JP6710187B2 - Gripping device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a gripping device.

Conventionally, a gripping device for gripping an object such as a small food side dish has been known. Examples of such a gripping device include a finger-type gripper that grips and grips an object with a plurality of claws (fingers), and a sucker-type hand that sucks and grips an object with a suction pad (for example, Patent Document 1). ).

JP, 2016-215285, A

With the finger type gripper, it is difficult to precisely control the movement of the nail (finger), and thus it is very difficult to properly grasp an object. Further, in the suction cup type hand, the suction pipe may be clogged with the target when gripping, which is not desirable for hygiene, and the target may not be appropriately gripped when gripping a new target in the next step.

The present invention has been invented to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gripping device that is hygienic and can appropriately grip an object.

A gripping device according to the present invention that achieves the above object grips an object. The gripping device includes a recessed portion that is recessed in a direction away from a mounting surface on which an object is mounted, and a side wall that is continuous with the recessed portion and extends so as to be spaced apart from the mounting surface, and has a thin-walled main body portion. And an adjusting portion capable of adjusting the size of the concave portion. The inside of the side wall is formed by an air layer. Further, the recess holds the object by contacting at least a part of the recess.

According to the gripping device configured as described above, the object can be appropriately gripped in the recess by adjusting the size of the recess in the adjusting unit. Further, it is sanitary because it is mechanically gripped by the main body. Therefore, it is possible to provide a gripping device that is hygienic and can appropriately grip an object.

It is a perspective view showing a grasping device concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the holding device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the usage method of the holding|grip apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment, Comprising: It is a figure which shows a mode when a recessed part is located above an object. It is a figure for demonstrating the usage method of the holding|grip apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment, Comprising: It is a figure which shows a mode when an adjustment part is moved upwards and the size of a recessed part is enlarged. It is a figure for demonstrating the usage method of the holding|grip apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the state which the holding|grip apparatus hold|gripped and pulled up the target object. It is a schematic diagram showing a grasping device concerning a 2nd embodiment. FIG. 7A is a diagram for explaining a method of using the gripping device according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a state when the concave portion is located above the object. 7B is a diagram showing a state where the recess is in contact with the object, and FIG. 7C is a diagram showing a state when the size of the recess is increased. 7A is a diagram showing a state where the gripping device is gripping the target object, and FIG. 7E is a diagram showing a state after the gripping device moves the target object. [Fig. 4] is a diagram showing how the gripping device arranges an object. FIG. 8A is a diagram for explaining how the gripping device grips an object when a plurality of objects are arranged adjacent to each other on the placement surface, and FIG. FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a state in which the recess is located above, FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a state in which the recess is in contact with an object, and FIG. 8C is a size of the recess. FIG. 8D is a diagram showing a state when the gripping device is enlarged, and FIG. 8D is a diagram showing a state in which the gripping device grips an object. FIG. 9A is a diagram for explaining a state in which the gripping device grips an object when a plurality of objects are arranged to overlap each other on the placement surface, and FIG. FIG. 9(B) is a diagram showing a state in which the recess is in contact with an object, and FIG. 9(C) is a diagram showing a state in which the recess is enlarged. FIG. 9D is a diagram showing a state when the gripping device grips an object.

<First Embodiment>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the description of the drawings, the same elements will be denoted by the same reference symbols, without redundant description. The dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience of description, and may differ from the actual ratios.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a gripping device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing the gripping device 1 according to the first embodiment. 3 to 5 are views for explaining a method of using the grip device 1 according to the first embodiment.

The gripping device 1 grips an object F (see FIG. 3) such as a food side dish. Examples of the object F include various objects such as strawberries, tomatoes, fried eggs, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gripping device 1 includes a main body 10 that forms an air layer A inward, and an adjusting unit 20 that can adjust the size of a recess 11 formed in the main body 10. Have. Further, the gripping device 1 is configured such that the upper side is open.

In the present specification, the size of the recess 11 is defined as the size of the region R formed by the recess 11 and the mounting surface P when the gripping device 1 is placed on the mounting surface P.

