Fabric pickup device

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a cloth pick-up device for extracting one cloth from multiple cloths that are entangled. [Solution] A cloth pick-up device comprising: a conveyor unit for conveying a plurality of cloths; a sensor unit for detecting the top portion of one cloth among the plurality of cloths conveyed by the conveyor unit; and a cloth grasping device for pulling up the top portion of the one cloth detected by the sensor unit. Selected drawing: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a fabric pickup device that supplies one piece of fabric from a plurality of pieces of fabric to a worker so that the fabric can be fed into a fabric feeding device, which is the next process. [Background technology]

[0002] The linen supply industry handles linen products such as sheets and towels, and these linen products are collected from customers and then washed, ironed, folded, and delivered to them. In this process, workers pick up the washed fabrics one by one from a pile of fabrics and feed them into a fabric loading device, which transports the fabrics to the next process where they are further spread and folded.

[0003] However, it is a burden for workers to untangle the clumps of multiple pieces of fabric and pick up the pieces one by one. To be more specific, after washing, the cloths are brought in still slightly dry. At that time, the multiple pieces of fabric are brought in as a tangled clump. The worker must then find and pick up the single piece of fabric from the tangled clump. This type of work requires bending over, which is a heavy workload.

[0004] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 7-112100 discloses a method for assisting such work. The cloth take-out device disclosed in the above publication as a device for picking up cloths is a cloth take-out device that has a gripping device capable of gripping any part of cloth, which is moved up and down by a vertical movement device between a lower cloth gripping position and an upper cloth lifting position, so that one piece of cloth can be taken out in a suspended state from a pile of cloths. The gripping device is characterized by comprising: a chuck having a pair of left and right chuck pieces, each of whose outer ends is pivotally connected to a respective link by a shaft so that the inner sides of each chuck piece can swing up and down; a chuck opening and closing device that opens and closes each chuck piece in directions toward or away from each other by operating each link; and a chuck piece swinging device that swings each chuck piece upward so that, in a chuck closed state, the tip gripping parts of each chuck piece are displaced from a position where they are joined below a line connecting the axes of each chuck piece to a position where they are joined above the line connecting the axes.

[0005] However, since the gripping device in the above device grips the fabric at the same position, if no fabric is placed at that position, the fabric cannot be gripped. Also, even if fabric is placed at that position, there is a case where a fabric placed below a mass of multiple fabrics is pulled out, in which case the worker must untangle the tangled fabrics and remove the first fabric, which does not reduce the burden on the worker. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-112100 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cloth pickup device that picks up one piece of cloth from a plurality of entangled pieces of cloth. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, the fabric pickup device of the first aspect has a conveying section that conveys a plurality of fabrics, a sensor section that detects the vertex of one of the plurality of fabrics conveyed by the conveying section, and a fabric gripping device that grips the vertex of the one fabric detected by the sensor section.

[0009] In addition, the fabric pickup device of the second aspect is the same as in the first aspect, but further comprising a main body section that serves as a housing for arranging the conveying section and the sensor section, and the main body section has an XY plane consisting of the width direction X and the up-down direction Y at a predetermined position in the front-to-back direction, and the fabric gripping device has a first drive section that moves up and down, a second drive section that moves up and down, a first link section that is rotatably attached to the first drive section, a second link section that is rotatably attached to the second drive section, and a gripping section that grips the fabric attached to the first link section and the second link section, and the sensor section drives the first drive section and the second drive section respectively to search the XY plane to grip a vertex portion located on one of the XY planes, and moves the gripping section to the vertex portion, thereby causing the fabric gripping device to grip the vertex portion.

[0010] In addition, the cloth pickup device of a third aspect is the same as that of the second aspect, further comprising a third link portion rotatably attached to the second drive portion, and the third link portion is attached to the center of the gripping portion.

[0011] In addition, a fourth aspect of the present invention provides a cloth pickup device according to the second aspect, further comprising a take-up clamp unit for further clamping the first cloth grasped by the grasping device, a first conveying unit, and Second unloading transport sectionThe device has a cloth discharge conveyor that divides the cloth into two lanes and transports it, and a take-up clamp section that distributes the clamped cloth to either the first discharge conveying section or the second discharge conveying section.

