JP7678301B2 - Gripper - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a gripper, and more particularly to a gripper configured to hold an object and move along a conveying path of a conveying means.

Conventionally, there has been known an item processing device that includes a conveying means for conveying an item and an item processing means arranged along a path along which the item is conveyed by the conveying means, and such a conveying means includes a gripper that holds the item and is configured to move along the conveying path of the conveying means.
On the other hand, examples of the above-mentioned item processing apparatus include one in which a holding means for holding items moves along a circular conveying path (Patent Document 1), and one in which the head of the above-mentioned item processing means is replaceable in order to process multiple types of items (devices) (Patent Document 2).

JP 2020-192642 A JP 2012-116495 A

However, the article processing apparatus of Patent Document 1 requires redundant space between adjacent article processing means, and the article processing apparatus of Patent Document 2, although capable of processing multiple types of articles, requires redundant space to ensure working space, resulting in the problem that the machine becomes large.
In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a gripper that allows different processing for multiple types of transported articles.

That is, the gripper according to the invention of claim 1 is a gripper configured to hold an object and move along a conveying path of a conveying means,
The conveying means conveys the articles along at least two inner conveying paths and an outer conveying path, in which different processes are performed for each conveying path;
Each gripper is characterized in that it has an inner holding portion that holds the item at a position on the inner conveying path and an outer holding portion that holds the item at a position on the outer conveying path, and that the inner holding portion and the outer holding portion simultaneously hold different items.

According to the above invention, when each gripper moves along the conveying path of the conveying means while simultaneously holding different items in the inner holding portion and the outer holding portion, it is possible to perform different processing on these items on the inner conveying path and the outer conveying path, respectively.
This prevents the device from becoming larger, and since the item processing means performs different processing on the inner conveying path and the outer conveying path, it is possible to process multiple types of items simultaneously, allowing for efficient processing of the items.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a filling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Side view of the filling device A plan view of a holding means constituting the conveying means. Partial sectional view of the conveying means

The illustrated embodiment will now be described. FIG. 1 shows a filling device 2 as an article processing device that fills a container 1 as an article with liquid. The filling device 2 of this embodiment is configured to fill the same liquid into two types of containers 1 having different capacities.
The filling device 2 comprises a sterile chamber 3 the interior of which is maintained in a sterile state, a transport means 4 provided inside the sterile chamber 3 for transporting the container 1, a container supply means 5 for supplying empty containers 1 into the inside of the sterile chamber 3, a filling means 6 for filling the container 1 with liquid, a capper 7 for attaching a cap to the container 1, and a container discharge means 8 for discharging the container 1, all of which are controlled by a control means not shown.

The filling device 2 of the present embodiment is capable of processing the large container 1A having a large capacity and the small container 1B having a small capacity, and each of these containers 1 has a mouth portion formed at the top thereof to which a cap can be attached, and in this embodiment, caps of different shapes are attached to the mouth portions of the large container 1A and the small container 1B.
As described above, the large container 1A and the small container 1B have different shapes, and the amount of liquid to be filled and the caps to be attached are different. Therefore, in the past, it was necessary to fill the liquid using separate filling devices 2, or to use the same filling device 2 but change the type for large container 1A and small container 1B. However, in this embodiment, it is possible to process these large containers 1A and small containers 1B simultaneously using a single filling device 2.

The internal space of the sterile chamber 3 is formed to a size capable of accommodating the above-mentioned conveying means 4, filling means 6, etc., and outside the sterile chamber 3, there are provided an air supply means for supplying sterile air and an exhaust means for discharging air from within the sterile chamber 3, although both are not shown.
As shown in FIG. 2, the air supply means is adapted to supply sterile air from air supply ports 11 provided at the top of the sterile chamber 3, and although not shown in FIG. 1, the air supply ports 11 are provided at multiple points in the sterile chamber 3.
In response to this, the exhaust means is provided with an exhaust port 12 at the bottom of the sterile chamber 3, and the exhaust port 12 is provided with a conventionally known HEPA unit to purify the exhausted air.
With this configuration, the sterile air supplied from the air supply port 11 inside the sterile chamber 3 forms a laminar flow from the top to the bottom of the sterile chamber 3 and is exhausted from the exhaust port 12.

