Conveying device

Abstract

To provide a conveyance device which can detect an identification code and specify an installed tool even if tools of different shapes and sizes depending on the type are used.SOLUTION: A conveyance device includes a tool, a robot, an identification medium, a detection unit, a storage unit and a control unit. The tool grips an article. The robot conveys the article through a tool that is installed in an interchangeable manner. The identification medium has an identification code attached to a predetermined attachment position for each type of tool. The detection unit detects the identification code from the identification medium. The storage unit, for each type of article, stores first information associated with tool information corresponding to the type of tool used for grasping and position information about the attachment position. The control unit moves the tool or the detection unit on the basis of the position information so that the detection unit can detect the identification code, and permits conveyance of the article by the robot when the identification code detected by the detection unit matches the tool information in the first information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a conveying apparatus. [[Background Art]]

[0002] There is known a conveying apparatus including a tool (gripping portion) that grips an article, and a robot that conveys the article via the tool. Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2022-41753) discloses a robot including a weight detection portion that detects the weight of a replaceably attached tool, and a storage portion that stores information relating to the weight of each tool. The robot disclosed in Patent Document 1 identifies the type of tool attached to the robot based on the weight detected by the weight detection portion and the information relating to the weight stored in the storage portion. [[Summary of the Invention]] [[Problem to be Solved by the Invention]]

[0003] With the robot disclosed in Patent Document 1, it may sometimes be difficult to distinguish between tools having the same or similar weights. To avoid this, there is a method for identifying the type of tool attached to a robot, in which a detection unit detects an identification code indicating the tool type recorded on an identification medium attached to the tool, and the detected identification code is compared with tool information pre-stored in a storage device. However, with this method, when tools having different shapes and sizes depending on the type are used, the identification medium is not necessarily attached to the same position on each tool, which can make it difficult for the detection unit to detect the identification code.

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a conveying apparatus that can detect an identification code and identify an attached tool even when using tools having different shapes and sizes depending on the type. [[Means for Solving the Problem]]

[0005] The first type of transport device comprises a tool, a robot, an identification medium, a detection unit, a storage unit, and a control unit. The tool grips an article. The robot is equipped with interchangeable tools and transports articles via the tools. The identification medium is mounted at a predetermined position for each type of tool and has an identification code for identifying the type of tool. The detection unit detects the identification code from the identification medium. The storage unit records first information for each type of article, which is associated with tool information corresponding to the type of tool used for gripping and position information regarding the mounting position. The control unit controls the robot.

[0006] The control unit moves the tool or the detection unit based on the position information so that the detection unit can detect the identification code. When the identification code detected by the detection unit matches the tool information in the first information, the control unit permits the robot to transport the item.

[0007] The conveying device in the first perspective reads tool information and position information associated with the type of item, moves the tool or detection unit based on the position information, and then determines whether the detected identification code matches the tool information. Therefore, even if the position where the identification medium is attached differs for each type of tool, the detection unit can reliably detect the identification code by moving the tool or detection unit. Thus, the conveying device in the first perspective can detect the identification code and identify the attached tool even when using tools that differ in shape and size depending on the type.

[0008] The transport device in the second perspective is the transport device in the first perspective, wherein the identification medium constitutes an identification code with a combination of multiple holes that are either open or closed. The detection unit has an irradiation unit and a light receiving unit. The irradiation unit irradiates light onto the identification code. The light receiving unit receives the light that has passed through the holes and been reflected by the identification medium.

[0009] In the second type of conveying device, the identification code is composed of a simple structure consisting of a combination of multiple holes. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the device is reduced according to the second type of conveying device.

[0010] The third-viewpoint conveying device is the first-viewpoint or second-viewpoint conveying device, wherein the closed state is the state in which a pin is inserted into the hole.

[0011] In the third-party conveying device, the state of the hole can be changed by a simple method of inserting / removing a pin. Therefore, compared to the second-party conveying device, the manufacturing cost of the device is reduced.

[0012] The conveying device of the fourth aspect is any of the conveying devices of the first to third aspects, further comprising a negative pressure generating unit that draws in air via a blower hose and causes the tool to grip the article.

