阅读说明：本技术 工件取出装置 (Workpiece taking-out device ) 是由 本胁淑雄 于 2020-10-23 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种工件取出装置(1),包括：喷嘴头(3),所述喷嘴头(3)具有：多个吸附喷嘴(2),多个所述吸附喷嘴(2)分别具有吸附工件的吸附部(2b)；框体(5),所述框体(5)安装于输送装置；以及支承部(8),所述支承部(8)支承多个吸附喷嘴(2)并被框体(5)支承为能够进行移动,所述喷嘴头(3)通过使支承部(8)相对于框体(5)移动,从而将多个吸附喷嘴(2)选择性地配置于预定的使用位置；以及驱动部(4),所述驱动部(4)使配置于预定的使用位置的一个吸附喷嘴(2)相对于框体(5)移动,并使一个吸附喷嘴(2)向通过吸附部(2b)吸附工件的预定的吸附位置移动。(The invention provides a workpiece take-out device (1) comprising: a nozzle head (3), the nozzle head (3) having: a plurality of adsorption nozzles (2), each of the adsorption nozzles (2) having an adsorption portion (2b) that adsorbs a workpiece; a frame (5), wherein the frame (5) is mounted on a conveying device; and a support part (8), wherein the support part (8) supports the plurality of adsorption nozzles (2) and is movably supported by the frame body (5), and the nozzle head (3) selectively arranges the plurality of adsorption nozzles (2) at a predetermined use position by moving the support part (8) relative to the frame body (5); and a drive unit (4) that moves the one adsorption nozzle (2) disposed at the predetermined use position relative to the frame (5), and that moves the one adsorption nozzle (2) to a predetermined adsorption position where the workpiece is adsorbed by the adsorption unit (2 b).)

1. A workpiece takeout apparatus, comprising:

a nozzle head having: a plurality of adsorption nozzles each having an adsorption portion that adsorbs a workpiece; a frame body mounted to a conveying device; and a support portion that movably supports the plurality of suction nozzles, and the nozzle head selectively arranges the plurality of suction nozzles at predetermined use positions by moving the support portion relative to the frame; and

and a driving unit that moves one of the suction nozzles disposed at the predetermined use position with respect to the housing and moves the one of the suction nozzles to a predetermined suction position where the workpiece is sucked by the suction unit.

2. The work removing apparatus according to claim 1,

the support portion is a rotary body rotatable about a rotation axis in a vertical direction with respect to the housing.

3. The work removing apparatus according to claim 2,

the rotary body supports the plurality of adsorption nozzles to be movable in the vertical direction, the adsorption portion is provided at a lower end of each adsorption nozzle,

the driving section moves one of the suction nozzles in the vertical direction between a predetermined standby position in the vertical direction and a predetermined suction position located below the predetermined standby position.

4. The work removing apparatus according to claim 3,

a plurality of the adsorption nozzles are respectively provided with a magnet,

the nozzle head has a magnetic member that attracts the magnet,

the magnetic member is disposed at a position where the magnets of the plurality of adsorption nozzles at the predetermined standby position are adsorbed to the magnetic member.

5. The work removing apparatus according to claim 3,

the plurality of adsorption nozzles are respectively provided with a hook portion protruding in a radial direction orthogonal to the rotation axis,

the nozzle head has a suspension member configured to be coaxial with the rotation axis and having a partial ring shape extending over an entire circumference except for a portion corresponding to the predetermined use position,

the suspension member is disposed at a position where the hook portion of the suction nozzle other than the suction nozzle at the predetermined standby position is hooked on an upper surface of the suspension member.

6. The workpiece takeout apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5,

each of the adsorption nozzles is provided with a first engaging portion protruding outward in a radial direction orthogonal to the rotation axis,

the drive unit includes: a second engaging portion that engages with the first engaging portion of one of the adsorption nozzles at the predetermined use position in two vertical directions; and a linear motion mechanism for moving the second engaging portion in the vertical direction,

the first engaging portion is engaged with the second engaging portion by a movement of the first engaging portion in the circumferential direction around the rotation axis by the rotation of the rotating body.

7. The workpiece takeout apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the adsorption nozzle is provided with an air suction port arranged on the adsorption part and a connecting port communicated with the air suction port,

the work removing apparatus includes an air connection portion connected to the connection port of the one of the suction nozzles disposed at the predetermined suction position, and applies a negative pressure to the connection port through the air connection portion.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a workpiece take-out apparatus.

