JP2016028836A - Bulk workpiece pickup transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bulk workpiece pickup transport device capable of ensuring the low probability of failure to pick up a workpiece, stably pickup transporting the workpiece, and pickup transporting workpieces of various types without replacement of bands.SOLUTION: A bulk workpiece pickup transport device individually picks up and transports a workpiece from a plurality of bulk workpieces. The bulk workpiece pickup transport device comprises: a detection unit detecting a maximum height position of the bulk workpieces; and a magnet hand portion that includes a columnar fixed magnetic pole around which a coil is wound, a plurality of columnar movable magnetic poles provided around the fixed magnetic pole and movable in a longitudinal direction of the fixed magnetic pole, and a yoke forming a magnetic circuit between the fixed magnetic pole and each movable magnetic pole while supporting the movable magnetic pole.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for picking up and conveying bulk workpieces, which individually picks up and conveys workpieces from a plurality of workpieces placed in a bulk state.

  In a casting parts production line, casting parts being produced may be temporarily stored in a box-like container such as a basket in a bulk state. The cast parts stored in this way are individually picked up and transported from the bulk state and sent to the processing / inspection process.

  Such casting parts have been picked up and transported manually by hand, but recently, work using a magnet hand has been proposed. That is, it has been proposed to pick up and convey cast parts by a robot with a rod-shaped magnet (electromagnet) attached.

  For example, as a pick-up conveying device using a magnet hand, the magnet tip is shaped to match the shape of the workpiece, and the position and orientation of the workpiece in the container are recognized by collating with pre-stored image data, An apparatus has been proposed in which the tip of a magnet is brought into contact with an appropriate position of a workpiece so that the workpiece can be conveyed while being reliably gripped. (For example, see Patent Document 1.)

JP 2010-12567 A

  If an attempt is made to pick up a cast part, which is a workpiece having a complicated shape, with a magnet hand, the magnetic hand of the magnet hand is likely to be attracted to the magnetic pole by point contact. In such adsorption, the attractive force is weakened, so that the possibility of failing to pick up the cast part increases. Further, even if pickup can be performed by point contact adsorption, conveyance may be unstable with heavy cast parts. In other words, the cast part being transported may be shaken and dropped in the middle or may not land at a desired position without dropping. And since conveyance is unstable, it becomes difficult to convey a casting component at high speed.

  On the other hand, the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a low possibility of failing to pick up a workpiece, and is considered to be a device that reduces the shaking of the workpiece during conveyance and enables the workpiece to be conveyed at high speed. However, since the apparatus of Patent Document 1 uses a magnet hand that matches the shape of the cast part, there is a possibility that the magnet hand needs to be replaced for each cast part. In addition, for image recognition processing, there is a possibility that registration of image data or the like may be required for each casting part. Therefore, when trying to pick up and convey cast parts of various types with the apparatus of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to set up the apparatus for each type, and workability may be deteriorated.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a pick-up / conveying device for loosely stacked workpieces that can stably pick up and convey a workpiece and can pick up and convey a wide variety of workpieces.

  The pick-up and transfer device for bulk workpieces according to the present invention is a pick-up and transfer device for bulk workpieces that individually picks up and conveys workpieces from a plurality of workpieces that are in a pile-up state. A detection unit for detecting the maximum height position, a columnar fixed magnetic pole having a coil wound around it, a columnar movable magnetic pole arranged around the fixed magnetic pole and movable in the longitudinal direction of the fixed magnetic pole, A magnet hand portion having a yoke that forms a magnetic circuit between the fixed magnetic pole and the movable magnetic pole while supporting the movable magnetic pole, a transfer arm portion that moves while supporting the magnet hand portion, and a detection result of the detection portion Based on this, the transfer arm is operated to bring the tip of the fixed magnetic pole into contact with the workpiece at the maximum height, and the coil is energized to attract the workpiece to the magnet hand. It comprises a control unit, the to.

  In the pick-up / conveying device for bulk workpieces according to the present invention, it is preferable that the tip of the movable magnetic pole is ahead of the tip of the fixed magnetic pole.