[0013] The conveying device of the fifth perspective is any of the conveying devices of the first to fourth perspectives, and the robot places the articles into a box. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This is a schematic front view of a boxing device 100 equipped with a conveying device 10 according to one embodiment, viewed from right to left. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the boxing machine 100. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view showing an example of Tool 11. [Figure 4] This is a view of tool 11 from the rear, oriented in the front-to-back direction. [Figure 5A] This is a view of the identification medium 13 from the rear, along the front-to-back direction. [Figure 5B] This is a cross-sectional view obtained by cutting the identification medium 13 along the line A-A'. [Figure 6] This is a diagram showing the table of the first piece of information i. [Figure 7] This is a block diagram of the conveying device control unit 17 and the boxing device control unit 70. [Figure 8] This is a flowchart of the tool verification process. [Figure 9] This is a perspective view showing the detection unit 14 irradiating light L toward the identification medium 13. [Figure 10A] This is another example of the tool 11. [Figure 10B] This is another example of the tool 11. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted. In the following description, for convenience, the directions of front-rear, up-down, and left-right are used. Axes indicating these directions are shown in some of the figures. Both the front-rear direction and the left-right direction are horizontally extending directions. The up-down direction is equal to the vertical direction.

[0016] (1) Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a boxing apparatus 100 equipped with a conveying apparatus 10 according to an embodiment, as viewed from the right along the left-right direction. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the boxing apparatus 100.

[0017] The boxing apparatus 100 is an apparatus that performs a boxing operation of packing articles G into containers C. The boxing apparatus 100 mainly includes the conveying apparatus 10, a parallel link robot 20, a boxing apparatus control unit 70, a frame 80, and a conveyor group 90. Although not limited thereto, the container C is, for example, a corrugated cardboard case, a returnable box, or the like. The container C is provided with an opening at an upper portion thereof. The article G is a bag filled with snack food such as potato chips. In FIG. 2, illustration of the frame 80 is omitted for convenience.

[0018] (2) Detailed Configuration (2-1) Frame The frame 80 is a member that supports the conveying device 10, the parallel link robot 20, and the conveyor group 90. The frame 80 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped frame formed by combining a plurality of columnar members extending along the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions. The interior of the frame 80 includes a first space 80a having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, through which mainly containers C are conveyed, and a second space 80b having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, through which mainly articles G are conveyed. The second space 80b is located above the first space 80a.

[0019] An article inlet 81 for feeding articles G into the second space 80b is located on the rear side of the second space 80b. Further, a container inlet 82 for feeding containers C into the first space 80a is located on the left side of the first space 80a. Furthermore, a container outlet 83 for taking out containers C containing articles G is located on the front side of the first space 80a.

[0020] (2-2) Conveyor Group The conveyor group 90 includes a first conveyor 91, a second conveyor 92, a third conveyor 93, a fourth conveyor 94, and an extrusion mechanism 95.

[0021] (2-2-1) First Conveyor The first conveyor 91 conveys articles G fed in through the article inlet 81 downstream. The first conveyor 91 is a belt conveyor disposed in the second space 80b. The first conveyor 91 is arranged along the front-rear direction. An upstream end portion of the first conveyor 91 is located near the article inlet 81, and a downstream end portion thereof is located rearward of a position above the container standby position 94a (described later).

[0022] (2-2-2) Second Conveyor The second conveyor 92 conveys articles G moved by the parallel link robot 20 downstream. The second conveyor 92 is a belt conveyor disposed in the second space 80b. The second conveyor 92 is arranged on the left side of the first conveyor 91, in parallel with the first conveyor 91 (in other words, along the front-rear direction). An upstream end portion of the second conveyor 92 is located on the rear side of the second space 80b, and a downstream end portion thereof is located on the front side of the second space 80b.

[0023] (2-2-3) Third Conveyor The third conveyor 93 transports the container C, which has been introduced from the container inlet 82, downstream. The third conveyor 93 is a roller conveyor located in the first space 80a. The third conveyor 93 is arranged along the left-right direction. The upstream end of the third conveyor 93 is located near the container inlet 82, and the downstream end is located to the right of the first space 80a.