In this embodiment, the exhaust port 12 is located inside the conveying means 4, specifically on the inner side of the movement path of the gripper 14 that constitutes the conveying means 4, and the exhaust port 12 is located at a position lower than the conveying height of the container 1 by the conveying means 4.
In this way, by locating the exhaust port 12 inside the conveying means 4, the exhaust port 12 is located approximately in the center of the sterile chamber 3. As described above, inside the sterile chamber 3 which has a large internal space capable of accommodating item processing means such as the conveying means 4 and filling means 6, an air flow is formed in the central portion where air flow is likely to stagnate, thereby maintaining a sterile state.
Furthermore, as described below, since the driving means of the conveying means 4 in this embodiment is provided on the inner side of the movement path of the gripper 14, dust generated by the driving means can be sucked in through an exhaust port 12 provided on the inside of the conveying means 4, preventing the dust from entering the container 1 or liquid.
The exhaust port 12 may be provided at a plurality of locations inside the transport means 4 .

The conveying means 4 conveys the different types of large containers 1A and small containers 1B using an inner conveying path CA and an outer conveying path CB that are provided in parallel with each other.
Specifically, the large container 1A is transported along an inner transport path CA, and the small container 1B is transported along an outer transport path CB that is provided in parallel with the inner transport path CA.
The conveying means 4 includes an endless elliptical rail 13, a plurality of grippers 14 which move along the rail 13 and simultaneously hold the large container 1A and the small container 1B, and a driving means 15 which moves the grippers 14 individually along the rail 13.
The rail 13 is arranged in a substantially elliptical shape consisting of the straight portion and the arc-shaped portion, and as shown in FIG. 2, the rail 13 is provided at a required height from the floor surface of the sterile chamber 3 by means of pillar-shaped members 13a provided at multiple intervals.
By supporting the rail 13 in this manner with a plurality of columnar members 13a, the air flowing within the sterile chamber 3 flows between the columnar members 13a and toward the exhaust port 12 located inside the conveying means 4.

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the gripper 14, which comprises a pair of gripping members 16 for gripping the large container 1A and the small container 1B, and an opening/closing means 17 for opening and closing the gripping members 16.
The gripping member 16 is formed with an inner holding portion 16a for holding the large container 1A and an outer holding portion 16b for holding the small container 1B.
The inner holding portion 16a and the outer holding portion 16b are constituted by recesses formed at opposing positions on the gripping member 16, and when the gripping member 16 is closed, the large container 1A and the small container 1B are gripped by the recesses.
When the large container 1A is held by the inner holding portion 16a, the large container 1A is positioned on the inner transport path CA, and when the small container 1B is held by the outer holding portion 16b, the small container 1B is positioned on the outer transport path CB.

The opening/closing means 17 includes two arms 17b that are pivotally mounted on a pivot shaft 17a, and the gripping member 16 is fixed to one end of each arm 17b, and a cam (not shown) is provided on each arm 17b. As a result, the arms 17b pivot in unison to open and close the gripping member 16.
A spring 17c is provided at the end of each of the arms 17b on the gripping member 16 side, and the spring 17c biases the gripping members 16 in a direction to approach each other, that is, to bias the gripper 14 toward a closed state.
One arm 17b is provided so as to protrude toward the rail 13, and a cam follower 17d is provided at its tip. When the cam follower 17d is pressed, the arm 17b swings about the swing shaft 17a, so that the gripping member 16 opens and closes.

An opening/closing bar 18 driven by a driving means (not shown) is provided inside the cam follower 17d, and the opening/closing bar 18 is arranged to move forward and backward in a direction perpendicular to the transport path of the container 1.
When the opening/closing bar 18 presses the cam follower 17d from the inside to the outside of the rail 13, the gripping member 16 swings to an open state, and when the opening/closing bar 18 moves from the outside to the inside from that state, the gripping member 16 becomes closed due to the biasing force of the spring 17c.
The opening/closing bar 18 is provided at a position adjacent to each of the container supply means 5 and the container discharge means 8 provided along the conveying means 4 as shown in Figure 1, and has a predetermined length in the conveying direction so as to simultaneously press the cam followers 17d of multiple grippers 14 to open and close them simultaneously.

