JP2016024952A - Connector guide mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector guide mechanism capable of satisfactorily inserting and withdrawing a plug even in the case where a center axis direction of the plug and a center axis direction of a socket are in a relation of being inclined to each other.SOLUTION: A connector guide mechanism includes: a plug 2; a socket 3; a plug-side guide 4 which is fitted to the plug; a ring member 5 which is fitted to a body part of the plug-side guide so as to form a gap of an arbitrary size between an inner peripheral part of the ring and the body part of the plug-side guide; and a socket-side guide 6 which is fitted to the socket. The plug-side guide includes an axial direction regulation part 7 for regulating a movement range of the ring member in an axial direction. The socket-side guide includes an opening into which tip end portions of the plug and the plug-side guide are inserted. The opening is formed in a funnel shape with the socket as a center. The plug-side guide and the socket-side guide include an axial circumferential direction positioning parts 8 for making the tip end portions of the plug and the plug-side guide be aligned with a predetermined position in an axial circumferential direction when inserting the plug.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector guide mechanism capable of satisfactorily inserting and removing a plug.

  Conventionally, there is a connector designed for connection by a robot hand (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The connector described in Patent Document 1 is configured such that flanges are provided before and after the part grasped by the plug-side robot hand so that the handle does not come off during operation. With this configuration, the connector described in Patent Document 1 can be connected even using a robot hand with insufficient positioning accuracy.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-135399

  However, the conventional connector described in Patent Document 1 is a low-function robot whose wrist cannot rotate when the center axis direction of the plug is inclined with respect to the center axis direction of the socket, as described below. With the hand, there was a problem that good plug insertion / extraction (insertion and extraction) was not possible.

  For example, in the conventional connector described in Patent Document 1, it is assumed that the central axis of the plug and the central axis of the socket are parallel to each other, and the robot hand inserts the plug having the positional relationship into the socket. ing.

  In such a conventional connector, when the center axis direction of the plug is inclined with respect to the center axis direction of the socket, the plug insertion direction and the socket insertion direction are different. In a low-function robot hand that cannot be rotated only in the direction and the wrist cannot be rotated, the plug could not be inserted into the socket well. Further, in this case, the conventional connector cannot be satisfactorily removed from the socket by a low-functional robot hand in which the wrist cannot rotate. Therefore, in this case, the conventional connector requires a highly functional robot hand capable of rotating the wrist, in which the plug insertion / removal direction can be set in multiple directions.

  “When the center axis direction of the plug is inclined with respect to the center axis direction of the socket” means that the plug insertion / removal direction of the low-functional robot hand whose wrist cannot be rotated is inclined with respect to the center axis direction of the socket. It means that it is arranged. The case where the central axis of the plug and the central axis of the socket are in a torsional positional relationship is also included in such a case. Such a case occurs, for example, when the socket is inclined with respect to the installation place of the robot hand.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and even when the center axis direction of the plug is inclined with respect to the center axis direction of the socket, the plug can be satisfactorily inserted and removed. The main object is to provide a connector guide mechanism.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a connector guide mechanism comprising a plug, a socket, a plug side guide attached to the plug, an inner peripheral portion of a ring, and a body portion of the plug side guide. A ring member attached to the body portion of the plug-side guide and a socket-side guide attached to the socket so that a gap of an arbitrary size is formed between the plug-side guide, An axial direction restricting portion for restricting an axial movement range of the ring member is provided, and the socket side guide is inserted with the plug and the tip end portion of the plug side guide when the plug is inserted into the socket. An opening is provided, and the opening is formed in a funnel shape with the socket as a center, and the plug-side guide and the socket-side guide are A configuration that includes the said plug and said axial direction about the positioning unit to adjust the tip of the plug-side guide at a predetermined position in the axial direction around the time of insertion into the socket lug.

  In this connector guide mechanism, a gap of an arbitrary size is formed between the inner peripheral portion of the ring member and the body portion of the plug-side guide. As a result, the ring member supports the plug and the plug-side guide at the inner peripheral portion of the ring member so that the plug-side guide can move in the axial direction relative to the body portion, rotate around the axis, and swing. It is configured to do.

  When inserting (inserting) the plug into the socket, the robot hand holds the ring member and inserts the plug and the tip of the plug-side guide into the opening of the socket-side guide via the ring member. At this time, the connector guide mechanism is arranged such that the tip of the plug and the plug side guide is guided by the axial positioning portion while the tip of the plug and the plug side guide is guided toward the socket by the inclined surface of the opening formed in the funnel shape. Align the part with a predetermined position in the direction around the axis. As a result, the connector guide mechanism can satisfactorily insert the plug into the socket even when the central axis direction of the plug is inclined with respect to the central axis direction of the socket.

