JP2001137976A - Machining device provided with robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide such a conventionally used machining unit as a hemming or the like installed on the tip of a robot arm with an advantage for using such a robot in a narrow space by operating auxiliary mechanisms located around the robot by the motion of the robot. SOLUTION: A working part 30 is located at a part of a machining unit or at the tip part of a robot arm, and the working part 30 is engaged with the driven part 31 of an auxiliary mechanism. A clamping device 3, which is one of the auxiliary mechanisms, is opened and closed by the engagement.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A processing unit such as a hemming device or a spot welding machine is attached to the tip of a robot arm, and a workpiece is processed along a taught trajectory. The present invention belongs to such a technical field.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A robot apparatus having a work processing unit as described above is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-249455. The processing unit disclosed herein is a device for hemming a steel plate, and a hem blade for pressing a flange of the steel plate is caused to move forward and backward by an air cylinder, that is, to vibrate.

[0003]

The place where the above-mentioned robot device is used is generally a place where various devices are intricate, such as a pallet on which a work is placed,
Work clamp devices, various pipes, electric wires, etc. are arranged in a complicated manner. When hemming a workpiece at such a location, the hemming tool may be moved by teaching the robot, but the opening and closing operation of an auxiliary mechanism such as a workpiece clamping device is performed by a special driving device. Need arises. For this purpose, a drive mechanism including air cylinders and links must be provided. Therefore, the equipment structure becomes complicated, restrictions are imposed on the transfer of the work and the behavior of the robot, and the equipment cost increases.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems.
The basic idea is to make the processing unit mounted on the robot arm perform other functions.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a robot arm having a work processing unit provided at a tip of a robot arm.
An operating unit is provided at a part of the processing unit or at the tip of the robot arm, and the operating unit operates an auxiliary mechanism for a workpiece. By doing so, the processing unit performs its original processing function, and the operating part operates an auxiliary mechanism such as a clamp device.
The function of adding the tip of the machining unit or the robot arm is exhibited.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the processing unit is a hemming device, an electric resistance welding device, a screw tightening device, or the like for processing a steel plate, and the auxiliary mechanism is a positioning device for a steel plate, a work pallet. It is a stop device or the like, and is characterized in that the passive unit provided in the auxiliary mechanism is operated by the operating unit of the processing unit by the movement of the robot. Therefore, the operating parts of the various processing units actuate the passive parts of the various auxiliary mechanisms in the same manner, so that the processing units and the robot arm tip portion play an additional role.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the processing unit is a hemming device for processing a steel plate, and the device is provided with a hem blade that moves forward and backward by an air cylinder, and is formed on the hem blade. The operating portion is configured to engage with a passive portion of a positioning clamp device for a steel plate, which is an auxiliary mechanism, to operate the clamp device. As a result, the hem blade performs hemming and opens and closes the clamp device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the processing unit is a hemming device for processing a steel plate, and the device is provided with a hem blade that moves forward and backward, and the hem blade has a hole as an operating portion. On the other hand, the auxiliary mechanism is a positioning clamp device for a steel plate, and a passive portion of the clamp device is a projection-like member that can enter the hole. Therefore, the protrusions are hooked by the holes to open and close the clamp device.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the forward / backward movement of the hem blade is performed by an air cylinder,
When the inside of the hole of the hem blade is pressed against the protruding member,
It is characterized in that the air in the air cylinder performs a buffering action. When the above-mentioned pressing is performed, the shock reaction force due to the pressing is transmitted to the robot device and the shaft joint portion of the robot device is damaged. The reaction force is reduced, and the strength of the robot device does not need to be increased more than necessary.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. The work here is an engine hood for an automobile, and has a structure in which the periphery of an outer plate is bent and integrated with the inner plate. Such a structure
Made by hemming. In the embodiment described first, this hemming process is targeted.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the engine hood 1 is fixed on a support die 2 by a clamp device 3. Code 4
Shows the entire robot apparatus, which is a normal 6-axis type, and a processing unit 6 is attached to the tip of the arm 4. This unit 6 is a hemming device for processing a steel plate. FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 2, and the illustration of the robot device 4 is omitted. An outer plate 7 of the engine hood is placed on the support die 2, and an inner plate 8, which is a skeleton member, is placed on the outer plate 7, and is held down by the clamp device 3.

