JP3674348B2 - Method and apparatus for detecting plate material - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a plate material detection device that detects whether or not a single plate-like workpiece held by a robot hand is correctly held.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 5 shows one work piece held by the opposed sensor 13 attached to the clamp device 11 in a state where the plate-like works 7 and 9 are respectively held by the plurality of vacuum pads 3 and 5 provided in the robot hand 1. 7 shows a state of detecting whether or not one sheet is correctly held. From this state, the clamp device 11 is operated, and the workpiece 7 is sandwiched by the opposed sensor 13 to shift to a detection operation. When the other workpiece 9 is detected, the robot hand 1 is rotated 180 degrees as indicated by an arrow A, and the workpiece 9 is moved so as to enter between the opposed sensors 13.
[0003]
The workpieces 7 and 9 described above are stacked on a pallet (not shown). In this stacked state, the workpieces are in close contact with each other by cleaning oil, rust preventive oil, or the like adhering to the workpiece surface. For this reason, when each of the workpieces 7 and 9 is attracted by the vacuum pads 3 and 5, there is a possibility that the place that should originally be held one by one may be held two at a time. For this reason, the above-described sensor 13 detects the work holding state of both the vacuum pads 3 and 5 one by one.
[0004]
When the sensor 13 detects that the vacuum pads 3 and 5 correctly hold the workpieces 7 and 9 one by one, the workpieces 7 and 9 are put into a production line (not shown) by the robot hand 1 and are opposed to each other. The parts are butt welded by a laser welding device or the like.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, such a conventional plate material detection apparatus detects the workpiece 9 held by the other vacuum pad 5 after detecting the workpiece 7 held by the one vacuum pad 3. Must be rotated 180 degrees and the clamp device 11 must be operated for detection, so it takes a long time from holding the workpiece to putting it into the production line, and the entire workpiece machining time is increased. In addition to hindering cost reduction, an actuator for operating the clamp device 11 is required, resulting in an increase in equipment costs.
[0006]
In addition, when the number of workpieces detected by the opposed sensor 13 is two or more, no particular consideration is given to the work of peeling off the extra workpieces, so that all the workpieces held by the robot hand 1 are temporarily removed. Since the work needs to be held again from the pallet after being discharged, the operation efficiency is extremely poor.
[0007]
In order to solve the above problem, for example, a robot for picking up a workpiece while holding the workpiece from the pallet, and the workpiece once taken from the pallet by the robot and then once transferred to the delivery table are transferred to the sensor unit. It is conceivable to use a robot for carrying in after carrying out the detection operation.
[0008]
However, in this case, since it is necessary to use two robots, the cost increases greatly, which is not preferable.
[0009]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to shorten the time from workpiece pick-up to detection of a workpiece on a production line without incurring a significant cost increase.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is to take out and hold the workpiece with respect to the workpiece accommodating portion in which the plate-like workpieces are stacked and arranged using a holder provided in the robot hand. An opening provided in the slide plate by a sensor provided on the side opposite to the surface against which the workpiece is pressed against the slide plate while being held by the holder and moved together with the slide plate. This is a plate material detection method for detecting whether or not the number of workpieces held by the holding tool is one by detecting the end portion of the workpiece located at the position .
[0011]
According to the above-described plate material detection method, the workpiece held and taken out by the holder of the robot hand is moved relative to the sensor and the end thereof is detected, so that the detection operation can be performed in a short time.
At this time, the holding tool moves the held work together with the slide plate while being pressed against the slide plate, and at the time of this movement, the end of the work passes over the sensor.
When the work is pressed against the slide plate, the end of the work is positioned corresponding to the opening of the slide plate, and the sensor detects the end of the work by moving the work together with the slide plate in this state. .
[0012]
According to another aspect of the invention, the workpiece accommodating portion in which the plate-shaped workpiece are stacked, the retainer taken out while holding the workpiece is provided on the robot hand, the work which the holder is taken out by holding the pressed The slide plate is slidably movable with the work in a state where it is mounted, and is installed on the opposite side of the surface against which the work is pressed against the slide plate. wherein detecting the end of the workpiece to be the work in which the retainer is held and a sensor for detecting whether the one.
