Conveyor

Abstract

To achieve alleviation of work load of an operator.SOLUTION: A conveyance device 30 which takes up an object to be sewn and conveys it includes: a plurality of holding heads 90 for holding an object P to be sewn; and a variable mechanism 81 which varies the arrangement of the plurality of holding heads 90 based on the information including the shape of the object P to be sewn. The variable mechanism 81 is capable of holding various shapes of the parts P, by, for example, moving the plurality of holding heads 90 to the arrangement according to the shape of the parts P by a motor on the two-dimensional plane. Thus, replacement of the structure for holding the parts P becomes unnecessary.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveying device that picks up and conveys parts that will become sewing materials. [Background technology]

[0002] In conventional sewing systems, parts placed at a predetermined supply location are held by an arm-type conveying device having a holding device at the tip, and are supplied to a sewing machine that performs sewing (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-024033 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the transport device of Patent Document 1, the holding device is structured to pick up parts using multiple suction units fixed in a specified arrangement on a flat surface, so when changing parts, it is necessary to replace the holding device with a different one with suction units arranged in a way that is suitable for the new part, which increases the workload.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to reduce the workload of an operator. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The invention described in claim 1 is a conveying device, In a conveying device which picks up and conveys a sewing workpiece, A plurality of holding heads for holding the sewing workpiece; and a variable mechanism for varying the arrangement of the plurality of holding heads based on information including the shape of the sewing workpiece.

[0007] Furthermore, the invention described in claim 1 is A plurality of the holding heads are arranged on the same two-dimensional plane, The variable mechanism is characterized by moving the plurality of holding heads in two axial directions consisting of an X-axis and a Y-axis along the two-dimensional plane.

[0008] Furthermore, the invention described in claim 1 is The variable mechanism is Two pairs of the holding heads are held, each pair being relatively movable along the X-axis; The two sets of holding heads are held so as to be relatively movable along the Y axis.

[0009] Furthermore, the invention described in claim 1 is For one of the two sets of holding heads, two drive sources are provided for moving the pair of one holding head and the other holding head along the X-axis individually. 、 The other of the two sets of holding heads is provided with one driving source for moving the pair of holding heads toward and away from each other along the X-axis in cooperation with one of the pair of holding heads. It is characterized by the above.

[0010] The invention described in claim 2 is the conveying device described in claim 1, The transport device transports the plurality of holding heads, When picking up or releasing the sewing material, With respect to the two-dimensional plane Located within an area surrounded by the plurality of holding heads It is characterized by having an angle adjustment mechanism that adjusts the angle by rotating it around a vertical axis.

[0011] The invention described in claim 3 is In the conveying device according to the present invention, The holding head includes: A pull-in nozzle that pulls the sewing workpiece upward; The sewing machine is characterized by comprising a gripping mechanism for gripping the workpiece.

[0012] The invention described in claim 4 is In the conveying device according to the present invention, The sewing machine is characterized in that it further includes a holding control unit that controls the holding head so that the pulling nozzle pulls the workpiece and then the gripping mechanism grips the workpiece.

[0013] The invention described in claim 5 is In the conveying device according to the present invention, The pulling force of the workpiece can be adjusted by adjusting the air flow rate of the pulling nozzle.

[0014] The invention described in claim 6 is the same as claims 3 to 5. In the conveying device according to any one of the preceding claims, The holding head has a detection unit that detects the thickness of the sewing workpiece gripped by the gripping mechanism, The sewing machine is characterized in that it further comprises a determination processing unit which determines whether the sewing workpiece has been successfully gripped based on the thickness of the sewing workpiece detected by the detection unit. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, the conveying device is equipped with a variable mechanism that changes the position of multiple holding heads based on information including the shape of the sewn work, eliminating the need for extensive part replacement work when changing parts, thereby making it possible to reduce the workload of workers. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a sewing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the sheet material after a cut has been made. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a plan view of a tip tool with some illustrations omitted. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a control configuration of the pickup device. [Figure 9] 13 is an explanatory diagram when the controller individually positions the holding head at the four corners of an isosceles trapezoidal part. FIG. [Figure 10]FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the case where the holding heads are individually positioned on the parallelogram parts. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which an error occurs due to tilt between devices of the sewing system. [Figure 12] 13 is a side view showing the part pick-up operation by the holding head. FIG. [Figure 13] 13 is a side view showing the part pick-up operation by the holding head subsequent to FIG. 12. FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration that enables adjustment of the pulling force of the pulling chuck. [Figure 15] 13 is a flowchart showing a process for determining whether to switch between two levels of attractive force, strong and weak, by the controller. [Figure 16] 11 is a flowchart showing operation control of a transport operation of the pickup device performed by a controller. [Figure 17] 4 is a timing chart of a pickup operation. [Figure 18] FIG. [Figure 19] FIG. [Figure 20] 2 is a configuration diagram showing the flow of various data and various commands in each component of the sewing system. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] [Overall configuration of sewing system] A sewing system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the sewing system 100, and Fig. 2 is a plan view. The sewing system 100 includes a conveying device 30 that picks up parts P as the items to be sewn from the sheet material S cut by the cutting device 20 and conveys them to a sewing template 70, a sewing machine 60 that holds the template 70 and sews the parts P, and a relay terminal 110 (see Figure 20) that coordinates the above-mentioned components. The cutting device 20, the conveying device 30 and the sewing machine 60 are arranged in a row in the horizontal direction, with the row direction being the Y-axis direction, the horizontal direction perpendicular to the Y-axis direction being the X-axis direction, and the vertical direction being the Z-axis direction.

[0018] In addition, when it is necessary to distinguish between parts P according to their size or shape, they will be given individual reference symbols such as P1, P2, P3, ... (see Figure 3), but when there is no particular need to distinguish between them, the common reference symbol P will be used. In addition, the sewing system 100 of this embodiment illustrates an example in which a pair of parts P that form the material for a flap cloth to be sewn to the opening of a jacket pocket are sewn together, but the system is not limited to this and can perform any type of sewing work in which the sewn material is sewn after cutting.

[0019] [Cutting device] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cutting device 20 is equipped with a cutting stage 21 on which the sheet material S to be cut is placed, a work stage 22 on which the parts P are picked up from the sheet material S after cutting, a cutting head 23 equipped with a scalpel for cutting, a moving mechanism 24 for moving the cutting head 23 arbitrarily along the XY plane, and a control unit 25 (see Figure 20) for controlling each part of the cutting device 20.

[0020] The cutting stage 21 and the working stage 22 both have flat upper surfaces and are set at the same height. The upper surfaces of the cutting stage 21 and the working stage 22 are configured with transport belts of a belt conveyor mechanism, and both can transport the sheet material S placed on their upper surfaces along the Y-axis direction. This makes it possible to transport the sheet material S placed on the upper surface of the cutting stage 21 so as to hand it over from the cutting stage 21 to the working stage 22 by driving the belt on the upper surface of the cutting stage 21 and the belt on the upper surface of the working stage 22 at the same speed.

[0021] The cutting head 23 supports a knife (not shown) facing downward, and can cut the sheet material S along the direction of movement. The movement mechanism 24 includes a rail 241 that supports the cutting head 23 so that the cutting head 23 can move along the X-axis direction, an X-axis motor (not shown) that serves as a movement drive source for the cutting head 23 on the rail 241 in the X-axis direction, and a Y-axis motor (not shown) that serves as a movement drive source for the cutting head 23 in the Y-axis direction.

[0022] The X-axis motor applies a movement motion along the X-axis direction to the head 23 via a linear motion mechanism, such as a ball screw mechanism or a belt mechanism, built into the rail 241 . The Y-axis motor applies a movement motion along the Y-axis direction to the rail 241 via a linear motion mechanism, such as a ball screw mechanism or a belt mechanism, built into the cutting stage 21.

