JP2011032089A - Device for handling packaged article - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for handling packaged articles suitable for arranging the packaged articles in a dished-out condition of sliced raw fish. <P>SOLUTION: The packaged articles 1 thinner compared to the length and width sealed in a pillow bag 2 enclosing articles are juxtaposed in a line on a carrying-in conveyor 10, and carried in. In a picking head 20 moved three-dimensionally by a transfer robot 30, a plurality of sucking tools 22 sucking the packaged articles 1 one by one are juxtaposed in a line. A control device 31 puts the sucking tools 22 at places deviated on one side in the arrangement direction of the packaged articles 1 in the packaged articles 1 on the carrying-in conveyor 10, and applies the vacuum sucking force to the sucking tools 22. When the picking head 20 is raised, the packaged articles 1 are hung down obliquely from the sucking tools 22. Since the packaged articles 1 are overlapped each other when the clearances between the sucking tools 22 are shortened, the packaged articles 1 in that condition are placed at a destination. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a packaging article handling apparatus.

  In a production line for mass production of articles, boxing of completed articles is also performed by an automated device. In recent years, many boxing devices using robots have been found. Examples thereof can be seen in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

  Patent Document 1 describes a boxing device that supplies a package with a gusset to a box by a robot hand provided with an adsorbing portion that adsorbs the package and an ear fold that folds the ear of the package.

  Patent Document 2 describes a robot-type caser that fills a case that has been raised with a raising hand by holding and filling the accumulated articles with a holding hand.

  Recently, parallel link robots are often used for handling articles. Examples of parallel link robots can be seen in US Pat.

JP 2008-127027 A JP 2005-119730 A JP 2003-94266 A JP 2005-28467 A

  When a packaged article (in this specification, such an article is referred to as a “packaging article”) is shipped from a manufacturing factory, various packaging forms are adopted depending on the type of the article. If the article is a baked confectionery such as a rice cracker or a cookie, the packaged article is generally thinner than the length and width. And in the case of baked confectionery, in order to enhance the display effect at the storefront, a serrated mounting surface is formed in a flat packing box, like a sashimi laid state, or a domino laid down In many cases, packaging items are arranged. An object of the present invention is to provide a packaging article handling apparatus suitable for arranging packaging articles in such a shape.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a packaging article handling apparatus for handling a packaging article having a thickness smaller than that in the vertical and horizontal directions, and carrying in a plurality of the packaging articles in a row, A plurality of adsorbers that adsorb the packaging articles on the carry-in conveyor one by one, arranged in a row, a picking head capable of changing the interval between the adsorbers, and a transfer that moves the picking head three-dimensionally A robot, and a control device for the picking head and the transfer robot, wherein the control device includes the plurality of adsorbers on the picking head and the transfer robot, and an arrangement interval of the packaging items on the carry-in conveyor. The operation of the first step for spreading at intervals corresponding to, and the plurality of adsorbers in the packaging article on the carry-in conveyor, the packaging article A second step operation in which a vacuum suction force is applied to the adsorbing tool after being applied to a portion that is biased in one direction in the arrangement direction, and the packaging article adsorbed by the plurality of adsorbing tools by raising the picking head The third step of lifting the bag from the carry-in conveyor, the fourth step of reducing the intervals between the plurality of adsorbers and causing the packaging articles hanging obliquely from them to overlap with each other. And a fifth step of placing the packaged article in the state in which it is placed at the destination.

  If the adsorbing tool adsorbs a biased portion instead of the vicinity of the center of gravity of the packaging article, the packaging article hangs obliquely from the adsorption tool when the picking head is raised. If the distance between the adsorbers is reduced in this state, the packaging articles overlap each other. If this is lowered to the destination, the sashimi arrangement will be achieved naturally. In this way, according to the configuration of the present invention, since a plurality of packaging articles can be put into a sashimi-prepared state at a time, compared to forming a sashimi-prepared state by carrying the packaging articles one by one in a packaging box, The boxing efficiency can be greatly improved.

  According to the present invention, in the packaged article handling device having the above-described configuration, the suction tool includes a bellows-like suction cup.

  According to this configuration, since the suction cup has an accordion shape that is easy to bend, an oblique state can be reliably realized even with a lightweight packaging article.

  According to the present invention, in the packaging article handling apparatus having the above-described configuration, the suction tool includes a packaging article suction posture stabilizing tool made of an elastic body provided in plural so as to sandwich the suction cup.

  According to this configuration, the packaging article can be prevented from tilting in an undesired direction due to the presence of the packaging article adsorption posture stabilizer.

  According to the present invention, in the packaged article handling apparatus configured as described above, the transfer robot is configured by a parallel link robot.

  According to this configuration, the packaging article can be handled in a wide area by making use of the wide range of motion that is a feature of the parallel link robot.

  According to the present invention, in the packaging article handling apparatus having the above-described configuration, the packaging article is packaged in a packaging box, and the sawtooth mounting surface on the bottom of the packaging box is a destination for handling. .

  According to this configuration, the packaging articles can be arranged efficiently on the sawtooth mounting surface on the bottom of the packaging box.

