Posture adjustment device

Abstract

To appropriately perform posture adjustment according to characteristics of each conveyed object when it is necessary to perform posture adjustment of multiple conveyed objects with different characteristics.SOLUTION: A posture adjustment device includes a posture adjustment conveyor 20, a characteristic determination device 40, an upstream posture detection device 30u, and a control device 50. In posture adjustment control which changes a posture of a conveyed object 11 by controlling a speed difference between a conveyance speed of a first conveyor section 21 and a conveyance speed of a second conveyor section 22, the first conveyor section and the second conveyor section being arranged in parallel, the control device 50 changes the speed difference according to a magnitude of the posture difference before adjustment on the basis of the posture difference before adjustment which is a difference between an upstream actual posture Su detected by the upstream posture detection device 30u and a target posture and a characteristic value H indicating a difficulty of changing the posture according to characteristics of the conveyed object 11 determined by the characteristic determination device 40, and increases the speed difference as the characteristic value H becomes larger.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a posture adjusting device that adjusts the posture of a transported object. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of such an attitude adjustment device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-100398 (Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses an attitude adjustment device that adjusts the orientation of a rectangular or square object by imparting a speed difference between the left and right sides of the conveying direction on an attitude adjustment conveyor. The attitude adjustment device in Patent Document 1 uses a CCD camera to constantly detect the orientation of the object and constantly adjusts that orientation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-100398 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The device described in Patent Document 1 is intended to adjust the posture of a single type of transported object. However, depending on the application of the posture adjustment device, it may be necessary to adjust the posture of multiple types of transported objects. For example, when multiple transported objects with different characteristics, such as shape, weight, and material, are to be subjected to posture adjustment, it is conceivable that the ease of posture change will vary depending on the characteristics of the transported objects. However, because the posture adjustment device described in Patent Document 1 is intended to adjust the posture of a single type of transported object, no particular consideration was given to this point. As a result, there is a possibility that the posture of a transported object may be changed too much if the transported object's characteristics are prone to posture change, or conversely, the posture change may be insufficient if the transported object's characteristics are difficult to change.

[0005] Therefore, when it is necessary to adjust the posture of a plurality of transported objects with different characteristics, it is desirable to realize a technology that can perform appropriate posture adjustment according to the characteristics of each transported object. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In view of the above, a characteristic configuration of a posture adjustment device for adjusting the posture of a transported object includes: a posture adjustment conveyor that adjusts the posture of the transported object while transporting the transported object along a specified transport direction; a characteristic determination device that determines a characteristic of the transported object upstream of the posture adjustment conveyor; an upstream posture detection device that detects the posture of the transported object at an upstream end of the posture adjustment conveyor; and a control device that controls the posture adjustment conveyor, wherein a direction perpendicular to the transport direction is a transport width direction, the posture adjustment conveyor includes a first conveyor section and a second conveyor section that are arranged in parallel so as to be adjacent to each other in the transport width direction, and is configured to be able to make the transport speed of the first conveyor section and the transport speed of the second conveyor section different, and the control device controls the first conveyor section. By controlling the speed difference between the conveying speed of the conveyor section and the conveying speed of the second conveyor section, posture adjustment control is executed to change the posture of the transported object transported across both the first conveyor and the second conveyor, the posture of the transported object that is the target at the downstream end of the posture adjustment conveyor is set as the target posture, and the actual posture of the transported object detected by the upstream posture detection device is set as the upstream actual posture, and in the posture adjustment control, the control device changes the speed difference in accordance with the magnitude of the pre-adjustment posture difference, which is the difference between the upstream actual posture and the target posture, and based on a characteristic value that indicates the difficulty of posture change according to the characteristic of the transported object determined by the characteristic determination device, and increases the speed difference as the characteristic value increases. the control device further comprises a downstream-side posture detection device that detects the posture of the transported object at a downstream-side end of the posture adjustment conveyor, and the actual posture of the transported object detected by the downstream-side posture detection device is defined as a downstream-side actual posture, and the control device comprises: a storage unit that stores learning information indicating a relationship between the pre-adjustment posture difference, the characteristic value, a control coefficient for determining the speed difference based on the pre-adjustment posture difference and the characteristic value, and a post-adjustment posture difference that is the difference between the downstream-side actual posture that is a result of the posture adjustment control and the target posture; and a correction processing unit that corrects the control coefficient based on the learning information stored in the storage unit. do.

[0007] According to this configuration, the posture adjustment control is performed by varying the speed difference between the first conveyor unit and the second conveyor unit based on not only the pre-adjustment posture difference, which is the difference between the upstream actual posture and the target posture, but also on a characteristic value that indicates the difficulty of posture change depending on the characteristics of the transported object, so that appropriate posture adjustment control can be performed according to the characteristics of the transported object. Therefore, when posture adjustment of multiple transported objects with different characteristics is required, appropriate posture adjustment can be performed according to the characteristics of each transported object. Furthermore, the post-adjustment attitude difference resulting from determining the speed difference based on the pre-adjustment attitude difference, the characteristic value, and the control coefficient can be learned, and the control coefficient can be corrected so as to reduce the post-adjustment attitude difference. Therefore, the control coefficient can be gradually brought closer to an appropriate value so that the post-adjustment attitude difference approaches the target attitude.

[0008] Further features and advantages of the attitude adjustment device will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments, which is given with reference to the drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the attitude adjustment device of the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the attitude adjustment conveyor of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the conveyance of an object having a large long side dimension by the posture adjusting conveyor of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the conveyance of an object having a small long side dimension by the posture adjusting conveyor of FIG. 1. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an attitude adjustment device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a top view of the attitude adjustment conveyor of FIG. 5 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] [First embodiment] An attitude adjustment device 10 according to a first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the attitude adjustment device 10 of this embodiment. The attitude adjustment device 10 includes an attitude adjustment conveyor 20 that adjusts the attitude S of the conveyed object 11 while conveying the conveyed object 11 along a specified conveying direction X. FIG. 2 is a top view of the attitude adjustment conveyor 20. The conveyed object 11 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, a plurality of pieces of luggage with different shapes, sizes, weights, etc. Preferably, the conveyed object 11 is baggage to be inspected at an airport. Here, the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction X is defined as the conveying width direction Y. Furthermore, the direction along the vertical direction is defined as the up-down direction Z. Furthermore, the upstream side X1 refers to the upstream side of the conveying direction X, and the downstream side X2 refers to the downstream side of the conveying direction X.

