JP2017030097A - Work supply device, robot, and robot system - Google Patents

Abstract

A workpiece supply device capable of efficiently supplying a workpiece to be picked placed on a pallet.
[Solution] A pallet for accommodating a workpiece; and a vibrating unit that vibrates the pallet, wherein the vibrating unit includes the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet in an imaging range captured by the imaging unit. A workpiece supply device that applies vibration when a predetermined condition is not satisfied.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece supply device, a robot, and a robot system.

  Conventionally, a production line that performs mechanical assembly work of products has multiple manufacturing processes, supplying the necessary parts for each manufacturing process, and gripping the supplied parts with a robot etc. by image recognition etc. It is performed by moving to a proper position and assembling.

  In this regard, there is provided a chip component supply device that, when the chip component is conveyed by vibrating the conveyance path on which the chip component to be supplied to the pickup device is vibrated, dissipates the chip components that overlap on the conveyance path due to the vibration of the conveyance path. It is known (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-059008

  However, in the chip component supply device of Patent Document 1, when the chip component is transported to the pickup device, the chip component in the transport path is transported so that the time during which the pickup device does not pick up the chip component is shortened. In some cases, the efficiency of work by the pickup device is insufficient.

In order to solve at least one of the above problems, one embodiment of the present invention includes a pallet for accommodating a workpiece and a vibration unit that vibrates the pallet, and the vibration unit is imaged by an imaging unit. In the imaging range, the workpiece supply device applies vibration when the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet satisfies a predetermined condition.
With this configuration, the workpiece supply device vibrates the pallet when the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet satisfies a predetermined condition in the imaging range captured by the imaging unit. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus can efficiently supply the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the workpiece supply apparatus, the predetermined condition may be a condition relating to at least one of the number of workpieces or the position of the workpiece.
With this configuration, the workpiece supply device vibrates in the pallet when the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet in the imaging range imaged by the imaging unit satisfies a condition regarding at least one of the number of workpieces and the workpiece position. give. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus can efficiently supply the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet based on the condition regarding at least one of the number of workpieces or the workpiece position.

Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, in the workpiece supply device, a configuration in which the workpiece is picked by the picking device from the workpiece located in a set area of the imaging range captured by the imaging unit is used. Good.
With this configuration, the workpiece supply device is picked by the picking device from a workpiece located in a set area in the imaging range captured by the imaging unit. Thereby, the workpiece supply device can be picked up first from the workpieces transported earlier than the other workpieces among the workpieces to be picked, and as a result, the picking target placed on the pallet Can be efficiently supplied.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the workpiece supply apparatus, a configuration may be used in which the region includes at least a part of an end portion in the conveyance direction of the workpiece in the imaging range.
With this configuration, the workpiece supply apparatus picks up a workpiece from a workpiece located in an area set in the imaging range captured by the imaging unit and including at least a part of the end of the imaging range in the workpiece conveyance direction. Is picked. As a result, the workpiece supply device can pick up workpieces that are likely to be transported out of the imaging range from the end of the imaging range due to the vibration of the vibrating unit on the pallet among the workpieces to be picked. As a result, the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet can be efficiently supplied.

In another aspect of the present invention, in the workpiece supply device, the pallet may have an arc portion in plan view.
With this configuration, the workpiece supply device supplies workpieces by applying vibration to a pallet having an arc portion in plan view. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus can supply the workpiece that has not been picked up again as a workpiece to be picked.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the workpiece supply apparatus, the arc portion has a notch and excludes a second radius circle having a shorter radius than the first radius from the first radius circle. And at least a part of the mounting surface of the pallet, the length of the radius obtained by subtracting the half of the difference between the first radius and the second radius from the first radius. In the first region outside the third radius, a configuration may be used in which a restricting portion that restricts the movement of the workpiece to the outside is provided.
With this configuration, the workpiece supply device restricts the workpiece from moving outside the third radius. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus can suppress that a workpiece | work collects in the 1st area | region of a pallet.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the workpiece supply apparatus, the arc portion has a notch and excludes a second radius circle having a shorter radius than the first radius from the first radius circle. The at least half of the imaging range of the imaging unit has a length that is half the difference between the first radius and the second radius of the mounting surface of the pallet. A configuration that is part of the first region outside the third radius, which is the length of the radius subtracted from one radius, may be used.
With this configuration, in the workpiece supply apparatus, at least half of the imaging range of the imaging unit is imaged by a part of the first region outside the third radius of the arc portion of the pallet on the pallet placement surface. At least half of the range is occupied. Thereby, the workpiece supply device can efficiently supply the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet, for example, when the workpieces are collected in the first area of the pallet.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the workpiece supply device, a configuration is used in which the imaging of the workpiece is performed by the imaging unit after a predetermined standby time has elapsed after the vibration by the vibrating unit is stopped. Also good.
With this configuration, in the workpiece supply device, the workpiece is imaged by the imaging unit after a predetermined standby time has elapsed after the vibration by the vibrating unit is stopped. As a result, the workpiece supply device can stand by until the change in the posture of the workpiece due to the vibration by the vibrating portion is settled, and as a result, the workpiece can be imaged by the imaging unit in a state where the posture of the workpiece is stable.

Moreover, the other aspect of this invention is a robot which picks the said workpiece | work from the workpiece | work supply apparatus in any one of the above.
With this configuration, the robot picks the workpiece supplied by the workpiece supply device. Thereby, the robot can pick the work efficiently supplied by the work supply device.

Another aspect of the present invention is a robot system including an imaging unit, the workpiece supply device described above, and the robot described above.
With this configuration, the robot system picks the workpiece supplied by the workpiece supply device. Thereby, the robot system can pick the workpiece | work supplied efficiently by the workpiece | work supply apparatus.

As described above, the workpiece supply device vibrates the pallet when the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet in the imaging range captured by the imaging unit satisfies a predetermined condition. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus can efficiently supply the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet.
Further, the robot and the robot system pick the work supplied by the work supply device. Thereby, the robot and the robot system can pick the work efficiently supplied by the work supply device.

The perspective view which shows the timepiece assembly apparatus of this embodiment. The top view which looked at the timepiece assembly apparatus from upper direction. The figure which shows the notch part of the pallet of a workpiece | work supply apparatus. The top view which looked at the pallet (pallet with the cover installed) from above. The perspective view which shows a pallet. The perspective view which shows a pallet. The expanded sectional view which shows a groove part. The perspective view which shows the general shape of a workpiece | work. The schematic sectional side view which shows an illumination part. The figure which shows the image which imaged the visual angle area | region by the detection part (imaging part). It is a perspective view which shows an example of the pallet 100a with which the workpiece supply apparatus 10 which concerns on the modification 1 of this embodiment is provided. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the example of the 1st attitude | position change part 300 provided in the pallet 100a by the surface orthogonal to the termination | terminus part 103b of the pallet 100a. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the example of the 2nd attitude | position change part 400 provided in the pallet 100a by the surface orthogonal to the termination | terminus part 103b of the pallet 100a. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the example of the 3rd attitude | position change part 500 provided in the pallet 100a by the surface orthogonal to the termination | terminus part 103b of the pallet 100a. It is a figure which shows an example of the pallet 100c in which the control part 600 was provided. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a process of a 2nd control part. It is a figure which shows an example of the image which the detection part 200 (imaging part 201) imaged the visual angle area | region A2 in which the 1st detection area W100 and the 2nd detection area W110 were set.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

  Embodiment

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a timepiece assembling apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the timepiece assembling apparatus 1 as viewed from above. The configuration of the timepiece assembling apparatus 1 will be schematically described with reference to FIGS.

  The timepiece assembling apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is assembled as an apparatus that takes charge of one manufacturing process (assembling process) in a manufacturing line (timepiece assembling line 1000) that performs mechanical assembling work of a timepiece having a plurality of manufacturing processes. It is rare. The timepiece assembling apparatus 1 repeats the operation of supplying the timepiece work W (FIG. 8) required in the process, and gripping the supplied work W by the pickup unit 220 by image recognition and moving it to a required position. Run.

  In addition, the drawing explaining this embodiment is shown using an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system for convenience of explanation. Specifically, in FIG. 1, the direction from the left side to the right side (the direction in which the timepiece assembly line 1000 flows) is defined as the X-axis direction (+ X direction). Also, orthogonal to the X-axis direction, the direction from the front to the back of the paper is the Y-axis direction (+ Y direction), orthogonal to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and the upper direction from the lower side of the paper is the Z-axis direction (+ Z direction) ). It should be noted that the + X direction is appropriately used as the forward direction (the −X direction is the backward direction), the + Y direction is the left direction (the −Y direction is the right direction), and the + Z direction is the upward direction (the −Z direction is the downward direction).

  More specifically, the timepiece assembly line 1000 according to the present embodiment is a line for assembling a movement M (a product to be assembled) that is a content of the timepiece. The timepiece assembling apparatus 1 is an apparatus for incorporating a part (work W) called a mandarin duck (FIG. 8) into the movement M in the timepiece assembling line 1000. The mandarin duck is a part that engages with a shaft called a winding stem to which a crown is attached to fix the winding stem, and also serves as a crown changeover switch when setting the time.

  The timepiece assembling apparatus 1 includes a picking device 20 including a workpiece supply device 10 and a transport unit 30 that transports an assembly target in which the workpiece W is incorporated. The workpiece supply device 10 is a device that transports the workpiece W and supplies it to the picking device 20. The picking device 20 is a device that picks up the workpiece W supplied from the workpiece supply device 10, moves it to the movement M flowing through the timepiece assembly line 1000, and performs an operation of incorporating it into the movement M. In addition, the picking device 20 is installed in a form in which the conveyance unit 30 that conveys the movement M is sandwiched between the workpiece supply device 10.