[0024] (2-2-4) Fourth Conveyor The fourth conveyor 94 transports the containers C transported by the third conveyor 93 to the container waiting position 94a and the container outlet 83 located downstream. The fourth conveyor 94 is a belt conveyor located in the first space 80a. The fourth conveyor 94 is arranged along the front-rear direction. The upstream end of the fourth conveyor 94 is located in front of the third conveyor 93 downstream, and the downstream end is located near the container outlet 83.

[0025] The fourth conveyor 94 has a container waiting position 94a located at a predetermined distance upstream from its downstream end. The container waiting position 94a is the position where the container C is held aside when the conveying device 10 is transporting the goods G into the container C during the boxing operation.

[0026] (2-2-5) Extrusion mechanism The extrusion mechanism 95 pushes the container C, which has been transported by the third conveyor 93, to the upstream end of the fourth conveyor 94. The extrusion mechanism 95 is positioned behind the downstream end of the third conveyor 93.

[0027] (2-3) Parallel link robot The parallel link robot 20 grasps the items G transported by the first conveyor 91 downstream of the first conveyor 91 and arranges them upstream of the second conveyor 92 in a predetermined position. The parallel link robot 20 is positioned in the second space 80b.

[0028] (2-4) Conveyor device The conveying device 10 conveys the items G conveyed by the second conveyor 92 to the container C. More specifically, the conveying device 10 conveys the items G conveyed by the second conveyor 92 into the container C conveyed by the fourth conveyor 94. The conveying device 10 includes a tool 11, a robot arm 12, an identification medium 13, a detection unit 14, a negative pressure generation unit 15, a storage unit 16, and a conveying device control unit 17. As will be described in detail later, the conveying device 10 performs a tool verification operation before the boxing operation. The tool verification operation is an operation to confirm whether the tool 11 attached to the robot arm 12 is the correct tool 11 to be used to grasp the items G to be conveyed.

[0029] (2-4-1) Tools Tool 11 grips the item G transported by the second conveyor 92. Multiple types of tools 11 are used in the transport device 10, depending on the type of item G to be gripped. Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an example of tool 11. Figure 4 is a view of tool 11 from the rear along the front-to-back direction. The tool 11 shown in Figure 3 mainly consists of a first intake section 111, a second intake section 112, a mounting section 113, a sliding mechanism 114, and a flexible hose 115.

[0030] The first intake section 111 and the second intake section 112 attract and grip the article G. The second intake section 112 is positioned in front of the first intake section 111.

[0031] The first intake section 111 has a first negative pressure chamber 111a and a plurality of first suction members 111b. The first negative pressure chamber 111a is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped member with a cavity inside. The first negative pressure chamber 111a has the same number of openings (not shown) as the first suction members 111b on its lower surface, and one opening 111c on its upper surface. The first suction member 111b is a bellows-shaped cylindrical expandable member with one end communicating with an opening provided in the first negative pressure chamber 111a. The first suction member 111b is positioned with its longitudinal direction aligned with the vertical direction, and one end is attached to the lower surface of the first negative pressure chamber 111a.

[0032] The second intake section 112 includes a second negative pressure chamber 112a and a second suction member 112b. The second negative pressure chamber 112a is a hexahedral member with a cavity inside. The second negative pressure chamber 112a has the same number of openings (not shown) as the second suction member 112b on its lower surface, and one opening (not shown) on its upper surface. The second suction member 112b is a bellows-shaped cylindrical expandable member, with one end communicating with an opening in the second negative pressure chamber 112a. The second suction member 112b is positioned with its longitudinal direction aligned with the vertical direction, and one end is attached to the lower surface of the second negative pressure chamber 112a.

[0033] The mounting portion 113 is a component for attaching the tool 11 to the robot arm 12. The mounting portion 113 is positioned to cover an opening provided on the upper surface of the second intake portion 112. The mounting portion 113 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped component, with an opening 113a on its upper surface for passing one end of the blower hose 15a (described later), an opening 111c on its lower surface that communicates with the opening formed on the upper surface of the second intake portion 112, and an opening 113b on its side for passing the flexible hose 115.