[0011] The posture S of the transported object 11 is at least an angle θ (°) when the transported object 11 is seen in a plan view. In this embodiment, the posture S of the transported object 11 is the angle θ when the transported object 11 is seen in a plan view and the position P (mm) of the transported object 11 in the transport width direction Y. The angle θ when the transported object 11 is seen in a plan view is, for example, an angle when seen in the up-down direction, and is the target angle θ when the transported object 11 is in the target posture Sr. R The angle of the transported object 11 when the angle is set to 0°. The position P of the transported object 11 in the transport width direction Y is, for example, the target position P R is set to 0 (mm). The target attitude Sr of the transported object 11 may be determined for each type of transported object 11. In the example of FIG. 2, the angle θ when the long side of the transported object 11 is parallel to the transport direction X is set as the target angle θ R That is, the target position P is set to 0 (°), and the position where the center position P of the transported object 11 when viewed in the vertical direction overlaps with the center of the posture adjustment conveyor 20 in the transport width direction Y is set to 0 (°). R That is, it is set to 0 (mm). Examples of the center of the transported object 11 include the center of gravity of the transported object 11 and the midpoint of the long and short sides of the transported object 11 (in other words, the intersection of the diagonals).

[0012] The posture adjustment conveyor 20 includes a first conveyor unit 21 and a second conveyor unit 22 arranged side by side in the conveying width direction Y. Here, the side of the first conveyor unit 21 relative to the second conveyor unit 22 in the conveying width direction Y is referred to as the first conveyor width direction side Y1, and the opposite side is referred to as the second conveyor width direction side Y2. In this embodiment, the first conveyor unit 21 is a roller conveyor in which multiple first rollers 23 are arranged in the conveying direction X, and the rotation axes of each of the first rollers 23 are inclined toward the downstream side X2 in the conveying direction X as they move toward the first side Y1 in the conveying width direction. In addition, in this embodiment, the second conveyor unit 22 is a roller conveyor in which multiple second rollers 24 are arranged in the conveying direction X, and the rotation axes of each of the second rollers 24 are inclined toward the downstream side X2 in the conveying direction X as they move toward the second side Y2 in the conveying width direction.

[0013] The posture adjusting conveyor 20 is configured to be able to differentiate between the conveying speed V1 (m / s) of the first conveyor section 21 and the conveying speed V2 (m / s) of the second conveyor section 22. In this embodiment, the first conveyor section 21 is configured to be able to differentiate between the conveying speed V1u (m / s) of the first upstream section 21u, which is a section on the upstream side X1, and the conveying speed V1d (m / s) of the first downstream section 21d, which is a section on the downstream side X2 with respect to the first upstream section 21u. Furthermore, the second conveyor section 22 is configured to be able to differentiate between the conveying speed V2u (m / s) of the second upstream section 22u, which is a section on the upstream side X1, and the conveying speed V2d (m / s) of the second downstream section 22d, which is a section on the downstream side X2 with respect to the second upstream section 22u. In the illustrated example, the first upstream section 21u and the first downstream section 21d are arranged adjacent to each other, and the second upstream section 22u and the second downstream section 22d are arranged adjacent to each other.

[0014] In this embodiment, the posture adjusting conveyor 20 includes a first drive unit 25 that drives the first conveyor unit 21 and a second drive unit 26 that drives the second conveyor unit 22. This allows the conveying speed V1 (m / s) to be different from the conveying speed V2 (m / s). The first drive unit 25 includes a first upstream drive unit 25u and a first downstream drive unit 25d. The first upstream drive unit 25u drives the first rollers 23 in the first upstream section 21u, and the first downstream drive unit 25d drives the first rollers 23 in the first downstream section 21d, allowing the conveying speed V1u to be different from the conveying speed V1d. In addition, the second drive device 26 is equipped with a second upstream drive device 26u and a second downstream drive device 26d, and the second upstream drive device 26u drives the second roller 24 in the second upstream section 22u, and the second downstream drive device 26d drives the second roller 24 in the second downstream section 22d, thereby making it possible to make the conveying speed V2u and the conveying speed V2d different.

[0015] In this embodiment, the posture adjustment device 10 includes an upstream platform 12 on the upstream side X1 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20. In the illustrated example, the upstream platform 12 is a roller conveyor in which multiple upstream rollers 12a are arranged in the conveying direction X, and the rotation axis of each of the upstream rollers 12a is oriented along the conveying width direction Y. Therefore, the posture S of the conveyed object 11 does not change on the upstream platform 12.

[0016] The posture adjustment device 10 is equipped with an upstream posture detection device 30u that detects the posture S of the transported object 11 at the upstream end 71 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20. Here, the actual posture S of the transported object 11 detected by the upstream posture detection device 30u is referred to as the upstream actual posture Su. The position at which the upstream actual posture Su is detected may be the upstream end 71 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20. Also, if the posture S of the transported object 11 does not change at the upstream side X1 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20, the position may be further upstream X1 than the upstream end 71. In the illustrated example, the upstream posture detection device 30u detects the posture S of the transported object 11 at the upstream platform 12. As described above, since the posture S of the transported object 11 does not change at the upstream platform 12, the posture S of the transported object 11 detected at the upstream platform 12 by the upstream posture detection device 30u is the same as the upstream actual posture Su, which is the posture S at the upstream end 71 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20. The upstream posture detection device 30u includes a camera 31u provided above the upstream platform 12, for example, and detects an actual upstream angle θ , which is the actual angle of the transported object 11 at the upstream end 71. U and the actual upstream position P U , that is, the upstream actual attitude Su is detected.

