Item pickup system

Abstract

To provide a pickup system of a string-like member which can further increase efficiency of article pickup operation.SOLUTION: An article pickup system includes a robot, a weighing device, and a storage member capable of storing the article, wherein the robot includes a robot body, at least one arm member movable to the robot body, and a control part for controlling the operation of the arm member, the weighing device has at least one weighing part aligned in a first direction, the storage member is arranged between the weighing part and the robot in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the control part allows the arm member to pick up the article from the storage member, and drives the arm member so as to arrange the article in the one weighing part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a pick-up system for articles.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a robot that drives an arm member and picks up noodle products housed in a bin by tongs provided at the tip of the arm member, and places them on a weighing tray.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In Patent Document 1, a tray is placed in front of the robot, and a bin (accommodating member) in which noodle products are housed is placed on the side of the robot. Although the position of the bin is not particularly limited, depending on the position of the bin, it may be possible to further improve the efficiency of the pick-up operation of the noodle products. Such a problem can also occur not only when picking up noodle products but also when picking up articles in general.

[0005] <第1のピックアップシステム>

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] <First Pick-up System> The first aspect of the present invention is an article pickup system comprising a robot, a weighing device, and a storage member capable of accommodating the article, wherein the robot comprises a robot body, at least one arm member movable relative to the robot body, and a control unit that controls the movement of the arm member, the weighing device has at least one weighing unit arranged in a first direction, the storage member is positioned between the weighing unit and the robot in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the control unit drives the arm member to pick up the article from the storage member and place the article in one of the weighing units.

[0007] In the above-described pickup system, the receiving member can be arranged to be movable in the first direction.

[0008] In the above-described pickup system, the replacement storage member containing the article can be positioned on either side of the storage member in the first direction.

[0009] In the above-described pickup system, in the first direction, an empty auxiliary storage member or a backup auxiliary storage member containing the article can be further positioned on at least one of the two sides of the storage member.

[0010] In the above-described pickup system, the robot comprises at least two arm members, and the two arm members can be provided on both sides of the robot body in the first direction.

[0011] <Second pickup system> In Patent Document 1, an arm member is used to place noodle products in one of several trays. However, by specifying which tray the noodle products should be placed in, it may be possible to further improve the efficiency of the noodle product pickup operation. This type of problem can occur not only when picking up noodle products but also when picking up items in general.

[0012] The second pickup system according to the present invention was made to solve the above problems and aims to provide an item pickup system that can further improve the efficiency of the item pickup operation.

[0013] Item 1. A pick-up system for goods, Robots and, A weighing device having multiple weighing units, Equipped with, The aforementioned robot The robot body and At least one arm member that is movable relative to the robot body, A control unit that controls the movement of the arm member, Equipped with, The control unit, The arm member performs a pickup operation in which it picks up the item and places the item in one of the weighing units. The pick-up operation is performed to place the item in the weighing unit closest to the robot among the weighing units where the item is not currently placed, in an item pick-up system.

[0014] Item 2. The robot is, The pickup system according to claim 1, having a plurality of arm members, including a first arm member positioned on the right side of the robot body and a second arm member positioned on the left side of the robot arm.

[0015] Item 3. The plurality of weighing units are arranged from the right side to the left side, The aforementioned plurality of measuring units are A first group of weighing units, including at least one weighing unit located primarily on the right side of the robot, and A second group of measuring units, which includes at least one measuring unit other than those included in the first group of measuring units. Includes, The first arm member is configured to position the article relative to the weighing unit of the first weighing unit group, The pickup system according to claim 2, wherein the second arm member is configured to place the article on the metering unit of the second metering unit group.

[0016] Item 4. The plurality of metering units are arranged side by side from the right side to the left side, The plurality of metering units are A first metering unit group including a plurality of metering units arranged on the right side of the robot, A second metering unit group including a plurality of metering units arranged on the left side of the robot, and A third metering unit group arranged in front of the robot and including at least one metering unit other than the first metering unit group and the second metering unit group, including The first arm member is configured to place the article on the metering unit of the first metering unit group, The second arm member is configured to place the article on the metering unit of the second metering unit group, The pickup system according to claim 2, wherein the first arm member or the second arm member is configured to place the article on the metering unit of the third metering unit group.

[0017] <The third pickup system> In the above Patent Document 1, in order to keep the weight of the noodle products placed on each tray within a predetermined range, the combination of the weight of the noodle products put into one or more trays and the noodle products grasped by the robot is checked so that it falls within the predetermined range. However, such processing is complicated, and there has been a demand for making the weight of the noodle products placed on each tray within a predetermined range with simpler control. Such a problem can occur not only when picking up noodle products but also when picking up articles in general.

[0018] The third pickup system according to the present invention is made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a pickup system for articles that can place an appropriate amount of articles with simple control.

