JP7343382B2 - Work supply device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a picking work supply device used in a work picking device that picks works one by one using a robot arm.

For example, a work picking device is widely known in which a robot arm picks out parts such as electrical connector housings and various other items one by one, arranges the orientation, and then sends them out for an assembly process or the like. These picking devices use a camera to acquire image information representing the positions and postures of multiple workpieces placed on a table surface, and based on that information, the robot arm identifies the workpieces that can be picked. The structure is such that the robot arm picks the pieces one by one. This type of work picking device is generally equipped with a picking work supply device (parts supply device) for supplying the work in a ready-to-pick state.

By the way, when picking workpieces with a robot arm, if the workpieces overlap each other, it may not be possible to recognize each workpiece individually from the image captured by the camera, or the workpiece may not be able to be grabbed by the robot arm. Sometimes. Therefore, before the robot arm picks the workpieces, it is necessary to spread out the workpieces on the table surface in advance in a state where they can be picked.

As a device for this purpose, Patent Document 1 discloses a first transfer device that places an article received from an article delivery section and transfers it downstream at a first speed, and a device that is provided downstream of the first transfer device and that carries the article. An article transfer device is disclosed that includes a second transfer device capable of transferring the placed articles at a second speed faster than the first speed.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses an apparatus in which parts whose images can be easily recognized are transported by a transport conveyor, parts whose images cannot be recognized are transported by a collection conveyor, and the parts are reinjected into the front stage of the transport conveyor. .

International Publication No. 2017/154719 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-228819

However, in the device described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to use a plurality of transfer devices having different speeds, which makes the equipment complicated. In addition, parts that cannot be grabbed by the robot arm will collect on the downstream side of the subsequent transfer device, and will need to be collected by a person and reinserted upstream again, which may reduce work efficiency.

In addition, in the device described in Patent Document 2, parts whose images cannot be recognized are transferred by a collection conveyor and re-injected into the front stage of the transport conveyor, so there is no need for humans to collect the parts, but it is necessary to use multiple conveyors. This makes the equipment complex. Furthermore, since it takes time to re-inject the parts, the parts supplied to the conveyor become empty, resulting in wasted time, which may reduce work efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a robot with a simple configuration that does not require human labor, reduces wasted time, increases work efficiency, and allows a robot to transfer workpieces in a picking-ready state. An object of the present invention is to provide a picking work supply device that can supply a workpiece to an arm.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the work supply device according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to (4).
(1) Obtain information on the positions and postures of multiple workpieces placed on a table surface in a disjointed manner, identify workpieces that can be picked by a robot arm based on the information, and pick the workpieces with the robot arm. A work supply device used in a work picking device,
a conveyor having a conveying surface capable of horizontally forward and reverse conveying, the conveying surface being the table surface;
They are arranged at one end and the other end of the conveyor in the conveyance direction, and when located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction, the workpieces to be supplied to the conveyance surface of the conveyor are accommodated, and when located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction, the workpieces are accommodated in the conveyor. two workpiece storage trays for storing the workpieces discharged from the conveyance surface;
Depending on the forward and reverse transport direction of the conveyor, the bottom plate of the workpiece storage tray on the upstream side in the transport direction is raised to a height above the transport surface, and the bottom plate of the workpiece storage tray on the downstream side in the transport direction is raised. a tray lifting mechanism that lowers the tray to a lower height than the conveyance surface;
Equipped with
A work supply device characterized by:

(2) In response to a signal indicating that one of the two workpiece storage trays in the raised position is empty, the tray lifting mechanism is driven and controlled, and the one workpiece storage tray is moved up and down. a control device that lowers the conveyor, raises the other work storage tray, and reverses the conveyance direction of the conveyor;
The work supply device according to the above (1), characterized in that:

(3) The bottom plate of the workpiece storage tray can be moved forward toward or backward from the end of the conveyance surface of the conveyor;
further comprising a bottom plate drive mechanism that sends out the workpieces accommodated in the workpiece storage tray onto the conveyance surface by advancing the bottom plate;
The work supply device according to (1) or (2) above.

