JP2023174237A - Parallel link robot and article transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a parallel link robot capable of securing a movement range of an article and reducing the installation area, and an article transfer device using the parallel link robot.SOLUTION: There is provided a parallel link robot 100 for holding an article Ob for moving the article. The parallel link robot 100 comprises: three link parts 21 supported to a main body part 10 in an oscillatable state in radial and vertical directions; and a holding part 30 for holding the article Ob, and to which lower ends of the respective link parts 21 are rotatably fitted. In plan view, two support parts 11 are arranged so that, an intersection point R2 between an oscillation axis Sx of the link part 21 and a center line of the link parts 21b and 21c is arranged on a pitch circle Cp whose center is a center axis Cx, and an intersection point R1 of the residual link part 21a and the oscillation axis Sx is on the inside of the pitch circle Cp.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a parallel link robot that handles articles and an article transfer device using the parallel link robot.

In recent years, parallel link robots have been increasingly used to move and handle objects to be worked on (hereinafter referred to as objects) in three-dimensional space. The parallel link robot includes a parallel link mechanism that supports a holding section disposed at the lower end by a plurality of arms disposed in parallel with each other. Each arm is driven by an actuator. In a parallel link robot, by controlling the operation of the actuator and the angle of each arm, it is possible to move the holding part three-dimensionally (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In the above-mentioned parallel link robot, the article is held by the holding section, and the article is moved and handled by moving the holding section. For example, a parallel link robot is arranged so that the article can be moved in a direction transverse to the transport direction of the conveyor.

JP 2021-104558 Publication

In a conventional parallel link robot, three arms of the same shape are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, so the movement range of the movable part is circular around the central axis. Therefore, if the movement range of the article is long in one direction, it is necessary to use a parallel link robot having a circular movement range whose diameter is the longest length of the movement range, which requires a large installation area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a parallel link robot that can have a smaller installation area than conventional configurations while ensuring a movable range necessary for work.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an article transfer device that can reduce the installation area by using a parallel link robot with a small installation area.

In order to achieve the above object, a parallel link robot according to the present invention holds and moves an article. This parallel link robot 100 includes a main body, three link parts that are swingably supported by the main body in the radial direction and vertical direction, and a lower end of each of the link parts that holds the article and rotates. and a retaining portion that can be attached. The main body portion has three support portions that support each of the link portions, respectively. The support portions are arranged at equal central angles in a circumferential direction centered on a central axis extending vertically in plan view. In plan view, the two supporting parts are such that the intersection of the swing axis, which is the center of the swinging of the link part, and the center line of the link part is on a pitch circle having the same radius and centered on the central axis. The remaining one support part is arranged so that the intersection of the swing axis and the center line of the link part is inside the pitch circle.

In the parallel link robot having the above configuration, each of the link parts includes an upper arm whose one end is supported by the support part, and a lower arm which connects the other end of the upper arm and the holding part. An upper end of the lower arm is rotatably connected to the upper arm, and a lower end is rotatably connected to the holding part. In a plan view, at least the upper arm of the link part connected to the support part is arranged such that the intersection of the swing axis and the center line of the link part is inside the pitch circle. It is longer than the upper arm of the link section.

In the parallel link robot configured as described above, each of the link sections includes a drive section that drives the upper arm, and a drive force transmission mechanism that transmits the drive force of the drive section. The drive sections of all the link sections have the same configuration. The reduction ratio of the driving force transmission mechanism of the link part connected to the support part is arranged such that the intersection of the swing axis and the center line of the link part is inside the pitch circle in plan view. is larger than the reduction ratio of the driving force transmission mechanism of the other link portions.

In the parallel link robot having the above configuration, the support part is arranged such that the intersection point of the swing axis and the center line of the link part is inside the pitch circle in a plan view. It is movable within a certain movement range in the direction of approaching or separating, and can be fixed at any position within the movement range.

In the parallel link robot having the above configuration, the link part connected to the support part is arranged such that the intersection of the swing axis and the center line of the link part is inside the pitch circle in plan view. It extends in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the article.

