JP2020029281A - Food packaging apparatus and method of operation - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent work efficiency from deteriorating even if an abnormality occurs in an arrangement state of foods in work for boxing foods.SOLUTION: The food boxing device is a device that boxes foods 40 into a container 41 whose upper surface is opened. A control device controls operation of a hand part 18 and a moving part so that conveying operation of moving the foods 40 held by the hand part 18 up to a prescribed height above the container 41, lowering operation of lowering the foods held by the hand part 18 from the prescribed height down to a bottom part 41a of the container 41 and releasing operation of releasing the foods 40 held by the hand part 18 at a prescribed position in the container 41 are executed. An abnormality detecting part detects whether or not bottom parts of the foods 40 held by the hand part 18 land on the bottom part 41a of the container 41 in the lowering operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a food packaging device and an operation method thereof.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a device for packing foods in a container such as a tray is known. Patent Literature 1 discloses a food boxing device that lifts a plurality of foods (rice balls) upward through an adsorption unit, moves the lifted foods to a predetermined boxing position, releases suction, and packs the boxes into boxes. It has been disclosed.

JP 2011-251702 A

  However, in the related art of Patent Document 1, since a plurality of foods are dropped from a predetermined height, the foods that have landed on the bottom surface of the box may fall over. In addition, there may be unintended items other than food in the container. As described above, if the state in which an abnormality occurs in the arrangement state of the food is left as it is, the work efficiency is reduced.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and has as its object to prevent a reduction in work efficiency even when an abnormality occurs in the arrangement state of food items in a food boxing operation.

  In order to achieve the above object, a food boxing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a device for boxing food in a container having an open top, and a hand unit configured to hold or release the food. A moving unit configured to move the hand unit, a control device configured to control operations of the hand unit and the moving unit, and detecting an abnormality during operation of the hand unit and the moving unit. Abnormality control unit, the control device is configured to perform a transport operation of moving the food held by the hand unit to a predetermined height above the container, and to control the food held by the hand unit. Performing a lowering operation of lowering the container from the predetermined height to the bottom of the container, and a releasing operation of releasing the food held by the hand unit at a predetermined position in the container. Controlling the operations of the holding unit and the moving unit, and detecting whether the bottom of the food held by the hand unit has landed on the bottom of the container in the lowering operation. It is.

  According to the above configuration, for example, when there is an unintended obstacle at the stuffing position in the container or when the food to be present at another position has fallen, the bottom of the food held by the hand unit is Do not land on the bottom of the container because it comes in contact with obstacles or fallen food. This makes it possible to detect an abnormality in the food boxing operation.

  The hand unit has a pair of grip members configured to grip both sides of the food and an elastic member that can expand and contract in a vertical direction, and a support member configured to support the pair of grip members. And the abnormality detection unit has a force detection unit that detects a force acting on the elastic member from the support member in the descending operation, and based on the force detected by the force detection unit. Alternatively, it may be detected whether or not the bottom of the food held by the pair of gripping members has landed on the bottom of the container.

  According to the above configuration, since the pair of gripping members are supported by the support member having the elastic member, for example, the bottom of the food gripped by the pair of gripping members touches another fallen food or an unintended obstacle. In this case, since the elastic member (for example, a spring) is deformed, the food is not damaged.

  Note that the support member further includes a rigid member, and a first state in which the rigid member supports the pair of gripping members and a second state in which the elastic member supports the pair of gripping members. The support member may be configured to be switchable between the first state and the second state during the transport operation.

  According to the above configuration, in the transport operation, since the pair of gripping members are supported by the rigid member, the elastic force of the elastic member is reduced, and the food is transported in a stable state. On the other hand, in the descending operation, since the pair of gripping members are supported by the elastic member, an obstacle at the bottom of the container can be detected by detecting a force acting on the elastic member from the supporting member.

  The moving unit includes one or more joint axes, a servomotor that drives the joint axes, and a robot arm having a position sensor that detects a position of the servomotor, and the control device responds to a position command. The servomotor is configured to perform feedback control, and the abnormality detection unit is configured such that, in the descending operation, the bottom of the food held by the hand unit lands on the bottom of the container based on a deviation amount in the feedback control. Alternatively, it may be detected whether or not the operation has been performed.