(4) A guide plate is provided between the workpiece storage tray and the conveyor to prevent the workpieces moving between the workpiece storage tray and the conveyor from being caught in the belt of the conveyor.
The work supply device according to any one of (1) to (3) above, characterized in that:

According to the workpiece supply device having the configuration (1) above, the workpieces can be alternately sent back and forth between the two trays by switching the conveyance direction of the conveyor while switching the vertical positions of the workpiece storage trays at both ends of the conveyor. Can be done. Therefore, along with the movement, the positions and postures of the plurality of works spread on the conveyance surface can be changed significantly. In other words, along with the switching operation, the workpieces can be spread out on the conveyance surface in new positions and postures one after another. Therefore, the probability of finding a workpiece that can be picked by the robot arm can be increased, and the efficiency of picking work can be improved.
In addition, since the workpieces are alternately sent back and forth between the two trays until there are no more workpieces left, there is no need for people to collect and reload the workpieces, reducing wasted time and placing the workpieces on the transport surface in a ready-to-pick state. Workpieces can be developed automatically. Moreover, since the tray on the supply side is raised and the tray on the discharge side is lowered during conveyance on the conveyor, it is possible to smoothly supply the work to the conveyance surface of the conveyor and to discharge the work from the conveyance surface. Furthermore, since only one conveyor is required for such operations, the equipment configuration is simplified.

According to the work supply device having the configuration (2) above, when the tray on the work supply side becomes empty, the roles of the tray on the supply side and the tray on the discharge side are exchanged, so the operation is performed with less unnecessary movement. becomes stable and increases the reliability of equipment.

According to the workpiece supply device having the configuration (3) above, it is possible to reliably feed the workpieces in the tray in appropriate amounts to the conveyance surface of the conveyor without leaving anything behind.

According to the work supply device having the configuration (4) above, even small works can be prevented from being caught in the belt of the conveyor.

According to the present invention, with a simple configuration, a workpiece can be supplied to a robot arm in a pickable state without requiring human labor, reducing wasted time, and increasing work efficiency.

The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the mode for carrying out the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment") described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a workpiece picking device including a workpiece supply device for picking according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the workpiece picking device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the work supply device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the configuration of the work supply device. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a partial configuration of the work supply device. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing the operation mode of the workpiece supply device, and FIG. 6(a) shows tray A raised as the supply side, tray B lowered as the discharge side, and the conveyor rotated normally for conveyance. FIG. 6(b) is a diagram showing the state when tray B is raised to be on the supply side, tray A is lowered to be on the discharge side, and the conveyor is being conveyed in reverse. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the tray of the work supply device. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the conveyor of the work supply device. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the imaging operation flow of the camera of the picking device. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the robot arm of the picking device. FIG. 11 is a side view showing an example in which a guide plate is added between the tray and the conveyor of the work supply device. FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a workpiece picking device in which one more workpiece supply device is added.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to each figure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a work picking device equipped with a picking work supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the work picking device.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this workpiece picking device M includes a robot 1 for picking work in the center of the planar layout, and two workpiece supply devices for picking (hereinafter referred to as (also simply referred to as a "work supply device") 11, 12, a dispensing device 7 in front of the robot 1, and a dispensing tray device 8 in front of the dispensing device 7. Here, the work W will be described as, for example, a housing of a substantially hexahedral (rectangular parallelepiped) electrical connector. Furthermore, when it is not necessary to separately explain the two picking work supply devices 11 and 12, they will be described as the work supply device 10.

The robot 1 includes a robot arm 2 that can rotate horizontally with the center of its main body as a vertical central axis. A chuck 3 that can be opened and closed is provided at the tip of the robot arm 2 for gripping a workpiece W and releasing the gripped workpiece W. The robot arm 2 has a function of freely changing the three-dimensional position of the chuck 3 and the direction of the work W to be gripped and released by the chuck 3, at least within a horizontal plane.