[0019] Item 1. A pick-up system for goods, Robots and, Weighing device and Equipped with, The aforementioned robot The robot body and At least one arm member that is movable relative to the robot body, A control unit that controls the movement of the arm member, Equipped with, The aforementioned weighing device is Multiple weighing units capable of weighing the aforementioned articles, A conveying unit for conveying the articles weighed in the weighing unit, Equipped with, The control unit causes the arm member to perform a pickup operation, in which the arm member picks up the item and places the item in one of the weighing units. A pickup system in which, when the weighing unit detects that the placed item has not reached a predetermined range, the control unit is configured to cause the weighing unit to perform the pickup operation again.

[0020] Item 2. The pickup system according to Item 1, wherein when the weighing unit detects that the placed item has not reached a predetermined range, the control unit is configured to repeatedly perform the pickup operation until the weight of the item reaches the predetermined range.

[0021] Item 3. The pickup system according to item 1 or 2, wherein when the weighing unit detects that the placed articles exceed a predetermined range, the control unit is configured to pick up a portion of the articles placed in the weighing unit and operate the arm member to reduce the amount of articles placed in the weighing unit.

[0022] Item 4. The pickup system according to item 1 or 2, wherein when the weighing unit detects that the placed item exceeds a predetermined range, the weighing device is configured to retrieve the item placed in the weighing unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0023] According to the present invention, the process of picking up items can be made even more efficient. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0024] [Figure 1] This is a plan view of a pickup system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a front view of Figure 1. [Figure 3] This is a side view of Figure 1. [Figure 4] Figure 1 is a perspective view. [Figure 5] This is a perspective view showing a certain posture of the first robot relating to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This is a front view showing a certain posture of the first robot. [Figure 7] This is a perspective view of the end effector. [Figure 8] This is a schematic diagram of the first arm member. [Figure 9] This is a plan view showing preliminary operations performed by the first arm member. [Figure 10] This is a perspective view showing the pickup operation of noodle products by the first arm member. [Figure 11] This is a perspective view showing the pickup operation of noodle products by the first arm member. [Figure 12] This is a perspective view showing the pickup operation of noodle products by the first arm member. [Figure 13] This is a front view showing the state of the first arm member before the first rotation operation. [Figure 14] This is a front view showing the first rotation operation of the first arm member. [Figure 15] This is a front view showing the second rotation operation of the first arm member. [Figure 16] This is a front view showing the vertical movement operation of the first arm member. [Figure 17]This is a side view showing the placement operation of noodle products by the first arm member. [Figure 18] This is a side view showing the placement operation of noodle products by the first arm member. [Figure 19] This is a side view showing the placement operation of noodle products by the first arm member. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0025] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the article pickup system according to the present invention applied to a noodle product pickup system will be described with reference to the drawings. Noodle products, as used herein, include, for example, pasta, udon, and soba. Figure 1 is a plan view of the pickup system according to this embodiment, Figure 2 is a front view of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a partial side view of Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of Figure 1 (with one of the robots omitted). In the following, when describing the conveying device, the description will follow the directions shown in Figures 1 to 4. When describing the robot, the description will follow the directions shown in Figure 5, which will be described later. However, the present invention is not limited to these directions and can be configured in various directions.

[0026] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the pickup system according to this embodiment comprises a first robot 100, a second robot 200, and a noodle product N conveying device 300. The conveying device 300 comprises a plurality of weighing conveyors 311 to 317, 321 to 327, a first conveying conveyor 33 that conveys noodle products N supplied from each of the weighing conveyors 311 to 317, 321 to 327, and a second conveying conveyor 34 that conveys noodle products N supplied from the first conveying conveyor 33. This conveying device 300 is positioned between the two robots 100 and 200. Between each robot 100 and 200 and the conveying device 300, there are storage members 41 and 42, respectively, which contain noodle products N. Each robot 100 and 200 picks up a predetermined amount of noodle products N from the storage members 41 and 42 and places them on one of the weighing conveyors 311 to 317, 321 to 327. The noodle products N, placed on weighing conveyors 311-317 and 321-327, are supplied to and transported by the first transport conveyor 33, and then transferred to and transported by the second transport conveyor 34. Below, the transport device 300 will be described in detail first, followed by a detailed description of the robots 100 and 200.

[0027] <1. Conveying equipment> As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the conveying device 300 has a pair of weighing conveyor groups 301 and 302 that are spaced apart in the left-right direction, and each weighing conveyor group 301 and 302 is provided with multiple weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327, respectively. A first conveyor 33 extending in the front-rear direction is positioned between each weighing conveyor group 301 and 302, and a second conveyor 34 extending in the left-right direction is positioned at the front end of the first conveyor 33. Furthermore, an operation indicator 35 is positioned 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).

