WO2018135012A1

WO2018135012A1 - Robot

Info

Publication number: WO2018135012A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/015253
Authority: WO
Inventors: 智司秋田; 至久保; 恵介松尾; 戸塚　善三
Original assignee: 新明工業株式会社; カンタムエレクトロニクス株式会社; 伊藤忠マシンテクノス株式会社; 金井電器産業株式会社
Priority date: 2017-01-19
Filing date: 2017-04-14
Publication date: 2018-07-26
Also published as: CN108235698B; TW201827187A; JPWO2018135012A1; TWI669199B; JP6837644B2; CN108235698A

Abstract

Provided is a robot that is capable of improving safety. The robot is provided with a film sensor (2) that has a sensor body (8) comprising: inner and outer resistive films (3, 4) opposed to each other; and spacers (5, 12) positioned between the inner and outer resistive films (3, 4) and serving as insulators for keeping the inner and outer resistive films (3, 4) separate from each other in a state of not being in contact with the outside. When contact is made from the outside, the outer resistive film (4), which has been pushed in association with said contact, makes contact with the inner resistive film (3) and becomes energized. By detecting the electric signal therefrom, the contact is detected.

Description

robot

The present invention relates to a robot such as a robot arm.

In recent years, robot arms that operate near workers are becoming popular.

However, it is dangerous if the operator touches the robot arm. Therefore, it is conceivable to move the robot arm with a low thrust, but this alone has a safety problem. This applies not only to the robot arm but also to other robots.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned matters, and an object of the present invention is to provide a robot capable of improving safety.

In order to achieve the above object, a robot according to the present invention is located between an internal and external resistance film facing each other and the internal and external resistance film, and the internal and external resistance is in a state of not receiving external contact. It has a sensor body composed of a spacer which is an insulator for keeping the films apart from each other, and when receiving contact from the outside, the outer resistance film pushed in with this contact becomes the inner resistance. A film sensor configured to detect contact by energizing the film and detecting the electrical signal is provided (claim 1).

In the robot, both the inner and outer resistance films may be cylindrical.

Further, in the robot, the spacer may include a plurality of circulation parts that circulate along an outer surface of the inner resistance film, and a non-circulation part positioned between the plurality of circulation parts. Item 3).

In the robot, a plurality of the spacers may be interspersed between the inner and outer resistive films (claim 4).

In the present invention, a robot capable of improving safety can be obtained.

That is, the robot of the invention according to each claim of the present application can be configured to stop the robot immediately when an operator contacts the sensor body, and the safety can be improved.

The robot according to the second aspect of the invention is particularly suitable for use in a robot arm or the like suitable for mounting a cylindrical film sensor.

According to the robot of the invention of claim 3, by increasing the thickness of the sheet provided on the outer side of the outer resistance film, the gap between the inner and outer resistance films is improved while improving the strength and further improving the interpersonal and objective aptitude. By making it wide, it is possible to ensure the prevention of malfunction while suppressing an increase in the load for turning on the film sensor.

According to the robot of the invention of claim 4, by interposing a plurality of spacers between the inner and outer resistive films, the film sensor can be made conductive even with a light and light contact.

It is explanatory drawing which shows roughly the structure of the robot (robot arm) which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows schematically the structure of the film sensor of the said robot (robot arm). (A) And (B) is the top view and perspective view which show schematically the structure of the modification of the said film sensor. (A) is a cross-sectional view of the film sensor shown in FIG. 3, (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of (A), and (C) is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of (A). (A) And (B) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state before and after a deformation | transformation of the film sensor shown in FIG. 3 roughly.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A robot arm (an example of a robot) 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a vertical articulated robot (for example, a 6-axis vertical articulated robot), and can rotate or twist at each joint. Each joint is provided with a motor, a reducer, a rotation angle detector, etc., not shown, and the rotation angle of each joint is controlled by a control device not shown. A hand (not shown) that can perform an appropriate operation is attached to the tip of the robot arm 1, and the base of the robot arm 1 is fixed to a gantry, a movable carriage, or the like.

Also, the robot arm 1 includes a film sensor (membrane sheet) 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the film sensor 2 includes flexible inner and outer resistive films (conductive films made of a mixed film of Ag / C in this example) 3, 4 and inner and outer resistive films 3, A plurality of insulators that are interspersed (positioned) at intervals of 0.5 mm, for example, between the inner and outer

resistive films

3 and 4 that are not subjected to external contact. And a sensor body 8 composed of inner and outer sheets (for example, polyethylene terephthalate sheets) 6 and 7 sandwiching the inner and outer

resistive films

3 and 4, and when contacted, Accordingly, the outer resistive film 4 pushed in contact with the inner resistive film 3 is energized in contact with the inner resistive film 3, and the electrical signal is detected to detect that the contact has been received. The inner and

outer resistance films

3 and 4 and the inner and

outer sheets

6 and 7 are both flexible.

The inner surface (the inner sheet 6 side) of the sensor main body 8 is joined to the outer surface of the flexible base member 10 having a substantially C-shaped cross section by an adhesive 9, and the sensor main body 8 is joined to the base member 10. In addition, the robot arm 1 is mounted in a bent state (see FIG. 1). In FIG. 2, 11 is an insulating tape.