Viewed from the robot 1, the left and right workpiece supply devices 11 and 12 are arranged symmetrically at positions equidistant from the center of the robot 1, and the robot 1 randomly picks up the workpieces W from the left and right workpiece supply devices 11 and 12. can be taken out one by one. The dispensing device 7 has a function of receiving the work W gripped by the chuck 3 from the robot arm 2 and inserting the work W into one of the gutter-shaped trays arranged in the dispensing tray device 8 in a fixed direction. has.

An imaging camera 5 as a three-dimensional measuring device is installed above the left and right work supply devices 11 and 12, respectively. These imaging cameras 5 acquire image information viewed from above of the work W spread on the conveyor 23 (described later) of the work supply devices 11 and 12. The workpiece picking device M is equipped with a control device 100 that has a function of recognizing the position and orientation of a specific workpiece to be picked from the information acquired by the imaging camera 5. This control device 100 has a function of controlling the entire workpiece picking device M, such as a function of controlling not only the robot 1 but also the workpiece supply devices 11 and 12 and the payout device 7.

The feature of this workpiece picking device M is that the control device 100 drives and controls the robot 1 to pick a specific workpiece W and picks it up until it is delivered to the delivery device 7. The point is that it is possible to perform such tasks. For example, the control device 100 operates the work supply devices 11 and 12 and the payout device 7 independently of the operation of the robot 1. In addition, in order to find the target to be picked next, the imaging camera 5 is made to image the workpiece W on the conveyor 23 of either of the workpiece supply devices 11, 12, and from that information, the position of the workpiece to be picked next is determined. Recognize posture.

Next, the work supply device 10 (11, 12) will be explained in detail.
3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the workpiece supply device 10, FIG. 4 is a side view, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a partial configuration of the workpiece supply device 10, and FIG. 6 is an operation of the workpiece supply device 10. It is a schematic side view which shows a form.

The left and right work supply devices 11 and 12 have the same configuration, and their operations can be controlled independently. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, each workpiece supply device 10 includes two workpiece storage trays (hereinafter also simply referred to as trays) 21 and 22 arranged linearly in the front-rear direction of the workpiece picking device M, and It has one belt-type conveyor 23 arranged between two trays 21 and 22.

The conveyor 23 is capable of forward and reverse conveyance in the front and back directions of the workpiece picking device M in a horizontal plane with the conveyance surface (top surface of the belt) 23a facing upward. This is the table surface on which the workpiece W is placed. The imaging camera 5 acquires image information of the positions and postures of a plurality of workpieces W placed on the conveyance surface (table surface) 23a in a disjointed manner. Based on the image information, the control device 100 identifies the workpieces W that can be picked by the robot arm 2, and causes the robot arm 2 to pick the workpieces W one by one.

The two trays 21 and 22 are arranged at one end and the other end of the conveyor 23 in the transport direction, respectively, and the transport direction is changed depending on the direction of the transport direction (direction of forward transport and reverse transport). When located on the upstream side of the conveyor 23, it accommodates the work W to be supplied to the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23, and when located downstream in the conveyance direction, it functions to accommodate the work W discharged from the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23.

In order to distinguish between the two trays 21 and 22, the tray 21 located in front of the conveyor 23 in the work picking device M is called "tray A", and the tray 22 located in the rear side of the conveyor 23 in the work picking device M is called "tray A". It is called "Tray B." In the initial state of operation, the workpiece W is placed on the tray A. Therefore, tray A is formed into a hopper shape.

Tray A and tray B are provided with a bottom plate 35 that slides back and forth in a direction parallel to the conveyance direction of the conveyor 23. Tray A and tray B are provided with an elevating mechanism 31 for elevating at least the bottom plate 35 up and down. In this embodiment, the entire tray A and tray B, including the peripheral wall, can be moved up and down. Further, by moving the bottom plate 35 of each tray 21, 22 toward the end of the conveyance surface of the conveyor 23, the workpieces accommodated in the trays 21, 22 can be transferred to the conveyance surface 23a. A bottom plate drive mechanism 32 is provided to send out the top plate.