[0034] The sliding mechanism 114 guides the first intake section 111 and the second intake section 112 to move along the front-rear direction. The sliding mechanism 114 has a rod 114a and a guide 114b. The rod 114a is slidably held inside the cylindrical guide 114b with its longitudinal direction aligned with the front-rear direction. One end of the rod 114a is fixed to the upper surface of the first negative pressure chamber 111a. The guide 114b is fixed above the second negative pressure chamber 112a. The first intake section 111 and the second intake section 112 are guided by the sliding mechanism 114 in conjunction with the operation of an actuator (not shown) and move closer to or further away from each other along the front-rear direction.

[0035] The flexible hose 115 connects the blower hose 15a, which is passed through the mounting portion 113, to the first intake portion 111. One end of the flexible hose 115 communicates with the blower hose 15a inside the mounting portion 113, and the other end communicates with the opening 111c formed on the upper surface of the first negative pressure chamber 111a.

[0036] (2-4-2) Robot Arm The robotic arm 12 is a robot that transports an object G via a tool 11. The tool 11 is interchangeably mounted on the robotic arm 12. The robotic arm 12 includes one or more actuators that move the mounted tool 11 in the forward / backward, left / right, and up / down directions.

[0037] The robot arm 12 is controlled to wait in a predetermined robot arm standby position before the start and after the completion of the operation of the boxing device 100, which will be described later.

[0038] (2-4-3) Identification medium The identification medium 13 is provided for the transport device control unit 17 to identify the type of tool 11 attached to the robot arm 12. Figure 5A is a view of the identification medium 13 from the rear along the front-to-back direction. Figure 5B is a cross-sectional view of the identification medium 13 cut along the line A-A'.

[0039] The identification medium 13 is mounted at a predetermined mounting position for each type of tool 11. For example, in the case of the tool 11 shown in Figure 3, the identification medium 13 is mounted on the upper surface of the second negative pressure chamber 112a, behind the mounting portion 113. The mounting position of the identification medium 13 may differ for each type of tool 11, or it may be the same position for some types of tools 11. The identification medium 13 comprises a first plate material 13pa, a second plate material 13pb, an identification code 13c, and a header 13h.

[0040] The first plate material 13pa and the second plate material 13pb are plate-shaped members arranged so as to intersect (preferably perpendicular to) the direction of irradiation of the light L (described later) irradiated by the detection unit 14, at least during the tool confirmation operation. The first plate material 13pa and the second plate material 13pb are substantially the same size and shape and are arranged side by side along the front-to-back direction. The first plate material 13pa is positioned closer to the detection unit 14 than the second plate material 13pb (in this embodiment, behind the second plate material 13pb). A gap of a predetermined width (for example, about 5 mm) is provided between the first plate material 13pa and the second plate material 13pb.

[0041] The identification code 13c is a code specific to the type of tool 11 to which the identification medium 13 is attached, for identifying the type of tool 11 to which the identification medium 13 is attached. The header 13h is provided for the transport device control unit 17 to detect the position of the identification code 13c. The identification code 13c and the header 13h are provided on the first plate material 13pa. The identification code 13c and the header 13h are detected by the detection unit 14.

[0042] In this embodiment, the identification medium 13 constitutes the identification code 13c by a combination of a plurality (6) of holes Ha that are either in an open state or a closed state. The closed state is when a pin P is inserted into a hole Ha. The open state is when a pin P is not inserted into a hole Ha. The 6 holes Ha are composed of a first group g1 consisting of 3 holes H arranged in the left-right direction, and a second group g2 consisting of another 3 holes Ha arranged in the left-right direction above the first group g1.

[0043] For convenience, in the following, each pore Ha in the first group g1 will be referred to as pore Ha1, pore Ha3, and pore Ha5, from right to left. Similarly, each pore Ha in the second group g2 will be referred to as pore Ha2, pore Ha4, and pore Ha6, from right to left. Figure 5A shows an example of an identification medium 13 in which pore Ha2 is closed and pores Ha1, Ha3, Ha4, Ha5, and Ha6 are open.

[0044] Header 13h is a hole Hb provided once to the left of the first group g1 and once to the right of the second group g2.

[0045] The second plate material 13pb reflects light L that has passed through the pores Ha and Hb. The second plate material 13pb has a light-reflecting material, such as a mirror, attached to the surface facing the first plate material 13pa.

