JP2009154222A - Robot controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a robot controller capable of preventing oil sticking around a connector from dripping on an electronic component mounting surface and sticking to an electronic component and also capable of preventing the oil from sticking to the electronic component as much as possible even if an installation method is changed. <P>SOLUTION: When the connector 5 is installed distantly from a floor in the direction of standing a substrate as a countermeasure against oil mist and dust pouring on the floor in a particular environment where the oil mist is suspended in the air, the oil sticking to the electronic component 7 can be reduced by an oil cover 8 covering over the component 7 although the oil sticking around the connector 5 trickles down on the electronic component mounting surface 6a of a printed wiring board 6. In addition, since the oil dripping down into an inner surface of a controller box 2 thinly spreads and stickes, the oil can be prevented as much as possible from dripping from the inner surface and sticking to the electronic component 7 even if the installation method of the robot controller is changed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a controller of a robot in which a connector that can be connected to an external device and a board on which an electronic component for controlling a robot body is mounted on an electronic component mounting surface is housed in a controller box.

  Since robots are mainly used for manufacturing industrial products in factories and the like, they are installed in special environments where oil mist (misted oil) or dust is generated. In such an environment, even if the factory is cleaned frequently, oil mist and dust floating in the air will pour onto the floor (installation surface) of the factory. The manufacturer provides guidance and recommendation to install in a clean environment, but due to user's convenience, it will be installed in a special environment where oil mist or dust is generated that is not in the manufacturer's recommended environment at the user's discretion. There is a case.

When the robot controller is installed in a special environment in this way, the robot controller is exposed to an environment where oil mist and dust floating in the air pour onto the floor surface, similar to the robot body. If the connector part is separated from the floor surface as much as possible, it is less likely to be affected by oil or dust that has poured onto the floor surface. For this reason, the robot controller may be installed so that the substrate stands upright with respect to the floor surface so that the connector attached to the substrate accommodated in the robot controller is positioned above.
JP-A-11-107732

  However, since oil mist that floats in the air is extremely fine even if oil mist and dust that have poured onto the floor surface as described above are avoided, there is a slight gap between the connector opening of the robot controller and the outer periphery of the connector. The oil mist enters the robot controller and liquefies and adheres to the periphery of the connector. For this reason, when the robot controller is installed in a special environment for a long period of time, the oil adhering to the periphery of the connector will flow down on the electronic component mounting surface, and the oil will adhere to the electronic component located below the connector. May cause problems. In particular, when a water-soluble cutting oil is used, the oil adhering to the substrate contains moisture, which may cause an electrical failure in the electronic component.

  With respect to such a problem, Patent Document 1 proposes to provide an accommodation plate for storing oil leaked from the oil fill when the oil filter is replaced. Therefore, for the above-described problems, it can be conceived to provide an oil storage member on the electronic component mounting surface for storing oil that flows down on the electronic component mounting surface from the periphery of the connector above the electronic component.

  However, robot controllers often change the installation direction due to factory layout changes, etc., and depending on the situation, the oil can flow out of the oil storage member and not only function to store oil, but now It is predicted that a situation will occur in which the oil stored up to this time adheres to electronic components.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a connector in a direction in which the board is erected to prevent oil mist and dust falling on the floor surface in a special environment where oil mist floats in the air. Even when installed away from the floor surface, oil that adheres to the periphery of the connector and travels on the electronic component mounting surface of the board can be prevented from adhering to the electronic component, and the installation method It is an object of the present invention to provide a robot controller that can suppress oil from adhering to an electronic component as much as possible even when it is changed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the oil mist entering from a slight gap between the connector opening of the controller box and the connector is liquefied and attached to the periphery of the connector, and the attached oil is the electronic component of the board. Even when the oil has fallen down on the mounting surface, the oil is received by the oil protection member, so that it is possible to suppress the oil from adhering to the electronic component as much as possible. In this case, since the oil protection member is provided so that the wall surface facing the connector is lowered toward the portion where the electronic component is removed from above, the oil received by the oil protection member is from above the electronic component. It hangs down from the detached part to the inner surface of the controller box. Thereby, it can prevent that oil adheres to an electronic component. Also, the oil that drips down from the board to the inner surface of the controller box is thinly spread and stuck, so if the robot controller installation direction is changed, even if the inner surface is located above the electronic components, Can be suppressed as much as possible.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate unevenness in the adhesive force as compared with the case where an adhesive is used, and that oil oozes out between the electronic component mounting surface and the bottom surface of the oil protection member as much as possible. Can be suppressed.
According to the invention of claim 3, since the oil protecting member made of rubber is flexible, the adhesion to the substrate is high and the workability for bonding is also good, and it can be carried out at a very low cost.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the robot controller installed horizontally. The robot controller 1 includes a controller box 2 as a casing. A plurality of connector openings 4 are formed in the panel 3 of the controller box 2, and the connectors 5 face outward from the connector openings 4. These connectors 5 are for connecting an external device (not shown) and a printed circuit board 6 for controlling the robot body housed in the controller box 2 (see FIG. 1).

  FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a printed wiring board 6 accommodated in the controller box 2. The printed wiring board 6 is screwed to the controller box 2. A plurality of connectors 5 are attached to the upper end portion of the printed circuit board 6 on the electronic component attachment surface 6a, and the connection terminal portions thereof are located in the connector openings 4 formed in the controller box 2. Yes. An electronic component 7 is mounted on a portion of the electronic component mounting surface 6a that is located below the connector 5 in the drawing (meaning that oil that spreads at the top of the connector 5 spreads in the lateral direction). The connector 5 is connected to a LAN cable (not shown) or a connector of a cable connected to various sensors or teach pendants.

  Here, an oil cover (equivalent to an oil protection member or a rubber member) 8 is attached to a portion between the connector 5 and the electronic component 7 on the electronic component attachment surface 6a. The oil cover 8 is formed, for example, from nitrile rubber, fluorine rubber, or the like into a “<” shape as shown in FIG. 1, and from the position above the electronic component 7 to the end side of the printed wiring board 6. It is attached to the electronic component attachment surface 6a so as to surround the position.

The portion of the oil cover 8 above the electronic component 7 is provided from a position above the electronic component 7 to a position outside the electronic component 7, and the wall surface facing the connector 5 is above the electronic component 7. It becomes the inclined surface part 8a inclined so that it may become the figure downward direction toward the position which removed from. A portion of the oil cover 8 that is on the side of the electronic component 7 is an extending portion 8b oriented in the vertical direction in the figure, and the extending portion 8b is connected to the inclined surface portion 8a.
In addition, the oil cover 8 of the present embodiment is set to a size sufficient to sufficiently receive the oil that flows down the electronic component mounting surface 6a, as will be described later.

  2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. The oil cover 8 is bonded to the electronic component mounting surface 6 a of the printed wiring board 6 with a double-sided tape 9, and the bottom surface thereof is in close contact with the electronic component mounting surface 6 a with the double-sided tape 9.

  The robot controller 1 having the above configuration is preferably installed in a clean environment away from the robot body. However, for the convenience of the user, an oil mist (misted oil) that is not recommended by the manufacturer at the user's discretion. It may be installed in a special environment where dust or dust is generated. When the robot controller 1 is installed in such a special environment, the robot controller 1 is positioned so that the connector 5 is positioned upward as shown in FIG. 4 in order to avoid the influence of oil mist and dust that pours onto the floor. There is a possibility of being placed vertically. In the case of such an installation method, since the printed wiring board 6 accommodated in the controller box 2 is erected with respect to the floor surface (installation surface), the connector opening 4 and the connector 5 of the controller box 2 are connected to each other. The oil mist that has entered the controller box 2 through a slight gap between them liquefies and adheres to the periphery of the connector 5, and the adhered oil travels from the periphery of the connector 5 to the electronic component mounting surface 6 a of the printed wiring board 6. If it falls, oil may adhere to the electronic component 7.

  However, in this embodiment, when the printed wiring board 6 is erected, the oil cover 8 is located above the electronic component 7, so that the electronic component 7 is covered with the oil cover 8. Thereby, even if oil runs down on the electronic component mounting surface 6 a from the periphery of the connector 5, the oil is received by the inclined surface portion 8 a located above the oil cover 8 and does not adhere to the electronic component 7. In this case, since the oil cover 8 is uniformly adhered to the electronic component mounting surface 6a of the printed wiring board 6 by the double-sided tape 9, the highly viscous oil received by the oil cover 8 is in contact with the electronic component mounting surface 6a and the oil cover. The possibility of seeping out between the bottom of 8 is low.

  Here, in the oil cover 8, the inclined surface portion 8 a that is above the electronic component 7 is lowered toward the end portion that deviates from above the electronic component 7, so that the oil received by the inclined surface portion 8 a It moves down along the 8a toward the end portion that is out of the electronic component 7 from above. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, in the oil cover 8, since the extending portion 8b oriented in the vertical direction is connected to the end of the inclined surface portion 8a, the oil that has fallen down the inclined surface portion 8a is extended to the extending portion 8b. And finally hangs down from the printed wiring board 6 to the inner surface of the controller box 2 (the bottom surface when the controller box 2 is placed vertically). As described above, the oil dripping onto the inner surface of the controller box 2 is thin and spreads on the inner surface of the controller box 2 as time elapses although the viscosity is high.

  As described above, the printed wiring board 6 is erected for the purpose of separating the connector 5 from the floor surface in order to prevent the oil mist and dust falling on the floor surface in the special environment where the oil mist floats in the air. Even in the case where it is installed in such a direction, it is possible to reduce the influence of oil that flows from the periphery of the connector 5 onto the electronic component mounting surface 6 a of the printed wiring board 6.