  According to the above configuration, since the abnormality detection function can be incorporated in the feedback control loop, there is no need to provide a special sensor. The abnormality may be detected by monitoring the rate of change of any one of the position deviation, the speed deviation, and the current deviation.

  The control device may reduce a control loop gain in the lowering operation.

  According to the above configuration, in the transport operation, the food held by the hand unit is accurately moved to a predetermined height above the container by the feedback control. On the other hand, in the descending operation, since the control loop gain is decreased, the deviation amount increases, and the abnormality is easily detected. Detection sensitivity can be increased.

An operation method of a food boxing device according to another aspect of the present invention includes a hand unit configured to hold or release food, a moving unit configured to move the hand unit, the hand unit, and the hand unit. A method for operating a food boxing device, comprising: a control device configured to control the operation of a moving unit; and an abnormality detecting unit configured to detect an abnormality during the operation of the hand unit and the moving unit. There is a transport operation for moving the food held by the hand unit to a predetermined height above a container having an open top by the control device, and moving the food held by the hand unit from the predetermined height to the predetermined height. A lowering operation of lowering the container to the bottom, and a release operation of releasing the food held by the hand unit at a predetermined position in the container. And it executes the work,
The abnormality detecting unit detects whether or not the bottom of the food held by the hand unit has landed on the bottom of the container in the lowering operation.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION This invention has the structure demonstrated above and can prevent the fall of work efficiency, even when abnormality occurs in the arrangement | positioning state of foodstuffs in the boxing work of foodstuffs.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a food boxing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the end effector (hand unit). FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the control device of the robot. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the container showing the arrangement order of the food items. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the operation of the robot in the packing operation. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the robot in the packing operation. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the container when an abnormality occurs in the packing operation. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the robot when an abnormality occurs. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a food boxing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the control device.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the same or corresponding elements will be denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings, and redundant description will be omitted. Also, the drawings schematically show respective components for easy understanding.

(1st Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a food boxing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the food boxing device 1 is introduced into, for example, a food manufacturing site. The food packaging apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is configured by a robot 11. The robot 11 of the present embodiment performs an operation of boxing the food 40 into the container 41 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “boxing operation”). The robot 11 is a dual-arm robot including a pair of robot arms (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “arms”) 13 and 13 supported on a base 12. The robot 11 will be described as a horizontal articulated dual-arm robot, but a vertical articulated dual-arm robot can be employed. The robot 11 can be installed in a limited space (for example, 610 mm × 620 mm) corresponding to one person. Hereinafter, the direction in which the pair of arms 13 and 13 are expanded is referred to as the left-right direction, the direction parallel to the axis of the base shaft is referred to as the up-down direction, and the direction orthogonal to the left-right direction and the up-down direction is referred to as the front-back direction.

  Each arm 13 includes an arm unit 15 and a wrist unit 17. Further, the rotation axes of the proximal links constituting the two arms 15, 15 are on the same straight line, and the left arm 13 and the right arm 13 are arranged with a vertical difference. Note that the left and right arms 13, 13 may have substantially the same structure. Each arm 13 has four joints, and a driving servomotor (not shown) and an encoder serving as a position sensor for detecting a rotation angle of the servomotor so as to be associated with each joint. (Not shown) and the like are provided. The left and right arms 13, 13 can operate independently or can operate in relation to each other. An end effector 18 for holding or releasing the food 40 is attached to a tip of each arm 13.

  A transfer device 50 is arranged in front of the robot 11. The transport device 50 is a device for sequentially transporting the food items 40 on the transport path 51 to a position before the robot 11. The transport device 50 extends in the left-right direction. The food 40 is a food product having a certain shape, for example, a rice ball and a sandwich. The food 40 of the present embodiment is a triangular rice ball wrapped with a film. The outer surface of the food 40 is composed of two parallel triangular planes and three rectangular planes provided on three sides surrounding the outer periphery of the triangular plane. Usually, the onigiri wrapped in a film has a film projecting upward so as to be easily opened, but the upper film is not shown here. The food device 40 is sequentially conveyed by the conveying device 50 in an upright state in which two triangular planes face in the vertical direction and one rectangular plane faces down.