[0046] (2-4-4) Detection Unit The detection unit 14 detects the identification code 13c and the header 13h during the tool verification operation. The detection unit 14 is mounted on the frame 80. The detection unit 14 has an illumination unit 14a and a light receiving unit 14b. In this embodiment, the transport device 10 is equipped with two detection units 14.

[0047] The irradiation unit 14a irradiates the identification code 13c and the header 13h with light L. More specifically, the irradiation unit 14a irradiates the identification code 13c and the header 13h with laser light L that can pass through the holes Ha and Hb. In this embodiment, the light L is irradiated along the front-to-back direction.

[0048] The light-receiving unit 14b is a sensor that receives light L that is irradiated by the irradiation unit 14a, passes through hole Ha or hole Hb, and is reflected by the second plate material 13pb. When the light-receiving unit 14b receives light L, it outputs the result to the transport device control unit 17.

[0049] (2-4-5) Negative pressure generation section The negative pressure generating unit 15 generates negative pressure to allow the tool 11 to grip the item G. The negative pressure generating unit 15 is in communication with the first intake unit 111 and the second intake unit 112 via the blower hose 15a. The negative pressure generated by the negative pressure generated by the negative pressure generating unit 15 draws air from the first negative pressure chamber 111a and the second negative pressure chamber 112a via the blower hose 15a, causing the tool 11 to grip the item G. The negative pressure generating unit 15 can be a suction blower, a vacuum pump, or the like, although this is not an exhaustive description.

[0050] (2-4-6) Storage section The memory unit 16 is a storage device on which the first information i is recorded. The first information i is information that associates tool information ia and position information ib corresponding to the type of tool 11 used to grasp the item G for each type of item G. Although not limited to this, the first information i is recorded in the storage device in the form of a table with the type of item G as the key. Figure 6 is a diagram showing the table of the first information i.

[0051] As will be described in detail later, the tool information ia is used to verify the tool 11 attached to the robot arm 12 during the tool verification operation. For this reason, it is preferable that the tool information ia be in a format that is easy to compare with the identification code 13c. In this embodiment, the tool information ia consists of six bits that can take the value of 0 (zero) or 1. Each bit of the tool information ia corresponds to one of the six holes Ha of the identification code 13c. More specifically, the first digit of the tool information ia corresponds to hole Ha1, the second digit to hole Ha2, the third digit to hole Ha3, the fourth digit to hole Ha4, the fifth digit to hole Ha5, and the sixth digit to hole Ha6. A bit with a value of 0 indicates that the corresponding hole Ha is open, and a bit with a value of 1 indicates that the corresponding hole Ha is closed.

[0052] Position information ib is information regarding the mounting position of the identification medium 13. More specifically, position information ib is the horizontal (left-right direction) and vertical (up-down direction) coordinates (horizontal direction Ho, vertical direction Ve) of the position of the identification medium 13 relative to the origin O (see Figure 4) set at a predetermined position on the robot arm 12. In this embodiment, as an example, the coordinates of the upper left end of the first plate material 13pa relative to the origin O are used as position information ib. Although not limited, in the example shown in Figure 6, the unit of position information ib is millimeters.

[0053] (2-4-7) Conveyor device control unit The conveying device control unit 17 controls each part of the conveying device 10 to perform tool verification and conveying operations. The conveying device control unit 17 is connected to the tool 11, the robot arm 12, the detection unit 14, the negative pressure generation unit 15, and the storage unit 16 so as to be able to send and receive electrical signals. Figure 7 is a block diagram of the conveying device control unit 17 and the boxing device control unit 70.

[0054] The tool verification operation is typically performed before the boxing operation. The tool verification operation confirms whether the tool 11 attached to the robot arm 12 is the tool 11 to be used to grasp the item G that will be packed into container C in the upcoming boxing operation. More specifically, in the tool verification operation, the transport device control unit 17 first moves the tool 11 based on the position information ib so that the detection unit 14 can detect the identification code 13c. Then, if the identification code 13c detected by the detection unit 14 matches the tool information ia associated with the item G that will be packed into container C in the upcoming boxing operation, the transport device control unit 17 permits the transport of the item G by the robot arm 12 (in other words, permits the transport operation).

