Robot and pickup system for elongated members equipped with the robot

Abstract

To provide a robot which places an elongated member held by holding members, such as a tongue, in a predetermined position, and to provide a pickup system including the robot.SOLUTION: A robot includes: an arm member which may move relative to a robot body; and a control unit which controls an operation of the arm member. The arm member includes: a holding part; and an arm body supporting the holding part and having multiple joints. The control unit includes: a holding step in which the holding members are inserted into a stacked object formed by the stored elongated members to hold the elongated member; a first revolving step in which at least one of the multiple joints is driven to revolve the holding part upward; a moving step in which the holding part is moved up to a predetermined position by the arm body; and a second revolving step in which the at least one of the joints is driven to revolve the holding part downward and concurrently the elongated member held by the holding part is released to be placed in the predetermined position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a robot configured to grip an elongated member, and a pickup system for an elongated member including the robot. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a robot that drives an arm member, picks up noodle products with tongs attached to the tip of the arm member, and places them on a tray for weighing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6680387 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Because noodle products are long, thin, and flexible, they are held by the tongs and moved by the arm member while hanging from the tongs. Therefore, the noodle products are subjected to a force in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the arm member due to the inertia of the movement of the arm member. Therefore, if an attempt is made to place a noodle product on a tray while it is subjected to an inertial force, it may become misaligned. Alternatively, it is possible to open the tongs and place the noodle product on the tray after allowing it to hang downward due to gravity alone, without being affected by the inertial force. However, doing so poses the problem of increasing the time the arm member is stopped, thereby lengthening the time required to place the noodle product. This problem can occur not only when picking up noodle products, but also when picking up long, thin objects.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide a robot and a pickup system for elongated objects that can efficiently place an elongated object held by a gripping member such as tongs in a predetermined position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The robot of the present invention is a robot configured to grasp an elongated member, and comprises a robot body, at least one arm member movable relative to the robot body, and a control unit that controls the operation of the arm member. The arm member comprises a gripping portion that grasps the elongated member, and an arm body that supports the gripping portion and has a plurality of joints. The control unit comprises a gripping step of inserting the gripping member into a stack of stored elongated members and grasping the elongated member, a first rotation step of driving at least one of the plurality of joints to rotate the gripping portion grasping the elongated member upward, a movement step of moving the gripping portion to above a predetermined position by the arm body, and a second rotation step of driving at least one of the joints to rotate the gripping portion downward while releasing the grip of the elongated member by the gripping portion and placing the elongated member at the predetermined position.

[0007] In the robot described above, in the second turning step, the turning can be performed while the arm body is retracted from the predetermined position.

[0008] The method for picking up elongated members according to the present invention comprises any one of the robots described above and a weighing device, wherein the weighing device has at least one weighing unit having the predetermined position, and is configured to drive the weighing unit and transport the elongated member when the elongated member placed at the predetermined position of the weighing unit has a weight within a predetermined range. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, an elongated member grasped by a grasping member such as tongs can be efficiently placed at a predetermined position. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pickup system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of FIG. 1. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a posture of the first robot according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a front view showing a certain posture of the first robot. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an end effector. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a first arm member. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a preliminary operation by the first arm member. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the operation of picking up noodle products using the first arm member. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the operation of picking up noodle products using the first arm member. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the operation of picking up noodle products using the first arm member. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a front view showing a state before a first rotation operation of the first arm member. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a front view showing a first rotation operation of the first arm member. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a front view showing a second rotation operation of the first arm member. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a front view showing the up and down movement of the first arm member. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a side view showing the operation of placing noodle products using the first arm member. [Figure 18]FIG. 10 is a side view showing the operation of placing noodle products using the first arm member. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a side view showing the operation of placing noodle products using the first arm member. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An embodiment in which the pickup system for elongated members according to the present invention is applied to a noodle product pickup system will be described below with reference to the drawings. The noodle products referred to here include, for example, pasta, udon, and soba. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the pickup system according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a partial side view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of FIG. 1 (however, one of the robots is omitted). Below, the conveying device will be described according to the directions shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. Furthermore, the robot will be described according to the directions shown in FIG. 5, which will be described later. However, the present invention is not limited to these directions and can be set in various directions.