[0012] In addition, the cloth pickup device of a fifth aspect is the same as that of the second aspect, further comprising a control unit that transmits the position on the XY plane of the vertex portion searched for by the sensor unit to the first driving unit and the second driving unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] The present invention is configured and operates as described above, and therefore can provide a fabric pickup device that picks up one piece of fabric from a plurality of entangled pieces of fabric. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a side view of the cloth pickup device and the cloth supply conveyor. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cloth pickup device and the cloth supply conveyor. [Figure 3] 1A is a front view of the cloth pickup device, and FIG. 1B is a rear view of the cloth pickup device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view of the cloth gripping device in the cloth pickup device. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a side view of the cloth gripping device in the cloth pickup device. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cloth gripping device in the cloth pickup device. [Figure 7] 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIIA-VIIA in FIG. 4. FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIIB-VIIB in FIG. [Figure 8] 1A is a diagram illustrating a state before the cloth gripping device identifies the position of the vertex of the cloth, and FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating a state after the cloth gripping device identifies the position of the vertex of the cloth. [Figure 9]1A is a diagram showing a state in which the cloth gripping device grips the top part of the cloth, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing a state in which the cloth gripping device grips and lifts the top part of the cloth. [Figure 10] 10 is a diagram showing the state in which the cloth holding device has grasped and lifted the top portion of the cloth and handed it over to the take-up clamp unit that holds the cloth. FIG. [Figure 11] 1A is a schematic side view showing the state in which the take-up clamp unit is about to move the fabric backward, and FIG. 1B is a schematic plan view of the state in A. [Figure 12] 1A is a schematic side view showing the state in which the take-up clamp unit places the gripped cloth in the first discharge conveyor of the cloth discharge conveyor, and FIG. 1B is a schematic plan view of A. [Figure 13] 1A is a schematic side view showing the state in which the take-up clamp unit places the gripped cloth in the second discharge conveyor of the cloth discharge conveyor, and FIG. 1B is a schematic plan view of A. [Figure 14] 1A is a schematic side view showing the fabric conveyed by the first discharge conveying section, the fabric being sandwiched between the second discharge roll section and the first sandwich conveyor in the first discharge conveying section, and FIG. 1B is a schematic plan view of FIG. 1A. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a side view of the cloth pickup device and cloth supply conveyor of the second embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a plan view of the cloth pickup device and cloth supply conveyor of the second embodiment. [Figure 17] 1A is a front view of the cloth pickup device of the second embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a rear view of the cloth pickup device of the second embodiment. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0015] The fabric pickup device 10 will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment. The fabric pickup device 10 has a main body 15 that forms the outer shell of the fabric pickup device 10, a conveying unit 20, and a sensor unit 30. The main body 15 serves as a housing for arranging the conveying unit 20 and the sensor unit 30. The fabric pickup device 10 can receive a plurality of fabrics W from a fabric supply conveyor 250.

[0016] The conveying unit 20 is for conveying a plurality of pieces of fabric W, and the sensor unit 30 is for detecting the vertex Wt of one piece of fabric W1 among the plurality of pieces of fabric W placed in the conveying unit 20. The fabric pickup device 10 also has a fabric gripping device 40 that grips the vertex Wt of one piece of fabric W1 detected by the sensor unit 30. Here, the vertex Wt of one piece of fabric W1 among the plurality of pieces of fabric W refers to the vertex Wt of one piece of fabric W1 that is located at the highest position among the plurality of pieces of fabric W. This is because it has been found that gripping this vertex Wt results in relatively little entanglement of the plurality of pieces of fabric W.

[0017] Here, the conveying section 20 includes a first conveying roll section 21 which is a cylindrical roller, a second conveying roll section 22 which is also a cylindrical roller, and a first conveying belt section 23 which is a strip-shaped belt wound around the first and second conveying roll sections 21 and 22. The conveying section 20 in this embodiment is disposed substantially horizontally.

