JP2006089093A - Cap lining up apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To line up caps of various shapes and sizes in a certain direction. <P>SOLUTION: A cap lining up apparatus 100 is used to line up the caps 1 transferred by a conveyor 20 into a given position. The apparatus 100 is provided with a robot hand 51 which is arranged near the transfer end of the conveyor 20 and picks and lines up respective caps 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cap alignment device.

  Patent Document 1 is a cap aligning device, in which a disk is supported at the center of a substrate so as to rotate. The upper surface of the disk is flat, and its periphery is formed into a conical surface extending downward. A pocket with a shape that allows multiple caps to be fitted is formed on the top through radially extending partitions provided at equal intervals. A guide is placed on the substrate adjacent to the disk, and above the top. Discloses a cam that presses the cap in the pocket toward the center, and an inversion rod that is bent toward the center slightly along the lower end from the lower end of the cam.

Patent Document 2 discloses a method for aligning pump caps in which a cylinder having a diameter smaller than that of a cap body is coaxially suspended from a cap body, and a cylindrical wall disposed on an outer peripheral portion of the feeder disk. Between the outer peripheral portion of the feeder disk and the cylindrical wall by providing a gap smaller than the outer diameter of the cap body and larger than the outer diameter of the cylinder. The pump cap is suspended and aligned.
Shokai 54-77746 JP 62-8914

  In the cap aligning device of Patent Document 1, when the outer dimension of the cap is changed, it is necessary to replace the disk, and the pump cap cannot be aligned.

  In the cap alignment device of Patent Document 2, when the outer dimensions of the cap are changed, it is necessary to replace the disk, and it is impossible to align caps other than the pump cap.

  In the cap aligning apparatus, it is conceivable to pick up the cap by the robot hand. However, in the cap aligning apparatus in which the hand of the robot 3 is arranged on the side of the conveyor 2 that conveys the cap 1, as shown in FIG. There are problems. That is, as shown in FIG. 27, when the cap 1 is gripped from the side by the cap holder 4 of the hand 4 of the robot 3, the cap holder 4A is rotated about its own axis as shown in FIG. The cap 1 can be reversed, but the arm or the like of the hand 4 interferes with another cap 1 on the conveyor 2. 28, when the cap 1 is gripped from above by the cap holder 4A of the hand 4 of the robot 3, the arm of the hand 4 is placed when the cap 1 is placed on the conveyor 2 after the cap 1 is reversed. Etc. interfere with the conveyor 2.

  An object of the present invention is to align caps of various shapes and dimensions in a certain direction.

  The invention of claim 1 is a cap aligning device for aligning caps conveyed by the conveyor in a predetermined posture, wherein the cap holder is movable toward the conveyor from the front side of the carry-out end of the conveyor. A moving means is provided so that the cap holder can pick up the cap and align it.

Example 1 (FIGS. 1 to 19)
1 and 2 aligns a cap 1 used for a container containing shampoo or the like in a predetermined posture. The cap aligning apparatus 100 can align the pump cap 1 shown in FIG. 5 in addition to the elliptical cap 1 shown in FIG. 3 and the cylindrical cap 1 shown in FIG.

  1 and 2 aligns the cap 1 in a predetermined posture. The cap aligning apparatus 100 can align the pump cap 1 shown in FIG. 5 in addition to the elliptical cap 1 shown in FIG. 3 and the cylindrical cap 1 shown in FIG.

  The cap aligning apparatus 100 arranges the supply conveyor 10, the transfer conveyor 20, and the discharge conveyor 30 as supply sources in order, and arranges the separation supply apparatus 40 between the supply conveyor 10 and the transfer conveyor 20, and the transfer conveyor 20 and the discharge conveyor 30. The robot 50 is disposed between the two, and the robot 50 is provided with the image processing device 60 as an accessory.

