JP7194369B2 - Processing equipment for cut products - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for processing a specific portion of a product cut from a material board such as a wooden board on a cutting device in accordance with cutting control data.

For example, roof panels and floor panels used in wooden houses are manufactured by cutting plywood materials. In order to improve the productivity of the automatic processing, devices described in (Patent Document 1), (Patent Document 2), etc. have been developed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-51320 Japanese Patent No. 4668485

The apparatus described in the above patents is computer controlled and uses cutting control data to automatically cut and stack products from sheets of material for delivery to a packing and shipping line.

The side surface of the material plate of products used for roofing materials and the like is coated with paint over the entire circumference for the purpose of preventing moisture. Products obtained by cutting such material sheets are preferably coated with the same paint on new cut surfaces.

Conventionally, the separated product is brought into a coating device, and a coating air gun is used to apply a predetermined coating. In this case, manual work was required to confirm the product application location and to operate the application air gun.

A blank is positioned on the cutting device. Therefore, if the paint is applied to the product while it is cut and the product is still positioned, automatic control is easy. However, in this case, the cutting device is contaminated with paint, and there arises a problem of environmental pollution due to solvents and the like. Therefore, the paint applicator is housed in a separate room from the cutting device.

The products delivered to the applicator have various shapes. Therefore, when adopting automatic processing, it is necessary to automatically recognize which part of each individual product should be painted. As a result, complicated control such as image processing is required, and there is a problem that automation is not easy. The present invention has been made to solve the above problems.

The following configurations are means for solving the above problems.

<Configuration 1>
A device for processing a specific portion of a product cut from a material plate on a cutting device in accordance with cutting control data and transported to the processing table, wherein
When the head of the robot arm grabs and lifts the product in a fixed position on the conveyor in a stationary position before being cut by the cutting device and discharged from the cutting device, the head of the robot arm grabs and lifts the product. and the relative positional relationship between the head and the part of the product that requires processing, from the cutting control data including the data indicating the shape of the product and the part of the product that requires processing, the specific part of the head and the part of the product The above-mentioned processing when the length and direction between the location requiring processing and the orientation of the head are calculated and acquired, and the product is transported and placed on the processing table by the above-mentioned robot arm. a data processing device that calculates and acquires the position and orientation of the head on the table from the control data of the robot arm, and generates state data that indicates the position coordinates of a portion of the product that requires processing;
A processing apparatus for a cut product, comprising a processing control device for controlling processing operations of a processing machine on a processing table using the above state data.

<Configuration 2>
The apparatus for processing a cut product according to the configuration 1, wherein the position and orientation of the head when placing the product on the processing table by the robot arm are constant for all products.

<Configuration 3>
A computer program that causes a computer to function as the data processing device and processing control device according to configuration 1 or 2.

<Configuration 4>
A computer-readable recording medium recording the computer program according to configuration 3.

<Effect of Configuration 1>
The cut control data can be used to precisely control where the product heads grip when cut and removed by the cutting device, provided that the cut state is maintained. At the same time, the cutting control data can be used to immediately calculate the relative positional relationship between the head and the portion of the product that requires processing. The position and orientation of the head on the work table when the product is transported can be easily obtained from the control data of the robot arm. As a result, it is possible to accurately calculate the position and orientation of the product when it is placed on the processing table, so that the corresponding portion of the product can be accurately processed.
<Effect of Configuration 2>
If the positional relationship between the cutting device, the robot arm, and the processing table is fixed, the product should be placed so that the head of the robot arm always faces a certain direction with respect to the processing table at a fixed place on the processing table. , the generation of state data becomes simpler.

3 is a top view of the cutting device 16 and the conveyor 22; FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the positional relationship between the head 24 of the robot arm 26 and the product; FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a material cutting line in which the apparatus of the present invention is employed; FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the control computer of a line. 5 is a program flow chart showing an operation example of a control computer 52;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail for each example.

1 and 2 are explanatory diagrams of specific operation examples of the apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a material cutting line in which the apparatus of the present invention is employed;
First, with reference to FIG. 3, a material cutting line suitable for employing the apparatus of the present invention will be described. In this line, material plates are supplied one by one from the material supply section to the cutting device 16 . This sheet of material is cut in a cutting device 16 . Products separated from the material plate are taken out one by one by the conveyor 22 . The product is then carried out by the robot arm 26 .