[0018] The main body 15 also has a transport confirmation sensor 18a and a transport confirmation sensor 18b arranged in this order from the front to the rear Z, which detect the presence of the fabric W on the transport section 20. It also has a position confirmation sensor 18c which detects the fabric W transported directly below the fabric gripping device 40, and a position overrun confirmation sensor 18d which detects that the fabric W has passed through position A.

[0019] The multiple pieces of fabric W are detected in this order by the conveyance confirmation sensor 18a and then by the conveyance confirmation sensor 18b, and when they are detected by the position confirmation sensor 18c, the conveying unit 20 stops conveying the fabric W. As will be described later, if the fabric gripping device 40 leaves multiple pieces of fabric W located directly below it ungrabbed, the fabric W may be conveyed further backward Z from the front. In this case, when the position overrun confirmation sensor 18d detects the fabric, the conveying unit 20 conveys the fabric W in the opposite direction (forward).

[0020] As described above, the sensor unit 30 detects the vertex portions Wt of multiple pieces of fabric W, and the sensor unit 30 can search an XY plane consisting of the width direction X and height direction Y of any position A on the main body 15 of the fabric pickup device 10.

[0021] Here, the width direction X literally refers to the width direction of the main body 15 of the fabric pickup device 10, and the height direction Y literally refers to the height direction of the main body 15 of the fabric pickup device 10. In other words, the sensor unit 30 is a so-called two-dimensional sensor that can search an XY plane consisting of the width direction X and height direction Y at any position A from the front to the rear Z of the fabric pickup device 10. The sensor unit 30 is preferably one that can measure the cross sections of multiple pieces of fabric W on this arbitrary XY plane with high accuracy. By using a so-called two-dimensional sensor in this way, costs can be reduced without using a three-dimensional sensor.

[0022] In addition, the sensor unit 30 searches the XY plane at position A to detect the vertex Wt of one piece of fabric W1 that is placed at the highest position among the multiple pieces of fabric W placed at position A.

[0023] The arbitrary position A in the cloth pickup device 10 is preferably a position approximately three-quarters of the way from the front to the rear Z in the conveying section 20. However, it is not limited to this position.

[0024] The fabric grasping device 40 detects the vertex Wt of one piece of fabric W1 that is positioned at the highest position among multiple pieces of fabric W using the sensor unit 30, and grasps the vertex Wt. That is, the sensor unit 30 detects the position on the XY plane of the vertex Wt of the one piece of fabric W1, and transmits the two-dimensional position information on the XY plane to a control unit 80 that has a built-in PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) (not shown), and the control unit 80 transmits a command based on the position information to the fabric grasping device 40, which then grasps the vertex Wt of the one piece of fabric W1 according to a predetermined program.

[0025] The fabric gripping device 40 has a first drive unit 41 that moves up and down, a second drive unit 51 that moves up and down, a first link unit 42 connected to the first drive unit 41 via a first connection unit 43, a second link unit 52 connected to the second drive unit 51 via a second connection unit 53, and a gripping unit 60 that grips fabric W attached to the first link unit 42 and the second link unit 52 (see particularly Figures 3A, 4, 5, and 6).

[0026] The first drive unit 41 includes an elevation servomotor 411 that provides the driving force for vertical movement, a reducer 412 that reduces the speed of the lift servomotor, a drive-side timing pulley 413, a driven-side timing pulley 414, and a timing belt 415 that rotatably extends between them. The first drive unit 41 also includes a drive joint 416 that connects the reducer 412 and the drive-side timing pulley 413. The first drive unit 41 also includes a plate-shaped bracket 417 that is connected to the timing belt 415 and moves up and down. The bracket 417 is connected to the first link unit 42 via the tip of the first connection unit 43 and moves up and down. As will be described later, the first drive unit 41 also includes a rotation servomotor 420 that rotates the first link unit 42 in the backward Z direction via the first connection unit 43, a reducer 422 that reduces the speed of the rotation of the servomotor, and a coupling 430 that serves as a joint (see particularly FIGS. 3A, 4, 5, and 6).

[0027] Similarly, the second drive unit 51 has an elevation servo motor 511 that provides the driving force for moving up and down, a reducer 512 that slows down the rotation, a timing pulley 513 on the drive side, a timing pulley 514 on the driven side, and a timing belt 515 that is looped around them to rotate (see Figure 6 in particular).