[0028] In the following description, the group of weighing conveyors to the right of the first transport conveyor 33 will be referred to as the first weighing conveyor group 301, and the group of weighing conveyors to the left will be referred to as the second weighing conveyor group 302. The first robot 100 is positioned to the right of the first weighing conveyor group 301, and the noodle products N picked up by the first robot 100 are placed on any of the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 of the first weighing conveyor group 301. On the other hand, the second robot 200 is positioned to the left of the second weighing conveyor group 302, and the noodle products N picked up by the second robot 200 are placed on any of the weighing conveyors 321 to 327 of the second weighing conveyor group 302. Since the first weighing conveyor group 301 and the second weighing conveyor group 302 are positioned symmetrically and have generally the same configuration, the following description will mainly focus on the first weighing conveyor group 301.

[0029] <1-1. Weighing Conveyor Group> The first weighing conveyor group 301 is equipped with a plurality of weighing conveyors 311 to 317 arranged in the front-to-back direction. In this embodiment, as an example, seven weighing conveyors 311 to 317 are provided, but for the sake of explanation, the weighing conveyors arranged from front to back will be referred to as the first to seventh weighing conveyors 311 to 317, respectively. However, since each weighing conveyor 311 to 317 has a generally identical configuration, the first weighing conveyor 311 will be described below.

[0030] The first weighing conveyor 311 is composed of a belt conveyor supported by weight sensors such as load cells (not shown). The belt conveyor is oriented left to 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 sensors, and this measured value (analog weight signal) is converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion unit and transmitted to the control device.

[0031] <1-2. Conveyor> The first conveyor belt 33 is composed of a belt conveyor and transports the noodle products N supplied from each weighing conveyor belt 311-317 and 321-327 forward. Therefore, as shown in Figure 2, the first conveyor belt 33 is positioned below each weighing conveyor belt group 301 and 302. A second conveyor belt 34 extending in the left-right direction is positioned at the front end of the first conveyor belt 33, and the noodle products N transported by the first conveyor belt 33 are transferred to the second conveyor belt 34. Therefore, the second conveyor belt 34 is positioned below the first conveyor belt 33. The second conveyor belt 34 is composed of a belt conveyor and moves in a circulating direction. Trays 341 are fixed on this belt conveyor at predetermined intervals in the transport direction. Each tray 341 is transported to the right when it is above the circulating belt conveyor and to the left when it is below the belt conveyor. In other words, each tray 341 moves in a circulating direction from left to right along with the belt conveyor. A collection container 38 is positioned to the right of the second conveyor belt 34. The noodle products N contained in each tray 341 are bagged and collected in this collection container 38.

[0032] The control device is composed of, for example, a microcontroller and has an arithmetic control unit composed of a CPU and a memory unit composed of RAM and ROM. Various data such as operating programs and metering data are stored in the memory unit. The control device may be composed of a single control device that provides centralized control, or it may be composed of multiple control devices that cooperate with each other to provide distributed control.

[0033] The control device controls the entire transport system by having the calculation control unit execute the operation program stored in the memory unit. For example, it continuously acquires weighing values ​​measured by each weight sensor as digital values ​​via the A / D conversion unit and stores them in the memory unit if necessary. The control device also controls the transport operation of each weighing conveyor 311-317, 321-327 and each transport conveyor 33, 34 via the conveyor drive circuit unit. Furthermore, the control device receives signals from the operation display unit 35 and outputs signals such as data to be displayed on the operation display unit 35.

[0034] The operation display unit 35 is equipped with, for example, a touchscreen display (display device), and operations such as starting and stopping the operation of the transport device 300, and setting operating parameters can be performed on the screen of this display. In addition, the results of operation (control) by the control device can be displayed on the display screen.

[0035] <1-3. Operation of the conveying device> Next, an example of the operation of the conveying device 300 configured as described above will be explained. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the robots 100 and 200 perform the task of supplying (placing) noodle products N onto weighing conveyors 311-317 and 321-327 as needed when the conveying is stopped and no noodle products N are on them.

[0036] The control device acquires weighing values ​​from each weight sensor at regular intervals from the A / D converter, and recognizes the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 to which noodle products N are supplied based on the weighing values ​​from the weight sensors, and also recognizes the weight of the noodle products N. When recognizing the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 to which noodle products N are supplied, the control device compares the weighing value (weight value) with a preset reference range, and if the weighing value is within the reference range, it is determined that an appropriate amount of noodle products N has been supplied. In this case, the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 are driven at a predetermined timing to transport the placed noodle products N to the first transport conveyor 33. If the weighing value is less than the first reference value which is smaller than the reference range, it is determined that no noodle products N have been supplied. In this case, robots 100 and 200 place the noodle products N on the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327. Furthermore, if the weighed value is between the first reference value and the lower limit of the reference range, it is determined that the amount of noodle product N to be placed has not reached a predetermined amount, and robots 100 and 200 will add more noodle product N. On the other hand, if the weighed value exceeds the reference range, it is determined that there is an excess of noodle product N, and robots 100 and 200 will perform control to remove some of the placed noodle product N. In addition, a recovery lane extending in the front-to-back direction is placed between the first weighing conveyor group 301 and the storage member 41, that is, on the opposite side from the first transport conveyor 33, and if the weighed value of the noodle product N exceeds the reference range, control can also be performed to remove the noodle product N by driving the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and transporting the noodle product N to the recovery lane.

