution 1] A binding system for binding a workpiece in which a plurality of reinforcing bars intersect with a plurality of reinforcing bars to form a plurality of intersections, using a moving binding device to bind the plurality of intersections with binding bodies, A binding system having a control unit that binds at least one other intersection different from the intersection formed by the one reinforcing bar and the other reinforcing bar in the one reinforcing bar and at least one other intersection different from the intersection formed by the one reinforcing bar and the other reinforcing bar in the other reinforcing bar with the binding body along a direction different from the intersection formed by the one reinforcing bar and the other reinforcing bar. [Solution 2] The control unit When the intersection having two adjacent intersections is defined as an intersection located at a corner of the work area among all the intersections within the work area in which the binding device can move, For the intersection located at the corner, the binding body is bound along a direction that is closer to being parallel to the line connecting the intersection and the center of the work area. The bundling system according to Solution 1. [Solution 3] The control unit Among the plurality of intersections in the working area for the workpiece, at least one of two intersections adjacent to the intersection located at a corner of the working area is bound with the binding body along the same direction as the intersection located at the corner of the working area. The bundling system according to solution 2. [Solution 4] The control unit When the intersections located on the outer edge of the work area are those that have three or less adjacent intersections among the plurality of intersections within the work area, For the intersections located on the outer edges of the work area, the binder is used to bind the work in a direction closer to being parallel to a line connecting the intersections and the center of the work area. The bundling system according to solution 2. [Solution 5] The control unit The binding body binds the intersection in a direction different from all other adjacent intersections. The bundling system according to Solution 1. [Solution 6] a binding device that binds the intersections with the binding bodies; an intersection information acquisition means provided in addition to the binding device and acquiring information about the intersections; The bundling system according to Solution 1. [Solution 7] A computer controls a binding system that binds a workpiece in which a plurality of reinforcing bars intersect with a plurality of reinforcing bars to form a plurality of intersections with a binding body using a moving binding device, A bundling processing program that realizes the function of controlling the bundling of at least one other intersection different from the intersection formed by the one reinforcing bar and the other reinforcing bar in the one reinforcing bar and at least one other intersection different from the intersection formed by the one reinforcing bar and the other reinforcing bar in the other reinforcing bar with the bundling body along a direction different from the intersection formed by the one reinforcing bar and the other reinforcing bar.

[0265] Fourth Embodiment A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The fourth embodiment discloses a binding device and a binding system that can reliably pull out the amount of wire required to bind the rebars and suppress changes in the direction of the wire entering the binding machine, taking into account that the load on the wire feed section of the rebar binding machine fluctuates because the rebar binding machine rises and falls independently of the wire pull-out mechanism, as in Patent Publication No. 2023-105958, which is exemplified as prior art.

[0266] <Configuration example of binding device according to this embodiment> Fig. 37A is a side view showing an example of the binding device of this embodiment, Fig. 37B is a side view showing an example of the binding device of this embodiment with some components omitted, Fig. 37C is a perspective view showing an example of the binding device of this embodiment, Fig. 37D is a rear view showing an example of the binding device of this embodiment, and Fig. 37E is a side view seen from the back side showing an example of the binding device of this embodiment.

[0267] The binding device 100 includes a reinforcing bar binding machine 1E that binds the intersections of reinforcing bars S arranged in a lattice pattern with wire W, a slack forming unit 2E that pulls out the wire W from a reel 20E and forms slack in the wire W between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E and the reel 20E, and a reel housing unit 200 that houses the reel 20E. Note that the slack forming unit 2E does not need to have the function of pulling out the wire W from the reel 20E as long as it can form slack.

[0268] 38 is a side view of the internal configuration of an example of a reinforcing bar binding machine. The reinforcing bar binding machine 1E is an example of a binding machine in which a wire W is fed in the forward direction indicated by an arrow F to wind it around a reinforcing bar S, and the wire W wound around the reinforcing bar S is fed in the reverse direction indicated by an arrow R to wind it around the reinforcing bar S and cut it, and then the wire W is twisted and the reinforcing bar S is bound with the wire W.

[0269] To achieve the above-mentioned functions, the rebar binding machine 1E is equipped with a wire feeding unit 3E that feeds the wire W and a wire guide 4E that guides the wire W. The rebar binding machine 1E also has a curl forming unit 5E that forms a path for winding the wire W fed by the wire feeding unit 3E around the rebar S, and a cutting unit 6E that cuts the wire W wound around the rebar S. The rebar binding machine 1E is further equipped with a binding unit 7E that twists the wire W wound around the rebar S, and a drive unit 8E that drives the binding unit 7E.

[0270] The wire feeding unit 3E includes a pair of feed gears 30 that sandwich and feed the wire W. The wire feeding unit 3E rotates the feed gear 30 when the rotation of a feed motor (not shown) is transmitted. As a result, the wire feeding unit 3E feeds the wire W sandwiched between the pair of feed gears 30 along the extension direction of the wire W. In a configuration in which multiple pieces of wire W, for example, two pieces of wire W, are fed to bind the reinforcing bars S, the two pieces of wire W are fed in a parallel state.

[0271] The wire feed unit 3E switches the rotation direction of the feed motor (not shown) between forward and reverse, thereby switching the rotation direction of the feed gear 30 and switching the feed direction of the wire W between forward and reverse, either feeding the wire W in the forward direction indicated by arrow F or feeding the wire W in the reverse direction indicated by arrow R.