[0023] The control unit 25 of the cutting device 20 obtains cutting data including information such as the arrangement, size, shape, orientation, etc. of multiple parts P to be formed on the sheet material S from an external CAD (computer-aided design) system 200, converts it into cutting control information for controlling the moving mechanism 24, and controls the operation of the moving mechanism 24 (see Figure 20). In addition, the control unit 25 of the cutting device 20 is connected to the relay terminal 110 via a communication cable, and transmits part information (information that identifies parts) including the arrangement, size, shape, orientation, etc. of multiple parts P to be formed on the sheet material S contained in the acquired cutting data to the relay terminal 110. The motors that drive the belt conveyor mechanisms of the cutting stage 21 and the working stage 22 have their amounts of movement detected by encoders, and these values ​​are input to the control unit 25.

[0024] [sewing machine] The sewing machine 60 is a so-called electronic cycle sewing machine, and as shown in Figures 1 and 2, is equipped with a main body 61 that performs sewing by up and down movement of a sewing needle, a moving mechanism 62 that holds the above-mentioned template 70 and moves and positions it arbitrarily along the XY plane, a work table 63, and a controller 64 (see Figure 20) that controls the sewing machine 60. The main body 61 has the same configuration as that of a known sewing machine, including a needle up-down movement mechanism, a shuttle mechanism, etc. The upper surface of the workbench 63 is horizontal along the XY plane, and sewing of the parts P is performed on the upper surface.

[0025] The movement mechanism 62 includes a holder that detachably holds the template 70, an X-axis motor that serves as a movement drive source for the holder in the X-axis direction, and a Y-axis motor that serves as a movement drive source for the holder in the Y-axis direction. The X-axis motor applies a movement motion along the X-axis direction to the holding part and the template 70 via a linear motion mechanism such as a ball screw mechanism or a belt mechanism. The Y-axis motor applies a movement motion along the Y-axis direction to the holding part and the template 70 via a linear motion mechanism such as a ball screw mechanism or a belt mechanism. The holding portion has a connecting pin that can be advanced and retreated by an actuator such as an air cylinder or a solenoid, and is inserted into and removed from a connecting hole provided in the template 70, thereby enabling the template 70 to be attached and detached.

[0026] The controller 64 stores a plurality of sewing pattern data corresponding to a plurality of types of templates 70, and controls the operation of the moving mechanism 62 in accordance with the sewing pattern data. Further, at a corner of the workbench 63, a tag reader / writer 65 (see FIG. 19) is provided as a recording unit that reads and writes data from an IC tag 73 of a template 70, which will be described later.

[0027] [Sheet material and template] As described above, the sheet material S is cut in accordance with the cutting control information based on the CAD data. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the sheet material S after cutting. Here, a case where a plurality of parts P1 to P12 are cut out from one sheet material S will be illustrated. The parts P1 and P2 form a pair, and are sewn together to be attached to each other, as are the parts P3 and P4, and the parts P5 and P6. Moreover, the parts P7 to P12 have the same relationship as the parts P1 to P6, and the parts P1 to P6 are set to L size (large size), and the parts P7 to P12 are set to S size (small size). The positions of the parts P1 to P12 on the sheet material S are all determined by CAD data.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the template 70, and FIG. 5 is a side view. The template 70 includes a lower plate 71 on which a part P to be sewn is placed, and a presser plate 72 supported so as to be able to rise and fall relative to the lower plate 71, and is structured to clamp and hold the part P when the presser plate 72 falls to become parallel to the lower plate 71. In addition, in the state in which the part P is held, openings 711-713 (721-723) corresponding to the sewing pattern are formed in both the lower plate 71 and the presser plate 72 in an overlapping arrangement, so that the part P can be pressed while avoiding the needle drop position during sewing.

[0029] A plurality of types of templates 70 are prepared corresponding to a plurality of types of sewing pattern data. Here, an example is shown in which two templates 70 are used corresponding to sewing pattern data in which L-size parts P1 and P2, parts P3 and P4, and parts P5 and P6 are positioned at specified positions and sewn together, and sewing pattern data in which S-size parts P7 and P8, parts P9 and P10, and parts P11 and P12 are positioned at specified positions and sewn together. The template 70 corresponding to the parts P1 to P6 and the template 70 corresponding to the parts P7 to P12 have different dimensions but almost the same shape, so they are shown in common in FIG. Since the template 70 is designed to correspond to individual sewing pattern data in this manner, as shown in FIG. 4, the template 70 is equipped with an IC tag 73 as a memory unit, such as an RFID (radio frequency identifier), in which data indicating an identification ID, a pattern data number, etc. (information for identifying a sewing pattern) for identifying the sewing pattern data to which the template 70 corresponds is stored.

[0030] The conveying device 30 positions the template 70 placed at the work position D1 described later in the opening 711 of the lower plate 71 and places L-size parts P1 and P2 (or P7 and P8) on top of each other, positions it in the opening 712 and places L-size parts P3 and P4 (or P9 and P10) on top of each other, and positions it in the opening 713 and places L-size parts P5 and P6 (or P11 and P12) on top of each other.

[0031] [Transportation device] The conveying device 30 includes a pickup device 40 that picks up the part P from the cutting device 20, an inversion device 35 that inverts the part P, a transport mechanism 50 that transports each template 70, and a controller 31 that controls each component of the conveying device 30 (see Figure 20).

[0032] [Transportation device: Pick-up device] As shown in FIG. 2, the pickup device 40 is disposed between the cutting device 20 and the transport mechanism 50 in the Y-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the pickup device 40 has the structure of a SCARA robot including a base 41 serving as a foundation, a first arm 42 supported on the base 41 so as to be rotatable around the Z axis, a second arm 43 supported by the first arm 42 so as to be rotatable around the Z axis, and a tip tool 80 supported by the second arm 43 so as to be capable of moving up and down along the Z axis direction and rotatable around the Z axis. 8, the pickup device 40 includes a first horizontal movement motor 441 that rotates the first arm 42, a second horizontal movement motor 442 that rotates the second arm 43, a vertical movement motor 443 that raises and lowers the tip tool 80 along the Z-axis direction, and a rotation motor 444 as an angle adjustment mechanism that rotates the tip tool 80 about the Z-axis. The operations of these motors 441 to 444 are controlled by the controller 31. The pickup device 40 is not limited to a SCARA type, but may be a robot of other types such as an articulated type or an XYZ linear motion type.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 2, the pickup device 40 has the above-described configuration, and can position the tip tool 80 at any position and any height within the movable region R in a plan view, and can orient it at any angle around the Z axis.

[0034] [Transportation device: cutting-edge tool] Fig. 6 is a plan view of the tip tool 80, Fig. 7 is a plan view of the tip tool 80 with some parts omitted, and Fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram showing the control configuration of the pickup device 40. Note that in Fig. 8, only one of the multiple holding heads 90 is shown. As described above, the pickup device 40 supports the tip tool 80 so that it can rotate in any direction around the Z axis. That is, the direction of the tip tool 80 varies depending on the operation. Therefore, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction of the tip tool 80 described below may not coincide with the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction of the entire sewing system 100 during the operation, but the following description of each part of the tip tool 80 will be given on the assumption that the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are in the directions shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

[0035] As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the tip tool 80 has four holding heads 90 that hold parts P, and a variable mechanism 81 that supports the four holding heads 90 so that they are positioned on the same two-dimensional plane (XY plane). The variable mechanism 81 holds two sets of two holding heads 90 supported so that they can move toward and away from each other relatively along the X-axis direction, and supports one set of holding heads 90 (the two holding heads 90 on the left side in Figure 6) and the other set of holding heads 90 (the two holding heads 90 on the right side in Figure 6) so that they can move toward and away from each other relatively along the Y-axis direction.