  According to the present invention, in the packaging article handling apparatus having the above-described configuration, the packaging article is packaged in a packaging box, and a flat placement surface on the bottom surface of the packaging box is a destination for handling.

  According to this configuration, the packaging articles can be efficiently arranged on the flat mounting surface on the bottom surface of the packaging box.

  According to the present invention, since a plurality of packaged articles on the carry-in conveyor can be put into a sashimi arrangement state at a stroke through a series of operations of sucking up with a picking tool of a picking head and pulling it down to a destination. The efficiency can be greatly improved as compared to the case where articles are carried one by one to form a sashimi arrangement state.

It is the schematic of a packaging article handling apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic view similar to FIG. 1, showing a state in which a suction part of a picking head is applied to a packaged article on a carry-in conveyor. It is a top view of the carrying-in conveyor corresponding to the state of FIG. It is the schematic of the picking head of a packaging article adsorption | suction pulling-up state. FIG. 5 is a schematic view similar to FIG. 4, showing a state where the distance between the adsorbers is reduced. It is the schematic which shows the state which dropped the packaging article in the packaging box. It is sectional drawing of the packaging box which put the packaging article. It is a top view of a packing box. It is a top view of the packaging box which put the packaging article. It is an enlarged front view of an adsorption tool. It is an enlarged front view of the suction tool of a packaging article adsorption state. It is the schematic which shows the state which lowers a packaging article to the packaging box of a 2nd aspect. It is sectional drawing of the 2nd aspect packing box which put the packaging article.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The packaged article 1 is obtained by enclosing an article (not shown) in a pillow bag 2 made of an airtight laminated film in which a plurality of types of films are laminated. As an article, baked confectionery is assumed. The number of baked confectioneries put in one pillow bag 2 may be one or plural. It is good also as enclosing many things, such as a small grain hail and oyster. The packaged article 1 is thinner than the length and width. Incidentally, the horizontal direction in FIG. 1 is the vertical direction, the vertical direction in FIG. 3 is the horizontal direction, and the vertical direction in FIG. 1 is the thickness direction.

  The handling device for the packaged article 1 includes a carry-in conveyor 10, a picking head 20, and a transfer robot 30 that moves the picking head 20 three-dimensionally.

  The carry-in conveyor 10 is a belt conveyor, and carries the packaged articles 1 in a line. The packaged article 1 is placed so that the lower side when facing the hand is oriented in the direction of travel. Although some errors are allowed, they are arranged at an equal pitch.

  The picking head 20 includes an elongated horizontal main body 21 and a plurality of suction tools 22 protruding downward from the lower surface of the main body 21. The suction tool 22 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, the suction tool 22 includes a base 23 and a bellows-like suction cup 24 protruding from the lower surface of the base 23. The suction cup 24 is made of soft rubber or soft synthetic resin and has a structure that can be easily expanded and contracted.

  Brackets 25 are fixed to both sides of the base 23, and a packaged article adsorption posture stabilizer 26 is fixed to the bracket 25 so as to sandwich the suction cup 24. The packaged article adsorption posture stabilizer 26 is also a bellows-like part made of soft rubber or soft synthetic resin, but has no suction function. As shown in FIG. 11, when the suction cup 24 sucks and shrinks the packaging article 1, the packaging article posture stabilizers 26 on both sides hit the packaging article 1. For this reason, the packaging article 1 is less likely to tilt left and right in FIG.

  The picking head 20 has three suction tools 22 arranged in a line. The number of three is an example and is not limited thereto. The three adsorbers 22 can be changed from each other. Specifically, the central suction tool 22 is fixed, and the suction tools 22 on both sides are brought close to or separated from the central suction tool 22 by a power source (not shown) in the main body 21 (such as a motor or an air cylinder). It is the composition to do.

  The picking head 20 is attached as an end effector to a transfer robot 30 (shown in FIG. 1 is an end effector attachment portion at the tip of a robot arm, which represents the robot). As the transfer robot 30, an industrial robot (for example, a rectangular coordinate format, a horizontal articulated format, a parallel link format) that can move the picking head 20 in a three-dimensional manner is used. If the parallel link robot is used, the packaging article 1 can be handled in a wide area by making use of the wide range of motion that is a feature of the parallel link robot. The movement of the transfer robot 30, the suction operation of the suction tool 22 in the picking head 20, and the mutual change of the suction tool 22 are controlled by the control device 31.

  The control device 31 operates the transfer robot 30 and the picking head 20 as follows to perform the handling operation of the packaged article 1. First, as an operation of the first step, the three suction tools 22 of the picking head 20 are spread at intervals corresponding to the arrangement intervals of the packaging articles 1 on the carry-in conveyor 10. FIG. 1 shows this state.

  Next, as the operation of the second step, the control device 31 performs the operation for the first one, the second one, and the third one in the row of the packaging articles 1 that are placed on the carry-in conveyor 10 and are moving. The picking head 20 is approached, and the suction tool 22 is applied to each packaged article 1. 2 and 3 show this state. The location to be hit is a location that is biased backward in the traveling direction in the direction in which the packaging articles 1 are arranged, that is, a location that becomes upward when the packaging article 1 is picked up. Then, a vacuum suction circuit (not shown) connected to the suction tool 22 is opened, and a vacuum suction force is applied to the suction tool 22. Thereby, the packaging article 1 is adsorbed by the adsorbing tool 22 at each upper position.

