JPS6234795A - Cable supporter for industrial robot - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a device for supporting cables such as signal lines, for example, in a rotating section of a robot that supplies a workpiece to a machine tool.

[Conventional technology]

In an industrial robot that is rotatably mounted on a fixed frame, cables such as signal lines or power lines are guided from the outside into the robot via the fixed frame. A mechanism for rotating the robot is provided in this fixed frame, and a part of the cable is supported at the entrance of the fixed frame, while the other part is supported by the rotating mechanism, and the cable is supported at the entrance of the fixed frame, and the other part is supported by the rotating mechanism. The length is ensured to be sufficient for the rotational movement of the robot, and the part is accommodated within the fighting frame.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The cable changes its posture as the robot rotates, and as the robot repeatedly turns around, the cable may be forced to bend, creating stress that exceeds the allowable range, or causing damage. It was desired to solve this problem.

[Failure to solve the problem]

A cable support device for an industrial robot according to the present invention connects a large number of chain members in a predetermined plane at an angle of one foot to each other, and creates an arcuate passage through which a cable passes through the chain members. The invention is characterized in that each chain member is rotatable by a predetermined angle or less with respect to an adjacent chain member along a direction substantially orthogonal to the predetermined plane.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below with reference to illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows the rotating part of an industrial robot. A rotating frame 1o supports an operating part of a robot (not shown).

An annular support member 11 attached to the lower surface of the fixed frame 12
It is rotatably supported by the fixed frame 12 by fitting into a bearing 13 fixed to the upper part of the frame. Fixed frame 1
2 has a cylindrical outer wall 14, a cylindrical inner wall 15 and an annular bottom 16 arranged concentrically inside the cylindrical outer wall 14, and these outer walls 1
4, the inner wall 15, and the annular bottom 16 form a y annular chamber 17.

A cable for transmitting a signal that supplies power to the operating part of the robot passes through the outer wall 14 and is led into the annular chamber 17 from the outside, as shown by the imaginary line l, and is led into the annular chamber 17 from the outside, inside the cable support device 30 described later. , passes through the annular support member 11, and extends toward the operating section of the robot.

The motor 20 is attached to the annular support member 11 , and the output shaft 21 extending downward is connected to a speed reducer 22 . Reducer 22
is rotatably supported by a disc 23 fixed to the upper part of the inner wall 15 of the fixed frame 12, and is integrally connected to the annular member 11 via a melt or the like. Therefore, when the motor 20 is driven and the output shaft 21 rotates, the reducer 22 rotates,
The annular member 11 and the rotating frame 10 rotate. The rotation range of this rotating frame 10 is about 300° around the axis.

FIG. 1 shows a cable support device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
shows. The cable support device 30 includes a large number of chain members 3
1 are interconnected, and a passage is formed therein for the cable to pass through. The cable support device 3o has a stationary portion 30 extending in an arc shape on the annular bottom portion 16.
a, an arc-shaped movable part 30b located above and parallel to the stationary part 30a, and an inverted part 30c that connects the stationary part 30m and the movable part 30b. In the example shown in Figure 1, the stationary portion is 30 m.
The end of the movable portion 30b is located on the opposite side of the inner wall 15, that is, the opposite side of the inverted portion 30e, and the end of the movable portion 30b is also located on the opposite side of the inverted portion 30e.
Located on the opposite side of 0c. Thus, the cable passes through the support device 3o, and one end of the cable exits from the end of the stationary part 30m, passes through the outer wall 14, and extends to the outside, and the other end of the cable passes through the movable part 30m.
The rotating frame l comes out from the end of b and passes through the annular member 11.

extends inward.

Therefore, when the rotating frame 1o rotates via the motor 20, the end of the cable rotates together with the annular member 11, and the movable portion 30b is displaced along the arrow AK.
The position of the inverted portion 30c also moves. On the other hand, although the stationary portion 30a is not displaced along the arrow AK, the position of the inverted portion 30e changes, so the arcuate length changes.

FIG. 3 shows the cable support device 3o viewed from above. Each chain member 31 is connected to an adjacent chain member by multiple coupling pins 32, and extends in an arc shape when viewed from above. That is, the connecting pin 32 connected to one adjacent chain member 31' and the connecting pin 32 connected to the other chain member 37 are oriented toward the center of the circular arc.

