JP2013006239A - Horizontal articulated robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the structure of an arm capable of manufacturing of a horizontal articulated robot with excellent productivity while making the appearance of the arm preferable.SOLUTION: The robot 1 moves a second arm 5, and the second arm 5 includes an arm base 10 for placing a mechanical part 28, a connection plate 30 having holes 30a, 30b into which connection members 32 installed on the arm base 10 and connected to the mechanical part 28 are inserted, and a cover 34 having a first opening 34a exposing the connection plate 30 and covering side faces 10d of the arm base 10.

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot arm, and more particularly to a structure that covers the robot arm.

  As an industrial robot, Patent Document 1 discloses a scalar robot in which a plurality of arms are sequentially connected via horizontal joints. A vertical rotation shaft that is rotationally driven and vertically driven is provided at the tip of the arm of such a scalar robot. Assembling and transporting of the object are performed by various hands attached to the vertical rotation shaft. A scalar robot is also called a horizontal articulated robot.

  The arm has an arm base, and driving devices such as a motor, a pulley, and a belt for driving the vertical rotation shaft are accommodated in the arm. A cover is placed on the arm base so as to cover the drive device. A cylindrical connecting part was installed on the cover, and wiring was installed through the connecting part.

JP 2011-101907 A

  When the arm base is covered with a cover, the side surface of the arm base is easily seen by the operator. And when making the aesthetics of an arm suitable, the surface treatment which improves the aesthetics by coating, plating, etc. to the side surface of an arm base is needed. Therefore, there has been a demand for a structure capable of manufacturing a horizontal articulated robot with high productivity even when the aesthetic appearance of the arm is suitable.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

[Application Example 1]
The horizontal articulated robot according to this application example is a horizontal articulated robot that moves a robot arm, and the robot arm includes an arm base on which a mechanism unit is mounted, and the mechanism unit installed on the arm base. And a cover plate having a first opening for exposing the connection plate and covering a side surface of the arm base.

  According to this application example, the mechanism unit is mounted on the arm base. A connection plate is installed on the arm base. The connection plate has a hole, and a connection member connected to the mechanism is inserted through the hole. The cover portion has a first opening, and the first opening exposes the connection plate. Therefore, the mechanical unit can input and output power, signals, and the like from the outside through the connection member.

  The cover part covers the side surface of the arm base. When the cover portion does not cover the side surface of the arm base, the side surface of the arm base is exposed. When it is desired to make the appearance of the side surface of the arm base suitable, a surface treatment is required to improve the appearance of the arm base by painting or plating. In contrast, in the structure of this application example, since the side surface of the arm base is covered with the cover portion, it is not necessary to perform surface treatment on the place covered with the cover portion on the side surface of the arm base. As a result, a horizontal articulated robot can be manufactured with high productivity.

[Application Example 2]
In the horizontal articulated robot according to the application example, the connection plate is installed on a side surface of the arm base, and the side surface of the arm base is entirely covered by the connection plate and the cover portion.

  According to this application example, the connection plate is installed on the side surface of the arm base, and the connection plate and the cover portion cover all of the side surfaces of the arm base. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform surface treatment such as painting on the side surface of the arm base. As a result, a horizontal articulated robot can be manufactured with high productivity. The side surface of the arm base is used at a place where the connection plate is connected to the arm base. Therefore, the surface of the arm base on which the mechanism portion is installed can be used for purposes other than installing the connection plate. Alternatively, since the surface on which the mechanism portion of the arm base is installed can be narrowed, the robot arm can be made small.

[Application Example 3]
In the horizontal articulated robot according to the application example, the cover portion has a second opening that exposes a bottom surface of the arm base, and the first opening and the second opening have one opening. It is characterized by becoming.