The control device 100 controls the lifting and lowering mechanisms 31 of the two trays 21 and 22 to move the bottom plates 35 of the upstream trays 21 and 22 above the transport surface 23a in accordance with the forward and reverse transport directions of the conveyor 23. At the same time, the bottom plates 35 of the trays 21 and 22 on the downstream side in the transport direction are lowered to a height lower than the transport surface 23a.

Here, the conveyance direction of the conveyor 23 (arrow HA direction) when conveying the workpiece W from the tray A side to the tray B side is referred to as the forward conveyance direction, and when conveying the workpiece W from the tray B side to the tray A side The conveyance direction of the conveyor 23 (arrow HB direction is referred to as the reverse conveyance direction).

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a state when tray A is raised to serve as a supply side, tray B is lowered to serve as a discharge side, and the conveyor 23 is conveyed in normal rotation (conveyed in the direction of arrow HA). 6(b) is a diagram showing a state in which tray B is raised to be on the supply side, tray A is lowered to be on the discharge side, and the conveyor 23 is conveyed in reverse (transported in the direction of arrow HB).

As shown in FIG. 5, each tray 21, 22 has an in-tray sensor 37 that detects whether there is a workpiece in the tray 21, 22, and a tray sensor 37 that detects whether there is a workpiece at the outlet of the tray 21, 22. An exit sensor 38 is provided. The signals from each sensor 37, 38 are input to the control device 100, and the control device 100 controls the lifting mechanism 31 of the trays 21, 22, the bottom plate drive mechanism 32, etc. based on the signal.

For example, the control device 100 drives the tray lifting mechanism 31 in response to a signal indicating that one of the two trays 21, 22 in the raised position (supply side) is empty. Then, one empty tray 21, 22 (on the supply side) is lowered, and the other tray 21, 22 (on the discharge side) is raised, thereby switching the roles of the supply side and the discharge side. Correspondingly, the conveyance direction of the conveyor 23 is reversed.

Next, the flow of the operation of the workpiece picking device M will be explained with reference to a flowchart.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the trays 21 and 22 of the work supply device 10.

As shown in FIG. 7, when tray operation control starts, it is checked in step S101 whether or not there is a workpiece in tray A. If there is a workpiece in tray A (YES), the process advances to step S102, and it is checked whether the bottom plate 35 of tray A is at an intermediate position (a position that is neither the front end nor the rear end). If the bottom plate 35 of tray A is in the intermediate position (YES), the process advances to step S103, moves the bottom plate of tray A to the rear end position, and returns to the start.

If it is determined in step S102 that the bottom plate 35 of tray A is not at the intermediate position (determined as NO), the process proceeds to step S104, and it is checked whether there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray A. If there is a workpiece at the exit of tray A (YES), there is no need to move the bottom plate to push the workpiece to the exit side, so the process returns to the start.

If it is determined in step S104 that there is no workpiece at the outlet of tray A (NO), the bottom plate is moved to push the workpiece toward the outlet side. That is, the process proceeds to step S105, where the bottom plate of tray A is advanced by one pitch, and the workpiece is pushed out to the exit side. By doing so, the work can be supplied to the conveyor 23. Note that this forward motion of the bottom plate may be performed one pitch at a time, or may be performed continuously. When the process of step S105 is completed, the process returns to the start.

Next, when there are no more works in tray A, the determination in step S101 becomes NO, and the process proceeds to step S106. In step S106, it is checked whether the bottom plate of tray A is at the front end position. If it is not at the front end position (NO), the process advances to step S104. In other words, even if there is no workpiece in tray A, if the bottom plate has not advanced to the front end, check whether there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray A (step S104), and if there is no workpiece at the outlet, remove the bottom plate of tray A. It is moved toward the front end (step S105).