The driving means 15 moves the gripper 14 by a conventionally known linear drive, and is composed of rails 13 arranged in parallel above and below, a plurality of electromagnetic coils 19 arranged between the rails 13, and a shuttle 20 which holds the gripper 14 and moves by electromagnetic induction generated between the electromagnetic coils 19, as shown in FIG. 4.
The shuttle 20 includes a permanent magnet 20 a provided in the vicinity of the electromagnetic coil 19 , and rollers 20 b provided above and below the permanent magnet 20 a and engaging with the rail 13 .
With the above-mentioned configuration, the control means controls each electromagnetic coil 19, thereby making it possible to move each shuttle 20 and to move the gripper 14 provided on that shuttle 20.

The container supply means 5 is designed to transport empty large containers 1A and small containers 1B from outside the sterile chamber 3, and is equipped with a belt conveyor 5a for transporting the empty large containers 1A and small containers 1B, and a robot 5b for removing the large containers 1A and small containers 1B from the belt conveyor 5a and handing them over to the gripper 14 of the transport means 4.
The belt conveyor 5a stops the transported empty large containers 1A and small containers 1B at a position adjacent to the transport means 4, and the transport means 4 stops, for example, four grippers 14 at a position adjacent to the container supply means 5. The opening and closing bar 18 is provided at the stopping position of the grippers 14.
The robot 5b is equipped with multiple holding heads, specifically, four holding heads arranged in the transport direction to hold large containers 1A, and four holding heads arranged parallel to the large containers 1A to hold small containers 1B, and the holding heads holding the large containers 1A and the holding heads holding the small containers 1B are arranged at the same intervals as the inner transport path CA and the outer transport path CB.
With this configuration, the robot 5b takes out the large container 1A and the small container 1B from the belt conveyor, and moves the holding head to the gripper 14 stopped at a position adjacent to the belt conveyor 5a.
In this state, by switching the grippers 14 from the open state to the closed state, the large container 1A and the small container 1B are held by the inner holding portions 16a and the outer holding portions 16b of the four grippers 14, respectively.

The filling means 6 is equipped with a filling nozzle 6aA for filling the large container 1A with liquid, and a filling nozzle 6aB for filling the small container 1B with liquid, which are arranged so as to be able to be raised and lowered by a lifting means not shown, and liquid is supplied from a liquid supply means not shown.
Four filling nozzles 6aA for filling liquid into the large container 1A are provided along the inner conveying path CA, and four filling nozzles 6aB for filling liquid into the small container 1B are also provided along the outer conveying path CB, with the filling nozzles 6aA and 6aB being arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying paths.
By arranging the filling nozzles 6aA, 6aB in this manner, when the conveying means 4 moves the gripper 14 to the filling means 6, the four large containers 1A are positioned below the four filling nozzles 6aA that fill large containers 1A with liquid, and the four small containers 1B are positioned below the four filling nozzles 6aB that fill small containers 1B with liquid.
In addition, the four filling nozzles 6aA for filling the large container 1A with liquid and the four filling nozzles 6aB for filling the small container 1B with liquid may be positioned at a distance upstream and downstream along the conveying path, so that the timing of filling the large container 1A with liquid and the small container 1B with liquid may be made different.

The capper 7, like the filling means 6, is equipped with four capping heads 7aA for attaching caps to the large container 1A and four capping heads 7aB for attaching caps to the small container 1B, which are arranged so that they can be raised and lowered by a lifting means not shown, and caps are supplied from a cap supplying means not shown.
A capping head 7aA for fitting a cap to the large container 1A and a capping head 7aB for fitting a cap to the small container 1B are also provided in the same arrangement as the filling nozzles 6aA, 6aB of the filling means 6.
As a result, when the conveying means 4 moves the gripper 14 to the capper 7, the large container 1A is positioned below each of the four capping heads 7aA for the large container 1A, and the small container 1B is positioned below each of the four capping heads 7aB for the small container 1B.
In addition, with regard to the capper 7, the position where the capping head 7aA for the large container 1A is provided and the position where the capping head 7aB for the small container 1B is provided may be disposed separately on the upstream and downstream sides along the conveying path.