[0017] In this embodiment, the posture adjustment device 10 is provided with a downstream platform 13 on the downstream side X2 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20. In the illustrated example, the downstream platform 13 is a roller conveyor in which multiple downstream rollers 13a are arranged side by side in the conveying direction X, and the rotation axis of each of the downstream rollers 13a is oriented along the conveying width direction Y. Therefore, the posture S of the conveyed object 11 does not change on the downstream platform 13.

[0018] In this embodiment, the posture adjustment device 10 further includes a downstream posture detection device 30d that detects the posture S of the transported object 11 at the downstream end 72 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20. Here, the actual posture S of the transported object 11 detected by the downstream posture detection device 30d is referred to as the downstream actual posture Sd. The position at which the downstream actual posture Sd is detected may be the downstream end 72 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20. Also, if the posture S of the transported object 11 does not change at the downstream side X2 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20, the position may be further downstream X2 than the downstream end 72. In the illustrated example, the downstream posture detection device 30d detects the posture S of the transported object 11 at the downstream platform 13. As described above, since the posture S of the transported object 11 does not change at the downstream platform 13, the posture S of the transported object 11 detected at the downstream platform 13 by the downstream posture detection device 30d is the same as the downstream actual posture Sd, which is the posture S at the downstream end 72 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20. The downstream side attitude detection device 30d has, for example, a camera 31d provided on the downstream side platform 13, and detects the downstream side actual angle θ , which is the actual angle of the conveyed object 11 at the downstream side end 72. D and the downstream actual position P, which is the actual position of the transported object 11. D That is, the downstream side actual attitude Sd is detected. The downstream side attitude detecting device 30d and the upstream side attitude detecting device 30u may be a common device.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the posture adjustment device 10 includes a characteristic determination device 40 that determines the characteristics of the transported object 11 on the upstream side X1 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20. The characteristics of the transported object 11 may be acquired by a characteristic acquisition unit provided in the posture adjustment device 10, or the characteristics may be acquired by transported object information including the characteristics being transmitted from an external device and received by a data acquisition unit 41 provided in the posture adjustment device 10. In this embodiment, the characteristic determination device 40 determines the characteristics acquired by a characteristic acquisition unit provided in the upstream platform 12. In the illustrated example, the upstream posture detection device 30u also functions as a characteristic acquisition unit that acquires characteristics such as the shape of the transported object 11. In addition, a weight measurement unit 42 provided in the upstream platform 12 that acquires characteristics such as the weight and center of gravity also functions as a characteristic acquisition unit.

[0020] In this embodiment, the characteristic determination device 40 sets a characteristic value H representing the resistance to posture change according to the characteristics of the transported object 11. The characteristics of the transported object 11 include, for example, the size, shape, weight, material, etc. of the transported object 11. Examples of the size of the transported object 11 include the dimension of the long side L1 of the transported object 11, the area in a plan view, and the area of ​​the bottom surface of the transported object 11. Examples of the shape of the transported object 11 include, for example, the ratio of the long side L1 to the short side L2 in a vertical view and the shape of the bottom surface. Examples of the material of the transported object 11 include the material, hardness, surface roughness, etc. of the bottom surface of the transported object 11. The dimensions, shape, etc. of each part of the transported object 11 may be acquired, for example, by a camera 31u provided on the upstream platform 12, or may be acquired by a scanning device such as a millimeter-wave CT scanner.

[0021] The larger the characteristic value H, the less likely the posture of the transported object 11 is to change. This characteristic value H is preferably set according to multiple characteristics, but may be set according to a single characteristic. For example, the characteristic value H is set to increase continuously or in stages as the weight of the transported object 11 increases. The characteristic value H is also set to increase continuously or in stages as the area of ​​the transported object 11 in a plan view decreases. The characteristic value H is also set to increase continuously or in stages as the value obtained by dividing the long side L1 of the transported object 11 by the short side L2 increases. The characteristic value H is also set to increase continuously or in stages as the coefficient of friction of the bottom surface of the transported object 11 decreases.

[0022] The target posture S of the transported object 11 at the downstream end 72 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20 is defined as a target posture Sr. The posture adjustment device 10 includes a control device 50 that controls the posture adjustment conveyor 20. The control device 50 controls the speed difference ΔV between the transport speed V1 of the first conveyor section 21 and the transport speed V2 of the second conveyor section 22, thereby performing posture adjustment control to change the posture S of the transported object 11 transported across both the first conveyor section 21 and the second conveyor section 22.

[0023] In the posture adjustment control, the control device 50 changes the speed difference ΔV in accordance with the magnitude of the pre-adjustment posture difference ΔSu, which is the difference between the upstream actual posture Su and the target posture Sr, and based on a characteristic value H that indicates the difficulty of posture change according to the characteristics of the transported object 11 determined by the characteristic determination device 40, and increases the speed difference ΔV as the characteristic value H increases. In this embodiment, in the posture adjustment control, the control device 50 increases the speed difference ΔV as the pre-adjustment posture difference ΔSu increases based on the pre-adjustment posture difference ΔSu and the characteristic value H, and increases the speed difference ΔV as the characteristic value H increases.

[0024] Preferably, the objects 11 are transported one by one by the posture adjustment conveyor 20, and the speed difference ΔV is controlled by the control device 50. In this case, the speed difference ΔV may be changed while the objects 11 pass over the posture adjustment conveyor 20, but in this embodiment, the speed difference ΔV is not changed from the initial speed difference ΔVa determined based on the pre-adjustment posture difference ΔSu, which is the difference between the upstream actual posture Su and the target posture Sr, and the characteristic value H.