When there are no more works in tray A and the bottom plate of tray A has moved to the front end position (if the determination in step S101 is NO and the determination in step S106 is YES), it is determined that tray A is empty for the first time. The process then proceeds to step S107, where the bottom plates of trays A and B are moved to the rear end positions, and then the process proceeds to step S108, where tray A is lowered and tray B is raised. That is, in order to switch the roles of the trays on the supply side and the discharge side, the vertical relationship of trays A and B is reversed.

Next, since tray B is on the supply side, the process advances to step S109, and it is checked whether the bottom plate of tray B is at the front end position. If the workpiece is not at the front end position, the process advances from step S109 to step S110, and it is checked whether there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray B. If there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray B (YES in step S110), there is no need to move the bottom plate, and the process returns to step S109. If there is no workpiece at the exit of tray B (if the determination in step S110 is NO), the bottom plate is moved to push the workpiece toward the exit side. That is, the process proceeds to step S111, where the bottom plate of tray B is advanced by one pitch, and the workpiece is pushed out to the exit side. By doing so, the work can be supplied to the conveyor 23. When the process of step S111 is completed, the process returns to step S109.

If it is determined in step S109 that the bottom plate of tray B has moved to the front end position (determined as YES), the process advances to step S112, where the bottom plate of tray B is moved to the rear end position, and then the process advances to step S113. , raise tray B and lower tray B. That is, in order to switch the roles of the trays on the supply side and the discharge side, the vertical relationship of trays A and B is reversed. When the process of step S113 is completed, the process returns to the start.

The operation of the conveyor 23 is also controlled in response to the operations of trays A and B as described above.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the conveyor 23 of the work supply device.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the operation control of the conveyor 23 starts, in step S201, it is checked whether tray A or tray B is in the raised position. In other words, check which tray is on the supply side. If tray A is on the top (supply side), the process advances to step S202, and it is checked whether there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray A. If there is a workpiece at the exit of tray A (in the case of YES), the process advances to step S203, and the conveyor 23 is caused to rotate forward and convey by a predetermined pitch. Here, the conveyor 23 is configured to convey by an appropriate pitch (conveyance distance) as necessary, and the number of pitches is set arbitrarily.

If there is no workpiece at the outlet of tray A (if the judgment in step S202 is NO), it is checked in step S204 whether or not the bottom plate of tray A is at the front end position, and if the bottom plate of tray A is not at the front end position, repeats steps S202 and S204 and waits until there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray A. Alternatively, wait until the bottom plate of tray A moves to the front end position. However, if there continues to be no workpiece at the outlet of tray A, priority is given to the operation control on the tray side.

Even if there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray A (if the determination in step S202 is YES) or if there is no workpiece at the outlet of tray A (if the determination in step S202 is NO), the bottom plate of tray A will be at the front end position. If yes (YES in step S204), the process advances to step S203, and the conveyor 23 is caused to rotate forward by a predetermined pitch.

When the conveyor 23 is conveyed in forward rotation (or reverse conveyance), the workpiece sent out from tray A (or tray B) is conveyed to the imaging area of the imaging camera 5, that is, the picking area, while being placed on the conveyance surface 23a. It will be done. After confirming the image data captured by the imaging camera 5 in step S205, it is determined in step S206 whether there is a work that can be picked (there is a work to be taken out), and if there is no work that can be picked, the process returns to the start. If there is a work that can be picked, a picking request (transport request) is issued to the robot, and then the robot returns to the start. Note that if there is a work that can be picked, the conveyor 23 will maintain a state where the robot can pick it.

When tray A is on the top (supply side), the process proceeds as described above, but when tray B is on the top (supply side), the process proceeds in the same way. That is, if tray B is on the top (supply side), the process advances from step S201 to step S208, and it is checked whether there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray B. If there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray B (in the case of YES), the process advances to step S209, and the conveyor is reversely conveyed by a predetermined pitch.