FIG. 4 shows the chain member 31 in an enlarged manner. The chain member 31 includes a first chain element 33 and a second chain element 34.
It is formed by combining them. The first chain element 33 is
It has a bottom plate 33a and a pair of leg plates 33b provided substantially perpendicular to the bottom plate 33a, and a coupling horn 32 is formed on the outer surface of each leg plate 33b. Similarly to the first chain element 33, the second chain element 34 also includes a bottom plate 34a and a pair of leg plates 3 provided substantially perpendicularly to the bottom plate 34m.
4b, but these leg plates 34b have connecting pins 3
A hole 34e into which 2 is fitted is bored. The width of the pair of leg plates 33b of the first chain element 33 is the same as that of the second chain element 34.
The width of the first chain element 33 is smaller than the width of the pair of leg plates 34b, and the first chain element 33 fits inside the second chain element 34.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bottom plate 33a of the first chain element 33
, three connecting holes 33c are formed near one leg plate 33b, and three connecting holes 33c are similarly formed near the other leg plate 33b, while the bottom plate 3 of the second chain element 34
A pair of pins 34d are erected on 4a. By inserting these pins 34d into any of the connecting holes 33c, the first and second chain elements 33, 34 are interconnected. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the pin 34d is 3
The chain member 31 is inserted into the center one of the two connecting holes, but the chain member 31 can be lengthened by fitting into the connecting hole on the right side in the figure, and the chain member 31 can be lengthened by fitting into the connecting hole on the left side in the figure. can be shortened.

As is clear from FIG. 6, the pair of leg plates 33b of the first chain element 33 are connected to the leg plates 33b of the second chain element 34.
The connecting holes 33c are formed so as to be oriented in a direction slightly inclined with respect to b, and each connecting hole 33c is arranged parallel to the leg plate 34b of the second chain element 34. By selecting the connecting hole in which the pin 34d engages, the chain member 31 can be expanded or contracted, and the curvature of the circular arc shown in FIG. 3 can be changed.

Referring again to FIG. 4, a lid member 35 is rotatably attached to the upper end of one leg plate 34b of the second chain element 34. The other leg plate 34b is attached to the end of the lid member 35.
A retaining portion 37 having a groove 37m that engages with a protrusion 36 formed in the retaining portion 37 is provided. The lid member 35 can be displaced from the horizontal position shown in FIG. 4 by rotating 180° in the direction of arrow B to a position where it engages with the notch 34e of the leg plate 34b. Further, a raised portion 35m extending in the width direction of the chain member 31 is formed on the inner surface of the lid member 35, and similarly, a raised portion 34f is formed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 34a of the second chain element 34. When the lid member 35 is tilted toward the notch 34a, these raised portions 35
a e 34 f are opposed to each other, and a partition plate 38 shown in FIG. 7 is supported by these. Partition plate 38
has approximately the same height as the leg plate 34b, and has a raised portion 35 at the upper end.
A notch 38a that engages with the ridge 3 is formed at the lower end.
A notch 38b is formed in which the 4f engages. By providing an appropriate number of partition plates 38 within the chain member 31, the cables 40 can be protected from coming into contact with each other as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the leg plate 34 of the second chain element 34
A stopper 39 is formed inside the upper part of b. This stopper 39 restricts the upward rotation range of the adjacent chain member 31, as shown in FIG. 9, so that it can only tilt at a certain angle θ.

By regulating the angle at which each chain member 31 rotates around the pin 32, the inverted portion 30
c (see Figure 1) is formed. On the other hand, the downward rotation of the chain member 31 in FIG. 9 is restricted by the bottom plate 34a (see FIG. 5), and cannot be rotated downward from the horizontal position.

Since the chain members 31 have the above-mentioned configuration, when a large number of them are connected, they take on an arc shape as shown in FIG. 3, and an arc-shaped passage for passing the cable is formed within these chain members 31. .

The cable can be placed in the passage within the chain member 31 by opening the lid member 35, and the operation is easy. Further, if a partition plate 38 is provided as appropriate, the cable can be protected.

As described above, in this embodiment, the leg portion 33 of the chain member 31
b and leg portion 34b are not on the same straight line.

The chain member 9 is bent in a horizontal plane, and adjacent chain members can be bent in one direction by a certain angle or less in a vertical plane. - Therefore, as shown in FIG.
0c, it is possible to reliably protect the cable when the logget turns, and also to make the rotation of the logget smooth.

Note that the surface on which the chain member 31 curves into an arc shape does not have to be a horizontal surface, and may be an inclined surface or a vertical surface.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the effect that the robot can smoothly perform the turning motion while reliably protecting the cable.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a rotating part of an industrial robot. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the embodiment device. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the chain member, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the coupling structure of the first and second chain elements, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the chain member, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the partition plate, Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing a state in which a cable is inserted into the chain member, and Fig. 9 is a side view showing a state in which two chain members are rotated relative to each other. 30... Cable support device, 31... Chain member, 40... Cable.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A large number of chain members are connected to each other in a predetermined plane while being inclined at a certain angle to form an arc-shaped passage through which a cable is inserted, and each A cable support device for an industrial robot, characterized in that a chain member is rotatable by a certain angle or less with respect to an adjacent chain member along a direction substantially orthogonal to the predetermined plane. 2. A patent claim characterized in that each of the chain members is formed by combining a first chain element and a second chain element, and the first and second chain elements are expandable and contractible along the predetermined plane. The cable support device according to item 1.