[0036] In addition, a straight line along the X-axis direction passing through the centers of the two holding heads 90 in one set is referred to as the "x1 axis of the tip tool 80," and a straight line along the X-axis direction passing through the centers of the two holding heads 90 in the other set is referred to as the "x2 axis of the tip tool 80." Moreover, a straight line along the Y-axis direction that passes through a center C of the tip tool 80 (to be described later) is defined as the "y-axis of the tip tool 80." The variable mechanism 81 supports the four holding heads 90 so that they can be arbitrarily positioned within the same XY plane, under the condition that the two holding heads 90 in a pair are always aligned on the x1 axis or the x2 axis, using the above support structure.

[0037] Specifically, the variable mechanism 81 has a pair of first support members 821 that are elongated along the X-axis direction, and a first guide frame 822 that supports the first support members 821 movably along the X-axis direction. One and the other of the first support members 821 extend in opposite directions to each other in the X-axis direction, and a holding head 90 is attached to the extending end portion of each of the first support members 821. These first support members 821 have rack teeth 823 formed on the opposing surfaces at the ends opposite the support end of the holding head 90. Furthermore, these rack teeth 823 mesh with each other on both sides of a pinion gear 824 that is provided inside the first guide frame 822 so as to be rotatable around the Z axis. The pinion gear 824 is connected to an output shaft of a first motor 825 serving as a drive source provided in the first guide frame 822. The rotational operation of the first motor 825 is controlled by a processor (hereinafter simply referred to as the controller 31) included in the controller 31 of the pickup device 40. As a result, the two holding heads 90 supported by the pair of first support members 821 can move toward or away from each other along the X-axis direction while maintaining the same distance from the first guide frame 822. A reduction gear may be provided between the pinion gear 824 and the first motor 825.

[0038] The variable mechanism 81 also has a pair of second support members 831 that are long along the X-axis direction, and a second guide frame 832 that supports the second support members 831 movably along the X-axis direction. One and the other of the second support members 831 extend in opposite directions to each other in the X-axis direction, and a holding head 90 is attached to the extending end portion of each of the second support members 831. These second support members 831 have rack teeth 833 formed on the opposing surfaces at the ends opposite the support end of the holding head 90. Furthermore, these rack teeth 833 individually mesh with two pinion gears 834 that are provided inside the second guide frame 832 to be rotatable around the Z axis. Further, each pinion gear 834 is connected to an output shaft of two second motors 835 as driving sources provided in the second guide frame 832. The rotational operations of these two second motors 835 are also individually controlled by the controller 31 of the pickup device 40. As a result, the two holding heads 90 supported by the pair of second support members 831 can each move independently along the X-axis direction at an arbitrary distance from the second guide frame 832. In addition, a reduction gear may be provided between the pinion gear 834 and the second motor 835.

[0039] Furthermore, the variable mechanism 81 has a pair of third support members 841 that are long along the Y-axis direction, and a third guide frame 842 that supports the third support members 841 movably along the Y-axis direction. One and the other of the third support members 841 extend in opposite directions in the Y-axis direction, and the above-mentioned first guide frame 822 and second guide frame 832 are attached to the extending ends of each of the third support members 841. These third support members 841 have rack teeth 843 formed on the opposing surfaces at the end opposite the support end of the first guide frame 822 or the second guide frame 832. Furthermore, these rack teeth 843 mesh with each other on both sides of a pinion gear 844 that is provided rotatably around the Z axis inside the third guide frame 842. Furthermore, the pinion gear 844 is connected to an output shaft of a third motor 845 serving as a drive source provided on the third guide frame 842. The rotation operation of the third motor 845 is controlled by the controller 31 of the pickup device 40. As a result, the first guide frame 822 and the second guide frame 832 supported by a pair of third support members 841 can both move toward or away from each other along the Y axis direction while maintaining an equal distance from the third guide frame 842. In other words, the pair of holding heads 90 on the x1-axis side and the pair of holding heads 90 on the x2-axis side can move toward and away from each other along the Y-axis direction. In addition, a reduction gear may be provided between the pinion gear 844 and the third motor 845 .

[0040] As shown in FIG. 6, the center of the output shaft of the third motor 845 (the center of the pinion gear 844) of the tip tool 80 is set to the center C of the tip tool 80. The second arm 43 of the pickup device 40 supports the tip tool 80 at a center C and rotatably supports the tip tool 80 around the Z axis passing through the center C. The center C is located on the y axis of the tip tool 80 described above.

[0041] [Transportation device: Alignment of the holding head of the tip tool] FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the case where the holding head 90 is individually positioned at the four corners of an isosceles trapezoidal part P1 based on operational control by the controller 31, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the case where the holding head 90 is individually positioned at a parallelogrammatic part P3. The controller 31 of the transport device 30 can acquire part information from the relay terminal 110, and thereby calculates and acquires the target position when picking up each part P and the position coordinates indicating the outer edge and the vertex positions of the four corners of the part P from the shape, orientation, and dimensions of the part P. Then, the following operation control is executed so that the position of each holding head 90 held by the tip tool 80 is appropriate according to the shape of the part P.

[0042] For example, when picking up an isosceles trapezoid part P1 shown in Fig. 9, the center Cp of the part P1 is first found. The center Cp of the part P1 may be found by calculating the center of gravity, or it may be found by finding the circumscribing rectangle re of the part P1 and finding the center of that rectangle. Then, the tip tool 80 is positioned so that the center C of the tip tool 80 coincides with the center Cp of the part P1 with the x1 axis and the x2 axis oriented parallel to the longitudinal direction of the part P1. This optimizes the orientation of the tip tool 80 and the positions of the center C and the y-axis. Furthermore, by driving the third motor 845, the x1 axis and x2 axis of the tip tool 80 are aligned so as to be slightly inside the upper and lower bases of the trapezoid of the part P1. Next, the first motor 825 is driven to align the holding heads 90 on both sides of the x1 axis so that they are slightly inside both ends of the upper base of the part P1. Next, the two second motors 835 are driven to align the holding heads 90 on both sides of the x2 axis so that they are slightly inside both ends of the lower base of the part P1. This allows the positioning of each holding head 90 to be performed at holding positions near the four vertices of the trapezoidal part P1.

[0043] 10, first, the center Cp of the part P3 is found. The center Cp of the part P3 may be found by calculating the center of gravity, or the circumscribing rectangle re of the part P3 may be found and then the center Cp may be found from the center. Then, the tip tool 80 is positioned so that the center C of the tip tool 80 coincides with the center Cp of the part P1 with the x1 axis and the x2 axis oriented parallel to the longitudinal direction of the part P1. This optimizes the orientation of the tip tool 80. Furthermore, in the case of the parallelogram part P3, the position of the y axis of the tip tool 80 is corrected in the longitudinal direction of the part P3. That is, the y axis of the tip tool 80 is moved (upward in FIG. 10) to a position that is a bisector of the side of the parallelogram of the part P3 on the x1 axis side (the left side in FIG. 10). This optimizes the orientation of the tip tool 80 and the positions of the center C and the y-axis. Furthermore, by driving the third motor 845, the x1 axis and x2 axis of the tip tool 80 are aligned so as to be slightly inside the two parallel sides of the parallelogram of the part P3. Next, the first motor 825 is driven to align the holding heads 90 on both sides of the x1 axis so that they are slightly inside both ends of the side of the parallelogram of the part P3 on the x1 axis side. Next, the holding heads 90 on both sides of the x2 axis are individually aligned so as to be slightly inside both ends of the side of the parallelogram of part P3 on the x2 axis side by driving the two second motors 835. In this case, the amount of operation of one second motor 835 is different from the amount of operation of the other second motor 835, and the alignment operation is performed individually for the two holding heads 90. This allows the positioning of each holding head 90 to be performed at holding positions near the four vertices of the parallelogram part P3.