If there is no workpiece at the outlet of tray B (if the judgment in step S208 is NO), it is checked in step S210 whether or not the bottom plate of tray B is at the front end position, and if the bottom plate of tray B is not at the front end position, it is checked in step S210. repeats steps S208 and S210 and waits until there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray B. Alternatively, wait until the bottom plate of tray B moves to the front end position. However, if there continues to be no workpiece at the outlet of tray B, priority is given to the operation control on the tray side.

Even if there is a workpiece at the outlet of tray B (if the determination in step S210 is YES) or if there is no workpiece at the outlet of tray B (if the determination in step S208 is NO), the bottom plate of tray B will be at the front end position. If yes (YES in step S210), the process advances to step S209 and the conveyor 23 is reversely conveyed by a predetermined pitch. After that, the process advances to step S205, and the same process as in the case of tray A is performed.

The details of the operation control of the imaging camera 5 corresponding to the movement of the conveyor 23 described above will be described below.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the imaging operation of the imaging camera 5. As shown in FIG.

In this imaging operation flow of the imaging camera 5, it is determined whether there is a work that can be picked among the plurality of works placed on the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23. Whether or not a workpiece can be picked is determined by the workpiece posture being such that it can be picked up from above by the chuck 3 of the robot arm 2, and by the presence of obstacles around the target workpiece (such as other workpieces or other workpieces). At least one criterion is that there are no walls (such as walls, etc.). The image judgment as to whether or not the workpiece is a pickable workpiece is carried out by determining whether one workpiece image among the images acquired by the imaging camera 5 is an image of several extraction surfaces registered in advance (an image of a pickable workpiece). This is done based on whether it matches or not.

Here, it is assumed that the control device 100 has registered in advance an image (an image of the extraction surface) of the work to be picked that corresponds to a state in which it can be picked.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the operation control of the imaging camera 5 starts, the work on the conveyor is photographed by the imaging camera 5 in step S301. At this time, necessary image processing may be performed. Next, in step S302, a work that can be picked is searched for. Here, the image 1 of the extraction surface 1 and the photographed image are compared. If there is a workpiece that matches the take-out surface 1, the process advances to steps S303 and 304, and when the robot arm grabs the workpiece in a horizontal or vertical position, it is checked whether or not there is a chuckable area around the workpiece. Check to see if there are any workpieces or walls around the arm that will obstruct the arm's gripping work. Here, the "horizontal posture" refers to a posture with the wide side of the workpiece facing up, and the "vertical posture" refers to a posture with the narrow side of the workpiece facing up.

If the chuckable area is secured, the determination in step S303 or step S304 is YES, and the process advances to step S305. In step S305, information on the position and orientation of the workpiece to be picked, information on the take-out surface (the surface that becomes the top surface when gripping), information on the orientation of the chuck of the robot arm to be picked, etc. is mainly output to the control unit of the robot. and completes the series of processing.

If it is determined in steps S303 and 304 that a chuckable area is not secured, the process advances to step S306 to repeat the search for other pickable surfaces 2 to 6 to see if there is a workpiece that can be picked. If there is a workpiece that matches any of the extraction surfaces 2 to 6, the process advances to step S305. If there is no work that matches a pickable work on all the extraction surfaces, the process advances to step S307, outputs a signal indicating "no pickable work", and ends the series of processing. The work supply device operates in response to this signal indicating that "no pickable work exists" so that pickable works are spread out on the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23.

The operation control of the robot 1, which is performed in parallel with the operations of the work supply device 10 (trays A, B, conveyor) and the imaging camera 5 described above, will now be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the robot arm 2 of the picking device.

As shown in FIG. 10, when control of the picking operation of the robot starts, in steps S401 to S403, the robot picks up a workpiece on the conveyor. That is, the robot arm 2 is moved above the conveyor to open the chuck 3, and then the robot arm 2 is moved to the workpiece gripping position, the chuck is closed, and the workpiece is gripped.

