JP2013027945A - Gripping device and device for conveying workpiece - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gripping device that prevents a linear member from being buried under a workpiece for the easy automation of assembling work, and to provide a workpiece conveying device.SOLUTION: The first gripping device 10 includes: a grip 11 for gripping a fan 100 provided with an assembling surface 100a and a power-supply cable 101 that is flexible and capable of drooping to the assembling surface 100a; and a scoop 20 for scooping a drooped cable 101 into a side region 100c other than the assembling surface 100a of the fan 100.

Description

  The present invention relates to a gripping device and a workpiece transfer device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, automation of operations such as gripping a workpiece, carrying it to a work table, and incorporating it into some device has been promoted. For gripping such a workpiece, for example, a gripping device having a pair of claw portions is frequently used (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-88641

  However, when the work is an electronic device or the like and includes a linear member (for example, a power cable), it is difficult to automate the assembly work. In other words, the power cable that is not fixed and is released to some extent may hang down to the work assembly side due to its flexibility. If it does so, when mounting the assembly | attachment surface side of a workpiece | work on the base of an apparatus main body, etc., there exists a possibility that a power cable may be laid under the workpiece | work.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a gripping device and a workpiece transfer device that can prevent a linear member from being laid under a workpiece and facilitate automation of assembling work. And

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an assembly surface and a gripping portion capable of gripping a workpiece having a flexible linear member that can be suspended on the assembly surface side, and the above-described suspension. A gripping device having a scooping portion capable of scooping the linear member up to a predetermined region different from the assembly surface of the workpiece is employed.
By adopting this configuration, in the present invention, when the work is transported and the assembly surface side is placed, the linear member that hangs down on the work assembly surface side is used by using the scooping portion. The linear member can be pretreated so as not to be an underlay of the workpiece by scooping it up in a region different from the assembly surface. Thereby, the linear member does not disturb the work assembling work, and the automation thereof can be facilitated.

Moreover, in this invention, the workpiece conveyance apparatus which has the said holding | grip apparatus is employ | adopted.
By adopting this configuration, in the present invention, the work in which the linear member is pre-processed by the gripping device is conveyed to a work table or the like, thereby facilitating the work assembling work.

  According to the gripping device and the workpiece transfer device of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the linear member from being laid under the workpiece and to facilitate the automation of the assembly work.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of the workpiece conveyance apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the 1st holding | grip apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the 1st holding | grip apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the 2nd holding | grip apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the structure of the 2nd holding | grip apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the 2nd holding | grip apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view for demonstrating the moving order of the remover for the wiring process of the power cable in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the 1st process of the power cable in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the 2nd process of the power cable in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the 3rd process of the power cable in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the pressing-down process of the power cable in embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Work transfer device]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a work transfer device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The workpiece conveyance device 1 sequentially conveys the fan (work) 100 accommodated in the case 2 to the work tables 3 and 4 for assembling the fan unit. The work table 4 is provided with a base (not shown) of a fan unit. The fan 100 includes an assembly surface 100a placed on the base, and a power cable (linear member) 101 that has flexibility and can be dropped on the assembly surface 100a side.

  The fan 100 has a substantially box-shaped rectangular parallelepiped shape (see FIGS. 7 and 8 to be described later). The power cable 101 has a groove extending from the central portion (motor housing portion) of the back surface 100b opposite to the mounting surface 100a of the fan 100 to the side region (predetermined region) 100c between the mounting surface 100a and the back surface 100b. 102. A connector 103 is provided at the tip of the power cable 101.

  The groove 102 is formed up to the edge 100c1 on the back surface 100b side (opposite the assembly surface 100a) of the edges of the side region 100c, and the power cable 101 is fixed to the edge 100c1. The power cable 101 is flexible and can be suspended from the fixed position to the assembly surface 100a side across the side region 100c, and can also be suspended from the back surface 100b side. (Indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the work transfer device 1 includes a first gripping device (gripping device) 10 and a second gripping device 30, and a first gripping device 10 and a second gripping device that can grip the fan 100 having the above configuration. And a control unit 5 that controls the entire operation of the control unit 30. The control unit 5 is electrically connected to the robot arm 6 having the first gripping device 10 and the robot arm 7 having the second gripping device 30. The robot arms 6 and 7 are articulated robot arms and are configured to be able to move the tip of the arm in any direction and in any posture.

[First gripping device]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the first gripping device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the first gripping device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The first gripping device 10 includes a gripping part 11 that can grip the fan 100 and a scooping part 20 that can scoop up the power cable 101 to a side region 100 c different from the assembly surface 100 a of the fan 100.