[0012] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the pickup system according to this embodiment includes a first robot 100, a second robot 200, and a transport device 300 for noodle products N. The transport device 300 includes a plurality of weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327, a first transport conveyor 33 that transports the noodle products N supplied from each of the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327, and a second transport conveyor 34 that transports the noodle products N supplied from the first transport conveyor 33. The transport device 300 is disposed between the two robots 100, 200. Storage members 41, 42 that store noodle products N are disposed between each of the robots 100, 200 and the transport device 300. Each of the robots 100, 200 picks up a predetermined amount of noodle products N from the storage members 41, 42 and places the noodle products N on one of the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327. The noodle products N placed on the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 are supplied to and transported by the first transport conveyor 33, and are then transferred to and transported by the second transport conveyor 34. Below, the transport device 300 will first be described in detail, and then the robots 100, 200 will be described in detail.

[0013] <1. Conveyor equipment> As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the transport device 300 has a pair of weighing conveyor groups 301, 302 spaced apart in the left-right direction, with each weighing conveyor group 301, 302 having a plurality of weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327, respectively. A first transport conveyor 33 extending in the front-rear direction is disposed between the weighing conveyor groups 301, 302, and a second transport conveyor 34 extending in the left-right direction is disposed at the front end of the first transport conveyor 33. Furthermore, an operation display 35 is disposed at the rear end of the left weighing conveyor group 302. The operation of each of these devices is controlled by a control device (not shown).

[0014] In the following, the group of weighing conveyors on the right side of the first transport conveyor 33 will be referred to as the first weighing conveyor group 301, and the group of weighing conveyors on the left side will be referred to as the second weighing conveyor group 302. The first robot 100 is disposed on the right side of the first weighing conveyor group 301, and the noodle product N picked up by the first robot 100 is placed on one of the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 of the first weighing conveyor group 301. Meanwhile, the second robot 200 is disposed on the left side of the second weighing conveyor group 302, and the noodle product N picked up by the second robot 200 is placed on one of the weighing conveyors 321 to 327 of the second weighing conveyor group 302. The first weighing conveyor group 301 and the second weighing conveyor group 302 are disposed symmetrically and have roughly the same configuration, so the following description will mainly focus on the first weighing conveyor group 301.

[0015] <1-1. Weighing conveyor group> The first weigh conveyor group 301 includes multiple weigh conveyors 311-317 lined up in the front-to-rear direction. In this embodiment, as an example, seven weigh conveyors 311-317 are provided, but for ease of explanation, the weigh conveyors lined up from front to rear will be referred to as the first to seventh weigh conveyors 311-317, respectively. However, since the weigh conveyors 311-317 have roughly the same configuration, the following description will focus on the first weigh conveyor 311.

[0016] The first weighing conveyor 311 is composed of a belt conveyor supported by a weight sensor (not shown) such as a load cell. The conveying direction of the belt conveyor is left and right, and the placed noodle product N is transported to the first transport conveyor 33 located on the left side. The weight of the placed noodle product N is measured by the weight sensor, and the measured value (analog weight signal) is converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter and sent to the control device.

[0017] <1-2.Transport Conveyor> The first transfer conveyor 33 is composed of a belt conveyor and conveys the noodle products N supplied from each of the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 forward. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the first transfer conveyor 33 is disposed below each of the weighing conveyor groups 301, 302. Furthermore, a second transfer conveyor 34 extending in the left-right direction is disposed at the front end of the first transfer conveyor 33, and the noodle products N conveyed by the first transfer conveyor 33 are transferred to the second transfer conveyor 34. Therefore, the second transfer conveyor 34 is disposed below the first transfer conveyor 33. The second transfer conveyor 34 is composed of a belt conveyor and moves cyclically in the left-right direction. Trays 341 are fixed on this belt conveyor at predetermined intervals in the conveyance direction. Each tray 341 is transported to the right when it is above the cyclically moving belt conveyor, and is transported to the left when it is below the belt conveyor. That is, each tray 341 moves circulatingly in the left-right direction together with the belt conveyor. A collection container 38 is disposed on the right side of the second transfer conveyor 34. The noodle products N contained in each tray 341 are packed into this collection container 38 and collected.

[0018] The control device is configured, for example, by a microcontroller or the like, and has an arithmetic control unit configured by a CPU or the like, and a storage unit configured by memories such as RAM and ROM. The storage unit stores various data such as operating programs and measurement data. The control device may be configured by a single control device that performs centralized control, or may be configured by multiple control devices that cooperate with each other to perform distributed control.

[0019] The control device controls the entire conveying device by having the calculation control unit execute an operating program stored in the memory unit. For example, the weight values ​​measured by each weight sensor are acquired as digital values ​​via an A / D conversion unit as needed, and stored in the memory unit. The control device also controls the conveying operations of the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 and the transport conveyors 33, 34 via a conveyor drive circuit unit. The control device also inputs signals from the operation display unit 35 and outputs signals such as data to be displayed on the operation display unit 35.