  A work table 52 is provided near the left side of the base 12 of the robot 11. The container 41 is arranged on the work table 52. Since the upper surface of the container 41 is open, the robot 11 can pack the food 40 from above. In the present embodiment, the container 41 has a rectangular bottom portion 41a, and has a side portion 41b provided substantially perpendicular to the bottom portion 41a along the edge of the rectangular bottom portion 41a. The container 41 has a space in which forty (5 × 8) foods 40 can be stored. In the present embodiment, the robot 11 holds the four foods 40 transported by the transporting device 50 by the end effector 18 provided at the tip of the arm 13, and as a unit for each of the four foods 40 groups, The operation of arranging 40 at a predetermined position in the container 41 is repeated to perform a box packing operation. In the present embodiment, the robot 11 performs a similar operation with the two arms 13, 13. Here, the plurality of containers 41 are arranged adjacent to each other on the work table 52. The container 41 for which the packing operation has been completed is shipped, for example, by an operator (not shown).

  The robot 11 of the present embodiment is provided with an abnormality detection function for detecting an abnormality during the packing operation in the left and right end effectors 18. The “abnormality during the packing operation” refers to a situation in which an obstacle exists in the area where the food 40 is to be arranged. If the operation of the robot 11 is continued in this situation, the arrangement state of the food items 40 is broken, and the work efficiency is reduced.

  Next, an example of the configuration of the end effector 18 will be described. Since the left and right end effectors 18 have the same configuration, only one of them will be described here. FIG. 2 is a front view and a side view showing the configuration of the end effector (hand unit) 18. As shown in FIG. 2, the end effector 18 is configured to be able to hold or release four foods 40 arranged in a predetermined direction in an upright state. The four foods 40 are held in a state where the triangular planes of the adjacent foods 40 are in contact with each other.

  The end effector 18 includes a base 20 connected to the wrist 17 via a wrist joint 25 that is a rotating joint, a support member 21 attached to the base 20, and a pair of grip members 22 supported by the support member 21. And

  The pair of gripping members 22 are configured to sandwich four foods 40 arranged in a predetermined direction from both sides thereof. The gripping members 22 extend over the side surfaces of the four foods 40 in a predetermined direction. That is, the gripping member 22 has a size that covers a range between the food 40 located at the head of the four foods 40 and the food 40 located at the tail of the four foods 40. The gripping member 22 has a shape corresponding to the inclination of the side surface of the food 40, and has a contact surface 22 a that comes into contact with the food 40. The pair of gripping members 22 have, for example, a rectangular flat plate shape, and have two opposing flat main surfaces. These main surfaces are the contact surfaces 22a that contact both sides of the food 40. The pair of gripping members 22 are arranged in a C shape so that the distance between the gripping members decreases toward the connection portion, and is formed in a chevron shape (inverted V shape) expanding downward. In addition, the pair of gripping members 22 hold the four foods 40 therebetween by reducing the distance between the pair of gripping members 22 by the driving member 23 connected to the base ends of the pair of gripping members 22.

  The support member 21 has an elastic member 21a and a hard member 21b. The elastic member 30 is configured to be able to expand and contract in the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, the elastic member 30 is a spring having one end connected to the base 20 and the other end connected to the support member 21. The rigid member 21b is an elongate member that has an actuator (not shown) inside and is configured to be vertically movable.

  The support member 21 is configured to be switchable between a first state in which the pair of gripping members 22 are supported by the rigid member 21b and a second state in which the pair of gripping members 22 is supported by the elastic member 21a. In the first state, the upper end of the rigid member 21 b is connected to the base 20 by moving upward, and the lower end is connected to the support member 21. On the other hand, in the second state, the upper end of the rigid member 21 b is released from the connection with the base 20 by moving downward, and the lower end is connected to the support member 21. In the second state, the base 20 includes a force detection unit 32 for detecting a force acting on the elastic member 21a from the support member 21 therein. The specific configuration of the force detection unit 32 is not particularly limited as long as the force acting on the spring can be detected.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the control device of the robot 11. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 14 includes a storage unit 140 such as a ROM and a RAM, an arithmetic unit 141 such as a CPU, and a servo control unit 142. The control device 14 is, for example, a robot controller including a computer such as a microcontroller. The control device 14 may be configured by a single control device 14 that performs centralized control, or may be configured by a plurality of control devices 14 that perform distributed control in cooperation with each other. The control device 14 is communicably connected to the force detection unit 32.