  By the way, when the factory layout is changed, the installation method (installation direction) of the robot controller 1 may be changed. When the oil cover 8 is no longer positioned above the electronic component 7, the oil cover 8 functions. However, since the electronic component 7 is not located below the connector 5, the electronic component 7 is not affected by oil.

  Further, as a result of changing the installation method of the robot controller 1, even if the inner surface of the controller box 2 where the oil adheres may be located above the electronic component 7, the highly viscous oil adhering to the inner surface spreads thinly. Therefore, the oil does not sag from the inner surface, and it is possible to suppress the oil from adhering to the electronic component 7 as much as possible.

  According to such an embodiment, the oil cover 8 having the inclined surface portion 8a that is in close contact with the electronic component mounting surface 6a at the portion between the connector 5 and the electronic component 7 on the electronic component mounting surface 6a of the printed wiring board 6 is provided. Since the oil cover 8 receives the oil that has fallen from the periphery of the connector 5 on the electronic component mounting surface 6a and guides it to the position away from the upper side of the electronic component 7, it flows down on the printed wiring board. Unlike the conventional oil storage member that stores oil, the robot controller 1 prevents the oil that has fallen from the periphery of the connector 5 on the electronic component mounting surface 6a of the printed wiring board 6 from adhering to the electronic component 7. Even when the installation direction is changed, it is possible to suppress oil from adhering to the electronic component 7 as much as possible.

In addition, since the oil cover 8 is bonded to the electronic component mounting surface 6a with the double-sided tape 9, there is no unevenness in the adhesive force compared to a configuration using an adhesive, and the electronic component mounting surface 6a and the oil cover 8 Oil can be prevented from oozing out from between the bottom surface.
In addition, since the oil cover 8 is a rubber member, the adhesion to the printed wiring board 6 is high, and the workability for bonding is also good, and it can be implemented at a very low cost.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified or expanded as follows.
As shown in FIG. 6, the inclined surface portion 8 a of the oil cover 8 may be extended so as to cover the entire electronic component 7.
As shown in FIG. 7, the oil cover 8 may be formed only from the inclined surface portion 8 a, and the inclined surface portion 8 a may be extended to a portion that extends to the end portion of the printed wiring board 6. When configured in this way, even if there is no extending portion 8b, it becomes possible to hang on the inner surface of the controller box 2 by using the end portion of the printed wiring board 6 so that the oil does not touch the electronic component 7, Since the oil cover 8 can be made simpler and more compact, assembly and design can be performed more easily. In short, the wall surface of the oil cover 8 that opposes the connector 5 if it functions so as to receive the oil falling from the connector 5 on the electronic component mounting surface 6a of the printed wiring board 6 and hangs down from the portion that is removed from above the electronic component 7. The shape is not limited, such as a curved shape.

After the oil cover 8 is bonded with the double-sided tape 9, the connector 5 and the connector opening 4 may be further adhered by applying an adhesive or silicone rubber.
The oil cover 8 may be directly bonded with an adhesive or silicone rubber.
The material of the oil cover 8 is not limited to a rubber member, and a metal member may be soldered to the printed wiring board 6 or a resin member may be bonded.

The top view which shows schematically the printed wiring board in one Example of this invention AA sectional view in FIG. Perspective view of the robot controller in landscape orientation Perspective view of robot controller shown vertically Fig. 1 equivalent diagram showing how oil flows down on the electronic component mounting surface of the printed circuit board FIG. 5 equivalent view showing a modification of the present invention FIG. 5 equivalent view showing another modification of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a robot controller, 2 is a controller box, 3 is a panel, 4 is a connector opening, 5 is a connector, 6 is a printed wiring board, 6a is an electronic component mounting surface, 7 is an electronic component, and 8 is an oil cover. (Oil protection member), 9 is a double-sided tape.

Claims (3)

A controller of a robot in which a connector that can be connected to an external device and an electronic component for controlling the robot body are stored in a controller box with a board attached to the electronic component mounting surface,
The board is erected with respect to the installation surface in a state where the controller box is installed at a predetermined position, and the electronic component is located at a position below the connector on the electronic component mounting surface in the erected state. ,
The controller box is formed with a connector opening for the connector to face outward,
Between the connector and the electronic component on the electronic component mounting surface of the board is provided an oil protection member erected in a state of being in close contact with the electronic component mounting surface,
The oil protection member extends from a position where the wall surface facing the connector is at least above the electronic component in a state where the substrate is erected with respect to the installation surface to a position where the wall is removed from above the electronic component. A robot controller, wherein the robot controller is provided so as to be lowered toward a position deviated from above the electronic component.   The robot controller according to claim 1, wherein the oil protection member is bonded to the electronic component mounting surface with a double-sided tape.   The robot controller according to claim 1, wherein the oil protection member is formed of a flexible rubber member.

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