JPH03281187A - Work position detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect the position of a work in a state that the work is positioned in a three-dimensional position by providing a first position detecting sensor to detect the position in a longitudinal direction of the work, a second position detecting sensor to detect the position in a vertical direction of the work, and a distance sensor to detect a distance between a handling device and the work. CONSTITUTION:The position in the longitudinal direction of a work is detected by a first position detecting sensor 12, and the position in the vertical direction of the work is detected by a second position detecting sensor 13. Further, the distance between a handling device and the work is detected by a distance detecting sensor 15. According to the presence of detection of the work by means of the detecting sensors 12, 13, and 15, the handling device is driven and controlled to detect a handling position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a workpiece position detection device, and more particularly to a workpiece position detection device suitably used in material handling equipment such as a robot that handles a workpiece in an FA system.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional workpiece position detection device used in a robot in a palletizing system, which is one type of material handling equipment, will be described as an example. The workpiece position detection device (1o) used in the conventional robot is as shown in Fig. 12.
It is attached to the grip grip (2o) via the attachment member (30), and after detecting the position of the workpiece to be gripped, such as a resin case (parts box, packaging box for beverage bottles, etc.), the workpiece is gripped. It was configured to be grasped by a grip (20).

To further explain the conventional workpiece position detection device (1o) with reference to FIG. 12, the workpiece position detection device (lO) detects the position of the workpiece by operating in the same direction as shown by the arrow in the figure. It is equipped with a position detection sensor (11), a drive device (12) consisting of a pulse motor etc. that scans the position detection sensor (11), and a cover (13) that covers the position detection device (11). The position of the workpiece was detected by switching the signal from OFF to ON (or from ON to OFF) while the sensor (11) was scanning. Examples of such palletizing systems include Japanese Patent Application No. 1-237892, the catalog r PALLTTZERJ of Reiyo Kogyo (2) and Okura Yusoki (2).

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, the conventional workpiece position detection device (1o)
As mentioned above, since the position detection sensor (11) scans only in the same direction, it can only detect the position of the workpiece in one dimension, and the workpiece is in the X direction.

It has not been possible to deal with cases where the position is shifted in three directions (three-dimensional directions): the X direction and the X direction.

Further, the conventional workpiece position detection device (10) is attached to the grip (2) via the attachment member (3), and detects the workpiece by scanning the position detection sensor (11) itself. Therefore, it is mechanically complex and is a large-scale accessory device for the grip (2). X direction to detect the three-dimensional position based on the
Even if an attempt was made to install directional position detection sensors, the scanning directions of each detection sensor would intersect, so it was unavoidable to only detect in one direction.

The present invention was made to solve the above problems, and
It is an object of the present invention to provide a workpiece position detection device that can detect the position of a workpiece as a three-dimensional position with a compact mechanism.

[Means to solve the problem]

The workpiece position detection device of the present invention is a workpiece position detection device that is disposed in a device that handles a workpiece and detects the position of the workpiece as a three-dimensional position, and is a workpiece position detection device that detects the position of the workpiece in the front and back direction. A first position detection sensor, a second position detection sensor that detects the vertical position of the workpiece, and a distance detection sensor that detects the distance between the handling device and the workpiece, and each of the detection sensors detects the workpiece. The handling device is configured to be driven and controlled to detect the handling position depending on the presence or absence of the handling device.

(Operation) According to the present invention, the first position detection sensor, the second position detection sensor, and the distance detection sensor can detect the handling position of the workpiece while driving and controlling the handling device according to the position of the workpiece.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 12, with the same or corresponding parts as those in the conventional art being designated by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the workpiece position detection device (10) of this embodiment has a workpiece (resin case) shown in FIG.
A pair of gripping holes (41) formed on both sides of the resin case (40) are arranged in the gripping grip (20) of the palletizing robot that palletizes (40).
Position the grip (20) on the resin case (
40).