[0028] The second drive unit 51 also has a drive joint 516 as a joint between the reducer 512 and the drive-side timing pulley 513. The second drive unit 51 also has a plate-shaped bracket 517 connected to the timing belt 515 and moving up and down, and the bracket 517 is connected to the second link unit 52 via the tip of the second connection unit 53 and moves up and down.

[0029] As will be described later, the second link portion 52 also has a rotation servo motor 520 for rotating the second link portion 52 in the backward Z direction via the second connection portion 53, a reducer 522 for slowing down the rotation, and a coupling 530 as a joint.

[0030] The gripping portion 60 is literally for gripping the fabric W, and has a bracket portion 61, a clamp portion 62, and fabric detection sensors 63, 63 for detecting the presence of the fabric W.

[0031] The fabric gripping device 40 further includes a third link portion 65. The third link portion 65 is connected to the second link portion 52 via the tip of the second connection portion 53. The third link portion 65 is located at a position 65a extending horizontally from the center portion 61 located in the center of the gripping portion 60 of the fabric gripping device 40 and the right first connection portion 52a connecting the second connection portion 53 and the second link portion 52. In this case, the third link portion 65 is located parallel to the second link portion 52. This allows the gripping portion 60 to remain parallel to the floor even when the gripping portion 60 is raised or lowered. In this way, the third link portion 65 keeps the gripping portion 60 parallel to the floor, allowing the gripping portion 60 to reliably grip the vertex portion Wt of one piece of fabric W1.

[0032] 8A and 8B, a method for the fabric gripping device 40 to reach the vertex Wt of the fabric W placed on the XY plane will be briefly described. As an example, the lengths of the first link portion 42 and the second link portion 52 are both 550 millimeters. The distance between the left first connection portion 42a, which is the connection portion between the first link portion 42 and the tip end of the first connection portion 43, and the left second connection portion 42b, which is the connection portion between the first link portion 42 and the gripping portion 60, when projected in the width direction X1, is set to be 170 millimeters.

[0033] Similarly, the length projected in the width direction X2 of the right first connection portion 52a, which is the connection portion between the second link portion 52 and the tip of the second connection portion 53, and the second connection portion 42B, which is the connection portion between the second link portion 52 and the grip portion 60, is set to 170 millimeters.

[0034] In this case, the following description will discuss a case where the vertex WT of one piece of fabric W1 is positioned at position X3, which is 100 millimeters to the right of the center line C. Using, for example, Pythagoras' theorem, the control unit 80 calculates the length Y1 of the tilted first link portion 42 projected in the height direction Y by subtracting the square of the sum of 170 millimeters and 100 millimeters (270 millimeters) from the square of 550 millimeters, and then calculating the square root of the difference. In this case, the length Y1 of the distance between the left first connection portion 42a and the left second connection portion 42b of the first link portion 42 projected in the height direction Y is 479 millimeters.

[0035] Using, for example, Pythagoras' theorem, the control unit 80 calculates the length Y2 of the tilted second link portion 52 projected in the height direction Y by subtracting the square of the difference (70 mm) between 170 mm and 100 mm from the square of 550 mm, and then calculating the square root of the difference. In this case, the length Y2 of the distance between the right first connection portion 52a and the right second connection portion 52B of the second link portion 52 projected in the height direction Y is 545 mm.

[0036] By using the lifting servo motor 411 of the first drive unit 41 to move the first link unit 42 to a position lower than the second link unit 52 by 545-479=66 mm, the gripping unit 60 can be positioned directly above the apex Wt of the fabric W1, which is 100 mm off from the center in the width direction X. Thereafter, by continuing to lower both the first link unit 42 and the second link unit 52 until they reach the apex Wt of the fabric W1, the gripping unit 60 can grip the apex Wt of the fabric W1.