[0020] The operation display 35 includes, for example, a touch screen display (display device), and on the screen of this display, operations such as starting and stopping the operation of the conveying device 300, setting operation parameters, etc. Also, the results of operation (control) by the control device can be displayed on the display screen.

[0021] <1-3. Operation of the transport device> Next, we will explain an example of the operation of the conveying device 300 configured as described above. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the robots 100 and 200 perform the task of supplying (placing) noodle products N as needed onto the weighing conveyors 311-317 and 321-327 that are in a stopped state and do not have any noodle products N placed on them.

[0022] The control device acquires the weighing values ​​of each weight sensor from the A / D conversion unit at regular time intervals, and recognizes the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 to which noodle products N are being supplied based on the weighing values ​​of the weight sensors, as well as the weight values ​​of the noodle products N. When recognizing the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 to which noodle products N are being supplied, the control device compares the weighing values ​​(weight values) with a preset reference range, and if the weighing values ​​are within the reference range, it determines that an appropriate amount of noodle products N has been supplied. In this case, the control device drives the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 at a predetermined timing, and transports the placed noodle products N to the first transport conveyor 33. If the weighing values ​​are less than a first reference value that is smaller than the reference range, it determines that no noodle products N have been supplied. In this case, the robots 100, 200 place the noodle products N on the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327. Furthermore, if the weighing value is equal to or greater than the first reference value and less than the lower limit of the reference range, it is determined that the noodle products N to be placed have not reached the predetermined amount, and the robots 100, 200 are controlled to add more noodle products N. On the other hand, if the weighing value exceeds the reference range, it is determined that an excessive amount of noodle products N has been placed, and the robots 100, 200 are controlled to remove some of the placed noodle products N. Alternatively, a recovery lane extending in the front-to-rear direction may be provided between the first weighing conveyor group 301 and the storage member 41, that is, on the opposite side of the first transport conveyor 33, and if the weighing value of the noodle products N exceeds the reference range, the weighing conveyors 311-317 may be driven to transport the noodle products N to the recovery lane, thereby enabling control to remove the noodle products N.

[0023] In the above control, the control device sequentially transmits the weighing results of each of the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 to the control device of the robot 100, 200. This allows each of the robots 100, 200 to recognize weighing conveyors on which an appropriate amount of noodle products N is placed, weighing conveyors on which no noodle products N are placed, weighing conveyors on which an insufficient amount of noodle products N is placed, and weighing conveyors on which an excessive amount of noodle products N is placed. Therefore, the robot 100, 200 can be controlled according to the state of each of the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327. For example, each of the robots 100, 200 can detect the nearest weighing conveyor on which no noodle products N are placed, and place noodle products N in order starting from that weighing conveyor.

[0024] Next, the control device transports the noodle products N from each of the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 to the first transfer conveyor 33 at a predetermined timing. Because trays 341 are arranged at predetermined intervals on the second transfer conveyor 34 downstream of the first transfer conveyor 33, it is necessary to supply the noodle products N from the first transfer conveyor 33 to the second transfer conveyor 34 at predetermined time intervals. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange the noodle products N on the first transfer conveyor 33 at predetermined intervals.

[0025] For this control, the control device drives the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327, on which an appropriate amount of noodle products N within the reference range has been placed, at a predetermined timing to transport the noodle products onto the first transport conveyor 33. The control device then ensures that the noodle products N supplied from each of the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 are placed at predetermined intervals on the first transport conveyor 33. Therefore, each of the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 remains stopped until the timing specified by the control device, even if an appropriate amount of noodle products N has been placed thereon.

[0026] The noodle products N supplied to the first transfer conveyor 33 are supplied downstream to trays on the second transfer conveyor 34. The noodle products N on each tray 341 are then successively packed into bags by, for example, an operator and sequentially collected into a collection container 38 on the right side of the second transfer conveyor 34.

[0027] 2. Robot The first and second robots 100, 200 used in this embodiment are the same and are robots that mimic the upper half of a human body. The robots 100, 200 are disposed on bases 45, 46 adjacent to the storage members 41, 42. Since the first and second robots 100, 200 have the same structure, only the first robot 100 will be described below.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a certain posture of the first robot according to this embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing a certain posture of the first robot.

