JP2008000827A - Industrial robot - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an industrial robot with an arm structure which performs upward looking work and is capable of reducing an interference range to save a space, to reduce loads on a motor in size and a reduction gear, and capacities of the motor and the reduction gear, with a plurality of the robot densely installable in a space limited in longitudinal and lateral directions. <P>SOLUTION: The industrial robot is provided with a first vertical arm 2 supported by a fixed base 1 to freely rotate around a first horizontal axis (a), a second vertical arm 3 supported by the tip of the first vertical arm 2 to freely rotate around a second horizontal axis (b) orthogonal to the first horizontal axis (a), a third vertical arm 4 supported by the second vertical arm 3 to linearly move in an axial direction, and a wrist mechanism 5 supported by the third vertical arm 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a space-saving industrial robot with a small interference area in which a plurality of robots can be densely installed in a space limited in the front-rear and left-right directions, mainly performing upward work.

A conventional vertical articulated robot has, for example, a first axis which is a pivot axis supported on a base so as to be pivotable about a vertical axis on a base as shown in FIG. 5, and a first horizontal axis on a first axis. A second axis which is an upper arm supported rotatably, a third axis which is a lower arm supported rotatably about a second horizontal axis parallel to the first horizontal axis on the second axis, and the third axis It consists of six axes of a three-axis wrist mechanism supported by the arm, and is configured to operate each arm of the six axes. When the robot takes an upward working posture, a combined operation of the second axis and the third axis is necessary. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the movement of the second and third axes increases the interference area of the robot's upper arm and the entire robot including the wrist. There was a problem that it was difficult to install multiple robots densely. In addition, the robot's upper and lower arm postures are almost horizontal, greatly affected by gravity, the load on the second and third axes increases, and the mechanical elements such as motors and reducers increase. Or the life of the reduction gear is shortened. In Patent Document 1 proposed by the present applicant, a technique related to the structure of a horizontal articulated manipulator is disclosed. However, when an upward work is mainly performed, the interference area due to the turning of the arm is large, so that There was a problem that installation in a narrow space and dense installation of multiple robots were not possible.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-216692

  The problem of the present invention is that it is possible to install a plurality of robots densely in a space limited in the front-rear and left-right directions, mainly by working upwards, reducing the load on the motor and speed reducer with less interference area. It is possible to provide an industrial robot having an arm structure that can reduce the capacity of a motor / reduction gear.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, the first vertical arm rotatably supported around the first horizontal axis on the fixed base, and the second horizontal axis orthogonal to the first horizontal axis at the tip of the first vertical arm. A second vertical arm rotatably supported around, a third vertical arm supported linearly on the second vertical arm, and a wrist mechanism supported on the third vertical arm; The above-mentioned problems of the present invention have been solved by an industrial robot characterized by comprising:

  In the present invention, the first vertical arm supported rotatably on the fixed base around the first horizontal axis and the second vertical axis orthogonal to the first horizontal axis at the tip of the first vertical arm are rotatable. A second vertical arm supported on the second vertical arm, a third vertical arm supported on the second vertical arm and linearly movable in the axial direction, and a wrist mechanism supported on the third vertical arm. In an arm structure such as a swivel axis, upper arm, and lower arm of an industrial robot, there is no increase in the interference area due to the arm turning, and no increase in the interference area in the front / rear / left / right directions due to the arm movement of the upper arm and lower arm. It is possible to greatly reduce the interference area of the upper arm and the lower arm, and to install a plurality of robots densely in a limited space with a narrow space in the front-rear and left-right directions. Directional movement Arms that can reduce the load on the motor / reduction gear and can reduce the motor / reduction gear capacity An industrial robot having

  Preferably, the center of rotation of the first horizontal axis, the center of rotation of the second horizontal axis, and the center of rotation of the first wrist axis of the wrist mechanism intersect at the same point, thereby causing interference due to the turning of the arm. The interference area in the front / rear / right / left direction due to the arm movement of the upper arm and lower arm can be minimized, the load on the motor / reduction gear can be reduced, and the motor / reduction gear capacity can be minimized An industrial robot having a possible arm structure is provided.

  An industrial robot according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1A is a top view of an industrial robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a top view as viewed from arrow P in FIG. 1B, FIG. 1B is a right side view of FIG. 1A, and FIG. FIG. 2B is a right side view of FIG. 2B, FIG. 2 is a perspective view seen from the upper left of FIG. 1C, and FIGS. 3A and 3B show different operating postures of the industrial robot of FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a plurality of robots of FIG. 2 are densely installed in a space limited in a narrow space in the front and rear, right and left directions. FIG. 5 is a side view showing an interference area of a conventional vertical articulated robot.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2, the industrial robot according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a first vertical arm 2 that is rotatably supported on a fixed base 1 around a first horizontal axis a, and a first vertical arm 2. A second vertical arm 3 rotatably supported around the second horizontal axis b orthogonal to the first horizontal axis a at the tip of the first vertical arm 2 and a straight line in the axial direction supported on the second vertical arm 3 A movable third vertical arm 4 and a wrist mechanism 5 supported on the third vertical arm 4 are provided. The wrist mechanism 5 includes three axes, a first wrist axis d, a second wrist axis e, and a third wrist axis f. In the industrial robot of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4, the wrist mechanism supported on the first horizontal axis a of the first vertical arm 2, the second horizontal axis b of the second vertical arm 3, and the third vertical arm 4. 5, the respective rotation centers of the first wrist axis d are orthogonal on the same point g (FIG. 3), but the first horizontal axis a of the first vertical arm 2 and the second horizontal axis b of the second vertical arm 3. Can be offset, whereby the position of the third vertical arm 4 that can move in a desired linear direction in the horizontal direction can be obtained, and similarly, the second vertical axis 3 and the third vertical axis 3 of the second vertical arm 3 can be obtained. The first wrist axis d of the wrist mechanism 5 supported on the arm 4 may be offset, whereby the desired position of the wrist mechanism 5 can be obtained in the horizontal direction.