[0037] In the above control system, the control unit sequentially transmits the weighing results from each weighing conveyor 311-317 and 321-327 to the control units of robots 100 and 200. This allows each robot 100 and 200 to recognize which weighing conveyors have the correct amount of noodle product N, which do not have any noodle product N, which have insufficient noodle product N, and which have too much noodle product N. Therefore, robots 100 and 200 can be controlled according to the state of each weighing conveyor 311-317 and 321-327. For example, each robot 100 and 200 can detect the nearest weighing conveyor that does not have any noodle product N and place the noodle product N on that conveyor in order.

[0038] Next, the control device transports the noodle products N from each weighing conveyor 311-317 and 321-327 to the first transport conveyor 33 at predetermined timings. Since trays 341 are arranged at predetermined intervals on the second transport conveyor 34 located downstream of the first transport conveyor 33, it is necessary to supply the noodle products N from the first transport conveyor 33 to the second transport conveyor 34 at predetermined time intervals. For this reason, the noodle products N must be arranged on the first transport conveyor 33 at predetermined intervals.

[0039] For this control, the control device drives weighing conveyors 311-317 and 321-327, each containing an appropriate amount of noodle product N within a reference range, at predetermined timings and transports them onto the first transport conveyor 33. The control device then ensures that the noodle product N supplied from each weighing conveyor 311-317 and 321-327 are arranged at predetermined intervals on the first transport conveyor 33. Therefore, each weighing conveyor 311-317 and 321-327 remains stopped until a timing specified by the control device, even after the appropriate amount of noodle product N has been placed on it.

[0040] The noodle products N supplied to the first conveyor belt 33 are then supplied to the trays of the second conveyor belt 34 downstream. The noodle products N in each tray 341 are then sequentially bagged by, for example, a worker and collected sequentially into the collection container 38 located on the right side of the second conveyor belt 34.

[0041] <2. Robots> The first and second robots 100 and 200 used in this embodiment are identical and are robots that mimic the upper body of a human. Each robot 100 and 200 is placed on a base 45 and 46 adjacent to the housing members 41 and 42. Since the first and second robots 100 and 200 have the same structure, the first robot 100 will be described below.

[0042] Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a certain posture of the first robot according to this embodiment, and Figure 6 is a front view showing a certain posture of the first robot.

[0043] As shown in Figures 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, which can rotate around a vertical axis, is provided at the upper end of the body 101. A first camera 105 for photographing downwards is also provided on the upper part of the body 101, and this first camera 105 is used to photograph the inside of the storage member 41 located in front of the first robot 100. That is, this camera 105 is used to photograph the noodle product N inside the storage member 41 and to calculate the portion to be picked up. A second camera 106 having the same function as the first camera is also provided on the head 102. These first and second cameras 105 and 106 may be digital cameras equipped with image sensors using CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), or they may be RGB-D cameras that can measure depth. The picking up of the noodle product N will be described later. In this embodiment, the torso 101 and the head 102 correspond to the main body of the robot of the present invention.

[0044] A first arm member 103 is provided on the right side of the torso 101, and a second arm member 104 is provided on the left side. These arm members 103 and 104 have the same structure, differing only in that they are symmetrical; therefore, the first arm member 103 will be described below.

[0045] <2-1. Arm component> The first arm member 103 has multiple joints with seven degrees of freedom. This first arm member 103 is a typical manipulator and alternately comprises links, which are skeletal members that are immovable and displace as a whole, and joints that connect the links and displace the connected links relative to each other based on a predetermined axis of rotation. An end effector (gripping part) 3 is also provided at the tip of the arm member 103.

[0046] The first arm member 103 incorporates servo motors in each joint and is connected via signal lines to a control device 108 that controls the rotation angle of the servo motors. The control device 108 may be built into the first robot 100 or it may be externally mounted. 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 a so-called cloud. In this embodiment, for example, the servo motors may not have built-in brakes.

[0047] The materials used for each link (11-17, etc.) are not particularly limited and can include resin, metal, carbon, etc. Furthermore, the molding method is not particularly limited and can be manufactured by plastic deformation or injection molding, or by using a 3D printer.

[0048] Next, the 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 them. Specifically, it has a first link 11 which is part of the torso 101 (shoulder portion), 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. The link has a fourth joint 24 connected to the other end of the fourth link 14, a fifth link 15 with 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 with 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 with 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.

