Article discharge system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11433430-B2
Application number	US-202016890579-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 2, 2020
Priority date	Jun 21, 2019
Publication date	Sep 6, 2022
Grant date	Sep 6, 2022

Abstract

An article discharge system includes a placement unit in which the article group is placed, plural grippers, a movable member, a robot that moves the movable member, weight acquisition units, and a control unit. The plural grippers grip some articles with gripping member. The plural grippers are attached to the movable member. The weight acquisition units acquire weight values of the articles that each of the grippers grips. The control unit moves the movable member, brings the plural grippers closer to the placement unit, causes the plural grippers to grip some of the articles of the article group placed in the placement unit, and, based on the result of a combination calculation using the weight values of the articles that each of the grippers grips and which the weight acquisition units have acquired, causes predetermined grippers among the plural grippers to release the articles and thereby discharge the articles.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An article discharge system that pulls out some articles from an article group and discharges them, the article discharge system comprising:
a placement unit in which the article group is placed;
plural grippers that grip, with gripping members, the articles;
a movable member to which the plural grippers are attached;
a first drive unit that moves the movable member;
weight acquisition units that acquire weight values of the articles that each of the grippers grips; and
a control unit that moves the movable member, brings the plural grippers closer to the placement unit, causes the plural grippers to grip some of the articles of the article group placed in the placement unit, and, based on a result of a combination calculation using the weight values of the articles that each of the grippers grips and which the weight acquisition units have acquired, causes predetermined grippers among the plural grippers to release the articles and thereby discharge the articles,
wherein
the first drive unit is configured to integrally move the plural grippers attached to the movable member and insert the plural grippers into the article group.

2. The article discharge system according to claim 1 , wherein
the control unit moves the movable member at least downward from a predetermined position to bring the plural grippers closer to the placement unit when the grippers are to grip the articles in the placement unit,
the placement unit has a placement surface on which the article group is placed,
the plural grippers include at least a first gripper and a second gripper,
a first portion of the placement surface on which are placed the articles that the first gripper grips is disposed in a higher position than a second portion of the placement surface on which are placed the articles that the second gripper grips, and
in the movable member, a lower end of the gripping member of the first gripper is disposed in a higher position than a lower end of the gripping member of the second gripper.

3. The article discharge system according to claim 2 , wherein a difference between height positions of the lower end of the gripping member of the first gripper and the lower end of the gripping member of the second gripper in the movable member is identical to a difference between the height positions of the first portion of the placement surface and the second portion of the placement surface.

4. The article discharge system according to claim 1 , wherein the plural grippers are arranged in a staggered manner when the plural grippers are viewed from the gripping member side.

5. The article discharge system according to claim 1 , wherein a gripping area in which each of the grippers can grip the articles in the placement unit is in proximity to or partially overlaps a gripping area in which at least one other gripper can grip the articles in the placement unit.

6. The article discharge system according to claim 1 , further comprising
a discharge chute that is disposed directly under the grippers and receives and discharges the articles that the grippers have released and
a second drive unit that moves the placement unit,
wherein
the first drive unit moves the movable member in a vertical direction, and
the second drive unit moves, in a direction intersecting the vertical direction, the placement unit between a first position directly under the grippers and a second position away from directly under the grippers.

7. The article discharge system according to claim 1 , further comprising a separation member that is disposed between the gripping members of adjacent grippers at least during a predetermined period after the gripping members of the grippers grip the articles in the placement unit until they release the articles.

8. The article discharge system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plural grippers is configured to separately grip at least one of the articles with the gripping members.

Assignees

• Ishida Seisakusho

Inventors

• Maeda Shuichi
• Obayashi Yujiro
• Hojo Masaaki

Classifications

• B25J15/0052 Primary

  multiple gripper units or multiple end effectors · CPC title

• B25J9/1687 Primary

  Assembly, peg and hole, palletising, straight line, weaving pattern movement · CPC title

• G05B2219/39529

  Force, torque sensor in wrist, end effector · CPC title

• B65G47/905

  Control arrangements · CPC title

• B25J9/1694

  characterised by use of sensors other than normal servo-feedback from position, speed or acceleration sensors, perception control, multi-sensor controlled systems, sensor fusion · CPC title