  According to this application example, the first opening exposes the connection plate, and the second opening exposes the bottom surface of the arm base. A connection member is inserted through the hole of the connection plate, and the connection member is connected to a mechanism portion installed on the arm base. The first opening and the second opening form one opening. When the cover part is separated from the arm base, the arm base and the mechanism part pass through the second opening. Then, the connection member passes through the second opening after passing through the first opening. Thereby, the cover part can be separated from the arm base without separating the connecting member from the mechanism part. As a result, the cover part can be easily attached to and detached from the arm base.

[Application Example 4]
In the horizontal articulated robot according to the application example, the connection plate has a shape in which a rectangular plate having a width a2 is bent in a longitudinal direction, and the first opening portion has a plurality of rectangles having a width a1 intersecting in the longitudinal direction. The width a1 of the first opening is shorter than the width a2 of the connection plate, and the cover portion covers an end in the width direction of the connection plate.

  According to this application example, the width a1 of the first opening is shorter than the width a2 of the connection plate, and the cover portion covers the end in the width direction of the connection plate. Therefore, even when the end face of the connection plate impairs the aesthetic appearance, the end face of the connection plate can be reliably made invisible.

[Application Example 5]
In the horizontal articulated robot according to the application example, the connection plate is made of aluminum or stainless steel, and the cover is a molded body using a resin material.

  According to this application example, since the material of the connection plate is aluminum or stainless steel, the connection plate is hardly rusted. And since a cover part is also a molding using a resin material, it is hard to rust. Therefore, the robot arm can be covered with the connection plate and the cover part which are not easily rusted. Furthermore, since the cover part is made of a resin material, the first opening can be widened when the cover part is assembled. Therefore, the cover portion can be assembled to the arm base with good assemblability.

The schematic perspective view which shows the structure of a robot. (A) is a typical sectional side view which shows the structure of a 2nd arm, (b) is a schematic side view which shows a 2nd arm. The schematic perspective view which shows a cover part. The schematic diagram for demonstrating the method to isolate | separate a cover part from a 2nd arm. The schematic perspective view which shows a connection board.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, each member in each drawing is illustrated with a different scale for each member in order to make the size recognizable on each drawing.
(First embodiment)
A robot with a characteristic cover according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the robot. As shown in FIG. 1, a robot 1 as a horizontal articulated robot includes a base 2 formed in a flat plate shape. One direction on the horizontal plane of the base 2 is defined as the X direction. The direction opposite to the gravitational direction is the Z direction, and the X direction and the direction orthogonal to the Z direction are the Y direction.

  A main body 3 is disposed on the base 2. A first arm 4 is installed on the upper side of the main body 3 in the figure. A motor is built in the main body 3. A resolver that detects the rotation angle of the rotation shaft is installed on one of the rotation shafts of the motor.

  The first arm 4 has a column shape that is long in one direction, and a speed reducer is installed at one end of the first arm 4 on the main body 3 side. A rotation shaft of a motor built in the main body 3 is connected to the input shaft of the speed reducer. The output shaft of the speed reducer is connected to the first arm 4. Thereby, the first arm 4 rotates with respect to the main body 3 when the motor rotates.

  A speed reducer is installed on the second arm 5 side of the first arm 4. A rotation shaft of a motor built in the second arm 5 is connected to the input shaft of the speed reducer. The output shaft of the speed reducer is connected to the first arm 4. Thereby, the second arm 5 rotates with respect to the first arm 4 when the motor rotates.

  A power transmission unit 6 is installed from the upper surface of the main body 3 to the upper surface of the second arm 5. The power transmission unit 6 has a wiring group installed in the tube, and transmits power and control signals for driving the motor through the wiring. A vertical rotation shaft 7 is disposed at the other end of the second arm 5 opposite to the first arm 4, and a robot hand 8 is installed below the vertical rotation shaft 7 in the figure.

  The second arm 5 includes a mechanism unit that rotates the vertical rotation shaft 7 and a mechanism unit that moves the vertical rotation shaft 7 up and down. Accordingly, the vertical rotation shaft 7 can perform the vertical movement and rotation with respect to the second arm 5. The robot hand 8 has a built-in linear motion mechanism that can open and close the pair of finger portions 8a.