Background

Conventionally, there is known a device for holding a member by attracting it by a magnetic force or a negative pressure (see, for example, patent documents 1 and 2). The device of patent document 1 has a plurality of types of suction nozzles, and the suction nozzles for holding the component can be selected according to the shape, size, and the like of the component.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2006-261325

Patent document 2: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 11-114864

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In patent document 1, a drive unit is provided for each of the adsorption nozzles in order to lower and raise the plurality of adsorption nozzles. That is, since the same number of driving units as the number of the adsorption nozzles are provided, the apparatus is large and heavy.

Means for solving the problems

One aspect of the present application is a workpiece removing device including: a nozzle head having: a plurality of adsorption nozzles each having an adsorption portion that adsorbs a workpiece; a frame body mounted to a conveying device; and a support portion that supports the plurality of suction nozzles and is movably supported by the housing, wherein the nozzle head selectively arranges the plurality of suction nozzles at predetermined use positions by moving the support portion relative to the housing; and a driving unit that moves one of the suction nozzles disposed at the predetermined use position with respect to the housing and moves the one suction nozzle to a predetermined suction position where the workpiece is sucked by the suction unit.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a side view showing the overall configuration of a workpiece takeout apparatus according to one embodiment, and is a diagram showing a state in which all the suction nozzles are arranged at a standby position.

Fig. 2 is a side view showing the overall configuration of the workpiece takeout apparatus according to one embodiment, and is a view showing a state in which the suction nozzle at the use position is arranged at the suction position.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the adsorption nozzle.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the rotator (resolver).

Fig. 5 is a side view showing the overall structure of a workpiece takeout apparatus according to another embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a suspension member of the workpiece takeout apparatus of fig. 5.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a workpiece pickup apparatus 1 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

The workpiece pickup apparatus 1 picks up one workpiece from a plurality of workpieces arranged at predetermined pickup positions, and conveys the picked-up workpiece to a predetermined conveying position. The work takeout apparatus 1 is attached to the conveying apparatus and is moved between a takeout position and a conveying position by the conveying apparatus.

In the present embodiment, the transport device is an industrial robot having a robot arm, and the workpiece pickup device 1 is a suction type robot hand device connected to a tip of the robot arm. The industrial robot is, for example, a vertical articulated robot, a horizontal articulated robot, or a parallel link robot. The transport device may be any industrial machine other than an industrial robot.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the work removing apparatus 1 includes: a nozzle head 3 having a plurality of adsorption nozzles 2; a drive unit 4 that moves one adsorption nozzle 2 at a predetermined use position; a frame 5 for supporting the nozzle head 3 and the driving section 4; an Automatic Tool Changer (ATC)6 for attaching the frame 5 to the tip of the robot arm; and an air connection portion 7 for supplying a negative pressure to the adsorption nozzle 2 at the use position.

The workpiece pickup device 1 is connected to a robot control device that controls the operation of the robot arm, and is controlled by the robot control device so that the later-described operations of the nozzle head 3 and the drive unit 4 are synchronized with the operation of the robot arm.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, one adsorption nozzle 2 in the use position is moved in the vertical direction. Fig. 1 shows a state in which all the suction nozzles 2 are arranged at predetermined standby positions, and fig. 2 shows a state in which one suction nozzle at a use position is arranged at a predetermined suction position below the predetermined standby position. The standby position is a predetermined position in the vertical direction where the adsorption nozzle 2 is positioned between the upper plate 5a and the lower plate 5b of the frame 5. The suction position is a position where the suction nozzle 2 protrudes downward of the housing 5.

The frame 5 is C-shaped or U-shaped in a side view viewed in the horizontal direction, and has an upper plate 5a and a lower plate 5b arranged at a distance from each other in the vertical direction, and a side plate 5C connected to the upper plate 5a and the lower plate 5 b. The nozzle head 3 and the driving section 4 are disposed between the upper plate 5a and the lower plate 5b, and the ATC6 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper plate 5 a.

The nozzle head 3 includes: a rotating body (supporting portion) 8 that supports the plurality of adsorption nozzles 2 in the vertical direction; a rotation driving unit 9 that rotates the rotating body 8 about a rotation axis a in the vertical direction; and a magnetic member 10 for mounting the plurality of adsorption nozzles 2 supported by the rotating body 8 by magnetic force in a suspended manner.

As shown in fig. 3, the adsorption nozzle 2 includes: a circular tube-shaped tube 2a, an adsorption part 2b connected to the lower end of the tube 2a, an engagement part (first engagement part) 2c provided at the upper end of the tube 2a, and an air connection part 2 d.

The tube 2a may be made of a non-magnetic material such as aluminum or resin in order to prevent magnetization of the workpiece.