  The supply conveyor 10 drops and supplies a predetermined number of caps 1 to the carry-in end of the transfer conveyor 20. The supply conveyor 10 can be a vibrating conveyor other than the belt conveyor, or can be replaced with a hopper. The conveyor 20 and the discharge conveyor 30 may also be a vibration conveyor in addition to the belt conveyor.

  The supply conveyor 10 and the transfer conveyor 20 are normally caps within a range that the robot 50 picks up the cap 1 at the unloading end of the transfer conveyor 20 and the cap unloading confirmation sensor 23 provided at the unloading end of the transfer conveyor 20 detects. It may be started when 1 runs out and stopped when the sensor 23 detects the cap 1.

  However, when the cap 1 remains at the carry-in end of the transport conveyor 20 where the cap 1 that has fallen from the supply conveyor 10 arrives, when the supply conveyor 10 is moved, a new cap 1 is added to the cap 1 on the transport conveyor 20. Close to each other, or overlap in extreme cases, which hinders pick-up by the robot 50 at the carry-out end of the transfer conveyor 20. Therefore, in the cap aligning apparatus 100, the transport conveyor 20 is divided into a first transport conveyor 20A on the carry-in end side and a second transport conveyor 20B on the carry-out end side, and the entire area above the first transport conveyor 20A is detected. Based on the detection results of the area sensor 21 and the cap carry-in confirmation sensor 22 provided at the start end of the second transport conveyor 20B (side the connecting guide 20C connecting the first transport conveyor 20A and the second transport conveyor 20B), the supply conveyor 10. Turn on / off the operation of the conveyor 20. A control example of the supply conveyor 10 and the transfer conveyor 20 is shown in Table 1. The supply conveyor 10 is controlled to operate only when the cap 1 is out of the detection range of the area sensor 21 and the cap carry-in confirmation sensor 22.

  When the cap aligning device 100 drops the cap 1 from the supply conveyor 10 and supplies the cap 1 to the transport conveyor 20, the cap aligning apparatus 100 separates each of the caps 1 forming a group from each other on the transport conveyor 20. In order to smooth the pick-up of the cap 1 by the robot 50, the separation and supply device 40 is disposed in the middle of the drop region of the cap 1 from the supply conveyor 10 to the transport conveyor 20.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the separation supply device 40 is provided with a plurality of separators 41 having a plurality of rows on the left and right along the transport width direction of the transport conveyor 20 and a plurality of stages on the top and bottom in the falling region of the cap 1. . Each separation body 41 falls from the supply conveyor 10 and comes into contact with each of the caps 1 forming a group, and the falling path of the caps 1 is distributed to the left and right along the conveyance width direction of the conveyance conveyor 20. (20A) are separated from each other and separated from each other.

  At this time, the separation supply device 40 arranges the plurality of separators 41 asymmetrically with respect to the center of the transport conveyor 20 in the transport width direction. Thereby, the fall path | route length of the cap 1 which contacted each separation body 41 is changed, and the arrival time from the supply conveyor 10 of the cap 1 to the conveyance conveyor 20 is changed. At this time, the transport conveyor 20 is turned on, and the caps 1 that have reached the transport conveyor 20 are sequentially separated in the transport direction (longitudinal direction of the transport conveyor 20) and separated and separated.

  In addition, the separation supply apparatus 40 arranged each separator 41 so that it might become asymmetric as a whole with respect to the center of the conveyance conveyor 20 in the conveyance width direction. That is, when the shape of each separator 41 is left-right asymmetric, the position of each separator 41 is left-right asymmetric, or the separator 41 is in a left-right symmetric position, the inclination angles of the corresponding separators 41 are different from each other. By disposing the cap 1 or the like, the effect of separating the cap 1 on the transport conveyor 20 is promoted. Specifically, for example, the following (A) and (B) can be adopted.

(A) Example of FIG. 7 The separating body 41 is composed of left and right sorting parts 41A and 41B that are V-shaped, and the tilt angles of the sorting parts 41A and 41B with respect to the horizontal are made variable independently.

