Patent Application
20200122335
The present invention relates to a food holding apparatus and a method for operating the same.
In the related art, in a production site of food such as in-flight meals or lunch, a dishing work of food is performed by workers. The workers pick up a food container which is transported by, for example, a conveyor, by one hand, sprinkle a small amount of sesame over the food by the other hand while maintaining a predetermined posture of the food container, and after the work, release the food at a predetermined position on the conveyor.
In recent years, in various fields, it has been proposed that robots and workers work together in the same work space from the viewpoint of productivity improvement. In the production site of the food as described above, in a case where a humanoid work robot is introduced and the dishing work of the food is performed, measures for holding a fixed small amount of ingredients such as sesame and securely supplying the held ingredients to the top of the food are necessary. PTL 1 discloses a food dishing robot. As examples of a food container supported by the food dishing robot, a container having a V-shaped notch as a spout of granular food, and a container having a projection such as a distal end of a kettle as a spout of liquid food are disclosed. The robot tilts the container to take the food out of the container. PTL 2 discloses a seasoning supply device. The seasoning supply device uniformly adds seasoning to semi-finished products (food such as confectionery). The seasoning supply device is configured to send (discharge) powdery seasoning such as salt from a distal end of a screw feeder. A plurality of through-holes are provided to a predetermined front portion of a cylindrical rotation shaft of the screw feeder.
PTL 1: JP 2003-128002 A
PTL 2: JP 2015-223151 A
However, in PTL 1, a work of filling a container with food by a worker is necessary. That is, the robot can supply food, but the robot itself cannot hold the food. In addition, the seasoning supply device of PTL 2 is used to a confectionery production system for producing confectionery such as potato chips. Therefore, the confectionery production system includes not only the seasoning supply device but also a combination weighing device, a packaging machine, a supply device, a discharge conveyor, and a chute. The entire system becomes complicated. In addition, the installation space is also increased.
The present invention is made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to securely hold or release a fixed small amount of ingredients such as sesame with a simpler configuration.
In order to achieve the above-described object, a food holding apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is a food holding apparatus configured to hold or release an ingredient. The food holding apparatus includes a base portion, a pair of arms drivably attached to the base portion, a pair of distal end portions respectively provided to distal ends of the pair of arms, and a control device configured to control an operation of the pair of arms, in which the control device is configured to control the operation of the pair of arms such that the pair of distal end portions hold the ingredient in an inner side between the pair of distal end portions in a state of facing each other, and the pair of distal end portions release the ingredient held in the inner side between the pair of distal end portions in a state of being separated from each other.
With the above configuration, in a state where the pair of distal end portions face each other, the ingredient (for example, sesame) is held in the inner side between the distal end portions, and the ingredient can be transported to a predetermined position. Then, the pair of distal end portions are separated from each other, so that the ingredient held in the inner side between the distal end portions is released, and thus the ingredient can be dished on the food (for example, parsley).
The pair of distal end portions may include recesses, the recesses may form a hollow portion in a state of facing each other, and the ingredient may be held in the inner side of the hollow portion.
With the above configuration, since the pair of distal end portions form the hollow portion in a state of facing each other, and the ingredient can be held in the inner side of the hollow portion, it is easy to hold a fixed small amount of ingredient. In addition, by appropriately changing the volume of the hemisphere, the amount of the ingredient to be held can be adjusted. The recess may be formed in a hemispherical shape, and the hollow portion may be formed in a spherical shape.
In addition, the pair of distal end portions may be formed in a complementary shape, and the complementary shape may be configured to hold the ingredient in an inner side between facing surfaces by mutual overlapping of the facing surfaces.
With the above configuration, since the pair of distal end portions are formed in the complementary shape, and the ingredient is held in the inner side between the facing surfaces by mutual overlapping of the facing surfaces, it is easy to hold a fixed small amount of ingredient. The complementary shape may have a flat plate shape. For example, by appropriately changing the area of the flat plate, the amount of the ingredient to be held can be adjusted.
The pair of arms may be configured such that in a posture in which the ingredient is held by the pair of distal end portions, positions of the pair of distal end portions of the pair of arms and positions of proximal end portions of the pair of arms are separated in a horizontal direction.