[0272] The wire guides 4E are provided at predetermined positions upstream and downstream of the wire feeding unit 3E with respect to the feeding direction in which the wire W is fed in the forward direction. In a configuration in which two wires W are fed to bind reinforcing bars S, the wire guide 4E provided upstream of the wire feeding unit 3E regulates the radial orientation of the two wires W, aligns the two incoming wires W in parallel, and guides them between a pair of feed gears 30. The wire guide 4E provided downstream of the wire feeding unit 3E regulates the radial orientation of the two wires W, aligns the two incoming wires W in parallel, and guides them to the cutting unit 6E and the curl forming unit 5E. Note that the wire guide upstream of the wire feeding unit 3E is not shown in Figure 38.

[0273] The curl forming unit 5E includes a curl guide 50 that curls the wire W fed by the wire feeding unit 3E, and an guiding guide 51E that guides the wire W curled by the curl guide 50 to the bundling unit 7E. In the rebar bundling machine 1E, the path of the wire W fed by the wire feeding unit 3E is regulated by the curl forming unit 5E, so that the trajectory of the wire W forms a loop Ru as shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 38, and the wire W is wound around the rebar S.

[0274] The cutting unit 6E includes a fixed blade unit 60 and a movable blade unit 61E that cuts the wire W in cooperation with the fixed blade unit 60. The cutting unit 6E cuts the wire W by the rotational movement of the movable blade unit 61E around the fixed blade unit 60 as a fulcrum axis. In the cutting unit 6E, the movement of the binding unit 7E is transmitted to the movable blade unit 61E.

[0275] The binding unit 7E includes a locking member 70 that locks the wire W, and a sleeve 71 that operates the locking member 70. The driving unit 8E includes a torsion motor 80 and a reducer 81 that reduces speed and amplifies torque.

[0276] When the binding unit 7E is driven by the drive unit 8E, the sleeve 71 activates the locking member 70 to lock the wire W. After the cutting unit 6E cuts the wire W in conjunction with the operation of the sleeve 71, the binding unit 7E twists the wire W by rotating the locking member 70 and the sleeve 71 to bind the reinforcing bar S.

[0277] In the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E, a binding unit 7E is provided on an imaginary straight line 10L that is along the axial direction of a torsion motor 80, as shown by a dashed line in Fig. 38. In addition, when the imaginary straight line 10L of the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E is oriented in the vertical direction, a curl guide 50 and an induction guide 51E are provided at the lower end of the machine in a form that protrudes from the main body unit 10E.

[0278] Furthermore, the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E is provided with a wire feeding unit 3E on one side along a direction intersecting with the imaginary straight line 10L, which is a direction intersecting with the axial direction of the torsion motor 80.

[0279] Furthermore, in the binding device 100, a slack forming unit 2E is provided on the side of the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E where the wire feeding unit 3E is provided, i.e., on one side of the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E along a direction that intersects with the imaginary line 10L, which in turn intersects with the axial direction of the torsion motor 80. The slack forming unit 2E forms slack in the wire W between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E and the reel 20E.

[0280] Furthermore, in the binding device 100, a reel storage section 200 is provided above the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E, along the direction in which the imaginary straight line 10L, which is the direction along the axial direction of the torsion motor 80, extends.

[0281] The reel housing 200 rotatably and detachably houses a reel 20E around which a long wire W is wound so as to be able to be unwound. The wire W is a wire made of a metal wire that can be plastically deformed, a metal wire coated with resin, or a twisted wire.

[0282] When the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E is configured to bind reinforcing bars S with one wire W, the reel storage unit 200 stores one reel 20E around which one wire W is wound, and the reel 20E is configured to rotate and pull out one wire W. When the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E is configured to bind reinforcing bars S with multiple wires W, the reel storage unit 200 stores multiple reels 20E corresponding to the number of wires W, and each reel 20E is configured to rotate and pull out multiple wires W. For example, when the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E is configured to bind reinforcing bars S with two wires W, the reel storage unit 200 stores two reels 20E around which one wire W is wound, and each reel 20E is configured to pull out two wires W as it rotates.

[0283] The reel accommodating section 200 may be provided with a braking section that allows rotation of the reel 20E in the direction in which the wire W is pulled out, but restricts rotation of the reel 20E in the opposite direction.

[0284] The slack forming portion 2E includes a first slack forming portion 21E, a second slack forming portion 22E, a first guide portion 23E, and a second guide portion 24E.

[0285] First slack forming section 21E is an example of a slack forming mechanism section, and includes first slack forming roller 21a, guide plate 21b, and guide members 21c and 21d.

[0286] The first slack forming roller 21a is in the shape of a disk with a thickness greater than the diameter of the wire W, and a guide surface 21f that comes into contact with the wire W is formed on the outer periphery of the disk. The first slack forming roller 21a is supported between a pair of guide plates 21b so as to be rotatable about a shaft 21g as a fulcrum.

[0287] Guide plates 21b are provided on both axial sides of first slack forming roller 21a, sandwiching first slack forming roller 21a. In a configuration in which reinforcing bars S are bound with two wires W, first slack forming rollers 21a are provided on both sides of one guide plate 21b, and guide plates 21b are provided on the outer sides of each first slack forming roller 21a.

[0288] Guide member 21c is provided in the path of wire W entering first slack forming portion 21E from first guide portion 23E, facing guide surface 21f of first slack forming roller 21a. Guide member 21c is provided between the pair of guide plates 21b in the form of, for example, a cylindrical member extending in a direction intersecting with guide plates 21b.

[0289] The guide member 21d is provided on the path of the wire W coming out of the first slack forming portion 21E. The guide member 21d is, for example, a roller that is rotatable about a shaft 21h as a fulcrum and is provided between the pair of guide plates 21b.