[0025] In this embodiment, for example, the adjustment rate of the conveying speed V1 of the first conveyor section 21 relative to the conveying speed V (m / s) of the posture adjusting conveyor 20 is set to adjustment rate u1 (= 100·V1 / V), and the adjustment rate of the conveying speed V2 of the second conveyor section 22 relative to the conveying speed V of the posture adjusting conveyor 20 is set to adjustment rate u2 (= 100·V2 / V). That is, V1 = V·u1 / 100, V2 = V·u2 / 100, and the conveying speed V1 can be determined from the conveying speed V (m / s) of the posture adjusting conveyor 20 and the adjustment rate u1 (%), and the conveying speed V2 can be determined from the conveying speed V (m / s) and the adjustment rate u2 (%).

[0026] The adjustment rate u1 (%) can be expressed by the following formula (1a), and the adjustment rate u2 (%) can be expressed by the following formula (2a). u1=100+(K θ +K H ·H)·(θ U -θ R )+K P (P U -P R )···(1a) u2=100-(K θ +K H ·H)·(θ U -θ R )-K P (P U -P R )···(2a) However, K θ is the weighting coefficient for the angle θ, K P is the weighting coefficient for position P, K H is the weighting coefficient for the characteristic value H, θ R is the target angle at the target posture Sr, P R is the target position at the target posture Sr. Target angle θ R and target position P R corresponds to the target attitude Sr, and the upstream actual angle θ U and upstream actual position P U corresponds to the upstream actual attitude Su.

[0027] When the characteristic value H is set in accordance with a plurality of characteristics, it is desirable to set a weighting coefficient for each of the plurality of characteristics as shown in the following equation (3a). K H H=K HA H A +K HB H B +K HC H C +K HD H D (3a) In equation (3a), for example, the characteristic value H A is the weight, and the characteristic value H B is the reciprocal of the area in plan view, and the characteristic value H C is the value obtained by dividing the long side L1 of the transported object 11 by the short side L2, and the characteristic value H D is the reciprocal of the coefficient of friction of the bottom surface of the object 11 being conveyed.

[0028] In this embodiment, the control device 50 includes a storage unit 52 and a correction processing unit 54. The storage unit 52 stores learning information indicating the relationship between a pre-adjustment attitude difference ΔSu, a characteristic value H, a control coefficient K for determining a speed difference ΔV based on the pre-adjustment attitude difference ΔSu and the characteristic value H, and a post-adjustment attitude difference ΔSd which is the difference between the downstream-side actual attitude Sd, which is the result of the attitude adjustment control, and the target attitude Sr. The correction processing unit 54 corrects the control coefficient K based on the learning information stored in the storage unit 52.

[0029] In this embodiment, for example, the adjustment rate in the first conveyor section 21 for the i-th conveyed object 11 is set to u1 i Then the adjustment rate u1 i can be expressed by the following formula (1b). In addition, the adjustment rate in the second conveyor section 22 for the i-th conveyed object 11 is u2 i Then the adjustment rate u2 i can be expressed by the following equation (2b). u1 i =100+(K θi +K Hi ·H)·(θ U -θ R )+K Pi (P U -P R )···(1b) u2 i =100-(K θi +K Hi ·H)·(θ U -θ R )-K Pi (P U -P R )···(2b) However, K θi is the weighting coefficient for the angle θ, K Pi is the weighting coefficient for position P, K Hi is the weighting coefficient for the characteristic value H.

[0030] The control device 50 adjusts the adjustment rate u1 i and adjustment rate u2 i The angle of the transported object 11 at the downstream end 72 as a result of performing the posture adjustment control based on D , position is the downstream actual position P DThe angle θ R and position P R corresponds to the target attitude Sr, and the downstream actual angle θ D and downstream actual position P D corresponds to the downstream actual position Sd, and the angle θ D -θ R and position P D -P R corresponds to the adjusted attitude difference ΔSd.

[0031] In this embodiment, the storage unit 52 stores the pre-adjustment attitude difference ΔSu (angle θ U -θ R ,position P U -P R ), the characteristic value H, and a control coefficient K (weighting coefficient K) for determining the velocity difference ΔV based on the pre-adjustment attitude difference ΔSu and the characteristic value H. θi ,K Pi ,K Hi ) and the adjusted attitude difference ΔSd (angle θ D -θ R ,position P D -P R ) and stores learning information indicating the relationship between.

[0032] Furthermore, the weighting coefficient for the angle θ for the (i+1)th transported object 11 is Kθ i+1 , the weighting coefficient for position P is the weighting coefficient K Pi+1 , the weighting coefficient for the characteristic value H is the weighting coefficient K Hi+1 Let's say.

[0033] The correction processing unit 54 calculates the control coefficient K (weighting coefficient K) based on the learning information stored in the storage unit 52. θi+1 ,K Pi+1 ,K Hi+1 Preferably, the control coefficient K is changed when the post-adjustment attitude difference ΔSd is equal to or greater than the threshold value J, and the control coefficient K is not changed when the post-adjustment attitude difference ΔSd is lower than the threshold value J. For example, the angle θ D -θ R The absolute value of the threshold θ J If it is smaller than the weighting factor K Hi+1 is expressed by equation (4b), and the angle θ D -θ R The absolute value of the threshold θJ In the above cases, the weighting factor K Hi+1 is expressed by equation (5b). K Hi+1 =K Hi (4b) K Hi+1 =K Hi +α···(5b) Here, α is a predetermined correction value. The correction value α is, for example, D -θ R If is positive, it is taken as a positive value, and the angle θ D -θ R If the threshold J and the threshold θ are negative, they are treated as negative values. J The correction value α can be determined by experimentation, machine learning, or the like.

