JP5737034B2 - Article conveying and photographing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article transport imaging apparatus that captures an article transported by a transport conveyor, and more particularly, to an article transport imaging apparatus that captures an image of an article placed and transported on a transport surface of a transport conveyor together with the transport surface. .

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an article conveyance imaging apparatus that photographs an article placed on a conveyance surface of a conveyance conveyor and conveyed along with the conveyance surface is well known.
By the way, when photographing an article by photographing means, if the article is white, for example, a good image cannot be obtained if the conveyance surface of the conveyor is white, in this case, the conveyance surface of the conveyor is black. It is preferable that However, when the transport surface of the transport conveyor is set to black, it is difficult to obtain a good image for black articles.
For this reason, conventionally, a conveyor has been proposed in which the conveyor is a bucket conveyor, each plate member is provided so that it can be reversed, and one surface of the plate member is white and the other surface is black (Patent Document 1). )
In this article transport photographing apparatus, when the article is white, a white article is placed on the black plate member with the black surface of the plate member as the surface side which is the placement surface side, Shooting in the state. On the other hand, when the article is black, the plate member is inverted so that the white surface serves as a placement surface, and the black article is placed on the white plate member.

JP 2009-7153 A

In the above-described conventional article transport photographing apparatus, since the transport conveyor is configured as a bucket conveyor, the articles have to be supplied into each bucket in advance, and the articles cannot be transported in a random state. .
Moreover, when changing a mounting surface according to the color of an article | item, the plate member in all the buckets had to be reversed, and the operation | work was complicated.
In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides an article transport photographing apparatus that can change the color of a mounting surface photographed by photographing means very easily and can convey an article in a random state. Is.

That is, according to the present invention, a first transport conveyor having a transport surface of a first color and a second transport conveyor having a transport surface of a second color are arranged in series, and an article is placed from the transport surface of the first transport conveyor. And a transfer means for reciprocating the transfer section of the articles adjacent to each other between the first transfer conveyor and the second transfer conveyor along the transfer direction. An imaging means for taking a picture of an article, which is placed on the transport surface of the transport conveyor and transported, together with the length of the transport surface of the first transport conveyor and the length of the transport surface of the second transport conveyor. Provided,
The moving means sets the conveying surface photographed by the photographing means to the conveying surface of the first color of the first conveying conveyor by moving the transfer section to the downstream side in the conveying direction from the photographing means. By moving the transfer section to the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the photographing unit, the transport surface photographed by the photographing unit is set as the second color transport surface of the second transport conveyor.

According to the above configuration, the articles are transferred from the first transfer conveyor to the second transfer conveyor via the transfer section of the articles, so that the articles are accommodated in each bucket like a bucket conveyor. Therefore, it is possible to convey each article in a random state.
When the article is in a second color, for example, white, the transfer unit moves the transfer unit to the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the photographing unit, and the transport surface photographed by the photographing unit is first transported. What is necessary is just to set to the conveyance surface of the 1st color of a conveyor, for example, a black conveyance surface. Thereby, since the article can be photographed by the photographing means in a state where the white article is placed on the black transport surface, a good image can be obtained.
On the other hand, when the article is the first color, that is, in the case of the black color described above, the transfer unit moves the transfer unit to the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the image capturing unit, and the image is captured by the image capturing unit. What is necessary is just to set a surface to the conveyance surface of the 2nd color of a 2nd conveyance conveyor, ie, white. In this case, since the article can be photographed by the photographing means in a state where the black article is placed on the white transport surface, a good image can be obtained.
Therefore, the transport surface photographed by the photographing means is switched between the first color and the second color depending on whether the transfer means moves the transfer section downstream in the transport direction or upstream of the photographing means. The switching operation can be easily performed.

The side view which shows the Example of this invention. The side view which shows a state different from FIG.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiment. In FIG. 1, a white article 11 conveyed in a random state by a supply conveyor 10 has a first color conveying surface, for example, a black conveying surface 20a. It is supplied to the conveyor 20 and is conveyed downstream by the first conveyor 20.
On the downstream side of the first transport conveyor 20, a second transport conveyor 30 having a second color transport surface, for example, a white transport surface 30 a, is arranged in series, and the article 11 from the first transport conveyor 20. Is transferred from the transfer surface 20a of the first transfer conveyor 20 to the transfer surface 30a of the second transfer conveyor 30 via the article transfer unit 12.
The first transport conveyor 20 and the second transport conveyor 30 are driven at the same speed by a driving means (not shown).

The first conveyor 20 includes at least five rollers 21 to 25, and an endless belt 26 constituting the first conveyor 20 is circulated around the plurality of rollers 21 to 25. It is like that.
Of the five rollers, a roller 21 adjacent to the supply conveyor 10, a roller 22 positioned below the roller 21, and a roller 23 positioned on the right side of the roller 22 are rotatably supported by a fixed frame (not shown). It is.
On the other hand, the roller 24 positioned on the right side of the roller 21 adjacent to the supply conveyor 10 and the tension roller 25 located at the intermediate height position on the left side of the two above-described right-side rollers 23, 24 convey the article 11. It is rotatably supported on a moving frame 13 provided so as to be movable forward and backward along the direction.