FIG. 1 is a top view of the cutting device 16 and the conveyor 22, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the head 24 of the robot arm 26 and the product.
A cutting device 16 cuts a product 20 from the material plate 12 according to cutting control data 18 . After that, the product is discharged from the cutting device 16 and proceeds to processes such as packing.

Here, in the apparatus of the present invention, a portion of the product 20 taken out from the cutting device 16 by the conveyor 22 and before being discharged is picked up by the head 24 of the robot arm 26, lifted, and transported to the processing table 28. Inside the cutting device 16 , the sheet of material 12 and the product 20 are precisely positioned and clamped until the product 20 is separated from the sheet of material 12 . The product 20 that has been cut and separated from the sheet of material 12 is sent out by a conveyor 22 a fixed distance in the same state as when it was separated. Therefore, the position, shape and orientation of the products 20 on the conveyor 22 can be accurately recognized from the cutting control data 18. FIG.

On the processing table 28 , a specific portion of the product 20 is processed by a processing machine 44 . Specifically, for example, on the processing table 28, a coating air gun is used to apply a moisture-proof coating to the side surface of the product 20 newly created by cutting. Another example of the processing machine 44 is one that performs simple processing such as attachment of parts to a specific portion of the product.

The robot arm 26 is configured, for example, to suck a head 24 having a suction cup near the center of the product 20 to grip and lift the product 20 .

After the product 20 is cut off by the cutting device 16 as described above, the conveyor 22 delivers the product by a fixed amount to the outside. The orientation and stationary position of the product 20 delivered by the conveyor 22 and the shape of the product 20 can be accurately obtained from the cutting control data 18 . The robot arm 26, as shown in FIG. 1, positions its head 24 at a designated position where it is easy to grip the product and grips the product.

For example, a suction cup (not shown) is attached to the head 24 so as to lift the product by suction near the center of gravity of the product. While the product is in place on the conveyor 22 before it is discharged from the cutting device 16, the head 24 of the robot arm 26 grabs a portion of the product 20 and begins transporting it.

At this time, the data processing device 40 calculates and acquires the relative positional relationship between the head 24 and the portion of the product 20 that requires processing, based on the cutting control data 18 . The data indicating this positional relationship includes, for example, the length and direction between a specific portion of the head 24 and a portion requiring processing of the product, the orientation of the head 24 with respect to the product when the product 20 is gripped, and the like. data to show.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a coordinate axis whose origin is on the head 24 of the robot arm 26 and whose orientation is fixed with respect to the head 24 is set so that the main side of the product 20 to be coated with paint is Get the position coordinates of the point.

The cutting control data 18 prepared in advance includes data for controlling the blade for cutting the material plate 12, and also includes data indicating the shape of the product. Therefore, data indicating the position where the head 24 is to be attracted when the robot arm 26 lifts the product can be prepared in advance.

If there is no change in the amount of movement by the cutting device 16 and the conveyor when taking out and the position of the robot arm 26, the length and direction between a specific location of the head 24 and the location where the product needs to be processed, and the product 20 The orientation of the head 24 with respect to the product when gripped can all be pre-calculated. Therefore, the data processing device 40 can calculate data indicating this positional relationship in advance for each product and store it in the storage device.

After that, the data processing device 40 acquires the position and orientation of the head on the processing table 28 when the product 20 is transferred and placed on the processing table 28 by the robot arm 26 .

The position and orientation of the head on the work table after transporting the product are acquired from the control data of the robot arm. From this data and the relative positional relationship between the head 24 and the portion of the product 20 that requires processing, the position and orientation of the product when placed on the processing table can also be accurately calculated.

In the example of FIG. 2, the line from point A through point B to point C indicates the side to which paint is to be applied. Data representing this line is the state data 38 for controlling the machining operation of the machining machine 44 . In this embodiment, the machine 44 is a coating air gun, so as shown in FIG. 2, the process control device 46 causes the paint to be jetted along the line toward the sides of the product on the work table 28. FIG. The processing table 28 and the processing machine 44 are provided with a cover (not shown) to prevent paint from scattering.

The relative positional relationship between the head 24 and the product 20 does not change unless the product 20 is separated from the head 24 until the robot arm 26 carries the product 20 onto the processing table 28 and unloads the product. The positional relationship between the robot arm 26 and the processing table 28 is also constant. Here, if the position and orientation of the head 24 when placing the product 20 on the processing table 28 are made constant for all products, the control data of the robot arm 26 need not be read.