[0055] The transport operation is the operation in which, during the boxing operation, the robot arm 12 transfers the items G, which have been transported downstream of the second conveyor 92, to the container C via the tool 11.

[0056] The transport device control unit 17 is implemented by a computer. The transport device control unit 17 includes a control arithmetic unit and a memory device (neither of which are shown in the figure). The control arithmetic unit may be a processor such as a CPU or GPU. The control arithmetic unit reads a program stored in the memory device and performs predetermined arithmetic processing according to this program. Furthermore, the control arithmetic unit can write the calculation results to the memory device or read information stored in the memory device according to the program. The memory unit 16 may be the memory device of the transport device control unit 17.

[0057] (2-5) Packing machine control unit The boxing device control unit 70 controls each part of the boxing device 100 to perform the boxing operation. The boxing device control unit 70 is connected to the conveying device control unit 17, the parallel link robot 20, the first conveyor 91, the second conveyor 92, the third conveyor 93, the fourth conveyor 94, and the extrusion mechanism 95 so as to be able to send and receive electrical signals.

[0058] The packing operation is the process of placing a predetermined number of items G into a container C.

[0059] The boxing device control unit 70, like the conveying device control unit 17, is implemented by a computer. The boxing device control unit 70 and the conveying device control unit 17 may be implemented by the same computer or by different computers.

[0060] (3) Operation of the boxing device 100 The boxing device 100 primarily performs boxing operations and tool verification operations. Before starting the operation of the boxing device 100, the operator operating the boxing device 100 can input information necessary for the operation of the boxing device 100, such as the type of goods G, the size of the goods G, and the number of goods G to be packed into container C, into the boxing device control unit 70 using an operation terminal (not shown). The operator also attaches the tool 11 used to grip the goods G to be packed into container C to the robot arm 12, which is in a predetermined robot arm standby position. The operation of the boxing device 100 is started, for example, by the operator's instruction.

[0061] (3-1) Tool verification operation During the tool verification operation, the conveying device control unit 17 controls each part of the conveying device 10 as follows. Figure 8 is a flowchart of the tool verification operation. When the boxing device 100 starts operating, the boxing device control unit 70 first instructs the conveying device control unit 17 to perform the tool verification operation (start).

[0062] In step S100, the transport device control unit 17 refers to the boxing device control unit 70 and the first information i recorded in the storage unit 16 to read the tool information ia and position information ib associated with the items G to be packed into container C in the boxing operation to be performed, and proceeds to step S110.

[0063] In step S110, the transport device control unit 17 moves the tool 11 based on the position information ib so that the detection unit 14 can detect the identification code 13c, and then proceeds to step S120.

[0064] More specifically, in step S110, the transport device control unit 17 moves the tool 11 to a position where the detection unit 14 can detect the identification code 13c, by referring to the position information ib. In this embodiment, this moves the tool 11 to a position in front of the detection unit 14 where each of the two beams of light L emitted by the detection unit 14 passes through the hole Hb in the header 13h.

[0065] In step S120, the transport device control unit 17 determines whether the detection unit 14 has detected the header 13h, and then proceeds to step S130 or terminates the tool verification operation.

[0066] More specifically, in step S120, the transport device control unit 17 causes the detection unit 14 to be illuminated with light L. Subsequently, if the transport device control unit 17 determines that the detection unit 14 has received the light L that has passed through the hole Hb and been reflected by the second plate material 13pb (yes), it proceeds to step S130. Alternatively, if the transport device control unit 17 determines that the detection unit 14 has not received the light L that has passed through the hole Hb of the header 13h and been reflected by the second plate material 13pb (no), it terminates the tool verification operation without permitting the transport of the item G by the robot arm 12 (end). Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the detection unit 14 illuminating the identification medium 13 with light L. In Figure 9, for convenience, some features of the tool 11 are omitted from the illustration.

[0067] In step S130, the transport device control unit 17 causes the detection unit 14 to detect the identification code 13c, and proceeds to step S140.