With the above configuration, for example, in a case of holding the ingredient accommodated in the container, in the horizontal direction, the positions of the distal end portions of the arms are aligned within the container, and the positions of the proximal end portions of the arms can be aligned outside the container. In this manner, even in a case where slight foreign matters such as dust are generated in a driving portion (proximal end portion) during the operation of the arms, it is possible to prevent the foreign matters from being dropped into the container to be mixed with the ingredient. For example, a part including the distal end portion of the arm may extend in a vertical direction, and a part including the proximal end portion of the arm may extend in the horizontal direction. Further, a body of the arm including the distal end portion and the proximal end portion may extend in an oblique direction with respect to the vertical direction. The ingredient may be a liquid or powdered ingredient.
A method for operating a food holding apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention is a method for operating a food holding apparatus including a base portion, a pair of arms drivably attached to the base portion, a pair of distal end portions respectively provided to distal ends of the pair of arms, and a control device configured to control an operation of the pair of arms. The method includes by controlling the operation of the pair of arms, holding the ingredient in an inner side between the pair of distal end portions in a state where the pair of distal end portions face each other, and releasing the ingredient held in the inner side between the pair of distal end portions in a state where the pair of distal end portions are separated from each other.
The present invention has the above-described configurations, and it is possible to securely hold or release a fixed small amount of ingredients such as sesame with a simpler configuration.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals in all of the drawings, and the redundant description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the drawings schematically illustrate the respective constituent elements in order to facilitate understanding.
Hereinafter, a direction in which a pair of arms are extended is referred to as a right and left direction. A direction parallel to a shaft center of a base shaft is referred to as an up and down direction. A direction orthogonal to the right and left direction and the up and down direction is referred to as a front and rear direction. The robot 11 of the present embodiment is applied to a production site of food, and performs a dishing work of food.
Each arm 13 is a horizontal articulated robot arm configured to be movable in a horizontal direction with respect to the base 12. Each arm 13 includes an arm section 15, a wrist section 17, and an end effector 18. The right arm 13 and the left arm 13 may have substantially the same structure. In addition, the right arm 13 and the left arm 13 can be independently operated or can be operated in conjunction with each other.
In the present example, the arm section 15 is configured of a first link 15a and a second link 15b. The first link 15a is connected to a base shaft 16 fixed to an upper surface of the base 12 by a rotational joint J1. The first link 15a is rotatable around a rotation axis L1 passing through a shaft center of the base shaft 16. The second link 15b is connected to a distal end of the first link 15a by a rotational joint J2. The second link 15b is rotatable around a rotation axis L2 defined in the distal end of the first link 15a.
The wrist section 17 includes a mechanical interface 19 to which the end effector 18 is attached. The wrist section 17 is connected to a distal end of the second link 15b by a linear joint J3 and a rotational joint J4. The wrist section 17 is movable up and down with respect to the second link 15b by the linear joint J3. The wrist section 17 is rotatable around a rotation axis L3 orthogonal to the second link 15b by the rotational joint J4.
The end effector 18 is connected to the mechanical interface 19 of each of the right and left wrist sections 17. The end effector 18 is provided to a distal end of each of the right and left arms 13. In the present embodiment, the right and left end effectors 18 have the same structure. The robot 11 to which the end effector 18 is applied is not limited to the present embodiment, and it is sufficient that the robot 11 is an industrial robot including at least one robot arm.
Each arm 13 having the above-described configuration includes the joints J1 to J4. Then, the arm 13 is provided with a servo motor (not illustrated) for driving, an encoder (not illustrated) for detecting a rotation angle of the servo motor, and the like to correspond to the joints J1 to J4. In addition, the rotation axis L1 of the first links 15a and 15a of two arms 13 and 13 are on the same straight line, and the first link 15a of one arm 13 and the first link 15a of the other arm 13 are disposed with a height difference in the up and down direction.
Next, the end effector 18 attached to the wrist section 17 of the arm 13 will be described. Since the right and left end effectors 18 have the same structure, only one (right) end effector is described here.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The pair of parallel fingers 72 are driven by the actuator (not illustrated), and are moved to be translated so as to approach to or be separated from each other while parallelism is maintained. The actuator may be configured of, for example, an air cylinder, a linear motion mechanism, and the like (neither is illustrated).