  A control device 9 is installed on the right side of the base 2 in the figure. The control device 9 controls the postures of the first arm 4 and the second arm 5 with respect to the base 2. Then, the position and angle of the robot hand 8 are controlled. Furthermore, it is possible to open and close the finger portion 8a to grip and move an object.

  FIG. 2A is a schematic side sectional view showing the configuration of the second arm, and is a view seen from a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the second arm 5. FIG. 2B is a schematic side view showing the second arm, as viewed from the first arm 4 side in the longitudinal direction of the second arm 5.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the second arm 5 includes an arm base 10. The arm base 10 has a bottom portion 10a, and a side wall portion 10b protruding upward in the drawing is provided around the bottom portion 10a. A recess 10c is formed by the bottom 10a and the side wall 10b. A motor 11 is installed on the arm base 10, and the motor 11 rotates the second arm 5 with respect to the first arm 4. The arm base 10 is preferably formed by die casting. Since the shape can be formed with high accuracy, each member can be arranged on the arm base 10 with high positional accuracy.

  Further, a support base 12 is installed on the arm base 10, and a rotation motor 13 is installed on the support base 12. A rotation drive pulley 14 is installed on the rotation shaft of the rotation motor 13, and a rotation front belt 15 is installed on the rotation drive pulley 14. A bearing 16 is installed on the support 12, and the bearing 16 rotatably supports the rotation shaft of the intermediate pulley 17. The rotating front belt 15 is installed from the rotating driving pulley 14 to the intermediate pulley 17. The vertical rotating shaft 7 includes a rotating mechanism 18, and a rotating rear belt is installed on the rotating mechanism 18 and the intermediate pulley 17. The rotation motor 13 transmits the driving force in the order of the rotation drive pulley 14, the rotation front belt 15, the intermediate pulley 17, the rotation rear belt, and the rotation mechanism 18 to rotate the vertical rotation shaft 7.

  A vertical motor 21 is installed on the support 12. A vertical driving pulley 22 is installed on the rotary shaft of the vertical motor 21, and a vertical belt 23 is installed on the vertical driving pulley 22. The vertical rotation shaft 7 is provided with a vertical movement mechanism 24, and a vertical pulley 25 is connected to the vertical movement mechanism 24. When the vertical pulley 25 is rotated, the vertical movement mechanism 24 moves the vertical rotation shaft 7 up and down. A vertical belt 23 is installed on the vertical pulley 25 and the vertical drive pulley 22. The vertical motor 21 transmits the driving force in the order of the vertical drive pulley 22, the vertical belt 23, the vertical pulley 25, and the vertical movement mechanism 24 to move the vertical rotation shaft 7 up and down.

  A drive circuit board 27 is installed on the arm base 10 via a support portion 26. The wiring of the power transmission unit 6 is connected to the motor 11, the rotation motor 13, the up / down motor 21, and the drive circuit board 27. The motor 11, the rotation motor 13, and the vertical motor 21 are driven by control signals transmitted through the power transmission unit 6. The motor 11 rotates the second arm 5 with respect to the first arm 4, and the rotation motor 13 rotates the vertical rotation shaft 7. Further, the vertical motor 21 moves the vertical rotary shaft 7 up and down. The drive circuit board 27 controls the rotation and stop of the motor 11, the rotation motor 13, and the vertical motor 21.

  A mechanism portion 28 is constituted by the motor 11, the rotation motor 13, and the vertical motor 21. In addition, the mechanism portion 28 includes a rotation driving pulley 14, an upper and lower driving pulley 22, an intermediate pulley 17, an upper and lower pulley 25, a rotating front belt 15, an upper and lower belt 23, a driving circuit board 27, and the like. .

