Supply device and weighing system

Abstract

To provide a supply device capable of efficiently supplying articles to a plurality of input parts while suppressing equipment cost, and a weighing system including the supply device.SOLUTION: The feeding mechanism 20A, 20B is provided with an actuator 22 having arms 22a, 22b, a gripping mechanism 30 having a plurality of gripping parts 32 arranged in a line and provided liftably at the tip of the arm 22b of the actuator 22, and a control part 40 controlling the driving of the actuator 22 and the gripping mechanism 30, and the control part 40 makes the gripping mechanism 30 grip the article W on the feeding conveyor 14 by the gripping parts 32 of the gripping mechanism 30, lifts up the gripping mechanism 30 by the actuator 22 and moves the gripping mechanism 30 above the plurality of charging parts 12 to arrange the plurality of gripping parts 32 above the plurality of charging parts 12, and releases the gripping of the article W by the gripping parts 32 to charge the article W into the charging parts 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a feeding device and a weighing system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an article supplying device equipped with a robot hand having one holding part for grasping an article. In this article supplying device, the robot hand supplies articles, thereby reducing the number of workers required for supplying the articles. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6921411 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned supply device, because the items are supplied by a robot hand with a single holding part at the tip, it is difficult to supply items efficiently in a short time with a weighing device with multiple item input parts. In this case, the operation time can be shortened by increasing the number of robot hands, but the equipment costs increase due to the increase in expensive robot hands.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a supply device that can efficiently supply articles to a plurality of input ports while reducing equipment costs, and a weighing system equipped with the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention comprises the following configurations. (1) A supply device having a supply mechanism that supplies articles conveyed by a conveyor to a plurality of input ports arranged along the conveyor, The supply mechanism includes: an actuator having an arm; a gripping mechanism having a plurality of gripping parts arranged in a line and provided at the tip of the arm of the actuator so as to be able to move up and down; a control unit that controls driving of the actuator and the gripping mechanism; Equipped with The control unit gripping an article on the conveyor with the gripping portion of the gripping mechanism; The actuator raises the gripping mechanism; The gripping mechanism is moved above the plurality of input units to position the plurality of gripping units above the plurality of input units; The grip of the article by the gripping unit is released, thereby inserting the article into the insertion unit. Feeding device. (2) The above supply device; a weighing device to which the article is supplied from the input portion by the supply device; Equipped with Weighing system. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a supply device that can efficiently supply articles to a plurality of input ports while reducing equipment costs, and a weighing system equipped with the same. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a production line equipped with a weighing system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of a production line equipped with a weighing system according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a weighing system in which the supply device of this embodiment is assembled to a weighing device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a front view of a weighing system in which the supply device of this embodiment is assembled to a weighing device. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the supply device of this embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a plan view of the supply device of this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a production line 1000 equipped with a weighing system 100 according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a front view of the production line 1000 equipped with the weighing system 100 according to this embodiment.

[0010] 1 and 2, the supply device 10 according to this embodiment is assembled to a weighing device 50 to form a weighing system 100. In this example, the supply device 10 is assembled to one of the weighing devices 50 in a production line 1000 in which a plurality of weighing devices 50 are installed.

[0011] The production line 1000 is equipped with a plurality of transport conveyors 11 arranged in a line, and weighing devices 50 are arranged on one side of these transport conveyors 11. Each weighing device 50 has a plurality of input sections 12 arranged above it along the transport conveyor 11. In the production line 1000, the work of inputting items W into the input sections 12 is carried out in each work area where a weighing device 50 is arranged.

[0012] The transport conveyor 11 has an end serving as an inlet 11a into which the articles W are fed. Each transport conveyor 11 transports the articles W fed into the inlet 11a in the opposite direction. In the production line 1000, the articles W transported by these transport conveyors 11 are fed into the feed sections 12 of each weighing device 50. In this example, the articles W fed into the feed sections 12 of each weighing device 50 are mainly soft food ingredients, such as sliced ​​meat.