Here, as the base member 10, for example, a resin pipe cut from one end to the other end to have a substantially C-shaped cross section can be used. It is preferable to provide

The sensor body 8 and the base member 10 can be attached to the robot arm 1 by fastening an appropriate portion of the sensor body 8 or the base member 10 wound around the robot arm 1 with an adhesive tape or a hook-and-loop fastener, It can be considered to be tied up with a string or the like.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, two sensor bodies 8 are attached to one robot arm 1, and when a plurality of sensor bodies 8 are attached to one robot arm 1 in this way, By electrically connecting the sensor bodies 8 to each other with a cable 12 or the like, even if any sensor body 8 is contacted and energized, the contact can be detected, and each sensor body 8 can be detected. The wiring of the cables 12 and the like can be simplified as compared with the case where they are individually electrically connected to the control device or the like.

In the robot arm 1 of the present embodiment, contact with the sensor body 8 is detected, and the control device is configured to stop the operation of the robot arm 1 based on this detection. Therefore, it is possible to immediately stop the robot arm 1 when an operator contacts the sensor main body 8, and the safety of the robot arm 1 can be improved.

Moreover, in the robot arm 1 of the present embodiment, even when there is a contact with the sensor main body 8, the impact is not transmitted as it is to the robot arm 1, but by the cushion material on the inner surface of the base member 10 to which the sensor main body 8 is joined. Since it is buffered, the safety of the robot arm 1 is also increased in this respect.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the following modifications can be given.

In the above embodiment, the sensor main body 8 of the film sensor 2 is attached only to the arm portion of the robot arm 1, but not limited to this, the sensor main body 8 is attached to the entire robot arm 1 such as a joint or a hand. However, any part of the robot arm 1 may be configured to stop or the like, and in this case, safety can be further improved. Here, for example, when the sensor body 8 is mounted on the joint portion of the robot arm 1, it is necessary to mount the sensor body 8 without obstructing the movement of the joint portion, and the sensor body 8 is configured to have such a shape. Just keep it.

In the above embodiment, the robot arm 1 is exemplified as the robot. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to other robots.

The film sensor 2 of the above embodiment uses, for example, an outer sheet 7 having a thickness of about 75 μm, and a plurality of spacers 5 are interspersed at equal intervals between the inner and

outer sheets

6, 7. It is thin as a whole and can be made conductive even with light contact. However, if the outer sheet 7 is made thicker in order to improve the strength in consideration of use as a human / object sensor, the thick outer sheet 7 faces the inner sheet 6 in a narrow space around each spacer 5. There is a concern that the load (ON load) for turning on the film sensor 2 will rise rapidly.

Therefore, in the film sensor 2 of the above-described embodiment, a plurality of spacers (dot spacers) 5 are interspersed between the inner and

outer resistance films

3 and 4, but such spacers 5 are omitted, and FIG. Also, a spacer 5A as shown in FIG. 4 may be employed. The spacer 5A can be constituted by, for example, a double-sided tape that is an insulator, and extends along the outer surface of the inner resistance film 3 configured in a cylindrical shape (or along the inner surface of the outer resistance film 4 configured in a cylindrical shape. And a plurality of circulating portions 13 that circulate and a non-circular portion 14 that is positioned between the plurality of circulating portions 13. The non-circular portion 14 extends in the axial direction of the cylindrical inner and

outer resistance films

3 and 4.

In the case of using the spacer 5A configured as described above, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the outer sheet 7 is made thicker (for example, 188 μm or more) to improve strength, and further improve interpersonal and object suitability. As shown in the figure, by making the gap between the two

sheets

6 and 7 wider, it is possible to ensure the prevention of malfunction while suppressing an increase in the ON load. 2 is assumed to have a thickness t1 of about 0.2 mm, whereas the film sensor 2 shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 has a thickness t2 (FIG. 4). (See (B)) is assumed to be about 2 mm.

Further, when the film sensor 2 shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 is mounted on the robot arm 1 (robot), it is preferable to arrange the spacer 5A at a position where it is difficult to receive external contact. The spacer 5A may extend, for example, at least one of the portions constituting the revolving part 13 or the non-revolving part 14 without being continuous. It does not need to extend in the axial direction. Furthermore, the spacer 5 </ b> A is not limited to the one composed of the circular portion 13 and the non-circular portion 14, and may extend spirally along the outer surface of the inner resistive film 3 configured in a cylindrical shape, for example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Robot arm 2 Film sensor 3 Inner resistive film 4 Outer resistive film 5 Spacer 5A Spacer 6 Inner sheet 7 Outer sheet 8 Sensor main body 9 Adhesive 10 Base member 11 Insulating tape 12 Cable 13 Circumferential part 14 Non-circular part t1 Thickness t2 thickness

Claims

A spacer which is an insulator for positioning the inner and outer resistive films facing each other and the inner and outer resistive films and keeping the inner and outer resistive films in a state of not receiving external contact from each other. When the sensor body is configured to receive an external contact, the outer resistive film pushed in with the contact comes into contact with the inner resistive film to energize and detect the electrical signal. A robot characterized by comprising a film sensor configured to detect that a contact has been received.
The robot according to claim 1, wherein the inner and outer resistance films are both cylindrical.
3. The robot according to claim 2, wherein the spacer has a plurality of circulation portions that circulate along an outer surface of the inner resistive film and a non-circulation portion that is positioned between the plurality of circulation portions.
The robot according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the spacers are interspersed between the inner and outer resistive films.