[0034] 3 is a diagram showing the transport of an object 11 whose long side L1 is equal to or greater than a set value. In this embodiment, when the long side L1 of the object 11 is equal to or greater than a set value, the control device 50 controls the posture adjustment conveyor 20 in the posture adjustment control described above to create a speed difference between the conveying speed V1u in the first upstream section 21u and the conveying speed V2u in the second upstream section 22u, and also to create a speed difference between the conveying speed V1d in the first downstream section 21d and the conveying speed V2d in the second downstream section 22d. When the long side L1 of the object 11 exceeds a certain value, the rear end of the object 11 may be slow to load onto the posture adjustment conveyor 20, making it difficult for the object 11 to change its posture. Therefore, in the case of an object 11 having a large long side L1, posture adjustment control is performed using both the upstream section (21u, 22u) and the downstream section (21d, 22d) of the posture adjustment conveyor 20, making it easier to bring the posture S of the object 11 closer to the target posture Sr. The set value may be a predetermined value or may be a value that is changed by machine learning.

[0035] 4 is a diagram illustrating the transportation of an object 11 whose long side L1 is less than a set value. In this embodiment, when the length of the long side L1 of the object 11 is less than the set value, the control device 50 controls the attitude adjustment conveyor 20 to generate a speed difference between the conveying speed V1u in the first upstream section 21u and the conveying speed V2u in the second upstream section 22u and to eliminate a speed difference between the conveying speed V1d in the first downstream section 21d and the conveying speed V2d in the second downstream section 22d. Therefore, when the length of the long side L1 of the object 11 is small, the attitude adjustment control is performed using only the upstream sections (21u, 22u) of the attitude adjustment conveyor 20, which makes it easier to prevent the attitude S of the object 11 from changing too much and deviating from the target attitude Sr.

[0036] Second Embodiment The following describes the attitude adjustment device 10 according to the second embodiment with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the attitude adjustment device 10 of this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a top view of the attitude adjustment conveyor 20 of this embodiment. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the attitude adjustment device 10 is equipped with an in-transport attitude detection device 30m. The following description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment. Note that points that are not particularly described are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0037] 5 and 6, in this embodiment, the attitude adjustment device 10 further includes an in-transfer attitude detection device 30m that detects the attitude S of the transported object 11 over the entire area of ​​the attitude adjustment conveyor 20. The actual attitude S of the transported object 11 detected by the in-transfer attitude detection device 30m is referred to as the in-transfer actual attitude Sm. In the illustrated example, the attitude adjustment conveyor 20 is provided with the in-transfer attitude detection device 30m. This in-transfer attitude detection device 30m includes, for example, a camera 31m provided above the attitude adjustment conveyor 20, and thereby detects an in-transfer actual angle θ, which is the actual angle of the transported object 11 over the entire area of ​​the attitude adjustment conveyor 20. M and the actual position P during conveyance, which is the actual position of the conveyed object 11. M , that is, the solid posture Sm during transportation is detected.

[0038] In this embodiment, the control device 50 determines the initial speed difference ΔVa based on the pre-adjustment posture difference ΔSu, which is the difference between the upstream actual posture Su and the target posture Sr, and the characteristic value H. Then, while the posture adjustment conveyor 20 is transporting the transported object 11, the control device 50 changes the speed difference ΔV in accordance with the magnitude of the posture difference ΔSm during transport, which is the difference between the actual posture Sm during transport and the target posture Sr, and the characteristic value H, and changes the speed difference ΔV as needed so that the speed difference ΔV increases as the characteristic value H increases.

[0039] In this embodiment, the speed difference ΔV is changed as needed during the transport of the object 11 by determining as needed the adjustment rate u1m (=100·V1 / V) of the transport speed V1 of the first conveyor section 21 relative to the transport speed V (m / s) of the posture adjusting conveyor 20, and the adjustment rate u2m (=100·V2 / V) of the transport speed V2 of the second conveyor section 22 relative to the transport speed V of the posture adjusting conveyor 20. The adjustment rate u1m (%) during the transport of the object 11 can be expressed by the following equation (1c), and the adjustment rate u2m (%) can be expressed by the following equation (2c). u1m=100+(K θ +K H ·H)·(θ M -θ R )+K P (P M -P R )···(1c) u2m=100-(K θ +K H ·H)·(θ M -θ R )-K P (P M -P R )···(2c) Conveying solid angle θ M and the solid position P during transport M corresponds to the solid posture Sm during transportation, and the angle θ M -θ R and position P M -P R corresponds to the posture difference during transportation ΔSm.

[0040] In this embodiment, the control device 50 first calculates the pre-adjustment attitude difference ΔSu (angle θ U -θ R ,position PU -P R ) and the characteristic value H, the control device 50 determines the initial speed difference ΔVa. Next, while the posture adjustment conveyor 20 is conveying the conveyed object 11, the control device 50 determines the posture difference ΔSm (angle θ M -θ R ,position P M -P R ) and characteristic value H, the posture difference during transportation ΔSm (angle θ M -θ R ,position P M -P R ) increases, and the speed difference ΔV increases as the characteristic value H increases. M -θ R ,position P M -P R ) becomes smaller, the speed difference ΔV becomes smaller, and similarly, the speed difference ΔV is changed as needed so as to become smaller as the characteristic value H becomes smaller. Furthermore, when the control device 50 changes the speed difference ΔV as needed in accordance with the magnitude of the posture difference ΔSm during conveyance, a proportional integral control operation (PI control operation), a proportional integral differential control operation (PID control operation), or the like may be used. In this embodiment, it is preferable that the control device 50 includes a memory unit 52 and a correction processing unit 54, but the control device 50 does not have to include the memory unit 52 and the correction processing unit 54.

[0041] Other Embodiments Next, other embodiments of the attitude adjustment device 10 will be described.

[0042] (1) In the above embodiment, the first conveyor section 21 and the second conveyor section 22 of the posture adjusting conveyor 20 are roller conveyors. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the first conveyor section 21 and the second conveyor section 22 may be configured as a belt conveyor, a chain conveyor, or other known conveyors.