As shown in FIG. 2, the body portion 10 is formed in a thin shape having a substantially constant thickness. The thickness of the main body 10 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.5 to 2 mm, for example. For example, if the thickness of the main body portion 10 is too thick, there is a possibility that the recessed portion 11 will not be easily deformed when the size of the recessed portion 11 is increased as described later. On the other hand, if the thickness of the main body portion 10 is too thin, the concave portion 11 cannot maintain its shape when gripping the target object F in the concave portion 11 as described later, and thus the target object F cannot be gripped. There is.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body portion 10 has a recessed portion 11 recessed upward and a side wall 12 continuous with the recessed portion 11.

The recess 11 is formed to be recessed in a direction (upward in FIG. 1) away from the mounting surface P (see FIG. 3) on which the object F is mounted. As shown in FIG. 2, a grip surface 11a for gripping the object F is formed on the inner surface of the recess 11.

For example, if the size of the recess 11 is too smaller than the object F, the boundary portion 15 (see FIG. 2) between the recess 11 and the side wall 12 will be the object when the recess 11 is brought into contact with the object F as described later. It comes into contact with F and enters the object F, so that the object F cannot be gripped. On the other hand, if the size of the recess 11 is larger than the target F, the target F does not come into contact with the grip surface 11a when the target F is gripped by the recess 11 as described below, and thus the target F is not contacted. Can no longer be gripped. From the above, it is preferable to set the size of the concave portion 11 with respect to the object F so that the above-mentioned problems do not occur.

The side wall 12 is formed continuously with the recess 11. Further, the sidewall 12 starts from the boundary portion 15 and extends in a direction away from the placement surface P (upward in FIG. 1 ). The side wall 12 is formed in a taper shape so that the diameter thereof increases as the distance from the mounting surface P increases, that is, toward the upper side.

The taper angle θ of the side wall 12, which is defined as the inclination angle from the vertical direction, is not particularly limited, but is preferably 20 to 30 degrees, for example. By setting the taper angle θ to such an angle, an appropriate gripping force can be obtained when increasing the size of the recess 11 as described later.

An air layer A is formed inside the side wall 12. For example, when the inside of the side wall 12 is filled with a liquid (for example, water), the liquid may be scattered to the object F when the main body portion 10 is damaged unintentionally, which is not preferable in terms of hygiene. .. On the other hand, according to the gripping device 1 according to the first embodiment, since the air layer A is formed inside the side wall 12, even when the main body portion 10 is unintentionally damaged, Since there is no possibility that the liquid will be scattered on the object F, it is preferable in terms of hygiene.

The material forming the main body 10 is not particularly limited, but for example, silicone rubber, Teflon (registered trademark) rubber, or the like can be used. Such a material is excellent in heat resistance, cold resistance, ozone resistance, and electrical characteristics (insulation properties), and is physiologically inactive. Therefore, it is preferable as a material forming the main body 10. Further, by using such a material having high flexibility as the main body portion 10, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the recessed portion 11 is recessed along the outer diameter of the target object F so as to wrap the target object F. Can be properly gripped.

The adjusting unit 20 is configured to be able to adjust the size of the recess 11. The adjusting part 20 is fixed to the recess 11 on the side opposite to the mounting surface P side of the recess 11 (upper side in FIG. 1). The method of fixing the adjusting portion 20 to the recess 11 is not particularly limited, but is, for example, adhesive bonding. According to this configuration, the size of the recess 11 increases as the adjusting unit 20 moves upward, and the size of the recess 11 decreases as the adjusting unit 20 moves downward.

The material forming the adjusting unit 20 is not particularly limited, but plastic or the like can be used.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, a method of using the gripping device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, a case where the grip device 1 is manually used will be described as an example.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, the user positions the object F on the placement surface P and positions the recess 11 of the gripping device 1 above the object F.