  The grip part 11 is provided on the base part 12. The scooping portion 20 is also provided on the base portion 12. The base portion 12 is provided with a mounting portion 13 that can be mounted on the arm tip of the robot arm 6 (see FIG. 1). In addition, the base unit 12 is provided with a urethane block 14 serving as a contact material that comes into contact with the side region 100 c when the grip unit 11 grips the fan 100.

  The grip part 11 has a pair of claw parts 15. As shown in FIG. 3, the pair of claw portions 15 are supported so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 16. The pair of claws 15 are engaged with the link shaft 18 of the slide actuator 17. The pair of claw portions 15 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to be driven to open and close synchronously by the slide actuator 17.

  The slide actuator 17 is provided on the base portion 12. The slide actuator 17 of this embodiment has an air cylinder as a drive source for driving the pair of claw portions 15. The air cylinder is configured to be extendable and contractable by opening and closing a solenoid valve, for example. The supply of air to the air cylinder and the input / output of drive signals to the solenoid valve are performed from the robot arm 6 side via the mounting portion 13.

  The scooping unit 20 has a remover (plate member) 21 that can scoop up the power cable 101 of the fan 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the remover 21 is configured to be movable in the length direction by a slide guide 22. The slide guide 22 has a guide groove 24 for guiding a guide pin 23 provided on the remover 21.

  The remover 21 has a spring bracket 26 that supports the compression spring 25. The spring bracket 26 and the compression spring 25 are slidably engaged with a shaft 27 provided on the base portion 12. The shaft 27 is disposed in parallel with the remover 21. The remover 21 can be moved in the length direction by the slide guide 22, and is configured such that the compression spring 25 functions as a cushioning material between the base portion 12 and the remover 21 when excessively pushed.

The remover 21 has a substantially plate shape including a protruding portion 28 in which a part of the side surface 21a protrudes outward in the width direction. The protruding portion 28 is provided at the distal end portion in the length direction of the remover 21. As shown in FIG. 3, the protrusion 28 has a curved surface 28 a that gradually decreases in inclination with respect to the reference plane X along the side surface 21 a toward the one side in the length direction (tip end side).
Specifically, the curved surface 28a initially has an inclination (about 60 °) intersecting the reference plane X, but the inclination gradually decreases toward the one side in the length direction. The inclination changes smoothly toward the one side in the length direction so as to have an inclination parallel to the plane X (approximately 0 °).

[Second gripping device]
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the second gripping device 30 in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a front view showing the configuration of the second gripping device 30 in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of the second gripping device 30 in the embodiment of the present invention.

  The second gripping device 30 includes a pressing portion 31 that can press the power cable 101 located in the side region 100c of the fan 100, a second gripping portion 32 that can grip the fan 100 while the power cable 101 is pressed, Have. The pressing portion 31 is provided on the base portion 33. Further, the second grip 32 is also provided on the base 33. The base portion 33 is provided with a mounting portion 34 that can be attached to the arm tip of the robot arm 7 (see FIG. 1).

  The 2nd holding | grip part 32 has a pair of nail | claw part 35 which can be approached / separated in a predetermined direction. Each of the pair of claw portions 35 is provided with a stopper 36 that can come into contact with the back surface 100b of the fan 100. The pair of claws 35 are configured to be slidable in the predetermined direction by a slide actuator 37.

  The slide actuator 37 is provided on the base portion 33. The slide actuator 37 of this embodiment has an air cylinder as a drive source for driving the pair of claw portions 35. The air cylinder is configured to be extendable and contractable by opening and closing a solenoid valve, for example. The supply of air to the air cylinder and the input / output of drive signals to the solenoid valve are performed from the robot arm 7 side via the mounting portion 34.

  The pressing portion 31 has an arm 41. As shown in FIG. 6, the arm 41 is supported so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 42. One side of the arm 41 sandwiching the rotation shaft 42 is bent in a substantially L shape, and can be brought into contact with the side region 100 c of the fan 100. The other side of the arm 41 with the rotation shaft 42 interposed therebetween is connected to one end of the tension spring 43. The other end of the tension spring 43 is connected to a spring post 44 provided on the base portion 33.

  The pressing portion 31 has a shaft 45 provided between the pair of claw portions 35 (see FIG. 5). The shaft 45 is configured to be slidable along a through hole 33a formed in the base portion 33 (see FIG. 6). One end of the shaft 45 is provided with a collar 46 that can come into contact with the back surface 100 b of the fan 100. The other end of the shaft 45 is in contact with the arm 41 between the rotary shaft 42 and the tension spring 43. A cap 46 that can be contacted is provided.