[0049] Figure 7 is a perspective view of the end effector provided at the tip of the arm member. As shown in Figure 7, the tip of the seventh joint 27 is provided with an end effector (gripping part) 3 composed of a two-finger gripper. 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 comprises a support part 31 rotatably connected to the seventh joint 27, and a pair of gripping members 32 and 33 arranged on either side of the rotation axis S within the support part 31. The ends of each gripping member 32 and 33 are pivotably connected to the support part 31, thereby allowing the tips of both gripping members 32 and 33 to move closer to and further apart 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 pivoted by a servo motor or the like. The gripping members 32 and 33 can also be configured as tongs, for example, to make it easier to grasp the noodle product N. In the arm member, the links and joints other than the end effector correspond to the arm body of the present invention.

[0050] Figure 8 is a schematic representation of the first arm member 103. The first arm member 103 shown in Figure 8 includes the first to seventh links 11 to 17, the first to seventh joints 21 to 27 connecting the links, and the end effector 3, and is connected to the control device 108. The fourth link 14 is equipped with a first joint 141, and the sixth link 16 is equipped with a second joint 161. In Figure 10, links are represented by thick straight lines, and joints are represented by double cones or double circles (ellipses). A double cone represents a joint where the rotation axis of the motor coincides with the central axis of the connected link, causing the connected link to rotate. That is, a joint represented by a double cone rotates the links connected to the vertices of the cones relative to each other around an axis (not shown) connecting the vertices of the cones, as indicated by the dashed arrow. For convenience, a joint that causes the connected link to rotate is also called a "rotational joint". Furthermore, the double circle represents a joint where the rotation axis of the motor does not coincide with the central axis of the link to which it is connected, and where the link connected to the rotation axis rotates. In other words, the joint shown by the double circle rotates the links connected to each circle around a perpendicular line (not shown) passing through the center of the circle, as indicated by the dashed arrow. For convenience, the joint that rotates the connected links is also called a "rotation joint." Thus, the robot arm according to this embodiment is equipped with alternating rotation joints (joints 21, 23, 25, 27) and rotation joints (joints 22, 24, 26).

[0051] The control device 108 includes a processor 181 and a storage device 182. The processor 181 is an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and controls the operation of the first robot 100 by executing a program. The storage device 182 shown in Figure 8 is a main memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or ROM (Read Only Memory), and an auxiliary storage device (secondary storage device) such as an HDD (Hard-disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), or flash memory. The main memory temporarily stores programs read by the processor and reserves the processor's workspace. The auxiliary storage device stores programs executed by the processor. Note that the processor 181 and the storage device 182 may be microcontrollers with built-in memory.

[0052] <2-2. Robot Operation> Next, the operation in which the first robot 100 picks up the noodle product N and places it on the weighing conveyors 311-317 will be explained with reference to Figures 9-19. In the following, the operation of picking up the noodle product N from the storage member 41 will be referred to as the pick-up operation, and the operation of moving the picked-up noodle product N to the weighing conveyors 311-317 and placing it on the weighing conveyors will be referred to as the placement operation. These operations may also be collectively referred to as the pick-up operation.

[0053] In the following pickup operation, the first arm member 103 is operated by driving at least one of the joints 21 to 27 described above. Therefore, the joints 21 to 27 to be driven are not particularly limited as long as the first arm member 103 performs the operation described below. In addition, although the operation of the first arm member 103 will be described below, the second arm member 104 operates in the same manner. In this embodiment, the first arm member 103 is set to place the noodle products N on the fifth to seventh weighing conveyors 315 to 317, and the second arm member 104 is set to place the noodle products N on the first to fourth weighing conveyors 311 to 314.

[0054] First, the first robot 100 uses the camera 105 to image the noodle product N inside the storage member 41 and identifies the location to insert the gripping members 32 and 33. For example, the depth can be calculated from the image of the noodle product N using the camera 105, and the part of the noodle product N that is the highest from the bottom surface of the storage member 41 can be identified as the insertion point. Next, as shown in Figure 9, with the gripping members 32 and 33 spaced apart from each other, the end effector 3 is rotated by a predetermined angle to one side (hereinafter referred to as the positive side) from its initial position (for example, 90 to 180 degrees, hereinafter referred to as the first angle, and this operation is called a preliminary rotation). Then, as shown in Figure 10, the end effector 3 is inserted into the noodle product N from this state. Subsequently, as shown in Figure 11, the gripping members 32 and 33 are brought closer together to grasp the noodle product N, and the end effector 3 is raised to a predetermined height. At this time, as shown in Figure 12, the posture of the first arm member 103 is adjusted so that the rotation axis S of the end effector 3 is at a predetermined inclination θ from the horizontal direction H. For example, in many noodle products, this inclination θ is preferably -80 degrees to +80 degrees, and more preferably -40 degrees to +45 degrees. Here, for example, -45 degrees is an angle tilted 45 degrees downward from the horizontal direction H, and +45 degrees is an angle tilted 45 degrees upward from the horizontal direction H.