An air inlet 2e is opened in a lower end surface of the suction portion 2b, and the work is sucked to the suction portion 2b by a negative pressure supplied to the air inlet 2 e. The sizes and shapes of the suction portions 2b of the plurality of suction nozzles 2 are different from each other. For example, in fig. 1 and 2, the plurality of suction portions 2b are formed as: the outer diameter of the suction portion 2b and the diameter of the suction port 2e are different from each other. As will be described later, the suction portion 2b to be used is selected according to the type of the work to be sucked. For example, in the case of a screw having a small diameter, the suction portion 2b having a small suction port 2e is selected, and in the case of a screw having a large diameter, the suction portion 2b having a large suction port 2e is selected.

The engaging portion 2c and the air connecting portion 2d are provided radially outside the tube portion 2a and on the same side of the tube portion 2 a.

The engaging portion 2c is a concave portion that is recessed in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the tube portion 2a toward the longitudinal axis, and is disposed above the air connecting portion 2 d. For example, an engagement portion 2c is formed between the air connection portion 2d and a plate-like member 2f provided above the air connection portion 2 d.

A connection port 2g is opened on the lower surface of the air connection portion 2d, and the connection port 2g communicates with the air inlet 2e via the air connection portion 2d, the pipe portion 2a, and the inside of the adsorption portion 2 b.

A magnet 2h attracted to the magnetic member 10 is provided at the base end of the attraction nozzle 2.

As shown in fig. 4, the rotating body 8 is a columnar member disposed in the vertical direction, and is supported by the housing 5 so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis a via a shaft 11. The rotation axis a coincides with the central axis of the rotary body 8. Specifically, the shaft 11 penetrates the rotating body 8 along the rotation axis a, the lower end portion of the shaft 11 is rotatably supported by the lower plate 5b of the housing 5 about the rotation axis a, and the upper end portion of the shaft 11 is connected to the rotation driving portion 9 fixed to the housing 5. Reference numeral 8b is a center hole through which the shaft 11 passes.

The rotating body 8 has a plurality of grooves 8a, and the plurality of grooves 8a penetrate the rotating body 8 in a direction parallel to the rotation axis a and accommodate the tube portions 2a of the plurality of adsorption nozzles 2. In the drawing referred to, the rotary body 8 has eight grooves 8a and supports eight adsorption nozzles 2. The plurality of adsorption nozzles 2 are supported by a plurality of grooves 8a arranged in the circumferential direction around the rotation axis a, and are arranged in parallel with each other.

The plurality of grooves 8a are provided in the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body 8, and an opening is provided in the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 8, and the engaging portion 2c and the air connecting portion 2d are disposed outside the grooves 8 a. Thereby, the adsorption nozzle 2 is supported by the groove 8a so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The engaging portion 2c and the air connecting portion 2d are disposed so as to protrude outward in the horizontal direction from the tube portion 2a and the rotating body 8.

The rotation driving unit 9 is, for example, a Rotary actuator (Rotary actuator). The rotation driving unit 9 rotates the shaft 11 about the rotation axis a, thereby rotating the rotating body 8 about the rotation axis a with respect to the housing 5. By the rotation of the rotating body 8, the plurality of grooves 8a and the plurality of adsorption nozzles 2 supported by the plurality of grooves 8a are rotated around the rotation axis a, and the plurality of adsorption nozzles 2 are selectively arranged at predetermined use positions. That is, the predetermined use position is a position on a circumference around the rotation axis a. In fig. 1 and 2, the position of the adsorption nozzle 2 on the left side is a predetermined use position.

The magnetic member 10 is a plate-shaped member horizontally disposed above the rotor 8 and fixed to the housing 5, and is made of a magnetic metal such as iron. The magnetic member 10 is disposed at a position where the magnets 2h of the plurality of adsorption nozzles 2 at a predetermined standby position are adsorbed to the magnetic member 10. The adsorption nozzle 2 in the groove 8a is suspended by the magnetic attraction force between the magnet 2h and the magnetic member 10, and the adsorption nozzle 2 is held in the standby position against its own weight. In order to maintain the attraction between each magnet 2h and the magnetic member 10 during the rotation of the rotary body 8, the magnetic member 10 is arranged over the entire circumference around the rotation axis a.

The driving unit 4 moves one of the suction nozzles 2 disposed at a predetermined use position in a vertical direction with respect to the housing 5, and moves the one suction nozzle 2 up and down between the standby position and the suction position.

Specifically, the driving section 4 has an air cylinder (linear motion mechanism) having a rod portion 4a extending in the vertical direction and a cylinder main body 4b moving along the rod portion 4 a. Both ends of the rod portion 4a are fixed to the upper plate 5a and the lower plate 5 b. The cylinder body 4b is connected to an air source (not shown) and is lowered from a predetermined upper position (see fig. 1) to a predetermined lower position (see fig. 2) by air supplied from the air source. Further, the cylinder body 4b is lifted from the lower position to the upper position by the discharge of the air.