  The workpiece supply apparatus 10 includes a circular pallet 100 in a plan view that conveys the workpiece W, a vibration unit 120 that is installed below the pallet 100 and applies vibrations to the pallet 100, and a pallet that is installed above the pallet 100. And a supply hopper 130 for supplying the workpiece W to 100. As a result, the workpiece W supplied to the supply hopper 130 falls from the tip portion 1301 to the pallet 100 due to the vibration of the supply hopper 130. The dropped workpiece W is conveyed (moved) in the circumferential direction along the surface of the pallet 100 by the vibration of the pallet 100. In the present embodiment, the workpiece W is conveyed counterclockwise when the pallet 100 is viewed from above.

  The picking device 20 includes the above-described workpiece supply device 10, the detection unit 200, the illumination unit 210 (FIG. 9), a pickup unit 220, and a circuit unit (not shown). The detection unit 200 detects the position and orientation of the workpiece W in the pallet 100 in the workpiece supply apparatus 10. The detection unit 200 may be configured to detect (count) the number of workpieces W in the pallet 100. The illumination unit 210 is installed on the back side of the pallet 100 and irradiates light toward the pallet 100. The pickup unit 220 picks up the workpiece W, moves it to a predetermined position of the movement M flowing through the timepiece assembly line 1000, and incorporates the workpiece W at a predetermined position in the movement.

  The circuit unit includes a control unit (not shown), and instructs the pickup unit 220 to pick up the workpiece W based on the detection result by the detection unit 200. The control unit also instructs the pickup unit 220 to incorporate the movement M thereafter. When the assembly is completed, if there is still a work W that can be picked up on the pallet 100, the picking device 20 repeats the pickup and the assembly operation again. The control unit is stored in a portion of the picking device 20 that is not shown.

  FIG. 3 is a view showing the notch 107 of the pallet 100 of the workpiece supply apparatus 10. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the pallet 100 (the pallet 100 on which the cover 108 is installed) viewed from above. 5 and 6 are perspective views showing the pallet 100. FIG. 5 and 6 show perspective views in a state where the viewpoint is changed. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the groove 104. The configuration and operation of the pallet 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the pallet 100 is generally formed in a disk shape around the central axis Ax. A fixing part 101 for fixing the pallet 100 to a vibrating part 120 installed at the lower part of the pallet 100 is formed in a cylindrical shape at the center of the pallet 100. On the outer peripheral portion of the pallet 100, an edge portion 102 is formed that is one step higher than the conveyance surface portion 103 that conveys the workpiece W. The fixed portion 101 is also configured with the same height as the edge portion 102. Therefore, the conveyance surface portion 103 is sandwiched between the fixed portion 101 and the edge portion 102.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pallet 100 is partially formed with a notch 107. The notch 107 is formed in the pallet 100 so as to have a notch surface portion 1071 that expands from the center axis Ax at a predetermined angle α, a part of the outer peripheral portion is also notched, and is lowered by one step from the conveying surface portion 103.

  In other words, the pallet 100 includes an arc portion in plan view. The arc portion has a notch 107 and has a substantially ring shape excluding a second radius circle that is shorter than the first radius from a first radius circle. The circle with the first radius is a circle formed by the outer periphery when the pallet 100 is viewed in plan. That is, the first radius is a radius of a circle formed by the outer periphery when the pallet 100 is viewed in plan. The circle with the second radius is a circle when the fixed portion 101 is viewed in plan. That is, the second radius is a radius when the fixed portion 101 is viewed in plan.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, in the present embodiment, the conveyance surface portion 103 is formed in a spiral shape having one or less rounds around the central axis Ax. Specifically, one end portion of the conveyance surface portion 103 cut out by the notch portion 107 is a start end portion 103a, the other end portion is a termination portion 103b, and a predetermined angle is clockwise from the end portion 103b toward the start end portion 103a. When the portion returned by β is the spiral end portion 103c, the conveyance surface portion 103 is formed in a so-called spiral shape that gradually rises counterclockwise from the start end portion 103a toward the spiral end portion 103c. The conveyance surface portion 103 extending from the spiral end portion 103c to the end portion 103b is formed to be a surface portion orthogonal to the central axis Ax. This surface portion is referred to as a flat surface portion 1031.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the notch 107 of the pallet 100 is provided with a cover 108 that closes the notch 107 and is formed so that the work W is conveyed also in the closed part. . Specifically, the cover 108 is formed integrally with an outer shape component 1081 that forms the outer shape of the pallet 100 and an auxiliary conveyance surface portion 1082 that is configured as the conveyance surface portion 103. Note that the conveyance surface portion 103 including the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 is an example of a placement surface of the pallet 100.

  Similar to the conveyance surface portion 103, the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 of the cover 108 is formed in a spiral shape. Specifically, when the cover 108 is installed in the cutout portion 107, the spiral shape of the transport surface portion 103 is formed so as to be uniformly extended to the transport assist surface portion 1082. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5, a step is generated between the terminal end portion 103 b of the conveyance surface portion 103 and the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 of the cover 108. This step portion is hereinafter referred to as a step portion 105. Further, the side surface from the end portion 103b of the conveyance surface portion 103 to the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 of the cover 108 by the step portion 105 is hereinafter referred to as a step surface 1051. In other words, it can be said that the step portion 105 includes a step surface 1051 that intersects the circumferential direction of the pallet 100.

  The cover 108 is configured to be detachable from the cutout portion 107 and is fixed to the cutout portion 107 with two screws SC1. The cover 108 is removed from the notch 107 when the work W to be conveyed to the pallet 100 is switched. Then, a member (not shown) is installed in the notch 107, and the workpiece W that has been transported up to now is collected in this member. And after removing this member from the notch part 107, the cover 108 is installed in the notch part 107 again. Thereafter, the workpiece W to be newly conveyed is put into the pallet 100.

  A plurality of grooves 104 are concentrically formed around the central axis Ax in the conveyance surface portion 103 of the pallet 100. Even if there is a protrusion on the outer surface of the workpiece W to be conveyed, the groove portion 104 regulates the posture of the workpiece W to a desired posture on the conveying surface portion 103 by guiding (releasing) the protrusion to the groove portion 104. Part. In addition, by the projection of the workpiece W being guided by the groove portion 104, the workpiece W is placed and conveyed on the conveyance surface portion 103 in a desired posture. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, a total of 18 groove portions 104 are formed at an equal pitch P. Note that no groove is formed in the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 of the cover 108 that conveys the workpiece W.

  In the present embodiment, the desired posture is a posture in which the pickup unit 220 can correctly and reliably pick up the workpiece W. Although the details will be described later, the surface of the workpiece W to be picked up is the front surface. The posture is substantially parallel to the conveyance surface portion 103 and faces upward. In other words, the projection of the workpiece W is guided by the groove portion 104 and the back surface is in contact with the conveyance surface portion 103. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the posture will be referred to as a surface posture.

  Here, the dimension value of each part of the pallet 100 is shown. In addition, the workpiece | work W demonstrated below is the workpiece | work W including the assembly parts for watches other than a mandarin duck and a mandarin duck, and the pallet 100 of this embodiment can be used also for conveyance of a mandarin duck and components other than a mandarin duck. It is configured as follows.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the outer shape D of the pallet 100 is φ210 mm, which is the maximum pallet outer shape allowed for the vibration unit 120. Further, the inner diameter d of the pallet 100 is φ200 mm, which is 10 times or more the outer dimension of the workpiece W to be conveyed (the maximum outer dimension of the workpiece W is assumed to be 17 mm). Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the step H1 of the step portion 105 is 4 mm, which is equal to or larger than the minimum outer dimension of the workpiece W (the minimum outer dimension of the workpiece W is assumed to be 4 mm).

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 7, the depth H2 of the groove part 104 is 0.5 mm, and the maximum protrusion height of the workpiece | work W assumes 0.3 mm. Further, it is assumed that the width H3 of the groove 104 is 0.8 mm, and the diameter of the maximum protrusion of the workpiece W is 0.5 mm. The pitch P of the groove portion 104 is 3.8 mm, and is 1 to 2 times the longest dimension including the portion (convex portion) of the workpiece W guided by the groove portion 104 to the outer shape of the workpiece W. It is set within the range.

  Note that the pallet 100 is configured to have translucency except for the cover 108. In this embodiment, the pallet 100 is made of a synthetic resin material having translucency (in this embodiment, a polycarbonate resin having translucency). The cover 108 is made of a synthetic resin material that does not have translucency.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a general shape of the workpiece W. FIG. With reference to FIG. 8, the shape of the mandarin duck as the workpiece | work W of this embodiment is demonstrated.

  The workpiece supply apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment supplies a mandarin duck which is an assembly part of a watch as a workpiece W. As shown in FIG. 8, the mandarin duck (hereinafter referred to as a work W) is formed in a plate shape having various bent shapes. The work W is formed with a through hole B1. Further, a protrusion C1 protruding in a columnar shape is formed on the front (front) surface Wa of the workpiece W, and a protrusion C2 protruding similarly in a columnar shape is formed on the back surface Wb.

A dimensional relationship of the workpiece W (whitebird) shown in FIG. 8 will be schematically described.
The height from the surface Wa of the protrusion C1 of the workpiece W is 0.3 mm. Further, the height of the protrusion C2 from the back surface Wb is also 0.3 mm. Further, the diameter of the protrusion C1 is 0.3 mm, and the diameter of the protrusion C2 is 0.4 mm. The workpiece W has a length L1 in the longitudinal direction of 5 mm and a length L2 in the short direction (minimum shape) of 2.5 mm.