[0044] The above-mentioned shapes of the parts P are merely examples, and are not limited thereto. When the part P has a shape that is symmetrical with respect to an axis of symmetry along the short direction of the part P, the position of each holding head 90 can be appropriately adjusted by performing an operation substantially similar to that of the example of FIG. 9. When the part P has a shape having a pair of parallel sides, the position of each holding head 90 can be appropriately adjusted by performing an operation substantially similar to that of the example of FIG. 10. When the part P has a shape with rounded corners, the position of each holding head 90 may be corrected somewhat inward when aligning the part P near the corner. In addition, the positions of the multiple holding heads 90 can be adjusted for parts P of various shapes.

[0045] [Transportation device: Rotation correction of tip tool] As described above, the pickup device 40 positions the tip tool 80 and picks up the part P on the premise that the part P is accurately arranged as set based on the part information acquired by the controller 31. However, in the sewing system 100, when each device is installed as shown in Fig. 11, installation errors, assembly errors, and errors such as tilt within a plane due to low flatness and horizontality of the floor surface may occur. In such cases, the pickup device 40 may not be able to pick up the part P, or may supply the part P to the downstream side in a different orientation.

[0046] In such a case, the tilt angle θ between the devices shown in FIG. 11 can be measured in advance, or the tilt angle θ can be found by performing teaching while trying out actual operations using the pickup device 40. The angle θ thus obtained is input as the correction angle θ via an input unit 32 which is an input interface connected to the controller 31 . The controller 31 adds information about this correction angle θ to the parts information and transmits it to the relay terminal 110. In addition, when the controller 31 performs pickup based on part information in which such a correction angle θ is recorded, the controller 31 executes correction control by controlling the rotation motor 444 immediately before pickup to rotate the tip tool 80 by the correction angle θ to perform correction.

[0047] [Transportation device: holding head] 12 and 13 are side views showing the pick-up operation of the part P by the holding head 90. FIG. As described above, the pickup device 40 supports the tip tool 80 so as to be rotatable in any direction around the Z axis. That is, the direction of the holding head 90 varies depending on the operation. Therefore, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction of the holding head 90 described below may not coincide with the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction of the entire sewing system 100 during the operation, but the following description of each part of the holding head 90 will be given on the assumption that the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are oriented as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.

[0048] In the following description, the direction in which the claw member 94 moves back and forth, which is parallel to the flat bottom surface of the claw member 94 described later, is referred to as the X-axis direction, the direction in which the claw member 94 moves back and forth, which is parallel to the flat bottom surface of the claw member 94 and perpendicular to the X-axis direction, is referred to as the Y-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis directions is referred to as the Z-axis direction.

[0049] The holding head 90 includes a base body 91 that supports the entire head, a horizontal cylinder 92 that is supported by the base body 91 so as to be able to rise and fall along the Z axis, an up-down cylinder 93 that is given a horizontal reciprocating motion along the X axis direction by the horizontal cylinder 92, a claw member 94 that moves up and down along the Z axis by the up-down cylinder 93, and a pulling chuck 95 that serves as a pulling nozzle provided below the horizontal cylinder 92. The horizontal cylinder 92, the up-down cylinder 93, and the claw member 94 constitute a gripping mechanism that grips the part P.

[0050] The base body 91 is fixedly supported on the extending end portion of the first supporting member 821 or the second supporting member 831 of the tip tool 80 described above. A slide shaft 911 is attached to the lower part of the base body 91 along the Z-axis direction, and supports a horizontal cylinder 92 so that it can slide up and down. A pressure spring 912 made of a coil spring is inserted into the slide shaft 911, and constantly presses the horizontal cylinder 92 downward against the base body 91 to maintain the lowest position of the movable range. The slide shaft 911 and pressure spring 912 are an escape structure for preventing the pulling chuck 95 provided at the bottom of the horizontal cylinder 92 from being destroyed by allowing it to be pushed up by the contact pressure if the pulling chuck 95 comes into contact with an external object from above for some reason.

[0051] The horizontal cylinder 92 is an air cylinder equipped with a plunger capable of protruding along the X-axis direction, and the upper and lower cylinders 93 are connected to the tip of the plunger. The horizontal cylinder 92 is operated by a solenoid valve 921 controlled by the controller 31. The horizontal cylinder 92 normally has a plunger in a protruding state, and retracts the plunger when in operation. As a result, the upper and lower cylinders 93 and the claw members 94 are separated from the horizontal cylinder 92 when the horizontal cylinder 92 is not in operation, and move toward the horizontal cylinder 92 when in operation.

[0052] The vertical cylinder 93 is an air cylinder equipped with a plunger capable of protruding downward, and a claw member 94 is connected to the tip of the plunger. The vertical cylinder 93 is operated by an electromagnetic valve 931 controlled by the controller 31. The vertical cylinder 93 normally has a plunger retracted, and when it is operated, the plunger is protruded downward. As a result, the claw member 94 is located at an upper position when the vertical cylinder 93 is not operated, and is lowered when it is operated.

[0053] The claw member 94 is generally flat, and the end portion (hereinafter referred to as the tip portion) on the horizontal cylinder 92 side in the X-axis direction has a pointed shape that becomes thinner toward the horizontal cylinder 92. This makes it easy to insert the tip portion of the claw member 94 under the part P. In addition, the orientation of the tips of the claw members 94 of the four holding heads 90 held by the tip tool 80 is such that, in both the x1 axis and the x2 axis, the tips of the claw members 94 of the two holding heads 90 located at both ends of each axis face each other.

[0054] When the holding head 90 holds a part P, first the upper and lower cylinders 93 extend to lower the claw members 94 (arrow a1 in Figure 13), then the horizontal cylinder 92 retracts to pull the claw members 94 toward the chuck 95 (arrow a2 in Figure 13), and finally the upper and lower cylinders 93 retract to raise the claw members 94 (arrow a3 in Figure 13). As a result, the part P is held in a gripped state between the bottom surface of the pulling chuck 95 and the top surfaces of the tips of the jaw members 94. The controller 31 controls the holding head 90 so that, when holding the part P, the pulling chuck 95 attracts the part P and then the jaw members 94 grip the part P. That is, the controller 31 functions as a holding control unit. As described above, it is preferable that the holding head 90 first sucks the part P into a position where it can grasp the part using the claw members 94. However, it is also possible to insert the claw members 94 under the part P placed on a flat surface and grasp the part P without the part being sucked into the position by the pulling chuck 95.

[0055] Further, a detection object (permanent magnet) 941 for detecting the height of the claw member 94 is attached to the end portion (referred to as the rear end portion) of the claw member 94 opposite to the tip portion. Correspondingly, a fabric thickness sensor 932 made of a magnetic sensor is suspended from the end of the vertical cylinder 93 opposite the horizontal cylinder 92 so as to face the detection target 941 . The fabric thickness sensor 932 can detect the position in the Z-axis direction of a detection object 941 made of a permanent magnet, and inputs the detection signal to the controller 31.

[0056] As described above, the claw members 94 clamp the part P between themselves and the pulling chuck 95 . The controller 31 can determine whether the claw members 94 are in an appropriate state where they have gripped the part P or in an inappropriate state where they have failed to grip the part P, based on the height of the claw members 94 (detectable object 941) detected by the fabric thickness sensor 932 when gripping the part P. That is, the controller 31 functions as a determination processing unit that determines whether the part P has been gripped successfully or not, based on the thickness of the part P detected by the fabric thickness sensor 932.