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the workpiece position detection device (10) of this embodiment is disposed on both sides of the grip (20), and is located in the front-rear direction (X direction) of the resin case (40). A pair of first position detection sensors (X position detection sensors) (11) and (12) that detect
A second position detection sensor (Z position detection sensor) (13) that detects the vertical (X direction) position of 0) is arranged below the grip (40) at a predetermined interval in the X direction. and the above-mentioned grip (20) and resin case (40).
) a pair of distance detection sensors (14) that detect the distance from the
(15), transmits ON and OFF signals indicating the presence or absence of detection by each of the detection sensors to the robot controller (not shown) to control the handling position of the resin case (40), that is, the gripping hole (41). It is configured to drive and control the grip (20) via the controller until the detection is detected.

That is, the X position detection sensors (11) and (12) detect the positional deviation of the grip hole (41) of the resin case (40), and as shown in FIG. When the detection sensor (11) is in the OFF state at the position of the gripping hole (41) and the right X position detection sensor (12) is in the ON state at a position shifted from the gripping hole (41), the gripping grip (20) is scanned in the direction of the arrow (leftward) in the same figure, and the position of the grip (4o) shown in FIG. It is configured to detect the positional deviation of the resin case (40) in the X direction by inputting the value to the controller. Conversely, as shown in FIG. 5(c), when the left X position detection sensor (11) is in the ON state and the right X position detection sensor (12) is in the OFF state, the The controller manually moves the grip grip (20) to the right by scanning the grip grip (20) to the right, and the position of the grip grip (4o) shown in figure fd), where the X position detection sensor (11) on the left side has changed from the ON state to the OFF state, is manually input to the controller. Accordingly, the positional shift of the resin case (40) is detected in the same manner as described above.

Further, the Z position detection sensor (13) is mounted in a resin case (
40) in the X direction, as shown in Figure 6 (
As shown in a), the beam (13A) is located above the resin case (40) and passes over the resin case (40).
When in the F state, the signal is sent to the controller and the grip (20) is scanned downward until it reaches the upper end of the resin case (40) as shown in FIG.
A) is configured to input the position where the signal changes to the ON state where the resin case (4o) is irradiated as an X coordinate value to the controller and detect the positional deviation of the resin case (4o) in the X direction. There is.

Further, the distance detection sensors (14) and (15) are
As shown in Fig. 7, it detects the positional deviation of the resin case (4o) in the Y direction, and the
5A) to the resin case (40), and each distance detection sensor (14), (15
) and the resin case (40), the distance 11t (Ll),
(L2) is detected, and if L and L2 are not equal, the degree of inclination of the resin case (4o) with respect to the grip (20) is detected.

Next, the operation of the workpiece position detection device (1o) of this embodiment will be explained based on FIGS. 8 and 9.

When the workpiece position detection device (10) starts detection, first, if the Z position detection sensor (13) is in the OFF state, the grip (2o) is scanned downward via the robot controller, and the resin case (4o) is Detects the top edge and turns on
When the state is reached, the two coordinate values are read (step 101).

Next, the resin case (A0) is scanned so that the grip (20) is at a predetermined position using the detection positions in two directions (step 102), and furthermore, the distance detection sensor (14),
(15) to detect the distance between the grip (20) and the resin case (40), and also detect the distance between the grip (20) and the resin case (40).
Step 103), based on this detected value, adjust the grip grip (20) so that it is at a predetermined distance and inclination relative to the resin case (40).
20) is scanned (step 104). Through this series of operations, the grip (20) is moved to the resin case (
If there is a deviation only in the X direction with respect to the grip hole (41) of 40), the position in the X direction is detected by the X position detection sensors (11) and (12). That is, the X position detection sensor (o
), (12) operate, and the left X position detection sensor (1
1) is in the OFF state or not. Step 20
1) When the X position detection sensor (11) is in the OFF state as shown in FIG. Then, return the grip (20) in the opposite direction (to the right), read the X coordinate value when it is turned off again (step 2o3), detect the position of the grip hole (41) in the resin case (40), The series of detection operations ends (step 2o4).