  When the workpiece W formed in this way is placed on the conveyance surface portion 103, the projection C1 or C2 is the conveyance surface portion regardless of which side surface (front surface Wa, back surface Wb) of the workpiece W faces the conveyance surface portion 103 side. It cannot be placed stably because it is in contact with 103 and tilts. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the projection C2 on the back surface Wb side is guided to the groove portion 104 so as to make the posture in which the back surface Wb is in contact with the conveyance surface portion 103 (the posture in which the front surface Wa faces upward). ing. Such a posture is a surface posture which is a desired posture. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the posture in which the front surface Wa is in contact with the conveyance surface portion 103 will be referred to as a back surface posture.

  When the workpiece W is in the surface orientation, the picking device 20 described later can pick up the workpiece W, and can also incorporate the workpiece W into the movement M at the destination after the pickup. In the present embodiment, the picking device 20 picks up the workpiece W on the surface of the pickup area A3 set on the surface Wa. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the picking device 20 performs a pickup operation by suction.

Next, conveyance of the workpiece W in the workpiece supply apparatus 10 will be described.
First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the workpiece W is supplied to the supply hopper 130. This supply is performed by the operator. The workpiece W supplied to the supply hopper 130 is dropped into the pallet 100 from the front end portion 1301 to the pallet 100 located below the front end portion 1301 due to the vibration of the supply hopper 130. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the workpiece W is thrown into the throwing area A <b> 1 which is a part slightly moved counterclockwise from the starting end portion 103 a of the transport surface portion 103 of the pallet 100 in detail.

  The workpiece W put into the feeding area A1 starts to be conveyed counterclockwise through the conveying surface portion 103 of the pallet 100 toward the end portion 103b by the vibration of the vibrating portion 120. In this embodiment, the vibration unit 120 employs an electromagnetic type using an electromagnet. The vibrating unit 120 may be a piezoelectric type using a piezoelectric element.

  In the process of moving the conveyance surface portion 103, the workpiece W moves in a posture (desired posture, that is, a front surface posture) in which the protrusion C2 is guided by the groove portion 104 and the back surface Wb is in contact with the conveyance surface portion 103. In some cases, the robot moves without a desired posture. When the workpiece W passes through the spiral terminal portion 103c of the conveyance surface portion 103, the workpiece W is not a surface inclined in a spiral shape but a flat surface portion 1031 that is a flat surface (a surface orthogonal to the central axis Ax). Moving.

  In the present embodiment, an area for picking up by the picking device 20 described later is set in the area from the helical terminal part 103c to the terminal part 103b of the transport surface part 103. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the workpiece W is picked up in a viewing angle region A <b> 2 that is a substantially rectangular region.

  Note that the workpiece W that is not located in the viewing angle region A2 or the workpiece W that is located in the viewing angle region A2 but is not in the desired surface posture moves on the flat surface portion 1031 and reaches the end portion 103b. By moving after that, the workpiece W falls from the stepped portion 105 formed in the end portion 103b to the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 of the cover 108. The workpiece W that has fallen on the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 moves on the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 and reaches the starting end portion 103a.

  As described above, the process of transporting the work W on the pallet 100 of the work supply apparatus 10 corresponds to the transport process in the picking method. The picking method of the present embodiment includes a transport process, a detection process, and a pickup process. The detection process and the pickup process will be sequentially described below.

  The pitch P of the groove portions 104 is 3.8 mm, and in this embodiment, the pitch P is 1 time with respect to the longest dimension (L3) up to the outer shape of the workpiece W including the protrusion C2 of the workpiece W guided by the groove portion 104. Is set to Thereby, even when the protrusion C2 of the workpiece W is guided to the groove portion 104 and the adjacent groove portion 104, the workpiece W and the workpiece W are prevented from being overlapped and conveyed as much as possible. Further, it is possible to reduce separation from the groove portion 104 due to a collision between the workpieces W and the like, and to perform stable conveyance.

  Further, the step H1 of the step 105 is 4 mm, and the minimum external dimension (L2) of the workpiece W of this embodiment is 2.5 mm. Thereby, by dropping the workpiece W that has not been picked up from the step portion 105, the surface posture in which the posture of the workpiece W is a desired posture by the next conveyance (the posture in which the protrusion C2 is guided to the groove portion 104). The probability of becoming is improved.

Next, the configuration and operation of the picking apparatus 20 will be described.
The picking device 20 of the present embodiment includes the above-described workpiece supply device 10, the detection unit 200, the illumination unit 210, the pickup unit 220, and a circuit unit (not shown) including a control unit. . The detection part 200 detects the position and attitude | position of the workpiece | work W in the pallet 100 in the workpiece | work supply apparatus 10, as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. The detection unit 200 includes an imaging unit 201 for acquiring image data of the workpiece W in the pallet 100. The imaging unit 201 is configured by a camera using a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). The detection unit 200 is installed above the flat surface portion 1031 of the pallet 100 and images the inside of the viewing angle region A2 set in the flat surface portion 1031. The viewing angle area A2 is an example of an imaging range.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side sectional view for explaining the illumination unit 210. The configuration and operation of the illumination unit 210 will be described with reference to FIG.
The picking device 20 includes an illumination unit 210 that assists the imaging by the detection unit 200. As shown in FIG. 9, the illumination unit 210 is configured in a flat plate shape, and is installed by cutting out a part of the pallet 100 on the back side of the pallet 100. Specifically, the illumination unit 210 is installed by cutting out the back side of the pallet 100 located below the flat surface portion 1031 of the pallet 100. The illumination unit 210 is configured using an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The illumination unit 210 irradiates light toward the pallet 100 located above.

  The pallet 100 is configured to have translucency as described above, and transmits light from the illumination unit 210. In particular, the flat surface portion 1031 facing the illumination unit 210 transmits the light most, but in the present embodiment, the entire pallet 100 also transmits the light. On the other hand, since the workpiece W in the pallet 100 is made of metal in the present embodiment, it blocks light transmitted through the pallet 100 (conveying surface portion 103). Thereby, when the imaging unit 201 images the viewing angle region A2, the contrast ratio between the workpiece W and the pallet 100 can be improved, and the position (shape) and orientation of the workpiece W can be clearly imaged.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an image obtained by imaging the viewing angle region A2 by the detection unit 200 (imaging unit 201). The operation of the control unit will be described with reference to FIG.
The control unit analyzes the image as the detection result from the detection unit 200 (image processing), and selects the workpiece W in which the protrusion C2 is guided in the groove portion 104 and the surface Wa is directed upward. In FIG. 10, as a result of the image processing performed by the control unit, the workpieces W1, W2, and the workpieces W1 and W2, which are the workpieces W (the workpiece W to be picked up or the workpiece W to be picked) that have a desired surface posture. A state in which three workpieces W3 are selected is shown. In addition, even if the workpiece | work W in which the protrusion C1 of the surface Wa of the workpiece | work W is guided to the groove part 104, and the back surface Wb has faced the upper direction, ie, the workpiece | work W of a back surface attitude | position, the attitude | position does not tilt, As a result of the image processing at, the pickup is not selected.

  When the detection unit 200 images the workpiece W, the control unit gives an instruction to stop the conveyance of the workpiece W by the pallet 100 (stop the vibration of the vibration unit 120). The pick-up period, which is a period during which the work W is stopped, is a period from the time of imaging until the last selected work W is picked up. When the pickup period has passed (the last workpiece W has been picked up), the control unit again instructs the oscillating unit 120 to vibrate and causes the pallet 100 to vibrate. Thereby, the pallet 100 restarts conveyance of the workpiece | work W because the vibration part 120 starts a vibration. Thus, in the present embodiment, the control unit causes the vibration unit 120 to perform intermittent driving.

  When the control unit selects the workpiece W (workpieces W1, W2, W3) to be picked up by image processing, the control unit then gives an instruction for picking up the target workpieces W1, W2, W3. To 220. The pickup unit 220 starts a pickup operation upon receiving an instruction from the control unit.

  As described above, the workpiece W transported in the transporting process is imaged by the detection unit 200 (imaging unit 201) of the picking apparatus 20, and the workpiece to be picked up by the control unit based on the captured data. The operation of selecting W by image processing corresponds to the detection step in the picking method. Note that the imaging unit 201 images the workpiece W conveyed to the viewing angle area A2 of the pallet 100 as described above.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pickup unit 220 is composed of a horizontal articulated robot (so-called SCARA robot). The pickup unit 220 includes a first arm 221, a second arm 222, and a pickup shaft 223 movably installed inside the second arm 222. The pickup unit 220 moves in the X and Y directions by the first arm 221 and the second arm 222, and moves in the Z direction by the shaft 223. In the present embodiment, the pickup unit 220 (particularly the second arm 222) is movably installed between the pallet 100 and the imaging unit 201.

  When receiving an instruction to pick up the workpiece W1 from the control unit, the pickup unit 220 drives the first arm 221 and the second arm 222 based on the position data of the pickup area A3 of the workpiece W1 instructed from the control unit. Then, the shaft 223 is positioned above the pickup area A3. Thereafter, the shaft 223 moves downward, and the workpiece W1 is picked up by a pick jig (not shown) installed at the tip of the shaft 223. In the present embodiment, the pickup is performed by suction using air.

  The pickup unit 220 that has picked up the workpiece W1 next executes the operation stored by teaching. Specifically, the pickup unit 220 performs an operation of moving the picked-up work W1 above the movement M, then lowering the shaft 223, and pushing the work W1 into a predetermined position of the movement M. In this way, the operation until the pickup unit 220 picks up the workpiece W and incorporates it into the movement M is a series of operations.

  When this series of operations ends, the pickup unit 220 then repeats the series of operations on the workpieces W2 and W3 in the same manner as described above. Then, the pickup unit 220 picks up the last workpiece W3 and incorporates it in the movement M, thereby ending the current operation and waiting at a predetermined position until receiving an instruction from the next control unit. Note that when the set condition is satisfied (in this embodiment, after a predetermined time has elapsed), the control unit outputs an imaging instruction to the detection unit 200, and thereafter performs the same control as described above.