[0055] Next, rotate the end effector 3 by approximately twice the first angle (hereinafter referred to as the first rotation operation) to the opposite side of the positive side (hereinafter referred to as the negative side) from the state shown in Figure 13 to the state shown in Figure 14. At this time, the noodle products N are hanging from the gripping members 32 and 33 on both the positive and negative sides of the end effector 3. However, not all noodle products N are gripped by the gripping members 32 and 33, and some noodle products N may be entangled with the noodle products N gripped by the gripping members 32 and 33. Therefore, by rotating the end effector 3 to the negative side, a downward acceleration can be applied to the noodle products N hanging from the gripping members 32 and 33 on the negative side, thereby shaking off the noodle products N that are entangled on the negative side.

[0056] Next, as shown in Figure 14, the end effector 3 is rotated to the positive side by approximately twice the first angle (hereinafter referred to as the second rotation operation). This applies a downward acceleration to the noodle product N hanging from the gripping members 32 and 33 on the positive side, thereby allowing the noodle product N that has become entangled on the positive side to be shaken off.

[0057] Subsequently, the end effector 3 is moved up and down to further shake off the entangled noodle product N (hereinafter referred to as the up-and-down operation). For example, it is preferable to move the end effector 3 up and down two to three times. At this time, as shown in Figure 15, the end effector 3 is lowered by a predetermined distance from the initial position after the rotation operation described above, and then raised above the initial position as shown in Figure 16. 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 product N when the end effector 3 is lowered, and further shake off the entangled noodle product N. Note that the order in which the second rotation operation and the up-and-down operation are performed is not particularly limited, and they may be performed in the opposite order or simultaneously.

[0058] Once the noodle product N has been shaken off, the end effector 3 is moved to the weighing conveyor. As described above, the conveying device 300 sequentially transmits to the first robot 100 which of the first to seventh weighing conveyors 315 to 317 does not contain the noodle product N. Therefore, when the first robot 100 detects, for example, that the noodle product N is not 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 315 to 317 that does not contain the noodle product N and is closest to the first robot 100.

[0059] First, as shown in Figure 17, the end effector 3 is rotated upward (first rotation operation). This prevents the noodle product hanging down from the gripping members 32 and 33 from interfering with the end of the conveying device. Next, the first arm member 103 is moved towards the target weighing conveyor. As shown in Figure 18, when the end effector 3 is positioned above the target weighing conveyor, the rotation position of the end effector 3 is adjusted so that the direction of movement (proximity and separation direction) of the gripping members 32 and 33 is approximately the same as the horizontal direction. Then, as shown in Figure 19, while rotating the end effector 3 downward above the target weighing conveyor (second rotation operation), the gripping members 32 and 33 are separated near the lowest point, and the noodle product N is dropped onto the weighing conveyor. At this time, by positioning the end effector 3 above the front of the weighing conveyor (on the transport conveyor side), and then rotating it downwards while slightly retracting it backward from this position, the noodle product N can be placed on the weighing conveyor in a U-shape.

[0060] Once the noodle products N are placed on the weighing conveyors 315-317, the first arm member 103 is operated so that the end effector 3 moves above the storage member 41, and the next noodle product N is picked up. The second arm member 104 performs the same operation. That is, the second arm member 104 picks up the noodle products N from the storage member 41 and places them on one of the first to fourth weighing conveyors 311-314. The second robot 200 also performs the same operation, picking up the noodle products N from the storage member 42 and placing them on one of the weighing conveyors 321-327 of the second weighing conveyor group 302. The subsequent transport of the noodle products N is as described above.

[0061] Furthermore, if it is determined that the noodle products N placed on the weighing conveyors 311-317 are below the above-mentioned standard range, an additional pick-up operation can be performed. That is, according to 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 back on the target weighing conveyor. The method of picking up the noodle products N at this time is not particularly limited; 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 and 33 inserted into the noodle products N in the storage member 41 to a shorter length than specified.

[0062] Furthermore, if the weight of the noodle products N on the weighing conveyors 311-317 exceeds the specified range, a portion of the noodle products N placed on the weighing conveyors 311-317 can be picked up by the gripping members 32 and 33 to reduce the weight of the noodle products N to within the specified range. At this time, the second camera 106, which is installed on the head 102 of the first robot 100, images the noodle products N on the weighing conveyor in question, and identifies the portion of the noodle products N to be picked up, as described above. Then, based on the weight of the weighed noodle products N, the length to which the gripping members 32 and 33 are inserted is adjusted, and a portion of the noodle products N is picked up. If it is determined that the weight of the noodle products N on the weighing conveyor is within the standard range, they are transported to the first conveyor 33 as described above.