[0043] (2) In the above embodiment, the first conveyor section 21 of the posture adjustment conveyor 20 is driven by the first drive unit 25, and the second conveyor section 22 is driven by the second drive unit 26. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the first upstream section 21u and the first downstream section 21d of the first conveyor section 21 and the second upstream section 22u and the second downstream section 22d of the second conveyor section 22 may be driven by a common drive unit, and a transmission may be provided to change the transmission ratio of the rotation from the drive unit. Furthermore, the conveying speeds of the first upstream section 21u and the first downstream section 21d of the first conveyor section 21 may not be different. Furthermore, the conveying speeds of the second upstream section 22u and the second downstream section 22d of the second conveyor section 22 may not be different.

[0044] (3) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the attitude adjustment device 10 includes the upstream-side attitude detection device 30u, the downstream-side attitude detection device 30d, and the characteristic determination device 40, and the control device 50 includes the memory unit 52 and the correction processing unit 54. However, without being limited to such an example, for example, the attitude adjustment device 10 may not include the downstream-side attitude detection device 30d, and the control device 50 may not include the memory unit 52 and the correction processing unit 54. In other words, learning by the memory unit 52 and the correction processing unit 54 may not be performed, and for example, the attitude S of the transported object 11 may be adjusted based on the speed difference ΔV determined based only on a predetermined target attitude Sr, the upstream-side actual attitude Su detected by the upstream-side attitude detection device 30u, and the characteristic value H determined by the characteristic determination device 40.

[0045] (4) In the above-described first embodiment, the posture adjustment device 10 is described as having an upstream posture detection device 30u, a characteristic determination device 40, and a downstream posture detection device 30d. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the upstream posture detection device 30u or the downstream posture detection device 30d may also serve as the upstream posture detection device 30u, the downstream posture detection device 30d, and the characteristic determination device 40. Furthermore, in the above-described second embodiment, the posture adjustment device 10 is described as having an upstream posture detection device 30u, a characteristic determination device 40, a during-transport posture detection device 30m, and a downstream posture detection device 30d. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the during-transport posture detection device 30m may also serve as the upstream posture detection device 30u, the during-transport posture detection device 30m, the downstream posture detection device 30d, and the characteristic determination device 40.

[0046] (5) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the rotational axis of each of the first rollers 23 is inclined toward the downstream side X2 in the conveying direction X as it moves toward the first side Y1 in the conveying width direction, and the rotational axis of each of the second rollers 24 is inclined toward the downstream side X2 in the conveying direction X as it moves toward the second side Y2 in the conveying width direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the rotational axis of each of the first roller 23 and the second roller 24 may be parallel to the conveying width direction Y. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the rotational axis of each of the first roller 23 and the second roller 24 is arranged along a horizontal plane. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the rotational axis of each of the first roller 23 and the second roller 24 may be arranged to be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. In such a case, for example, the rotation axis of each of the first rollers 23 may be inclined downward in the vertical direction Z as it approaches the second side Y2 in the conveying width direction, and the rotation axis of each of the second rollers 24 may be inclined downward in the vertical direction Z as it approaches the first side Y1 in the conveying width direction, so that the center of the conveying surface of the posture adjustment conveyor 20 in the conveying width direction Y is lower than both ends in the conveying width direction Y.

[0047] (6) The configurations disclosed in the above-described embodiments may be combined with configurations disclosed in other embodiments as long as no contradictions arise. Regarding other configurations, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples in all respects. Therefore, various modifications may be made as appropriate within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0048] [Summary of the above embodiment] The above-described attitude adjustment device will now be described.

[0049] The posture adjustment device according to the present disclosure is a posture adjustment device for adjusting the posture of a transported object, and includes: a posture adjustment conveyor that adjusts the posture of the transported object while transporting the transported object along a specified transport direction; a characteristic determination device that determines a characteristic of the transported object upstream of the posture adjustment conveyor; an upstream posture detection device that detects the posture of the transported object at the upstream end of the posture adjustment conveyor; and a control device that controls the posture adjustment conveyor, wherein a direction perpendicular to the transport direction is a transport width direction, and the posture adjustment conveyor includes a first conveyor section and a second conveyor section that are arranged in parallel so as to be adjacent to each other in the transport width direction, and is configured to be able to make the transport speed of the first conveyor section and the transport speed of the second conveyor section different, and the control device controls the first conveyor section. By controlling the speed difference between the conveying speed of the first conveyor section and the conveying speed of the second conveyor section, posture adjustment control is performed to change the posture of the transported object transported across both the first conveyor and the second conveyor, with the target posture of the transported object at the downstream end of the posture adjustment conveyor being set as the target posture, and the actual posture of the transported object detected by the upstream posture detection device being set as the upstream actual posture, and in the posture adjustment control, the control device changes the speed difference according to the magnitude of the pre-adjustment posture difference, which is the difference between the upstream actual posture and the target posture, and based on a characteristic value that represents the difficulty of posture change according to the characteristics of the transported object determined by the characteristic determination device, and increases the speed difference as the characteristic value increases.

[0050] According to this configuration, the posture adjustment control is performed by varying the speed difference between the first conveyor unit and the second conveyor unit based on not only the pre-adjustment posture difference, which is the difference between the upstream actual posture and the target posture, but also on a characteristic value that indicates the difficulty of posture change depending on the characteristics of the transported object, so that appropriate posture adjustment control can be performed according to the characteristics of the transported object. Therefore, when posture adjustment of multiple transported objects with different characteristics is required, appropriate posture adjustment can be performed according to the characteristics of each transported object.

[0051] In one aspect, the posture adjustment device further includes a downstream posture detection device that detects the posture of the transported object at the downstream end of the posture adjustment conveyor, and the actual posture of the transported object detected by the downstream posture detection device is defined as the downstream actual posture.The control device preferably includes a memory unit that stores learning information indicating the relationship between the pre-adjustment posture difference, the characteristic value, a control coefficient for determining the speed difference based on the pre-adjustment posture difference and the characteristic value, and a post-adjustment posture difference that is the difference between the downstream actual posture that is the result of the posture adjustment control and the target posture, and a correction processing unit that corrects the control coefficient based on the learning information stored in the memory unit.