The driving unit 4 has an engagement portion (second engagement portion) 4c, and the engagement portion 4c is fixed to the cylinder body 4b and is engageable with the engagement portion 2 c. The engaging portion 4c is in the form of a cantilever plate that protrudes horizontally from the cylinder body 4b toward the nozzle head 3. By engaging the engaging portion 4c with the engaging portion 2c formed by the concave portion, the engaging portion 4c and the engaging portion 2c are engaged in both the vertical direction, and thereby the cylinder main body 4b is connected to one of the adsorption nozzles 2 at the use position so as to be movable integrally with the adsorption nozzle 2 in both the vertical direction and the vertical direction.

Here, the engaging portion 2c is provided with openings on both sides in the circumferential direction around the rotation axis a, and the engaging portion 2c is engaged with the engaging portion 4c by the rotational movement of the engaging portion 2c in the circumferential direction by the rotation of the rotating body 8.

By lowering the cylinder body 4b from the upper position to the lower position, the magnet 2h of the suction nozzle 2 in the use position is separated from the magnetic member 10, and the suction nozzle 2 in the use position is lowered from the standby position to the suction position. In order to allow the suction nozzle 2 at the use position to move between the standby position and the suction position, a hole 5d through which the suction nozzle 2 at the use position passes is formed in the lower plate 5 b. In order to stabilize the posture of the adsorption nozzle 2 at the adsorption position, the adsorption nozzle 2 at the adsorption position is preferably supported at two locations by the inner surface of the lower end portion of the groove 8a and the inner surface of the hole 5 d.

Further, the suction nozzle 2 in the use position is raised from the suction position to the standby position by raising the cylinder body 4b from the lower position to the upper position.

The air connection portion 7 is fixed to the upper surface of the lower plate 5b and is disposed between the suction nozzle 2 and the driving portion 4 at the use position. A connection port 7a is opened on the upper surface of the air connection portion 7, and the connection port 7a is connected to a connection port 2g of the suction nozzle 2 disposed at the suction position. The air connection portion 7 is connected to a negative pressure source (not shown) such as a vacuum pump via a pipe 12, and negative pressure generated by the negative pressure source is applied to the connection port 2g via the pipe 12, the air connection portion 7, and the connection port 7a, and further applied to the air inlet port 2e from the connection port 2 g.

Next, the operation of the work removing apparatus 1 will be explained.

The workpiece pickup apparatus 1 is connected to the tip of the robot arm in the ATC6, and is moved between a pickup position and a transport position by the operation of the robot arm. The removal position is provided with, for example, a plurality of workpieces that are scattered in a box.

First, the suction nozzle 2 having the suction portion 2b corresponding to the type of the workpiece is selected, and the selected suction nozzle 2 is arranged at the use position by the rotation of the rotating body 8. At this time, the engagement portion 2c of the selected suction nozzle 2 is engaged with the engagement portion 4c by the rotational movement of the selected suction nozzle 2 to the use position, and the selected suction nozzle 2 is coupled to the cylinder main body 4 b.

Next, the workpiece pickup apparatus 1 is positioned at the pickup position by the operation of the robot arm.

Next, the suction nozzle 2 in the use position is lowered from the standby position to the suction position by lowering the cylinder body 4b, the suction portion 2b is disposed near the workpiece, and the air connection portion 2d is connected to the air connection portion 7.

Next, a negative pressure is applied from the negative pressure source to the air connection portion 7 through the pipe 12, and further, a negative pressure is applied from the air connection portion 7 to the air inlet 2e through the air connection portion 2 d. Thereby, one workpiece near the suction port 2e is sucked by the suction portion 2b, and one workpiece is held by the suction nozzle 2 at the suction position.

Next, the workpiece pickup apparatus 1 is moved from the pickup position to the transport position by the operation of the robot arm. At the conveyance position, the application of negative pressure to the air connection portion 7 is stopped, the suction of one workpiece is released, and the released one workpiece is placed on the conveyance position.

Next, the workpiece takeout apparatus 1 is moved from the conveyance position to the takeout position by the operation of the robot arm, and is positioned at the takeout position. The same operation is repeated below.

