JP-7856289-B2 - Picking device

Inventors

• 石川 真也
• 野村 弘行

Assignees

• 株式会社アールティ

Dates

Publication Date

20260511

Application Date

20220214

Claims (6)

1. Imaging device and A robot that picks the workpiece from a container holding the workpiece and transports it to a predetermined destination, A user interface for inputting and outputting information with the user, A control device that receives operations from the user via the user interface, identifies the container and the destination based on the image captured by the imaging device, and controls the operation of the robot, A picking device equipped with, The control device superimposes a guide indicating the position, size, and orientation of the container, as captured from the position where the picking device should be placed, onto the image captured by the imaging device, and displays this guide on the user interface in a manner visible to the user , thereby enabling the user to align the robot by moving it so that the container and the guide in the image overlap while viewing the display .
2. The picking device according to claim 1, wherein the guide is a figure representing the outer shape of the container and is dynamically generated based on the position, size, and orientation of the container.
3. The picking device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control device causes the user interface to display the guide stored in the storage device in association with the type of container, according to the type of container input via the user interface.
4. Imaging device and A robot that picks the workpiece from a container holding the workpiece and transports it to a predetermined destination, A user interface for inputting and outputting information with the user, A control device that receives operations from the user via the user interface, identifies the container and the destination based on the image captured by the imaging device, and controls the operation of the robot, A picking device equipped with, The control device superimposes a guide indicating the position of the container as captured from the position where the picking device should be placed onto an image captured by the imaging device, the guide stored in a storage device in correspondence with the type of container input via the user interface, and displays it on the user interface so that it is visible to the user , thereby enabling the user to move the robot so that the container and the guide in the image overlap while viewing the display and align the robot.
5. A means for moving the robot, A stopper for restricting the movement of the robot, A picking device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising the above.
6. The picking device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the workpiece is food and the container is a food box.

Description

This invention relates to a picking device. Conventionally, production systems have been proposed in which the coupling mechanism includes positioning means between adjacent units (for example, Patent Document 1). Furthermore, bonding devices have been proposed that display a guide image, which indicates the position of components relative to the display area of the display unit using a frame, by combining it with an image captured by the imaging unit (for example, Patent Document 2). Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-089039Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-210948 Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a picking device.Figure 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a picking device.Figure 3 is a side view showing an example of the picking device in use.Figure 4 is a process flow diagram showing an example of the alignment process performed by a picking device.Figure 5 shows an example of information regarding the arrangement of the first container.Figure 6 shows an example of a guide displayed on a monitor. <Embodiment 1> Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. <Device configuration> Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the picking device 100. Figure 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the picking device 100. Figure 3 is a schematic side view showing an example of the picking device in use. The picking device 100 can be used in kitchens such as central kitchens and in production lines of food processing plants. For example, the picking device 100 picks up food items such as fried chicken that are loosely packed in a first container such as a food box 4 (Figure 3) and places them in a second container such as a bento box 31 (Figure 3) that is transported by a conveying device such as a belt conveyor 3 (Figure 3). The picking device 100 also displays a guide to the user indicating the position where the device should be placed. The position where the picking device 100 should be placed is determined relative to the first or second container based on its range of motion, etc. As shown in Figure 1, the picking device 100 comprises a robot 1 and a trolley 2 on which the robot 1 is fixed. The robot 1 includes robot arms 11 (11A, 11B), end effectors 12 (12A, 12B), and imaging devices 13 (13A, 13B). The trolley 2 includes a user interface (UI) 21, casters 22, and a handle 23, and contains a control device 24 (Figure 2) within its housing for controlling the operation of the picking device 100. The UI 21 also includes buttons 211, a monitor 212, and a speaker 213. As shown in Figure 3, the trolley 2 may also be equipped with a fixing device (stopper) 25 on its bottom surface for securing it to its installation location. <Robots> Robot 1 is a multi-joint robot that mimics the upper body of a human, equipped with, for example, robot arms 11 having seven degrees of freedom on both arms. Robot 1 is also equipped with motors in its torso, allowing it to twist. The robot arms 11 are so-called vertical multi-joint robots, and are equipped with alternating links, which are skeletal members that displace as a whole, and joints that connect the links and displace the angles between them. Note that the multi-joint robot shown in Figure 1 is an example of Robot 1 according to the present invention, and Robot 1 may be equipped with three or more robot arms. Furthermore, at least some of the robot arms equipped in Robot 1 do not have to be vertical multi-joint robots. That is, Robot 1 may be a system that includes known robots such as horizontal multi-joint robots, Cartesian robots, parallel link robots, etc. Furthermore, the materials used for the links and other components of Robot 1 are not particularly limited; resin, metal, carbon, etc., can be used. The molding method is also not particularly limited; it may be manufactured by plastic deformation or injection molding, or it may be fabricated using a 3D printer. The robot arm 11 is equipped with an end effector 12 at its tip, which includes an arbitrary mechanism. The end effector 12 shown in Figure 1 is a two-fingered gripper that detachably holds a pair of tongs, with the pivot point cut off. The end effector 12 may also mimic other cooking utensils such as a ladle or serving spoon. Furthermore, it may be a multi-fingered gripper with three or more fingers, a multi-fingered gripper with rotating fingers, fingers that perform linear motion, fingers with some of them fixed, a gripper using a parallel link mechanism, a sub-driven hand, a tendon-driven hand, or a gripper with suction (vacuum) action. The robot arm 11 incorporates servo motors in its joints and is connected via signal lines to a control device 24 that controls the rotation angle of the servo motors. The end effector 12 also has a servo motor and is electrically connec