An article transfer device according to the present invention includes a parallel link robot having the above-mentioned configuration, and a transport section that is disposed close to the parallel link robot and transports the article. The article transfer device holds the article conveyed by the conveyance section and transfers it to a separately provided storage box. In a plan view, the link portion connected to the support portion arranged inside the pitch circle extends in a direction along the conveyance direction of the article by the conveyance path.

According to the parallel link robot according to the present invention, the installation area can be smaller than that of conventional configurations while ensuring the movable range necessary for work.

Further, according to the article transfer device according to the present invention, the installation area can be reduced by using a parallel link robot with a small installation area.

1 is a front view of a parallel link robot according to the present invention. 2 is a plan view of the parallel link robot shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a movable part of the parallel link robot shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of the movable part of the parallel link robot shown in FIG. 2 as seen from the IV direction. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic arrangement of a parallel link robot. FIG. 3 is a front view of the article transfer device. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the article transfer device.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a parallel link robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the parallel link robot 100 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the movable part 20 of the parallel link robot 100 shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a side view of the movable part 20 of the parallel link robot 100 shown in FIG. 2, viewed from the arrow IV direction. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a parallel link robot. In FIG. 2, the main body portion is indicated by a chain line.

<Parallel link robot 100>
The parallel link robot 100 is an example of a transfer mechanism that holds an article Ob and transfers it to a storage box Tb (see FIG. 7 described later) arranged at a predetermined position. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, etc., the parallel link robot 100 includes a main body section 10, a movable section 20, a holding section 30, and a control section 40 (see FIG. 5).

<Main body part 10>
As shown in FIG. 2, the main body 10 is circular in plan view. Three supporting parts 11 are arranged at the lower part of the main body part 10. In a plan view, two of the three support parts 11 have the same distance from the central axis Cx that extends vertically. Moreover, the remaining one support part 11 has a shorter distance from the central axis Cx than the other support parts 11. Note that, if necessary, the support part 11 with a short distance from the central axis Cx is designated as the first support part 11a, and the remaining two supports 11 with equal distances from the central axis Cx are designated as the second support part 11b, the second support part 11 with the same distance from the central axis Cx, etc. 3 support part 11c.

A link portion 21 of the movable portion 20 is supported by the support portion 11 so as to be able to swing up and down. The central axis of the support portion 11 when swinging is referred to as a swing axis Sx. In a plan view, the swing axes Sx of the second link part 21b and the third link part 21c, which will be described later, are connected to the second support part 11b and the third support part 11c, and the second link part 21b and the third link An intersection point R2 of the portion 21c with the center line of the upper arm 22, which will be described later, is arranged on a pitch circle Cp centered on the central axis Cx. In addition, in a plan view, an intersection point R1 between a swing axis Sx of a second link section 21b (described later) connected to the first support section 11a and a center line of the upper arm 22 of the second link section 21b is a pitch circle Cp. is placed inside.

<Movable part 20>
The movable part 20 has three link parts 21. The three link parts 21 are arranged at equal central angle intervals (here, 120 degrees) in the circumferential direction around the central axis Cx in a plan view. As described above, the three link parts 21 include the first link part 21a connected to the first support part 11a, the second link part 21b connected to the second support part 11b, and the third link part 21b, as necessary. The third link portion 21c connected to the support portion 11c will be explained separately.

<Link part 21>
Next, details of the link section 21 will be explained. The link section 21 includes an upper arm 22, a lower arm 23, a drive hinge section 24, an upper hinge section 25, a lower hinge section 26, and an actuator 27.

The upper arm 22 is an elongated member, and is connected to the support section 11 disposed at the lower part of the main body section 10 via a drive hinge section 24 . The upper arm 22 is connected to the support part 11, so that the tip of the upper arm 22 swings in the radial direction and the vertical direction about the swing axis Sx that overlaps with the center of the drive hinge part 24. In a plan view, the center line of the upper arm 22 is arranged so as to overlap a line perpendicular to the center axis Cx, that is, the radius of a circle centered on the center axis Cx.