  The storage unit 140 stores information such as a basic program as a robot controller and various fixed data. The operation unit 141 controls various operations of the robot 11 by reading and executing software such as a basic program stored in the storage unit 140. That is, the arithmetic unit 141 generates a control command for the robot 11 and outputs this to the servo control unit 142. The servo control unit 142 is configured to control driving of an actuator such as a servo motor corresponding to a joint of each arm 13 of the robot 11 based on a control command generated by the calculation unit 141. The control device 14 also controls the drive of the actuator of the end effector 18. Therefore, the control device 14 controls the operation of the entire robot 11.

  In addition, the calculation unit 141 includes an abnormality detection unit 141a that detects an abnormality during the packing operation. The data detected by the force detector 32 in the second state is sent to the control device 14. The abnormality detection unit 141a is configured to determine whether or not an abnormality has occurred during the packing operation based on the force detected by the force detection unit 32. The abnormality detection unit 141a is a functional block realized by executing a predetermined program in the calculation unit 141.

  Next, the operation of the food box packing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view of the container 41 showing the arrangement order of the food items 40. As shown in FIG. 4, the arrangement area provided on the bottom 41a of the container 41 is divided into eight sub-areas. The numbers (1 to 10) assigned to the respective arrangement areas indicate the arrangement order of the food items 40. In the present embodiment, the end effector 18 of the robot 11 is configured to be able to hold or release four food groups 40 in an upright state. The robot 11 is configured to repeat the operation of arranging the food 40 at a predetermined position in the container 41 as one unit for each group of four foods 40, and to perform a packing operation of 40 foods 40 (FIG. 1). Therefore, the shape of each arrangement area is rectangular in plan view, and the area of each arrangement area corresponds to the area of the bottom of the four foods 40. Note that the arrangement order and other information of the food items 40 are stored in the storage unit 140 of the control device 14 in advance before the operation. The control device 14 controls the operation of the arm 13 so as to execute the packing operation in accordance with the arrangement order.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the operation of the robot 11. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the robot 11. In the present embodiment, since the two arms 13 perform the same operation, the operation of one arm 13 will be mainly described.

  First, the control device 14 controls the operation of the arm 13 to hold the four foods 40 by the end effector 18 and transports the foods 40 to a predetermined height above the empty container 41, as shown in FIG. (Step S1 in FIG. 5). At this time, in the transport operation, the control device 14 switches the pair of grip members 22 of the end effector 18 to the first state in which the pair of grip members 22 are supported by the rigid member 21b (see FIG. 2).

  Next, the control device 14 controls the operation of the arm 13 according to the arrangement order (see FIG. 4), as shown in FIG. 6B, and determines the four foods 40 held by the end effector 18 in a predetermined manner. From the height to the bottom 41a of the container 41 (step S2 in FIG. 5). At this time, in the descending operation, the control device 14 switches the pair of grip members 22 of the end effector 18 to the second state in which the pair of grip members 22 are supported by the elastic members 21a (see FIG. 2).

  Next, in the second state, the force detector 32 detects a force acting on the elastic member 21a from the support member 21 (see FIG. 2), and sends the detection data to the control device 14. The control device 14 receives the detection data, and the abnormality detection unit 141a determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred during the box packing operation based on the force detected by the force detection unit 32 (step in FIG. 5). S3). As shown in FIG. 6C, for example, if there is no obstacle in the first arrangement area of the container 41, the bottom of the food 40 held by the end effector 18 lands on the bottom 41 a of the container 41. . Since the force detected by the force detection unit 32 is weak (for example, smaller than a predetermined threshold), the abnormality detection unit 141a of the control device 14 determines that there is no obstacle in the first arrangement area (that is, the first arrangement area has no obstacle). (NO in step S3 of FIG. 5).

