Transfer equipment and determination method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10875192-B2
Application number	US-201815899789-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 20, 2018
Priority date	Jul 25, 2017
Publication date	Dec 29, 2020
Grant date	Dec 29, 2020

Abstract

According to one embodiment, transfer equipment includes: a first negative-pressure generation source; a plurality of first vacuum suction parts; a sensor part; and a first determination circuit. The sensor part configured to acquire a plurality of measured values corresponding to the negative pressure of each of the first vacuum suction parts. The first determination circuit configured to set a first threshold value based on the measured values and determine a vacuum suction state of the first vacuum suction parts corresponding to the measured valued based on the first threshold value and the measured values.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A determination method comprising:
setting an average value of a plurality of measured values corresponding to negative pressures of internal spaces of a plurality of first vacuum suction parts as a first threshold value;
comparing the first threshold value and the measured values;
determining a vacuum suction state in which the first vacuum suction parts corresponding to the measured values are adsorbed on an article when the measured values are smaller than the first threshold value; and
determining a non-vacuum suction state in which the first vacuum suction parts corresponding to the measured value are not adsorbed on the article when the measured values are larger than the first threshold value.

2. The determination method according to claim 1 , wherein:
the measured values include a maximum value and a minimum value in the measured values; and
the average value is a weighted average value in which one of the measured values closer to the maximum value has a larger weight and one of the measured values closer to the minimum value has a smaller weight.

3. The determination method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of determining that the first vacuum suction parts are all in the vacuum suction state or the non-vacuum suction state when an index of variations in the measured values is smaller than a preset second threshold value.

4. The determination method according to claim 1 , wherein the measured values are obtained by previously acquiring the measured values corresponding to the internal spaces of the first vacuum suction parts in the non-vacuum suction state as a plurality of reference values and subtracting the reference values from a plurality of actual measured values corresponding to the internal spaces of the first vacuum suction parts in the vacuum suction state.

5. The determination method according to claim 1 , wherein the measured values are acquired from the first vacuum suction parts located within a target area corresponding to the article.

6. The determination method according to claim 3 , further comprising the step of determining an all non-vacuum suction state in which the first vacuum suction parts are all in the non-vacuum suction state when all the measured values are larger than a preset third threshold value.

7. The determination method according to claim 3 , wherein the step of determining that the first vacuum suction parts are all in the vacuum suction state or the non-vacuum suction state when an index of variations in the measured values is smaller than a preset second threshold value, is performed prior to the step of setting an average value of a plurality of measured values corresponding to negative pressures of internal spaces of a plurality of first vacuum suction parts as a first threshold value, comparing the first threshold value and the measured values, determining a vacuum suction state in which the first vacuum suction parts corresponding to the measured values are adsorbed on an article when the measured values are smaller than the first threshold value, and determining a non-vacuum suction state in which the first vacuum suction imparts corresponding to the measured value are not adsorbed on the article when the measured values are larger than the first threshold value.

8. The determination method according to claim 6 , further comprising the step of determining an all-vacuum suction state in which the first vacuum suction parts are all in the vacuum suction state when all the measured values are smaller than a preset fourth threshold value.

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Tanaka Junya
• Ogawa Akihito
• Sonoura Takafumi
• Eto Haruna

Classifications

• B25J13/087

  for sensing other physical parameters, e.g. electrical or chemical properties · CPC title

• B25J15/0052

  multiple gripper units or multiple end effectors · CPC title

• Y10S901/40

  Vacuum or mangetic · CPC title

• B25J9/1612

  characterised by the hand, wrist, grip control · CPC title

• B25J9/1669

  characterised by special application, e.g. multi-arm co-operation, assembly, grasping · CPC title