  The belt 26 of the one conveyor 20 is horizontally stretched between the two upper rollers 21 and 24, and is further folded back from the roller 24 in the order of the tension roller 25, the roller 23, the roller 22 and the roller 21. It is overhanging. At this time, the roller 24 positioned on the upper right side constitutes the delivery unit 12, and the article 11 can be delivered to the second transport conveyor 30 on the downstream side via the roller 24. .

The belt 26 is folded back from the roller 24 and stretched over the tension roller 25. Further, the belt 26 is stretched over the roller 23 from the tension roller 25, thereby forming a V-shape at that portion.
The tension roller 25 is provided at the center position in the height direction of the rollers 23 and 24, whereby the moving frame 13 is moved to the left, and the roller 24 provided on the moving frame 13 and the fixed frame are provided. When the distance between the roller 21 and the roller 21 is reduced, the distance between the other tension roller 25 provided on the moving frame 13 and the roller 23 provided on the fixed frame is increased by the same amount. (See FIG. 2).
On the other hand, when the moving frame 13 is moved to the right and the distance between the roller 24 and the roller 21 is increased, the distance between the tension roller 25 and the roller 23 is reduced by the same amount. It is like that.

In this way, even if the moving frame 13 is moved, the total distance (distance) between the five rollers 21 to 25 is always constant, whereby the endless belt 26 is loosened or stretched. The roller 24 of the delivery unit 12 can be moved back and forth in the conveyance direction of the article.
And the length of the conveyance surface 20a of the 1st conveyance conveyor 20 spanned between the two upper rollers 21 and 24 can be extended by moving the roller 24 of the delivery part 12 ahead of the conveyance direction of articles | goods. The length of the transport surface 20a of the first transport conveyor 20 spanned between the two upper rollers 21 and 24 can be reduced by moving the roller 24 rearward in the transport direction of the article. It is.

The second transport conveyor 30 is configured in the same manner as the first transport conveyor 20 described above.
That is, the second conveyor 30 is provided with at least five rollers 31 to 35, and the endless belt 36 constituting the second conveyor 30 is circulated around the plurality of rollers 31 to 35. It has become.
The five rollers 31 to 35 of the second conveyor 30 are provided so as to be symmetric with the five rollers 21 to 35 of the first conveyor 20. That is, among the five rollers 31 to 35, the roller 31 positioned on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the article 11, the roller 32 positioned below the roller 31, and the roller 33 positioned on the left side of the roller 32 are: Each is rotatably supported on a fixed frame (not shown).

On the other hand, the roller 34 located on the left side of the roller 31 and the tension roller 35 located at the middle height position on the right side of the two above-described left-side rollers 33 and 34 are rotatable on the above-described moving frame 13. Is pivotally supported.
The belt 36 of the two transport conveyor 30 is horizontally stretched between the two upper rollers 31 and 34, and is further turned back from the roller 34 in the order of the tension roller 35, the roller 33, the roller 32, and the roller 31. It is stretched around.
At this time, like the belt 26 of the first conveyor 20, the belt 36 is folded back from the roller 34 and passed over the tension roller 35. It is formed in a V shape.

The two rollers 24 and 34 described above are disposed on the moving frame 13 so as to be adjacent to each other. The two adjacent rollers 24 and 34 allow the second transport conveyor 30 to move from the transport surface 20a of the first transport conveyor 20. A delivery unit 12 for delivering the article 11 to the transport surface 30a is configured.
In this way, by moving the moving frame 13 forward and backward in the conveying direction of the article 11, the transfer section 12 can be advanced and retracted in the same direction. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the moving frame 13 is positioned at the first position A on the downstream side in the transport direction, and FIG. 2 shows the position of the moving frame 13 at the second position B on the upstream side in the transport direction. It shows the state that was made to.
Although not shown, the moving frame 13 can be moved forward and backward by driving means such as a ball nut means and a cylinder unit.

Above the two conveyors 20 and 30, an imaging unit 40 is provided for imaging the articles 11 conveyed by the conveyors 20 and 30, and a required interval is provided downstream of the imaging unit 40. An article holding means 41 composed of a robot or the like is provided.
The operation of the article holding means 41 is controlled by a control device (not shown). When the control device inputs an image of the article 11 photographed by the photographing means 40, the article 11 is obtained from the image. Further, the article holding means 41 is operated based on the analysis result to hold the article 11. Since such a technique is already well known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the photographing means 40 and the article holding means 41 are both in the state where the moving frame 13 is located at the first position A on the downstream side in the conveying direction. It is located on the transport surface 20a. In this state, the photographing means 40 can photograph the article 11 on the transport surface 20a together with the transport surface 20a.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, in the state where the moving frame 13 is located at the second position B on the upstream side in the conveying direction, the photographing means 40 and the article holding means 41 are both of the second conveying conveyor 30. It is located on the transport surface 30a. In this state, the photographing means 40 can photograph the article 11 on the transport surface 30a together with the transport surface 30a.