  In this case, the control device 14 controls the operation of the arm 13 to release the food 40 held by the end effector 18 in the first arrangement area in the container 41 as shown in FIG. Step S4 in FIG. 5). Then, the above operation is repeated until the work is completed (step S6). More specifically, the process returns to step S1, and the next packing area is packed in a box.

  Next, an operation when an abnormality occurs in the box packing operation will be described. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the container 41 when an abnormality occurs in the box packing operation. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the robot when an abnormality occurs. As shown in FIG. 7, the food 40 located at the end of the group of four foods 40 arranged in the third arrangement area falls down and exists as an obstacle in the fourth arrangement area.

  The control device 14 controls the operation of the arm 13, holds the four foods 40 on the transport device 50 by the end effector 18, and is disposed on the work table 52, as shown in FIG. It is transported to a predetermined height above an empty container 41 (step S1 in FIG. 5). At this time, in the transport operation, the control device 14 switches the pair of grip members 22 of the end effector 18 to the first state in which the pair of grip members 22 are supported by the rigid member 21b (see FIG. 2).

  Next, the control device 14 controls the operation of the arm 13 according to the arrangement order (see FIG. 4), as shown in FIG. 8B, and determines the four foods 40 held by the end effector 18 in a predetermined manner. From the height to the bottom 41a of the container 41 (step S2 in FIG. 5). At this time, in the descending operation, the control device 14 switches the pair of grip members 22 of the end effector 18 to the second state in which the pair of grip members 22 are supported by the elastic members 21a (see FIG. 2).

  Next, the force detector 32 detects a force acting on the elastic member 21a from the support member 21 (see FIG. 2), and sends the detection data to the control device 14. The control device 14 receives the detection data, and the abnormality detection unit 141a determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred during the box packing operation based on the force detected by the force detection unit 32 (step in FIG. 5). S3). As shown in FIG. 8 (C), since the food 40 that has fallen in the third arrangement area is present as an obstacle in the fourth arrangement area of the container 41, the bottom of the food 40 held by the end effector 18 is It is located above an obstacle and does not land on the bottom 41a of the container 41. In this case, since the reaction force detected by the force detection unit 32 is strong (for example, larger than a predetermined threshold), the abnormality detection unit 141a in the control device 14 determines that an obstacle is present in the fourth arrangement area (that is, It is determined that an abnormality has occurred during the packing operation (YES in step S3 in FIG. 5). At this time, the control device 14 stops the operation of the arm 13 as shown in FIG. 8D (step S5 in FIG. 5). The surrounding workers may perform the work of removing the obstacle in the container 41, and then restart the operation of the robot 11 manually.

  According to the present embodiment, when an unintended obstacle is present in the arrangement area in the container 41 or when food that should be present at another position is overturned, the food 40 held by the end effector 18 is Does not land on the bottom of the container because the bottom contacts the obstacle. This makes it possible to detect an abnormality in the food boxing operation and prevent a reduction in work efficiency.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the pair of grip members 22 are supported by the support member 21 having the elastic member 21a, even when the bottom of the food 40 gripped by the pair of grip members 22 touches an obstacle. Since the elastic member 21a (spring) is deformed, the food 40 is not damaged.

  In the present embodiment, in the transport operation, the pair of gripping members 22 are supported by the rigid member 21b, so that the elastic force of the elastic member 21a is reduced, and the food 40 can be transported in a stable state. On the other hand, in the descending operation, since the pair of grip members 22 are supported by the elastic member 21a, the obstacle acting on the bottom 41a of the container 41 is detected by detecting the force acting on the elastic member 21a from the support member 21. be able to.

  In the present embodiment, in the lowering operation, the pair of gripping members 22 are configured to be supported by the elastic member 21a. However, the elastic member is, for example, a cylinder configured to be vertically expandable and contractible. Is also good. Even with such a configuration, an obstacle at the bottom 41 a of the container 41 can be detected by detecting the force acting on the cylinder from the support member 21.