  Each distribution part 41A, 41B is composed of, for example, one piece of flat plate body, and is pivotally supported by fixing a support shaft 42 provided at one end thereof to the base plate 40A with a nut, and provided at the other end thereof. The stopper shaft 43 can be moved along the arc groove 40B formed in the base plate 40A, and the stopper shaft 43 is fixed to the arbitrary position along the arc groove 40B with a nut. Thereby, each distribution part 41A, 41B can set those inclination angles mutually independently.

(B) Example of FIG. 8 The separating body 41 is composed of left and right allocating portions 41A and 41B that are V-shaped, and the inclination angles of the allocating portions 41A and 41B with respect to the horizontal are integrally variable.

  Both distribution portions 41A and 41B are made of, for example, a single L-shaped body, and pivotally supported by a base shaft 40A with a support shaft 42 provided at the crossing corner of the L-shaped body being fastened to the base plate 40A. Is movable along the arc groove 40B formed in the base plate 40A, and is fixed by sandwiching the one end 43 with a clamping tool 44 provided at an arbitrary position along the arc groove 40B. Thereby, both distribution part 41A, 41B sets the inclination angle integrally.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, the separation supply device 40 may use a separation body 45 made of a roller (or a round bar) as a modification of the separation body 41. The separator 45 is configured by rotatably loading a cylindrical collar 45B on a central shaft 45A that is nut-fastened to the base plate 40A. Similarly to the separator 41, the separator 45 is also installed in each of a plurality of positions in a plurality of rows on the left and right along the transport width direction of the transport conveyor 20 and in a plurality of positions on the top and bottom in the fall region of the cap 1 and transports. It is preferable that the conveyors 20 are arranged asymmetrically with respect to the center in the conveyance width direction.

  The robot 50 aligns the cap 1 transported by the transport conveyor 20 on the discharge conveyor 30 with a predetermined posture. The position coordinates, angle, and position of the cap 1 on the transport conveyor 20 before alignment are arranged. An image processing device 60 for measuring the back side and the like is additionally provided.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the image processing device 60 includes an image camera 61 and an image processing circuit 62. The image camera 61 and the lighting device 63 are arranged above the transport conveyor 20, and illuminated by the lighting fixture 63 </ b> A of the lighting device 63. The cap 1 is picked up by the image camera 61, the image pickup result is image-processed by the image processing circuit 62, and the image processing result (position coordinates, angle, front and back, etc.) is transferred to the robot controller 64. At the same time, the robot controller 64 obtains the output of the encoder 65 connected to the drive system of the transport conveyor 20 (20B), and the picking position of the robot 50 where the cap 1 imaged by the image camera 61 is away from the camera installation position. Calculate the timing to reach. The cap carry-out confirmation sensor 23 detects and confirms that the cap 1 has actually reached the picking position by the robot 50. Therefore, the robot controller 64 controls the robot 50 based on the position coordinates, angle, back and front, etc., of the cap 1 that has reached the picking position by the robot 50, and sets the cap position on the discharge conveyor 30 with a predetermined posture. Transfer to a predetermined position to enable alignment.

  In addition, as for the cap alignment apparatus 100, what has adhesiveness is preferable as a conveyance belt etc. which comprise the conveyance surface of the conveyance conveyor 20 (20B). If the cap 1 picked up by the image camera 61 is subsequently rolled on the conveyor 20, picking of the cap 1 by the robot 50 becomes difficult. A rubber-based resin or a rubber-based mixture can be used as a pressure-sensitive adhesive body useful for configuring the transport surface of the transport conveyor 20. For example, ether polyurethane resin, polyamide resin, styrene-ethylene resin, butylene-styrene resin, styrene-ethylene / butylene-styrene block copolymer, styrene-ethylene / butylene-styrene block copolymer and naphthenic resin. Mixtures and the like can be used, and solution-type, emulsion-type, and hot-melt type adhesive materials having normal temperature adhesiveness, and acrylic, rubber-based, urethane-based, and silicon-based adhesive materials can also be used. Many of these are (semi-) transparent and can cope with backlight illumination.