Next, in steps S404 to S408, the gripped workpiece is placed on the dispensing device 7. That is, the robot arm 2 that has grabbed the workpiece on the conveyor is moved upward, the robot arm 2 is moved above the workpiece unloading position, and after waiting for the workpiece unloading permission signal to be issued, the robot arm 2 is moved to the workpiece unloading position. The arm 2 is moved, the chuck 3 is opened, and the workpiece is deposited on the dispensing device 7. Note that, in step S405, when the robot arm 2 moves out of the camera imaging area above the conveyor, a work delivery permission signal is issued to the robot.

After the robot arm 2 deposits the workpiece into the dispensing device 7, the robot arm 2 is raised and compared in step S409. Then, in steps S410 and 411, the robot arm 2 is returned to its original position, and the robot is returned to its original position, and the process ends. In addition, at the stage of step S409, when the robot arm 2 rises out of the interference range, an operation command signal is issued to the dispensing device 7.

As described above, according to the work supply device 10 (11, 12) of the embodiment, the conveyance direction of the conveyor 23 can be switched while switching the vertical positions of the work storage trays 21, 22 at both ends of the conveyor 23. Thus, the work W can be alternately moved between the two trays 21 and 22. Therefore, along with the movement, the positions and postures of the plurality of workpieces W developed on the transport surface 23a can be changed significantly. In other words, along with the switching operation, the workpieces W can be developed on the conveyance surface 23a in new positions and postures one after another. Therefore, the probability of finding a workpiece W that can be picked by the robot arm 2 can be increased, and the efficiency of the picking operation can be improved.

In addition, since the workpieces W are alternately moved back and forth between the two trays 21 and 22 until the workpieces W are used up, there is no need for a person to collect and reload the workpieces W, and while reducing wasted time, the transfer surface 23a The workpiece W can be automatically unfolded in a state where it can be picked upward. Moreover, since the trays 21 and 22 on the supply side are raised and the trays 21 and 22 on the discharge side are lowered during conveyance on the conveyor 23, the work W is supplied to the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23, and the workpieces W are not supplied from the conveyance surface 23a. The workpiece W can be smoothly discharged. Further, since only one conveyor 23 is required for such operations, the equipment configuration is simplified.

Further, according to the work supply device 10 (11, 12) of the embodiment, when the trays 21 and 22 on the supply side of the work W become empty, the trays 21 and 22 on the supply side and the tray 21 on the discharge side, Since the roles of the parts 22 and 22 are alternated, there is less unnecessary movement, the operation is stable, and the reliability of the equipment is increased.

Further, by providing a mechanism for advancing the bottom plates 35 of the trays 21 and 22, it is possible to reliably send all the works W in the trays 21 and 22 to the conveyance surface 23a of the conveyor 23.

Note that the workpiece may be delivered in a horizontal position (with the wide side facing upward) or vertically (with the narrow side facing upward). Further, the type of work does not matter, and the number of types of work may be one or more.

Further, as in the example shown in FIG. 11, between the trays 21, 22 and the conveyor 23 in the work supply device, the work W moving between the trays 21, 22 and the conveyor 23 is caught in the belt of the conveyor 23. By providing the guide plate 39 to prevent this, even small workpieces W can be prevented from being entangled in the belt.

Further, in the work picking device M in the above-described embodiment, a case was shown in which the work supply devices 10 were arranged only on the left and right sides of the robot 1, but as in the picking device shown in FIG. It is also possible to additionally deploy. In this case, there is a possibility that the distance from the robot 1 is large due to the layout, but it can be carried out as long as it is within the reach of the robot's arm.