[Work transfer operation]
Next, a workpiece transfer operation by the workpiece transfer apparatus 1 having the first gripping device 10 and the second gripping device 30 configured as described above will be described. Unless otherwise specified, the control unit 5 controls the following operations as a subject.
The control unit 5 is electrically connected to each of the first gripping device 10 and the second gripping device 30, and supplies air to the air cylinder and inputs / outputs drive signals to a solenoid valve (not shown). Thus, the drive of the slide actuators 17 and 37 is controlled.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, one of the plurality of fans 100 housed in the case 2 is placed on the work table 3.
More specifically, first, the first gripping device 10 is moved above the fan 100 by the robot arm 6. Then, after lowering the first gripping device 10, the slide actuator 17 is driven to grip both sides of the side region 100 c of the fan 100 with the pair of claws 15. At this time, even if the remover 21 comes into contact with the case 2 or another fan 100, the slide guide 22 freely slides in its length direction, so that the gripping is not hindered.

When the gripper 11 grips the fan 100, the first gripping device 10 is raised and moved above the work table 3. Thereafter, the first gripping device 10 is lowered, the pair of claws 15 are opened, and the fan 100 is placed on the work table 3 with its side region 100c facing upward.
In order to recognize the position of the fan 100 or the work table 3, means for deriving based on the coordinate data stored in advance in the control unit 5 or image data from an imaging camera (not shown) provided above the transfer area is used. Means or the like derived by image processing can be used.

Once the fan 100 is placed on the work table 3 with its side region 100c facing upward, next, the power cable 101 wiring process (to the fan unit) by the scooping unit 20 of the first gripping device 10 is performed. Pre-assembly).
FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining the moving order of the remover 21 for wiring processing of the power cable 101 in the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the wiring process of the power cable 101 is a first process (indicated by a line L1) in which the remover 21 is moved along the edge 100c1 opposite to the assembly surface 100a among the edges of the side region 100c. And a second process (indicated by line L2) for moving the remover 21 along the assembly surface 100a, and a second process for moving the remover 21 along the edge 100c2 on the assembly surface 100a side of the edges of the side region 100c. 3 processes (indicated by line L3).

FIG. 8 is a perspective view for explaining the first processing of the power cable 101 in the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 8, in the first process, the remover 21 is moved along the edge 100c1 while the tip of the remover 21 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the edge 100c1 of the side region 100c. When the power cable 101 hangs down to the back surface 100b side (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7), a part of the power cable 101 straddles the upper surface of the edge 100c1, so if the remover 21 is moved along the line L1, The power cable 101 can be brought into contact with a part thereof and the power cable 101 can be moved from the back surface 100b side to the side region 100c side.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view for explaining the second processing of the power cable 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
When the power cable 101 hangs down to the assembly surface 100a side (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7), the degree of sag is larger than the back surface 100b side in relation to the fixed position (groove 102). For this reason, as in the first process, simply by tracing the upper surface of the edge 100c2 on the assembly surface 100a side with the tip of the remover 21, the power cable 101 hanging down on the assembly surface 100a side may be brought to the side region 100c. Can not.

  Therefore, in the second process, the remover 21 is moved along the assembly surface 100a as shown in FIG. Since the remover 21 is a plate-like member, in the process of moving along the assembling surface 100a, the remover 21 enters a narrow gap between the suspended power cable 101 and the assembling surface 100a, and the power cable 101 is lifted by the protruding portion 28. To the side region 100c. Therefore, according to the second process, the power cable 101 that hangs down to the assembly surface 100a side of the fan 100 is scooped up to a side region 100c that is different from the assembly surface 100a of the fan 100. It is possible to prevent 101 from becoming an underlay of the fan 100.

  In the second process, in the process of moving the remover 21 along the assembly surface 100a, the protruding portion 28 of the remover 21 is raised from a position lower than the edge 100c2 to a position higher than the edge 100c2. Here, since the projecting portion 28 has the curved surface 28a, it is possible to lift the power cable 101 and prevent the fan 100 itself from being lifted due to the catch of the connector 103 provided at the tip thereof. it can. That is, when the power cable 101 is lifted to a certain extent, the curved surface 28a is restrained from being caught and naturally falls into the side region 100c.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view for explaining the third process of the power cable 101 in the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 10, in the third process, the tip of the remover 21 is moved along the inner surface of the edge 100c2 of the side region 100c. According to the third process, the power cable 101 raised in the second process can be reliably brought toward the center of the side region 100c. Further, it is possible to suppress the violence (disturbance) of the posture of the power cable 101 that has been scooped up to the side region 100c.

Thus, the wiring process of the power cable 101 is completed. Since the wiring process can be performed by adding the remover 21 and the like to the first gripping device 10, the configuration can be simplified and the weight can be reduced. Therefore, even if the loadable mass of the robot arm 6 is small, it can be applied.
When the wiring process by the first gripping device 10 is completed, the power cable 101 is pressed down by the second gripping device 30.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view for explaining the pressing process of the power cable 101 in the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 11, when the fan 100 is to be gripped by the second gripping portion 32 of the second gripping device 30 from the back surface 100b side, the collar 46 comes into contact with the central portion of the back surface 100b of the fan 100 in advance (FIG. 11). 6). When the collar 46 is pushed in, the cap 46 provided on the shaft 45 pushes back the other end of the arm 41 against the biasing force of the tension spring 43.