[0013] In a work area of ​​the production line 1000 equipped with a weighing system 100 in which a supplying device 10 is assembled to a weighing device 50, the items W sent to the carrying-in section 11a are automatically introduced into the input section 12 by the supplying device 10. On the other hand, in a work area of ​​the production line 1000 in which a weighing device 50 is not installed with a supplying device 10, the items W are introduced into the input section 12 by a plurality of workers M (two workers each in this example). Note that in the production line 1000, the supplying device 10 may be assembled to all weighing devices 50 to form the weighing system 100, and the items W may be automatically introduced into the input section 12 by the supplying device 10. In this way, the number of workers M working at each weighing device 50 can be reduced or eliminated.

[0014] Next, the weighing device 50 and the supply device 10 that constitute the weighing system 100 will be described. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a weighing system 100 in which the supply device 10 of this embodiment is assembled to a weighing device 50. Fig. 4 is a front view of the weighing system 100 in which the supply device 10 of this embodiment is assembled to a weighing device 50. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the supply device 10 of this embodiment. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the supply device 10 of this embodiment.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the weighing system 100 is configured by assembling a supply device 10 to a weighing device 50.

[0016] The weighing device 50 includes a combination weighing section 51 and an article discharge section 55 provided below the combination weighing section 51 (see FIG. 4).

[0017] The combination weighing unit 51 is equipped with a plurality of cups 52. Each cup 52 is hollow and open at the top and bottom. An opening-closing plate 53 is provided at the bottom opening of each cup 52, and the opening at the bottom of each cup 52 is opened and closed by sliding the opening-closing plate 53 by a driving means (not shown). The cups 52 are arranged in a row of three cups vertically, and in this example, the rows of cups 52 are arranged in 12 rows horizontally. The top row of each cup 52 is a pool cup 52a, the middle row is a measuring cup 52b, and the bottom row is a memory cup 52c. Each of the cups 52a, 52b, and 52c drops and discharges the articles W into the row below by opening and closing the opening-closing plate 53 by the driving means.

[0018] The pool cup 52a stores a predetermined amount of unweighed articles W and then discharges them. The measuring cup 52b measures the weight of the stored articles W using weighing means such as a load cell. The memory cup 52c temporarily stores the articles W after they have been weighed.

[0019] The combination weighing unit 51 selects the memory cup 52c and the measuring cup 52b so that the combined weight of the article W stored in the memory cup 52c and the measuring cup 52b falls within a desired target weight range, and performs combination weighing.

[0020] The article discharge section 55 includes a pair of collecting conveyors 56 provided below the plurality of memory cups 52c, and a discharge chute 57 located below and between these collecting conveyors 56. In the article discharge section 55, the articles W discharged from the memory cups 52c are transported to the center by the collecting conveyor 56 and fed into the discharge chute 57.

[0021] The supply device 10 according to this embodiment is assembled to the top of the weighing device 50 having the above-described configuration. A supply conveyor 14 is also assembled to the supply device 10. The supply conveyor 14 is arranged parallel to the transport conveyor 11 and is arranged adjacent to the input units 12 of the weighing device 50 along the arrangement direction of the input units 12. In the weighing device 50 to which the supply device 10 is assembled, the periphery of each input unit 12 is surrounded by a partition wall 13 except for the supply conveyor 14 side and the upper side.

[0022] The supply conveyor 14 has an infeed conveyor 15 at its upstream end and an outfeed conveyor 16 at its downstream end. The infeed conveyor 15 feeds the articles W fed into the inlet section 11a of the transport conveyor 11 onto the supply conveyor 14. The supply conveyor 14 transports the articles W fed into the upstream end by the infeed conveyor 15 in the transport direction X. The supply device 10 then feeds the articles W transported by the supply conveyor 14 into each inlet section 12 of the weighing device 50. Note that a portion of the articles W transported on the supply conveyor 14 is returned from the downstream end of the supply conveyor 14 to the transport conveyor 11 by the outfeed conveyor 16 and sent to the working area of ​​the adjacent weighing device 50. In this way, the supply device 10 has a transport path formed by the infeed conveyor 15, the supply conveyor 14, and the outfeed conveyor 16 that transports the articles W around the transport conveyor 11.