[0057] The pulling chuck 95 is a so-called Bernoulli chuck, which is provided at the bottom of the horizontal cylinder 92 and has a circular opening formed in its bottom surface, which faces the part P, and air is ejected downward from the circular opening. The pulling chuck 95 is connected to an air supply source 951 such as a fan, a pump, or a positive pressure tank, and positive pressure air is supplied thereto. As a result, when air is blown out from the circular opening toward the part P, the air is blown outward in the radial direction because there is no escape route for the air on the central side of the circular opening. As a result, a low-pressure area is generated in the central part of the bottom surface of the pulling chuck 95 according to Bernoulli's law. Therefore, even if the bottom surface of the pulling chuck 95 is not brought into contact with the part P, by bringing the pulling chuck 95 close to the part P to a certain extent, the part P can be picked up in a non-contact suction state. Although an example has been described in which air is ejected from the opening of the pulling chuck 95 in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface (towards the part P), the direction in which the air is ejected may be inclined radially outward from the circular opening.

[0058] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration that enables the attracting force of the attracting chuck 95 to be adjusted. An operating solenoid valve 952 that determines whether or not air is supplied is provided upstream of the air supply path from the air supply source 951 to the pulling chuck 95, and an adjustment solenoid valve 953 that switches the pulling force of the pulling chuck 95 between strong and weak is provided downstream of that. Two air supply paths are connected downstream of the adjustment solenoid valve 953, one of which is provided with a low pressure regulator 954 and the other with a high pressure regulator 955. These air supply paths join further downstream and are connected to the drawing chuck 95. In addition, immediately upstream of the joining point in each air supply path, a check valve 956 is provided to prevent air from flowing back toward the air supply source 951.

[0059] The actuation solenoid valve 952 is a two-position, three-port single solenoid valve that can be switched between open and closed to the downstream side. This actuation solenoid valve 952 is of a normally closed type, and is switched on by a control signal from the controller 31 to supply power and open the valve. The adjustment solenoid valve 953 is a two-position, five-port single solenoid valve that can selectively connect the air supply source 951 to one of two air supply paths. This adjustment solenoid valve 953 is normally connected to the air supply path on the low pressure regulator 954 side, and is switched on by a control signal from the controller 31 to supply power, switching the connection state to the air supply path on the high pressure regulator 955 side.

[0060] Both the low pressure regulator 954 and the high pressure regulator 955 are air pressure regulators. The low pressure regulator 954 draws in air at a set low pressure and supplies it to the chuck 95 side, while the high pressure regulator 955 draws in air at a set pressure higher than that of the low pressure regulator 954 and supplies it to the chuck 95 side. As a result, when the adjustment solenoid valve 953 is connected to the air supply path on the low pressure regulator 954 side, low pressure air is supplied to the drawing chuck 95 and discharged from the opening. Therefore, the force of drawing the part P by the drawing chuck 95 becomes smaller. Furthermore, when the adjustment solenoid valve 953 is connected to the air supply path on the high pressure regulator 955 side, high pressure air is supplied to the drawing chuck 95 and discharged from the opening. Therefore, the force of drawing the part P by the drawing chuck 95 becomes large.

[0061] In this way, the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 14 allows the attraction chuck 95 to switch between two levels of attractive force, strong and weak. The attractive force of the attractive chuck 95 may be switched by selecting it from the input unit 32 connected to the controller 31. Furthermore, if the above-mentioned part information includes judgment information such as the thickness or weight of the part P, whether the material is suitable for pulling, etc., the controller 31 may be configured to judge whether or not the pulling chuck 95 is being used and the strength of the pulling force from the part information.

[0062] 15 is a flowchart showing a process of determining whether to switch between two levels of pulling force, strong and weak, by the controller 31. As shown in the figure, when acquiring part information, the controller 31 determines whether to use the pulling chuck 95 or not, depending on the presence or absence of judgment information such as whether the material is suitable for pulling (step S1). At this time, if the information does not include judgment information such as whether the material is suitable for pulling, or if the information includes information that the material is not suitable for pulling, it is decided not to use the pulling chuck 95, the switch (SW1 shown in the figure) of the operating solenoid valve 952 and the switch (SW2 shown in the figure) of the adjustment solenoid valve 953 are turned OFF, and air is not supplied to the pulling chuck 95. On the other hand, when the pulling chuck 95 is used, the controller 31 determines the strength of the pulling force from the information on the weight of the part P based on the part information (step S5). If the part P is light, the switch (SW1) of the actuation solenoid valve 952 is turned ON and the switch (SW2) of the adjustment solenoid valve 953 is turned OFF to draw in low pressure air and supply it to the chuck 95 (step S7). If the part P is heavy, the switch (SW1) of the actuation solenoid valve 952 is turned on, and the switch (SW2) of the adjustment solenoid valve 953 is turned on to draw in high-pressure air and supply it to the chuck 95 (step S9).

[0063] In the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 14, the pulling force of the pulling chuck 95 can be adjusted in two stages, strong and weak, by using two air supply paths. However, by increasing the number of air supply paths and providing air pressure regulators with different pressure settings in each path, it is also possible to adjust the pulling force of the chuck 95 in more stages. Also, a single air supply path may be connected from the actuation solenoid valve 952 to the drawing chuck 95 without branching, and an electro-pneumatic regulator may be provided along the way. In this case, by arbitrarily controlling the passing pressure of the electro-pneumatic regulator with the controller 31, the pressure of the air discharged from the drawing chuck 95 can be arbitrarily adjusted, and the strength of the drawing force of the part P can be arbitrarily adjusted in a stepless manner.

[0064] [Explanation of the pickup device's transport operation] Fig. 16 is a flow chart showing the operational control of the transport operation of the pickup device 40 performed by the controller 31, and Fig. 17 is a timing chart of the pickup operation. The operational control of the transport operation of the pickup device 40 will be described below with reference to these figures.

[0065] The controller 31 acquires part information from the relay terminal 110 and, upon receiving permission to pick up (step S11), determines the arrangement of the four holding heads 90 held by the tip tool 80 by the process shown in Figure 9 or Figure 10 described above, based on information such as the shape and dimensions of the part P to be picked up (step S13).

[0066] Furthermore, the controller 31 determines whether the part information includes the above-mentioned information on turning correction (step S15), and if the information on turning correction is included, controls the turning motor 444 to perform turning correction (step S17). Then, pickup of the part P is executed at the pickup target position (step S19). Moreover, if the part information does not include information regarding rotation correction, the part P is picked up at the target pickup position without performing rotation correction (step S19).

[0067] During pick-up, as shown in FIG. 17, at the target position, the controller 31 controls the vertical movement motor 443 to lower the tip tool 80 from the specified highest position to the specified lowest position, and controls the operating solenoid valve 952 to bring each pulling chuck 95 into the pulling state. As a result, the pulling chuck 95 approaches the part P, and the part P is attracted to the bottom surface of the pulling chuck 95 (see FIG. 12). Then, the controller 31 again controls the vertical movement motor 443 to raise each of the attraction chucks 95 to the specified intermediate position.

[0068] As the pulling chuck 95 reaches the intermediate position, the controller 31 lowers the jaw members 94 by the solenoid valves 931 of the upper and lower cylinders 93 of each holding head 90 (arrow a1 in FIG. 13). Furthermore, following the lowering operation, the controller 31 controls the solenoid valves 921 of the horizontal cylinder 92 to advance the jaw members 94 toward the pulling chuck 95 (arrow a2 in FIG. 13). Furthermore, following the advancing movement, the solenoid valves 931 of the upper and lower cylinders 93 raise the jaw members 94 (arrow a3 in FIG. 13). As a result, as shown in FIG. 13, each holding head 90 grips the part P between the bottom surface of the pulling chuck 95 and the top surfaces of the tips of the jaw members 94.

