Actuator apparatus, object taking-out method using actuator apparatus, and object taking-out system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12103165-B2
Application number	US-202017020176-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 14, 2020
Priority date	Apr 26, 2018
Publication date	Oct 1, 2024
Grant date	Oct 1, 2024

Abstract

An actuator apparatus includes an actuator, a setter, an operation controller, and an acquirer. The operation controller is configured to control the actuator to take out an object from a placement table. The actuator includes a suction nozzle configured to suck and hold the object. The acquirer is configured to acquire a difference between a first moment applied to the suction nozzle and a second moment applied to the suction nozzle when the object is taken out by the suction nozzle by a first taking-out movement distance. The operation controller is configured to control whether or not to further continue taking-out the object, based on the difference between the first moment and the second moment.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An actuator apparatus, comprising:
an actuator including a suction nozzle for sucking a first object;
a setter;
an operation controller; and
an acquirer,
wherein:
the actuator is configured to take out the first object from a placement table while the suction nozzle sucks the first object at a suction position and a side surface of the first object is in contact with a side surface of a second object, the first object and the second object being on the placement table with the side surface of the first object being in contact with the side surface of the second object before the suction nozzle sucks the first object;
the setter is configured to set a taking-out movement distance by which the first object is to be moved by the actuator from the placement table;
the operation controller is configured to control a sucking operation of the actuator and a taking-out operation of the actuator;
the acquirer is configured to acquire a moment applied to the suction nozzle;
the acquirer is configured to acquire, as the moment, a difference between a first moment applied to the suction nozzle when the first object is sucked by the suction nozzle and a second moment applied to the suction nozzle when the first object is taken out by a first taking-out movement distance by the suction nozzle from the placement table;
the first taking-out movement distance is a distance by which the first object is moved until the first object is taken out from the placement table, the first object being in contact with the second object immediately after the first object is moved by the first taking-out movement distance; and
the operation controller is configured to control whether or not to further continue the taking-out operation based on the difference between the first moment and the second moment.

2. The actuator apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the placement table is a packing box; and
the suction nozzle is configured to suck the first object and take the first object out from the packing box while the first object is in contact with an inner wall of the packing box.

3. The actuator apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first object is a rectangular parallelepiped.

4. The actuator apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the operation controller is configured to perform control such that: (i) in a first case where the difference between the first moment and the second moment is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the taking-out operation is continued; and (ii) in a second case where the difference between the first moment and the second moment is smaller than the threshold value, the taking-out operation is not continued and is stopped.

5. The actuator apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the setter is a first setter, and the suction position is a first suction position;
the actuator apparatus further comprises a second setter configured to set a second suction position at which the first object is to be sucked by the suction nozzle;
in a case where the taking-out operation is stopped and the first object is returned to a state in which the first object is placed before the first object is taken out from the placement table, the second setter is configured to set the second suction position so as to be different from the first suction position; and
the operation controller is configured to perform control such that the first object is sucked at the second suction position and the taking-out operation is performed.

6. The actuator apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the operation controller is configured to perform control such that, based on the difference between the first moment and the second moment, the taking-out operation is further continued and the first object is moved by a distance greater than the first taking-out movement distance and greater than a height of the first object so that the first object is taken out from the placement table to an outside of the placement table.

7. The actuator apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the suction position of the first object is covered with vinyl or cellophane.

8. The actuator apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the placement table is on a shelf board inclined by an acute inclination angle.

9. The actuator apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the placement table is on a shelf board with an inclination angle of 0°.

10. The actuator apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the operation controller is configured to control a suction pressure at the suction position to be changeable between a first suction pressure and a second suction pressure higher than the first suction pressure; and
the operation control is configured to, when the taking-out operation is not continued, perform further control such that: (i) after the taking-out operation is stopped and the first object is returned to an original position on the placement table, the suction pressure at the suction position is changed from the first suction pressure to the second suction pressure; and (ii) the actuator is controlled such that the first object is sucked at the suction position and the taking-out operation is performed again, the difference between the first moment and the second moment is acquired again, and additional control is performed whether or not to further continue the taking-out operation.

11. The actuator apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
in a case where the difference between the first moment and the second moment is equal to or greater than a first threshold value and is greater than a second threshold value, the operation controller is configured to perform control such that the taking-out operation is not continued and is stopped.

12. An object taking-out method, comprising:
setting, by a setter, a taking-out movement distance by which a first object is to be moved by an actuator including a suction nozzle for sucking the first object from a placement table on which the first object and a second object are placed with a side surface of the first object being in contact with a side surface of the second object before the suction nozzle sucks the first object, and controlling, by an operation controller, a suction operation performed by the actuator and a taking-out operation performed by the actuator such that the first object is sucked by the suction nozzle at a suction position and taken out from the placement table while the side surface of the first object is in contact with the side surface of the second object;
acquiring, by an acquirer, as a moment applied to the suction nozzle, a difference between a first moment applied to the suction nozzle when the first object is sucked by the suction nozzle and a second moment applied to the suction nozzle when the first object is taken out by a first taking-out movement distance by the suction nozzle from the placement table,
wherein the first taking-out movement distance is a distance by which the first object is moved until the first object is taken out from the placement table, the first object being in contact with the second object immediately after the first object is moved by the first taking-out movement distance; and
controlling, by the operation controller, based on the difference between the first moment and the second moment, whether or not the taking-out operation is further continued.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a program stored thereon for causing a computer to perform an object taking-out method, the object taking-out method comprising:
setting, by a setter, a taking-out movement distance by which a first object is to be moved by an act

Assignees

• Panasonic Corp
• Panasonic Holdings Corp

Inventors

• Kato Yusuke
• Ozawa Jun

Classifications

• B65G65/34

  Emptying devices (conveyor construction B65G15/00 - B65G35/00; devices similar to vehicle tipplers B65G67/48) · CPC title

• B65G65/005

  Control arrangements · CPC title

• B25J13/085

  Force or torque sensors (B25J13/082, B25J13/084 take precedence) · CPC title

• B25J9/1612 Primary

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

• B65B69/00

  Unpacking of articles or materials, not otherwise provided for · CPC title