  In the present embodiment, the control device 14 controls the operation of the arm 13 to be stopped when detecting an abnormality occurring during the packing operation (step S5 in FIG. 5). The operation of the arm 13 may be controlled, or the operation of the arm 13 may be stopped after the arm 13 is once retreated to the sky.

(2nd Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described. The basic configuration of the food boxing device 1 of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. In the following, description of the configuration common to the first embodiment will be omitted, and only different configuration will be described.

  In the robot 11 of the first embodiment, the abnormality detection function for detecting an abnormality during the packing operation is incorporated in the left and right end effectors 18, but in the present embodiment, the abnormality detection function is incorporated in the feedback control loop of the control device. Is different from the first embodiment.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the food boxing device according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the end effector 18A of the present embodiment is different from the end effector 18 (FIG. 2) of the first embodiment in that the end effector 18A does not include the support member 21 having the elastic member 21a and the hard member 21b. different.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the control device. As shown in FIG. 10, in the control device 14A of the present embodiment, as compared with the control device 14 of the first embodiment (FIG. 3), the abnormality detection unit 154 performs feedback control of the servomotor M according to a position command. In that it is incorporated in a control loop configured as described above. The abnormality detecting unit 154 is configured to detect whether or not the bottom of the food 40 held by the end effector 18A has landed on the bottom 41a of the container 41 based on the deviation amount in the feedback control in the descending operation. ing.

  The control device 14A includes a storage unit 140, a calculation unit 141, and a control unit 150. The control unit 150 includes a position control unit 151, a speed control unit 152, a current control unit 153, an abnormality detection unit 154, and a gain adjustment unit 155. The position control unit 151 outputs a speed command according to a deviation between the position command from the calculation unit 141 and the rotation position detected by the position sensor E of the servomotor M. The speed control unit 152 outputs a current command (torque command) according to a deviation between the speed command output from the position control unit 151 and the differential value (rotation speed) of the rotation position detected by the position sensor E. The current control unit 153 outputs a voltage command according to a deviation between the current command output from the speed control unit 152 and the coil current detected by the current detector C. The control device 14A of the present embodiment is configured to detect the current using the current detector C in the feedback control and calculate the deviation from the current command output from the speed control unit 152. The configuration is not limited to this.

  The abnormality detecting unit 154 is configured to detect whether or not the bottom of the food 40 held by the end effector 18A has landed on the bottom 41a of the container 41 based on the deviation amount in the feedback control in the descending operation. ing. In the present embodiment, the abnormality detection unit 154 is configured to detect the abnormality based on the current deviation. However, the abnormality detection unit 154 monitors the rate of change of any one of the position deviation, the speed deviation, and the current deviation to detect the abnormality. It may be detected. Thereby, the abnormality detection function can be incorporated in the feedback control loop, so that there is no need to provide a special sensor as compared with the configuration of the first embodiment.

  The gain adjustment unit 155 is configured to adjust the control loop gain according to an instruction from the calculation unit 141. The calculation unit 141 gives a command to the gain adjustment unit 155 when the abnormality detection unit 154 detects an abnormality. In the present embodiment, the gain adjustment unit 155 gives a gain adjustment command to the current control unit 153 to lower the control loop gain in the descending operation in accordance with the instruction from the calculation unit 141. Thereby, in the transport operation, the food 40 held by the end effector 18 by the feedback control is accurately moved to a predetermined height above the container 41. On the other hand, in the descending operation, since the control loop gain is decreased, the deviation amount increases, and the abnormality is easily detected. Detection sensitivity can be increased.

  Note that the robot 11 may have a configuration in which the abnormality detection function of the first embodiment and the abnormality detection function of the present embodiment are combined.

(Other embodiments)
Although the food boxing device of the above embodiment is constituted by a horizontal articulated dual-arm robot, a vertical articulated dual-arm robot may be employed.

  In the above embodiment, the end effector 18 is configured to be able to hold or release the four foods 40 arranged in a predetermined direction. However, the number of foods 40 to be held varies depending on the storage volume of the container 41. Is also good. For example, one to three foods 40 may be held, or five or more foods 40 may be held. Further, the container 41 may be a container having an open upper surface. Although the container 41 can store 40 foods 40, the storage volume is not limited to this.