The hemming process is a method as shown in FIGS. That is, the outer plate 7 on the support die 2 is previously bent with a flange 9 as shown by a two-dot chain line, and the flange 9 is sequentially pushed down from above by a hem blade 10 to caulk the outer peripheral portion of the inner plate 8. Thus, finally, the final bending is performed as shown in FIG. The hem blade 10 used at this time is shown in FIG. This is achieved by connecting the operating rod 11 to a thick plate, and by using the distal end surface 12 of FIG.
The processing shown in FIG. 5 is performed. The hem blade 10
Moves in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIGS. 4 and 5, so that both ends of the tip end surface 12 are rounded portions 13 and 13.
Is formed. The hem blade 10 is made of tool steel.

The hemming device 6 will be described with reference to FIG. An articulation unit 14 is attached to the tip of the arm 5, and a drive device is provided inside the articulation unit 14.
The direction can be changed around 5. A base plate 17 is welded to a joint bracket 16 connected to the joint unit 14, and the support plate 1 is
8, 19 are connected vertically. The vibrating unit 20 is disposed between the support plates 18 and 19, and the unit 2
Auxiliary plates 21 and 22 fixed above and below 0 are attached to support plates 18 and 19 via coupling elastic bodies 23 and 24. In addition, a coupling elastic body 25 is disposed between the vibration unit 20 and the substrate 17, and the vibration unit 20 is attached to the substrate 17. The coupling elastic bodies 23, 24 and 25 may be metal springs or non-metallic springs, and here are made of synthetic rubber.

An output shaft 26 extends from the vibrating unit 20, penetrates through the auxiliary plate 22 and the support plate 19, and the hem blade 10 is fixed to the tip thereof. The output of the unit 20 is an advancing / retracting motion, whereby the hem blade 10 vibrates up and down. As the type of the vibration unit 20, a unit using an air cylinder, a unit that rotates an eccentric weight with an electric motor, or the like may be appropriately used.

FIG. 1 is a side view focusing on the vibrating unit 20 and the clamp device 3. The vibrating unit 20 uses an air cylinder 27, and applies air pressure to the upper and lower sides of a piston 28 alternately, and transmits the vibrations from the piston rod 29 to the hem blade 10. Work 1
The clamping device 3 can be cited as an auxiliary mechanism. A circular hole 30 is drilled in the hem blade 10 to open and close the clamp device 3, that is, to operate it. This hole 30 forms one form of an operating part. on the other hand,
A passive part corresponding to the operating part is a pin 3 which is a protruding member.
1 is realized. The pin 31 is connected in a direction orthogonal to the operation lever 32 of the clamp device 3. The diameter of the pin 31 is set to be much smaller than the inner diameter of the hole 30. The structure for supplying and discharging air to and from the air cylinder 27 is not shown.

Although there are various types of clamping devices, the simplest example will be described with reference to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10. FIG. A column 34 is fixed to a base 33 which is a stationary member, and an operating lever 32 is attached to an upper end of the column 33 so as to be swingable using a shaft 35. A holding pad 36 is fixed to an end of the operating lever 32, and presses the work 1. The pad 36 is made of metal or hard urethane. An inverted L-shaped stopper arm 37 is coupled to the support column 34, and the operating lever 32 is sandwiched by a groove 38 opened at the upper end thereof. For this purpose, a structure as shown in FIG. 10 is employed. An arc-shaped leaf spring 39 is fixed to the inner surface of the groove 38, and the operating lever 32 is press-fitted therein. The pressing of the pad is maintained by stopping the operation lever 32 with the leaf spring 39 while the holding pad 36 is pressed against the work 1.

The stopper means when the operating lever 32 is opened can be easily realized by adopting a structure similar to that shown in FIG. The stopper piece 40 is fixed to the column 34 on the side opposite to the stopper arm 37.

The operation of the above-described embodiment will be described. The outer plate 7 on which the flange 9 is formed is placed on the support die 2, and the inner plate 8 is placed thereon, and then the two plates 7, 8 are firmly clamped by the clamping device 3. When the clamp device 3 is closed, the pin 31 is relatively inserted into the hole 30 by the operation behavior previously taught to the robot device 4, and then the operating lever 32 is rotated counterclockwise to hold down. The pad 36 is pressed. As is clear from FIG. 3, the rotation of the operation lever 32 is sequentially performed on a large number of pins 31 by teaching of the robot apparatus.

When the clamping is completed as described above,
This time, the hem blade 10 is moved as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the hemming process is completed. After that, the teaching of the robot device rotates the operating lever 32 toward the unclamping side through the hole 30 of the hem blade to release the constraint of the work.