[0052] According to this configuration, the post-adjustment attitude difference resulting from determining the speed difference based on the pre-adjustment attitude difference, the characteristic value, and the control coefficient is learned, and the control coefficient can be corrected to reduce the post-adjustment attitude difference. Therefore, the control coefficient can be gradually brought closer to an appropriate value so that the post-adjustment attitude difference approaches the target attitude.

[0053] In one embodiment, the posture adjustment device further includes an in-transport posture detection device that detects the posture of the transported object throughout the entire area of ​​the posture adjustment conveyor, and the speed difference determined based on the pre-adjustment posture difference and the characteristic value is defined as an initial speed difference, and the actual posture of the transported object detected by the in-transport posture detection device is defined as the in-transport actual posture, and after determining the initial speed difference, the control device, while the posture adjustment conveyor is transporting the transported object, changes the speed difference according to the magnitude of the in-transport posture difference based on the in-transport posture difference, which is the difference between the in-transport actual posture and the target posture, and the characteristic value, and preferably changes the speed difference as needed so that the speed difference increases as the characteristic value increases.

[0054] According to this configuration, the speed difference between the first conveyor section and the second conveyor section can be controlled as needed based on the posture difference during transport of the object by the posture adjustment conveyor and the characteristic value so that the actual posture during transport approaches the target posture. Therefore, the posture adjustment conveyor makes it easier to bring the posture of the transported object closer to the target posture.

[0055] In one embodiment, the first conveyor unit is configured to be able to change the conveying speed between a first upstream section, which is an upstream section, and a first downstream section, which is a section downstream of the first upstream section, and the second conveyor unit is configured to be able to change the conveying speed between a second upstream section, which is an upstream section, and a second downstream section, which is a section downstream of the second upstream section, and the characteristics of the transported object determined by the characteristic determination device include a dimension of a long side of the transported object, and the control device, in the attitude adjustment control, is less than a set value, the posture adjustment conveyor is controlled to cause a speed difference between the conveying speed of the first upstream section and the conveying speed of the second upstream section and to eliminate the speed difference between the conveying speed of the first downstream section and the conveying speed of the second downstream section, and when the dimension of the long side of the transported object is equal to or greater than a set value, the posture adjustment conveyor is controlled to cause a speed difference between the conveying speed of the first upstream section and the conveying speed of the second upstream section and to also cause a speed difference between the conveying speed of the first downstream section and the conveying speed of the second downstream section.

[0056] An object with a larger long side dimension is more likely to have its posture less likely to change than an object with a smaller long side dimension. According to this configuration, for an object with a larger long side dimension, performing posture adjustment control using the upstream section and downstream section of the posture adjustment conveyor makes it easier to bring the posture of the object closer to the target posture. On the other hand, for an object with a smaller long side dimension, performing posture adjustment control using only the upstream section of the posture adjustment conveyor makes it easier to avoid the posture of the object changing too much and moving away from the target posture.

[0057] In one aspect, it is preferable that the characteristic value is set to increase continuously or stepwise as the weight of the object increases.

[0058] As the weight of a transported object increases, its inertia increases, making it more difficult for the object to change its posture. With this configuration, the characteristic value increases as the weight of the transported object increases, so that appropriate posture adjustment control is performed according to the weight of the transported object, making it easier to bring the posture of the transported object closer to the target posture.

[0059] In one aspect, it is preferable that the characteristic value is set to become larger continuously or stepwise as the area of ​​the object in a plan view becomes smaller.

[0060] As the area of ​​the transported object in a plan view decreases, the contact area with the first conveyor section and the second conveyor section also tends to decrease, making it more difficult for the object to change its posture. With this configuration, the characteristic value increases as the area in a plan view decreases, so appropriate posture adjustment control is performed according to the size of the transported object, making it easier to bring the posture of the transported object closer to the target posture.

[0061] In one aspect, the side of the conveying width direction on which the first conveyor section is arranged relative to the second conveyor section is defined as the first side in the conveying width direction, and the opposite side is defined as the second side in the conveying width direction. Preferably, the first conveyor section is a roller conveyor in which a plurality of first rollers are arranged in the conveying direction, and the rotation axis of each of the first rollers is inclined toward the downstream side in the conveying direction as it approaches the first side in the conveying width direction. The second conveyor section is a roller conveyor in which a plurality of second rollers are arranged in the conveying direction, and the rotation axis of each of the second rollers is inclined toward the downstream side in the conveying direction as it approaches the second side in the conveying width direction.

[0062] According to this configuration, while the object is being transported by the posture adjusting conveyor, the object can be gradually moved toward the boundary between the first conveyor section and the second conveyor section, i.e., toward the center of the posture adjusting conveyor in the transport width direction. Therefore, while the object is being transported by the posture adjusting conveyor, the position of the object in the transport width direction can also be adjusted. [Industrial Applicability]

[0063] The technology disclosed herein can be used in a conveyor-type transport device equipped with an attitude adjustment device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 10: Posture adjustment device 11: Transported goods 20: Posture adjustment conveyor 21: First conveyor section 21u: First upstream section 21d: First downstream section 22: Second conveyor section 22u: Second upstream section 22d: Second downstream section 23: First Roller 24: Second Roller 30u: Upstream attitude detection device 30m: Posture detection device during transport 30d: Downstream attitude detection device 40: Characteristic determination device 42: Measuring part 50: Control device 52: Storage part 54: Correction processing unit 71: Upstream end 72: Downstream end H: characteristic value K: Control coefficient L1: Long side L2: Short side S: Posture Su: Upstream actual posture Sm: Solid posture during transport Sd: Downstream actual posture Sr:Target posture ΔSu: Posture difference before adjustment ΔSm: Posture difference during transport ΔSd: Posture difference after adjustment V1: Transport speed of the first conveyor V2: Transport speed of the second conveyor ΔV: Speed ​​difference ΔVa: Initial speed difference