[0290] The shafts 21h of the guide members 21c and 21d also function as spacers that define the gap between the pair of guide plates 21b.

[0291] Guide plate 21b is shaped to cover at least a portion of the side of first slack forming roller 21a and at least a portion of the side of guide members 21c and 21d, and to support first slack forming roller 21a and guide members 21c and 21d.

[0292] Second slack forming section 22E is an example of a slack forming mechanism section, and includes second slack forming roller 22a, guide plate 22b, and guide members 22c and 22d.

[0293] The second slack forming roller 22a is in the shape of a disk with a thickness greater than the diameter of the wire W, and a guide surface 22f that comes into contact with the wire W is formed on the outer periphery of the disk. The second slack forming roller 22a is supported between a pair of guide plates 22b so as to be rotatable about a shaft 22g as a fulcrum.

[0294] Guide plates 22b are provided on both axial sides of second slack forming roller 22a, sandwiching second slack forming roller 22a. In a configuration in which reinforcing bars S are bound with two wires W, second slack forming rollers 22a are provided on both sides of one guide plate 22b, and guide plates 22b are provided on the outer sides of each second slack forming roller 22a.

[0295] The guide member 22c is provided on the path of the wire W that enters the second slack forming portion 22E from the first slack forming portion 21E. The guide member 22c is, for example, a roller that is rotatable about a shaft 22h as a fulcrum and is provided between the pair of guide plates 22b.

[0296] Guide member 22d is provided in the path of wire W exiting second slack forming section 22E, facing guide surface 22f of second slack forming roller 22a. Guide member 22d is provided between the pair of guide plates 22b in the form of, for example, a cylindrical member extending in a direction intersecting with guide plates 22b.

[0297] The shafts 22h of the guide members 22c and 22d also function as spacers that define the gap between the pair of guide plates 22b.

[0298] Guide plate 22b is shaped to cover at least a portion of the side of second slack forming roller 22a and at least a portion of the side of guide members 22c and 22d, and to support second slack forming roller 22a and guide members 22c and 22d.

[0299] The first guide portion 23E is provided between the reel 20E and the first slack forming portion 21E. The first guide portion 23E directs the path of the wire W, which passes between the pair of guide plates 23a and is pulled out from the reel 20E, toward the first slack forming portion 21E.

[0300] The binding device 100 may include a guide portion 26 that forms a path through which the wire W passes between the reel 20E and the first guide portion 23E. In a configuration in which the reinforcing bars S are bound with two wires W, the first guide portion 23E and the guide portion 26 are provided corresponding to each reel 20E. Furthermore, in order to accommodate the difference between the spacing between the two reels 20E and the spacing between the two first guide portions 23E, the guide portion 26 guides the paths through which the two wires W pass so that the spacing between the paths gradually narrows from each reel 20E toward the first guide portion 23E.

[0301] The second guide portion 24E is provided between the second slack forming portion 22E and the rebar binding machine 1E. The second guide portion 24E may be provided with a braking portion that allows the wire W to pass through when the wire feeding portion 3E feeds the wire W, and that restricts the passage of the wire W when the slack forming portion 2E forms slack in the wire W.

[0302] The binding device 100 includes a first guide portion 21i that guides the movement of the first slack forming portion 21E, a second guide portion 22i that guides the movement of the second slack forming portion 22E, and a drive portion 25 that moves the first slack forming portion 21E and the second slack forming portion 22E.

[0303] First guide portion 21i movably guides first slack forming portion 21E in a direction along the feed path WL of the wire W entering rebar binding machine 1E, which is defined by wire feed portion 3E, wire guide 4E, etc. Second guide portion 22i movably guides second slack forming portion 22E in a direction along the feed path WL of the wire W entering rebar binding machine 1E. Second guide portion 22i supports second slack forming portion 22E so that guide surface 22f of second slack forming roller 22a is positioned on an extension of the feed path WL of the wire W entering rebar binding machine 1E, which is defined by wire feed portion 3E, wire guide 4E, etc.

[0304] Driving unit 25 includes a pair of pulleys 25a and 25b, a belt 25c wound around pulleys 25a and 25b, and a motor 25d that drives one of pulleys 25a. Driving unit 25 also includes a first connecting portion 25e that connects first slack forming portion 21E and belt 25c, and a second connecting portion 25f that connects second slack forming portion 22E and belt 25c.

[0305] Pulley 25a is provided on the side closer to the rebar binding machine 1E along the movement direction of first slack forming unit 21E and second slack forming unit 22E. Pulley 25b is provided on the side farther from the rebar binding machine 1E along the movement direction of first slack forming unit 21E and second slack forming unit 22E. Belt 25c extends along the movement direction of first slack forming unit 21E and second slack forming unit 22E. First connecting portion 25e is connected to one side of belt 25c extending between the pair of pulleys 25a and 25b, and second connecting portion 25f is connected to the other side of belt 25c extending between the pair of pulleys 25a and 25b.

[0306] One side and the other side of belt 25c stretching between a pair of pulleys 25a, 25b move in the opposite direction as pulley 25a is rotated by motor 25d, whereby first slack forming portion 21E and second slack forming portion 22E move relatively toward or away from each other depending on the direction of rotation of motor 25d.

[0307] The wire W unwound from the reel 20E extends laterally relative to the rebar binding machine 1E, intersecting with the axial direction of the torsion motor 80, and its path is changed by the first guide unit 23E toward the slack forming unit 2E. The wire W passing through the slack forming unit 2E has its path changed by the second slack forming roller 22a toward the wire feed unit 3E of the rebar binding machine 1E.