[0023] The supply device 10 includes two supply mechanisms 20A and 20B. One supply mechanism 20A supplies articles W to half of the input ports 12 (six in this example) on one side of the weighing device 50, and the other supply mechanism 20B supplies articles W to half of the input ports 12 (six in this example) on the other side of the weighing device 50.

[0024] Supply mechanisms 20A and 20B have an actuator 22 and a gripping mechanism 30. Supply mechanisms 20A and 20B are supported on a stand 21. Stand 21 is configured in a frame shape and is installed so as to surround weighing device 50. Supply mechanisms 20A and 20B are fixed to the upper part of stand 21 and are arranged along and above supply conveyor 14.

[0025] The actuator 22 has a support 23 fixed to the base 21 and a plurality of arms 22a, 22b supported by the support 23. A suitable example of the actuator 22 is a horizontal articulated robot such as a highly versatile SCARA robot. The arm 22a is rotatable about a vertical axis relative to the support 23, and the arm 22b is rotatable about a vertical axis relative to the arm 22a. This allows the tip of the arm 22b of the actuator 22 to move within a horizontal plane. The actuator 22 has a lifting unit 22c at the tip of the arm 22b, and a lifting rod 24 is provided on the lifting unit 22c so that it can be raised and lowered. Note that a robot with another mechanism, such as a vertical articulated robot, may also be used as the actuator 22.

[0026] The gripping mechanism 30 is provided at the lower end of the lifting rod 24, which is raised and lowered by the lifting section 22c of the actuator 22. The gripping mechanism 30 has a plurality of gripping sections 32 (six in this example). These gripping sections 32 are provided at the bottom of a support plate 31 formed in the shape of a long plate, and are arranged in a row with a gap between them. The support plate 31 is supported at its middle section in the longitudinal direction by the lifting rod 24. The gripping sections 32 provided on the support plate 31 are spaced apart at the same pitch as the insertion section 12. The gripping sections 32 have a plurality of claws driven by air, and grip the item W with these claws.

[0027] The supply mechanisms 20A and 20B use the actuator 22 to maintain the support plate 31 in a position parallel to the arrangement direction of the input sections 12, while moving the gripping mechanism 30 in a horizontal plane, and also use the lifting section 22c to lift the lifting rod 24, thereby raising and lowering the gripping mechanism 30. In addition, the supply mechanisms 20A and 20B grip and release the grip of the article W by opening and closing the claws of the gripping section 32 using air.

[0028] The weighing system 100 is equipped with a control unit 40 (see FIGS. 4 and 6). In the weighing system 100, this control unit 40 controls the overall operation of the supply device 10 and the weighing device 50. Specifically, in the supply device 10, the control unit 40 controls the operation of each supply mechanism 20A, 20B based on a loading command from the weighing device 50, and in the weighing device 50, controls the selection of a combination of multiple memory cups 52c that falls within the target weight range, the operation of the opening / closing plate 53, and the operation of each of the other components. As a result, in the weighing system 100, articles W are supplied from the supply device 10 to the weighing device 50, and are discharged by the weighing device 50 at a preset target weight.

[0029] Next, the control of the drive of the supply mechanisms 20A and 20B by the control unit 40 will be described.

[0030] (Gripping action) The control unit 40 positions the gripping mechanisms 30 above the supply conveyor 14 using the actuators 22 of each supply mechanism 20A, 20B. Then, in this state, the lifting unit 22c lowers the gripping mechanisms 30 to directly above the supply conveyor 14, causing each gripping unit 32 to grip the articles W on the supply conveyor 14. Here, in each supply mechanism 20A, 20B, the gripping operation in which the gripping units 32 of the gripping mechanisms 30 grip the articles W is performed at positions offset in the width direction intersecting with the conveying direction X relative to the supply conveyor 14 (toward the viewer and toward the back of the paper in FIG. 5). In this way, by performing the gripping operation by the gripping mechanisms 30 of each supply mechanism 20A, 20B at positions offset in the width direction intersecting with the conveying direction X relative to the supply conveyor 14, the articles W on the supply conveyor 14 can be evenly gripped by the gripping mechanisms 30.