  By sticking these adhesive bodies on the transport surface of the transport conveyor 20, it is possible to prevent the cap 1 imaged by the image camera 61 from rolling on the transport surface of the transport conveyor 20.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the cap aligning apparatus 100 can freely bend a large number of transparent (or translucent) resin plates 25 (vinyl chloride, acrylic, etc.) on the chain 24 constituting the conveyor 20 (20B). The backlight illuminating device 63 can also be configured by forming a conveying surface by attaching the lighting fixture 63A below the resin plate 25 serving as the conveying surface. A transparent or translucent conveyor belt may be used as the conveyor surface of the conveyor 20 (20B).

  That is, the illuminating device 63 is not limited to the one that illuminates the cap 1 from above the conveyance surface of the conveyance conveyor 20, and may be one that illuminates from below. For the cap 1 of FIGS. 3 and 4, illumination from above is preferable, which makes it easy to detect the threaded portion 1 </ b> A of the inverted cap 1 (FIGS. 3D and 4D). . For the pump cap 1 with a tube in FIG. 5, backlight illumination from below is preferable in that the tube 1B is detected. Also in this case, it is possible to prevent the cap 1 captured by the image camera 61 from rolling on the transport surface of the transport conveyor 20 by sticking the adhesive body to the surface of the resin plate 25.

  The cap aligning device 100 is arranged in the vicinity of the carry-out end of the conveyor 20 (20B), in this embodiment, in front of the carry-out end, that is, beyond the carry-out end in the carrying direction, and on the side of the carrying surface of the discharge conveyor 30. 50 and its robot hand 51 are arranged. As described above, the robot 50 is controlled by the robot controller 64, picks the cap 1 that has reached the picking position on the transfer conveyor 20 with the robot hand 51, puts the cap 1 in a predetermined posture, and then sets the cap 1 on the discharge conveyor 30. Are transferred to a predetermined position and aligned.

  The robot 50 includes a cap holder 53 at the tip of the arm 52 of the robot hand 51. The robot hand 51 enables the arm 52 and the cap holder 53 to move along the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis, and to rotate around these axes. As the cap holder 53, a chuck claw 54 or a vacuum suction pad 55 (FIG. 18) can be adopted, and the cap 1 having various shapes and dimensions shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 can be picked up while using the same cap holder 53. .

  The robot 50 includes a cap holder 53 at the tip of the arm 52 via a cap holder rotating device 52A. As shown in FIG. 1B, the cap holder rotating device 52A can rotate the cap holder 53 at an arbitrary angle around its own axis A. As a result, the cap 1 held by the chuck claw 54 is reversed. be able to.

  The robot 50 is arranged in front of the unloading end of the transfer conveyor 20 (20B) and on the side of the transfer surface of the discharge conveyor 30, and unloads the transfer conveyor 20 (20B) in the entire area in the transfer width direction of the unloading end of the transfer conveyor 20. The robot hand 51 (arm 52, cap holder 53) is moved from the end toward the transfer surface of the transfer conveyor 20 (20B), and the cap holder 53 is moved over the transfer surface of the transfer conveyor 20 (20B). As a result, the picking target cap 1 is picked up from the transport surface of the transport conveyor 20 without interfering with other caps 1 on the transport conveyor 20. The picked-up caps 1 are aligned on the transport surface of the discharge conveyor 30 by turning the cap 1.