[0037] In this way, by using a two-dimensional sensor for the sensor unit 30 that can search the XY plane at any position A, the fabric gripping device 40 can reach any position on the XY plane without using complex calculations and grip the fabric W. Therefore, the fabric pickup device 10 does not unnecessarily increase costs. Also, although dust is generated from the fabric W in linen factories, the relatively simple configuration as described above can minimize the risk of the fabric pickup device 10 breaking down due to that dust.

[0038] The fabric pickup device 10 also has a second conveying section 70 that conveys multiple pieces of fabric W. The second conveying section 70 is disposed near the second conveying roll section 22 in the conveying section 20, and is disposed so as to be inclined relative to the horizontally disposed conveying section 20. The second conveying section 70 is preferably inclined at an angle of 70 to 80 degrees, and more preferably at 75 degrees, relative to the conveying section 20.

[0039] The second conveying section 70 includes a third conveying roll section 71 which is a cylindrical roller, a fourth conveying roll section 72 which is also a cylindrical roller, and a second conveying belt section 75 which is a belt-like belt wound around the third conveying roll section 71 and the fourth conveying roll section 72. The third conveying roll section 71 is disposed near the second conveying roll section 22 in the conveying section 20.

[0040] As the plurality of fabric items W conveyed by conveying unit 20 are further conveyed, they bump into the second conveying unit 70 in an inclined state. This second conveying unit 70 conveys the fabric items W in an upward direction, but along the way, the plurality of fabric items W fall back onto conveying unit 20 due to their own weight, which is expected to agitate the plurality of fabric items W and untangle the tangled plurality of fabric items W. Furthermore, when the fabric items W that have fallen from the second conveying unit 70 are placed back onto conveying unit 20, different vertices of the fabric items W can appear.

[0041] The cloth pickup device 10 includes a take-up clamp unit 100 for taking up the cloth W, a first discharge conveyance unit 131, and Second unloading transport section The first conveyor 131 has a cloth output conveyor 120 that conveys cloth W in two lanes, a first clamping conveyor 135, and a second clamping conveyor 145. The first output conveyor 131 has a plurality of first cloth sensors 132 that detect the presence of cloth W. Second unloading transport section Similarly, the sensor 141 has a plurality of second fabric sensors 142 for detecting the presence of fabric W (see FIG. 13A).

[0042] The take-up clamp unit 100 that takes up the cloth W clamps the cloth W that has been gripped by the gripping unit 60 of the cloth gripping device 40 and moves it backward Z, and further, connects it to the first carry-out conveying unit 131 of the cloth carry-out conveyor 120. Second unloading transport section In this way, the first unloading transport section 131 and the second unloading transport section 141 can be allocated to either of the two lanes. Second unloading transport section By disposing a worker at each of the discharge destinations S1 and S2 of 141, two workers can receive the fabric W at one fabric pickup device 10.

[0043] The first output conveying section 131 is a conveyor that conveys the cloth W, and includes a first output roll section 131a that is a cylindrical roller, a second output roll section 131b that is also a cylindrical roller, and a first output belt section 131c that is a band-shaped belt wound around the first output roll section 131a and the second output roll section 131b. A first pinch conveyor 135 is disposed in contact with the second output roll section 131b. The first pinch conveyor 135 is disposed so as to descend, at a substantially right angle to the first output conveying section 131 in a side view.

[0044] The first pinch conveyor 135 has a first pinch roll portion 135a which is a cylindrical roller, a second pinch roll portion 135b which is a cylindrical roller, and a third pinch roll portion 135c which is a cylindrical roller, and a first pinch belt portion 135d which is a band-shaped belt is wound around these.The first pinch conveyor 135 also has a first pinch sensor 137.As will be described later, the first pinch sensor 137 is for detecting a state in which the cloth W is pinched between the second discharge roll portion 131b of the first discharge conveyor 131 and the first pinch conveyor 135.

[0045] The second pinch conveyor 145 has a fourth pinch roll unit 145a which is a cylindrical roller, a fifth pinch roll unit 145b which is a cylindrical roller, and a sixth pinch roll unit 145C which is a cylindrical roller, and a second pinch belt unit 145d which is a band-shaped belt is wound around these. It also has a second pinch sensor 147. As will be described later, the second pinch sensor 147 is for detecting a state in which the cloth W is pinched between the second output conveyor 141 and the second pinch conveyor 145.