  The cycle time of the watch assembly line 1000 of this embodiment is 2.5 seconds. Note that the cycle time of the timepiece assembling apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is operated in less than 2.5 seconds, and covers the delay that occurs in other processes in the timepiece assembly line 1000.

  As described above, the operation of picking up the workpiece W detected in the detection step by the pickup unit 220 corresponds to the pickup step in the picking method. As described above, the picking is performed on the workpiece W that has been picked up by the analysis of the image by the control unit.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
According to the workpiece supply device 10 of the present embodiment, when the shape of the workpiece W is the shape where the back surface Wb has a protrusion C2 and is inclined when placed on a flat surface, the protrusion C2 that causes the inclination is provided on the surface of the pallet 100. In this way, the workpiece W can be supplied in a desired posture by guiding the groove portion 104 arranged in an arc shape. Further, the workpiece W that has not been guided to the groove portion 104 (the workpiece W that has not become the desired posture) is dropped from the step portion 105 having the step surface 1051 that intersects the circumferential direction of the pallet 100, thereby It is possible to improve the probability of a desired posture, such as shifting the transported position from the previous time, or reversing the work W upside down.

  According to the workpiece supply apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the number of the workpieces W in a desired posture with respect to the workpiece W having a shape that is inclined when placed on a plane due to a plurality of the groove portions 104 being arranged concentrically. Can be increased efficiently. Further, since the number of workpieces W guided to the groove portion 104 increases, the separation from the groove portion 104 due to a collision between the workpieces W can be reduced, and stable conveyance can be performed.

  According to the workpiece supply apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the flat surface portion 1031 which is a surface portion orthogonal to the central axis Ax of the pallet 100 in the vicinity of the stepped portion 105 is provided. Therefore, when the workpiece W that has been guided by the groove portion 104 and has a desired posture is positioned on the flat surface portion 1031, the picking device 20 (pickup unit 220) can pick up the workpiece W. As a result, the workpiece can be picked up accurately and in a stable posture as compared with the case where the pick-up is performed with the conveying surface portion 103 having a spiral shape other than the flat surface portion 1031 (incliningly intersecting the central axis Ax).

  According to the workpiece supply apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the pallet 100 has translucency, so that when light is irradiated from the lower side of the pallet 100, light is transmitted as it is, In some cases, light is blocked by W. Thereby, the position (shape) and attitude | position of the workpiece | work W can be made clear.

  According to the workpiece supply apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the pallet 100 includes the light-transmitting synthetic resin material (polycarbonate resin in the present embodiment), thereby facilitating the light-transmitting pallet 100. Can be formed.

  According to the picking device 20 of the present embodiment, with respect to the workpiece W supplied by the workpiece supply device 10, the detection and detection of the position and orientation of the workpiece W by the detection unit 200 and the pickup by the control unit based on the detection result by the detection unit 200. By instructing the unit 220, the pickup of the workpiece W by the pickup unit 220 can be performed easily and accurately.

  According to the picking apparatus 20 of the present embodiment, light can be transmitted by the translucency of the pallet 100 by irradiating the pallet 100 with light from the illumination unit 210 provided on the back side of the pallet 100. Thereby, since the contrast between the workpiece W and the surroundings can be improved, when the detection unit 200 includes the imaging unit 201 for acquiring image data of the workpiece W, it is possible to capture an image with high contrast, and the position of the workpiece W And the posture can be detected more accurately.

  According to the timepiece assembling apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the supplied work W including the work supply device 10 that supplies the work W necessary for assembling the timepiece to a desired posture. Since the picking device 20 for accurately picking up the watch is provided, the timepiece can be assembled accurately and the cycle time can be improved.

  According to the picking method of the present embodiment, the groove portion 104 of the workpiece supply device 10 includes the protrusion C2 guided by the groove portion 104 as the pitch P, and is one or more times the longest dimension to the outer shape of the workpiece W. It is set within the range of 2 times or less. Thereby, in the conveyance process in the workpiece | work supply apparatus 10, even when the processus | protrusion C2 of the workpiece | work W is each guide | induced to the groove part 104 and the adjacent groove part 104, it is conveyed that the workpiece | work W and the workpiece | work W overlap. Further, it is possible to reduce as much as possible, and to reduce the separation from the groove 104 due to the collision between the workpieces W and the like, and to perform stable conveyance. In addition, it is possible to perform efficient conveyance without creating a useless space.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. A modification will be described below.

  The timepiece assembling apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is an apparatus that incorporates, as a workpiece W, a mandarin duck that is a timepiece assembling part into the movement M. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the workpiece W can be applied as long as it has a protrusion and can convey the protrusion by guiding it to the groove.

  In the workpiece supply apparatus 10 according to the above-described embodiment, no groove is formed in the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 of the cover 108 that conveys the workpiece W. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 may also be provided with a groove portion connected to the groove portion 104 of the conveyance surface portion 103.

  In the workpiece supply apparatus 10 of the above-described embodiment, the versatility of the workpiece supply apparatus 10 is improved corresponding to a plurality of types of workpieces W by detachably installing the cover 108 on the pallet 100. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and in the case where a dedicated work supply apparatus for transporting a fixed work W may be used, the cover 108 may not be installed and the cover 108 may be used as a transport surface portion.

  In the workpiece supply apparatus 10 according to the embodiment, the entire pallet 100 except the cover 108 is formed to have translucency. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the part having translucency may be at least a part corresponding to the area where the workpiece W is imaged. In this embodiment, the part corresponding to the viewing angle area A2 has translucency. It may be that.

  In the workpiece supply apparatus 10 of the embodiment, the pallet 100 is formed of a synthetic resin material having translucency. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the pallet 100 may be formed including a light-transmitting glass material.

  In the picking apparatus 20 of the embodiment, the illumination unit 210 is not limited to the LED, and may be configured to use other light emitting means such as a cold cathode tube or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence).

  [Modification 1 of Embodiment]

  Hereinafter, a first modification of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. The workpiece supply apparatus 10 according to the embodiment described above may be configured to include a pallet 100a described below instead of the pallet 100. Further, the pallet 100a described below may be applied to a configuration different from the embodiment described above. FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a pallet 100a included in the workpiece supply apparatus 10 according to the first modification of the present embodiment.

  Unlike the pallet 100, the pallet 100a includes a first posture changing unit 300 that changes the posture of the workpiece W. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to be supplied to the surface posture (the posture in which the protrusion C <b> 2 is guided by the groove portion 104) that is a desired posture by the first posture changing unit 300. Further, the pallet 100 a includes a first posture changing unit 300 on a part of the flat surface portion 1031 that is the upper surface of the stepped portion 105.

The first posture change unit 300 includes a placement unit 301, a fall prevention wall unit 302, and a rotation unit 303.
The placement portion 301 is provided on a part of the flat surface portion 1031 including the end portion 103b of the pallet 100a. That is, in Modification Example 1 of the present embodiment, the terminal end portion 103 b is an end portion on the stepped portion 105 side among the end portions of the placement portion 301. The placement unit 301 places the workpiece W and rotates with the rotation of the rotation unit 303. The workpiece W placed on the placement unit 301 moves toward the end portion 103b by the vibration of the vibration unit 120. Further, in this example, the entire mounting portion 301 is provided outside the viewing angle region A2. In addition, the structure provided in part inside viewing angle area | region A2 may be sufficient as a part or all of the mounting part 301. FIG. In this case, a groove portion having the same shape as the groove portion 104 is provided on the placement surface of the placement portion 301 in the same manner as the conveyance surface portion 103.

  The fall prevention wall portion 302 prevents the workpiece W placed on the placement portion 301 from falling from the terminal portion 103b to the conveyance assisting surface portion 1082, which is the lower surface of the step portion 105, due to the vibration of the vibration portion 120. In this example, the fall prevention wall 302 is terminated on the placement surface of the placement portion 301 in the direction in which the workpiece W placed on the placement surface of the placement portion 301 moves due to the vibration of the vibration portion 120. It is a wall surface provided perpendicularly to the placement portion 301 in front of the portion 103b.

  The rotation unit 303 rotates the placement surface of the placement unit 301 with the radial direction of the pallet 100a in the end portion 103b as the rotation axis CA. By rotating the mounting surface of the mounting unit 301 in this manner, the rotating unit 303 drops the workpiece W mounted on the mounting surface onto the conveyance auxiliary surface unit 1082 that is the lower surface of the stepped portion 105. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the clockwise direction when viewing the center direction of the pallet 100a along the rotation axis CA is referred to as a forward direction, and the counterclockwise direction is referred to as a reverse direction.

  The posture of at least a part of the workpiece W dropped onto the conveyance assisting surface portion 1082 due to the placement portion 301 being rotated by the rotation portion 303 is changed. More specifically, the posture of at least a part of the workpiece W dropped on the conveyance assisting surface portion 1082 due to the rotation of the mounting portion 301 by the rotating portion 303 is changed. More specifically, the posture of the workpiece W placed on the placement surface of the placement portion 301 is a substantially backward posture in which the protrusion C1 is in contact with the surface on which the workpiece W is placed. If there is, the posture of at least a part of the work W falls on the conveyance assisting surface portion 1082 when the placement portion 301 is rotated by the rotating portion 303, so that the work W is placed on the surface. On the other hand, the projection C2 is turned over to a substantially face-up posture, which is a posture where the projection C2 comes into contact with the ground. Further, when the posture of the work W placed on the placement surface of the placement unit 301 is a substantially front-facing posture, the placement unit 301 is rotated by the rotation unit 303 so that at least a part of the posture of the work W is rotated. By being caused to fall onto the conveyance assisting surface portion 1082, it is turned over to a substantially backward posture.