  Here, the cap holder 53 is provided on the robot hand. However, the cap holder 53 extends vertically downward to a two-dimensional traveling machine such as an overhead traveling crane, and is perpendicular to the transport surface of the transport conveyor 20 (20B). A rod that can be rotated by a motor is attached around the shaft, and the cap holder 53 is attached to the tip thereof via a motor that rotates around the horizontal axis (an axis parallel to the conveying surface of the conveying conveyor 20 (20B)). good. Even in this way, the cap holder 53 can be moved from the external region toward the conveyance end of the conveyance conveyor 20 (20B). As a result, the conveyance can be performed without interfering with other caps 1 on the conveyance conveyor 20. The picking target cap 1 can be picked up from the conveying surface of the conveyor 20.

  The cap aligning device 100 includes a sorting guide 70 for sorting the caps 1 conveyed by the conveyor 20 (20B) at a constant pitch in the width direction of the conveyor 20 via a slight gap on the conveying surface of the conveyor 20. It is installed on the opposite top. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 13, the sorting guide 70 is formed by arranging a plurality of guide bars 71 extending in the longitudinal direction of the transport conveyor 20 in parallel so as to be parallel to the left and right. The caps 53 of the robot 50 that picks the caps 1 that have been picked up by the robot 50 picking up the caps 1 that have been pitched in the width direction of the conveyor 20 so as not to interfere with other adjacent caps 1 are separated. To. As shown in FIG. 13, when the guide pitch P of adjacent guide bars 71 in the sorting guide 70, the width a of the claw 54 of the cap holder 53, and the long axis length b of the cap 1, “P ≧ 2a + b” are satisfied. By doing so, the above-described interference between the cap holder 53 of the robot 50 and another cap 1 adjacent to the cap holder 53 can be avoided.

  An alignment operation of the cap 1 by the robot hand 51 of the robot 50 will be described (FIGS. 14 to 17).

  FIG. 14 shows the caps 1 transferred onto the discharge conveyor 30 by the robot hand 51 and aligned in a predetermined vertical orientation (the long axis of the cap 1 is along the longitudinal direction of the discharge conveyor 30). Show.

  FIG. 15 shows a state in which the cap 1 on the conveyor 20 supplied in the inverted (inverted) state is held by the cap holder 53 in front of the surface, that is, further from the carry-out end in the carrying direction. By rotating 180 degrees around the horizontal axis (axis parallel to the conveyance surface of the conveyer 20 (20B)), the cap 1 is rotated 180 degrees and in a predetermined vertical upright posture on the discharge conveyor 30 The alignment operation | movement which aligns is shown.

  FIG. 16 shows a state where the cap 1 on the conveyor 20 supplied in the rollover state is held from above by the cap holder 53, and the arm 52 is swung 90 degrees (the axis of the arm 52 is in a horizontal state from a vertical state). The cap holder 53 provided at the tip of the cap holder 53 is swung by 90 degrees, and as a result, the cap 1 is turned 90 degrees to be in a predetermined vertical upright posture on the discharge conveyor 30. Alignment operation to align.

  FIG. 17 shows a state in which the cap 1 on the transport conveyor 20 supplied in the lateral direction (the long axis of the cap 1 is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the transport conveyor 20) is held from above by the cap holder 53. An alignment operation is shown in which the cap 1 is turned vertically by rotating the 52 around the own axis 90 degrees and aligned on the discharge conveyor 30 in a predetermined vertical orientation.

  Here, 90 degrees is an example. Actually, the angle is not limited to 90 degrees, and the cap 1 is turned vertically by rotating the arm 52 by a predetermined angle around its own axis according to the angle calculated by the image processing circuit 62.

  A cap holder 53 is provided at the tip of the arm 52 (bar), and the arm 52 itself swings as shown in FIG. 16, and the arm 52 is rotated around its own axis as shown in FIG. By doing so, turning the cap 1 in a desired direction can be performed more easily.

  When the vacuum suction pad 55 is used as the cap holder 53 of the robot 50, as shown in FIG. 18, the cap 1 located at the picking position on the conveyor 20 is sucked by the suction cup 55A in the vacuum state of the vacuum suction pad 55. The cap 1 can be turned upside down by sucking and holding and rotating the shaft 55B connecting the vacuum suction pad 55 to the robot hand 51 by 180 degrees.