Next, the user lowers the gripping device 1 toward the object F and brings the gripping surface 11a of the recess 11 into contact with the object F. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the user moves the adjusting portion 20 upward and lowers the main body portion 10 to increase the size of the concave portion 11 so that the gripping surface 11 a is set to the object F. Contact.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the user moves the gripping device 1 upward while maintaining the height of the adjusting unit 20 relative to the main body unit 10. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, on the gripping surface 11a of the concave portion 11, a frictional force F1 is generated upward and a pressing force F2 is generated on the object F, so that the gripping surface 11a is targeted. The object F can be gripped.

Next, the user moves the gripping device 1 to a desired place, and then lowers the gripping device 1 while maintaining the relative height of the adjusting unit 20 with respect to the main body 10. Then, the user lowers the adjusting unit 20 with respect to the main body unit 10 to reduce the size of the recess 11 and arranges the object F at a desired position.

As described above, the grip device 1 according to the first embodiment grips the object F. The gripping device 1 includes a recessed portion 11 that is recessed in a direction away from the mounting surface P on which the object F is mounted, and a sidewall 12 that is continuous with the recessed portion 11 and extends so as to be separated from the mounting surface P. The main body portion 10 has a shape and the adjustment portion 20 capable of adjusting the size of the concave portion 11 is provided. The inside of the side wall 12 is formed by an air layer A. According to the gripping device 1 configured as described above, by adjusting the size of the recess 11 in the adjusting unit 20, the object F can be appropriately gripped in the recess 11. Further, it is sanitary because it is mechanically gripped by the main body 10. Therefore, it is possible to provide the gripping device 1 that is hygienic and can appropriately grip the object F.

Further, the adjusting portion 20 is fixed to the recess 11 on the side opposite to the mounting surface P side of the recess 11. According to the gripping device 1 configured in this manner, the size of the recess 11 can be easily increased by moving the adjusting unit 20 upward. Therefore, the gripping device 1 can easily grip the object F.

Further, the side wall 12 is provided with a taper shape such that the diameter thereof increases as the distance from the mounting surface P increases. According to the gripping device 1 configured as described above, the size of the recess 11 can be appropriately increased when the adjustment unit 20 is moved upward.

The taper angle θ of the side wall 12 is 20 to 30 degrees. According to the gripping device 1 configured in this manner, the size of the recess 11 can be increased more appropriately when the adjusting unit 20 is moved upward.

The body 10 is made of silicone rubber. According to the gripping device 1 configured in this way, the recess 11 can be easily deformed, and the object F can be gripped appropriately.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, a configuration and a method of using the gripping device 2 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the gripping device 2 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7: is a figure for demonstrating the usage method of the holding|grip apparatus 2 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. 6 and 7, for easy understanding, the main body portion 10 is shown in a sectional view, and other configurations are shown in a front view.

The gripping device 2 according to the second embodiment is different from the gripping device 1 according to the above-described embodiment in that the main body unit 10 and the adjusting unit 20 are automatically operated. The configuration of the grip device 2 according to the second embodiment will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 6, the gripping device 2 includes a main body unit 10, an adjusting unit 20, a moving unit 30 that moves the main body unit 10 and the adjusting unit 20 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, and the adjusting unit 20 in the vertical direction. And an elevating cylinder 40 for moving.

The main body 10 is fixed to the flange 50 above the main body 10.

The moving unit 30 includes a first moving unit 31 that can move horizontally and a second moving unit 32 that can move vertically. The moving unit 30 is connected to the elevating cylinder 40 via the first connecting unit 51.

The elevating cylinder 40 has a fixed portion 41 and a slide portion 42 that is slidable relative to the fixed portion 41. The fixing portion 41 is connected to the flange 50 via the second connecting portion 52. The lower end of the slide portion 42 is fixed to the adjusting portion 20.

According to the gripping device 2 configured as described above, the main body unit 10 and the adjusting unit 20 move in the horizontal direction by moving the first moving unit 31 in the horizontal direction by the robot main body mechanism (not shown). Further, the second moving unit 32 moves in the vertical direction relative to the first moving unit 31, so that the main body unit 10 and the adjusting unit 20 move in the vertical direction. Further, in the elevating cylinder 40, the slide portion 42 moves upward relative to the fixed portion 41, so that the adjusting portion 20 moves upward and the size of the recess 11 is increased.