Furthermore, if the left X position detection sensor (11) is in the ON state as shown in FIG. 5(b) in step 201, it is determined whether the right X position detection sensor (12) is in the OFF state or not. ), O shown in Figure 5(C)
When in the FF state, the gripping grip (2o) is scanned in the direction in which the right side X position detection sensor (12) is turned on, that is, in the right direction (step 206), and when it is in the ON state, the gripping grip (2o) is gripped in the opposite direction (leftward). Return the grip (2o) and press O again.
Read the X coordinate value when it becomes FF (step 207
), the position of the gripping hole (41) of the resin case (40) is detected, and the series of detection operations is completed. Note that if the right X position detection sensor (12) is in the ON state in step 205, both sensors (11) and (12) are in the ON state and an error is displayed.

As explained above, the workpiece position detection device (1
0) is an X position detection sensor (n), (t2), a Z position detection sensor (13), a distance detection sensor (14), (
15) can detect the three-dimensional position of the resin case (40) while scanning the grip (20) via the robot controller in accordance with the presence or absence of each detection signal. In addition, the workpiece position detection device (10
) is extremely compact since the detection sensors (11) to (15) are all fixed, so the scanning space of the sensor itself is not required.

Incidentally, when the workpiece position detection device (10) of the above embodiment is attached to a robot hand, it becomes as shown in FIG. 10. In this robot, the workpiece position detection device (10) is connected to the hand (
50) and shows a state in which a resin case (40) in which bottles are housed on a pallet (60) is palletized. (70) is a flange.

Moreover, FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of the workpiece position detection device of the present invention.
0) is the same as above except that in addition to the X position detection sensors (11) and (12), two pairs of X position detection sensors (16), (17), (18), and (19) are provided. It is configured similarly to the example. In this way, the X position detection sensor (16), (zy) and (18), (1!+)
By adding the gripping hole (
41) have different sizes, or the gripping hole (41)
It is possible to deal with cases where there are multiple numbers.

The present invention can be applied not only to the resin case (40) but also to various other workpieces in addition to metal cases, and can also be applied to all material handling equipment other than robots for palletizing workpieces, and can be applied to all material handling equipment such as robots for palletizing workpieces. The examples are not limited in any way.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a workpiece position detection device that can detect the position of a workpiece as a three-dimensional position with a compact mechanism.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the workpiece position detection device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a front view of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the workpiece. Figure 5(a),
(b), (C), and (d) are explanatory diagrams showing the process of positioning the workpiece in the longitudinal direction by the first position detection sensor of the workpiece position detection device shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 6(a) and (b), respectively. ) are explanatory diagrams showing the vertical positioning process of the workpiece by the second device detection sensor of the workpiece position detection device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 and 9 are flowcharts showing the process of detecting the three-dimensional position of the workpiece by the workpiece position detection device shown in FIG. 1, respectively.
FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway side view showing a state where a workpiece is gripped by the hand of a robot to which the workpiece position detection device shown in FIG. 1 is applied, and FIG. 11 is a side view showing another workpiece position detection device of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a front view showing an embodiment, and a perspective view showing a conventional workpiece position detection device. In each figure, (10) is a workpiece position detection device, and (11) is a workpiece position detection device. (12), (16) to (19) are X position detection sensors (first position detection sensors), (13) are Z position detection sensors (second position detection sensors), (14), (15)
is a distance detection sensor, and (20) is a grip. In each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts as JP-A-3-281187 (5) 5 Fig. 1 FF N FF FF 1 Fig. 1 Fig. 11 Fig. JP-A-3-281187 (8) 2 figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] A workpiece position detection device disposed in a device that handles a workpiece and detecting the position of the workpiece as a three-dimensional position, the first device detecting the position of the workpiece in the front-rear direction.
A position detection sensor, a second position detection sensor that detects the vertical position of the workpiece, and a distance detection sensor that detects the distance between the handling device and the workpiece, and detects whether or not each of the detection sensors detects the workpiece. A workpiece position detection device characterized in that the handling device is drive-controlled to detect a handling position in accordance with the above.