[0029] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 , the first robot 100 has a body 101, a head 102, and a pair of arm members 103 and 104. The head 102 is provided at the upper end of the body 101 and is rotatable around a vertical axis. A first camera 105 is provided at the top of the body 101 to capture images of the downward direction. This first camera 105 is configured to capture images of the inside of a storage member 41 located in front of the first robot 100. This camera 105 captures images of the noodle products N in the storage member 41 and calculates the portion to be picked up. The head 102 is also provided with a second camera 106 that has the same function as the first camera. These first and second cameras 105 and 106 may be digital cameras equipped with image sensors such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), or may be RGB-D cameras capable of measuring depth. Picking up the noodle products N will be described later. In this embodiment, the body 101 and the head 102 correspond to the robot body of the present invention.

[0030] A first arm member 103 is provided on the right side of the body 101, and a second arm member 104 is provided on the left side. These arm members 103 and 104 have the same structure, and the only difference is that they are bilaterally symmetrical, so the following description will focus on the first arm member 103.

[0031] <2-1. Arm parts> The first arm member 103 has multiple joints with seven degrees of freedom. This first arm member 103 is a typical manipulator, and is equipped with alternating links, which are skeletal members that do not move but displace as a unit, and joints that connect the links and displace the connected links relative to each other based on a predetermined rotation axis. In addition, an end effector (gripping unit) 3 is provided at the tip of the arm member 103.

[0032] The first arm member 103 has a built-in servo motor in each joint, and is connected via a signal line to a control device 108 that controls the rotation angle of the servo motor. The control device 108 may be built into the first robot 100 or may be externally attached. The control device 108 may also be connected via a communication network such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network) and may be a device that provides services on the so-called cloud. The servo motor in this embodiment may not have a built-in brake, for example.

[0033] The material of each of the links 11 to 17, etc. is not particularly limited, and may be resin, metal, carbon, etc. The molding method is also not particularly limited, and may be manufactured by plastic processing or injection molding, or may be shaped using a 3D printer.

[0034] Next, a detailed structure of the first arm member 103 will be described. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the first arm member 103 has seven links 11 to 17 and seven joints 21 to 27 connecting these. Specifically, the first arm member 103 has a first link 11 which is a part (shoulder part) of the body 101, a first joint 21 connected to one end of the first link 11, a second link 12 which has one end connected to the first link 11 via the first joint 21, a second joint 22 connected to the other end of the second link 12, a third link 13 which has one end connected to the second link 12 via the second joint 22, a third joint 23 connected to the other end of the third link 13, and a fourth link 14 which has one end connected to the third link 13 via the third joint 23. , a fourth joint 24 connected to the other end of the fourth link 14, a fifth link 15 having one end connected to the fourth link 14 via the fourth joint 24, a fifth joint 25 connected to the other end of the fifth link 15, a sixth link 16 having one end connected to the fifth link 15 via the fifth joint 25, a sixth joint 26 connected to the other end of the sixth link 16, a seventh link 17 having one end connected to the sixth link 16 via the sixth joint 26, and a seventh joint 27 connected to the other end of the seventh link 17.

[0035] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the end effector provided at the tip of the arm member. As shown in FIG. 7, an end effector (gripping unit) 3 consisting of a two-finger gripper is provided at the tip of the seventh joint 27. The seventh joint 27 is a joint that can rotate around a rotation axis S extending in the axial direction of the seventh link 17. The two-finger gripper includes a support unit 31 rotatably connected to the seventh joint 27 and a pair of gripping members 32 and 33 disposed on the support unit 31 with the rotation axis S sandwiched between them. The ends of the gripping members 32 and 33 are swingably connected to the support unit 31, allowing the tips of the gripping members 32 and 33 to move toward and away from each other. Therefore, the noodle product N can be grasped by both gripping members 32 and 33. The gripping members 32 and 33 can be swung by a servo motor or the like. The gripping members 32 and 33 can be configured, for example, as tongs, to easily grip the noodle product N. In the arm member, the above-mentioned links and joints other than the end effector correspond to the arm body of the present invention.

[0036] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a first arm member 103. The first arm member 103 shown in FIG. 8 includes first to seventh links 11 to 17, first to seventh joints 21 to 27 connecting the links, and an end effector 3, and is connected to a control device 108. The fourth link 14 includes a first connecting portion 141, and the sixth link 16 includes a second connecting portion 161. In FIG. 10, links are represented by thick straight lines, and joints are represented by bicones or double circles (ellipses). A bicone represents a joint in which the rotation axis of a motor coincides with the central axis of the connected link, causing the connected link to rotate. That is, a joint represented by a bicone causes links connected to the apexes of the cone to rotate relative to each other around an axis (not shown) connecting the apexes of the cone, as indicated by the dashed-dotted arrow. For convenience, a joint that causes the connected links to rotate is also referred to as a "rotational joint." The double circles represent joints that do not coincide with the central axis of the link to which the motor's rotation shaft is connected, and that rotate (turn) the link connected to the rotation shaft. That is, the joints represented by the double circles rotate the links connected to each circle relative to one another, as indicated by the two-dot chain arrow, around a perpendicular line (not shown) that passes through the center of the circle. For convenience, the joints that rotate the connected links are also referred to as "rotation joints." In this way, the robot arm according to this embodiment alternates between rotation joints (joints 21, 23, 25, 27) and rotation joints (joints 22, 24, 26).