  Next, as an operation of the third step, the control device 31 raises the picking head 20 and lifts the adsorbed packaging article 1 from the carry-in conveyor 10. FIG. 4 shows this state. The pulled up packaging article 1 hangs obliquely from the adsorbing tool 22 when the adsorbed portion is biased and the adsorbing tool 22 bends.

  Next, the control device 31 reduces the mutual interval between the suction tools 22 as the operation of the fourth step. This state is shown in FIG. The packaging articles 1 that hang obliquely are overlapped with each other in such a manner that the lowered part of the adjacent packaging article 1 enters under the raised part of one of the packaging articles 1 because the interval is reduced.

  Next, the control device 31 moves the picking head 20 to the destination by the transfer robot 30 as the operation of the fifth step. The sawtooth mounting surface 41 on the bottom surface of the packaging box 40 shown in FIG. 6 is the destination.

  The packing box 40 is a box made of cardboard that is usually used as a confectionery box, and the sawtooth mounting surface 41 is also composed of an insole of cardboard. On the serrated mounting surface 41, three inclined surfaces are arranged in a line corresponding to the number of the suction tools 22 being three. As shown in FIG. 8, three rows of sawtooth mounting surfaces 41 are arranged side by side inside the packaging box 40. Each row is partitioned by a partition plate 42. The partition plate 42 is also cardboard.

  The control device 31 positions the picking head 20 on the row in which the packaged articles 1 are not yet placed among the three rows of sawtooth-shaped placement surfaces 41, and then lowers the picking head 20, as shown in FIG. Thus, the packaging article 1 is placed on the serrated placement surface 41. And the vacuum of the suction tool 22 is interrupted | blocked and the packaging article 1 is released. When the picking head 20 is pulled up, as shown in FIG. 7, the packaging articles 1 are left one by one on the three inclined surfaces of the serrated mounting surface 41.

  The control device 31 repeats the above operation until all of the three rows of sawtooth mounting surfaces 41 in the packaging box 40 are filled with the packaging article 1. When the work is completed, a total of nine packaged articles 1 are arranged in the packaging box as shown in FIG. After that, the packaging box 40 is sent to the next process, and the packaging is completed by putting a bag, putting a lid on it, or wrapping it with a shrink film. The picking head 20 is returned to the origin position and the next picking operation is performed.

  12 and 13 show a packaging box 40 of the second aspect. The packing box 40 has a flat mounting surface 43 at the bottom. According to the apparatus of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 12 to 13, the packaging articles 1 can be arranged on the flat placement surface 43 in a state where sashimi is arranged.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  The present invention is applicable to a packaging article handling apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Packaged goods 2 Pillow bag 10 Carry-in conveyor 20 Picking head 21 Main body 22 Adsorption tool 24 Suction cup 26 Packaging article adsorption posture stabilization tool 30 Transfer robot 31 Controller 40 Packing box 41 Sawtooth-shaped mounting surface 43 Flat mounting surface

Claims (6)

A packaging article handling apparatus for handling a packaging article having a thickness smaller than that of the longitudinal and lateral directions,
A carry-in conveyor for carrying a plurality of the packed articles in a line;
A plurality of adsorbers that adsorb the packaged articles on the carry-in conveyor one by one, arranged in a row, and a picking head capable of changing the mutual spacing of the adsorbers;
A transfer robot that three-dimensionally moves the picking head;
A control device for the picking head and the transfer robot;
The control device is provided on the picking head and the transfer robot.
An operation of a first step for spreading the plurality of adsorbers at intervals corresponding to the arrangement intervals of the packaging articles on the carry-in conveyor;
A second step of applying the vacuum suction force to the adsorbing tool after the plurality of adsorbing tools are applied to a portion of the packaging article on the carry-in conveyor that is biased to one side in the direction in which the packaging articles are arranged; Operation and
A third step of raising the picking head to lift the packaged article adsorbed by the plurality of adsorbers from the carry-in conveyor;
The operation of the fourth step of reducing the interval between the plurality of adsorbers and causing the wrapping articles hanging obliquely from them to overlap each other;
The operation of the fifth step of placing the overlapped packaging article at the destination;
A packaged article handling apparatus characterized by the above.   The packaging article handling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction tool includes a bellows-like suction cup.   The packaging article handling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction tool includes a plurality of packaging article suction posture stabilizers made of an elastic body so as to sandwich the suction cup.   The packaged article handling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transfer robot is a parallel link robot.   The packaging according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the packaging article is packaged in a packaging box, and a sawtooth mounting surface on a bottom surface of the packaging box is a destination for handling. Article handling device.   The packaging article according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the packaging article is packaged in a packaging box, and a flat placement surface on a bottom surface of the packaging box is a destination for handling. Handling device.

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