The cushioning function of the air cylinder 27 will be described with reference to FIG. When the operating lever 32 is pulled up and the holding pad 36 is pressed against the work 1, the hole 30
The pin 31 is pressed against the inner surface on the lower side. At this time, since the air below the piston 28 performs a buffering action, a shocking reaction force to the robot apparatus is reduced. On the other hand, at the time of unclamping,
1 is pressed, but the air above the piston 28 acts as a buffer as in the case described above. By such a buffering action, it is possible to avoid increasing the strength of the robot device itself more than necessary. In addition, pin 3
Since the diameter of 1 is much smaller than the inner diameter of the hole 30, the pin 31 can easily enter the hole 30 when the hole 30 moves. This ensures that the holes and the pins are fitted even if the operation trajectory of the robot device is slightly deviated.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show modified examples of the clamp device 3.
It is explained according to. The same members as those in the above-described clamp device are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted. The operating lever 32 is a shaft 41 and the stationary member 4
2, while the operating arm 43 is pivotally connected to the stationary member 42 by a shaft 44. The operation arm 43 has an inverted L-shape as shown, and an operation rod 45 is welded thereto, and the pin 31 is connected thereto. One end of the link 46 is pivotally connected to the operation arm 43 by a shaft 47, and the other end is pivotally connected to the operating lever 32 by a shaft 48.

In the clamped state as shown in FIG.
Since the shaft 48 passes through the virtual line OO connecting the and, that is, the dead point, the work 1 is kept pressed by the pressing reaction force of the pad. When the pin 31 is pushed down by the teaching of the robot apparatus as described above and the operation arm 43 is rotated counterclockwise, the unclamping state as shown in FIG. 12 is obtained.
When turning counterclockwise, the dead point OO
Passes through the shaft 48, and pulls the operating lever 32 counterclockwise while the connecting link 46 is turned upside down.

The processing unit described above is a hemming device for processing a steel plate. As another device, there is also an electric resistance welding device as shown in FIG. This is a so-called C gun.
4 Reference numeral 50 denotes a fixed electrode, 51 denotes a movable electrode, and 52 denotes a working cylinder of the movable electrode. A thick plate 53 such as the above-mentioned hem blade is fixed to the lower side of the C frame,
Here, a hole 54 serving as an operating portion is formed. Also, as an example where the operating part is installed at the tip of the robot arm,
There is a structure as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. This is also the same structure as that installed on the lower side of the C frame. Reference numeral 55 denotes a thick plate connected to the joint unit 14, and reference numeral 56 denotes a hole formed in the thick plate.

FIG. 14 shows a case where the machining unit is a bolt runner. An electric motor 57 is attached to the joint unit 14, and a socket 59 is integrated with the rotation shaft 58. The head of the bolt 60 is housed in the socket 59. The electric motor 57 is provided with an operating part, which is the same as that in FIG. That is, reference numeral 61 is a thick plate, and 62 is a hole.

There are various auxiliary mechanisms other than the clamp device 3. For example, although not shown, a stop device for a pallet on which a work is placed may be mentioned. This is because when the pallet moving on the rail hits the stopper pin and stops, the lock lever pivotally attached to the stationary member is rotated, and a part of this lever engages with a part of the pallet, It restrains the movement of the pallet.
A member corresponding to the passive portion is installed on this lever, for example, a projection-like member is attached.

In the above-described embodiment, the pins are relatively inserted into the holes, but the positions of the pins and the holes may be reversed. Further, the operating portion is realized as a circular hole as described above, but the concept of the present invention is not limited to such a hole, but a rod-shaped member, a hook-shaped member, or a U-shaped member.
It includes a function that can move the passive part of the other party, which is transformed into a mold member or the like. Further, the passive portion is realized by the rod-shaped member as described above, but this is also a concept including a movable function such as a hole and a rod-shaped member according to the deformation of the operating portion.

[0027]

According to the present invention, there is provided a robot arm having a work processing unit at the tip of a robot arm.
An operating part is installed at a part of the processing unit or at the tip of the robot arm, and this operating part is configured to operate the auxiliary mechanism for the workpiece. The part operates an auxiliary mechanism such as a clamp device, and exerts a function in which a tip of a machining unit or a robot arm is added by selecting a behavior trajectory of the robot.
Therefore, installation of an auxiliary mechanism having a complicated structure in a narrow place can be avoided, which is effective for simplifying equipment and reducing equipment cost.