[0013]
According to the above configuration, the workpiece is taken out from the workpiece holding unit by holding the workpiece with the holder of the robot hand , and the taken-out workpiece is taken out by moving relative to the sensor so that the end portion passes over the sensor. It is detected whether the number of workpieces is one.
At this time, the holding tool moves the held work together with the slide plate while being pressed against the slide plate, and at the time of this movement, the end of the work passes over the sensor.
When the work is pressed against the slide plate, the end of the work is positioned corresponding to the opening of the slide plate, and the sensor detects the end of the work by moving the work together with the slide plate in this state. .
[0018]
The invention of claim 3, in the configuration of the invention of claim 2, wherein the retainer is a vacuum pad for holding a workpiece, said the sliding plate, a large number of small holes are provided.
[0019]
According to the above configuration, when there is an unused vacuum pad that does not hold a workpiece, even if the unused vacuum pad presses the slide plate, the suction operation to the slide plate is avoided by the small holes.
[0020]
A fourth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the invention of claim 2 or 3, wherein on the slide plate, the holder with possible holding a work held in a state of being stacked over the one from the back surface holding portion Is provided.
[0021]
According to the above arrangement, when the can work in excess of one is held is detected by a sensor, a work that is extra retention is pressed in contact with the slide plate, is held by a holding portion holding Separated from other workpieces held by the tool .
[0022]
A fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the invention of claim 4, wherein the slide plate which is horizontally disposed, an extra work held by the holding portion is held over a single, to eject to the outside , One end is pivotable upward about the other end.
[0023]
According to the above configuration, the excess workpiece held by the robot hand holding tool is held by the holding portion on the slide plate and separated from the other workpiece, and then one end of the slide plate. When the part pivots upward about the other end and the holding work of the extra work by the holding part is released, the work slides down on the slide plate and is discharged to the outside.
[0024]
According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the configuration of the invention according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the retainer is configured for holding individual in a state where the end portions each other at least one pair of work is opposed, the The sensor is configured to detect opposite ends of the pair of workpieces.
[0025]
According to the above configuration, the at least one pair of holders of the robot hand holds the corresponding pair of workpieces, and the opposite ends of the pair of workpieces are passed through the sensor, whereby the sensor Is detected.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the workpiece held and taken out by the holding tool of the robot hand is moved relative to the sensor to detect its end, and whether or not the held workpiece is two or more. Since the detection is performed, the workpiece can be put into the production line through the detection operation after the workpiece is taken out without causing a large cost increase such as using two robots.
In addition, since the slide plate that moves together with the workpiece while the workpiece is pressed when the workpiece passes over the sensor is provided, the dimension between the sensor and the workpiece is stabilized, and the detection accuracy can be improved.
Further, the sensor is installed on the opposite side of the surface against which the work is pressed against the slide plate, and the slide plate has an opening for the sensor to detect the end of the work. When the workpiece is pressed, the end of the workpiece is set to a position corresponding to the opening of the slide plate, and the workpiece can be moved together with the slide plate in this state, so that the end of the workpiece can be detected by the sensor.
[0027]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the workpiece taken out while being held by the holder of the robot hand is moved relative to the sensor so that the end of the workpiece passes over the sensor. Since it is configured to detect whether or not there is a workpiece, the workpiece can be input to the production line through the detection operation from the workpiece pick-up in a short time without incurring a large cost increase using two robots. .
In addition, since the slide plate that moves together with the workpiece while the workpiece is pressed when the workpiece passes over the sensor is provided, the dimension between the sensor and the workpiece is stabilized, and the detection accuracy can be improved.
Further, the sensor is installed on the opposite side of the surface against which the work is pressed against the slide plate, and the slide plate has an opening for the sensor to detect the end of the work. When the workpiece is pressed, the end of the workpiece is set to a position corresponding to the opening of the slide plate, and the workpiece can be moved together with the slide plate in this state, so that the end of the workpiece can be detected by the sensor.
[0030]
According to the invention of claim 3 , since the slide plate is provided with a large number of small holes, when there is an unused vacuum pad that does not hold a workpiece, the unused vacuum pad is not used. Even if the slide plate is pressed, the suction operation to the slide plate is avoided by the small holes, and the vacuum pad in the unused state is protected and the reliability is improved.