  The substantially front-facing posture is a posture in which the protrusion C2 is guided by the groove portion 104 and the surface Wa faces substantially upward, that is, a desired posture when the workpiece W in the posture moves to the conveying surface portion 103 due to the vibration of the vibrating portion 120. The surface posture. In other words, the workpiece supply device 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to the surface posture by changing the posture of the workpiece W to a substantially front-facing posture by the first posture changing unit 300. On the other hand, when the workpiece W in the posture moves to the conveyance surface portion 103 due to the vibration of the vibration portion 120, the substantially backward posture is a posture in which the protrusion C1 is guided by the groove portion 104 and the back surface Wb faces substantially upward.

  The rotating unit 303 rotates the mounting unit 301 in the forward direction at every timing when the vibration of the vibrating unit 120 stops. Then, after rotating the placement unit 301 in the forward direction, the rotation unit 303 rotates the placement unit 301 in the reverse direction, and the same position and posture (state) as before the placement unit 301 starts to rotate in the forward direction. Return to). Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 rotates the mounting unit 301 by the rotating unit 303 at each timing when the movement of the workpiece W due to the vibration of the vibrating unit 120 stops, and among the workpieces W mounted on the mounting unit 301 At least a part of the posture is changed from a substantially back-facing posture to a substantially front-facing posture.

  In addition, the workpiece supply device 10 rotates the placement unit 301 by the rotation unit 303 at each timing, thereby picking up the workpiece W by the pickup unit 220 and the workpiece by the first posture changing unit 300 during the above-described picking period. W can be changed. As a result, the workpiece supply device 10 does not need to temporarily stop the vibration of the vibrating unit 120 in order to change the posture of the workpiece W by the first posture changing unit 300, and the workpiece W is moved to the movement M by the picking device 20. The efficiency of assembling work can be improved. Instead of this, the rotating unit 303 may be configured to rotate the mounting unit 301 at every other timing.

  Here, a method of changing the posture of the workpiece W by the first posture changing unit 300 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the first posture changing unit 300 provided on the pallet 100a, taken along a plane orthogonal to the end portion 103b of the pallet 100a. As shown in FIG. 12, the 1st attitude | position change part 300 is provided in a part of flat surface part 1031 including the termination | terminus part 103b of the pallet 100a.

  In this example, the placement surface of the placement unit 301 is included in a plane including the surface of the groove 104 provided in the transport surface unit 103. That is, the height H10 from the lowermost BTM of the stepped portion 105 shown in FIG. 12 to the mounting surface of the mounting portion 301 is the height H11 from the lowermost BTM of the stepped portion 105 to the deepest portion of the groove 104. Matches. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can move the workpiece W from the conveyance surface portion 103 to the placement surface of the placement portion 301 by the vibration of the vibration portion 120. Alternatively, the height H10 may be lower than the height H11.

  Further, the contour (cross-sectional shape) of the cross section of the mounting portion 301 was rotated by the rotating portion 303 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 12 (ie, the forward direction) about the rotation axis CA. In this case, it matches the contour represented by the two-dot chain line shown in FIG. That is, the placement unit 301 rotates 180 ° in the forward direction about the rotation axis CA.

  In this case, when the workpiece W is placed on the placement surface of the placement portion 301, the workpiece W falls from the placement surface of the placement portion 301 onto the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082. When falling onto the conveyance assisting surface portion 1082, the posture of a part of the workpiece W is changed from the substantially backward posture to the substantially upward posture, and the other portion of the workpiece W has a substantially upward posture. The posture is changed from the posture to the substantially backward posture, and the rest of the workpiece W is not changed to the posture in the substantially face-up posture or the substantially face-down posture. In addition, since the workpiece W in the surface posture is picked up by the pickup unit 220 in the viewing angle region A2, the workpiece W in the substantially backward posture is generally placed on the placement surface of the placement unit 301 rather than the workpiece W in the substantially face-up posture. There are many more.

  When the pickup unit 220 picks up all the workpieces W in the surface orientation detected in the viewing angle area A2, only the workpiece W in the substantially backward orientation is placed on the placement surface of the placement unit 301, and is almost face down. A part or all of the workpiece W in the posture is reversed to a substantially front posture. The picking device 20 basically picks up all the workpieces W having the surface posture detected in the viewing angle region A2, except for the case where the configuration described in the modified example 4 of the embodiment described later is applied. .

  As a result, the workpiece supply device 10 substantially eliminates the workpiece W in the substantially backward posture on the placement surface of the placement portion 301 among the workpieces W that are not selected as pickup targets by the picking device 20 in the transport surface portion 103. It can be reversed to face up. When the posture of the workpiece W is set to a substantially face-up posture, the posture of the workpiece W is the same as that described above when the protrusion C2 of the workpiece W is guided by the groove portion 104 when the conveyance surface portion 103 is moved by the vibration of the vibrating portion 120. Changes to the desired posture. That is, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can increase the ratio of supplying the workpiece W having the desired surface posture to the picking device 20 by the first posture changing unit 300. In this example, the workpiece M is assembled. Efficiency can be improved.

  Further, the height W1 of the fall prevention wall, which is the height from the placement surface of the placement unit 301 to the end of the fall prevention wall 302 opposite to the placement surface, is the workpiece W of the placement unit 301. It is desirable that the height is not less than the highest height when placed on the placement surface. This is because the workpiece W is moved and conveyed by the vibration of the vibrating portion 120 when the fall prevention wall height H1 is lower than the height that is highest when the workpiece W is placed on the placement surface of the placement portion 301. It may not be possible to prevent falling on the auxiliary surface portion 1082.

  The fall prevention wall height H12 is a distance H13 between the placement surface of the placement portion 301 and the lowermost BTM of the step portion 105 when the placement portion 301 is rotated in the forward direction by the rotation portion 303. Shorter than that. This is because, when the placement unit 301 is rotated in the forward direction by the rotation unit 303, the fall prevention wall unit 302 is caught (interfered) with the conveyance auxiliary surface unit 1082, and the placement surface of the placement unit 301. This is because it cannot be rotated in the forward direction until becomes parallel to the flat surface portion 1031. The fall prevention wall height H12 is a distance H13 between the placement surface of the placement portion 301 and the lowermost BTM of the step portion 105 when the placement portion 301 is rotated in the forward direction by the rotation portion 303. A longer configuration may be used. In this case, however, the fall prevention wall height H12 is such that the workpiece W falls from the placement surface of the placement portion 301 to the auxiliary conveyance surface portion 1082 when the placement portion 301 is rotated in the forward direction by the rotating portion 303. Must be about the length.

  Further, the placement surface length that is the length from the surface of the fall prevention wall portion 302 opposite to the stepped portion 105 to the boundary between the placement surface of the placement portion 301 and the groove portion 104 (that is, the conveyance surface portion 103). The length L10 is equal to or longer than the length L1 of the workpiece W in the longitudinal direction. This is because when the placement surface length L10 is less than the length L1 in the longitudinal direction of the workpiece W, the workpiece W placed on the placement surface of the placement unit 301 is transferred to the placement unit 301 by the rotation unit 303. This is because there is a possibility of falling without rotating together with the placement surface of the placement portion 301 during rotation.

  Further, the length of the fall prevention wall 302 in the direction of the rotation axis CA is the same as the length of the end portion 103b in the direction of the rotation axis CA in this example. Instead of this, the length of the fall prevention wall 302 in the direction of the rotation axis CA may be shorter than the terminal portion 103b.

  As described above, the pallet 100a includes the first posture changing unit 300, so that the workpiece supply device 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to be supplied to a desired posture (in this example, the surface posture).

  Note that the pallet 100a may be configured to include the second posture changing unit 400 instead of the first posture changing unit 300 or together with the first posture changing unit 300. Hereinafter, as an example of a configuration in which the pallet 100a includes the second posture changing unit 400, a case where the pallet 100a includes the second posture changing unit 400 instead of the first posture changing unit 300 described in FIGS. 11 and 12 will be described.

  The workpiece supply apparatus 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to be supplied to the surface posture (the posture in which the protrusion C2 is guided by the groove portion 104) by the second posture changing unit 400. Moreover, the pallet 100a is provided with the 2nd attitude | position change part 400 in a part of level | step difference surface 1051 of the level | step-difference part 105, as shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the second posture changing unit 400 provided on the pallet 100a, taken along a plane orthogonal to the end portion 103b of the pallet 100a.

  The second posture changing unit 400 is a protrusion provided on the step surface 1051. In this example, the workpiece W moves on the conveyance surface portion 103 due to the vibration of the vibration portion 120 and falls on the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 from the terminal portion 103b. At this time, a part of the workpiece W collides with the second posture changing unit 400 that is a protrusion provided on the step surface 1051, and the posture is reversed from the substantially backward posture to the substantially upward posture. Thus, when the pallet 100a includes the second posture changing unit 400, the workpiece supply device 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to be supplied to a desired posture.

  Here, the 2nd attitude | position change part 400 is a processus | protrusion which protruded from the level | step difference surface 1051 by the length L20 shown in FIG. The length L20 is a length according to the outer shape of the workpiece W. For example, the length L20 is desirably a length that prevents the workpiece W from being placed on the second posture changing unit 400. This is to prevent the workpiece W from being placed on the second posture changing unit 400. As an example of such a length, when the length of the workpiece W in the longitudinal direction is 15 millimeters, the length L20 is about 5 millimeters. In addition, the length of the second posture changing unit 400 in the radial direction of the pallet 100a in the terminal portion 103b is the same as the length of the terminal portion 103b in the radial direction in this example. Note that the length of the second posture changing unit 400 in the radial direction of the pallet 100a in the terminal portion 103b may be shorter than the length of the terminal portion 103b in the radial direction instead.