  The pushed arm 41 rotates around the rotation shaft 42. Thereby, the one end part of the arm 41 falls down toward the side part area | region 100c, and can hold down the power cable 101 located in the side part area | region 100c. At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, if the remover 21 of the first gripping device 10 is stopped near the end point of the third processing line L3, the power cable 101 of the pressing portion 31 (arm 41) is connected. The pressing process can be performed reliably.

  Next, in a state where the power cable 101 is pressed, the slide actuator 37 is driven, and both sides of the side region 100 c of the fan 100 are gripped by the pair of claws 35. As a result, the fan 100 can be gripped while being pressed in the side region 100 c so as not to move the power cable 101, and can be transported to the work table 4 by the robot arm 7.

  In the work table 4, as shown in FIG. 1, the fan 100 is placed on the base of a fan unit (not shown) by the robot arm 7 so that the assembly surface 100a faces downward. At this time, since the power cable 101 is wired (pre-processed) so as not to lay under the fan 100, the power cable 101 does not interfere with the fan 100 assembly work, and the fan unit assembly work is smooth and easy. Can be.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, the gripping portion 11 capable of gripping the fan 100 including the assembly surface 100a and the power cable 101 that has flexibility and can be dropped on the assembly surface 100a side; By adopting the first gripping device 10 having the scooping-up portion 20 capable of scooping the dropped power cable 101 to the side region 100c different from the assembly surface 100a of the fan 100, the fan 100 is conveyed. When the assembly surface 100a side is placed, the side wall region 100c different from the assembly surface 100a of the fan 100 is connected to the power cable 101 that is hung down to the assembly surface 100a side of the fan 100 using the scooping-up portion 20. As a result, the power cable 101 can be preprocessed so as not to lay the underlay of the fan 100.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the pressing portion 31 that can press the power cable 101 located in the side region 100c, and the second gripping portion 32 that can hold the fan 100 while pressing the power cable 101 are provided. By adopting the second gripping device 30 having, the fan 100 can be transported by pressing the power cable 101 that has been scooped up into the side region 100c so as not to move.
Therefore, according to the workpiece conveyance device 1 having the first gripping device 10 and the second gripping device 30 of the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the power cable 101 from being laid under the workpiece and facilitate the automation of the assembly work. obtain.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring drawings, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. Various shapes, combinations, and the like of the constituent members shown in the above-described embodiments are examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, the present invention can be applied not only to the fan 100 but also to other workpieces including a linear member having flexibility.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Work conveying apparatus, 5 ... Control part, 10 ... 1st holding | grip apparatus (gripping apparatus), 11 ... Gripping part, 20 ... Scooping part, 21 ... Remover (plate-shaped member), 21a ... Side surface, 28 ... Projection part 28a ... curved surface, 30 ... second gripping device, 31 ... pressing portion, 32 ... second gripping portion, 100 ... fan (workpiece), 100a ... assembly surface, 100c ... side region (predetermined region), 100c1 ... edge , 100c2 ... edge, 101 ... power cable (linear member)

Claims (9)

A gripping part capable of gripping a work having an assembly surface and a linear member that has flexibility and can be dropped on the assembly surface side;
A gripping device comprising: a scooping portion capable of scooping the suspended linear member to a predetermined region different from the assembly surface of the workpiece.   The gripping device according to claim 1, wherein the scooping portion includes a plate-like member including a protruding portion in which a part of a side surface protrudes in the width direction.   The gripping device according to claim 2, wherein the protruding portion has a curved surface in which an inclination with respect to a reference plane along the side surface gradually decreases toward the one side in the length direction of the side surface.   A workpiece transfer device comprising the gripping device according to claim 1. A control unit for controlling the movement of the scooping unit;
The said control part moves the said scooping part along the said assembly | attachment surface, The workpiece conveyance apparatus of Claim 4 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The said control part moves the said scooping part along the edge on the opposite side to the said assembly surface among the edges of the said predetermined area | region before the movement along the said assembly surface. 5. The workpiece transfer apparatus according to 5.   The said control part moves the said scooping part along the edge by the side of the said assembly surface among the edges of the said predetermined | prescribed area | region after the movement along the said assembly surface. The workpiece transfer device described.   The work conveying device according to claim 4, further comprising a second gripping device different from the gripping device. The second gripping device is
A pressing portion capable of pressing the linear member located in the predetermined region;
The work conveying apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: a second grip portion that can grip the work in a state in which the linear member is pressed down.

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