[0031]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the holding portion capable of holding the workpiece held over one sheet from the back surface is provided on the slide plate, the sensor detects that the workpiece exceeding one sheet is held. The extra work piece held in contact with the slide plate is held by the holding part and can be separated from other works held by the holding tool of the robot hand. On the other hand, it is not necessary to repeat the holding and taking out operation again, and the operating efficiency is improved.
[0032]
According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the horizontally arranged slide plate is held in excess of one sheet, and one end portion is disposed at the other end in order to discharge the excess work held by the holding portion to the outside. Since it is possible to rotate upward about the part, excess work held by the holding part on the slide plate and separated from the other work can be discharged to the outside by turning upward of the slide plate. It is possible to return the slide plate to the original state and continue the detection operation again, so that highly accurate detection work can be performed.
[0033]
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, at least a pair of holders of the robot hand pass a pair of opposite ends of the pair of workpieces through the sensor in a state where the corresponding pair of workpieces are respectively held. Thus, since the detection operation of the sensor is performed, the detection operation of the paired workpieces can be performed in a short time.
[0034]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0035]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a plate material detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the entire equipment including the detection apparatus of FIG. The equipment shown in FIG. 2 is for butt welding the end portions of plate-like workpieces 15 and 17 that are plate materials. The center of the welding process 23 is a preset process 25 on the left side in FIG. Step 27 is provided. However, although the workpieces 15 and 17 have a specific shape in FIG. 2, they are rectangular in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 to be described later for simplification.
[0036]
The workpieces 15 and 17 positioned in the preset step 25 are welded and joined to each other by laser welding in the welding step 23 and are carried out from the workpiece carry-out portion 27 to the workpiece cradle 31 by the first carry-out robot 29. From the work cradle 31, it is carried out to another work cradle 35, 37 by the second unloading robot 33. On the upper side in the figure of the welding process 23, carts 39 and 41 for exchanging jigs corresponding to various workpieces used in the welding process 23 are arranged.
[0037]
The workpieces 15 and 17 are carried into the preset step 25 by the workpiece carrying-in robot 43. The workpiece loading robot 43 can move on the guide portion 45, and pallets 47 and 49 serving as workpiece storage portions in which the workpieces 15 and 17 are respectively stacked are arranged on the side of the guide portion 45. .
[0038]
As shown in FIG. 3, the pallets 47 and 49 are arranged with the stacked workpieces 15 arranged in four places, and arranged in four places with the workpieces 17 being laminated corresponding to the workpieces 15. Yes. The workpiece loading robot 43 includes the uppermost four workpieces 15 of the eight workpieces 15 and 17 arranged in a stacked manner and a robot hand 51 capable of simultaneously holding the four workpieces 17. That is, the robot hand 51 is provided with at least eight vacuum pads 53 as holders for sucking and holding the workpieces 15 and 17.
[0039]
A plate material detection unit 55 is provided on the opposite side of the guide unit 45 from the pallets 47 and 49. As shown in FIG. 1, in the plate material detection unit 55, the slide plate 59 corresponding to the set of works 15 and 17 to be welded to each other on the base 57 corresponds to the four sets of works 15 and 17, respectively. The four are arranged.
[0040]
Between the slide plate 59 and the base 57, a plurality of support frames 61 extending in the arrangement direction of the slide plates 59 are interposed, and on the support frame 61, three roller holders are provided for each slide plate 59. 63 is fixed. A plurality of rollers 65 are rotatably provided on the roller holder 63, and a slide plate 59 is slidable in the longitudinal direction on the rollers 65.
[0041]
On the support frame 61, as shown in FIG. 4 as viewed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1, a bracket 67 is fixed corresponding to each slide plate 59, and the bracket 67 is extended in the longitudinal direction of the slide plate 59. The guide rod 69 is fixed. On the other hand, a guide bracket 70 into which the guide rod 69 is movably inserted is fixed to the lower surface of the slide plate 59. That is, when the slide plate 59 slides on the roller 65, it is guided by the guide rod 69.