  In addition, the pallet 100a has a third posture instead of one or both of the first posture changing unit 300 and the second posture changing unit 400 or together with the first posture changing unit 300 and the second posture changing unit 400. The structure provided with the change part 500 may be sufficient. Hereinafter, as an example of a configuration in which the pallet 100a includes the third posture changing unit 500, both the first posture changing unit 300 described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12 and the second posture changing unit 400 described with reference to FIG. Instead, a case where the third posture changing unit 500 is provided will be described.

  The workpiece supply device 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to be supplied to the surface posture (the posture in which the protrusion C2 is guided by the groove portion 104) by the third posture changing unit 500. Moreover, the pallet 100a is provided with the 3rd attitude | position change part 500 in a part of level | step difference surface 1051 of the level | step-difference part 105, as shown in FIG. Note that, as indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 14, the pallet 100 a is replaced with the third posture changing unit 500 or together with the third posture changing unit 500 on a part of the conveyance assisting surface portion 1082 that is the lower surface of the stepped portion 105. The structure provided with the 3rd attitude | position change part 501 may be sufficient. Below, the case where the pallet 100a is provided only with the 3rd attitude | position change part 500 is demonstrated as this example.

  FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the third posture changing unit 500 provided on the pallet 100a, taken along a plane orthogonal to the end portion 103b of the pallet 100a. The third posture changing unit 500 (or the third posture changing unit 501) is a nozzle that ejects gas (for example, air or gas). In this example, the workpiece W moves on the conveyance surface portion 103 due to the vibration of the vibration portion 120 and falls on the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 from the terminal portion 103b. At this time, at least a part of the workpiece W is changed from a substantially back-facing posture to a substantially front-facing posture due to pressure (wind pressure) caused by gas ejected from the third posture changing unit 500 provided on the step surface 1051. And reverse.

  Thus, when the pallet 100a includes the third posture changing unit 500, the workpiece supply device 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to be supplied to the surface posture. Note that the direction in which the gas is ejected from the third posture changing unit 500 is preferably inclined from the direction orthogonal to the step surface 1051 to the side opposite to the conveyance assisting surface unit 1082, as shown in FIG. This is because this makes it easier for the workpiece supply apparatus 10 to reverse the posture of the workpiece W in the substantially backward posture to the workpiece W in the substantially upward posture.

  When the pallet 100a includes the third posture changing unit 501, the direction of jetting the gas from the third posture changing unit 501 is inclined from the direction orthogonal to the conveyance auxiliary surface unit 1082 to the conveyance direction side of the workpiece W. It is desirable that This is also for facilitating reversing the posture of the workpiece W in the substantially face-down posture to the workpiece W in the substantially face-up posture.

  In addition, the gas ejected from the third posture changing unit 500 applies pressure to the workpiece W falling from the terminal end portion 103b onto the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 in the direction in which the workpiece W is conveyed. It is possible to prevent W from overlapping on the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082.

  [Modification 2 of the embodiment]

  Hereinafter, Modification 2 of the present embodiment will be described. The workpiece supply apparatus 10 according to the embodiment described above may be configured to include a pallet 100b described below instead of the pallet 100 or the pallet 100a. Further, the pallet 100b described below may be applied to a configuration different from the embodiment described above.

  Unlike the pallet 100 and the pallet 100a, the pallet 100b is coated on both the conveyance surface portion 103 and the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082. For example, the coating is a urethane coating. The coating may be a coating made of another material. The conveyance surface portion 103 and the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 are coated as described above and have a uniform friction coefficient. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can easily move the workpiece W on both the conveyance surface portion 103 and the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 by the vibration of the vibration portion 120.

  Note that the pallet 100b may be a coating made of a material in which the coating applied to the conveyance surface portion 103 and the coating applied to the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 are different. Thereby, the pallet 100b can make the conveyance surface part 103 and the conveyance auxiliary | assistant surface part 1082 have a different friction coefficient. For example, in the pallet 100 b, when the friction coefficient of the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 is higher than the friction coefficient of the conveyance surface portion 103, a part of the workpiece W that has fallen on the conveyance auxiliary surface portion 1082 from the terminal portion 103 b due to vibration of the vibration unit 120 is conveyed. The auxiliary surface portion 1082 can be easily caught, and as a result, the posture of the workpiece W can be easily reversed from the substantially backward posture to the substantially upward posture.

  Further, the pallet 100b may be a coating made of a material in which a coating applied to a part of the transport surface part 103 and a coating applied to another part different from the part of the transport surface part 103 are different. For example, among the arc portions provided in the plan view of the pallet 100b, outside the third radius that is the length of the radius obtained by subtracting the half of the difference between the first radius and the second radius from the first radius. The friction coefficient in the first region R1 may be lower than the friction coefficient in at least a part of the second region R2 inside the third radius. This is an example where the coating applied to the first region R1 and the coating applied to the second region R2 are made of different materials. Alternatively, the third radius may be an arbitrary length larger than the second radius and smaller than the first radius.

  When the friction coefficient of the second region R2 is higher than the friction coefficient of the first region R1, the workpiece W in the first region R1 is less likely to move due to the vibration of the vibration unit 120 than the workpiece W in the second region R2. As a result, when the workpiece supply apparatus 10 conveys the workpiece W due to the vibration of the vibration unit 120, the workpiece W spreads from the second region R2 (inside the pallet 100b) to the first region R1 (outside the pallet 100b). It can suppress gathering in 1st area | region R1.

  [Modification 3 of the embodiment]

  Hereinafter, a third modification of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The workpiece supply apparatus 10 according to the embodiment described above may be configured to include a pallet 100c described below in place of some or all of the pallet 100, the pallet 100a, and the pallet 100b. Further, the pallet 100c described below may be applied to a configuration different from the embodiment described above. Moreover, the structure of the pallet 100c demonstrated below is an example of a structure applied when the friction coefficient of the mounting surface of the pallet 100c is uniform.

  Unlike the pallet 100, pallet 100a, and pallet 100b, the pallet 100c is a restriction that restricts the workpiece W from moving outside the third radius to the first region R1 in at least a part of the conveyance surface portion 103. Part 600 is provided.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the pallet 100 c provided with the restriction unit 600. As shown in FIG. 15, the restriction portion 600 is a wall surface provided in the first region R <b> 1, and moves the workpiece W moved from the second region R <b> 2 to the first region R <b> 1 side along the wall surface by vibration of the vibration unit 120. To move back from the first region R1 to the second region R2. In FIG. 15, a dotted circle DL with a third radius is drawn on the palette 100c in order to clarify the boundary between the first region R1 and the second region R2.

  More specifically, the restricting portion 600 is a position on the outer periphery of the edge portion 102, and is a predetermined first angle γ counterclockwise along the conveyance surface portion 103 of the pallet 100c about the center of the pallet 100c. It is a position on the boundary line between the first region R1 and the second region R2 from the position on the outer periphery rotated from the start end portion 103a, and counterclockwise around the center of the pallet 100c along the transport surface portion 103 of the pallet 100c. The wall surface extends to a position on the boundary line rotated from the start end portion 103a by a predetermined second angle δ.

  When the workpiece W moved from the second region R2 to the first region R1 side due to the vibration of the vibration unit 120 comes into contact with the wall surface of the regulating unit 600, the workpiece W moves from the first region R1 to the second region R2 side along the wall surface. It moves by the vibration of the vibration unit 120. Thereby, the workpiece | work supply apparatus 10 can suppress that the workpiece | work W collects in 1st area | region R1 of the pallet 100c.

  The workpiece W after having moved to the second region R2 by the restricting portion 600 moves again on the conveying surface portion 103 toward the end portion 103b by the vibration of the vibrating portion 120. At this time, the workpiece W again moves from the second region R2 to the first region R1 side. Therefore, the predetermined first angle γ and the second angle δ are determined so that the workpiece W is dispersed substantially uniformly between the first region R1 and the second region R2 in the viewing angle region A2. It is done.

  Thus, when the control part 600 is provided in the pallet 100c, the imaging part 201 with which the detection part 200 of the picking apparatus 20 is equipped with the ratio of the area of 1st area | region R1 which occupies in viewing angle area | region A2 with respect to 100c. The second region R2 is installed at a position that is substantially the same as the area ratio of the second region R2 in the viewing angle region A2. As a result, the imaging unit 201 can include the workpiece W dispersed substantially uniformly between the first region R1 and the second region R2 in the viewing angle region A2. As a result, the picking device 20 can suppress a reduction in the number of workpieces W that can be selected as pickup targets detected by the detection unit 200 in the viewing angle region A2.

  In addition, when the workpiece supply apparatus 10 includes a pallet (for example, the pallet 100, the pallet 100a, the pallet 100b, or the like) that does not include the regulation unit 600 in this example, the workpiece W that moves the conveyance surface unit 103 due to the vibration of the vibration unit 120 is It will gather in the 1st field R1 side in the circular arc part of the pallet concerned. Therefore, in the imaging unit 201, at least half of the viewing angle region A2 is occupied by the area of a part of the first region R1 outside the third radius of the arc portion of the pallet in the conveyance surface portion 103. It is desirable to be installed at a position where it is possible. Thereby, the imaging unit 201 can store the workpieces W gathered in the first region R1 in the viewing angle region A2. As a result, the picking device 20 can suppress a decrease in the number of workpieces W that can be selected as pickup targets detected by the detection unit 200 from within the viewing angle region A2.

  [Modification 4 of the embodiment]

  Hereinafter, Modification 4 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The picking device 20 according to the embodiment described above may include a second control unit described below instead of the control unit described above. Further, the second control unit described below may be applied to a configuration different from the embodiment described above.