[0037] The control device 108 has a processor 181 and a storage device 182. The processor 181 is an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls the operation of the first robot 100 by executing a program. The storage device 182 shown in FIG. 8 is a main storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory) and an auxiliary storage device (secondary storage device) such as an HDD (Hard-disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a flash memory. The main storage device temporarily stores programs and the like read by the processor and secures a working area for the processor. The auxiliary storage device stores programs and the like executed by the processor. The processor 181 and the storage device 182 may be microcontrollers with built-in memories.

[0038] <2-2. Robot movement> Next, the operation of the first robot 100 to pick up noodle products N and place them on the weighing conveyors 311-317 will be described with reference to Figures 9-19. Hereinafter, the operation of picking up noodle products N from the storage member 41 will be referred to as the pick-up operation, and the operation of moving the picked-up noodle products N to the weighing conveyors 311-317 and placing them on the weighing conveyors will be referred to as the placing operation. These operations may also be collectively referred to as the pick-up operation.

[0039] In the following pickup operation, the first arm member 103 is operated by driving at least one of the above-mentioned joints 21 to 27. Therefore, as long as the first arm member 103 performs the operation described below, there are no particular limitations on the joints 21 to 27 to be driven. Furthermore, although the operation of the first arm member 103 will be described below, the second arm member 104 also operates in a similar manner. In this embodiment, the noodle products N are set up so that the first arm member 103 places the noodle products N on the fifth to seventh weigh conveyors 315 to 317, and the second arm member 104 places the noodle products N on the first to fourth weigh conveyors 311 to 314.

[0040] First, the first robot 100 uses the camera 105 to capture an image of the noodle product N inside the storage member 41 and identifies the location where the gripping members 32, 33 should be inserted. For example, the camera 105 can calculate the depth from the image of the noodle product N and identify the location where the noodle product N is highest from the bottom of the storage member 41 as the insertion location. Next, as shown in FIG. 9, with the gripping members 32, 33 spaced apart from each other, the end effector 3 is rotated a predetermined angle from the initial position to one side (hereinafter referred to as the plus side) (for example, 90 to 180 degrees, hereinafter referred to as the first angle, and this operation is referred to as the pre-rotation). Then, as shown in FIG. 10, from this state, the end effector 3 is inserted into the noodle product N. Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the gripping members 32, 33 are brought close to each other to grip the noodle product N, and the end effector 3 is raised to a predetermined height. At this time, as shown in Fig. 12, the posture of the first arm member 103 is adjusted so that the rotation axis S of the end effector 3 is inclined from the horizontal direction H according to the noodle product N. For example, for many noodle products, this inclination θ is preferably between -80 degrees and +80 degrees, and more preferably between -40 degrees and +45 degrees. Note that here, for example, -45 degrees means an angle of 45 degrees downward from the horizontal direction H, and +45 degrees means an angle of 45 degrees upward from the horizontal direction H.

[0041] Next, the end effector 3 is rotated by approximately twice the first angle in the direction opposite to the plus side (hereinafter referred to as the minus side) so as to change from the state shown in Fig. 13 to the state shown in Fig. 14 (hereinafter referred to as the first rotation operation). At this time, the noodle products N are hanging from the gripping members 32, 33 on both the plus side and the minus side of the end effector 3, but not all of the noodle products N are held by the gripping members 32, 33, and some of the noodle products N may be entangled with the noodle products N held by the gripping members 32, 33. Therefore, by rotating the end effector 3 in the minus side, downward acceleration can be applied to the noodle products N hanging from the gripping members 32, 33 on the minus side, and the noodle products N entangled on the minus side can be shaken off.

[0042] 15, the end effector 3 is rotated to the plus side by approximately twice the first angle (hereinafter referred to as the second rotation operation). This applies downward acceleration to the noodle products N hanging from the gripping members 32, 33 on the plus side, so that the noodle products N tangled on the plus side can be shaken off.