  Thereafter, the cap 1 that is turned upside down is moved to a predetermined position on the discharge conveyor 30. The cap 1 is released from the suction cup 55 and transferred onto the discharge conveyor 30 by releasing the vacuum state of the suction cup 55 of the vacuum suction pad 55 at a predetermined position on the discharge conveyor 30.

  As shown in FIG. 19, the cap 1 is rotated 90 degrees by swinging the shaft 55B by 90 degrees while the cap 1 on the conveyor 20 supplied in the rollover state is held by the vacuum suction pad 55. Then, it can be aligned on the discharge conveyor 30 in a predetermined upright posture.

  In the case of the vacuum suction pad 55, when the cap 1 is transferred onto the discharge conveyor 30, when the vacuum state of the suction cup 55A is released, the suction cup 55A that has been deformed when in the vacuum state is restored. The cap 1 may be flipped off by force, and the transfer position and posture of the cap 1 on the discharge conveyor 30 may be disturbed (FIG. 25). In order to prevent this, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 18, before releasing the vacuum state of the suction cup 55A, the cap 1 held by the suction cup 55A is placed at a predetermined position, that is, at a position where the cap 1 is placed. Means for temporarily fixing in the posture, that is, the placed posture was provided. In the present embodiment, as a means for temporarily fixing, a construction in which a transport belt or the like constituting a transport surface of the discharge conveyor 30 is configured by an adhesive 31 is employed. As the adhesive 31, a rubber resin or a rubber mixture can be used. For example, ether polyurethane resin, polyamide resin, styrene-ethylene resin, butylene-styrene resin, styrene-ethylene / butylene-styrene block copolymer, styrene-ethylene / butylene-styrene block copolymer and naphthenic resin. Mixtures and the like can be used, and solution-type, emulsion-type, and hot-melt-type adhesive materials having normal temperature adhesiveness, and acrylic, rubber-based, urethane-based, and silicon-based adhesive materials can be used.

  As the above-mentioned means for temporarily fixing the cap 1 on the discharge conveyor 30, in addition to the adhesive body 31, a conveyance belt or the like constituting the conveyance surface of the discharge conveyor 30 is used as an adsorbent and communicated with the suction device. It is also possible to employ a structure in which a large number of adsorption holes are opened on the surface of the adsorbent.

  A recovery device 80 that recovers the cap 1 that has not been picked by the robot hand 51 is disposed below the carry-out end of the transport conveyor 20 (20B), and the cap 1 recovered by the recovery device 80 is returned to the supply conveyor 10. .

According to this embodiment, there exist the following effects.
i) Effects on the structure of the cap aligning device 100 that aligns the cap 1 in a certain direction.
(a) Since the robot hand 51 is arranged near the transfer end of the conveyor 20, the robot hand 51 picks up the cap 1 on the conveyor 20 without interfering with other caps 1 in the transfer direction of the transfer conveyor 20. Can be aligned by turning this.

  (b) The robot hand 51 can pick up the cap 1 having various shapes and dimensions by using the same cap holder 53.

  (c) The cap 1 can be rotated 180 degrees by rotating the arm 52 about its own axis while the cap 1 is held from the side by the cap holder 53 of the robot hand 51.

  (d) The cap 1 can be rotated 90 degrees by swinging the arm 52 while the cap 1 is held from above by the cap holder 53 of the robot hand 51.