In the above configuration, when a white (second color) article 11 is used, the moving frame 13 is moved to the first position A on the downstream side in the transport direction, as shown in FIG.
When the moving frame 13 is moved to the downstream side toward the first position A, the rollers 24 and 34 constituting the transfer unit 12 are also moved to the downstream side. The transport surface 20a is extended to the downstream side, and the transport surface 30a of the second transport conveyor 30 is contracted.
In the state where the delivery part 12 is positioned at the first position A on the downstream side, the transport surface 20a of the first transport conveyor 20 is extended to a downstream position beyond the photographing means 40 and the article holding means 41.
In this state, since the transport surface 20a of the first transport conveyor 20 is black (first color), when the white (second color) article 11 is photographed by the photographing means 40, the black transport is performed. Since the white article 11 on the surface 20a is photographed, a good image can be obtained.

On the other hand, when the black (first color) article 11 is used, the moving frame 13 is moved to the second position B on the upstream side in the transport direction, as shown in FIG.
When the moving frame 13 is moved upstream toward the second position B, the rollers 24 and 34 of the transfer section 12 are also moved upstream, whereby the conveying surface of the first conveying conveyor 20 is moved. As 20a contracts, the transport surface 30a of the second transport conveyor 30 extends toward the upstream side.
In the state where the delivery part 12 is positioned at the second position B on the upstream side, the transport surface 30a of the second transport conveyor 30 is extended to the upstream position beyond the photographing means 40 and the article holding means 41.
In this state, since the transport surface 30a of the second transport conveyor 30 is white (second color), when the black (first color) article 11 is photographed by the photographing means 40, the white transport is performed. Since the black article 11 on the surface 30a is photographed, a good image can be obtained.

The article holding means 41 holds the article 11 based on the video imaged by the imaging means 40. At this time, the delivery unit 12 does not exist between the imaging means 40 and the article holding means 41. Therefore, the article 11 can be held in a state where the article 11 is not displaced with respect to the transport surface.
That is, when the delivery unit 12 is between the photographing unit 40 and the article holding unit 41, there is a risk that the article 11 may be displaced when passing the delivery unit 12, and high-precision holding is necessary. In such a case, there is a risk that the holding of the article 11 by the article holding means 41 becomes defective due to the displacement.
In this embodiment, since the delivery unit 12 is not provided between the photographing unit 40 and the article holding unit 41, the article 11 can be reliably held by the article holding unit 41. Then, the article 11 held by the article holding means 41 is transferred from the first transfer conveyor 20 or the second transfer conveyor 30 to another location.

If there is no risk that the holding of the article 11 by the article holding means 41 will be defective even if the article 11 is displaced when the article 11 passes through the transferring section 12, the transferring section 12 simply takes the photographing means. What is necessary is just to be upstream or downstream of 40.
That is, if the transfer unit 12 is positioned upstream of the photographing unit 40, the transport surface 30a photographed by the photographing unit 40 can be set to the second color, and further downstream of the photographing unit 40. If it is positioned, the transport surface 20a photographed by the photographing means 40 can be set to the first color, so that the colors of the transport surfaces can be switched very easily.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Article 12 Delivery part 13 Moving frame 20 1st conveyance conveyor 20a, 30a Conveyance surface 21-25, 31-35 Roller 26, 36 Belt 30 2nd conveyance conveyor 40 Image | photography means 41 Article holding means

Claims (2)

A first transport conveyor having a first color transport surface and a second transport conveyor having a second color transport surface are arranged in series to transport articles from the transport surface of the first transport conveyor to the second transport conveyor. A transfer means for reciprocating the transfer section of the articles adjacent to each other between the first transfer conveyor and the second transfer conveyor along the transfer direction, and transferring the first transfer conveyor The length of the surface and the length of the transport surface of the second transport conveyor can be expanded and contracted, respectively, and further provided with an imaging means for photographing the article that is placed and transported on the transport surface of the transport conveyor together with the transport surface,
The moving means sets the conveying surface photographed by the photographing means to the conveying surface of the first color of the first conveying conveyor by moving the transfer section to the downstream side in the conveying direction from the photographing means. An article conveying and photographing apparatus characterized in that a transfer surface photographed by the photographing means is set as a second color conveying surface of a second conveying conveyor by moving the transfer section upstream of the photographing means in the conveying direction. .   An article holding means for holding the article is provided on the downstream side of the photographing means, and the article holding means is disposed on the transport surface of the first transport conveyor when the delivery unit is moved to the downstream side. The article conveying and photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article conveying and photographing apparatus is held.

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