  Although the abnormality detection function of the above embodiment is configured to be incorporated in the control system of the end effector 18 or the control device 14, it may be incorporated in both the control system of the end effector 18 and the control device 14. . Further, the end effector 18 includes a flat plate portion configured to be insertable into a gap between adjacent foods 40 accommodated in the container 41, and the abnormality detection function including the elastic member 21a is incorporated in the flat plate portion. Good. In addition to this, the work site may be imaged by a vision sensor (for example, by a camera), and an abnormality determination (fallover determination) may be performed in a non-contact manner by image processing technology. This improves the accuracy of the abnormality determination.

  From the above description, many modifications and other embodiments of the present invention are obvious to one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description should be construed as illustrative only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. Details of its structure and / or function may be substantially changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  The present invention is useful as a food boxing device.

Reference Signs List 1 food packaging device 11 robot 12 base 13 arm 14 control device 17 wrist unit 18, 18A end effector 20 base 21 support member 21a elastic member 21b rigid member 22 gripping member 23 drive member 25 wrist joint 32 force detection unit 40 food (rice ball) )
41 Container 41a Bottom (Container)
41b Side (container)
50 transport device 51 transport route 52 work table 140 storage unit 141 arithmetic unit 141a abnormality detection unit 150 control unit 151 position control unit 152 speed control unit 153 current control unit 154 abnormality detection unit 155 gain adjustment unit

Claims (6)

A device for packing food in a container with an open top,
A hand unit configured to hold or release the food,
A moving unit configured to move the hand unit,
A control device configured to control operations of the hand unit and the moving unit;
An abnormality detection unit configured to detect abnormality during the operation of the hand unit and the movement unit;
With
The control device performs a transport operation of moving the food held by the hand unit to a predetermined height above the container, and lowers the food held by the hand unit from the predetermined height to the bottom of the container. Lowering operation, and controlling the operation of the hand unit and the moving unit to perform a release operation of releasing the food held by the hand unit at a predetermined position in the container,
The food boxing device, wherein the abnormality detection unit detects whether or not the bottom of the food held by the hand unit has landed on the bottom of the container in the lowering operation. The hand unit,
A pair of gripping members configured to grip both sides of the food,
A support member having an elastic member that can expand and contract in the vertical direction, and configured to support the pair of grip members,
Has,
The abnormality detection unit has a force detection unit that detects a force acting on the elastic member from the support member in the lowering operation,
Based on the force detected by the force detecting unit, the bottom of the food held by the pair of gripping members detects whether the bottom of the container has landed,
The food boxing device according to claim 1. The support member further includes a rigid member, and between a first state in which the rigid member supports the pair of grip members and a second state in which the elastic member supports the pair of grip members. It is configured to be switchable,
The support member,
In the transport operation, the state is switched to the first state,
The lowering operation is configured to be switched to the second state.
The food boxing device according to claim 2. The moving unit includes one or more joint axes, a servomotor that drives the joint axes, and a robot arm having a position sensor that detects the position of the servomotor,
The control device is configured to feedback-control the servomotor in accordance with a position command,
The said abnormality detection part detects whether the bottom part of the foodstuff hold | maintained by the said hand part landed on the bottom part of the said container based on the deviation amount in feedback control in the said descent operation | movement, Claim 1. Food packaging device as described.   The food boxing device according to claim 4, wherein the control device lowers a control loop gain in the lowering operation. A hand unit configured to hold or release food, a moving unit configured to move the hand unit, a control device configured to control operations of the hand unit and the moving unit, An abnormality detection unit configured to detect an abnormality during operation of the hand unit and the moving unit, and an operation method of the food boxing device, comprising:
By the control device, the transport operation of moving the food held by the hand unit to a predetermined height above the container having an open top, the food held by the hand unit from the predetermined height to the bottom of the container And performing the operation of the hand unit and the moving unit to perform a release operation of releasing the food held by the hand unit at a predetermined position in the container.
The method of operating a food boxing device, wherein the abnormality detection unit detects whether or not the bottom of the food held by the hand unit lands on the bottom of the container during the lowering operation.

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