Next, with reference to FIG. 7(A) to FIG. 7(F), a method of using the grip device 2 according to the second embodiment will be described.

First, the position of the target object F mounted on the mounting surface P is confirmed by a 3D camera (not shown).

Next, as shown in FIG. 7A, the main body unit 10 and the adjusting unit 20 are positioned above the object F by the first moving unit 31 of the moving unit 30.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the second moving portion 32 of the moving portion 30 lowers the main body portion 10 and the adjusting portion 20 toward the target object F to bring the recess 11 into contact with the target object F. Let

Next, as shown in FIG. 7(C), the slide portion 42 of the elevating cylinder 40 is slid upward with respect to the fixed portion 41 to move the adjusting portion 20 upward, and at the same time, the second movement of the moving portion 30. By lowering the main body portion 10 by the portion 32, the size of the concave portion 11 is increased and the grip surface 11a (see FIG. 2) is brought into contact with the object F.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7D, the gripping device 1 is moved upward by the moving unit 30 and the elevating cylinder 40 while maintaining the height of the adjusting unit 20 relative to the main body unit 10. At this time, as described above, the concave portion 11 holds the object F by the frictional force F1 and the pressing force F2 (see FIG. 5).

Next, as shown in FIG. 7(E), after moving the gripping device 2 to a desired location by the first moving unit 31 of the moving unit 30, the height of the adjusting unit 20 relative to the main body unit 10 is increased. The gripping device 2 is moved down while maintaining.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7(F), the lifting cylinder 40 lowers the adjusting portion 20 with respect to the main body portion 10 to reduce the size of the concave portion 11 and dispose the object F at a desired position. To do.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the claims.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the adjusting section is configured as a separate body from the main body section. However, the adjusting portion may be integrally formed with the main body portion.

Moreover, in the above-described embodiment, the method of using the gripping device when one object is placed on the placement surface has been described. However, the gripping device can be appropriately applied even when a plurality of objects are arranged adjacent to each other on the placement surface as shown in FIG. 8. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, the side wall 12 pushes outward the object F adjacent to the object F to be grasped by lowering the grasping device 1. (Refer to the arrow in FIG. 8C), the object F to be gripped can be appropriately gripped. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9, the gripping device can be appropriately applied even when a plurality of objects F are arranged on the mounting surface P in an overlapping manner. At this time, the 3D camera respectively measures the distances from the main body 10 to the plurality of objects F. Then, based on the distance information measured by the 3D camera, the main body unit 10 sequentially grips the target object F closest to the main body unit 10.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the adjusting portion is fixed to the recess. However, the configuration of the adjustment unit is not particularly limited as long as the size of the recess can be adjusted.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the gripping device is configured so that the upper side is open. However, the gripping device may also be configured to be closed at the top.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the size of the recess is increased by lowering the main body while moving the adjusting section upward. However, the size of the recess may be increased by lowering the main body while maintaining the height of the adjusting portion.

Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the food side dish etc. were mentioned as an example as the target object which the holding device holds. However, the object to be gripped by the gripping device is not limited to food side dishes and the like, and may be machine parts or the like.

1, 2 gripping device,
10 body,
11 recesses,
12 side walls,
20 adjustment unit,
A air layer,
F object,
P mounting surface,
θ Tapered angle.

Claims (5)

A gripping device for gripping an object,
A recessed portion that is recessed in a direction away from the mounting surface on which the object is mounted, and a side wall that is continuous with the recessed portion and extends so as to be separated from the mounting surface, and a thin-walled main body portion,
An adjusting unit capable of adjusting the size of the recess,
The inside of the side wall is formed by an air layer ,
By contacting at least a portion of the recess, the recess you grip the object gripping device. The gripping device according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting portion is fixed to the recess on the side opposite to the mounting surface side of the recess. The gripping device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the side wall is provided with a taper shape such that a diameter thereof increases as the side wall moves away from the placement surface. The gripping device according to claim 3, wherein a taper angle of the side wall is 20 to 30 degrees. The grip device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the main body portion is made of silicon rubber.