The processing unit is a hemming device for processing a steel plate, an electric resistance welding device, a screw tightening device, and the like.
The auxiliary mechanism is a positioning device for the steel plate, a stop device for the work pallet, etc., and the passive part provided in the auxiliary mechanism is configured to be operated by the working part of the processing unit by the movement of the robot. The actuating parts also actuate the passive parts of a wide variety of auxiliary mechanisms to add an additional role to the machining unit and the robot arm tip, thus providing the multifunctionality and equipment benefits described above. Can be pursued.

The processing unit is a hemming device for processing a steel plate. This device is provided with a hem blade that moves forward and backward by an air cylinder, and an operating part formed on the hem blade is a positioning clamp for a steel plate as an auxiliary mechanism. Since the clamp device is configured to engage with the passive portion of the device to operate the clamp device, the hem blade performs hemming and
It opens and closes the clamp device. Since the hem blade itself has a simple shape, it is convenient for the installation of the operating portion. For example, when a hole is formed, it is very advantageous in terms of simplifying the structure. Further, by simplifying the operating portion, the passive portion is similarly simplified like a pin for a hole.

The processing unit is a hemming device for processing a steel plate. The device is provided with a hem blade that moves forward and backward, and a hole is formed in the hem blade as an operating portion.
The auxiliary mechanism is a positioning clamp device for a steel plate, and the passive portion of the clamp device is a projecting member that can enter the hole, so that the projecting member can be hooked by the hole to open and close the clamp device. . As described above, since the projection is tracked by the hole, by appropriately selecting the size of the hole, the fitting between the hole and the projection is reliably achieved, and the operation on the projection is performed. Power input is made accurately.

The forward / backward movement of the hem blade is performed by an air cylinder, and when the inside of the hole of the hem blade is pressed against the protruding member, the air in the air cylinder performs a buffering action. The following advantageous effects can be obtained. That is, when the pressing is performed as described above, the impact reaction force due to the pressing is transmitted to the robot device, and the shaft joint portion of the robot device is damaged. Of the robot device can be prevented and the robot device can be prevented from being damaged. At the same time, it is not necessary to increase the strength of the robot device more than necessary. This makes it possible to reduce the equipment scale of the robot apparatus, which is very advantageous in terms of equipment space and equipment cost. If the hem blade vibrating means uses an air cylinder, the vibrating function and the buffering function can be simultaneously established, which is advantageous in terms of simplification of the structure, easiness of control, and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a simplified side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a relationship between the robot device and a work.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a clamped work.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view showing a stage of preheming.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional front view showing a stage of completion of hemming.

FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional view of a hem blade.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the hemming device.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the clamp device.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of that of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line (10)-(10) of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a side view showing another clamping device.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing an opened state of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a side view when an electric resistance welding device is provided.

FIG. 14 is a side view when a bolt runner is provided.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 5 Robot arm 6 Processing unit 30, 54, 62 Working part 1 Work 3 Auxiliary mechanism 4 Robot device 31 Passive part 10 Hem blade 30 Hole 3 Clamp device 31 Projection member 27 Air cylinder

Claims (5)

[Claims] An operation unit is provided at a part of a processing unit or at a distal end portion of a robot arm in a type having a work processing unit at a distal end of a robot arm.
A processing apparatus using a robot device, wherein the operating section operates an auxiliary mechanism for a workpiece. 2. The processing unit according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit is a hemming device for processing a steel plate, an electric resistance welding device, a screw tightening device, and the like, while the auxiliary mechanism is a positioning device for the steel plate, a device for stopping a work pallet, and the like. A processing unit using a robot device, wherein a passive unit provided in the auxiliary mechanism is operated by an operation unit of the processing unit by movement of the robot. 3. The processing unit according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit is a hemming device for processing a steel plate, and the device is provided with a hem blade that moves forward and backward by an air cylinder. A machining device using a robot device, wherein the machining device is configured to engage with a passive portion of a positioning clamp device for a steel plate, which is a mechanism, to operate the clamp device. 4. The processing unit according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit is a hemming device for processing a steel plate, and the device is provided with a hem blade that moves forward and backward, and the hem blade is provided with a hole as an operating part. And an auxiliary mechanism is a positioning clamp device for a steel plate, and a passive portion of the clamp device is a protruding member that can enter the hole. 5. The reciprocating motion of the hem blade is performed by an air cylinder. When the inside of the hole of the hem blade is pressed against the protruding member, the air in the air cylinder has a buffering action. A processing device using a robot device, wherein the processing device is configured to perform.