[0308] In the binding device 100, the rebar binding machine 1E is attached to the binding machine support portion 101, and the reel storage portion 200 is attached to the storage portion support portion 102. In addition, the binding machine support portion 101 is attached to the storage portion support portion 102. Furthermore, in the binding device 100, the slack forming portion 2E is attached to the slack forming portion support portion 103. In addition, in the binding device 100, the storage portion support portion 102 and the slack forming portion support portion 103 are attached to the support portion 104.

[0309] The binding device 100 has a support part 104 provided above the rebar binding machine 1E and the reel storage part 200 in the axial direction of the torsion motor 80, and an attachment part 105 to which the robot arm 300 is attached is provided on the support part 104.

[0310] Furthermore, the slack forming unit 2E has a first slack forming unit 21E, a second slack forming unit 22E, and a drive unit 25 provided on one side of the slack forming unit support unit 103, and a control unit 250 for the drive unit 25 and the like provided on the other side of the slack forming unit support unit 103. The control unit 250 includes a control board (not shown), a board accommodating unit 250a for accommodating the control board, and the like.

[0311] As shown in Fig. 38, in the rebar binding machine 1E, the binding unit 7E is provided on an imaginary line 10L that is aligned with the axial direction of the torsion motor 80. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 37A, in the binding device 100, the attachment unit 105 is provided on the imaginary line 10L. As a result, in the binding device 100, the binding unit 7E and the attachment unit 105 are provided on the same imaginary line 10L. Therefore, when the orientation of the rebar binding machine 1E is oriented in the up-down direction with the curl forming unit 5E facing downward, the binding unit 7E is provided vertically below the attachment unit 105.

[0312] Furthermore, when the binding device 100 is viewed from the side, the reel accommodating section 200 accommodates the reel 20E so that the axis of rotation of the reel 20E is located on an imaginary line 10L that passes through the binding section 7E and the attachment section 105. When the binding device 100 is viewed from a direction perpendicular to the imaginary line 10L, the position of the axis of rotation of each reel deviates from the imaginary line 10L depending on the number of reels used, but it is sufficient that the reels are arranged so that the center of the line connecting the axes of rotation of all the reels used is located on the imaginary line 10L; in other words, it is sufficient that the line connecting the axes of rotation of multiple reels used is located on the imaginary line 10L.

[0313] <Configuration example of the bundling system according to this embodiment> 39A and 39B are perspective views showing an example of a binding system according to this embodiment. The binding system 301 includes the binding device 100 described above and a robot arm 300. The binding system 301 also includes an overall photographing unit 303, an individual photographing unit 305 provided in the binding device 100, and a stand 311 on which the robot arm 300 and the overall photographing unit 303 are provided.

[0314] In the description of the binding system 301, the X, Y, and Z directions refer to the directions shown in Figures 39A and 39B. The X, Y, and Z directions are perpendicular to each other, the XY plane is a substantially horizontal plane, and the Z direction is a direction substantially along the vertical.

[0315] The mount 311 is formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped that is long in the X direction, and includes four pillars 312 erected at the four corners in the X and Y directions, and multiple beams 313 that span the upper ends of the pillars 312 in the X and Y directions.

[0316] Of the area inside the stand 311, approximately half on one side in the X direction (the right side in Figures 39A and 39B) is the photographing area E1 where photographing is performed by the overall photographing unit 303, and the half on the other side (the left side in Figures 39A and 39B) is the binding area E2 where binding operations are performed by the robot arm 300 and the binding device 100.

[0317] In the bundling system 301, a workpiece B, which is made up of a plurality of reinforcing bars S arranged in a lattice pattern, is held by a workpiece holding unit 302. The workpiece holding unit 302 holds the workpiece B and moves the held workpiece B between a photography area E1 shown in Fig. 39A and a bundling area E2 shown in Fig. 39B. Specifically, the workpiece holding unit 302 includes a holder 321 that holds the workpiece B, rails 322 that movably support the holder 321, a drive motor (not shown) that drives the rails 322, and the like.

[0318] The holder 321 is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate with four sides aligned along the X and Y directions. Support plates 321a are erected on the four sides of the holder 321 to support a plurality of reinforcing bars S that constitute the workpiece B. The support plates 321a have a plurality of U-shaped grooves 321b that open upward, and the reinforcing bars S are inserted into the U-shaped grooves 321b. The multiple reinforcing bars S are arranged in a lattice pattern along the X and Y directions with their ends inserted into the U-shaped grooves 321b of the support plates 321a.

[0319] The rails 322 are laid along the X direction and guide the holder 321 in the X direction. The rails 322 in this embodiment are laid so that the holder 321 (work B) can move at least between the photography area E1 and the bundling area E2. However, the rails 322 may be configured to extend to the outside of the stand 311 so that the work B can be moved to a work process before or after bundling.

[0320] The overall photographing unit 303 photographs the entire workpiece B at once or for each of the divided areas. Specifically, the overall photographing unit 303 includes a first camera 331 arranged above the photographing area E1, and a moving mechanism 332 that movably supports the first camera 331.

[0321] The first camera 331 is disposed facing downward and photographs the workpiece B held by the workpiece holder 302 from above in the photographing area E1. The first camera 331 is a compound eye (for example, four-eye) stereo camera, and is capable of acquiring distance information in the depth direction (up and down direction) along with image information (monochrome image) in the XY plane. Note that the sensor type of the first camera 331 is not particularly limited as long as it can acquire distance information (depth information) along with image information.