  (e) The interval between the plurality of caps 1 reaching the conveyance end of the conveyor 20 is expanded to a constant pitch by the sorting guide 70. As a result, the arm 52 and the cap holder 53 of the robot hand 51 can be reliably prevented from interfering with other caps 1 in the transport width direction of the transport conveyor 20. The robot hand 51 can remove the cap 1 on the conveyor 20. Pick up.

ii) Effects of the separation supply device 40
(a) When supplying the cap 1 from the supply source (supply conveyor 10) to the transport conveyor 20, each piece of the cap 1 that falls from the supply source 10 and forms a group hits one of the plurality of separators 41, and the cap 1 Are routed to the left and right of the conveyor 20. As a result, the caps 1 are distributed to the left and right on the conveyor 20 and are separated from each other. There is no possibility that the robot hand 51 trying to pick up one cap 1 on the transport conveyor 20 interferes with another cap 1 to make it difficult to pick up.

  (b) Since the separators 41 are arranged asymmetrically as a whole, the drop path lengths of the caps 1 are changed, and the arrival times of the caps 1 to the transport conveyor 20 are changed. Therefore, the caps 1 that have reached the moving conveyor 20 are not only distributed to the left and right on the conveyor 20, but also separated in the conveying direction (conveyor longitudinal direction) in the order of arrival. The separation between each other on the top is made more reliable.

  (c) By making the inclination angle of each of the distributing portions 41A and 41B in which the separating body 41 forms left and right inverted V-shaped independently variable (FIG. 7), the left-right asymmetric arrangement of the separating body 41 can be variously changed.

  (d) By making the inclination angles of the two sorting portions 41A and 41B in which the separating body 41 forms left and right inverted V shapes integrally variable (FIG. 8), the left-right asymmetric arrangement of the separating body 41 can be easily changed.

  (e) By making the separating body 45 of a roller or a round bar, the separating body 45 can be simply configured.

  (f) By turning on the supply source 10 only when the cap 1 is not present on the transport conveyor 20 (20A) below the separator 41 (45), the cap 1 supplied from the supply source 10 is transferred to the transport conveyor 20 There is no overlap with the existing cap 1 on (20A), and the separation of the cap 1 supplied onto the transport conveyor 20 (20A) can be ensured.

iii) Effects on the vacuum suction pad 55
(a) Prior to releasing the vacuum state of the suction cup 55A of the vacuum suction pad 55 and releasing the cap 1 from the suction cup 55A, the cap 1 held by the suction cup 55A is temporarily fixed at a predetermined position in a predetermined posture. Therefore, even if the suction cup 55A that has been deformed in the vacuum state is restored, the restoring force does not blow off the cap 1 in the temporarily fixed state, and the cap 1 is not disturbed at a predetermined position in a predetermined position. Released and aligned.

(b) The cap 1 is temporarily and securely fixed by the adhesive body 31 of the discharge conveyor 30.
(c) The cap 1 is simply and reliably temporarily fixed by the adsorbent of the discharge conveyor 30.

  Here, the temporary fixing means that when the vacuum state of the vacuum suction pad 55 is released, the cap 1 is not flipped off by the restoring force restored by the suction cup 55A that has been deformed when the vacuum suction pad 55 is in the vacuum state. On the other hand, the discharge conveyor 30 has a plurality of upstream to downstream conveyors connected in series, and a joint guide (same as the joint guide 20C in FIGS. 1 and 2) is provided at the joint of the conveyors. Sometimes, the cap 1 that reaches the connecting guide is fixed so that it can be easily separated from the upstream conveyor and transferred to the connecting guide. That is, the temporary fixing here is temporary fixing after the cap is placed on the conveyor 30 until the next process is started.

Example 2 (FIGS. 20 to 22)
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the guide bars 71 of the sorting guide 70 are arranged in a staggered manner.

  In the case of FIG. 22C in which the guide bars 71 are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction, the distance between the guide bars 71 arranged at the same position in the longitudinal direction of the transport conveyor 20 becomes narrower. Depending on the posture of the cap 1 that comes in between, there is a risk of clogging.

  According to FIGS. 22A and 22B in which the guide bars 71 are arranged in a staggered manner, the distance between the guide bars 71 arranged at the same position in the longitudinal direction of the transport conveyor 20 becomes wide, and these guide bars 71 No clogging of cap 1 entering between 71.