  A connecting plate 30 is fixed to the side wall portion 10 b of the arm base 10 on the motor 11 side by screws 29 from the side surface 10 d of the arm base 10. The connection plate 30 extends from the side wall portion 10b of the arm base 10 to the upper side in the figure, and is bent on the motor 11 in the direction of the vertical rotation shaft 7 in parallel with the arm base 10. A hole 30a is installed at a location facing the motor 11 in the connection plate 30, and the power transmission unit 6 is inserted through the hole 30a. Similarly, a hole 30b is provided at a position of the connection plate 30 facing the rotation motor 13, and a pressure-intensifying tube 31 is inserted through the hole 30b. The pressurizing / depressurizing tube 31 is a pipe through which compressed air or decompressed air flows, and is used when a device using air pressure is used for the robot hand 8. And the connection member 32 is comprised by the power transmission part 6, the pressurization / decompression tube 31, and the like.

  In addition, a display lamp 33 is installed on the connection plate 30 at a location facing the bearing 16. The display lamp 33 is a display means for indicating the state of the robot 1. For example, the indicator lamp 33 lights red when the first arm 4 or the second arm 5 moves, and lights green when waiting. When the position of the robot hand 8 is being adjusted, it is lit in orange. In this way, the state of the robot 1 can be displayed to the operator.

  A cover portion 34 is installed so as to cover the side surface 10 d of the arm base 10 and the mechanism portion 28. The cover portion 34 is provided with a first opening 34 a at a location facing the connection plate 30, and the cover portion 34 exposes the connection plate 30. Accordingly, the connection member 32 penetrating the connection plate 30 and the display lamp 33 installed on the connection plate 30 are exposed from the cover portion 34.

  The material of the cover part 34 is only required to be strong, and is preferably a material that can be easily formed into a predetermined shape. Resin materials and various metals can be used. When a resin material is used, it is preferably reinforced with glass fiber. In this embodiment, the material of the cover part 34 is a resin material, and the cover part 34 is a molded body molded using a mold. The material of the connection plate 30 is not particularly limited as long as it has strength to hold the connection member 32. Furthermore, the material which is hard to rust is preferable, and a metal plate surface-treated with aluminum, stainless steel, a metal having a rust prevention effect or a paint can be used. In this embodiment, the connection plate 30 is made of aluminum or stainless steel.

  Around the connection plate 30, the connection plate 30 and the cover part 34 are disposed so as to overlap each other at a place other than the outer bottom surface 10 e as the bottom surface of the arm base 10. Thereby, it is possible to prevent dust and dirt from entering between the connection plate 30 and the cover portion 34.

  The cover portion 34 is provided with a second opening 34 b on the arm base 10 side, and the shape of the second opening 34 b is the same as the planar shape of the arm base 10. The second opening 34 b of the cover portion 34 is inserted into the arm base 10, and the side surface 10 d of the arm base 10 on the vertical rotating shaft 7 side is covered with the cover portion 34. The side surface 10 d of the arm base 10 on the motor 11 side is covered with the connection plate 30. The upper surface of the cover 34 in the drawing is an upper surface 34d. A vertical rotation shaft hole 34e is provided on the upper surface 34d of the cover portion 34, and the vertical rotation shaft 7 penetrates the vertical rotation shaft hole 34e and protrudes from the inside to the outside of the cover portion 34.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the side surface 10 d on the Y direction side and the −Y direction side of the arm base 10 is covered with the cover portion 34. Accordingly, the side surface 10 d of the arm base 10 is entirely covered by the connection plate 30 and the cover part 34.

  The width of the cover portion 34 in the Y direction is narrower on the upper side of the arm base 10 in the figure than the place where the arm base 10 is sandwiched. The arm base 10 and the cover 34 are arranged so as to contact each other on the upper surface 10f of the side wall 10b of the arm base 10. A screw hole is formed in the upper surface 10 f of the arm base 10, and a cover portion 34 is fixed to the arm base 10 with screws 29. A flat portion 34c is formed on the cover portion 34 where the cover portion 34 is in contact with the upper surface 10f. The flat portion 34c of the cover portion 34 can be screwed in a state where the flat portion 34c is placed on the upper surface 10f of the arm base 10. Therefore, the cover portion 34 has a structure that can be easily screwed to the arm base 10.