[0322] The movement mechanism 332 includes a Y-direction slider 333 that extends along the Y direction. The Y-direction slider 333 is suspended on a beam 313 that extends along the X direction and is supported by the beam 313 so as to be movable in the X direction. The first camera 31 is suspended from the Y-direction slider 333 so as to be movable in the Y direction. The movement mechanism 332 is driven by a drive source (not shown) and moves the first camera 331 to a predetermined position (XY coordinates).

[0323] The robot arm 300 is an example of a moving body, and is supported by a moving mechanism 346 to move the binding device 100 and the individual photographing unit 305 to desired positions in the binding area E2.

[0324] The movement mechanism 346 includes a Y-direction slider 346a suspended on the beam 313 of the stand 311. The Y-direction slider 346a moves the robot arm 300 in the Y direction. Note that the movement mechanism 346 may include, for example, a mechanism for moving the robot arm 300 in the X direction. Furthermore, if the operating range of the robot arm 300 can cover the entire binding area E2 without relying on the movement mechanism 346, the movement mechanism 346 does not need to be provided.

[0325] The robot arm 300 is a ceiling-suspended articulated robot, and is installed facing downward on a Y-direction slider 346a suspended on a beam 313 in the binding area E2. Specifically, the robot arm 300 includes a base 341, a plurality of arms 342, an end effector 343, and a plurality of joints 344. Note that the robot arm 300 is not limited to an articulated robot.

[0326] The arms 342 are connected in series with each other at the base end portion of the base portion 341. The base portion 341 is supported by a Y-direction slider 346a of a movement mechanism 346 and is movable in the Y direction.

[0327] The plurality of joints 344 rotatably connect the base 341, the plurality of arms 342, and the end effector 343. Each joint 344 is provided with a motor (not shown) and is driven by the motor to rotate.

[0328] The end effector 343 is connected to the tips of the multiple arms 342. The end effector 343 supports the individual photographing unit 305 and also supports the binding device 100 via the attachment unit 105.

[0329] The individual photographing unit 305 is mounted on the tip of the robot arm 300, and individually photographs the intersections of the rebars S to be bound in the binding area E2 with a higher resolution than that of the overall photographing unit 303. Specifically, the individual photographing unit 305 includes a second camera 351, a lighting unit 353, an elevator motor (not shown), and the like.

[0330] The second camera 351 is attached to the end effector 343 of the robot arm 300 facing downward, and photographs the intersections of the rebars S to be bundled from above. The second camera 351 is driven by an elevator motor (not shown) and moves up and down relative to the end effector 343. The second camera 351 is, for example, an RGB camera, and acquires image information (color images) of the intersections to be bundled. Note that the type of sensor, etc., of the second camera 351 is not particularly limited as long as it can acquire an image (signal information) of at least one intersection.

[0331] The lighting unit 353 illuminates the subject to be photographed by the second camera 351 .

[0332] The bundling system 301 moves the work B to the photographing area E1, photographs the entire work B with the first camera 331 of the overall photographing unit 303, and acquires position information and the like of each intersection of the reinforcing bars S. After acquiring the position information and the like of each intersection of the reinforcing bars S, the bundling system 301 moves the work B to the bundling area E2, and based on the position information and the like of each intersection of the reinforcing bars S, moves the bundling device 100 with the robot arm 300 to the position of the intersection of the reinforcing bars S to be bound.

[0333] When the binding system 301 moves the binding device 100 to the position of the intersection of the binding target, the second camera 351 of the individual photographing unit 305 photographs the intersection of the binding target and acquires image information of the intersection of the binding target. Then, the binding system 301 obtains position information with higher accuracy than the position information of each intersection acquired by the overall photographing unit 303 from the image information acquired by the individual photographing unit 305, and moves the binding device 100 with the robot arm 300 to perform the binding operation.

[0334] <Example of operation of the binding device according to this embodiment> Figures 40A and 41A are side views showing an example of the operation of the binding device of this embodiment, and Figures 40B and 41B are side views with some parts omitted showing an example of the operation of the binding device of this embodiment.

[0335] In the binding device 100, depending on the direction of rotation of the motor 25d, the first slack forming unit 21E and the second slack forming unit 22E move relatively away from each other from the standby position shown in Figures 37A, 37B, etc. to the slack forming position shown in Figures 40A and 40B, and also move relatively closer to each other from the slack forming position shown in Figures 40A and 40B to the standby position shown in Figures 41A and 41B.

[0336] In the binding device 100, when first slack forming unit 21E moves from the standby position to the slack forming position, first slack forming roller 21a moves in a direction approaching the rebar binding machine 1E. When first slack forming roller 21a moves in a direction approaching the rebar binding machine 1E, guide surface 21f comes into contact with the wire W, and the portion of the wire W in contact with guide surface 21f is pulled in a direction approaching the rebar binding machine 1E.

[0337] In binding device 100, when second slack forming unit 22E moves from the standby position to the slack forming position, second slack forming roller 22a moves in a direction away from rebar binding machine 1E. When second slack forming roller 22a moves in a direction away from rebar binding machine 1E, guide surface 22f comes into contact with wire W, and pulls the portion of wire W in contact with guide surface 22f in a direction away from rebar binding machine 1E.

[0338] The wire W entering the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E is clamped between a pair of feed gears 30. The pair of feed gears 30 are prevented from rotating due to an external force while the drive of a feed motor (not shown) is stopped. This prevents the wire W from being pulled out from between the pair of feed gears 30 in the direction of coming out, even if the second slack forming roller 22a moves in a direction away from the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E and a force is applied to the portion of the wire W in contact with the guide surface 22f in a direction away from the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E.