Example 3 (FIG. 23)
The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the robot 50 is disposed on one of the left and right sides of the carry-out end of the transfer conveyor 20 (20B). The robot hand 51 is disposed in front of the carry-out end of the transfer conveyor 20 and on the side of the transfer surface of the discharge conveyor 30.

  The robot 50 is installed by a ceiling hanging type shown in FIG. 24A or a floor-standing type shown in FIG.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a cap alignment apparatus according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. FIG. 3 shows an example of a cap, (A) is a front view, (B) is a plan view, (C) is a side view, (D) is a bottom view, and (E) is a cross-sectional view. FIG. 4 shows another example of the cap, (A) is a front view, (B) is a plan view, (C) is a side view, (D) is a bottom view, and (E) is a cross-sectional view. FIG. 5 shows another example of the cap, (A) is a front view, and (B) is a side view. FIG. 6 is a front view showing the separation supply apparatus. 7A and 7B show a tilt angle adjusting mechanism of the separation supply device, where FIG. 7A is a front view and FIG. 7B is a side view. FIG. 8 is a front view showing another example of the tilt angle adjusting mechanism of the separation and supply device. FIG. 9 shows another example of the separation and supply device, where (A) is a front view and (B) is a cross-sectional view. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a control system of the robot. FIG. 11 is a front view showing the image camera and the illumination device. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the lighting device. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the sorting guide and the robot hand. FIG. 14 shows the aligned state of the caps, (A) is a front view, and (B) is a side view. 15A and 15B show the cap aligning operation by the robot hand, where FIG. 15A is a front view and FIG. 15B is a side view. FIG. 16 shows another alignment operation of the cap by the robot hand, (A) is a front view, and (B) is a side view. FIG. 17 shows another alignment operation of the cap by the robot hand, (A) is a front view, and (B) is a side view. FIG. 18 is a front view showing the cap aligning operation by the vacuum suction pad. FIG. 19 is a front view showing another alignment operation of the cap by the vacuum suction pad. FIG. 20 is a plan view showing the cap alignment apparatus of the second embodiment. FIG. 21 is a side view of FIG. FIG. 22 shows a sorting guide, (A) is a plan view showing a sorting state, (B) is a plan view showing another sorting state, and (C) is a plan view showing a sorting failure state. FIG. 23 is a plan view showing the cap alignment apparatus of the third embodiment. FIG. 24 shows an installation example of a robot, (A) is a front view showing a ceiling hanging type, and (B) is a front view showing a floor-standing type. FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the cap in the conventional apparatus when released from the vacuum suction pad. FIG. 26 is a plan view showing a conventional cap alignment apparatus. FIG. 27 is a schematic view showing a cap reversing operation by a conventional robot hand. FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing another reversing operation of the cap by the conventional robot hand.

Explanation of symbols

1 Cap 20 Conveyor
51 Robot Hand 52 Arm 53 Cap Holder 70 Sorting Guide 100 Cap Alignment Device

Claims (5)

A cap aligning device for aligning caps conveyed by a conveyor in a predetermined posture,
A cap aligning device provided with cap holder moving means that allows the cap holder to move toward the conveyor from the front surface of the carry-out end of the conveyor, and the cap holder picks up the cap.   The cap alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cap can be turned by rotating the cap holder around a horizontal axis while the cap is held by the cap holder.   The cap according to claim 1, wherein the cap holder moving means enables the cap to turn 90 degrees around a horizontal axis by swinging the cap holder while the cap is held from above by the cap holder. Alignment device.   2. The cap according to claim 1, wherein the cap holder is provided at a tip end of the rod, and the cap can be rotated in a desired direction by appropriately combining the swinging and rotation of the cap holder. Alignment device.   The cap alignment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a sorting guide for sorting caps conveyed by the conveyor at a constant pitch in a width direction of the conveyor.

Images