  The cover portion 34 and the connection plate 30 are fixed by screws 29 on an upper surface 34d located on the upper side of the cover portion 34 in the drawing. Thereby, the cover part 34 and the connection board 30 are couple | bonded, and the intensity | strength of the cover part 34 and the connection board 30 is increasing structurally. Therefore, the mechanism portion 28 can be protected even when an impact is applied to the cover portion 34.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the cover portion. 3A is a view of the cover portion 34 as viewed from the upper surface 34d side, and FIG. 3B is a view of the cover portion 34 as viewed from the second opening portion 34b side. As shown in FIG. 3, the first opening 34a and the second opening 34b are connected, and the first opening 34a and the second opening 34b form one opening. And the width | variety of the 1st opening part 34a and the 2nd opening part 34b is wider than the connection member 32, and the connection member 32 is movable between the 1st opening part 34a and the 2nd opening part 34b. .

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of separating the cover portion from the second arm. As shown in FIG. 4, first, the screw 29 fixing the cover portion 34 to the arm base 10 is removed and removed. Next, the screw 29 fixing the cover portion 34 to the connection plate 30 is removed and removed. Subsequently, the cover part 34 is moved upward in the drawing with respect to the arm base 10. At this time, since the vertical rotation shaft 7 has a straight bar shape, the cover portion 34 is separated from the vertical rotation shaft 7 without being caught by the vertical rotation shaft 7.

  When the operator moves the cover 34 to the upper side in the figure, the connecting member 32 first passes through the upper side of the first opening 34a in the figure. Further, when the operator moves the cover part 34 to the upper side in the figure, the connection member 32 passes through the right side of the first opening part 34a in the figure. Furthermore, when the operator moves the cover part 34 upward in the drawing, the connection member 32 passes through the second opening part 34b. The cover portion 34 can be completely separated from the second arm 5. Since the first opening 34 a and the second opening 34 b are connected to form one opening, the cover 34 can be easily separated from the second arm 5 while the connection member 32 is connected to the second arm 5. can do.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the connection plate. As shown in FIG. 5, the connection plate 30 has a shape in which a rectangular plate having a width dimension a2 is bent in the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 3A, the width of the first opening 34a is the width a1, and the width a1 of the first opening 34a is shorter than the width a2 of the connecting plate 30. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2B, the cover portion 34 covers the end of the connection plate 30 in the width direction. Therefore, when the connection plate 30 is formed by shearing and processing with a mold, the end surface of the connection plate can be surely made invisible even when the end surface of the connection plate 30 has a shape that impairs the appearance.

As described above, this embodiment has the following effects.
1) According to the present embodiment, the cover portion 34 covers the side surface 10 d of the arm base 10. When the cover 34 does not cover the side surface 10d of the arm base 10, the side surface 10d of the arm base 10 is exposed. When it is desired to make the appearance of the side surface 10d of the arm base 10 suitable, a surface treatment is required to improve the appearance of the arm base 10 by painting or plating. Compared to this, in the structure of the present embodiment, the side surface 10d of the arm base 10 is covered with the cover part 34. There is no need to apply. Therefore, since the process of surface-treating the place covered with the cover part 34 on the side surface 10d of the arm base 10 can be reduced, the robot 1 can be manufactured with high productivity.

  2) According to this embodiment, the connection plate 30 is installed on the side surface 10 d of the arm base 10, and the connection plate 30 and the cover portion 34 cover all of the side surface 10 d of the arm base 10. Therefore, the side surface 10d of the arm base 10 does not need to be subjected to a surface treatment such as painting. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the step of performing the surface treatment on the side surface 10d of the arm base 10.

  3) According to this embodiment, the place where the connection plate 30 is connected to the arm base 10 is the side surface 10 d of the arm base 10. Therefore, it can be used for purposes other than installing the connection plate 30 on the surface on which the mechanism portion 28 is installed on the arm base 10. Alternatively, the surface on which the mechanism portion 28 of the arm base 10 is installed can be narrowed, so that the second arm 5 can be made small.