The expansion tool 80 expands a gripping function of the base hand 60. The expansion tool 80 is configured to hold or release an object (ingredient). The expansion tool 80 includes the adapter 81, a base portion 82 coupled to the adapter 81, a pair of holding arms 83 drivably attached to the base portion 82, a pair of distal end portions 84 respectively provided to distal ends of the pair of holding arms 83.
The adapter 81 is a connection portion between the base hand 60 and the expansion tool 80. The adapter 81 is gripped by the base hand 60 so that the expansion tool 80 and the base hand 60 are connected. An upper portion of the adapter 81 has a columnar shape or a cylindrical shape. Hereinafter, an extension direction of the columnar or cylindrical shaft center is referred to as a “shaft center direction” (up and down direction in
The base hand 60 according to the present embodiment includes the pair of fingers 72, and the engagement portions 81a corresponding to the fingers are grooves formed on the outer circumferential surface of the adapter 81. When the adapter 81 formed with the grooves is sandwiched by the pair of fingers 72 from both sides, the pair of fingers 72 are fitted into the grooves to become an aspect in which the pair of fingers 72 bite into the outer circumferential surface of the adapter 81.
The width of the groove which is the engagement portion 81a is the same as or slightly larger than the width (thickness) of the finger 72. In this manner, the pair of fingers 72 engage with the engagement portions 81a. That is, the pair of fingers 72 are fitted into the grooves so that the position in the shaft center direction and the rotational position of the adapter 81 with respect to the base hand 60 are determined.
The base portion 82 is coupled to the adapter 81, and includes two rotational joints J5 having a rotation axis L4 in a direction (right and left direction in
The holding arm 83 is configured of a proximal end portion 831, an intermediate portion 832, and a distal end portion 84 (refer to
Information such as a basic program as the robot controller and various items of fixed data is stored in the memory 14b. The processor 14a controls various operations of the robot 11 by reading and executing software such as the basic program stored in the memory 14b. That is, the processor 14a generates a control command for the robot 11 and outputs the control command to the servo controller 14c. The servo controller 14c is configured to control the driving of the servo motor corresponding to the joints J1 to J4 of each arm 13 of the robot 11 on the basis of the control command generated by the processor 14a. In addition, the holding operation (refer to
Next, an example of the operation of the robot 11 controlled by the control device 14 will be described using
Specifically, the control device 14 controls the operation of the arm 13 so that the adapter 81 is held by the base hand 60 of the end effector 18 and the holding arms 83 of the expansion tool 80 are opened. Then, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Thereafter, as illustrated in
In addition, in the present embodiment, the pair of distal end portions 84 have hemispherical recesses 84a, the hemispheres form the spherical hollow portion 84b in a state of facing each other, and the ingredient is held in the hollow portion 84b. Thus, it is easy to hold a fixed small amount of ingredient 91. Furthermore, by appropriately changing the volume of the hemisphere, the amount of the ingredient to be held can be adjusted.
Note that the recess 84a is formed in a hemispherical shape, but is not limited thereto as long as the ingredient can be held in an inner side between the recesses in a state where the recesses face each other.
In addition, in the present embodiment, in a posture in which the ingredient 91 is held by the pair of distal end portions 84, the positions of the distal end portions 84 of the pair of holding arms 83 and the positions of the proximal end portions 831 of the pair of holding arms 83 are configured to be separated in the horizontal direction (refer to
In the above-described embodiment, the dishing work of the food is performed by the double arm robot 11, but may be realized by a dedicated apparatus which includes the end effector 18 and can perform positioning control.
The robot 11 of the above-described embodiment is the horizontal articulated double arm robot, but may be a vertical articulated robot as long as the robot includes the expansion tool 80 at a distal end of the robot arm.
In the above-described embodiment, the expansion tool 80 is configured to be held by the base hand 60, but the expansion tool 80 may be directly attached to the mechanical interface 19 at the distal end of the robot arm 13.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the present invention are apparent to those skilled in the art from the above description. Accordingly, the above description should be construed as illustrative only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best modes for carrying out the present invention. The details of the structures and/or the functions can be substantially changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
The present invention is useful in the production site of food such as in-flight meals or lunch.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-080781 | Apr 2017 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2018/015378 | 4/12/2018 | WO | 00 |