Claims

1. A posture adjustment device for adjusting the posture of a transported object, a posture adjusting conveyor that adjusts the posture of the object while conveying the object along a specified conveying direction; a characteristic determination device that determines a characteristic of the transported object, the characteristic determination device being located upstream of the attitude adjustment conveyor; an upstream position detection device that detects the position of the transported object at the upstream end of the position adjustment conveyor; a control device for controlling the attitude adjustment conveyor; Equipped with The direction perpendicular to the conveying direction is the conveying width direction, the posture adjustment conveyor includes a first conveyor section and a second conveyor section arranged in parallel so as to be adjacent to each other in the conveyance width direction, and is configured so that the conveyance speed of the first conveyor section and the conveyance speed of the second conveyor section can be made different; the control device performs posture adjustment control to change the posture of the transported object transported across both the first conveyor section and the second conveyor section by controlling a speed difference between a transport speed of the first conveyor section and a transport speed of the second conveyor section; The target posture of the transported object at the downstream end of the posture adjustment conveyor is defined as a target posture, and the actual posture of the transported object detected by the upstream posture detection device is defined as an upstream actual posture, the control device, in the attitude adjustment control, changes the speed difference in accordance with the magnitude of the pre-adjustment attitude difference, which is the difference between the upstream-side actual attitude and the target attitude, and based on a characteristic value indicating the difficulty of attitude change according to the characteristic of the transported object determined by the characteristic determination device, and increases the speed difference as the characteristic value increases; The conveyor further includes a downstream position detection device for detecting the position of the transported object at the downstream end of the position adjustment conveyor, The actual posture of the transported object detected by the downstream posture detection device is defined as the downstream actual posture, The control device a storage unit that stores learning information indicating a relationship between the pre-adjustment attitude difference, the characteristic value, a control coefficient for determining the speed difference based on the pre-adjustment attitude difference and the characteristic value, and a post-adjustment attitude difference that is the difference between the downstream-side actual attitude that is a result of the attitude adjustment control and the target attitude; a correction processing unit that corrects the control coefficient based on the learning information stored in the storage unit; An attitude adjustment device comprising:

2. A posture adjustment device for adjusting the posture of a transported object, a posture adjusting conveyor that adjusts the posture of the object while conveying the object along a specified conveying direction; a characteristic determination device that determines a characteristic of the transported object, the characteristic determination device being located upstream of the attitude adjustment conveyor; an upstream position detection device that detects the position of the transported object at the upstream end of the position adjustment conveyor; a control device for controlling the attitude adjustment conveyor; Equipped with The direction perpendicular to the conveying direction is the conveying width direction, the posture adjustment conveyor includes a first conveyor section and a second conveyor section arranged in parallel so as to be adjacent to each other in the conveyance width direction, and is configured so that the conveyance speed of the first conveyor section and the conveyance speed of the second conveyor section can be made different; the control device performs posture adjustment control to change the posture of the transported object transported across both the first conveyor section and the second conveyor section by controlling a speed difference between a transport speed of the first conveyor section and a transport speed of the second conveyor section; The target posture of the transported object at the downstream end of the posture adjustment conveyor is defined as a target posture, and the actual posture of the transported object detected by the upstream posture detection device is defined as an upstream actual posture, the control device, in the attitude adjustment control, changes the speed difference in accordance with the magnitude of the pre-adjustment attitude difference, which is the difference between the upstream-side actual attitude and the target attitude, and based on a characteristic value indicating the difficulty of attitude change according to the characteristic of the transported object determined by the characteristic determination device, and increases the speed difference as the characteristic value increases; the first conveyor unit is configured to be able to make a conveying speed different between a first upstream section which is an upstream section and a first downstream section which is a downstream section with respect to the first upstream section, the second conveyor unit is configured to be able to make a conveying speed different between a second upstream section which is an upstream section and a second downstream section which is a downstream section with respect to the second upstream section, The property of the transported object determined by the property determination device includes a dimension of a long side of the transported object, In the posture adjustment control, when the dimension of the long side of the transported object is less than a set value, the control device controls the posture adjustment conveyor to create a speed difference between the conveying speed of the first upstream section and the conveying speed of the second upstream section and to eliminate the speed difference between the conveying speed of the first downstream section and the conveying speed of the second downstream section, and when the dimension of the long side of the transported object is equal to or greater than a set value, controls the posture adjustment conveyor to create a speed difference between the conveying speed of the first upstream section and the conveying speed of the second upstream section and to also create a speed difference between the conveying speed of the first downstream section and the conveying speed of the second downstream section.

3. The conveyor further includes an in-transit posture detection device that detects the posture of the conveyed object throughout the posture adjustment conveyor, the speed difference determined based on the pre-adjustment posture difference and the characteristic value is defined as an initial speed difference, and the actual posture of the transported object detected by the transport posture detection device is defined as an actual posture during transport, 3. The posture adjustment device according to claim 1, wherein after determining the initial speed difference, the control device changes the speed difference according to the magnitude of the posture difference during transport, which is the difference between the actual posture during transport and the target posture, based on the characteristic value and the posture difference during transport of the object by the posture adjustment conveyor, and changes the speed difference as needed so as to increase as the characteristic value increases.

4. 3. The attitude adjustment device according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic value is set to increase continuously or stepwise as the weight of the load increases.

5. 3. The attitude adjustment device according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic value is set to increase continuously or stepwise as the area of ​​the object in a plan view decreases.

6. a side of the conveying width direction where the first conveyor unit is disposed relative to the second conveyor unit is defined as a first side of the conveying width direction, and an opposite side of the first side of the conveying width direction is defined as a second side of the conveying width direction, the first conveyor unit is a roller conveyor in which a plurality of first rollers are arranged in the conveying direction, a rotation axis of each of the first rollers inclined toward the downstream side in the conveying direction as it moves toward the first side in the conveying width direction; the second conveyor unit is a roller conveyor in which a plurality of second rollers are arranged in the conveying direction, 3. The attitude adjustment device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation axis of each of the second rollers is inclined toward the downstream side in the conveying direction as it moves toward the second side in the conveying width direction.

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