Article transfer device

An article transfer device comprising:

• at least one robot configured to perform a workpiece picking operation with respect to a conveyor for transferring a plurality of workpieces;
• an image capturing device configured to sequentially capture images of the workpieces on the conveyor;
• and
• a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to execute:
• a workpiece identification process which performs workpiece detection in the images captured by the image capturing device;
• a workpiece information storage process which stores workpiece information about a position and an angle of each detected workpiece in a storage device, when the workpiece detection is performed in the workpiece identification process;
• an identical workpiece determination process which compares the workpiece information of each of the detected workpieces in a newly captured image, to which the workpiece detection is performed, with the workpiece information of each of the detected workpieces in at least one of previously captured images, to which the workpiece detection is performed, to determine whether one or more of the detected workpieces that are identical to the detected workpieces in the at least one previously captured images exist in the newly captured image;
• a workpiece information selection process which performs selection with respect to at least one detected workpiece determined as an identical one in the identical workpiece determination process, in order to store in the workpiece information storage device only one of the workpiece information regarding the newly captured image and the workpiece information regarding the at least one of the previously captured images, the workpiece information to be stored being closer to predetermined reference information;
• an interference area setting process which sets an interference area for each of the detected workpieces in each of the images;
• and
• an interference determination process which determines whether or not the interference area of the each detected workpiece interferes with a contour of another detected workpiece, wherein
• the robot does not perform the workpiece picking operation for detected workpieces to which interference is determined by the interference determination process.