[0063] In addition, if a noodle product N placed on the weighing conveyors 311-317 is not within the standard range, the noodle product N can be recovered. For example, a recovery lane can be placed between the first weighing conveyor group 301 and the storage member 41, that is, on the opposite side from the first transport conveyor 33, extending in the front-rear direction. When it is determined that the weight of the noodle product N is not within the standard range, the weighing conveyors 311-317 are driven to transport the noodle product N to the recovery lane. The recovered noodle product N can be stored in the storage member 41, or it can be disposed of.

[0064] When the amount of noodle products N in the storage member 41 decreases, the noodle products N can be directly replenished in the storage member 41. In addition, since the storage member 41 is positioned between the conveying device 300 and the first robot 100, it is movable in the front-rear direction. Therefore, when the amount of noodle products N in the storage member 41 decreases, 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. At this time, if the storage member 41 is pushed out in the front-rear direction by the replacement storage member, the efficiency of replenishing the noodle products N can be further improved. Furthermore, to receive noodle products N that are scattered during pickup, an empty receiving storage member or a backup auxiliary storage member partially containing noodle products N can be placed on at least one side of the storage member 41 in the front-rear direction.

[0065] <3. Features> The noodle product pickup system configured as described above can achieve the following effects:

[0066] (1) In this embodiment, the storage member 41 is positioned in front of the first robot 100, and the weighing conveyors 311-317 are positioned further in front of it. Therefore, after the first robot 100 picks up the noodle product N, by moving the arm members 103 and 104 forward, the noodle product N can be placed on the weighing conveyors 311-317. Thus, the pickup operation and placement operation can be performed without significantly changing the posture of the first robot 100, including the arm members 103 and 104. As a result, the pickup operation of the noodle product N can be performed efficiently, and the working time can be shortened. In addition, since the storage member 41 is positioned in front of the first robot 100, the noodle product N in the storage member 41 can be imaged while the first camera 105 of the first robot 100 remains fixed. Therefore, in this respect as well, the pickup operation of the noodle product N can be performed efficiently.

[0067] (2) 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 and 321-327, but in this process, there is a risk that tangled noodle products N that are not gripped by the gripping members 32 and 33 may fall off. Therefore, by shaking off the tangled noodle products N before the placement operation as described above, it is possible to prevent the noodle products N from falling between the storage member 41 and the weighing conveyors 311-317 and 321-327. In addition, an appropriate amount of noodle products N can be placed on the weighing conveyors. Furthermore, if tangled noodle products N fall during the placement operation and the noodle products N are placed across multiple weighing conveyors, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the weighing conveyors cannot complete the weighing operation correctly.

[0068] (3) In the operation of placing the noodle product N, the gripping state of the gripping members 32 and 33 is released while the end effector 3 is rotated downward, which makes it possible to standardize the inertia acting on the noodle product N and to accurately place the noodle product N on the weighing conveyors 311 to 317 and 321 to 327.

[0069] (4) In this embodiment, the noodle products N are placed starting from the weighing conveyor closest to the robot 100, thus shortening the travel distance of the noodle products N. This reduces the risk of the noodle products N falling off. Furthermore, the efficiency of placing the noodle products N can be improved, and the working time can be shortened.

[0070] <4. Variation> 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 invention. The following modifications can be combined as appropriate. In the following, although one of the robots or one of the arm members is described, unless otherwise specified, it means that the invention is also applicable to the other robot or arm member.

[0071] (1) In the above embodiment, a robot 100 having multi-joint arm members 103 and 104 with 7 degrees of freedom has been described, but the configuration of the robot 100 is not particularly limited. That is, as long as it can perform the noodle product N pick-up operation as described above, the configuration of the arm members 103 and 104 is not particularly limited, and they may have more than 7 degrees of freedom. Also, the number of robots is not particularly limited.

[0072] (2) In the above embodiment, in the pickup operation, the gripping member is inserted into the noodle product with the end effector 3 rotated to the positive side from its initial position in advance before performing the first rotation operation to shake off the noodle product N. However, the first rotation operation can also be performed without performing this preliminary operation.

[0073] (3) In the above embodiment, a first rotation operation, a second rotation operation, and an up-and-down movement operation are performed in the pickup operation to shake off the noodle product N. However, if at least the first rotation operation is performed, the entangled noodle product 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 them can be added as needed. Furthermore, the rotation angle in each rotation operation is not particularly limited. Moreover, the noodle product can be picked up by other operations, not limited to these operations.

[0074] (4) The operation of placing the noodle product N is not particularly limited and may be other than that shown in the above embodiment. That is, as long as the grasped noodle product N can be placed on the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327, the operation of placing the noodle product N can be set as appropriate.