[0042]
A support frame 61 disposed at one end of the slide plate 59 is provided with a bracket 71 on the lower surface. Correspondingly, the support frame 61 is rotatably connected to the bracket 71 via a shaft 73 on the base 57. A support bracket 75 is provided. The support frame 61 disposed at the other end of the slide plate 59 is in a state in which a bracket (not shown) provided on the lower surface is in contact with the base 57 so that the slide plate 59 can maintain a horizontal state. That is, the slide plate 59 can be rotated up to a predetermined angle from the horizontal state as shown by the arrow C about the shaft 73.
[0043]
The slide plate 59 has a rectangular opening 59a at the center in the longitudinal direction. A passage detection type sensor 77 is installed on the base 57 side so as to face almost the center of the opening 59a. This sensor 77 detects end portions 15a and 17a of the workpieces 15 and 17 held and taken out by the robot hand 51, and whether each of the workpieces 15 and 17 held by each vacuum pad 53 is one. It is to detect whether.
[0044]
A large number of small holes 59b are formed in almost the entire area of the slide plate 59 other than the opening 59a, and two or more sheets are held by one vacuum pad 53 on both sides of the opening 59a. A holding portion 78 made of a vacuum pad, an electromagnetic magnet, or the like is provided to hold and pull away an extra work that is in close contact with the slide plate 59 of the works 15 and 17.
[0045]
A spring balancer 79 is installed on the base 57 for pulling the slide plate 59 in the direction of arrow D in FIG. The spring balancer 79 is configured to draw the connecting wire 79b by a spring housed in the housing 79a, and the tip of the connecting wire 79b is connected to a connecting member 81 that connects the lower surfaces of the slide plates 59 adjacent to each other. It is connected. The slide plate 59 is held at the position shown in FIG. 1 by the spring balancer 79, and can be slid in the direction indicated by the arrow S from this holding state.
[0046]
Next, the operation will be described. The workpiece loading robot 43 sucks and holds four workpieces 15 and 17 stacked on the pallet 47 or 49 at the front by eight with the eight vacuum pads 53 and conveys them onto the plate material detection unit 55. Then, press the slide plate 59 so that it is in close contact with the slide plate 59. At this time, the workpiece 15 and the workpiece 17 on the plate material detection unit 55 have opposite end portions 15a and 17a on the side opposite to the sliding movement direction S of the slide plate 59 with respect to the sensor 77, and an opening portion. Set to a position corresponding to 59a.
[0047]
At this time, when there is an unused vacuum pad 53a that does not hold the workpieces 15 and 17, and the unused vacuum pad 53a contacts the slide plate 59, the slide plate 59 has a large number of small holes 59b. Therefore, the suction of the vacuum pad 53a to the slide plate 59 is avoided. As a result, it is not necessary to use a dedicated robot hand 51 that can hold eight workpieces 15 and 17, and a general-purpose one can be used.
[0048]
The robot hand 51 is moved in the longitudinal direction of the slide plate 59 from the state in which the workpieces 15 and 17 are in close contact with the slide plate 59, and the workpieces 15, 17 and the slide plate 59 are moved in the arrow S direction. Thereby, the end portions 15a and 17a of the workpieces 15 and 17 pass over the sensor 77, and the sensor 77 detects whether or not each vacuum pad 53 correctly holds the workpieces 15 and 17 by suction. In this detection operation, since the workpieces 15 and 17 are in close contact with the slide plate 59, the distance between the workpieces 15 and 17 and the sensor 77 is kept constant, and high-precision detection is possible.
[0049]
When the robot hand 51 is lifted together with the workpieces 15 and 17 to move the workpieces 15 and 17 away from the slide plate 59 after the detection operation, the slide plate 59 is moved to the original position shown in FIG. Return.
[0050]
As a result of the detection operation of the sensor 77, when each vacuum pad 53 holds the workpieces 15 and 17 correctly one by one, the robot 43 moves the robot hand 51 to place the workpieces 15 and 17 in the preset step 25. Carry in. The workpieces 15 and 17 carried into the preset process 25 are transferred to the welding process 23 and positioned on the jig, and the end portions 15a and 17a facing each other are joined and fixed by laser welding. The welded workpieces 15 and 17 are transferred to the workpiece unloading step 27 and unloaded by the first unloading robot 29.