The lower arm 23 includes two elongated members arranged in parallel. One end (upper end in FIG. 1) of the lower arm 23 is connected to the tip of the upper arm 22 via an upper hinge portion 25. The upper hinge portion 25 is here a universal ball joint, and the lower arm 23 is movable in the radial and circumferential directions with respect to the upper arm 22 while remaining parallel. Note that the upper hinge portion 25 is not limited to a universal ball joint, and a wide variety of universal joints that can connect the lower arm 23 to the upper arm 22 movably in the radial direction and the circumferential direction can be employed.

The other end of the lower arm 23 (lower end in FIG. 1) is connected to the holding part 30 via the lower hinge part 26. The other end of the lower arm 23 is connected to a mounting portion 311 of a holding portion main body 31 of the holding portion 30, which will be described later, via a lower hinge portion 26. The lower hinge portion 26 has the same configuration as the upper hinge portion 25. That is, the lower arm 23 is movable in the radial direction and the circumferential direction with respect to the upper arm 22, and is movable in the circumferential direction and the radial direction with respect to the holding part 30.

The actuator 27 is attached to the support section 11 of the main body section 10. The actuator 27 is drive-controlled by the control section 40. The actuator 27 includes a motor 271 and a reduction gear 272. The motor 271 here is an electric motor that is driven by being supplied with current, and is controlled by the control unit 40. Note that the motor 271 is not limited to an electric motor, and may be a pneumatic motor. In the case of a pneumatic motor, the drive of the pneumatic motor is controlled by adjusting the pneumatic pressure supplied by the control unit 40.

A motor shaft (not shown) of the motor 271 is rotatable about a swing axis Sx. A motor shaft of the motor 271 is connected to the drive hinge section 24 via a reduction gear 272. The driving force of the motor 271 is transmitted to the upper arm 22 rotatably supported by the drive hinge portion 24 via the reduction gear 272 . The upper arm 22 is driven by the driving force transmitted from the speed reducer 272. In the parallel link robot 100, each link portion 21 is provided with one actuator 27. Note that the actuator 27 is arranged so that the rotation axis of the motor 271 and the swing axis Sx overlap, but the invention is not limited to this. may be placed. In this case, the driving force may be transmitted using a belt, chain, etc., or may be transmitted using a speed reducer 272.

As shown in FIG. 1 etc., in the movable part 20, the second link part 21b and the third link part 21c are arranged on both sides of the first link part 21a in the circumferential direction at equal central angular intervals (centered on the central axis Cx). Here, it is arranged at an angle of 120 degrees).

In the parallel link robot 100 according to the present embodiment, the reduction ratio of the reduction gear of each link part is set such that, for example, when the motor 271 is operated at the same rotation speed, the moving speed of the tip of the upper arm 22 is approximately the same. Set to . That is, the reduction ratio of the reduction gear of each link part is determined by the length of the upper arm of each link part, and the longer the length of the upper arm, the larger the reduction ratio becomes.

As shown in FIG. 4, the upper arm 22 of the first link part 21a is longer than the upper arms 22 of the second link part 21b and the third link part 21c (see FIG. 4). Therefore, the reduction ratio of the reduction gear 272 of the first link part 21a is set to be larger than the reduction ratio of the reduction gears 272 of the second link part 21b and the third link part 21c. With this configuration, the moving speed of the tip of the upper arm 22 of the first link portion 21a can be brought close to the moving speed of the tip of the upper arm 22 of the second link portion 21b and the third link portion 21c. Thereby, control of the actuator 27 can be simplified. The method of determining the reduction ratio of the reduction gear of each link portion described above is an example, and is not limited thereto. The reduction ratio of the reducer of each link part is set in consideration of the installation position of each link part, the characteristics of the article Ob to be moved, the distance to be moved, the direction, the position, etc.

The holding section 30 includes a holding section main body 31 and a suction unit 32. The holding part main body 31 is plate-shaped and has a three-fold symmetry that overlaps by rotating 120 degrees around the central axis Cx. The holding part main body 31 has three attachment parts 311. The three attachment parts 311 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer edge of the holding part main body 31. The lower hinge part 26 of another link part 21 is arranged in each of the three attachment parts 311, and the lower arm 23 is connected to it. That is, the lower arm 23 is connected to the holding portion main body 31 so as to extend in three directions equally spaced from the central axis Cx in the circumferential direction when viewed from above.

The holding part 30 is moved by the movement of the lower arm 23 while the holding part main body 31 is kept horizontal. To explain further, each of the three link parts 21 operates the upper arm 22 by an actuator 27. At this time, the upper arm 22 is connected to the lower arm 23 via the upper hinge portion 25, and the lower arm 23 is interlocked with the upper arm 22. Further, the lower arm 23 is connected to the holding part main body 31 via the lower hinge part 26. That is, by controlling the actuator 27 of each link part 21, the upper arm 22 is operated and the lower arm 23 is connected to the lower arm 23. A force acts on the holding portion main body 31. In other words, the force from the lower arm 23 of each link part 21 is acting on the holding part main body 31, and by adjusting the force from the lower arm 23 of each link part 21, the movement of the holding part main body 31 is controlled. be done.

The suction unit 32 extends downward from the lower surface of the holding section main body 31. A suction mechanism 33 (see FIG. 5) is connected to the suction unit 32. The suction mechanism 33 sucks air in a space sealed between the suction unit 32 and the article Ob. By suctioning the air inside the suction unit 32 with the suction mechanism 33, the inside of the suction unit 32 becomes negative pressure. Thereby, the lower surface of the suction unit 32 suctions the article Ob. Further, by stopping air suction by the suction mechanism 33, the article Ob is separated from the suction unit 32.

By using the suction unit 32, the parallel link robot 100 can suction and lift the article Ob, and can also move the article Ob. Further, after the holding section 30 is moved to a predetermined position, for example, the storage box Tb, the suction of air by the suction mechanism 33 is stopped, so that the article Ob can be stored in the storage box Tb.

Note that in the parallel link robot 100 according to this embodiment, the suction unit 32 suctions the article Ob. Therefore, the article Ob has a surface that is smooth enough to ensure airtightness when it comes into contact with the suction unit 32. Note that when the article Ob has a rough surface that cannot maintain airtightness, for example, a robot hand mechanism having a plurality of claws for grasping the article may be employed in the holding section 30. A configuration having a holding structure that can reliably hold the article Ob in the holding part 30 can be widely adopted.

<Control unit 40>
The control unit 40 controls the operation of each part of the parallel link robot 100. As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 40 includes a processing circuit 41 and a storage circuit 42. The processing circuit 41 is a circuit that processes various information, and includes arithmetic circuits such as a CPU and an MPU. Furthermore, the processing circuit 41 controls the driving of each of the above-mentioned parts based on the processing results.

The storage circuit 42 is a circuit that includes or is connected to a semiconductor memory such as a ROM or a RAM, a portable memory such as a flash memory, and a storage medium such as a hard disk. Various programs such as a control program and a processing program may be stored in the storage circuit 42, and the program corresponding to the process may be called as needed and the program may be operated in the processing circuit 41 to perform the process.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control section 40 is connected to, for example, the motor 271 of the actuator 27 of each link section 21, the suction mechanism 33 of the suction unit 32, and the position detection section 43. The control unit 40 controls the rotation direction, rotation speed, output torque, etc. of the motor 271. The control unit 40 also controls the suction mechanism 33 to cause the suction unit 32 to adsorb and detach the article Ob.

The position detection section 43 includes, for example, an imaging section 44 attached to the lower surface of the main body section 10. The imaging unit 44 is disposed below the holding body 31 and images the area below the holding body 31 . Then, the captured image is sent to the control unit 40, and the position detection unit 43 detects the position of the article Ob and the position of the holding unit 30 from the captured image. Then, the position detection unit 43 notifies the control unit 40 of the position of the article Ob and the position of the holding unit 30. The control section 40 controls the actuator 27 of each link section 21 based on the position of the article Ob and the holding section 30 so that the suction unit 32 of the holding section 30 can hold the article Ob.

Here, the operation of the parallel link robot 100 will be explained. In the parallel link robot 100, when the upper arm 22 of one link part 21 swings downward, the lower arm 23 pushes the holding part main body 31 to the side opposite to the upper arm 22. At this time, by swinging the upper arm 22 of the remaining link part 21 upward, the holding part main body 31 moves to the side opposite to the upper arm 22 that has swung downward.

For example, the upper arm 22 of the first link part 21a is moved downward, and the upper arms 22 of the second link part 21b and the third link part 21c are moved upward. At this time, the holding part main body 31 is pushed by the lower arm 23 of the first link part 21a and pulled by the lower arms 23 of the second link part 21b and the third link part 21c. Therefore, the holding part main body 31 is pushed to the side opposite to the first link part 21a.

Further, by changing the amount of swing of the upper arm 22 of the second link part 21b and the third link part 21c, it is possible to adjust the moving direction and the angle at the time of movement of the holding part main body 31. In this way, in the parallel link robot 100, by adjusting the amount of swing of the upper arm 22 of each of the three link parts 21, the holding part main body 31 can be moved to any position within the movement range Mv1. Note that the movement range is the range in which the holding unit 30 can move smoothly and while maintaining a stable posture, in other words, the range in which it can hold the article and reliably transfer the article. be. The moving range Mv1 is determined by the shape of the link portion 21. More specifically, in the parallel link robot 100, the longer the lower arm 23, the wider the movement range Mv1 in plan view. Furthermore, the longer the upper arm 22 is, the wider the movable range in the vertical direction can be.

For example, in the case of a conventional parallel link robot where the supporting parts are equidistant from the central axis and arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, the movement range of the holding part in plan view is centered around the central axis Cx. It is circular.

In the parallel link robot 100 of this embodiment, the intersection point R1 of the first support portion 11a is arranged inside the pitch circle Cp in plan view. Therefore, the range in which the first link part 21a supported by the first support part 11a can push and move the holding part main body 31 narrows in the direction in which the upper hinge part 25 of the first link part 21a approaches the central axis Cx. Become. That is, the moving range Mv1 of the parallel link robot 100 in plan view has an elongated oval shape in the direction intersecting the center line of the second link portion 21b (see FIG. 7).

In the parallel link robot 100 of this embodiment, the link parts 21 are arranged so that the center angles around the central axis Cx are equal. Therefore, when looking at the entire movable part 20, the three link parts 21 are arranged in a well-balanced manner in the circumferential direction. Therefore, even at the end of the moving range Mv1, the rigidity of the movable part 20 is unlikely to decrease. Thereby, even if the holding part 30 moves to the edge of the movement range Mv1, it is unlikely to vibrate or tilt.

In the parallel link robot 100 according to the present embodiment, since the first link part 21a is arranged close to the central axis Cx, the width of the first link part 21a in the extending direction is narrow in plan view. On the other hand, the length of the movement range Mv1 in the direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the first link part 21a in a plan view is determined by a configuration in which all the link parts are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction and at equal distances from the center. There is no difference compared to . Therefore, the parallel link robot 100 of this embodiment can transfer articles Ob in the same way as the conventional parallel link robot 100, and can reduce the installation area.

<Article transfer device 200>
FIG. 6 is a front view of the article transfer device 200. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the article transfer device 200. The article transfer device 200 is used, for example, to convey individually wrapped articles Ob in a factory, warehouse, etc., and to transfer the conveyed articles Ob to a box-shaped storage box Tb. That is, the article transfer device 200 is a device that stores the article Ob conveyed by the article conveyance section 300 in the storage box Tb conveyed by the box conveyance section 400, and carries out (ships) the article Ob. The article transfer device 200 includes an article transport section 300 that transports the article Ob, a box transport section 400 that transports the storage box Tb, and a plurality of (here, four) parallel link robots 100.

<Article transport section 300>
In the article transfer device 200 of this embodiment, the article Ob is conveyed in the conveyance direction Tr1 by the article conveyance section 300. Here, the article transport section 300 will be explained. The article transport section 300 extends along the transport direction Tr1. The article conveyance section 300 is, for example, a belt conveyor.

The article conveyance unit 300 conveys the article Ob conveyed to the upper surface of the conveyance path Bw having a belt 301. The article Ob conveyed by the belt 301 is held by the parallel link robot 100 and then stored in the storage box Tb conveyed by the box conveyance section 400. A plurality of articles Ob are stored in one storage box Tb. Details of the operation of transferring the article Ob will be described later.

<Box transport section 400>
The box transport unit 400 transports, for example, a storage box Tb having a shape suitable for delivery by a delivery company. Note that the storage box Tb is not limited to delivery by a delivery company, and may be a box with a shape suitable for transportation by a separately provided transportation device. In the article transfer device 200 of this embodiment, a box with a lid made of paper such as cardboard is used as the storage box Tb, for example.

The box transport unit 400 is a conveyor capable of transporting the storage box Tb, which is a box, and is a chain conveyor here. However, the box conveyance unit 400 is not limited to a chain conveyor, and can employ a wide variety of conveyance mechanisms that can accurately and reliably convey the storage boxes Tb.

In the article transfer device 200, the conveyance direction Tr2 in which the storage box Tb of the box conveyance section 400 is conveyed is a direction extending along the conveyance direction Tr1 of the article conveyance section 300. By doing so, a plurality of transfer areas for transferring the articles Ob to the storage box Tb can be provided along the transport direction, and the efficiency of transferring articles can be increased.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the article transfer device 200, a plurality of parallel link robots 100 are arranged side by side along both the article transport section 300 and the box transport section 400. The parallel link robot 100 has a movement range Mv1 in a direction that intersects the transport direction Tr1 of the article transport section 300 and the transport direction Tr2 of the box transport section 400. The articles Ob transported by the article transport section 300 and the storage boxes Tb transported by the box transport section 400 are arranged so as to cross the movement range Mv1 of each parallel link robot 100. Thereby, the parallel link robot 100 can reliably pick up the article Ob conveyed by the article conveyance section 300. Moreover, the parallel link robot 100 can reliably accommodate the article Ob in the storage box Tb.

Here, the arrangement direction of the parallel link robots 100 will be explained. In the four parallel link robots 100, the first link portions 21a are arranged along the transport direction Tr1 of the article transport section 300 and the transport direction Tr2 of the box transport section 400 in plan view. As described above, the installation range of the parallel link robot 100 in plan view is narrower in the direction in which the first link portion 21a extends than in the direction perpendicular to that direction. Therefore, by arranging the four parallel link robots 100 as described above, the area for transferring the articles Ob to the storage box Tb can be reduced. Thereby, the installation area of the article transfer device 200 in plan view can be reduced.

Note that it is preferable that all four parallel link robots 100 are arranged in the same direction. By arranging all four parallel link robots 100 in the same direction, the link parts 21 of adjacent parallel link robots 100 are less likely to interfere with each other. Thereby, contact between parallel link robots 100 can be suppressed, and occurrence of problems due to contact can be suppressed.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the article transport section 300, the article Ob is significantly smaller than the belt 301. The articles Ob may be randomly arranged in the transport direction Tr1 and in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction Tr1. Even in such a case, the parallel link robot 100 uses the position detection section 43 to accurately detect the position of the article Ob on the article transport section 300. By controlling the actuator 27 in accordance with the position of the article and the conveyance speed of the article conveying section 300, the link section 21 is operated, and the movement of the article Ob is captured by the holding section 30. Then, the suction unit 32 of the holding section 30 is brought into contact with the article Ob, air is sucked, and the suction unit 32 suctions and holds the article Ob.

Then, by controlling the actuator 27, the link portion 21 is operated and the article Ob is lifted. Then, the lifted holding section 30 is moved to the storage box Tb and housed inside the storage box Tb.

In the article transfer device 200, after storing a predetermined number of articles Ob in the storage box Tb, the lid of the storage box Tb is closed. Then, the box transport section 400 transports the storage box Tb to the outside of the apparatus.

Note that when the number of articles Ob accommodated in the accommodation box Tb is small, the articles Ob may be accommodated in the accommodation box Tb while the box conveying section 400 is conveying the accommodation box Tb. At this time, when storing the article Ob in the storage box Tb, the transport speed of the storage box Tb may be reduced. Furthermore, when the number of articles Ob stored in the storage box Tb is large, the storage box Tb may be transported after the articles Ob are stored in the storage box Tb with the box transport section 400 stopped. Furthermore, the box transport unit 400 may include a closing mechanism for closing the lid (not shown) of the storage box Tb.

The parallel link robot 100 of this embodiment can have a small installation area while maintaining a movement range Mv1 having a long length in one direction in plan view. Therefore, there are fewer restrictions on the installation location of the parallel link robot 100. Further, by reducing the installation area, the installation area of the entire device using the parallel link robot 100, for example, the article transfer device 200, can be reduced. In addition, in this embodiment, although the article transfer device 200 is mentioned as an apparatus using the parallel link robot 100, it is not limited to this. For example, it can be widely adopted as a device for moving articles Ob to a conveying device, moving articles Ob from a conveying device, etc., such as a loading device for loading articles Ob into a conveying section, a moving device for moving articles Ob to a processing device, etc. I can do it.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Further, the embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The article transfer device of the present invention can be used, for example, as a packaging device for packing articles such as drinks and foods into packaging boxes.

10 Main body part 11 Support part 11a First support part 11b Second support part 11c Third support part 20 Movable part 21 Link part 21a First link part 21b Second link part 21c Third link part 22 Upper arm 23 Lower arm 24 Drive Hinge section 25 Upper hinge section 26 Lower hinge section 27 Actuator 271 Motor 272 Reducer 30 Holding section 31 Holding section main body 311 Mounting section 32 Suction unit 33 Suction mechanism 40 Control section 41 Processing circuit 42 Memory circuit 43 Position detection section 44 Imaging section 100 Parallel link robot 200 Article transfer device 300 Article transport section 301 Belt Bw Transport path 400 Box transport section Tb Storage box

Claims (6)

A parallel link robot that holds and moves articles,
The main body and
three link parts that are swingably supported in the radial direction and the vertical direction by the main body part;
a holding part that holds the article and to which each of the lower ends of each of the link parts is rotatably attached;
The main body portion has three support portions that respectively support each of the link portions,
The support portions are arranged at equal central angles in a circumferential direction centered on a central axis extending vertically in a plan view,
In plan view, the two supporting parts are such that the intersection of the swing axis, which is the center of the swinging of the link part, and the center line of the link part is on a pitch circle having the same radius and centered on the central axis. and the remaining one support part is arranged so that the intersection of the swing axis and the center line of the link part is inside the pitch circle. Each of the link parts is
an upper arm having one end supported by the support part;
a lower arm connecting the other end of the upper arm and the holding part;
The upper end of the lower arm is rotatably connected to the upper arm, and the lower end is rotatably connected to the holding part,
In a plan view, at least the upper arm of the link part connected to the support part is arranged such that the intersection of the swing axis and the center line of the link part is inside the pitch circle. The parallel link robot according to claim 1, wherein the robot is longer than the upper arm of the link portion. Each of the link parts is
a drive unit that drives the upper arm;
a driving force transmission mechanism that transmits the driving force of the drive unit,
The drive parts of all the link parts have the same configuration,
The reduction ratio of the driving force transmission mechanism of the link part connected to the support part is arranged such that the intersection of the swing axis and the center line of the link part is inside the pitch circle in plan view. The parallel link robot according to claim 2, wherein is larger than the reduction ratio of the driving force transmission mechanism of the other link parts. In a plan view, the support part is arranged such that the intersection of the swing axis and the center line of the link part is inside the pitch circle, and the support part has a constant movement in a direction approaching or away from the center axis. The parallel link robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is movable within a movement range and can be fixed at any position within the movement range. In a plan view, the link part connected to the support part is arranged such that the intersection of the swing axis and the center line of the link part is inside the pitch circle, and the link part intersects with the moving direction of the article. The parallel link robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which extends in a direction. A parallel link robot according to claim 5;
an article transfer unit that is arranged in close proximity to the parallel link robot and that conveys the article; the article transfer unit that holds the article that is conveyed by the conveyance unit and transfers it to a separately provided storage box; A device,
In the article transfer device, the link portion connected to the support portion arranged inside the pitch circle extends in a direction along a direction in which the article is conveyed by the conveyance portion in a plan view.