[0339] The path of the wire W pulled out from the reel 20E is changed by the first guide portion 23E between the reel 20E and the first slack forming roller 21a toward the slack forming portion 2E. As a result, the first slack forming roller 21a moves in a direction approaching the rebar binding machine 1E, and the portion of the wire W in contact with the guide surface 21f is pulled in a direction approaching the rebar binding machine 1E, applying a force that pulls out the wire W from the reel 20E.

[0340] In addition, as the second slack forming roller 22a moves in a direction away from the rebar binding machine 1E, the portion of the wire W in contact with the guide surface 22f is pulled in a direction away from the rebar binding machine 1E, and a force is applied via the first slack forming roller 21a to pull the wire W out from the reel 20E.

[0341] The reel 20E can rotate when a force is applied to pull out the wire W. As a result, when the first slack forming roller 21a moves in a direction toward the rebar binding machine 1E and the second slack forming roller 22a moves in a direction away from the rebar binding machine 1E, the wire W is pulled out from the reel 20E.

[0342] In the binding device 100, when the first slack forming unit 21E moves from the slack forming position to the standby position, the first slack forming roller 21a moves in a direction away from the rebar binding machine 1E. When the first slack forming roller 21a moves in a direction away from the rebar binding machine 1E, the guide surface 21f moves away from the wire W. In addition, in the binding device 100, when the second slack forming unit 22E moves from the slack forming position to the standby position, the second slack forming roller 22a moves in a direction approaching the rebar binding machine 1E. When the second slack forming roller 22a moves in a direction approaching the rebar binding machine 1E, the guide surface 22f moves away from the wire W. As a result, a slack portion WB is formed in the wire W between the reel 20E and the rebar binding machine 1E.

[0343] Second slack forming unit 22E is supported by second guide unit 22i so that guide surface 22f is located on an extension of the feed path WL of the wire W entering rebar binding machine 1E, which is defined by wire feed unit 3E, wire guide 4E, etc. Second slack forming unit 22E is also guided by second guide unit 22i so as to be movable in a direction along the feed path WL of the wire W entering rebar binding machine 1E. This prevents the wire W entering rebar binding machine 1E from significantly changing relative to the feed path WL when second slack forming unit 22E moves from the standby position to the slack forming position, and vice versa.

[0344] When first slack forming unit 21E moves from the slack forming position to the standby position, guide member 22c guides wire W between the pair of guide plates 21b. As a result, the pair of guide plates 21b prevent wire W entering first slack forming unit 21E from moving in the axial direction of first slack forming roller 21a. This prevents wire W entering first slack forming unit 21E from becoming tangled with first guide unit 23E, etc. Furthermore, in a configuration in which two wires W are used to bind reinforcing bars S, the two wires W are prevented from becoming tangled in slack forming unit 21E.

[0345] Furthermore, the wire W emerging from the first slack forming portion 21E is guided between the pair of guide plates 21b by the guide member 21d. As a result, the pair of guide plates 21b prevent the wire W emerging from the first slack forming portion 21E from moving in the axial direction of the first slack forming roller 21a. Furthermore, the guide member 21d prevents the wire W emerging from the first slack forming portion 21E from moving toward the second slack forming portion 22E. Therefore, the wire W emerging from the first slack forming portion 21E is prevented from becoming entangled with the second slack forming portion 22E, etc. Furthermore, in a configuration in which two wires W are used to bind the reinforcing bars S, the two wires W are prevented from becoming entangled in the slack forming portion 2E.

[0346] Furthermore, the wire W entering the second slack forming portion 22E is guided between the pair of guide plates 22b by the guide member 22c. As a result, the pair of guide plates 22b prevent the wire W entering the second slack forming portion 22E from moving in the axial direction of the second slack forming roller 22a. Also, the guide member 22c prevents the wire W entering the second slack forming portion 22E from moving toward the first slack forming portion 21E. Therefore, the wire W entering the second slack forming portion 22E is prevented from becoming entangled with the first slack forming portion 21E, etc. Furthermore, in a configuration in which two wires W are used to bind the reinforcing bars S, the two wires W are prevented from becoming entangled in the slack forming portion 2E.

[0347] Furthermore, the wire W coming out of the second slack forming portion 22E is guided between the pair of guide plates 22b by the guide member 22d. As a result, the pair of guide plates 22b prevent the wire W coming out of the second slack forming portion 22E from moving in the axial direction of the second slack forming roller 22a. Therefore, in a configuration in which the reinforcing bars S are bound with two wires W, entanglement of the two wires W in the slack forming portion 2E is prevented.

[0348] Fig. 42 is a side view of a binding device showing an example of a binding operation, with some components omitted. In the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E, as shown in Figs. 41A and 41B, when a slack WB is formed in the wire W by the slack forming unit 2E, the wire feeding unit 3E shown in Fig. 38 feeds the wire W in the forward direction indicated by arrow F, and the curl forming unit 5E winds the wire W around the reinforcing bar S. When the wire feeding unit 3E feeds the wire W in the forward direction indicated by arrow F, the slack portion WB of the wire W is fed, as shown in Fig. 42. As a result, it is not necessary to rotate the reel 20E with the force of the wire feeding unit 3E feeding the wire W in the forward direction indicated by arrow F, which reduces the load on the wire feeding unit 3E and also suppresses the occurrence of poor wire feeding by the wire feeding unit 3E.