[0069] It should be noted that the “horizontal cylinder rear auto switch” in FIG. 17 is a switch that is turned ON when the plunger of the horizontal cylinder 92 is in the protruding position, and is a sensor that detects the operating state of the horizontal cylinder 92. In addition, the “upper auto switch for the upper and lower cylinders” is a switch that is turned ON when the plunger of the upper and lower cylinders 93 is in the protruding position, and is a sensor that detects the operating state of the upper and lower cylinders 93.

[0070] In accordance with the gripping state of the part P, the controller 31 controls the actuation solenoid valves 952 to stop the pulling of each pulling chuck 95. Then, the controller 31 controls the vertical movement motor 443 to raise the tip tool 80 to the highest position, and controls the first and second horizontal movement motors 441, 442 to transport the part P to the destination position.

[0071] The controller 31 also determines whether the pickup is normal or not by the fabric thickness sensor 932 along with the gripping state of the part P (step S21). At this time, if the fabric thickness sensor 932 indicates an abnormal pickup state, the controller 31 counts up the number of consecutive errors and determines whether the number of errors is within the allowable value (step S23). If the number of errors exceeds the allowable value, the controller 31 transmits part information recording the error to the relay terminal 110 and reports the occurrence of the error (step S25). Then, the conveying operation ends. On the other hand, if the number of errors is within the allowable range, the process returns to step S19, and a retry of picking up the part P is performed.

[0072] On the other hand, if it is determined that the pickup is being performed normally, the controller 31 determines whether the part information includes information on rotation correction for the destination position of transport (step S27), and if the information on rotation correction is included, controls the rotation motor 444 to perform the rotation correction (step S29), while releasing the part P at the destination position of transport (step S31). Moreover, if the part information does not include information on turning correction, the part P is released at the destination position of the transfer without making turning correction (step S31).

[0073] 17, when releasing the part, the controller 31 controls the vertical movement motor 443 to lower the tip tool 80 to the intermediate position immediately before the tip tool 80 arrives at the target position. Then, at the same time as the tip tool 80 arrives, the controller 31 controls the actuation solenoid valve 952 to bring each of the pulling chucks 95 into the pulling state.

[0074] Next, the controller 31 lowers the claw members 94 by using the solenoid valves 931 of the upper and lower cylinders 93 of each holding head 90 (in the opposite direction to the arrow a3 in FIG. 13). Furthermore, following the lowering operation, the controller 31 controls the solenoid valves 921 of the horizontal cylinder 92 to retract the claw members 94 to the anti-pulling chuck 95 side (in the opposite direction to the arrow a2 in FIG. 13). Furthermore, following the retraction movement, the controller 31 raises the claw members 94 by using the solenoid valves 931 of the upper and lower cylinders 93 (in the opposite direction to the arrow a1 in FIG. 13).

[0075] Then, the controller 31 again controls the vertical movement motor 443 to lower each of the pulling chucks 95 to the lowest position, and subsequently controls the actuation solenoid valves 952 to stop the pulling state of each of the pulling chucks 95. As a result, the pulling chuck 95 releases the part P, and the part P is placed at the destination position for transportation. Then, the controller 31 controls the vertical movement motor 443 to raise each of the pulling chucks 95 to the highest position, thereby completing the release operation.

[0076] Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the transportation of all parts P to be transported to the destinations defined in the part information has been completed, and if not, the process returns to step S13 to transport the next part P. Moreover, when the transportation of all the parts P to be transported is completed, the motion control of the transport operation is ended.

[0077] [Transportation device: Turnover device] FIG. 18 is a plan view of the reversing device 35. As shown in FIG. The reversing device 35 is disposed between the cutting device 20 and the transport mechanism 50 in the Y-axis direction and next to the pickup device 40 in the X-axis direction. As mentioned above, the multiple parts P1 to P12 are all stacked in pairs and sewn together, so when one of the pairs of parts P2, P4, P6, P8, P10, and P12 is transported from the cutting device 20 to the template 70, the sheet material S is inverted via an inversion device 35 along the way.

[0078] 18, the reversing device 35 has suction plates 36, 37 connected by a hinge 39. The suction surfaces 361, 371 of the suction plates 36, 37 are dotted with drawing ports 362, 372, which can attract the part P. Therefore, when the suction plate 36 is rotated toward the suction plate 37 side with the part P adsorbed to it, and the state of adsorption by the suction plate 36 is switched to the state of adsorption by the suction plate 37, the front and back of the part P can be reversed on the suction plate 37 side. In this state, the suction plate 37 is pulled to a stop and the part P is picked up by the pickup device 40, whereby the part P can be supplied with its front and back turned over to the downstream side.

[0079] [Transportation device: Transfer mechanism] FIG. 19 is a plan view of the transfer mechanism 50. The transfer mechanism 50 transfers the template 70 in sequence to a work position D1 where the pickup device 40 places a part P on the template 70, a supply position D2 where the template 70 is supplied to the sewing machine 60, a return position D3 where the template 70 is returned from the sewing machine 60 after sewing is completed, and an unloading position D4 where the part P is unloaded from the template 70.

[0080] The transfer mechanism 50 includes a mounting table 51 on which the template 70 is placed, a first transfer section 52 that transfers the template 70 from the working position D1 to the supply position D2, a second transfer section 53 that transfers the template 70 from the return position D3 to the unloading position D4, a third transfer section 54 that transfers the template 70 from the unloading position D4 to the working position D1, and a tag reader / writer 55 as a judgment result recording section that reads and writes data to the IC tag 73 of the template 70 positioned at the working position D1.

[0081] The mounting table 51 has a mounting surface along the XY plane, and on the mounting surface, a work position D1 and a carry-out position D4 are set adjacent to each other in the X-axis direction at one end side in the Y-axis direction (the cutting device 20 side). In addition, a supply position D2 and a return position D3 are set adjacent to each other in the X-axis direction at the other end side in the Y-axis direction (the sewing machine 60 side) on the mounting surface of the mounting table 51. In addition, the work position D1 and the supply position D2 are adjacent to each other in the Y-axis direction, and the return position D3 and the unloading position D4 are adjacent to each other in the Y-axis direction. The work position D1 and the unloading position D4 are located within the movable area R of the pickup device 40 described above.

[0082] The first transfer section 52 transfers the template 70 from the working position D1 to the supply position D2. The first transport section 52 is provided on the mounting table 51 and has a connecting pin that can appear and disappear from the mounting surface, and a pulling mechanism that pulls the template 70 toward the sewing machine 60 in the Y-axis direction via the connecting pin. The connecting pin can be inserted into a receiving hole (not shown) formed in a lower plate 71 of the template 70, and is extended and retracted by an actuator such as an air cylinder or a solenoid. The traction mechanism applies a traction motion in the Y-axis direction to the connecting pin using a ball screw mechanism or a belt mechanism. In addition, a sensor 513 is provided on the line of the first transport section 52 to monitor whether the template 70 has been transported correctly. After the sensor 513 detects that the transport of the template 70 has been completed, a positioning pin 514 is inserted into the positioning hole of the template 70 to accurately position the transported template 70.

[0083] The second transfer section 53 transfers the template 70 from the return position D3 to the unloading position D4. The second transport unit 53 is provided on the mounting table 51 and has a connecting pin that can appear and disappear from the mounting surface, and a traction mechanism that traction the template 70 in the Y-axis direction toward the cutting device 20 via the connecting pin.