[0051]
As a result of the detection operation of the sensor 77, when there is a vacuum pad 53 that does not correctly hold one workpiece 15, 17, the holding portion 78 on the slide plate 59 is operated to be in close contact with the slide plate 59. Excess workpieces 15 and 17 are held by suction or magnetic attachment. Thereafter, when the holding operation by the holding portion 78 is released in a state where the slide plate 59 is tilted in the direction of the arrow C to a predetermined angle position, the extra works 15 and 17 on the slide plate 59 are removed. Falls along and is discharged to the outside.
[0052]
Then, the robot hand 51 holding the workpieces 15 and 17 is passed over the sensor 77 in the same manner as described above, and the same detection operation is performed again. If there is a vacuum pad 53 that is not yet held by this re-detection operation, the holding part 78 holds the extra workpieces 15 and 17 and then rotates the slide plate 59 upward, After the workpieces 15 and 17 are discharged in the same manner as described above, the detection operation by the sensor 77 is performed. By repeatedly performing the detection operation as described above, it is possible to reliably detect whether the workpieces 15 and 17 are held by the vacuum pad 53.
[0053]
As described above, when one vacuum pad 53 holds two or more workpieces 15 and 17, after the extra workpieces 15 and 17 are discharged, the detection operation by the sensor 77 may be repeated continuously. Thus, it is not necessary to discharge all the workpieces 15 and 17 held and return to the pallets 45 and 47 again to repeat the workpiece holding and unloading operations. It shortens and operational efficiency improves.
[0054]
In addition, since the work picking operation from the pallets 45 and 47 and the work detecting operation and the work inputting operation to the presetting process 25 are performed by one robot 43, when two robots corresponding to each operation are used. Compared to this, there is no significant increase in cost.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a plate material detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the entire equipment provided with the detection device of FIG. 1;
3 is a perspective view showing a state in which workpieces are stacked on a pallet in the facility of FIG. 2; FIG.
4 is an enlarged view taken in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram of a conventional plate material detection apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
15, 17 Workpieces 15a, 17a Workpiece end portions 47, 49 Pallet (work receiving part)
51 Robot Hand 59 Slide Plate 59a Opening 59b Small Hole 77 Sensor 78 Holding Unit

Claims (6)

A workpiece storage unit in which plate-like workpieces are stacked and arranged is held and taken out using a holder provided in a robot hand , and the taken-out workpiece is held on the slide plate while being held by the holder. pressed is moved together with the slide plate, the sensor provided on the opposite side to the surface on which the workpiece is pressed against the slide plate, the holder by detecting the end of the workpiece to be positioned in an opening provided in the slide plate A method of detecting a plate material, comprising detecting whether or not a single workpiece is held . A workpiece housing part plate-shaped workpieces are stacked, the retainer taken out while holding the workpiece is provided on the robot hand, with the work in a state in which the work which the retainer taken out holds is pressed against the slide A movable slide plate and an end of the workpiece located at an opening provided in the slide plate by moving the workpiece together with the slide plate are installed on a side opposite to a surface against which the workpiece is pressed against the slide plate. detected, the detection device of the plate material workpiece which the retainer is held and having a sensor for detecting whether the one. The holder is a vacuum pad for holding a workpiece, said the sliding plate, the detection device of multiple plate material according to claim 2, wherein a small hole is provided. 4. The plate material according to claim 2, wherein a holding portion is provided on the slide plate, the holding portion being capable of holding a work held in a state of being stacked more than one sheet by the holding tool from a back surface. 5. Detection device. The sliding plate which is horizontally disposed, an extra work held by the holding portion is held over a single, in order to discharge to the outside, times over one end around the other end The plate material detection device according to claim 4 , wherein the plate material detection device is movable. The retainer is configured for holding individual in a state where the end portions each other at least one pair of work is opposed, the sensor is characterized in that it is configured to detect the opposite ends of the pair of works detection device of the plate material according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

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