[0349] In order to wind the wire W wound around the reinforcing bar S onto the reinforcing bar S, the wire feeding unit 3E feeds the wire W in the reverse direction indicated by the arrow R, which creates slack in the wire W according to the amount of wire W fed in the reverse direction. This eliminates the need to rotate the reel 20E with the force of the wire feeding unit 3E feeding the wire W in the reverse direction indicated by the arrow R, thereby reducing the load on the wire feeding unit 3E and suppressing the occurrence of poor wire feeding by the wire feeding unit 3E.

[0350] In addition, in the binding device 100, the slack forming unit 2E forms a slack region WB corresponding to the amount of wire W required in the operation of binding the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E, and then the operation of binding the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E is performed. In addition, the slack forming unit 2E may be operated while the operation of binding the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E is being performed, and the slack forming unit 2E may form a slack region WB corresponding to the amount of wire W required in the operation of binding the next reinforcing bar S.

[0351] The binding device 100 is configured so that the rebar binding machine 1E and the slack forming unit 2E can move as a single unit. As a result, the direction in which the slack portion WB of the wire W formed by the slack forming unit 2E enters the wire feeding unit 3E of the rebar binding machine 1E does not change when the robot arm 300 moves the binding device 100. This suppresses fluctuations in the load on the wire feeding unit 3E, and prevents poor wire feeding by the wire feeding unit 3E.

[0352] Furthermore, compared to when the rebar tying machine 1E and the slack forming unit 2E are configured independently, the slack forming unit 2E can be installed closer to the rebar tying machine 1E, shortening the path length of the wire W. This eliminates factors that cause defects in wire feeding.

[0353] Furthermore, compared to when the rebar tying machine 1E and the slack forming unit 2E are configured independently, the tolerances when assembling the rebar tying machine 1E and the slack forming unit 2E together can be reduced, eliminating factors that cause defects in wire feeding due to the accuracy between the rebar tying machine 1E and the slack forming unit 2E.

[0354] Furthermore, the slack forming unit 2E includes a drive unit 25 that drives the first slack forming unit 21E and the second slack forming unit 22E that pull out the wire W wound around the reel 20E, so that the rebar binding machine 1E does not need to be raised or lowered, for example, in order to pull out the wire W from the reel 20E. As a result, the pulling out of the wire W does not depend on the distance between the rebar binding machine 1E and the surface on which the rebar S is placed.

[0355] Furthermore, the slack forming unit 2E has a first slack forming unit 21E, a second slack forming unit 22E, and a drive unit 25 provided on one side of the slack forming unit support unit 103, and a control unit 250 for the drive unit 25 and the like provided on the other side of the slack forming unit support unit 103. This prevents the wire W from coming into contact with the control unit 250 and the like when the slack forming unit 2E is activated to form slack in the wire W and when the wire feeding unit 3E feeds the wire W, thereby preventing malfunctions of the slack forming unit 2E and malfunctions in wire feeding.

[0356] In addition, the binding device 100 is provided with a storage section support section 102 that supports the reel storage section 200, a slack forming section support section 103 that supports the slack forming section 2E, and a support section 04 that supports the storage section support section 102 and the slack forming section support section 103, and by configuring the reel storage section 200 and the slack forming section 2E as a single unit, the binding device 100 can be made smaller.

[0357] Furthermore, by providing a binding machine support part 101 that supports the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E and supporting the binding machine support part 101 on the storage part support part 102, the relative positions of the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E and the reel 20E do not change, and inadvertent unwinding of the wire W is prevented. This prevents malfunction of the slack forming part 2E and wire feed problems caused by excessive unwinding of the wire W.

[0358] Furthermore, in the binding device 100, the slack forming unit 2E is provided on the side of the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E where the wire feed unit 3E is provided. This prevents the path of the wire W entering the wire feed unit 3E from crossing the binding unit 7E, which is a movable part, and prevents the wire W from becoming entangled in the binding unit 7E, etc. Furthermore, space can be secured on the opposite side of the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E where the wire feed unit 3E is provided, so that even if there is an obstacle near the binding device 100, the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E can be moved to the position of the intersection of the reinforcing bars S to be bound. Furthermore, if a camera or the like is to be provided to photograph the intersection of the reinforcing bars S, a location for the camera can be secured.

[0359] Furthermore, the binding device 100 has a mounting portion 105 for mounting the binding device 100 to the robot arm 300 and the binding portion 7E of the rebar binding machine 1E, both of which are located on an imaginary line 10L along the axial direction of the torsion motor 80. As a result, when the rebar binding machine 1E is oriented in the up-down direction with the curl forming portion 5E facing downward, the binding portion 7E is located vertically below the mounting portion 105. This prevents the weight of the torsion motor 80, the binding portion 7E, and the like from being applied to the robot arm 300 via the mounting portion 105 at a position away from the direction intersecting the imaginary line 10L along the axial direction of the torsion motor 80. This prevents the position of the rebar binding machine 1E from shifting from the intersection of the rebars S to be bound due to uneven load application to the robot arm 300.

[0360] Furthermore, when the binding device 100 is viewed from the side, the reel storage section 200 stores the reel 20E so that the axis of rotation of the reel 20E is located on an imaginary line 10L that passes through the binding section 7E and the attachment section 105. This prevents the weight of the reel 20E from being applied to the robot arm 300 via the attachment section 105 at a position away from the direction that intersects with the imaginary line 10L that is along the axial direction of the torsion motor 80, and prevents the position of the reinforcing bar binding machine 1E from shifting from the intersection of the reinforcing bars S to be bound, due to uneven load being applied to the robot arm 300.