[0043] Thereafter, the end effector 3 is moved up and down to further shake off the tangled noodle products N (hereinafter referred to as the up-and-down movement operation). For example, it is preferable to move the end effector 3 up and down about two to three times. At this time, as shown in FIG. 16, the end effector 3 is lowered a predetermined distance from the initial position after the above-mentioned rotation operation, and then raised above the initial position. That is, in the step of raising the end effector 3, the end effector 3 is raised to a position higher than the highest point of the end effector 3 immediately before. This increases the acceleration acting on the noodle products N when the end effector 3 is lowered, and the tangled noodle products N can be further shaken off. The order in which the second rotation operation and the up-and-down movement operation are performed is not particularly limited, and they may be performed in the opposite order to the above, or simultaneously.

[0044] Once the operation of shaking off the noodle product N is completed in this manner, the end effector 3 is moved to the weighing conveyor. As described above, the transport device 300 sequentially sends to the first robot 100, among the first to seventh weighing conveyors 315 to 317, those weighing conveyors on which no noodle product N is placed. Therefore, when the first robot 100 detects, for example, that no noodle product N is placed on any of the fifth to seventh weighing conveyors 315 to 317 assigned to the first arm member 103, it places the noodle product N on the weighing conveyor closest to the first robot 100 among the weighing conveyors 315 to 317 on which no noodle product N is placed.

[0045] First, as shown in FIG. 17, the end effector 3 is rotated upward (first rotation operation). This prevents the noodle products hanging downward from the gripping members 32, 33 from interfering with the edge of the conveying device, etc. Next, the first arm member 103 is moved toward the target weighing conveyor. As shown in FIG. 18, when the end effector 3 is positioned above the target weighing conveyor, the rotational position of the end effector 3 is adjusted so that the movement direction (approaching / separating direction) of the gripping members 32, 33 is approximately aligned with the horizontal direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 19, while the end effector 3 is rotated downward above the target weighing conveyor (second rotation operation), the gripping members 32, 33 are separated near their lowest point, and the noodle product N is dropped onto the weighing conveyor. At this time, the end effector 3 is positioned above the front of the weighing conveyor (on the transport conveyor side) and then rotated downward while being moved slightly rearward from this position, allowing the noodle product N to be placed on the weighing conveyor in a U-shape.

[0046] Once the noodle product N has been placed on the weighing conveyors 315-317 in this way, the first arm member 103 is operated so that the end effector 3 moves above the storage member 41, thereby picking up the next noodle product N. The second arm member 104 also performs the same operation as above. That is, the second arm member 104 picks up the noodle product N from the storage member 41 and places it on one of the first to fourth weighing conveyors 311-314. The second robot 200 also performs the same operation, picking up the noodle product N from the storage member 42 and placing it on one of the weighing conveyors 321-327 of the second weighing conveyor group 302. The subsequent transportation of the noodle product N is as described above.

[0047] If it is determined that the noodle products N placed on the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 are below the above-mentioned reference range, an additional pickup operation can be performed. That is, depending on the weight of the weighed noodle products N, the missing amount of noodle products N is picked up from the storage member 41 and placed again on the corresponding weighing conveyor. The method for picking up the noodle products N at this time is not particularly limited, and for example, the weight of the noodle products N to be picked up can be adjusted by shortening the length of the gripping members 32, 33 inserted into the noodle products N in the storage member 41 from a specified length.

[0048] Furthermore, if the weight of the noodle product N on the weighing conveyors 311-317 exceeds the specified range, a portion of the noodle product N placed on the weighing conveyors 311-317 is picked up by the gripping members 32, 33, and the weight of the noodle product N can be reduced so that it falls within the specified range. At this time, the second camera 106 provided on the head 102 of the first robot 100 captures an image of the noodle product N on the target weighing conveyor, and similarly to the above, the portion from which to pick up the noodle product N is identified. Then, based on the weight of the weighed noodle product N, the insertion length of the gripping members 32, 33 is adjusted to pick up a portion of the noodle product N. As a result, if it is determined that the weight of the noodle product N on the weighing conveyor is within the reference range, it is transported to the first transport conveyor 33 as described above.

[0049] Additionally, if the noodle product N placed on the weighing conveyors 311-317 is not within the reference range, the noodle product N can be collected. For example, a collection lane extending in the front-to-rear direction can be provided between the first weighing conveyor group 301 and the storage member 41, that is, on the opposite side of the first transport conveyor 33. Then, if it is determined that the weight of the noodle product N is not within the reference range, the weighing conveyors 311-317 can be driven to transport the noodle product N to the collection lane. The collected noodle product N can be stored in the storage member 41, or it can be discarded.