  Moreover, in the pick-up and transfer apparatus for bulk workpieces of the present invention, it is preferable that the tip end portion of the movable magnetic pole is thicker than the other portion of the movable magnetic pole.

  In the pick-up and transfer device for bulk workpieces of the present invention, it is preferable that the side surface portion of the movable magnetic pole opposite to the fixed magnetic pole is exposed to the outside.

  In the pick-up / conveying device for bulk workpieces of the present invention, it is preferable that the side surface portion of the movable magnetic pole opposite to the fixed magnetic pole is opposed to the nonmagnetic material.

  Since the pick-up / conveying device for bulk workpieces according to the present invention can pick up workpieces in a bulk-stacked state with a strong adsorption force, the possibility of failing to pick up can be reduced. Moreover, it is possible to deal with different types of workpieces, and the versatility is high.

It is one embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic diagram showing a pick-up conveyance device for cast parts stacked in bulk. It is a schematic diagram which shows the magnet hand part of the apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the magnet hand part of FIG. 2 adsorb | sucked the workpiece | work. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the guide part applicable to the magnet hand part of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other magnet hand part applicable to the apparatus of FIG. FIG. 2 is a two-dimensional schematic diagram illustrating how the magnet hand unit of the apparatus of FIG. 1 attracts and picks up a workpiece.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a pick-up / conveying apparatus for bulk-loading workpieces according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the pick-up conveying device of the present embodiment is a device that picks up and conveys a casting part 2 that is a work stacked in a basket 1, and includes a detection unit 3 and a magnet. A hand unit 4, a transfer arm unit 5, and a control unit 6 are provided. Hereinafter, the components of the apparatus will be described in detail.

[Detection unit]
The detection unit 3 includes a projector 3a, a plurality of cameras 3b, and a processing unit 3c. The projector 3a and the camera 3b are fixed to a frame (not shown) and disposed on the basket 1.
The projector 3a is arranged directly above the basket 1 so that a plurality of cast parts 2 in the basket 1 can be irradiated with lattice-shaped light. A plurality of cameras 3b are arranged at positions distant from the projector 3a, and the reflection of the lattice-like light irradiated to the plurality of cast parts 2 by the projector 3a can be captured from an oblique direction. The projector 3a and the camera 3b are connected to the processing unit 3c. The processing unit 3c instructs the projector 3a and the camera 3b to irradiate and image light, and can calculate the maximum height position of the plurality of cast components 2 in the basket 1 based on the imaging result of the camera 3b. I have to.

[Magnet hand part]
The magnet hand portion 4 constitutes an electromagnet attracting hand as shown in the longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 2A and the bottom view of FIG. 2B, and includes a fixed magnetic pole 4a, a coil 4b, a yoke 4c, and a movable magnetic pole 4d. And a connecting portion 4e.

  The fixed magnetic pole 4a is a columnar magnetic body, and the coil 4b is wound around it. As shown in FIG. 1, one end of the coil 4 b is connected to a power source 7 connected to the control unit 6, and the control unit 6 can turn on / off the energization of the coil 4 b.

The yoke 4c is a magnetic body like the fixed magnetic pole 4a, and forms a space between the concave portion 4ca and the guide portion 4cb.
The recess 4ca is a space formed at the center of the yoke 4c, and a fixed magnetic pole 4a around which the coil 4b is wound is disposed in the recess 4ca. In the recess 4ca, one end 4aa of the fixed magnetic pole 4a is connected to the yoke 4c, and the fixed magnetic pole 4a is arranged so that the other end 4ab protrudes from the recess 4ca. The guide portion 4cb is a space formed so as to penetrate the yoke 4c in the longitudinal direction of the fixed magnetic pole 4a, and a plurality of guide portions 4cb are formed around the recess 4ca. And the guide part 4cb has penetrated the movable magnetic pole 4d inside, and is supporting the penetrated movable magnetic pole 4d so that a movement in a penetration direction is possible.