[0084] The third transfer section 54 transfers the template 70 from the unloading position D4 to the working position D1. The third transport unit 54 is provided on the mounting table 51 and has a connecting pin that can appear and disappear from the mounting surface, and a traction mechanism that traction the template 70 along the X-axis direction via the connecting pin. The specific configurations of the connecting pin and the traction mechanism are almost the same as those of the first transport unit 52. However, the traction direction of the traction mechanism is oriented in the X-axis direction. The template 70 is moved from the supply position D2 to the return position D3 by the movement mechanism 62 of the sewing machine 60. In addition, the third transfer section 54 is also provided with a sensor 515 for monitoring whether the template 70 has been transferred correctly along the line, and after the sensor 515 detects that the transfer of the template 70 has been completed, the transferred template 70 is accurately positioned by inserting a positioning pin 516 into the positioning hole of the template 70.

[0085] As described above, the template 70 has the pressing plate 72 that can be raised and lowered and rotated relative to the lower plate 71. At the unloading position D4 on the mounting table 51 of the transfer mechanism 50, a push-up bar 512 is provided which pushes up the retaining presser plate 72 in the held state through a through hole (not shown) provided in the lower plate 71 and causes it to rise and fall. This push-up bar 512 can be extended and retracted from the mounting surface of the mounting table 51 by an actuator such as a motor, an air cylinder, or a solenoid, and quickly pushes up the pressure plate 72 of the template 70 that has been transferred from the return position D3 to the unloading position D4 by the second transfer section 53. The push-up bars 512 are provided at both ends of the template 70 in the X-axis direction.

[0086] Further, near the sewing machine side end in the Y-axis direction of the work position D1 and the discharge position D4 of the placement table 51, a lying bar 511 is provided along the X-axis direction. The lying-down bar 511 is located at a position slightly higher than the thickness of the template 70 when the presser plate 72 is in the pressing state, and is located slightly closer to the sewing machine 60 in the Y-axis direction than the push-up bar 512 described above. As shown in FIG. 5, when the template 70 with the pressure plate 72 in a raised (open) state at the working position D1 is transported to the supply position D2, the pressure plate 72 is pushed down by the pressure plate 511, so that the part P is held in place. When the template 70 is transferred from the unloading position D4 to the returning position D3, the pressing plate 72 of the template 70 is in a closed state, so that the template 70 passes through the prone bar 511 without interfering with it. Furthermore, the lying bar 511 is disposed so that when the presser plate 72 is pushed up by the push-up bar 512 at the discharge position D4, the presser plate 72 rests against the lying bar 511 and is inclined toward the sewing machine 60. This allows the presser plate 72 to maintain an upturned state.

[0087] Adjacent to the discharge position D4, on the cutting device 20 side in the Y-axis direction, an autonomous transport vehicle 101 is waiting to transport the sewn parts P to the sewing device or sewing system of the next process. The autonomous transport vehicle 101 can load the sewn parts P on its upper loading surface, and when a certain amount is reached, it starts traveling autonomously to transport the sewn parts P to the destination. When transportation is completed, the autonomous transport vehicle 101 autonomously returns to a waiting position next to the discharge position D4. Note that a stacker device carried by an operator may be placed at the standby position next to the unloading position D4, instead of the transportation autonomous mobile body 101.

[0088] [Relay terminal] FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram showing the flow of various data and various commands in each component of the sewing system 100. The relay terminal 110 is composed of an information processing terminal such as a personal computer, and is connected in a state in which data communication is possible with the control unit 25 of the cutting device 20 and the controller 31 of the conveying device 30. Specifically, it is connected to these devices by a communication cable, but they may also be connected by wireless communication. The relay terminal 110 is also connected via a network line to a production control server 300 that controls production control information for external sewing operations.

[0089] [Sewing system sewing operation] The flow of the overall processing of the sewing system 100 during sewing, including the processing performed by the relay terminal 110, will be described. First, cutting data for executing cutting is input from the CAD system 200 to the control unit 25 of the cutting device 20. Then, the control unit 25 of the cutting device 20 generates cutting control information from the cutting data and transmits part information (information that identifies the parts) including the arrangement, size, shape, orientation, etc. of the multiple parts P to be formed on the sheet material S contained in the cutting data to the relay terminal 110. Then, the cutting device 20 performs cutting and conveys the cut sheet material S to a predetermined position on the work stage 22.

[0090] Meanwhile, the relay terminal 110 acquires operation information from the cutting device 20 and transmits the operation status of the cutting device 20 to the production management server 300. The production management server 300 records the sewing results and progress status of the sewing system 100, and also records the operation information of the cutting device 20. In addition, the relay terminal 110 notifies the controller 31 of the transport device 30 of a command to permit the start of the transport operation and part information in response to the operation information acquired from the cutting device 20.

[0091] The controller 31 of the transport device 30 controls the pickup device 40 to pick up and transport the parts P1 to P12. At this time, the arrangement of the four holding heads 90 of the tip tool 80 is appropriately adjusted and positioned according to the orientation, shape, and dimensions of the part to be picked up. Then, the parts P are picked up by the four holding heads 90.

[0092] If any of the parts P1 to P12 indicated in the part information needs to be inverted, the part P is transported via the inversion device 35 to the template 70 waiting at the work position D1 of the transfer mechanism 50. Furthermore, parts P that do not need to be turned over are directly transported to the template 70 waiting at the work position D1 of the transport mechanism 50. Therefore, the controller 31 periodically judges whether or not there is a transport failure during pickup by the pickup device 40, and if it judges there is a transport failure, notifies the relay terminal 110 of the transport error. In addition, the tag reader / writer 55 records the occurrence of the transport failure in the IC tag 73 of the template 70 waiting at the work position D1.

[0093] In response to this, the relay terminal 110 that received the transport error transmits a notification that a transport failure has occurred to the production management server 300. The production management server 300 records that a transport failure has occurred in the template 70 currently being picked up.

[0094] In addition, when the controller 31 obtains part information from the relay terminal 110, it reads from the part information whether the part P to be sewn is size L or size S, and determines whether a template 70 corresponding to the size of the part to be sewn is placed at the work position D1 by reading the IC tag 73 of the template 70 with the tag reader / writer 55.

[0095] If the template 70 at the working position D1 is appropriate, the current position of the template 70 is maintained. Furthermore, if the template 70 is inappropriate, the first transport unit 52, the sewing machine 60, the second transport unit 53 and the third transport unit 54 are operated to transport the template 70 at the work position D1, transport the next template 70 that was at the discharge position D4 to the work position D1, and place the appropriate template 70 at the work position D1.

[0096] Then, when all of the parts P to be arranged are set on the template 70 at the work position D1, the template 70 is transferred by the first transfer unit 52 to the supply position D2. In response to this, when the controller 64 of the sewing machine 60 holds the template 70 at the supply position D2, the tag reader / writer 65 reads information for identifying the sewing pattern, such as a pattern number, recorded on the IC tag 73 of the template 70, and sews together the parts P in accordance with the sewing pattern. After sewing, the controller 64 moves the template 70 to the return position D3. It should be noted that if the occurrence of a transport failure is recorded when the controller 64 of the sewing machine 60 reads the IC tag 73 of the template 70, the controller 64 moves the template 70 to the return position D3 without performing sewing.

[0097] In addition, the template 70 that was in the unloading position D4 is transferred by the third transfer section 54 to the working position D1.

[0098] The L-size parts P1 to P6 and the S-size parts P7 to P12 formed on the sheet material S on the work stage 22 are sewn alternately, and the templates 70 corresponding to each size part P circulate among the work position D1, the supply position D2, the return position D3, and the discharge position D4.

[0099] In the above-described transport operation of the transport device 30, the controller 31 periodically transmits operation information indicating the operation status to the relay terminal 110.