[0050] When the noodle products N in the storage member 41 become low, the noodle products N can be directly replenished into the storage member 41. In addition, because the storage member 41 is disposed between the conveying device 300 and the first robot 100, it is movable in the front-rear direction. Therefore, when the noodle products N in the storage member 41 become low, the storage member 41 can be moved in either the front-rear direction, and a replacement storage member filled with noodle products N can be placed in front of the first robot 100 from the front-rear direction instead. In this case, if the replacement storage member is operated to push the storage member 41 in the front-rear direction, the efficiency of replenishing the noodle products N can be further improved. In addition, an empty receiving storage member can be placed on at least one side of the storage member 41 in the front-rear direction to catch any noodle products N that splash out during pickup.

[0051] <3. Features> The noodle product pickup system configured as above can provide the following effects.

[0052] (1) In this embodiment, the pickup operation involves a first rotation operation, a second rotation operation, and an up-and-down movement operation, which allows tangled noodle products N to be shaken off. The picked-up noodle products N are moved to the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327, and during this process, tangled noodle products N that are not gripped by the gripping members 32, 33 may fall off. Therefore, by shaking off tangled noodle products N before the placement operation as described above, it is possible to prevent noodle products N from falling between the storage member 41 and the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327. It is also possible to place an appropriate amount of noodle products N on the weighing conveyors. Furthermore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which tangled noodle products N fall during the placement operation and noodle products N are placed across multiple weighing conveyors, preventing the weighing conveyors from completing the weighing operation correctly.

[0053] (2) In the operation of placing the noodle product N, the end effector 3 is rotated downward while releasing the gripping state of the gripping members 32, 33. This allows the inertia acting on the noodle product N to be standardized, and the noodle product N can be accurately placed on the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327.

[0054] (3) In this embodiment, the noodle products N are arranged from the weighing conveyor closest to the robot 100, which shortens the travel distance of the noodle products N. This reduces the risk of the noodle products N falling off. In addition, the efficiency of arranging the noodle products N can be improved, enabling the work time to be shortened.

[0055] (4) In this embodiment, the storage member 41 is disposed in front of the first robot 100, and the weighing conveyors 311-317 are disposed further in front of that. Therefore, after the first robot 100 picks up the noodle product N, it can place the noodle product N on the weighing conveyors 311-317 by moving the arm members 103, 104 forward. This allows the pick-up and placement operations to be performed without significantly changing the posture of the first robot 100, including the arm members 103, 104. This allows the noodle product N to be picked up efficiently, thereby shortening the work time. Furthermore, because the storage member 41 is disposed in front of the first robot 100, the noodle product N in the storage member 41 can be captured while the first camera 105 of the first robot 100 remains fixed. Therefore, in this respect as well, the noodle product N can be picked up efficiently.

[0056] <4. Modifications> Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The following modifications can be combined as appropriate. Note that although one robot or one arm member is described below, it is meant that the other robot or arm member can also be applied unless otherwise specified.

[0057] (1) In the above embodiment, the robot 100 is described as having articulated arm members 103, 104 with seven degrees of freedom, but the configuration of the robot 100 is not particularly limited. In other words, as long as the robot can perform the pick-up operation of the noodle products N as described above, the configuration of the arm members 103, 104 is not particularly limited, and articulated arm members with degrees of freedom other than seven are also acceptable. Furthermore, the number of robots is not particularly limited.

[0058] (2) In the above embodiment, in the pickup operation, in order to shake off the noodle product N, before performing the first rotation operation, the end effector 3 is rotated in advance from the initial position toward the positive side, and the gripping member is inserted into the noodle product. However, the first rotation operation can also be performed without performing this preliminary operation.

[0059] (3) In the above embodiment, the first rotation operation, the second rotation operation, and the up-and-down movement operation are performed in order to shake off the noodle products N during the pick-up operation. However, if at least the first rotation operation is performed, the tangled noodle products N can be shaken off. Therefore, the second rotation operation and the up-and-down movement operation are not necessarily required, and at least one of these can be added as needed. Furthermore, the rotation angle in each rotation operation is not particularly limited. Furthermore, noodle products can also be picked up by other operations without being limited to these operations.

[0060] (4) In the present invention, the upward and downward rotation of the end effector 3 is essential in the above-described operation of placing the noodle product N. However, the operation of slightly retracting the arm member during the downward rotation is not necessarily required and can be performed as needed.

[0061] (5) In the above embodiment, the first arm member 103 of the first robot 100 is configured to place noodle products N on the fifth to seventh weigh conveyors 315 to 317, and the second arm member 104 is configured to place noodle products N on the first to fourth weigh conveyors 311 to 314, but other configurations are also possible. For example, some weigh conveyors can be configured so that either the first arm member 103 or the second arm member 104 can place noodle products N. This can improve the efficiency of placing noodle products N. Such weigh conveyors are preferably located near the first robot 100. For example, the fourth weigh conveyor 314 can be configured so that either the first arm member 103 or the second arm member 104 can place noodle products N.

