JP2009066684A - Safety device for operating arm, and link device equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a safety device for an operating arm, which prevents application of an excessive force to the operator, and improves the safety of the operator. <P>SOLUTION: According to the structure of the safety device, a grip member 7 which the operator grips and a base stand driven along a predetermined moving passage are connected together by first and second link portions 13, 14, and when an excessive force is applied to the grip member 7, the first link portion 13 continuing with an operating member 7 is separated from the second link portion 14 fixed to the base stand 4. Thus application of the excessive force to the operator from the base stand 4 via the second link portion 14, the first link portion 13, and the grip member 7, is prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a safety device for an operation arm that prevents an excessive force from acting on an operator from an operation arm held by the operator, and a link device including the same.

  The force presentation device, also called a haptic device, runs out of control because it cannot be controlled by the control device, and is provided with emergency stop means so that excessive force does not act on the operator from the operation arm gripped by the operator, The safety of the operator is ensured by using an actuator with a sufficiently small presentation force.

  However, if the device is large or the actuator has a high output, it is necessary to block the force sense from the operation arm to the operator and to protect the operator reliably. It is desired (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-41519 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a safety device for an operation arm that can prevent an excessive force from acting on an operator and improve the safety of the operator, and a link device including the same.

The present invention includes a gripping member gripped by an operator,
A base on which the gripping member is mounted and provided so as to be movable in the surface direction;
Driving means for moving the base in a substantially plane direction by a predetermined presentation force to the operator;
An operating arm safety device comprising: a connecting means for connecting the gripping member and the base with a predetermined connecting force.

  According to the present invention, the gripping member is connected to the base with a predetermined connecting force by the connecting means. Thus, even if the base is moved in a substantially plane direction including a plane and a curved surface by a predetermined presentation force by the driving means, the predetermined coupling force is set to a value suitable for the operator, so that When the operating force applied by the operator exceeds the predetermined coupling force, the gripping member is separated from the base, and it is reliably prevented that an excessive force is applied to the operator who grips the gripping member. Safety is improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, the connecting means has a first connecting portion to which a gripping member is fixed and an opening on a mounting surface fixed to the base, on which the first connecting portion is mounted, and suction force is introduced. And a second connecting part having a suction space.

  According to the present invention, the gripping member is fixed to the first connecting portion, and the first connecting portion is mounted on the second connecting portion. The second connecting portion has a suction space that opens on a mounting surface on which the first connecting portion is mounted, and the suction force is introduced into the suction space, so that the first connecting portion is attracted by the suction force. Then, the base and the gripping member are connected via the first and second connecting portions. Since the connection means is configured in this way, the suction force guided to the suction space of the second connection portion is adjusted, and the connection force between the base and the gripping member is easily set to the optimum strength according to the operator. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent an excessive force from acting on the operator from the gripping member.

  Further, according to the present invention, the connecting means includes a first connecting portion to which a gripping member is fixed, a second connecting portion that is fixed to the base and on which the first connecting portion is mounted, and first and second connecting portions. And a magnetic force generating means for magnetically attracting the other of the first and second connecting portions.

  According to the present invention, the gripping member is fixed to the first connecting portion, the first connecting portion is mounted on the second connecting portion, and the second connecting portion is fixed to the base. One or both of the first and second connecting portions are provided with magnetic force generating means, and either one of the first and second connecting portions is magnetically attracted by the magnetic force generating means. Since the connecting means is configured in this way, the magnetic force of the magnetic force generating means can be adjusted, and the connecting force between the base and the gripping member can be easily set to the optimum strength according to the operator, It is possible to prevent an excessive force from acting on the operator from the gripping member.

  Further, according to the present invention, the connecting means includes a first connecting portion to which a gripping member is fixed, a second connecting portion to be fixed to the base, the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion by a spring force. And a spring clamping means for clamping.

  According to the present invention, the first connecting portion to which the gripping member is fixed and the second connecting portion to be fixed to the base are sandwiched by the spring clamping means, and the base and the gripping member are first and It is connected via the second connecting part. Since the connecting means is configured in this way, the spring force of the spring clamping means can be adjusted, and the connecting force between the base and the gripping member can be easily set to the optimum strength according to the operator. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent an excessive force from acting on the operator from the gripping member.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that it includes an auxiliary connecting means for reinforcing a connecting force of the connecting means for connecting the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion.