Here, the features of the work supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention described above will be briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [4].
[1] Obtain information on the positions and postures of multiple workpieces (W) placed on the table surface in a disjointed manner, and identify workpieces (W) that can be picked by the robot arm (2) based on the information. , a work supply device (10, 11, 12, 13) used in a work picking device (M) that picks a work (W) by the robot arm (2),
a conveyor (23) having a conveyance surface (23a) capable of forward and reverse conveyance in the horizontal direction, the conveyor (23) having the conveyance surface (23a) as the table surface;
They are arranged at one end and the other end of the conveyor (23) in the conveyance direction, and when located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction, accommodate the workpieces to be supplied to the conveyance surface (23a) of the conveyor (23). two workpiece storage trays (21, 22) that accommodate the workpieces (W) discharged from the conveyor surface (23a) of the conveyor (23) when located on the downstream side of the conveyor;
In accordance with the direction of forward and reverse conveyance of the conveyor (23), the bottom plate (35) of the workpiece storage tray (21, 22) on the upstream side in the conveyance direction is raised to a height above the conveyance surface (23a), and , a tray lifting mechanism (31) that lowers the bottom plate (35) of the work storage tray (21, 22) on the downstream side in the transport direction to a height lower than the transport surface (23a);
Equipped with
A work supply device (10, 11, 12, 13) characterized in that:

[2] The tray lifting mechanism ( 31), lowers one workpiece storage tray (21, 22), raises the other workpiece storage tray (21, 22), and reverses the conveyance direction of the conveyor (23). (100),
The work supply device according to item [1] above.

[3] The bottom plate (35) of the workpiece storage tray (21, 22) can move forward toward or backward from the end of the conveyance surface (23a) of the conveyor (23),
further comprising a bottom plate drive mechanism (32) that sends out the workpiece (W) accommodated in the workpiece storage tray (21, 22) onto the conveyance surface (23a) by advancing the bottom plate (35);
The work supply device (10, 11, 12, 13) according to the above [1] or [2].

[4] A workpiece (W) moving between the workpiece storage tray (21, 22) and the conveyor (23) is placed between the workpiece storage tray (21, 22) and the conveyor (23). A guide plate (39) is provided to prevent getting caught in the belt of the conveyor (23).
The work supply device (10, 11, 12, 13) according to any one of [1] to [3] above.

M work picking device W work 2 robot arm 10, 11, 12, 13 work supply device 21, 22 work storage tray 23 conveyor 23a conveyance surface 31 tray lifting mechanism 32 bottom plate drive mechanism 35 bottom plate 39 guide plate 100 control device

Claims (4)

A workpiece picking device that acquires information on the positions and postures of multiple workpieces placed on a table surface in a disjointed manner, identifies a workpiece that can be picked by a robot arm based on the information, and picks the workpiece with the robot arm. A work supply device used for
a conveyor having a conveying surface capable of horizontally forward and reverse conveying, the conveying surface being the table surface;
They are arranged at one end and the other end of the conveyor in the conveyance direction, and when located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction, the workpieces to be supplied to the conveyance surface of the conveyor are accommodated, and when located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction, the workpieces are accommodated in the conveyor. two workpiece storage trays for storing the workpieces discharged from the conveyance surface;
Depending on the direction of forward and reverse conveyance of the conveyor, the bottom plate of the workpiece storage tray on the upstream side of the conveyance direction is raised to a height above the conveyance surface, and the bottom plate of the workpiece storage tray on the downstream side of the conveyance direction is raised. a tray lifting mechanism that lowers the tray to a lower height than the conveyance surface;
Equipped with
A work supply device characterized by: Of the two workpiece storage trays, in response to a signal indicating that one of the workpiece storage trays in the raised position is empty, drive-controls the tray lifting mechanism to lower the one workpiece storage tray. and a control device for raising the other workpiece storage tray and reversing the conveyance direction of the conveyor;
The work supply device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom plate of the workpiece storage tray can be moved forward toward or backward from the end of the conveyance surface of the conveyor,
further comprising a bottom plate drive mechanism that sends out the workpieces accommodated in the workpiece storage tray onto the conveyance surface by advancing the bottom plate;
The work supply device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A guide plate is provided between the workpiece storage tray and the conveyor to prevent the workpieces moving between the workpiece storage tray and the conveyor from being caught in the belt of the conveyor.
The work supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:

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