Further, the robot hand operates so as to grip the plug and the plug-side guide via the ring member and extract the plug and the tip of the plug-side guide from the opening of the socket-side guide when the plug is extracted from the socket. . At this time, the connector guide mechanism supports the plug and the plug-side guide in a state where the ring member can swing. Therefore, this connector guide mechanism allows the robot hand to grip the ring member and move the plug and the plug-side guide in the removal direction even when the center axis direction of the plug is inclined with respect to the center axis direction of the socket. The plug can be satisfactorily removed from the socket simply by making it happen.
Other means will be described later.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if it is a case where the center axis direction of a plug inclines with respect to the center axis direction of a socket, the connector guide mechanism which can insert / extract a plug favorably can be provided.

It is a perspective view of the connector guide mechanism concerning an embodiment. It is a section perspective view of the connector guide mechanism concerning an embodiment. It is a block diagram around the connection part of the connector guide mechanism which concerns on embodiment. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing (1) of the connector guide mechanism which concerns on embodiment. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing (2) of the connector guide mechanism which concerns on embodiment. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing (3) of the connector guide mechanism which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of the connector guide mechanism which concerns on a modification.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “the present embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Each figure is only schematically shown so that the present invention can be fully understood. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated example. Moreover, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the common component and the same component, and those overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

[Embodiment]
<Configuration of connector guide mechanism>
The configuration of the connector guide mechanism according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector guide mechanism according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the connector guide mechanism according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram around the connection portion of the connector guide mechanism according to the present embodiment.

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which the plug 2 is inserted into the socket 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the connector guide mechanism 1 according to this embodiment includes a plug 2, a socket 3, a plug side guide 4, a ring member 5, and a socket side guide 6.

The plug 2 is a connector (connector) on the side attached to the cable 91.
The socket 3 is a connector (connector seat) on the side attached to a device, a panel or the like.
The plug-side guide 4 is a guide member that is attached to the body portion 22 (see FIG. 2) of the plug 2 and facilitates the insertion of the plug 2 into the socket 3.
The ring member 5 is a ring-shaped member attached to the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4 so that the plug-side guide 4 penetrates the inner peripheral portion 52 (see FIG. 2) of the ring.
The socket side guide 6 is a guide member that is attached around the exposed surface side of the socket 3 and facilitates insertion of the plug 2 into the socket 3.

  FIG. 2 shows the shape of a cut surface obtained by cutting the connector guide mechanism 1 along the line X1-X1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the plug 2 includes a large number of pins 23, which are plug-side conductive connection portions, inside the distal end portion 21. On the other hand, the socket 3 includes a large number of contacts 33 which are socket-side conductive connection portions inside the exposed surface side into which the plug 2 is inserted. The pins 23 of the plug 2 correspond to the contacts 33 of the socket 3 in a one-to-one relationship. Therefore, the plug 2 and the socket 3 have a predetermined position around the axis for connecting each other.

  The plug-side guide 4 is formed as a long member in the axial direction of the plug 2 so as to cover the body portion 22 of the plug 2. The plug-side guide 4 includes a tip portion 41 formed in a tapered shape and a body portion 42 formed in a non-circular shape in a radial direction cross section. In the present embodiment, the tip portion 41 is formed in a truncated cone shape. The body portion 42 is formed in an octagonal column shape. In the present embodiment, the body portion 42 includes four wide flat surfaces with the same width and four narrow flat surfaces with the same width so that the inner angle between adjacent flat surfaces is (90 + 45 = 135) degrees. Are arranged alternately in the direction around the axis.

  However, the shape of the body part 42 is such that when the ring member 5 tries to rotate around the body part 42 of the plug-side guide 4 at an arbitrary angle or more, a part of the body part 42 is a part of the inner peripheral part 52 of the ring member 5. Any other shape can be used as long as it can contact the portion and regulate the rotation of the ring member 5.

  The ring member 5 is attached to the body portion 42. The body portion 42 includes contact portions 43 and 44 for preventing the ring member 5 from falling off the body portion 42. The abutting portion 43 is a projecting portion that projects in the radial direction on the side close to the socket 3 of the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4 so as to abut on the side surface portion of the ring member 5. The abutting portion 44 is a projecting portion that is formed so as to project in the radial direction on the side close to the cable 91 of the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4 so as to abut on the side surface portion of the ring member 5. The contact portions 43 and 44 function as the axial direction restricting portion 7 that restricts the axial movement range of the ring member 5.

  In the present embodiment, the abutting portions 43 and 44 are formed with projecting portions 43a and 44a projecting in the radial direction, respectively. The protrusions 43a and 44a function as rotation stoppers that stop the rotational movement of the plug-side guide 4, respectively. For example, the protrusions 43a and 44a are when the plug-side guide 4 is placed on the floor surface or the like, and when the plug-side guide 4 rotates around the axis on the floor surface or the like. The rotational movement can be stopped. Thereby, the connector guide mechanism 1 can facilitate the gripping of the ring member 5 by a robot hand (not shown). The protrusions 43a and 44a are preferably formed on the same axial direction.