  According to the present invention, since the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are connected by the connecting means and the connecting auxiliary means, the driving force from the driving means to the base is large, and only the connecting force by the connecting means is present. Then, when the coupling force between the first and second coupling parts is insufficient, the coupling force is supplemented by the auxiliary coupling means, and the optimum coupling force can be achieved.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that at least one of the first and second connecting portions is provided with a stepped portion that engages with the other of the first and second connecting portions.

  According to the present invention, since the step portion is provided in at least one of the first and second connecting portions, it is possible to prevent a side slip between the first and second connecting portions.

  Furthermore, the present invention includes a separation detecting unit that detects that the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion are separated.

  According to the present invention, since the separation detecting means detects that the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are separated, the driving means is stopped by the separation detection signal from the separation detecting means, and the gripping member is the base. It is possible to prevent only the base from being driven by the driving means after being separated from the base, thereby improving safety.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized by including a connecting force adjusting means for adjusting the magnitude of the connecting force between the gripping member and the base by the connecting means.

  According to the present invention, since the magnitude of the coupling force between the gripping member and the base by the coupling means can be adjusted by the coupling force adjusting means, the coupling force by the coupling means can be easily changed. Can be easily optimized.

Furthermore, the present invention is a link device including a safety device for the operation arm.
According to the present invention, when the safety device is applied to the operation arm of the link device, even if the force set for the operation arm is not output correctly and an overload is erroneously generated, the safety device Since the gripping member is separated from the base, it is possible to prevent an excessive force from acting on the operator and improve safety.

  According to the present invention, the gripping member connected by the connecting means to the base that moves in the surface direction by the driving means can be separated from the base before an excessive force is applied to the operator. Thus, it is possible to prevent an excessive force from acting on the operator and to improve the safety for the operator.

  FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a safety device 1 for an operating arm according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the safety device 1 for an operating arm. The operating arm safety device 1 according to the present embodiment includes an operating arm 5 mounted on a base 4 that is movable in a substantially plane direction, and a connecting force having a predetermined magnitude between the operating arm 5 and the base 4. And connecting means 6 to be connected.

  The operating arm 5 includes a gripping member 7 on a right cylinder that is gripped by an operator, and a flange member 8 that is fixed to one end of the gripping member 7 in the axial direction. The flange member 8 includes a first columnar first fitting projection 9, a right cylindrical second fitting projection 10 coaxially connected to the first fitting projection 9, and first and second fittings. And an annular flange portion 11 extending radially outward from the mating protrusions 9 and 10. The first fitting protrusion 9 is engraved with an external screw on its outer periphery. Further, an inner screw is engraved on the inner peripheral portion of one end of the gripping member 7 in the axial direction. One end of the gripping member 7 in the axial direction is screwed to the first fitting protrusion 9, and the gripping member 7 is fixed to the flange member 8 on the same axis. As described above, since the one end portion in the axial direction of the gripping member 7 is screwed to the first fitting protrusion 9 of the flange member 8, the gripping member 7 can be attached to and detached from the flange portion 8 and has different gripping. It can be easily replaced with a member.

  The connecting means 6 includes a first connecting portion 13 to which the operating arm 5, and hence the gripping member 7 is fixed, and a second connecting portion 14 to be fixed to the base 4. The flange portion 11 of the operation arm 5 is detachably connected to the first connecting portion 13 by a plurality of bolts 16. A concave groove 18 into which the annular seal member 17 is fitted is formed in a portion of the connecting portion 13 facing the second connecting portion 14, and the peripheral portion is opened radially outward and on one side in the axial direction. The fitted groove 19 is formed. Such a 1st connection part 13 is formed in a disk shape substantially.

  The second connecting portion 14 is a connection in which a straight columnar suction space 21 and a suction hole 22 extending radially outward from the suction space 21 are connected to the suction hole 22 on the same axis and open on the outer peripheral surface. Port 23 is formed. A connection plug 24 is detachably attached to the connection port 23, and a suction force is guided to the connection plug 24 from a suction source 26 realized by a vacuum pump or an ejector through a flexible suction tube 25.