Note that three or more guide portions 4cb are preferably formed at equiangular positions around the recess 4ca, and are preferably formed so as to penetrate in parallel to the opening direction of the recess 4ca.
Further, the yoke 4c and the fixed magnetic pole 4a can be made of the same material, and the yoke 4c and the fixed magnetic pole 4a can be integrally formed.

  The movable magnetic pole 4d is a columnar magnetic body, like the fixed magnetic pole 4a, and is inserted into all the guide portions 4cb. A stopper 4db is formed at one end 4da of the movable magnetic pole 4d so that the movable magnetic pole 4d does not come out of the guide portion 4cb in the direction of the other end 4dc.

  The connecting portion 4e is connected to the yoke 4c, and is the other end 4ab that is the tip of the fixed magnetic pole 4a and the tip of the movable magnetic pole 4d when the magnet hand portion 4 is connected to the robot 5a of the transport arm portion 5. The other end 4dc is supported in the forward direction, that is, downward. In the following description, the other end 4ab of the fixed magnetic pole 4a when the robot 5a supports the magnet hand unit 4 may be referred to as a lower end 4ab, and the other end 4dc of the movable magnetic pole 4d may be referred to as a lower end 4dc.

  With the robot 5a supporting the magnet hand portion 4, the movable magnetic pole 4d moves down the guide portion 4cb by its own weight, and the stopper 4db interferes with the upper surface of the yoke 4c. The movable magnetic pole 4d is supported so as to be movable upward in the guide portion 4cb. In this state, the lower end 4dc of the movable magnetic pole 4d is preferably below the lower end 4ab of the fixed magnetic pole 4a. In other words, the lengths of the fixed magnetic pole 4a and the movable magnetic pole 4d are set so that the lower end 4dc of the movable magnetic pole 4d is below the lower end 4ab of the fixed magnetic pole 4a while the robot 5a supports the magnet hand unit 4. It is preferable. By doing so, when picking up the casting part 2, the movable magnetic pole 4d can be easily brought into contact with the casting part 2, and the possibility of failing to pick up the casting part 2 can be further reduced.

  In order to make the movable magnetic pole 4d more easily come into contact with the casting part 2, the height difference between the lower end 4ab of the fixed magnetic pole 4a and the lower end 4dc of the movable magnetic pole 4d in a state where the robot 5a supports the magnet hand portion 4. Is preferably increased. However, in order to increase the height difference between the lower end 4ab and the lower end 4dc, it is necessary to lengthen the movable magnetic pole 4d, and the magnet hand portion 4 itself may become large and difficult to handle. Therefore, the magnet hand unit 4 sets the lengths of the fixed magnetic pole 4a and the movable magnetic pole 4d within a range that does not hinder the operation of the robot 5a, and the height difference between the lower end 4ab of the fixed magnetic pole 4a and the lower end 4dc of the movable magnetic pole 4d. Is preferably increased.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the magnet hand portion 4 is configured such that the fixed magnetic pole 4 a attracts the casting part 2 and at the same time the movable magnetic pole 4 d contacts and attracts the casting part 2. And the magnet hand part 4 forms the closed magnetic circuit J of the fixed magnetic pole 4a-movable magnetic pole 4d-casting part 2, so that the casting part 2 can be adsorbed. As a result, the casting part 2 can be attracted with a strong suction force and attracted by two or more points, so that the possibility of failing to pick up the casting part 2 can be reduced. And after picking up, since the shaking of the casting component 2 can be reduced by the adsorption | suction of two or more points, the casting component 2 can be conveyed stably and can also be conveyed at high speed.

  Further, as shown in the sectional view of the fixed magnetic pole 4a, the yoke 4c, and the movable magnetic pole 4d in FIG. 4A, the guide portion 4cb of the magnet hand portion 4 can be formed in a through-hole penetrating the yoke 4c. However, in the case of such a guide portion 4cb, the directions of the magnetic lines of force entering the movable magnetic pole 4d from the yoke 4c become uneven as shown by the arrows in the figure, and the attractive force between the movable magnetic pole 4d and the yoke 4c is insufficient. May end up. When the heavy casting part 2 is attracted, the movable magnetic pole 4d must be attracted to the yoke 4c by forming a closed magnetic circuit of the fixed magnetic pole 4a, the movable magnetic pole 4d, and the casting part 2; There is a possibility of moving with respect to the yoke 4c, and there is a possibility that pick-up conveyance of the cast part 2 becomes unstable.