[0046] The take-up clamp unit 100, which takes up the fabric W and clamps the fabric W, has a chuck 101 that clamps the fabric W, and a chuck rotation actuator 102 for rotating the chuck 101 left and right. When the first fabric sensor 132 or the second fabric sensor 142 does not detect the fabric W, the take-up clamp unit 100 takes up the fabric W and clamps the fabric W. Second unloading transport section The cloth W is placed in the first conveying section 131 and the Second unloading transport section When the fabric W is not present in both of the first and second output conveyance sections 141, it is preferable to place the fabric W in the first output conveyance section 131.

[0047] Next, the operation of the fabric pickup device 10 to pick up fabric W will be described. A plurality of fabrics W are supplied to the conveying section 20 from a fabric supply conveyor 250 for supplying fabrics W. In a side view, the fabrics W are conveyed from the front to the rear Z, and are detected in order by the conveyance confirmation sensor 18a and the conveyance confirmation sensor 18b. When the fabrics W are detected by the position confirmation sensor 18c, the plurality of fabrics W arrive at point A in the front to rear Z (see FIG. 1).

[0048] At the above-mentioned point A, the sensor unit 30 searches the XY plane defined by the width direction X and height direction Y at position A, and detects the vertex Wt of one piece of fabric W1 among the multiple pieces of fabric W. As described above, in the case where the vertex WT of the piece of fabric W1 is located 100 millimeters to the right of the center line C (see FIG. 8B), as described above, the sensor unit 30 transmits its position information to the control unit 80, and the control unit 80 indicates the position of the vertex Wt of that piece of fabric W1 based on the position information, and the fabric grasping device 40 grasps the vertex Wt of that piece of fabric W1 based on the instruction (see FIG. 9A).

[0049] Thereafter, the cloth gripping device 40 moves up while gripping the vertex Wt of the piece of cloth W1, and places it on the center line C (see FIG. 9B). In order to rotate the cloth gripping device 40 backward Z, the first link portion 42 is connected to a rotation servo motor 420 via a coupling 430 as a joint.

[0050] That is, the first link unit 42 is caused to swing backward in the Z direction like a pendulum by the swing servo motor 420. At the same time, the second link unit 52 is connected to the swing servo motor 520 via a coupling 530 serving as a joint. The second link unit 52 is caused to swing backward in the Z direction like a pendulum by the swing servo motor 520 (see FIG. 10).

[0051] In this way, the gripping portion 60 connected to the first link portion 42 and the second link portion 52 rotates backward Z like a pendulum, and the cloth W1 is handed over to the chuck 101 that clamps the cloth W1 in the take-up clamp portion 100 (see Figures 11A and B).

[0052] The take-up clamp unit 100 that takes up the cloth W1 is connected to the first take-up conveyor 131 of the cloth take-out conveyor 120. Second unloading transport section The cloth W1 can be sorted into one of two lanes, 132 and 141. For example, the cloth W1 can be sorted into a conveying section where the cloth W1 is not present, using the plurality of first cloth sensors 132 and the plurality of second cloth sensors 142. Specifically, when the cloth W1 is not present in the first output conveying section 131, the chuck turning actuator 102 turns the chuck 101, and the cloth W1 is placed on that first output conveying section 131 (see FIGS. 12A and 12B).

[0053] Furthermore, when the cloth item W1 is not present in the second output conveying section 141, the chuck rotation actuator 102 rotates the chuck 101 that clamps the cloth item W1, and places the cloth item W1 on the second output conveying section 141 (see FIGS. 13A and 13B). In this way, the take-up clamp section 100 can transport the cloth item W1 along two lanes, the first output conveying section 131 and the second output conveying section 141.

[0054] Thereafter, for example, when the cloth W1 is transported to the first output conveying section 131, the cloth W1 is sandwiched between the second output roll section 131b in the first output conveying section 131 and the first clamping conveyor 135, and an operator (not shown) can remove the cloth W1 (see Figures 14A and 14B).