  An annular annular protrusion 27 that protrudes to one side in the axial direction is integrally formed on the outer peripheral portion of the first coupling portion 13 facing the first coupling portion 13 of the second coupling portion 14. The first connecting portion 13 is prevented from slipping with respect to the second connecting portion 14, that is, shifted in the left-right direction in FIG. Thus, in a state where the annular protrusion 27 is fitted in the fitting groove 19, the seal member 17 of the first connection portion 13 has an annular shape between the annular protrusion 27 of the second connection portion 14 and the suction space 21. The suction space 21 is elastically brought into contact with the surface 28, whereby the suction space 21 is hermetically sealed, and the first connection portion 13 is attracted to the second connection portion 14 by the suction force introduced into the suction space 21, and a predetermined connection force is obtained. The gripping member 7 is coupled to the base 4 with the strength of

  FIG. 3 is a system diagram of the force presentation device 31 to which the operating arm safety device 1 is applied. A force presentation device 31, which is a link device to which the operating arm safety device 1 is applied, drives a plurality of link members 32 by a servo motor 33, and a link to which the base 4 is connected to the link member 32 at the tip. An arm 34 and a control device 35 that controls the servo motor 33 are included.

  The control device 35 is connected to the main power supply device 40 via the circuit breaker 36 and detects that the first connection portion 13 is separated from the second connection portion 14 by the proximity switch 37 provided in the second connection portion 14. The detection signal is input to the control device 35 via the input / output unit 38, the contact of the relay 39 provided in the control device 35 is switched, the circuit breaker 36 is cut off, and the power from the main power supply device 40 to the control device is switched. Is cut off.

  When such a control device 35 exerts a force on the gripping member 7 beyond the presentation force suitable for the operator due to a malfunction of a control command from the control device 35 to the servomotor 33, the first connecting portion 13 is 2 is separated from the connecting portion 14, the proximity switch 37 detects this, and the power from the main power supply device 40 to the control device 35 is cut off so that excessive force does not act on the base 4 via the link arm 34. It is configured so that safety is ensured.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an operation state of the force presentation device 31 by the operator, FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for separating the operation arm 5, and FIG. 5 (1) shows a state before the separation. FIG. 5 (2) shows the state after separation. In the force presentation device 31, the device 1 is provided at the movable end of the link arm 34. The operator 41 holds the holding member 7 with one arm 42. The control device 35 drives the gripping member 7 to perform operation training of the operator 41 and the like. In the state where the gripping member 7 is gripped by one arm 42, for example, if a preset force is not correctly output and an excessive force is erroneously generated in the operation arm 5, the connecting means 6 causes the second connecting portion 14 to be It is separated from the 1 connection part 13, it is avoided that an excessive force acts on the operator 41, and it is comprised so that the safety | security of the operator 41 may be ensured.

  FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the principle that the operating arm 5 is separated from the base 4 by the connecting means 6. When a load force F acts on the gripping member 7 from the arm 42 of the operator 41 in a state where the operation arm 5 is held by the connecting means 6 on the base 4 driven by the link arm 34, the operation position is reached. If the distance is L1, and the suction force W from the suction space 21 acts on the central axis, and the radius of the first connecting portion 13 is d, then W · d> F · L1. The end on the downstream side in the direction in which the load force F acts acts on the second connecting portion 14 with the position indicated by the reference numeral 43 as the center of rotation, and the first connecting portion 13 together with the operating arm 5 is the second connecting portion. 14 and the base 4 are separated.

  Prior to the separation by the fall of the operation arm 5, the load force F slides on the surface 28 of the second connecting portion 14. In order to prevent such a side slip, the first connecting portion 13 is formed with the fitting groove 19 and the second connecting portion 14 is formed with the annular protrusion 27 as described above, so that an excessive load force F is generated. This prevents the first connecting portion 13 from sliding on the second connecting portion 14 and separating the operating arm 5 from the base 4 before reaching a predetermined connecting force.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the gripping member 7 is connected to the base by the connecting means 6 with a predetermined connecting force, and when a force exceeding the predetermined connecting force is applied, the first connecting portion 13 is connected to the second connecting portion 14. Thus, an unreasonable force is prevented from acting on the operator 41, and the safety of the operator is improved.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an operating arm safety device 1a according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Note that the same reference numerals are given to the portions corresponding to the above-described embodiment. In the safety device 1a for the operating arm of the present embodiment, the first connecting portion 13 and the second connecting portion 14 are clamped by a plurality of spring clamping means 50 with a predetermined connecting force. Each spring clamping means 50 includes a pair of generally L-shaped clamping members 51a and 51b, a pin 52 that connects the clamping members 51a and 51b so as to be angularly displaceable, and each clamping member 51a. , 51b and a tension coil spring 53 that urges the springs 51b in directions close to each other.