  Therefore, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4B, the guide portion 4cb of the magnet hand portion 4 has a shape in which a part of the through-hole penetrating the yoke 4c is cut away, and the fixed magnetic pole 4a of the movable magnetic pole 4d and The opposite side surface portion is preferably exposed outside the yoke 4c. In this way, the magnetic lines of force between the yoke 4c and the movable magnetic pole 4d can be made difficult to go around to the opposite side of the movable magnetic pole 4d to the fixed magnetic pole 4a, and the direction of the magnetic lines of force between the movable magnetic pole 4d and the yoke 4c. Thus, the attractive force of the movable magnetic pole 4d to the yoke 4c can be made stronger. As a result, when the casting part 2 is attracted, the movable magnetic pole 4d can be attracted to the yoke 4c to make it difficult to move, and the casting part 2 can be picked up and conveyed more stably.

  Further, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4C, the guide portion 4cb of the magnet hand portion 4 has a form in which a part of the through-hole penetrating the yoke 4c is replaced with a non-magnetic material 4f, and the movable magnetic pole 4d The side surface portion opposite to the fixed magnetic pole 4a can be made to face the nonmagnetic material 4f. This also makes it difficult for the magnetic lines of force between the yoke 4c and the movable magnetic pole 4d to wrap around the side of the movable magnetic pole 4d opposite to the fixed magnetic pole 4a, and the direction of the magnetic lines of force between the movable magnetic pole 4d and the yoke 4c. Thus, the attractive force of the movable magnetic pole 4d to the yoke 4c can be made stronger. As a result, when the casting part 2 is attracted, the movable magnetic pole 4d can be attracted to the yoke 4c to make it difficult to move, and the casting part 2 can be picked up and conveyed more stably.

  Further, as shown in the longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 5 (a) and the bottom view of FIG. 5 (b), the magnet hand portion 4 has a lower end portion of the movable magnetic pole 4d, that is, the vicinity of the lower end 4dc. It can be made thicker than the portion. By doing in this way, the space | interval of the fixed magnetic pole 4a and the movable magnetic pole 4d can be narrowed under the magnet hand part 4, ie, the lower end 4ab and the lower end 4dc side. As a result, even if the casting part 2 has a shape that greatly changes in shape at the interval between the fixed magnetic pole 4a and the movable magnetic pole 4d, when the fixed magnetic pole 4a attracts the casting part 2, the movable magnetic pole 4d The lower end 4 dc can be easily contacted by the casting part 2. Then, the possibility of failing to pick up the casting part 2 can be reduced, and the casting part 2 can be picked up and conveyed more stably.

[Transfer arm]
As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer arm unit 5 has a robot 5a. And the robot 5a can support the magnet hand part 4 by connecting the tip and the connection part 4e of the magnet hand part 4 and facing the other end 4ab of the fixed magnetic pole 4a and the other end 4dc of the movable magnetic pole 4d downward. I am doing so. Then, the robot 5a can move the magnet hand portion 4 from the inside of the basket 1 to the outside. The transfer arm unit 5 is connected to the control unit 6 so that the control unit 6 can instruct the operation of the robot 5a.

[Control unit]
The control unit 6 is connected to the processing unit 3 c of the detection unit 3, the power supply 7, and the transfer arm unit 5. The control unit 6 can operate the robot 5a of the transfer arm unit 5 based on the detection result of the detection unit 3, and the magnet hand unit 4 supported by the robot hand 5a is casted into pieces. It is possible to move to the maximum height position of 2. Then, the magnet hand unit 4 can be energized from the power source 7 to the coil 4b of the magnet hand unit 4 in a state in which the magnet hand unit 4 is brought close to the casting part 2, and the magnet hand part 4 is attached to the basket 1 while the casting part 2 is adsorbed. It can be transported from inside to outside.
The control unit 6 can include the processing unit 3c of the detection unit 3 inside, and can control the projector 3a and the camera 3b of the detection unit 3 from the control unit 6.