When the type of the work to be conveyed is changed, the suction nozzle 2 for sucking the work is changed. Specifically, the suction nozzle 2 located at the use position is raised from the suction position to the standby position by raising the cylinder body 4 b. By attracting the magnet 2h to the magnetic member 10, the attracting nozzle 2 at the use position is hung and mounted, and the attracting nozzle 2 at the use position is held at the standby position. Subsequently, the newly selected suction nozzle 2 is arranged at the use position by the rotation of the rotating body 8.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the plurality of suction nozzles 2 having the suction portions 2b different from each other are supported by the rotating body 8, and the suction portions 2b for sucking the workpiece can be changed by the rotation of the rotating body 8. Therefore, a plurality of types of workpieces can be held and conveyed by one workpiece pickup device 1, and there is no need to prepare a workpiece pickup device as a robot device for each type of workpiece.

Further, the suction nozzle 2 for sucking the workpiece can be changed by a simple mechanism for rotating the rotary body 8.

The plurality of suction nozzles 2 are selectively arranged at the use position, and the driving unit 4 is configured to move the suction nozzles 2 at the use position up and down. Therefore, only one driving unit 4 is required regardless of the number of the adsorption nozzles 2. That is, even if the number of the suction nozzles 2 is increased to cope with a wider variety of workpieces, only one driving unit 4 is required, and thus an increase in size and weight of the workpiece takeout apparatus 1 can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to realize the small-sized and lightweight work extraction device 1 that can be transported by a small-sized and lightweight industrial robot, and it is also possible to prevent an increase in interference between the work extraction device 1 and surrounding objects.

In the above embodiment, the magnet 2h is provided at the upper end of the adsorption nozzle 2, but may be provided at another position of the adsorption nozzle 2 instead. For example, the magnet 2h may be fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the tube portion 2a, and the magnetic member 10 may be fixed to the inner surface of the groove 8 a.

In the above embodiment, the nozzle head 3 has the magnetic member 10 to hold the plurality of suction nozzles 2 at the standby position against their own weight, but instead, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, a suspension member 13 having a substantially C-shape fixed to the housing 5 may be provided. The suspension member 13 is, for example, a flat plate-like member.

The suspension member 13 is disposed coaxially with the rotation axis a around the rotating body 8, and has a partial ring shape extending over the entire circumference except for a portion corresponding to the use position. Each adsorption nozzle 2 is provided with a hook portion that protrudes further outward in the horizontal direction than the pipe portion 2a and the rotating body 8 and hooks on the upper surface of the suspension member 13. For example, the hook portion is a cantilever plate-like member 2f disposed on the engaging portion 2 c. The suspension member 13 is disposed near the upper end of the rotating body 8, and the hook portions 2f of the other suction nozzles 2 in the standby position, except for one suction nozzle 2 in the use position, are hooked on the upper surface of the suspension member 13. Thereby, the other adsorption nozzles 2 are suspended and held at the standby position.

When the cylinder body 4b is disposed at the upper position, the engaging portion 4c is disposed at the opening portion 13a of the portion corresponding to the use position of the suspension member 13. The suction nozzle 2 at the use position is suspended and attached by hooking the hook 2f on the upper surface of the engagement portion 4 c.

During the rotation of the rotating body 8, the hook portion 2f is maintained in engagement with the suspension member 13 at a position other than the use position. In the use position, the hook portion 2f is released from the hook engagement with the suspension member 13, and instead, the hook portion 2f is hooked to the engagement portion 4 c.

In the above embodiment, the plurality of adsorption nozzles 2 are selectively arranged at the use positions by the rotation of the support portion 8, but alternatively, the plurality of adsorption nozzles 2 may be selectively arranged at the use positions by the movement of the support portion other than the rotation.

For example, the support portion may support the plurality of adsorption nozzles 2 in a row in the horizontal direction, or the plurality of adsorption nozzles 2 may be selectively arranged at the use position by linear movement of the support portion in the horizontal direction.

In the above embodiment, the driving unit 4 has the cylinder as the linear motion mechanism, but may have another type of linear motion mechanism such as an electric cylinder instead.

In the above embodiment, the suction nozzle 2 sucks the workpiece by the negative pressure, but alternatively, the workpiece may be sucked by the magnetic force. In this case, a magnet may be provided on the lower surface of the suction portion 2 b.

Description of the reference numerals

1: workpiece taking-out device

2: adsorption nozzle

2 a: pipe section

2 b: suction part

2 c: a first engaging part

2 e: air suction inlet

2 f: hook part

2 g: connecting port

2 h: magnet body

3: nozzle head

4: driving part

4 a: rod part, cylinder and direct-acting mechanism

4 b: cylinder main body, cylinder, direct acting mechanism

4 c: second engaging part

5: frame body

7: air connection

8: rotating body (supporting part)

8 a: trough

10: magnetic member

13: suspension member

A: axis of rotation