[0062] (6) The configuration of the robot 100 is not particularly limited, and the torso 101 and head 102 do not need to be clearly distinguishable, as long as at least the arm members 103, 104 and the robot main body that supports them are provided. The positions of the cameras 105, 106 are also not particularly limited, and the cameras may only capture images of the storage member 41, provided that no operation is performed to pick up a portion of the noodle product N whose weight exceeds the reference range. Alternatively, various sensors other than the cameras can be used to calculate the position of the noodle product N to be picked up in the storage member 41. The number of arm members is also not particularly limited, and may be one or three or more.

[0063] (7) In the above embodiment, the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 on which no noodle products N are placed are detected by a signal from the transport device 300. However, this can also be detected by a camera of the robot 100, for example.

[0064] (8) In the above embodiment, the noodle products N are arranged on the weighing conveyors 311-317 and 321-327 that are closest to the robot 100, but this is not limitative. That is, the noodle products N may also be arranged on a conveyor other than the weighing conveyor that is closest to the robot 100.

[0065] (9) The configuration of the conveying device 300 is not particularly limited, and as long as it is configured to at least convey noodle products, other components can be added as needed. For example, in the above embodiment, the noodle products N are placed on a weighing conveyor, but this is not limited to this. For example, any weighing unit that can measure the weight of the noodle products N will do, and it does not have to be a conveyor. Therefore, for example, the noodle products N can be placed on a tray or measuring cup that can measure the weight. After weighing, the tray can be tilted and supplied to the conveyor. Alternatively, the device may have only a weighing function and no conveying function.

[0066] (10) In the above embodiment, the robots 100, 200 are combined with the conveying device 300. However, there are no particular limitations on the devices that can be combined with the robots 100, 200, and the robots can also be used independently. That is, the robot 100 can be configured to pick up the noodle products N and place them in a predetermined position, such as on a tray.

[0067] (11) In the above embodiment, the robot is used to pick up noodle products N, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be used for other long, thin, flexible materials such as bean sprouts, dried gourd, and other foods, electrical components such as cords, and threads, strings, etc. Long, thin materials include string-like materials, strip-like materials, and rod-like materials, and at least a portion of the long, thin materials may be rigid.

[0068] (12) In the above embodiment, the control device supplies noodle products N from the first transport conveyor 33 to the second transport conveyor 34 at predetermined time intervals, but this is not limited to this. The control device may drive the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 at any timing to transport the corresponding noodle products N to the first transport conveyor 33, and drive the second transport conveyor 34 so that the noodle products N transported from the first transport conveyor 33 enter the tray 341.

[0069] (13) In the above embodiment (paragraph 0029), the control device 36 drives the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 on which an appropriate amount of noodle products N within the reference range is placed at a predetermined timing to transport them onto the first transport conveyor 33. However, this is not limited to this. A combination calculation may be performed based on the weighing value of each noodle product N, and a combination of multiple weighing conveyors that is equal to or greater than a predetermined target weight and closest to the target weight may be selected, and these may be driven at a predetermined timing to transport the noodle products N to the same position on the first transport conveyor 33. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 100 First Robot 103 First arm member 104 second arm member 200 Second Robot 300 Conveying equipment (measuring equipment)

Claims

1. 1. A robot configured to grasp an elongated member, comprising: The robot body, At least one arm member movable relative to the robot body; a control unit for controlling the operation of the arm member; Equipped with The arm member a gripping portion that grips the elongated member; an arm body that supports the gripping portion and has a plurality of joints; Equipped with The control unit a gripping step of inserting the gripping member into the stack of elongated members contained therein and gripping the elongated members; a first rotating step of driving at least one of the joints to rotate the gripping portion gripping the elongated member upward; a moving step of moving the gripping portion to above a predetermined position by the arm body; a second pivoting step of driving at least one of the joints to pivot the gripping portion downward, releasing the gripping portion from the elongated member, and placing the elongated member at the predetermined position; A robot equipped with

2. The robot according to claim 1 , wherein in the second pivoting step, the arm body is retracted from the predetermined position while the robot is pivoting.

3. The robot according to claim 1 or 2; a weighing device; Equipped with the weighing device comprises at least one weighing unit having the predetermined position; A pickup system for elongated members, configured so that when the elongated member placed at the predetermined position on the weighing unit has a weight within a predetermined range, the weighing unit is driven and the elongated member is transported.

Images