  4) According to the present embodiment, the first opening 34a and the second opening 34b are connected to the cover 34 so as to form one opening. When the cover part 34 is separated from the arm base 10, the arm base 10 and the mechanism part 28 pass through the second opening 34b. The connecting member 32 passes through the first opening 34a and the second opening 34b. Therefore, the cover part 34 can be separated from the arm base 10 without separating the connection member 32 from the mechanism part 28. As a result, the cover part 34 can be easily separated from the arm base 10.

  5) According to this embodiment, the width a <b> 1 of the first opening 34 a is shorter than the width a <b> 2 of the connection plate 30, and the cover portion 34 covers the end of the connection plate 30 in the width direction. Therefore, even when the end surface of the connection plate 30 impairs the aesthetic appearance, the end surface of the connection plate 30 can be reliably made invisible.

  6) According to this embodiment, since the material of the connection plate 30 is aluminum or stainless steel, the connection plate 30 is not easily rusted. And since the cover part 34 is also a molded object using a resin material, it is hard to rust. Therefore, the second arm 5 can be covered with the connection plate 30 and the cover part 34 which are not easily rusted.

  7) According to this embodiment, since the material of the cover part 34 is a resin material, the first opening part 34a can be widened when the cover part 34 is assembled. Therefore, the cover part 34 can be assembled to the arm base 10 with good assemblability.

In addition, this embodiment is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A various change and improvement can also be added. A modification will be described below.
(Modification 1)
In the embodiment, the planar shape of the arm base 10 is long in one direction, and both sides in the longitudinal direction are arc-shaped. However, the shape is not limited to this. The planar shape of the arm base 10 may be a polygon such as a rectangle or may be an ellipse. In any shape, by covering the side surface 10d of the arm base 10 with the cover portion 34 and the connecting plate 30, the step of performing surface treatment on the side surface 10d of the arm base 10 can be reduced.

(Modification 2)
In the said embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the connection board 30 was installed in the right side in the figure of the 2nd arm 5, and the upper side in the figure. The connection plate 30 may be disposed only on the right side in the figure. And you may install the hole which penetrates the connection member 32 in the connection board 30 in the right side in the figure. Even in this structure, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

  5 ... 2nd arm as robot arm, 10 ... arm base, 10d ... side surface, 10e ... outer bottom surface as bottom surface, 28 ... mechanism, 30 ... connection plate, 30a, 30b ... hole, 32 ... connection member, 34a ... 1st opening part, 34b ... 2nd opening part, a1, a2 ... width.

Claims (5)

A horizontal articulated robot that moves the robot arm,
The robot arm includes an arm base on which a mechanism unit is mounted;
A connection plate having a hole portion through which a connection member installed on the arm base and connected to the mechanism portion is inserted;
A horizontal articulated robot, comprising: a first opening that exposes the connection plate; and a cover that covers a side surface of the arm base. The horizontal articulated robot according to claim 1,
The horizontal articulated robot according to claim 1, wherein the connection plate is installed on a side surface of the arm base, and the side surface of the arm base is entirely covered by the connection plate and the cover portion. The horizontal articulated robot according to claim 1 or 2,
The horizontal articulated joint, wherein the cover has a second opening that exposes a bottom surface of the arm base, and the first opening and the second opening form one opening. robot. The horizontal articulated robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The connecting plate has a shape in which a rectangular plate having a width a2 is bent in the longitudinal direction,
The first opening has a shape in which a plurality of rectangles having a width a1 intersect in the longitudinal direction,
The horizontal articulated robot according to claim 1, wherein the width a1 of the first opening is shorter than the width a2 of the connection plate, and the cover portion covers an end in the width direction of the connection plate. The horizontal articulated robot according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The horizontal articulated robot according to claim 1, wherein the connecting plate is made of aluminum or stainless steel, and the cover portion is a molded body using a resin material.

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