The container discharge means 8 is composed of a belt conveyor 8a provided adjacent to the downstream side of the capper 7, and a robot 8b provided adjacent to the belt conveyor 8a, and the conveying means 4 is provided with an opening/closing bar 18 at the position of the container discharge means 8.
With this configuration, when the grippers 14 holding the large container 1A and small container 1B stop at a position adjacent to the belt conveyor 8a, the robot 8b receives the large container 1A and small container 1B held by the grippers 14.
Next, the robot 8b places the large container 1A and small container 1B that it has grasped onto the belt conveyor 8a, and the belt conveyor 8a transports the large container 1A and small container 1B to a subsequent process (not shown) located outside the sterile chamber 3.

The operation of the filling device 2 having the above configuration will now be described.
First, the belt conveyor 5a of the container supply means 5 transports the large container 1A and the small container 1B, and at this time the transport means 4 has the four grippers 14 waiting in a position adjacent to the belt conveyor 5a and keeping them in an open state by the opening and closing bar 18.
Next, robot 5b of container supply means 5 holds large container 1A and small container 1B on belt conveyor 5a and transfers them to gripper 14 of transport means 4. As a result, large container 1A is held on the inner transport path CA side of gripper 14, and small container 1B is held on the outer transport path CB side.

Next, the control means controls the transport means 4 to move the four grippers 14 to the filling means 6 .
The filling means 6 has four filling nozzles 6aA, 6aB positioned above the inner conveying path CA and the outer conveying path CB, and the filling means 6 lowers the filling nozzles 6aA, 6aB to fill the large container 1A and the small container 1B with liquid.
At this time, the filling nozzle 6aA on the inner transport path CA fills the large container 1A with liquid according to its capacity, and the filling nozzle 6aB on the outer transport path CB fills the small container 1B with liquid according to its capacity.
When filling of the liquid is completed and the filling nozzles 6aA, 6aB are withdrawn upward, the transport means 4 moves the gripper 14 to the capper 7 on the downstream side.

In the capper 7, four capping heads 7aA and 7aB are positioned above the inner transport path CA and the outer transport path CB, respectively, and the capping heads 7aA and 7aB attach caps to the large container 1A and the small container 1B.
At this time, the capping head 7a on the inner transport path CA attaches a cap that fits the large container 1A, and the capping head 7a on the outer transport path CB attaches a cap that fits the small container 1B.
Then, the control means moves the gripper 14 to the container discharge means 8, and the robot 8b transfers the large container 1A and small container 1B from the gripper 14 to the belt conveyor 8a, and then the belt conveyor 8a transports the large container 1A and small container 1B to a subsequent process not shown.

In addition, according to the above embodiment, large containers 1A and small containers 1B of different shapes are transported along the inner conveying path CA and the outer conveying path CB, respectively, and the item processing means such as the filling means 6 and capper 7 perform processing corresponding to the large containers 1A and small containers 1B which have different capacities and caps attached.
As a result, whereas in the conventional method a dedicated filling device 2 was used to fill the large container 1A and the small container 1B with liquid, it is now possible to process both using a single filling device 2.

In the above embodiment, the same liquid is filled into two types of large container 1A and small container 1B with different capacities, but it is also possible to perform different processing on items on the inner conveying path CA and the outer conveying path CB.
For example, it is possible to transport containers of the same shape using the inner transport path CA and the outer transport path CB, and to fill the large container 1A and the small container 1B with different types of liquids in the filling means 6.
In the above embodiment, a filling device 2 for filling large containers 1A and small containers 1B with liquid has been described, but the device may also be used to process other items as long as it is an item processing device equipped with a conveying means 4 for circulating the gripper 14 that holds the items inside the sterile chamber 3.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Container (article) 1A Syringe 1B Vial 3 Sterile chamber 4 Conveying means 5 Container supplying means 6 Filling means 7 Capper 14 Gripper 15 Driving means 16a Inner holding portion 16b Outer holding portion CA Inner conveying path CB Outer conveying path

Claims (1)

1. A gripper configured to hold an article and move along a conveying path of a conveying means, comprising:
The conveying means conveys the articles along at least two inner conveying paths and an outer conveying path, in which different processes are performed for each conveying path;
Each gripper has an inner holding portion that holds the item at a position on the inner conveying path and an outer holding portion that holds the item at a position on the outer conveying path, and is characterized in that different items are held simultaneously by the inner holding portion and the outer holding portion.

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