[0068] More specifically, in step S130, the transport device control unit 17 causes the robot arm 12 to move the tool 11 horizontally while irradiating the detection unit 14 with light L on the identification code 13c (see arrow in Figure 9). At the same time, the transport device control unit 17 records whether the detection unit 14 has received light L that has passed through hole Ha and been reflected by the second plate material 13pb for each of the six holes Ha. In other words, the transport device control unit 17 records whether each of the six holes Ha is in an open state or a closed state.

[0069] In step S140, the transport device control unit 17 determines whether the identification code 13c detected by the detection unit 14 matches the tool information ia associated with the item G to be packed into container C in the packing operation to be performed, and then proceeds to step S150 or terminates the tool verification operation.

[0070] More specifically, if the transport device control unit 17 determines that the identification code 13c detected by the detection unit 14 in step S140 matches the tool information ia of the first information i read in step S100 (yes), it proceeds to step 150. Alternatively, if the transport device control unit 17 determines that the identification code 13c detected by the detection unit 14 in step S140 does not match the tool information ia of the first information i read in step S100 (no), it terminates the tool verification operation without permitting the transport operation of the item G by the robot arm 12 (termination).

[0071] Here, identification code 13c is said to match tool information ia if the open / closed state of each hole Ha1, Ha2, Ha1, Ha1, Ha1, and Ha6 matches the open / closed state (specifically, a value of 0 or 1) indicated by each bit of tool information ia.

[0072] In step S160, the transport device control unit 17 permits the transport of item G by the robot arm 12 and terminates the tool verification operation (termination).

[0073] The conveying device 10 reads tool information ia and position information ib associated with the type of item G, moves the tool 11 based on the position information ib, and then determines whether the detected identification code 13c matches the tool information ia. Therefore, even if the position where the identification medium 13 is attached differs for each type of tool 11, the detection unit 14 can reliably detect the identification code 13c by moving the tool 11. Thus, even if the conveying device 10 uses tools 11 that differ in shape and size depending on the type, it can detect the identification code 13c and identify the attached tool 11.

[0074] Furthermore, in the conveying device 10, the identification code 13c is composed of a simple structure consisting of a combination of multiple holes Ha. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the conveying device 10 is reduced.

[0075] Furthermore, in the conveying device 10, the state of hole Ha can be changed by a simple method of inserting / removing pin P. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the device is reduced by using the conveying device 10.

[0076] (3-2) Packing process During the boxing operation, the boxing device control unit 70 and the conveying device control unit 17 control each part of the boxing device 100 as follows: The boxing device control unit 70 starts the boxing operation when the tool verification operation is completed and the conveying operation of the item G by the robot arm 12 is permitted. If the tool verification operation is completed without permission for the conveying operation of the item G by the robot arm 12, the boxing device control unit 70 can terminate the operation of the boxing device 100 without performing the boxing operation.

[0077] The first conveyor 91 transports the items G that have been placed into the item inlet 81 downstream. The parallel link robot 20 grasps the items G transported by the first conveyor 91 and places them upstream of the second conveyor 92 in a predetermined position. The second conveyor 92 transports the items G that have been placed upstream downstream.

[0078] In parallel with the above operations, the third conveyor 93 transports the container C that has been placed into the container inlet 82 downstream. The extrusion mechanism 95 pushes the container C that has been transported downstream of the third conveyor 93 onto the fourth conveyor. The fourth conveyor 94 transports the container C that has been pushed out from the third conveyor 93 to the container waiting position 94a and waits there.

[0079] The boxing device control unit 70 instructs the conveying device control unit 17 to perform a conveying operation when the second conveyor 92 conveys the article G downstream. During the conveying operation, the robot arm 12 moves the tool 11 to a position where the tips of the first suction member 111b and the second suction member 112b approach or come into contact with the article G conveyed downstream of the second conveyor 92. The negative pressure generating unit 15 generates negative pressure when the tips of the first suction member 111b and the second suction member 112b approach or come into contact with the article G. The negative pressure generated by the negative pressure generating unit 15 is supplied to the first suction member 111b and the second suction member 112b, respectively, via the blower hose 15a, the first negative pressure chamber 111a, and the second negative pressure chamber 112a. When the negative pressure supplied to the first suction member 111b and the second suction member 112b acts on the article G, the article G is attracted to and gripped by the tool 11.