  When such a spring clamping means 50 is used alone without introducing a suction force to the suction space 21 as in the above-described embodiment, it constitutes a connecting means, and the first and The connecting force of the second connecting parts 13 and 14 can be set optimally. Further, when the driving force from the link means 34 is large and the connecting force is insufficient only with the suction force from the suction space 21, the auxiliary connecting means is configured and the spring clamping means 50 is used as an auxiliary force. Can be set optimally.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the first connecting portion 13 is configured to be connected by a suction force or a spring force by the spring clamping means 50. However, in the other embodiments of the present invention, the second connection is performed. An electromagnet may be incorporated in the part 14 to control the current, and the first connecting part 13 may be magnetically attracted by a magnetic force to obtain an optimum connecting force. When the magnetic attraction force due to this magnetic force is insufficient, the above-described spring clamping means 50 may be used to supplement the attraction force so as to obtain an optimum coupling force.

  Furthermore, in another embodiment of the present invention, the operation arm safety device 1, 1 a may be provided at the wrist end of a robot arm of a 6-DOF articulated robot, for example.

  As described above, the operation arm safety device of the present invention may be moved in any of a straight line, a plane, and a curved surface, and can be suitably implemented as an intrinsic safety device of a drive device including an existing operation arm. .

It is sectional drawing which shows the safety device 1 of the operation arm of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the safety device 1 of an operation arm. It is a systematic diagram of the force presentation apparatus 31 to which the safety device 1 of the operation arm is applied. 4 is a perspective view showing an operation state of an operator of the force presentation device 31. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the procedure which the operation arm 5 isolate | separates, FIG. 5 (1) shows the state before isolation | separation, and FIG. 5 (2) shows the state after isolation | separation. It is a figure for demonstrating the principle which the operation arm 5 isolate | separates from the base 4 with the connection means 6. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the safety device 1a of the operation arm of the further another form of implementation of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1a Operation arm safety device 4 Base 5 Operation arm 6 Connection means 7 Holding member 8 Flange member 9 First fitting projection 10 Second fitting projection 11 Flange portion 13 First connection portion 14 Second connection portion DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 17 Seal member 19 Fitting groove 21 Suction space 26 Suction source 27 Annular protrusion 28 Surface 31 Force presentation device 34 Link arm 35 Control device 41 Operator 42 Arm 50 Spring clamping means 51a, 51b Holding member 53 Tensile coil spring

Claims (9)

A gripping member gripped by the operator;
A base on which the gripping member is mounted and provided so as to be movable in the surface direction;
Driving means for moving the base in a substantially plane direction by a predetermined presentation force to the operator;
A safety device for an operating arm, comprising: a connecting means for connecting the gripping member and the base with a predetermined connecting force.   The connecting means includes a first connecting portion to which a gripping member is fixed, and a suction space that is fixed to the base, opens on a mounting surface on which the first connecting portion is mounted, and into which a suction force is introduced. The safety device for an operating arm according to claim 1, further comprising a second connecting portion.   The connecting means includes at least one of a first connecting part to which a gripping member is fixed, a second connecting part fixed to the base and on which the first connecting part is mounted, and first and second connecting parts. 2. The operating arm safety device according to claim 1, further comprising: a magnetic force generating unit that magnetically attracts one of the first and second connecting portions.   The connecting means includes a first connecting portion to which a gripping member is fixed, a second connecting portion to be fixed to the base, and a spring clamp that holds the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion by a spring force. The operating arm safety device according to claim 2, further comprising a wearing means.   The safety of the operating arm according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising auxiliary connecting means for reinforcing a connecting force of the connecting means for connecting the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion. apparatus.   The step part engaged with either one of the said 1st and 2nd connection part is provided in at least one of the said 1st and 2nd connection part, The any one of Claims 2-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. A safety device for the operation arm as described in 1.   The safety device for an operating arm according to any one of claims 2 to 6, further comprising separation detection means for detecting that the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion are separated.   The operating arm safety device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a connecting force adjusting unit that adjusts a magnitude of a connecting force between the gripping member and the base by the connecting unit.   A link device comprising the operating arm safety device according to claim 1.

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