[0100] In addition, controller 64 of sewing machine 60 also periodically transmits operation information indicating the operating status to controller 31 of conveying device 30. Controller 31 of conveying device 30 also transmits operation information of sewing machine 60 when periodically transmitting its own operation information to relay terminal 110. In response to this, the relay terminal 110 transmits the operation statuses of the conveying device 30 and the sewing machine 60 to the production management server 300 based on the operation information of the conveying device 30 and the sewing machine 60 acquired from the conveying device 30. The production management server 300 records the progress status based on the operation information of the conveying device 30 and the sewing machine 60.

[0101] As described above, the controller 31 controls the pickup device 40 to pick up the sewn part P from the template 70 at the unloading position D4 and place it on the upper loading surface of the transportation autonomous vehicle 101, thereby executing the unloading operation. The above-described processes and operations are then repeated for each sheet of material S.

[0102] [Technical Effects of the Invention Embodiments] As described above, in the sewing system 100, the tip tool 80 of the conveying device 30 is equipped with a plurality of holding heads 90 that hold parts P, and a variable mechanism 81 that varies the arrangement of the plurality of holding heads 90 based on part information that identifies the parts P. Therefore, there is no need to replace the head or the tip tool 80 when transferring parts P with different shapes, which makes it possible to reduce the workload.

[0103] Furthermore, in the tip tool 80, multiple holding heads 90 are arranged on the same two-dimensional plane, and the variable mechanism 81 moves the multiple holding heads 90 in two axial directions consisting of the X-axis and Y-axis along the two-dimensional plane, so that each holding head 90 can be arranged to correspond to parts P of various shapes, thereby making it possible to further reduce the workload.

[0104] In addition, the variable mechanism 81 holds two pairs of holding heads 90 that are movable relatively along the X-axis, and holds these two pairs of holding heads 90 so that they are movable relatively along the Y-axis. This makes it easier to position each holding head 90 in accordance with parts P of various shapes, thereby making it possible to further reduce the workload.

[0105] Furthermore, the tip tool 80 is provided with a second motor 835 as two drive sources for moving one holding head 90 and the other holding head 90 of the pair on the x2-axis side along the X-axis individually. Therefore, restrictions on the arrangement of the two holding heads 90 on the x2-axis side in the X-axis direction are reduced compared to the arrangement of the holding head 90 on the x1-axis side, and each holding head 90 can be arranged to correspond to parts P of a greater variety of shapes, making it possible to further reduce the workload. Furthermore, the number of motors serving as drive sources can be reduced, enabling costs to be reduced.

[0106] In addition, the pickup device 40 of the conveying device 30 is equipped with a rotation motor 444 as an angle adjustment mechanism that rotates the tip tool 80 having multiple holding heads 90 around the Z axis perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane (XY plane) to adjust the angle. Therefore, if an error occurs in the part P to be placed, the orientation of each holding head 90 can be corrected by adjusting the angle, making it possible to properly pick up the part P or accurately place the part P at the desired position.

[0107] In addition, the holding head 90 is equipped with a pulling chuck 95 that pulls the part P upward, and a horizontal cylinder 92, upper and lower cylinders 93, and claw members 94 that serve as a gripping mechanism for gripping the part P, so that it is possible to pick up both parts P that are suitable for pulling and parts P that are suitable for gripping, making it possible to pick up a wider variety of parts P.

[0108] Furthermore, in the conveying device 30, the controller 31 controls the holding head 90 so that the pulling chuck 95 pulls the part P and then the gripping mechanism having the claw members 94 grips it. Therefore, even if the part P is made of a material that is difficult to pick up, it can be pulled and then gripped, thereby reducing gripping errors and improving reliability.

[0109] Furthermore, in the transfer device 30, the air flow rate to the pulling chuck 95 is adjusted using a low pressure regulator 954 and a high pressure regulator 955, making it possible to adjust the pulling force of the part P. This allows the part P to be pulled appropriately depending on its weight, making it possible to effectively pick up a wider variety of parts P.

[0110] In addition, the conveying device 30 has a fabric thickness sensor 932 as a detection unit that detects the thickness of the part P gripped by the holding head 90, and the controller 31 can determine whether the part P has been successfully gripped based on the thickness of the part P detected by the fabric thickness sensor 932. Therefore, it is possible to detect the occurrence of a gripping error and take measures such as reporting, retrying, recording the error, etc. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the impact of the gripping error.

[0111] [others] The details shown in the above embodiment of the invention can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the conveying device 30 conveys parts P between the cutting device 20 and the transfer mechanism 50, but is also capable of conveying any other transport required for the sewn material, such as conveying the sewn material between the sewing machine and a stacker.

[0112] Furthermore, in the tip tool 80, the position of each holding head 90 is adjusted by a combination of the x1 axis, x2 axis, and y axis, but the number of motors may be increased to increase the number of movement directions for each holding head 90. [Explanation of symbols]

[0113] 30 Transport device 31 Controller 32 Input section 40 Pick-up device 41 Base 42 First Arm 43 Second Arm 441 First horizontal movement motor (drive source) 442 Second horizontal movement motor (drive source) 443 Vertical movement motor (drive source) 444 Swivel motor (angle adjustment mechanism) 60 Sewing Machine 70 Templates 80 Tip Tools 81 Variable Mechanism 825 First motor (drive source) 835 Second motor (drive source) 845 3rd motor (drive source) 90 Retaining Head 91 Base Body 92 Horizontal cylinder (gripping mechanism) 93 Upper and lower cylinders (gripping mechanism) 932 Fabric Thickness Sensor 94 Claw member (gripping mechanism) 941 Detectable object (permanent magnet) 95 Pulling chuck (pulling nozzle) 951 Air supply source 952 Actuating solenoid valve 953 Control solenoid valve 954 Low Pressure Regulator 955 High Pressure Regulator 956 Check valve 100 Sewing System 110 Relay terminal C center Cp center P,P1~P12 Parts (thing to be sewn) S Sheet material θ Correction angle

Claims

1. In a conveying device which picks up and conveys a sewing workpiece, A plurality of holding heads for holding the sewing workpiece; a variable mechanism for varying an arrangement of the plurality of holding heads based on information including a shape of the sewing workpiece, A plurality of the holding heads are arranged on the same two-dimensional plane, the variable mechanism moves the plurality of holding heads in two axial directions consisting of an X-axis and a Y-axis along the two-dimensional plane; The variable mechanism is Two pairs of the holding heads are held, each pair being relatively movable along the X-axis; The two sets of holding heads are held so as to be relatively movable along the Y axis, With respect to one of the two sets of holding heads, two drive sources are provided for moving one of the pair of holding heads and the other of the pair of holding heads along the X-axis individually, A conveying device characterized in that the other of the two sets of holding heads is provided with a single drive source that moves one of the pair of holding heads toward and away from each other along the X-axis in conjunction with the other holding head.

2. The conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveying device is provided with an angle adjustment mechanism that adjusts the angle of the multiple holding heads by rotating them about a vertical axis located within an area surrounded by the multiple holding heads with respect to the two-dimensional plane when picking up or releasing the sewing workpiece.

3. The holding head includes: A pull-in nozzle that pulls the sewing workpiece upward; 3. The conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising a gripping mechanism for gripping the workpiece.

4. The conveying device according to claim 3 , further comprising a holding control section for controlling the holding head so that the pulling nozzle pulls the workpiece and then the gripping mechanism grips the workpiece.

5. 5. The transport device according to claim 3, wherein the force of attracting the workpiece is adjustable by adjusting an air flow rate of the attracting nozzle.

6. The holding head has a detection unit that detects the thickness of the sewing workpiece gripped by the gripping mechanism, 6. The conveying device according to claim 3, further comprising a determination processing section that determines whether the sewing workpiece has been successfully gripped based on the thickness of the sewing workpiece detected by the detection section.

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