[0361] The slack forming unit 2E can ensure the amount of wire W pulled out while suppressing an increase in the amount of movement of the first slack forming unit 21E and the second slack forming unit 22E by moving the first slack forming unit 21E and the second slack forming unit 22E relative to each other. Note that, as long as the wire feed unit can sufficiently feed the wire to the bundling unit, that is, as long as the amount of wire W pulled out can be ensured or slack in the wire between the reel and the bundling machine can be ensured, the slack forming unit 2E may be configured such that one slack forming roller moves in a direction intersecting the path of the wire W. Also, the reel housing 200 may be provided with a reel drive unit such as a motor that rotates the reel 20E, and slack in the wire W is formed between the reel 20E and the rebar bundling machine 1E by rotating the reel 20E by driving the reel drive unit.

[0362] The means for solving the problems in the fourth embodiment will be described below. [Solution 1] a bundling machine that bundles the plurality of reinforcing bars with wire; a slack forming unit that forms slack in the wire between a reel around which the wire to be supplied to the binding machine is wound and the binding machine, The binding machine includes a binding unit that binds reinforcing bars with a wire, and a wire feeding unit that feeds the wire to the binding unit, The binding machine and the slack forming unit are configured to be movable as a unit. Binding device. [Solution 2] The slack forming unit includes a slack forming mechanism that pulls out the wire wound on the reel, and a drive unit that drives the slack forming mechanism. The binding device according to Solution 1. [Solution 3] a slack forming portion support portion that supports the slack forming portion, The slack forming mechanism and the drive unit are provided on one side of the slack forming unit support unit, and a control unit for the drive unit is provided on the other side. The binding device according to Solution 2. [Solution 4] a reel housing portion in which the reel is housed; a storage section support section that supports the reel storage section; a support portion for supporting the accommodation portion support portion and the slack forming portion support portion; The binding device according to Solution 3. [Solution 5] a strapping machine support unit that supports the strapping machine, The binding machine support section is supported by the storage section support section. The binding device according to Solution 4. [Solution 6] The slack forming portion is A guide member is provided to define a path along which the wire passes between the reel and the binding machine. The binding device according to Solution 1. [Solution 7] The slack forming unit is provided on the side of the binding machine where the wire feeding unit is provided. The binding device according to Solution 1. [Solution 8] The binding device is provided with a mounting portion that is attached to a moving body that moves the binding device in a direction along the installation surface of the installed reinforcing bars, and in a direction approaching and moving away from the installation surface. The binding device according to Solution 1. [Solution 9] The attachment portion is provided on an imaginary line passing through the binding portion, and when the orientation of the binding machine is set along the up-down direction, the binding portion is provided vertically below the attachment portion. The binding device according to Solution 8. [Solution 10] a reel accommodating section in which the reel is accommodated, The reel accommodating section accommodates the reel on an imaginary straight line passing through the attachment section and the binding section. The binding device according to Solution 8. [Solution 11] A binding device; a moving body that moves the binding device, The binding device is a bundling machine that bundles the plurality of reinforcing bars with wire; a slack forming unit that forms slack in the wire between the reel around which the wire to be supplied to the binding machine is wound and the binding machine; a reel housing portion in which the reel is housed, The binding machine includes a binding unit that binds reinforcing bars with a wire, and a wire feeding unit that feeds the wire to the binding unit, The binding machine and the slack forming unit are configured to be movable as a unit. Binding system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0363] 1. Binding System 2 Work holding part 3 Overall Photography Section 31 First camera (first information acquisition unit) 4 Robot arm (mobile body) 40 Robot arm body 5 Individual Photography Section 51 Second camera (second information acquisition unit) 6 Binding device 7 Control Device 76 Memory section 77 Control Unit (Map Creation Unit) 762 image data 763 Work Information B Work E1 Photography area (first area) E2 Binding area (second area) P intersection Pa Target intersection S rebar W Wire

Claims

1. a first information acquisition unit that acquires first information regarding the plurality of installed reinforcing bars; a second information acquisition unit that moves based on the first information and acquires second information regarding the intersections of the plurality of reinforcing bars; a binding device that binds the intersections based on the second information; A bundling system comprising:

2. a moving body that integrally mounts and moves both the second information acquisition unit and the binding device, The bundling system of claim 1 .

3. the movable body is capable of changing a position on each of the three orthogonal axes and an angle around at least one of the three orthogonal axes for at least one of the second information acquisition unit and the binding device. The bundling system of claim 2 .

4. a first area in which the first information acquisition unit acquires the first information is different from a second area in which the mobile object can move; The bundling system of claim 2 .

5. A holding portion for holding the plurality of reinforcing bars is provided, The holding portion is movable from the first region to the second region. The bundling system of claim 4.

6. The holding portion is movable from the second region to the first region. The bundling system of claim 5.

7. the second information acquisition unit is capable of acquiring the second information regarding the intersection in a state bound by the binding device, The bundling system of claim 1 .

8. a storage unit that stores at least one of the first information and the second information; The bundling system of claim 1 .

9. a control unit that controls an operation of the binding device based on at least one of the first information and the second information; a storage unit that stores work information related to the binding work performed by the binding device; Equipped with The bundling system of claim 1 .

10. a map creation unit that creates map information including position information of each intersection of the plurality of reinforcing bars based on the second information, The bundling system of claim 1 .

11. the first information acquisition unit and the second information acquisition unit are cameras, the first information and the second information are image data; The bundling system of claim 1 .

12. one of the first information acquisition unit and the second information acquisition unit acquires a monochrome image and the other acquires a color image; The bundling system of claim 11.

Images