[0080] When tool 11 grasps item G, robot arm 12 moves tool 11 from above the second conveyor 92 to the opening of container C waiting at container waiting position 94a. When tool 11 reaches the opening of container C, negative pressure generation unit 15 stops generating negative pressure. As a result, item G, which was grasped by tool 11, falls and is packed into container C. After that, robot arm 12 returns to a position where it can grasp item G transported downstream of the second conveyor 92. This completes the transport operation.

[0081] The conveying device 10 repeats the operation and conveying operation of the conveyor group 90 described above a predetermined number of times, thereby filling container C with a predetermined number of items G. Once container C is filled with a predetermined number of items G, the fourth conveyor 94 conveys container C to the container outlet 83.

[0082] The boxing device control unit 70 terminates the boxing operation when it has finished producing a predetermined number of containers C filled with a predetermined number of items G. When the boxing operation is completed, the boxing device control unit 70 moves the robot arm 12 to the robot arm standby position.

[0083] (4) Variations (4-1) Variation A The transport device 10 may further include actuators (not shown) that move the detection unit 14 in at least the forward / backward and left / right directions. These actuators are controlled by the transport device control unit 17. In this case, in steps S110 and / or S130 of the tool verification operation, the transport device control unit 17 may move the detection unit 14 to the actuator based on the position information ib so that the detection unit 14 can detect the identification code 13c.

[0084] (4-2) Modification B In the above-described embodiment, the position information ib was a single point determined by the horizontal coordinates and the vertical coordinates, but the position information ib may be defined to have a predetermined range.

[0085] In this case, if the transport device control unit 17 cannot detect the header 13h in step S110 of the tool verification operation, it may cause the detection unit 14 to scan the range of position information ib until the header 13h is detected.

[0086] (4-3) Modification C The shape of the tool 11 and the position of the identification medium 13 are not limited to the embodiments described above. Figures 10A and 10B show other examples of the tool 11.

[0087] The tool 11 shown in Figure 10A has the identification medium 13 mounted higher up compared to the tool 11 shown in Figures 3 and 4.

[0088] The tool 11 shown in Figure 10B has a first intake section 111 and a second intake section 112 arranged side by side along the left-right direction, and an identification medium 13 is attached to the left side of the mounting section 113.

[0089] Furthermore, although not shown in the illustration, the tool 11 does not necessarily have to have at least one of the suction members 111b, 112b, the sliding mechanism 114, and the flexible hose 115. In addition, the tool 11 may have only one of the first intake section 111 and the second intake section 112. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0090] 100: Packing equipment 10: Conveying device 11: Tools 12: Robotic arm (robot) 13:Identification medium 13c: Identification code 14: Detection unit 15: Negative pressure generation section 15a: Blower hose 16: Storage part 17: Conveyor System Control Unit (Control Unit) 20: Parallel Link Robot 80: Frame 90: Conveyor belt group G:Goods C: Box H: Hole P: Pin [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0091] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-41753

Claims

1. A tool for gripping objects, A robot that transports the article via the tool, with the tool being interchangeably attached. An identification medium having an identification code for identifying the type of tool is attached to a predetermined mounting position of the tool for each type of tool. A detection unit for detecting the identification code from the identification medium, A storage unit records first information associated with each type of article, which includes tool information corresponding to the type of tool used for gripping and position information relating to the mounting position. The robot comprises a control unit for controlling the robot, The control unit, The tool or the detection unit is moved based on the position information so that the detection unit can detect the identification code. When the detection unit detects the identification code, it is authorized to allow the robot to transport the item. Conveying device.

2. The aforementioned identification medium is The identification code is composed of a combination of multiple holes that are either in an open state or a closed state. The detection unit, An illumination unit that irradiates light onto the aforementioned identification code, A light receiving unit that receives the light that has passed through the hole and been reflected by the identification medium. Having, The conveying device according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned blockage state is The pin is inserted into the aforementioned hole. The conveying device according to claim 2.

4. The device further comprises a negative pressure generating unit that draws in air via a blower hose, causing the tool to grip the article. The conveying device according to claim 1.

5. The aforementioned robot, The aforementioned articles are placed in a box. A conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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