  Next, the pick-up conveyance procedure using the apparatus of this embodiment and the operation of the apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

First, the basket 1 in which a plurality of cast components 2 are stored in a bulk state is disposed below the projector 3a and the camera 3b of the detection unit 3. And the connection part 4e of the magnet hand part 4 is connected to the front-end | tip of the robot 5a of the conveyance arm part 5, and the other end 4ab of the fixed magnetic pole 4a and the other end 4dc of the movable magnetic pole 4d are supported facing downward.
Next, the processing unit 3c irradiates the plurality of cast components 2 from the projector 3a with lattice-shaped light, and the camera 3b emits the lattice-shaped light from an oblique direction with respect to the light irradiation direction of the projector 3a. A reflection image of is taken. And the process part 3c acquires the reflective image which the some camera 3b imaged, ie, the lattice image distorted according to the height distribution of the some casting components 2. FIG. Then, the processing unit 3c calculates the height distribution in the basket 1 of the plurality of cast parts 2 based on the lattice images, and detects the maximum height and the position of the cast part 2 in the basket 1. Then, the detected maximum height data and its position data are sent from the processing unit 3c to the control unit 6.

  Next, the control part 6 operates the conveyance arm part 5 based on the data sent from the detection part 3, that is, the maximum height data of the plurality of casting parts 2 and the position data thereof. Specifically, the detection unit 3 detects the fixed magnetic pole 4a when the robot 5a is moved and the magnet hand unit 4 supported by the robot 5a is directly above the maximum height position detected by the detection unit 3. Move directly above the maximum height. And the height of the magnet hand part 4 is lowered | hung gradually, and the fixed magnetic pole 4a of the magnet hand part 4 is gradually approached with respect to the highest point of the casting component 2 which shows the maximum height position.

The schematic diagram of FIG. 6 shows a state in which the magnet hand portion 4 approaches the cast part 2 in a simple two-dimensional view.
First, as shown in FIG. 6A, the magnet hand portion 4 is lowered with the fixed magnetic pole 4a directly above the highest point 2a of the casting part 2 at the maximum height position. Then, when the magnet hand portion 4 is lowered to some extent, the fixed magnetic pole 4a comes into contact with the highest point 2a of the casting part 2 or, as shown in FIG. It occurs that the movable magnetic pole 4d contacts the cast part 2 before contacting the point. 6B, when the movable magnetic pole 4d comes into contact with the casting part 2, the movable magnetic pole 4d is inserted through the guide portion 4cb of the yoke 4c, so that the fixed magnetic pole 4a contacts the casting part 2. In the meantime, the movable magnetic pole 4d is kept in contact with the casting part 2, and the yoke 4c that is movably inserted through the movable magnetic pole 4d and the fixed magnetic pole 4a that is connected to the yoke 4c are lowered. As shown in FIG. 6C, when the fixed magnetic pole 4a comes into contact with the highest point 2a of the casting part 2, both the fixed magnetic pole 4a and the movable magnetic pole 4d follow the shape of the casting part 2 and the casting part 2 It will be in the state which touched.

  As described above, the contact between the movable magnetic pole 4d and the casting part 2 is maintained from the time when the movable magnetic pole 4d contacts the casting part 2 until the stationary magnetic pole 4a contacts the casting part 2. Even in the case of the casting part 2 having a different shape, the magnet hand portion 4 having the form can make both the fixed magnetic pole 4a and the movable magnetic pole 4d contact the casting part 2 with a height difference following the shape. Thereby, in this embodiment, it is possible to pick up and convey a variety of cast parts with the same magic hand 4, and to pick up and convey a variety of cast parts without exchanging the hand. It becomes possible.