[0031] (swinging motion) Next, the control unit 40 uses the lifting unit 22c to lift the gripping mechanism 30. When the gripping mechanism 30 is lifted in this manner, the control unit 40 causes the actuator 22 to perform a swinging operation to swing the gripping mechanism 30 above the supply conveyor 14. In this swinging operation, the gripping mechanism 30 is swung horizontally at least once. As a result, any articles W that were insufficiently gripped by the gripping unit 32 are shaken off onto the supply conveyor 14. Note that in this swinging operation, the lifting unit 22c of the actuator 22 may swing the lifting rod 24 up and down at least once, or may swing it at least once in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0032] (Closing operation) Thereafter, the actuator 22 moves the gripping mechanism 30 above the input sections 12, and each gripping section 32 is positioned above its corresponding input section 12. In this state, the gripping sections 32 are released from their gripping, and the item W held by the gripping sections 32 is input into the input section 12. At this time, based on an input command from the weighing device 50 to input the item W into the multiple input sections 12, the control section 40 releases the grip of the item W from the gripping section 32 among the multiple gripping sections 32 that corresponds to the input section 12 that has been instructed to be input. This allows the supply device 10 to appropriately input the item W only into the input section 12 that has been instructed to be input by the weighing device 50.

[0033] The control unit 40 then repeats the above-described gripping, swinging, and throwing operations to supply the item W to the weighing device 50. Note that for the gripping unit 32 that did not receive a throwing command and did not release its grip during the throwing operation, the control unit 40 does not drive the gripping unit 32 in the next gripping operation, and instead maintains its grip on the item W that it is already holding.

[0034] As described above, according to the supply device 10 of this embodiment and the weighing system 100 including this supply device 10, a gripping mechanism 30 having multiple grippers 32 is provided at the tip of the actuator 22, and the actuator 22 moves the gripping mechanism, causing the articles W gripped by the grippers 32 to be fed into multiple input ports 12. Therefore, the number of workers required to feed the articles W into the input ports 12 can be reduced or eliminated, and moreover, compared to a configuration including an actuator with a single gripper that grips the articles W, the articles W can be automatically fed efficiently to multiple input ports 12 in a short time while keeping equipment costs down.

[0035] Furthermore, the supply device 10 performs a swinging action to shake off any articles W that are insufficiently gripped by the gripping parts 32, thereby preventing the articles W from falling when the gripping mechanism 30 is moved from the supply conveyor 14 to the input part 12. This allows only the articles W that are sufficiently gripped by each gripping part 32 to be moved above the input part 12 and input into the input part 12.

[0036] Furthermore, in the supply device 10, each supply mechanism 20A, 20B grips the articles W with the gripping portions 32 of the gripping mechanisms 30 at positions offset in the width direction intersecting the conveying direction X relative to the supply conveyor 14. Therefore, the articles W on the supply conveyor 14 can be evenly gripped by the gripping mechanisms 30, which increases the efficiency of supplying the articles W to the weighing device 50 and improves productivity.

[0037] As such, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present invention also contemplates the mutual combination of the various components of the embodiments, as well as modifications and applications by those skilled in the art based on the description in the specification and well-known techniques, and these modifications and applications are included in the scope of protection sought.