  A first axis motor 6 that drives the first vertical arm 2 is mounted on the first vertical arm 2, and a second axis motor 7 that drives the second vertical arm 3 is mounted on the second vertical arm 3. When the first shaft motor 6 and the second shaft motor 7 are rotated, the first vertical arm 2 and the second vertical arm 3 are rotated through a gear and a speed reducer (not shown), respectively. A third shaft motor 8 for driving the third vertical arm 4 is mounted on the second vertical arm 3, and when the third shaft motor 8 rotates, a third linear motion shaft is connected via a gear and a ball screw (not shown). The third vertical arm 4 is moved along the straight line. A wiring routing device 12 is provided between the second vertical arm 3 and the third vertical arm 4 and is moved in synchronization with the movement of the third vertical arm 4.

  A wrist mechanism 5 is mounted on the third vertical arm 4, and the wrist mechanism 5 has a first wrist axis d, a second wrist axis e, and a third wrist axis f. Further, on the third vertical arm 4, a wrist first axis motor 9, a wrist second axis motor 10 and a wrist third axis for driving the first wrist axis d, the second wrist axis e, and the third wrist axis f are provided. When the shaft motor 11 is attached and the wrist first shaft motor 9, the wrist second shaft motor 10 and the wrist third shaft motor 11 rotate, the first wrist constituting the wrist mechanism 5 via a gear and a speed reducer (not shown), respectively. The axis d, the second wrist axis e, and the third wrist axis f are operated. The first wrist axis d is a rotating mechanism, the second wrist axis e is bent, and the third wrist axis f is a rotating mechanism.

  In the industrial robot according to the embodiment of the present invention, the first vertical arm 2 rotatably supported around the first horizontal axis a on the fixed base 1, and the first horizontal axis a at the tip of the first vertical arm 2 A second vertical arm 3 rotatably supported around a second horizontal axis b perpendicular to the first axis; a third vertical arm 4 supported on the second vertical arm 3 and linearly movable in the axial direction; and a third vertical arm. Since it has a wrist mechanism 5 supported on the arm 4, in an arm structure such as a swivel axis, an upper arm, and a lower arm of a conventional industrial robot, an increase in an interference area due to the swiveling of the arm and an arm of the upper arm and the lower arm Because there is no increase in the interference area in the front / rear / left / right direction due to movement, the interference area of the pivot axis, upper arm and lower arm is greatly reduced, and multiple robots are densely packed in a limited space with narrow space in the front / rear / left / right direction. It becomes possible to install In addition, according to such a configuration, the amount of movement of the first axis and the second axis necessary for the operation in the front-rear and left-right directions can be minimized, so the load on the motor / reduction gear can be reduced. An industrial robot having an arm structure capable of reducing the motor / reduction gear capacity is provided.

In the industrial robot of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4, g represents the intersection of the first horizontal axis, the second horizontal axis, and the first wrist axis, and the rotation center of the first wrist axis d is as shown in FIG. The rotation center of the first horizontal axis a and the rotation center of the second horizontal axis b intersect at the same point g regardless of the robot posture. The respective rotation centers of the first horizontal axis a of the first vertical arm 2, the second horizontal axis b of the second vertical arm 3, and the first wrist axis d of the wrist mechanism 5 supported on the third vertical arm 4 are the same. By being orthogonal on one point g, it is possible to minimize the interference area due to the turning of the arm and the interference area in the front / rear / left / right direction due to the arm movement of the upper and lower arms, and reduce the load on the motor / reduction gear. It is possible to provide an industrial robot having an arm structure capable of minimizing the capacity of the motor / reduction gear.
The wrist mechanism 5 of the industrial robot according to the embodiment described above has an in-line structure of a rotation axis, a bending axis, and a rotation axis. However, depending on the application of the robot, an offset structure constituted only by the rotation axis may be used. The linear motion shaft is driven by a ball screw (not shown), but may be driven by a rack-pinion.

(A) is a top view of the industrial robot of the embodiment of the present invention, (b) is a top view as viewed from the arrow P, (b) is a right side view of (a), (c) is a right side view of (b) ( b) right side view of arrow Q The perspective view seen from the upper left of FIG.1 (c). (A), (b) is a perspective view which shows the different operation | movement attitude | position of the industrial robot of FIG. 2, respectively. It is a perspective view which shows the state which installed the some robot of FIG. 2 densely in the space where the space narrow in the front-back and left-right direction was restricted. The side view which shows the interference area of the conventional vertical articulated robot.

Explanation of symbols

1: fixed base, 2: first vertical arm, 3: second vertical arm, 4: third vertical arm 5: wrist mechanism, a: first horizontal axis, b: second horizontal axis, c: third linear motion Axis, d: first wrist axis g: intersection of first horizontal axis, second horizontal axis and first wrist axis

Claims (2)

  A first vertical arm supported rotatably on a fixed base around a first horizontal axis, and supported on a tip of the first vertical arm so as to be rotatable about a second horizontal axis perpendicular to the first horizontal axis. And a second vertical arm, a third vertical arm supported on the second vertical arm and linearly movable in the axial direction, and a wrist mechanism supported on the third vertical arm. Industrial robot. The industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein the rotation center of the first horizontal axis, the rotation center of the second horizontal axis, and the rotation center of the first wrist axis of the wrist mechanism intersect at the same point.

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