Next, when the control unit 6 energizes the coil 4 c from the power source 7, a closed magnetic circuit is formed in the fixed magnetic pole 4 a, the movable magnetic pole 4 d, and the casting part 2, and the casting part 2 is strongly attracted to the magnet hand part 4. . Thereby, the casting part 2 is picked up by the magnet hand part 4 with high probability.
Thereafter, the control unit 6 operates the robot 5 a to move the magnet hand unit 4 that has attracted the casting part 2 to convey the casting part 2 from the basket 1 to the outside. At that time, the casting tool 2 is strongly attracted by the formation of the closed magnetic circuit, and is attracted by two or more points of the fixed magnetic pole 4a and the movable magnetic pole 4d. Therefore, the casting part 2 can be stably conveyed.

  In the pickup conveyance by the apparatus of the present embodiment, there is a possibility that the casting part 2 is picked up without the movable magnetic pole 4d being in contact with the casting part 2 although the fixed magnetic pole 4a attracts the casting part 2. In such a case, the picked-up casting part 2 is likely to come into contact with the movable magnetic pole 4d due to the shaking at the beginning of conveyance, and in the same way as when the movable magnetic pole 4d comes into contact with the casting part 2 during pick-up. The component 2 can be stably conveyed.

  As described above, by repeating the operation from the detection process of the detection unit 3 to the pick-up conveyance process of the magnet hand unit 4, a plurality of cast parts 2 placed in the basket 1 are individually and stably picked up. Can be transported.

  As mentioned above, although the pick-up conveyance apparatus of the bulkwork workpiece | work of this invention has been demonstrated using embodiment, this invention is not limited to embodiment described.

  For example, in the embodiment described above, the entire movable magnetic pole is a columnar magnetic body, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. The lower end of the movable magnetic pole can be deformed, for example, the lower end can be a net-like magnetic body, or a bag of magnetic powder can be used. Further, the lower end of the movable magnetic pole and the fixed magnetic pole may be covered with a flexible material such as rubber. Thereby, the adhesiveness of a movable electrode and a casting component can be raised, it becomes difficult to attach a flaw to a casting component, and pick-up conveyance can be performed more stably.

1: Basket
2: Casting parts
3: Detection unit 3a: Projector 3b: Camera 3c: Processing unit 4: Magnet hand unit 4a: Fixed magnetic pole 4aa: One end 4ab: The other end (lower end)
4b: Coil 4c: Yoke 4ca: Recess 4cb: Guide part 4d: Movable magnetic pole 4da: One end 4db: Stopper 4dc: The other end (lower end)
4e: Connection unit 4f: Non-magnetic material 5: Transfer arm unit 5a: Robot 6: Control unit 7: Power supply

Claims (5)

A pick-up and transfer device for bulk workpieces that individually picks up and conveys workpieces from a plurality of workpieces in a bulk state,
A detection unit for detecting a maximum height position of a plurality of workpieces in a stacked state;
A columnar fixed magnetic pole having a coil wound around it, a plurality of columnar movable magnetic poles arranged around the fixed magnetic pole and movable in the longitudinal direction of the fixed magnetic pole, and the fixed while supporting the movable magnetic pole A magnet hand portion having a yoke that forms a magnetic circuit between the magnetic pole and the movable magnetic pole;
A transfer arm unit that moves while supporting the magnet hand unit;
Based on the detection result of the detection unit, the transfer arm unit is operated to bring the tip of the fixed magnetic pole into contact with the workpiece at the maximum height position, and the coil is energized to attract the workpiece to the magnet hand. A control unit,
An apparatus for picking up and conveying bulk workpieces, comprising:   2. The pick-up / conveying apparatus for bulk workpieces according to claim 1, wherein a tip of the movable magnetic pole is ahead of a tip of the fixed magnetic pole.   3. The pick-up / conveying device for loosely stacked workpieces according to claim 1, wherein a tip end portion of the movable magnetic pole is thicker than other portions of the movable magnetic pole.   The pick-up / conveying device for loosely stacked workpieces according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a side surface portion of the movable magnetic pole opposite to the fixed magnetic pole is exposed to the outside.   The pick-up / conveying device for loosely stacked workpieces according to claim 1, wherein a side surface portion of the movable magnetic pole opposite to the fixed magnetic pole is opposed to a nonmagnetic material.