[0075] (5) In the above embodiment, the first arm member 103 of the first robot 100 is set to place noodle products N on the 5th to 7th weighing conveyors 315 to 317, and the second arm member 104 is set to place noodle products N on the 1st to 4th weighing conveyors 311 to 314, but other settings are also possible. For example, on some weighing conveyors, the settings can be configured so that noodle products N can be placed by either the first arm member 103 or the second arm member 104. This improves the efficiency of placing noodle products N. Such weighing conveyors are preferably located near the first robot 100. For example, the 4th weighing conveyor 314 (3rd weighing unit group) can be configured so that noodle products N can be placed by either the first arm member 103 or the second arm member 104. This allows, for example, when one of two arm members that share the closest placement position at a given time is placing an item on a weighing conveyor far from the robot, the other arm member can place the item on the closest weighing conveyor. Such movements can be configured in various ways that avoid crossings between arm members, depending on the structure of the arm members and the number of common placement positions.

[0076] (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. It is sufficient that at least arm members 103 and 104 and a robot body supporting them are provided. The positions of the cameras 105 and 106 are also not particularly limited, and unless the operation is to pick up a portion of the noodle products N whose weight exceeds the standard range, the cameras may only image the storage member 41. Alternatively, the positions of the noodle products N to be picked up in the storage member 41 can be calculated using various sensors other than cameras. The number of arm members is also not particularly limited and may be one or three or more.

[0077] (7) In the above embodiment, the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 on which no noodle products N are placed are detected by signals from the conveying device 300, but this can also be detected by, for example, the camera of the robot 100.

[0078] (8) In the above embodiment, the noodle products N are placed on the weighing conveyors 311-317, 321-327 closest to the robot 100, but the embodiment is not limited to this. That is, the noodle products N can also be placed on weighing conveyors other than the closest to the robot 100.

[0079] (9) The configuration of the conveying device 300 is not particularly limited, and other configurations can be added as needed, as long as it is configured to convey noodle products. For example, in the above embodiment, the noodle products N are placed on a weighing conveyor, but this is not the case. For example, any weighing unit capable of weighing the noodle products N will suffice, and it does not have to be a conveyor. Therefore, for example, the noodle products N can also be placed on a tray or weighing cup capable of measuring weight. After weighing, the tray can be tilted and supplied to the conveying conveyor. It may also be a device that has only a weighing function and no conveying function.

[0080] (10) In the above embodiment, the robots 100 and 200 are combined with the conveying device 300, but the equipment to be combined with the robots 100 and 200 is not particularly limited, and the robots can also be used alone. That is, the robot 100 can be configured to pick up the noodle product N and place it in a predetermined position such as a tray.

[0081] (11) In the above embodiment, a robot is used to pick up noodle products N, but the robot is not limited to this and can be applied to foods such as bean sprouts, dried gourd strips, namul, and kinpira, electrical components such as cords, and other long, flexible string-like members, strips, and rod-like members such as threads and strings. Furthermore, it can be used for any other items that can be transported by an arm member.

[0082] (12) In the above embodiment, the control device supplies noodle products N from the first conveyor belt 33 to the second conveyor belt 34 at predetermined time intervals. However, the control device is not limited to this, and the weighing conveyors 311-317 and 321-327 may be driven at any timing to transport the corresponding noodle products N to the first conveyor belt 33, and the second conveyor belt 34 may be driven so that the noodle products N transported from the first conveyor belt 33 enter the tray 341.

[0083] (13) In the above embodiment (paragraph 0029), the control device 36 drives 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 and transports them onto the first transport conveyor 33. However, it is not limited to this, and a combination calculation may be performed based on the weighing value of each noodle product N, and a combination of 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 them so that they are placed on the same position on the first transport conveyor 33. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0084] 100 First Robot 103 First arm member 104 Second arm member 200 Second Robot 300 Conveying device (weighing device) 311-317, 321-327 Weighing conveyor (weighing section)

Claims

1. A pick-up system for goods, Robots and, Weighing device and A storage member capable of accommodating the aforementioned article, Equipped with, The aforementioned robot The robot body and At least one arm member that is movable relative to the robot body, A control unit that controls the movement of the arm member, Equipped with, The weighing device has at least one weighing section arranged in a first direction, The housing member is positioned between the weighing unit and the robot in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The control unit drives the arm member so that it picks up the item from the storage member and places the item in one of the weighing units. The housing member is arranged to be movable in the first direction. A pick-up system for goods.

2. The article pickup system according to claim 1, wherein the replacement storage member containing the article can be positioned on either one of the two sides of the storage member in the first direction.

3. The article pickup system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, in the first direction, an empty auxiliary storage member or a backup auxiliary storage member containing the article is further disposed on at least one of the two sides of the storage member.

4. The robot comprises at least two arm members, The article pickup system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the two arm members are provided on both sides of the robot body in the first direction.

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