  The second control unit analyzes the image as the detection result from the detection unit 200 (image processing), and the workpiece W in which the protrusion C2 is guided to the groove portion 104 and the surface Wa is directed upward, that is, A surface W workpiece W (a workpiece W to be picked up) is selected. At this time, the second control unit determines whether or not the workpiece W in a desired posture among the workpieces W included in the image satisfies a predetermined condition.

  The predetermined condition is a condition relating to at least one of the number of the surface W workpieces W and the position of the surface W workpieces W. In this example, a case will be described in which the predetermined condition is a condition related to the number of workpieces in the surface posture. In this case, the predetermined condition is, for example, that the number of workpieces W in the surface posture is equal to or greater than a predetermined number.

  The second control unit counts the number of workpieces W having the surface posture included in the image as the detection result from the detection unit 200. The second control unit is configured to calculate a value based on the number of workpieces W (for example, a statistical value such as a ratio of the number of workpieces W in the surface posture to the number of all workpieces W included in the image). It may be. In this case, the predetermined condition is that a value based on the number of workpieces W in the surface posture is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Further, the second control unit may be configured to detect other information based on the work W such as the position of the work W. In this case, the predetermined condition is that the workpieces in the surface posture are in a predetermined arrangement. The predetermined arrangement is, for example, that an index (for example, entropy) indicating the degree of dispersion of the number of workpieces W having a surface posture included in an image as a detection result from the detection unit 200 is equal to or greater than a predetermined index value. .

  When the number of the surface posture workpieces W included in the image as the detection result from the detection unit 200 does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the second control unit causes the picking device 20 to pick up the surface posture workpieces W. Since there is a situation in which the workpiece W having the surface posture disappears in the viewing angle area A2 and the cycle time of the timepiece assembly line 1000 may be delayed, the pickup unit 220 is not instructed to pick up the workpiece W. Then, the second control unit instructs the vibration unit 120 to vibrate the pallet 100.

  On the other hand, when the number of the surface posture workpieces W included in the image as the detection result from the detection unit 200 satisfies the predetermined condition, the second control unit detects the workpiece W in the viewing angle region A2 in the viewing angle region A2. It is determined whether or not the workpiece W having the surface posture exists in the first detection region W100 that is a region including at least a part of the end portion of the viewing angle region A2 in the transport direction that is the transport direction.

  When the surface W workpiece W is present in the first detection area W100, the second control unit instructs the picking device 20 to cause the picking device 20 to pick up the surface W workpiece W detected in the first detection region W100. . On the other hand, when the surface W workpiece W does not exist in the first detection region W100, the second control unit instructs the picking device 20 to leave the remaining region of the viewing angle region A2 excluding the first detection region W100. The picking device 20 picks up the workpiece W having the surface posture detected in the second detection area W110.

  As a result, the workpiece supply device 10 is a workpiece that is likely to be transported from the end of the viewing angle region A2 to the outside of the viewing angle region A2 due to the vibration of the vibration unit 120 on the pallet 100 among the workpieces W having a surface posture to be picked up. The workpiece W can be picked up first, and as a result, it is possible to efficiently supply the workpiece W having the surface posture to be picked up placed on the pallet 100.

Hereinafter, the process of the second control unit will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow of the second control unit.
The second control unit instructs the imaging unit 201 to image the viewing angle area A2. Then, the second control unit instructs the detection unit 200 to detect the position and posture of the workpiece W from the image captured by the imaging unit 201. Further, the second control unit instructs the detection unit 200 to count the number of workpieces W having a surface posture from within the image (step S100). Next, the second control unit determines whether or not the number counted in step S100 satisfies a predetermined condition (in this example, whether or not it is a predetermined number or more) (step S110).

  When it is determined that the number counted in step S100 does not satisfy the predetermined condition (step S110-No), the second control unit instructs the vibration unit 120 to vibrate the pallet 100 for a predetermined vibration time ( Step S140). Then, after the predetermined vibration time has elapsed, the second control unit instructs the vibration unit 120 to stop the vibration applied to the pallet 100. The second control unit waits for a predetermined waiting time after the vibration stops, and then transitions to step S100 to cause the imaging unit 201 to image the viewing angle region A2 again. The predetermined vibration time is, for example, about 0.5 seconds. The predetermined vibration time may be another time instead of this.

The predetermined waiting time is a time corresponding to the assembling accuracy for assembling the workpiece W to the movement M, and is, for example, about 0.3 seconds. The predetermined waiting time may be a time other than 0.3 seconds instead. As described above, the second control unit waits for a predetermined standby time after stopping the vibration of the vibration unit 120, and then performs the process of step S100. Therefore, the second control unit is unstable due to the vibration (for example, the state of slipping due to the vibration). ) After the posture of the workpiece W is stabilized (for example, in a state in which it does not slip), the imaging unit 201 can image the viewing angle region A2. As a result, the second control unit can cause the detection unit 200 to accurately detect the position and orientation of the workpiece W.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the number counted in step S100 satisfies the predetermined condition (step S110-NYes), the second control unit detects the workpiece W in the surface posture in the first detection region W100 by the detection unit 200. It is determined whether it has been performed (step S120).

  Here, the first detection region W100 and the second detection region W110 set in the viewing angle region A2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image captured by the detection unit 200 (imaging unit 201) in the viewing angle region A2 in which the first detection region W100 and the second detection region W110 are set. Note that the image illustrated in FIG. 17 is an image captured at a timing different from the timing at which the image illustrated in FIG. 10 is captured. In FIG. 17, the dotted line representing the first detection region W100 and the dashed line representing the second detection region W110 are drawn without being overlapped in order to clarify their boundaries. Overlapping in area A2. As shown in FIG. 17, the second control unit sets two regions, that is, a first detection region W100 and a second detection region W110 with respect to the viewing angle region A2. The second control unit may be configured to set three or more regions with respect to the viewing angle region A2.

  The first detection area W100 set in the viewing angle area A2 includes at least a part of the end in the conveyance direction of the workpiece W. In this example, the first detection region W100 includes both an end portion on the −X direction side and an end portion on the + Y direction side that are end portions in the conveyance direction of the workpiece W in the viewing angle region A2. As shown in FIG. 17, the first detection region W100 is an L-shaped region including these two end portions. In this example, the second detection area W110 set as the viewing angle area A2 is an area remaining after the first detection area W100 is removed from the viewing angle area A2.

  Here, in FIG. 17, the conveyance direction of the workpiece W is the third quadrant direction of the XY plane in the XYZ orthogonal coordinate system shown in FIG. 17 (upwardly obliquely toward FIG. 17). For this reason, the first detection region W100 includes both an end portion on the −X direction side and an end portion on the + Y direction side, which are the end portions in the conveyance direction of the workpiece in the viewing angle region A2. That is, the workpiece W passes through one or both of the end portion on the −X direction side and the end portion on the + Y direction side, which is the end portion in the conveyance direction of the workpiece, from the viewing angle region A2 as time passes. To move out of the viewing angle area A2.

  When it is determined in step S120 that the surface posture workpiece W is detected by the detection unit 200 when the surface posture workpiece W is detected in step S100 in the first detection region W100 illustrated in FIG. 17 (step S120— Yes), the second control unit sets the workpiece W having one or more surface postures detected in the first detection region W100 as the workpiece W to be picked up in the order of detection, random, or other order, for example. select. Then, the second control unit instructs the pickup unit 220 to pick up the selected workpiece W to be picked up (step S150). Then, the second control unit instructs the pickup unit 220 to assemble the picked-up workpiece W to the movement M. After the pickup unit 220 picks up the work W, the second control unit instructs the vibration unit 120 to vibrate the pallet 100 and cause the work supply device 10 to convey the work W. Then, after the vibration applied to the pallet 100 stops, the second control unit waits for a predetermined waiting time and then transitions to step S100 to cause the imaging unit 201 to image the viewing angle region A2 again.

  On the other hand, in the first detection region W100 shown in FIG. 17, when it is determined that the surface posture workpiece W is not detected by the detection unit 200 when the surface posture workpiece W is detected in step S100 (step S120-No). The second control unit selects the workpiece W having one or more surface postures detected in the second detection region W110 as the workpiece W to be picked up, for example, in the order of detection, random, or other order. . Then, the second control unit instructs the pickup unit 220 to pick up the selected workpiece W to be picked up (step S130). Then, the second control unit instructs the pickup unit 220 to assemble the picked-up workpiece W to the movement M. Further, the second control unit instructs the vibration unit 120 to vibrate the pallet 100 during the pickup period, and causes the workpiece supply apparatus 10 to convey the workpiece W. Then, after the vibration applied to the pallet 100 stops, the second control unit waits for a predetermined waiting time and then transitions to step S100 to cause the imaging unit 201 to image the viewing angle region A2 again.

  Thus, by the processing after step S120, the second control unit out of the viewing angle region A2 from the end of the viewing angle region A2 due to the vibration of the vibration unit 120 on the pallet 100 in the workpiece W to be picked. The workpiece W that is likely to be conveyed can be picked up by the pickup unit 220 first. As a result, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can efficiently supply the workpiece W to be picked placed on the pallet 100.

  As described above, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 in the present embodiment changes the posture of the workpiece W. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to be supplied to the surface posture.

  In addition, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 changes the posture of the workpiece W by the first posture changing unit 300 provided on the upper surface of the stepped portion 105. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to the surface posture by the first posture changing unit 300 provided on the upper surface of the step portion 105.

  In the workpiece supply apparatus 10, the workpiece W can be placed on the placement unit 301 and moved. Thereby, the workpiece | work supply apparatus 10 can move the workpiece | work W mounted in the mounting part 301, and can change the attitude | position of the workpiece | work W into a surface attitude | position.

