JP7679281B2 - machine - Google Patents

Description

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a machine for processing pieces of material.

Patent document 1 describes a cutting device that cuts preformed transverse seal seams in plastic film tubes filled with food.

Special Publication No. 2010-522645

A mechanism for obtaining a specified amount of material pieces is desired.

A machine according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a support surface that supports a collection of material pieces, a separator that separates a predetermined amount of material pieces from the collection of material pieces, and a drive mechanism that positions the separator at a separator position input for separation.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a predetermined amount of material pieces can be obtained.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a machine. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a drive mechanism of a machine. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an application of the machine. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of a mechanism for obtaining a collection of material pieces. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing another example of a mechanism for obtaining a collection of material pieces. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of a mechanism for leveling material pieces. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of control of the partition unit.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, identical or equivalent elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted.

The machine 1 according to the embodiment is a device for separating a predetermined amount of material pieces from a collection of material pieces. The material pieces refer to individual materials formed relatively small. For example, the material pieces are used to manufacture a given product. In one example, the machine 1 separates a predetermined amount of material pieces from a collection of material pieces managed by mass. "Material pieces managed by mass" refers to material pieces that are managed by mass because it is very difficult or practically impossible to manage them by number. Examples of material pieces managed by mass include, but are not limited to, granular or powdered materials, finely cut materials, and materials provided as paste. In one example, the material pieces are food that are quantitatively managed by mass. Examples of the management of material pieces include, but are not limited to, storage, measurement, separation, and use. Hereinafter, the "material pieces managed by mass" are also simply referred to as "material pieces". The machine 1 operates to separate a predetermined amount of material pieces from such a collection of material pieces. In this disclosure, the position where the predetermined amount of material pieces is separated is also referred to as the "separation position". For material pieces managed by mass, due to the nature of the material pieces described above, it is very difficult or virtually impossible to obtain a predetermined amount of material pieces by the number of material pieces. In one example, machine 1 makes it possible to easily separate such material pieces. Machine 1 may also perform separation for material pieces managed by factors other than mass, and may be used, for example, to separate material pieces managed by number.

The configuration of the machine 1 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the machine 1. Figure 2 is a view showing an example of the drive mechanism of the machine 1. In one example, the machine 1 includes a support surface 10, a rail 20, an arm 30, a partition 40, and a drive mechanism 50. The support surface 10 is a surface that supports a collection of material pieces. The rail 20 is a guideway that extends above the support surface 10 and along the support surface 10. The arm 30 is a part that is fitted into the rail 20 and can move along the rail 20. The partition 40 is a part that separates a predetermined amount of material pieces from the collection of material pieces, and is supported by the arm 30. The drive mechanism 50 is a device that controls at least a portion of these components. In one example, at least a portion of the drive mechanism 50 is configured using a circuit having a processor, memory, and storage, and an actuator. Alternatively, at least a portion of the drive mechanism 50 may be configured to include a logic circuit specialized for that function, or may be configured to include an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) that integrates the logic circuit.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the support surface 10 is formed as a semi-cylindrical groove extending in one direction. Therefore, the cross-sectional shape of the support surface 10 is an arc. The rail 20 extends along the longitudinal direction of the support surface 10. The arm 30 is L-shaped. The first end of the arm 30 is fitted into the rail 20, and the second end of the arm 30 supports the partition 40. The rail 20 and the arm 30 are positioned so that the partition 40 can pass through the groove that forms the support surface 10.

The partition 40 is, for example, a plate-shaped member, and therefore can also be called a partition plate. In one example, the partition 40 has a main outer edge 41 that corresponds to the shape of the support surface 10. The partition 40 may further have an auxiliary outer edge 42 for leveling the collection of material pieces placed on the support surface 10. The partition 40 is fixed to the arm 30 so that the main outer edge 41 is parallel or approximately parallel to the cross section of the support surface 10. In one example, the partition 40 is rotatable in the circumferential direction, and the center of rotation of the partition 40 is fixed to the arm 30. For example, the main outer edge 41 is formed in an arc shape that matches the shape of the support surface, and the auxiliary outer edge 42 is formed in a straight line, in which case the partition 40 has an approximately semicircular shape as a whole. In one example, the main outer edge 41 is formed so that no gap is generated between the main outer edge 41 and the support surface 10. The auxiliary outer edge 42 may have a fork-shaped portion for loosening the collection of material pieces on the support surface 10.

2, in one example, the drive mechanism 50 is electrically connected to each of the support surface 10, the arm 30, and the partition 40, and controls these components. For example, the drive mechanism 50 controls the support surface 10 to place a collection of material pieces on the support surface 10. Alternatively, the drive mechanism 50 controls the arm 30 on the rail 20 to move the partition 40 along the support surface 10. For example, the drive mechanism 50 positions the partition 40 at a partition position input to the machine 1 to separate a predetermined amount of material pieces. Alternatively, the drive mechanism 50 controls the partition 40 to switch the outer edge facing the support surface 10 between the main outer edge 41 and the auxiliary outer edge 42. For example, the drive mechanism 50 rotates the partition 40 to perform the switching.

In one example, the machine 1 further includes a camera 60. The camera 60 is an imaging device that captures an image of the collection of material pieces on the support surface 10. The camera 60 may be controlled by the drive mechanism 50 or by another control device.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an example of an application of the machine 1. In this example, the machine 1 is attached to the robot 2 as an end effector. In this case, the robot 2 may function as at least a part of the machine 1, for example, may play the role of at least a part of the drive mechanism 50. The machine 1 may be constructed as a standalone device without depending on the robot 2.

The machine 1 separates a quantity of material pieces from a collection of material pieces placed on a support surface 10. For this separation, the collection of material pieces is placed on the support surface 10 by the machine 1 or another device.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a mechanism for obtaining a collection of material pieces. In this example, the machine 1 is attached to a robot 2 as an end effector. The robot 2 functions as at least a part of a drive mechanism 50. The drive mechanism 50 moves a support surface 10 to a group of material pieces 90 accumulated in a given area 3, such as a container, and scoops up a collection of material pieces 91 from the group of material pieces 90 with the support surface 10.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing another example of a mechanism for obtaining a collection of material pieces. In this example, a support surface 10A is shown as a modified example of the support surface 10. The support surface 10A has a gripper or bucket-like structure. The support surface 10A is formed by a pair of shells 11 that can be opened and closed. Before scooping up the collection of material pieces, the drive mechanism 50 opens the pair of shells 11 and moves the support surface 10A in this open state to the group of material pieces accumulated in a given area. The drive mechanism 50 closes the pair of shells 11 that have entered the group of material pieces and moves the support surface 10A in this closed state upward. By this control, the drive mechanism 50 scoops up the collection of material pieces from the group of material pieces with the support surface 10A.

In one example, the machine 1 smoothes the top of a collection of material pieces placed on the support surface 10. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing one example of the mechanism. In this example, the drive mechanism 50 rotates the partition 40 so that the auxiliary outer edge 42 faces the support surface 10. The drive mechanism 50 then controls the arm 30 on the rail 20 to move the partition 40, with the auxiliary outer edge 42 facing the support surface 10, along the support surface 10. For example, the drive mechanism 50 moves the partition 40 from the first end to the second end of the support surface 10. This control smoothes the top of the collection of material pieces 91. The drive mechanism 50 may move the partition 40 back and forth along the support surface 10 to smooth the collection of material pieces 91, or may move the partition 40 once in one direction to complete the smoothing.

In one example, the machine 1 positions the separator 40 at the separator position input to the machine 1 after leveling the collection of material pieces. The separator position may be obtained by a machine learning model that estimates the separator position based on an image of the collection of material pieces captured by an imaging device such as the camera 60. In one example, a given computing device estimates the separator position using the machine learning model, and the machine 1 receives the separator position from the computing device. After positioning the separator 40 at the separator position, the machine 1 may move the separator 40 from the separator position along the support surface 10 to automatically separate a predetermined amount of material pieces from the collection of material pieces.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of the control of the partition unit 40. In this example, the control procedure is shown by steps S1 to S6. That is, the machine 1 executes steps S1 to S6. Note that steps S1 to S6 are executed with a collection of material pieces resting on the support surface 10, but for the sake of explanation, the collection of material pieces is not shown in Figure 7.

In step S1, the drive mechanism 50 rotates the partition 40 so that the auxiliary outer edge 42 faces the support surface 10 and positions the partition 40 at the first end of the support surface 10 in order to level the collection of material pieces.

In step S2, the drive mechanism 50 controls the arm 30 on the rail 20 to move the partition 40 along the support surface 10. In one example, the drive mechanism 50 moves the partition 40 from the first end to the second end of the support surface 10, i.e., across the entire support surface 10. Since the auxiliary outer edge 42 faces the support surface 10, the top of the collection of material pieces is leveled by the auxiliary outer edge 42.

In step S3, the drive mechanism 50 positions the partition unit 40 at the partition position after leveling the collection of material pieces. In one example, the drive mechanism 50 controls the arm 30 on the rail 20 based on the partition position estimated based on the collection of material pieces whose upper parts have been leveled and input to the machine 1, to move the partition unit 40 to the partition position.

In step S4, the drive mechanism 50 rotates the partition 40 at the partition position to begin to orient the main outer edge 41 toward the support surface. This control causes the main outer edge 41 to begin to enter the collection of material pieces.

In step S5, the drive mechanism 50 rotates the partition 40 until the main outer edge 41 corresponds to the entire support surface 10, in other words, until the entire support surface 10 is in contact with the main outer edge 41. As a result, the gap between the support surface 10 and the partition 40 is filled or nearly filled, and the set of material pieces is separated into a predetermined portion and a remaining portion.

In step S6, the drive mechanism 50 moves the partition 40 from the partition position along the support surface 10 after the main outer edge 41 faces the support surface 10. The drive mechanism 50 moves the partition 40 in the direction in which the predetermined amount of material pieces are present, thereby more clearly separating the predetermined amount of material pieces from the collection of material pieces. In one example, the drive mechanism 50 may move the partition 40 to the end of the support surface 10 to transfer the predetermined amount of material pieces from the support surface 10 to another portion, such as a predetermined container.

[effect]
As described above, a machine according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a support surface that supports a collection of material pieces, a separator that separates a predetermined amount of material pieces from the collection of material pieces, and a drive mechanism that positions the separator at an input separator position for separation.

In this aspect, the partition is automatically positioned at the partition position by the drive mechanism, so that a predetermined amount of material pieces can be obtained based on the partition.

In another aspect of the machine, the support surface may be semi-cylindrical. This configuration allows for a simpler construction of the support surface. It also allows for easier separation of a predetermined amount of material from a collection of material pieces.

In a machine according to another aspect, the drive mechanism may further move the separator from the separator position along the support surface to separate a predetermined amount of material pieces from the collection of material pieces. Since the predetermined amount of material pieces is separated by the movement of the separator itself, there is no need to introduce additional structure for the separation. This simplifies the structure of the machine.

In a machine according to another aspect, the drive mechanism may further move a support surface to a pile of material pieces accumulated in a given area, and have the support surface scoop up a collection of material pieces from the pile of material pieces. Since the collection of material pieces can be placed on the support surface by moving the support surface itself, there is no need to introduce additional structure to prepare the collection. This simplifies the structure of the machine.

In a machine according to another aspect, the separator may have a major outer edge that corresponds to the shape of the support surface. Corresponding to the shape of the major outer edge can ensure that a predetermined amount of material pieces are separated from the collection of material pieces.

In the machine according to another aspect, the partition may further have an auxiliary outer edge for leveling the collection of material pieces on the support surface. By providing the partition with the auxiliary outer edge in addition to the main outer edge, it is not necessary to introduce additional structure for leveling the collection of material pieces. This simplifies the structure of the machine accordingly.

In another aspect of the machine, the drive mechanism may move a partition with a secondary outer edge facing the support surface along the support surface. This control ensures that the top of the collection of material pieces is leveled.

In other aspect of the machine, the auxiliary edge may have a forked portion that can loosen the pieces of material.

In another aspect of the machine, the drive mechanism may rotate the separator to orient the major outer edge toward the support surface. This configuration allows a predetermined amount of material pieces to be separated from the collection of material pieces while minimizing movement of the separator.

In a machine according to another aspect, the drive mechanism may, after smoothing the tops of the collection, orient the main outer edge toward the support surface at the separation position, and, after the main outer edge faces the support surface, move the separation unit along the support surface from the separation position input based on the collection whose tops have been smoothed. Since the tops of the material pieces are smoothed, it becomes easier to set the separation position. In addition, by moving the separation unit from the separation position, the desired amount of material pieces can be separated more reliably.

[Modification]
The present disclosure has been described in detail above based on the embodiments. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples. The present disclosure can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Other mechanisms may be employed to clearly separate the quantity of material pieces from the collection of material pieces after the separator is in the separator position. For example, the drive mechanism may clearly separate the quantity of material pieces from the collection of material pieces by another component without moving the separator from the separator position. Alternatively, the quantity of material pieces may be removed manually.

1...machine, 2...robot, 10, 10A...support surface, 20...rail, 30...arm, 40...partition, 41...main outer edge, 42...auxiliary outer edge, 50...driving mechanism, 60...camera, 90...group of material pieces, 91...assembly.

Claims (8)

a support surface for supporting the collection of material pieces;
a partition portion for separating a predetermined amount of the material pieces from the collection of material pieces;
A drive mechanism for positioning the partition unit at a partition position input for the separation;
Equipped with
The partition has a main outer edge corresponding to the shape of the support surface and an auxiliary outer edge for leveling the collection of the material pieces on the support surface.
machine. The support surface is semi-cylindrical.
2. The machine of claim 1. The drive mechanism further moves the separator from the separator position along the support surface to separate the predetermined amount of the material pieces from the collection of material pieces.
A machine according to claim 1 or 2. The drive mechanism further moves the support surface to the pile of material pieces accumulated in a given area, and scoops up the collection of material pieces from the pile of material pieces with the support surface.
A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The drive mechanism moves the partition portion, with the auxiliary outer edge facing the support surface, along the support surface.
A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The auxiliary outer edge has a fork-shaped portion.
A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . The drive mechanism rotates the partition so that the main outer edge faces the support surface.
A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6 . The drive mechanism includes:
After leveling the upper portion of the group, the main outer edge is directed toward the support surface at the partition position;
After the main outer edge faces the support surface, the partition portion is moved along the support surface from the partition position input based on the set whose upper portion is leveled.
8. The machine of claim 7 .

Images