[0055] An operator (not shown) removes the fabric W, and when the first clip sensor 137 no longer detects the presence of the fabric W, the next fabric W is sandwiched between the second output roll portion 131b of the first output conveying section 131 and the first clip conveyor 135, and the above process is repeated. The same is true for the second output conveying section 141, and another operator (not shown) can remove the fabric W.

[0056] In this way, the fabric pickup device 10 can pick up one fabric W from a plurality of fabrics W and supply that fabric W to two workers. Also, since two supply ports, the first discharge conveyance section 131 and the second discharge section 141, are provided to supply the fabric W, one fabric pickup device 10 is sufficient for two workers, eliminating the need for an exclusive area for two devices and improving work efficiency relative to the installation area of ​​the fabric pickup device 10.

[0057] Next, a cloth pickup device 500 of the second embodiment will be described (see FIGS. 15, 16, and 17). The difference between the cloth pickup device 10 and the cloth pickup device 500 of the second embodiment is that a second sensor unit 530 is provided instead of the sensor unit 30. The other components are the same as those of the first embodiment, so the same reference numerals are used and their description will be omitted.

[0058] The second sensor unit 530 is similar to the first embodiment in that it detects the vertex Wt of one piece of fabric W from among multiple pieces of fabric W, but its configuration is different. The second sensor unit 530 has a sensor main body 531 and a sensor driver 540 that moves the sensor main body 531 in the width direction X. By moving the sensor main body 531 in the width direction X using the sensor driver 540, the vertex Wt of the piece of fabric W1 is detected and its position information on the XY plane is transmitted to the control unit 80. The subsequent steps are the same as those in the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 10 Fabric pickup device 15 Main body 20 Conveying section 30 Sensor section 40 Cloth gripping device 41 First drive unit 42 First link 51 Second drive unit 52 Second link 60 Grip part 65 Third Link 70 Second conveying section 80 Control Unit 100 Take-up clamp section 120 Cloth discharge conveyor 131 First carrying-out transport section 132 First fabric sensor 135 First sandwich conveyor 141 Second unloading transport section 142 Second fabric sensor 145 Second sandwich conveyor 250 Fabric supply conveyor 500 Second embodiment of cloth pickup device 530 Second Sensor Unit A position W Cloths W1 1 fabrics Wt vertex part X Width direction Y Height direction Z backward

Claims

1. a conveying unit that conveys a plurality of pieces of fabric; and a sensor unit that detects a vertex of one piece of fabric among the plurality of pieces of fabric conveyed by the conveying unit; a cloth gripping device for gripping and lifting a vertex of one piece of cloth detected by the sensor unit, a main body portion serving as a housing for arranging the transport portion and the sensor portion, The main body has an XY plane defined by a width direction X and a vertical direction Y at a predetermined position in the front-rear direction, The cloth gripping device includes a first drive unit that moves up and down; a second drive unit that moves up and down, a first link unit that is rotatably attached to the first drive unit, and a second link unit that is rotatably attached to the second drive unit; a gripping portion attached to the first link portion and the second link portion for gripping the one piece of fabric; the sensor unit drives the first driving unit and the second driving unit, respectively, to search the XY plane and grasp the vertex portion located anywhere on the XY plane; The cloth gripping device grips the vertex portion by moving the gripping portion to the vertex portion, a take-up clamp unit that further clamps the one piece of fabric grasped by the grasping device; and a fabric discharge conveyor that conveys the fabric along two lanes, a first discharge conveying unit and a second discharge conveying unit; the first conveying unit has a first fabric sensor that detects the presence of fabric, and the second conveying unit has a second fabric sensor that detects the presence of fabric, The take-up clamp unit is a fabric pickup device that can place a clamped piece of fabric in a first outgoing conveying unit or a second outgoing conveying unit that does not detect the fabric when the first fabric sensor or the second fabric sensor does not detect the fabric.

2. 2. The cloth pickup device according to claim 1, further comprising a third link portion rotatably attached to the second drive portion, the third link portion being attached to the center of the gripping portion.

3. 2. The cloth pickup device according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that transmits the position of the vertex portion on the XY plane detected by the sensor unit to the first driving unit and the second driving unit.

Images