[0038] As described above, the present specification discloses the following: (1) A supply device having a supply mechanism that supplies articles conveyed by a conveyor to a plurality of input ports arranged along the conveyor, The supply mechanism includes: an actuator having an arm; a gripping mechanism having a plurality of gripping parts arranged in a line and provided at the tip of the arm of the actuator so as to be able to move up and down; a control unit that controls driving of the actuator and the gripping mechanism; Equipped with The control unit gripping an article on the conveyor with the gripping portion of the gripping mechanism; The actuator raises the gripping mechanism; The gripping mechanism is moved above the plurality of input units to position the plurality of gripping units above the plurality of input units; A supply device that inserts the item into the insertion section by releasing the grip of the item by the gripping section. According to this supply device, a gripping mechanism having multiple grippers is provided at the tip of the arm of an actuator, and the actuator moves the gripping mechanism to feed the articles held by the grippers into multiple input ports. Therefore, the number of workers required to feed the articles into the input ports can be reduced or eliminated, and compared to a configuration using an actuator with a single gripper that grips the articles, the device can automatically feed the articles to the multiple input ports efficiently in a short time while keeping equipment costs down.

[0039] (2) The supply device according to (1), wherein the control unit causes the actuator to perform a swinging motion to swing the gripping mechanism above the conveyor when the gripping mechanism is lifted up. With this supply device, articles that are insufficiently gripped by the gripping parts are shaken off onto the conveyor, thereby preventing articles from falling when the gripping mechanism is moved from the conveyor to the input part, allowing only articles that are sufficiently gripped by each gripping part to be moved above the input part and input into the input part.

[0040] (3) The control unit, when the plurality of gripping sections are positioned above the plurality of input sections, releases the grip of the gripping section corresponding to the input section that has been instructed to input the item based on an input command to input the item into the plurality of input sections, in the supply device described in (1). According to this supply device, it is possible to appropriately insert articles only into the insertion section to which the insertion command is given.

[0041] (4) A supply device according to any one of (1) to (3), a weighing device to which the article is supplied from the input portion by the supply device; Equipped with Weighing system. According to this weighing system, the supply device can automatically supply articles to the weighing device, so that the number of workers required to supply articles to the weighing device can be reduced or eliminated.

[0042] (5) The supply device includes a plurality of the supply mechanisms; The weighing system according to (4), wherein each of the plurality of supply mechanisms grips the item with the gripping portion of the gripping mechanism at a position offset in a direction intersecting the conveying direction (X) of the conveyor. According to this weighing system, the gripping mechanism can grip all the articles on the conveyor evenly, thereby increasing the efficiency of supplying articles to the weighing device and improving productivity. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 10 Feeding device 12 Input section 14 Supply conveyor (conveyor) 20A,20B supply mechanism 22 Actuator 22a, 22b Arm 30 Gripping mechanism 32 Gripping part 40 Control Unit 50 Weighing device 100 Weighing System W Goods X conveying direction

Claims

1. A supply device (10) including a supply mechanism (20A, 20B) that supplies articles (W) conveyed by a conveyor (14) to a plurality of input sections (12) arranged along the conveyor, The supply mechanism includes: an actuator (22) having arms (22a, 22b); a gripping mechanism (30) having a plurality of gripping parts (32) arranged in a row and provided at the tip of the arm of the actuator so as to be able to move up and down; a control unit (40) that controls the driving of the actuator and the gripping mechanism; Equipped with The control unit gripping an article on the conveyor with the gripping portion of the gripping mechanism; The actuator raises the gripping mechanism; The gripping mechanism is moved above the plurality of input units to position the plurality of gripping units above the plurality of input units; The grip of the article by the gripping unit is released, thereby inserting the article into the insertion unit. Feeding device.

2. When the gripping mechanism is lifted up, the control unit causes the actuator to perform a swinging operation to swing the gripping mechanism above the conveyor.

2. The feeding device of claim 1.

3. the control unit, in a state in which the plurality of gripping units are disposed above the plurality of insertion units, releases the gripping by the gripping unit corresponding to the insertion unit instructed to insert the articles into the plurality of insertion units based on an insertion command for inserting the articles into the plurality of insertion units; 2. The feeding device of claim 1.

4. A supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3; a weighing device (50) to which the article is supplied from the input portion by the supply device; Equipped with Weighing system.

5. the supply device comprises a plurality of the supply mechanisms; Each of the plurality of supply mechanisms grips the article by the gripping portion of the gripping mechanism at a position shifted in a direction intersecting the conveying direction (X) of the conveyor. The weighing system of claim 4.

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