  Moreover, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 rotates the placement unit 301. Thereby, the workpiece supply device 10 can rotate the placement unit 301 and change the posture of the workpiece W placed on the placement unit 301 to the surface posture.

  Further, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 changes the posture of the workpiece W by the second posture changing unit 400 provided on the step surface 1051 of the step portion 105 of the pallet 100a. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to a desired posture by the second posture changing unit 400 provided on the step surface 1051 of the step portion 105 of the pallet 100a.

  Further, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 changes the posture of the workpiece W by a protrusion (in this example, the second posture changing unit 400) provided on the step surface 1051. Thereby, the workpiece supply device 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to the surface posture by the protrusion provided on the step surface 1051.

  In addition, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 has either a third posture changing unit 500 provided on the lower surface of the stepped portion 105 of the pallet 100a or a third posture changing unit 501 provided on the stepped surface 1051 of the stepped portion 105. Alternatively, the posture of the workpiece W is changed by both. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 is either the third posture changing unit 500 provided on the lower surface of the stepped portion 105 of the pallet 100a or the third posture changing unit 501 provided on the stepped surface 1051 of the stepped portion 105. By one or both, the posture of the workpiece W can be changed to the surface posture.

  In addition, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 has either a third posture changing unit 500 provided on the lower surface of the stepped portion 105 of the pallet 100a or a third posture changing unit 501 provided on the stepped surface 1051 of the stepped portion 105. Or gas is ejected from both. Thereby, the workpiece supply device 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to the surface posture by ejecting gas from one or both of the third posture changing unit 500 and the third posture changing unit 501.

  Moreover, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 reverses the workpiece W. Thereby, the workpiece | work supply apparatus 10 can reverse the workpiece | work W and can change the attitude | position of the workpiece | work W into a surface attitude | position.

  In addition, the workpiece supply device 10 causes the vibration unit 120 to vibrate a pallet (for example, the pallet 100, the pallet 100a, the pallet 100b, the pallet 100c, etc.) having an arc portion in plan view. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can supply the workpiece W along the arc portion of the pallet by the vibration of the vibrating unit 120. As a result, the workpiece supply device 10 can circulate the workpiece W that has not been picked up along the arc portion.

  Further, in the workpiece supply apparatus 10, the first region R1 located outside the third radius of the placement surface of the pallet (for example, the pallet 100, the pallet 100a, the pallet 100b, the pallet 100c, etc.) on which the workpiece W is conveyed. Is lower than the friction coefficient in at least a part of the second region R2 inside the third radius. Thereby, the workpiece | work supply apparatus 10 can suppress that the workpiece | work W conveyed by vibration collects on the outer peripheral side of the said pallet in the mounting surface of the said pallet.

  Moreover, in the workpiece supply apparatus 10, the friction coefficient of the mounting surface of the pallets (for example, the pallet 100, the pallet 100a, the pallet 100b, the pallet 100c, etc.) on which the workpiece W is conveyed is uniform. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can easily process the mounting surface of the pallet.

  Further, in the workpiece supply apparatus 10, when the workpiece W to be picked placed on the pallet 100c in the viewing angle area A2 imaged by the imaging unit 201 satisfies a predetermined condition, the workpiece supply device 10 vibrates the pallet 100c. Thereby, the workpiece | work supply apparatus 10 can supply the workpiece | work W used as the picking object mounted in the pallet 100c efficiently.

  In addition, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 satisfies the condition regarding at least one of the number of workpieces W or the position of the workpieces W so that the workpiece W to be picked placed on the pallet 100c in the viewing angle region A2 imaged by the imaging unit 201 is used. In this case, vibration is applied to the pallet 100c. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can efficiently supply the workpiece W to be picked placed on the pallet 100c based on the condition regarding at least one of the number of workpieces W or the position of the workpiece W.

  The workpiece supply device 10 is picked by the picking device 20 from the workpiece W located in the first detection region W100 that is a set region of the viewing angle region A2 imaged by the imaging unit 201. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can be picked up first from the workpiece W transported before the other workpiece W among the workpieces W to be picked, and as a result, placed on the pallet 100c. The workpiece W to be picked can be efficiently supplied.

  Further, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 is a workpiece that is set in a viewing angle region A2 imaged by the imaging unit 201 and is located in a region including at least a part of the end of the viewing angle region A2 in the conveyance direction of the workpiece W. Picking is performed from W by the picking device 20. As a result, the workpiece supply device 10 moves ahead of the workpiece W that is likely to be transported from the end of the viewing angle region A2 to the outside of the viewing angle region A2 due to the vibration of the vibration unit 120 on the pallet 100c among the workpieces W to be picked. As a result, the workpiece W to be picked placed on the pallet 100c can be efficiently supplied.

  Further, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 supplies the workpiece W by applying vibration to the pallet 100c having an arc portion in plan view. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can supply the workpiece W that has not been picked up again as the workpiece W to be picked.

  Further, the workpiece supply device 10 restricts the workpiece W from moving outside the third radius. Thereby, the workpiece | work supply apparatus 10 can suppress that the workpiece | work W collects in 1st area | region R1 of the pallet 100c.

  Further, in the workpiece supply device 10, at least half of the viewing angle region A2 of the imaging unit 201 is in the first region R1 outside the third radius of the arc portion of the pallet 100c on the placement surface of the pallet 100c. A part occupies at least half of the viewing angle region A2. Thereby, for example, when the workpieces W are collected in the first region R1 of the pallet 100c, the workpiece supply device 10 can efficiently supply the workpiece W to be picked placed on the pallet 100c. .

  Further, in the workpiece supply apparatus 10, after the vibration by the vibration unit 120 stops, the workpiece W is imaged by the imaging unit 201 after a predetermined standby time has elapsed. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus 10 can stand by until the change in the posture of the workpiece W due to the vibration by the vibrating unit 120 is settled. As a result, the imaging unit 201 images the workpiece W while the posture of the workpiece W is stable. can do.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Clock assembly apparatus, 10 ... Work supply apparatus, 20 ... Picking apparatus, 30 ... Conveyance part, 100, 100a, 100b, 100c ... Pallet, 103 ... Conveyance surface part, 104 ... Groove part, 105 ... Step part, 120 ... Vibration part , 200 ... detection unit, 201 ... imaging unit, 210 ... illumination unit, 220 ... pickup unit, 1031 ... flat surface part, 1051 ... step surface, C2 ... protrusion (convex part), Ax ... center axis, W ... workpiece, 300 ... First posture changing unit 301 ... Placement unit 302 ... Fall prevention wall unit 303 ... Rotating unit 400 ... Second posture changing unit 500 ... Third posture changing unit 501 ... Third posture changing unit

In order to solve at least one of the above problems, one embodiment of the present invention includes a pallet for accommodating a workpiece and a vibration unit that vibrates the pallet, and the vibration unit is imaged by an imaging unit. that if the workpiece to be placed on a picking target on the pallet in the imaging range it does not meet the predetermined condition, providing a vibration, a workpiece supply device.
With this configuration, the workpiece supply device, when the workpiece to be picked object which is placed on the pallet in the imaging range to be imaged by the imaging unit does not meet the predetermined condition, giving a vibration to the pallet. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus can efficiently supply the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet.

Thus, the workpiece supply device, when the workpiece to be picked object which is placed on the pallet in the imaging range to be imaged by the imaging unit does not meet the predetermined condition, giving a vibration to the pallet. Thereby, the workpiece supply apparatus can efficiently supply the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet.
Further, the robot and the robot system pick the work supplied by the work supply device. Thereby, the robot and the robot system can pick the work efficiently supplied by the work supply device.

Also, the workpiece supply device 10, if the workpiece W to be picked object which is placed on the pallet 100c in the viewing angle region A2 to be imaged by the imaging unit 201 does not meet the predetermined condition, giving a vibration to the pallet 100c. Thereby, the workpiece | work supply apparatus 10 can supply the workpiece | work W used as the picking object mounted in the pallet 100c efficiently.

Claims (10)

A pallet for accommodating workpieces;
A vibrating section for applying vibration to the pallet;
With
The vibration unit gives vibration when the workpiece to be picked placed on the pallet satisfies a predetermined condition in an imaging range imaged by the imaging unit,
Work supply device. The predetermined condition is a condition relating to at least one of the number of the workpieces or the position of the workpieces.
The workpiece supply apparatus according to claim 1. Picking is performed by the picking device from the workpiece located in a set area of the imaging range imaged by the imaging unit.
The workpiece supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The region includes at least a part of an end in the conveyance direction of the workpiece in the imaging range.
The workpiece supply apparatus according to claim 3. The pallet has an arc portion in plan view,
The workpiece supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The arc portion has a notch, and has a substantially ring shape excluding a circle with a second radius that is shorter than the first radius from a circle with a first radius;
At least a part of the mounting surface of the pallet is outside the third radius, which is the length of a radius obtained by subtracting the half of the difference between the first radius and the second radius from the first radius. In the first region, there is provided a restricting portion that restricts the movement of the work to the outside.
The workpiece supply apparatus according to claim 5. The arc portion has a notch, and has a substantially ring shape excluding a circle with a second radius that is shorter than the first radius from a circle with a first radius;
At least half of the imaging range of the imaging unit is a length of a radius obtained by subtracting, from the first radius, a half of the difference between the first radius and the second radius of the mounting surface of the pallet. A portion of the first region outside the third radius,
The workpiece supply apparatus according to claim 5. After the vibration by the vibration unit is stopped, the workpiece is imaged by the imaging unit after a predetermined standby time has elapsed.
The workpiece supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7. Picking the workpiece from the workpiece supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
robot. The imaging unit;
The workpiece supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A robot according to claim 9;
A robot system comprising: