Box-packing system

• US 9,809,333 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2015
• Issued: 11/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ishida Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ishida Company Limited
• Inventors: Minamino, Shizuo, Watanabe, Kousuke
• Primary Examiner(s): LOGAN, KYLE O
• Application Number:
  US15/117,655
• Publication Number:
  US 20160347487A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,012 Days
• Field of Search: 700223
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 15/0616 with vacuum
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/0093 co-operating with conveyor means
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1664 characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 2210/04 Customised on demand packaging by determining a specific characteristic, e.g. shape or height, of articles or material to be packaged and selecting, creating or adapting a packaging accordingly, e.g. making a carton starting from web material
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 2220/18 the primary packaging being bags the subsequent secondary packaging being rigid containers, e.g. cardboard box
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 35/38 by suction-operated grippers
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/06 Packaging groups of articles, the groups being treated as single articles
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 57/02 responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of binding or wrapping material, containers, or packages

Abstract

A box-packing system having a first conveyor, a first robot that applies suction, holds, and transports a package, and a control device. The package includes soft packaging material, and is conveyed by the first conveyor. The control device operates the first robot to move the package to a box-packing preparation area. The first robot has a suction part applying suction the package from above, an arm that moves the suction part in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction, and a servomotor. The servomotor drives the arm so that the suction part can apply suction to the package at a predetermined vertical location. An acquisition part of the control device acquires thickness information of the package. The determination part determines the predetermined height location based the thickness information. The command generation part drives the servomotor in response to the predetermined height location determined by the determination part.

Claims

1. A box-packing system comprising:

a conveyance apparatus;

an evening part having an endless belt that is configured to contact an upper surface of an article flatly evening and smoothing out the upper surface of an article packaged within a soft packaging material;

a robot configured to apply suction, hold, and transport the article packaged within the soft packaging material and conveyed by the conveyance apparatus; and

a control device configured to control the robot to move the article to a box-packing preparation area,

the robot having;

a suction part configured to apply suction to the article from above;

an arm configured to be able to move the suction part in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction; and

a drive part configured to drive the arm in order for the suction part to apply suction to the article at a predetermined vertical location,

the control device having;

an acquisition part configured to acquire thickness information of the article within the soft packaging material evened by the evening part and store the thickness information acquired from the evening part in the control device;

a determination part configured to determine the predetermined vertical location on the basis of the thickness information stored by the control device, the predetermined vertical location corresponding to a vertical location at which the robot applies suction to the article; and

a command generation part configured to generate a command configured to drive the drive part on the basis of the predetermined vertical location determined by the determination part, and wherein

the robot drives the arm to the predetermined vertical location and arranges the article in a box-pack placement in the box-packing preparation area.

2. The box-packing system according to claim 1, wherein

the evening part has a seal check mechanism configured to inspect a bag produced of the soft packaging material for a sealing defect.

3. The box-packing system according to claim 1, wherein

the command generation part generates:

a first command configured to move the suction part to the predetermined height location to apply suction to the article with the suction part; and

a second command configured to move the suction part in the horizontal direction to move the article to the box-packing preparation area in a state in which the article is held by suction by the suction part.