That is, the head 24 of the robot arm 26 always moves to a fixed position on the work table 28 before placing the product 20 thereon. The orientation of the head 24 at that time is also kept constant. Thereby, it is possible to prepare in advance the processing control data in which the identification data of the product 20 and the state data 38 indicating the processing position on the processing table 28 are associated with each other.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the line control computer shown in FIG.
The arithmetic processing unit 56 of the control computer 52 functions as the cutting control device 48, the data processing device 40, the transfer control device 50, and the processing control device 46 when the arithmetic processing is started. At this time, the state data 38 is generated using the cutting control data 18 stored in the storage device 54 . This controls the processing control device 46 that performs processing such as applying paint to the already described product.

FIG. 5 is a program flow chart showing an operation example of the control computer 52. As shown in FIG.
First, in step S11, the cutting control data 18 is read. Then, in step S12, cutting of the material plate 12 is controlled. In step S13, the conveyor 22 picks up one product 20. FIG. In this state, the head 24 of the robot arm 26 grabs the product 20 in step S14. At step S15, the robot arm 26 transports the article 20 to the work table. In step S<b>16 , the data processing device 40 calculates the state data 38 . In step S17, this state data 38 is used to start processing (coating) control of the processing machine 44. FIG.

After the above processing, for example, the robot arm 26 picks up the products 20 again and stacks them for packing. That is, the robot arm 26 can also be used for such operations.

The above apparatus does not require complicated arithmetic control for recognizing and processing the position, orientation and shape of the product brought into the processing apparatus. Since the control data for controlling the coating device can be generated only by recording the movement of the robot arm, control is simple and high-speed processing is possible.

Moreover, for example, additional installation can be easily performed on the production line shown in Patent Literature 1, before the product is packaged after being cut. Therefore, it can be widely used not only for the application of paint as described above but also for the mounting of parts.

After being painted, the product is stacked in an adjacent space and packed for transport. When the robot arm applies paint while the product is placed on the workbench, the robot arm stores the position, shape, and orientation of the product placed on the workbench in a storage device. , the data can be used again.

If a space for packing is provided within the operating range of the robot arm, the robot arm can recognize the shape and orientation of the product from the processing table and carry it out to that space. In other words, the data stored in the storage device can be used to stack the products in the packing space, taking into consideration the shape and orientation of the products.

For example, in the case of roofing materials, there are many products with similar shapes. These products are stacked and packed in quantities that can be lifted onto the roof. At the same time, they are stacked in the order they are unpacked when working on the roof. In such packing work, it is preferable to stack the products in the same direction according to the shape of each product.

That is, in the present invention, the robot arm carries out the process of moving the products cut by the cutting device to the processing table, applying processing such as coating, and then stacking the products in the same shape and orientation for packing. The control allows automatic continuous execution.

12 Material plate 16 Cutting device 18 Cutting control data 20 Product 22 Conveyor 24 Head 26 Robot arm 28 Processing table 38 State data 40 Data processing device 44 Processing machine 46 Processing control device 48 Cutting control device 50 Transfer control device 52 Control computer 54 Storage device 56 Arithmetic processing unit

Claims (4)

A device for processing a specific portion of a product cut from a material plate on a cutting device in accordance with cutting control data and transported to the processing table, wherein
When the head of the robot arm grabs and lifts the product in a fixed position on the conveyor in a stationary position before being cut by the cutting device and discharged from the cutting device, the head of the robot arm grabs and lifts the product. and the relative positional relationship between the head and the part of the product that requires processing, from the cutting control data including the data indicating the shape of the product and the part of the product that requires processing, the specific part of the head and the part of the product The above-mentioned processing when the length and direction between the location requiring processing and the orientation of the head are calculated and acquired, and the product is transported and placed on the processing table by the above-mentioned robot arm. a data processing device that calculates and acquires the position and orientation of the head on the table from the control data of the robot arm, and generates state data that indicates the position coordinates of a portion of the product that requires processing;
A processing apparatus for a cut product, comprising a processing control device for controlling processing operations of a processing machine on a processing table using the above state data. 2. The apparatus for processing cut products according to claim 1, wherein the position and orientation of the head when placing the products on the processing table by the robot arm are constant for all products. A computer program that causes a computer to function as the data processing device and processing control device according to claim 1 or 2. 4. A computer-readable recording medium recording the computer program according to claim 3.

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