  In the present embodiment, the contact portions 43 and 44 are formed in an elliptical shape when viewed in the axial direction (see FIG. 3A). Accordingly, the connector guide mechanism 1 can suppress the plug-side guide 4 from rotating when the plug-side guide 4 is placed on the floor surface or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the inner peripheral portion 52 of the ring member 5 is formed in an octagonal shape, and eight flat surfaces corresponding to the eight flat surfaces of the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4. It has a surface. A gap SP having an arbitrary size is formed between the inner peripheral portion 52 of the ring member 5 and the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4. Here, the gap SP is in a state in which the eight flat surfaces of the inner peripheral portion 52 of the ring member 5 and the eight flat surfaces of the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4 are parallel to each other. The description will be made assuming that the gap is a gap.

  The size of the gap SP is set to such a size that the ring member 5 can only rotate in an arbitrary angular range in the direction around the axis. As a result, the inner peripheral portion 52 of the ring member 5 has a part of the body of the plug-side guide 4 when the ring member 5 tries to rotate around the body part 42 of the plug-side guide 4 at an arbitrary angle or more. Abutting on a part of the portion 42, the rotation of the ring member 5 is restricted.

  However, the shape of the inner peripheral portion 52 of the ring member 5 can be any other shape as long as the shape of the ring member 5 can be restricted. For example, the inner peripheral portion 52 of the ring member 5 can be formed in a quadrangular shape so as to have four flat surfaces corresponding to the four wide flat surfaces of the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4. Further, the inner peripheral portion 52 of the ring member 5 may be formed in a shape that can correspond to the shape of the body portion 42 when the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4 is formed in a shape other than an octagon. it can.

  One or more flat surfaces 51a are formed on the outer peripheral portion 51 of the ring member 5 so that the robot hand can easily hold the ring member 5. In the present embodiment, description will be made assuming that four flat surfaces 51a having the same width are formed. The four flat surfaces 51a are arranged in the direction around the axis so that the inner angle between the adjacent flat surfaces 51a is 90 degrees. The four flat surfaces 51a are arranged so as to be in parallel with the four wide flat surfaces of the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4 at the same time.

  However, the number of flat surfaces 51a can be other than “4”. For example, when the shape of the cross section in the radial direction of the outer peripheral portion 51 of the ring member 5 is formed in a “D” shape (a shape in which a circle is cut out by one line), the number of flat surfaces 51 a is one. Further, when the shape of the cross section in the radial direction of the outer peripheral portion 51 of the ring member 5 is formed in a two-plane width shape (a shape obtained by cutting a circle by two parallel lines), the number of flat surfaces 51a is two. . Further, when the radial cross section of the outer peripheral portion 51 of the ring member 5 is formed in an octagonal shape, the number of the flat surfaces 51a is eight. When the number of the flat surfaces 51a is an even number, it is preferable that the opposing flat surfaces 51a are arranged in parallel so that the robot hand can easily grasp them.

  The socket-side guide 6 includes an opening 61 into which the plug 2 and the distal end portions 21 and 41 of the plug-side guide 4 are inserted when the plug 2 is inserted into the socket 3. The opening 61 is formed in a funnel shape having a shape opposite to the tip 41 of the plug-side guide 4 with the socket 3 as the center. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the opening 61 is formed in a truncated cone shape that is opposite to the tip 41 of the plug-side guide 4 with the socket 3 as the center.

  As described above, since the pin 23 of the plug 2 and the contact 33 of the socket 3 correspond to each other in a one-to-one relationship, there is a predetermined position around the axis for connecting each other. Therefore, the plug-side guide 4 and the socket-side guide 6 are arranged in the axial direction positioning portion 8 that aligns the tip portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 with predetermined positions in the axial direction when the plug 2 is inserted into the socket 3. It has.

  In the present embodiment, the axial direction positioning portion 8 has a projection 45 formed at the tip 41 of the plug-side guide 4 so as to protrude in the radial direction, and the socket side so that the projection 45 enters the inside. It is constituted by a groove (hereinafter referred to as “guide groove”) 65 formed in the opening 61 of the guide 6.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the guide groove 65 is formed extending along the axial direction of the socket 3, and at least an inlet portion into which the protrusion 45 enters is widened toward the inlet side. The opposed surface of the entrance portion is formed as an inclined surface that is symmetrically inclined. In the present embodiment, the guide groove 65 is formed so as to penetrate from the opening 61 of the socket side guide 6 to the outer peripheral portion of the socket side guide 6.

  The protrusion 45 and the guide groove 65 are formed in one or more sets so as to correspond to each other. It should be noted that the projecting portion 45 and the guide groove 65 can adjust the tip portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 to a predetermined position in the direction around the axis even with only one or two sets. However, the number of pairs of the protrusions 45 and the guide grooves 65 is preferably three or more. The reason for this is that when the number of pairs of the protrusion 45 and the guide groove 65 is only one or two, the predetermined positions in the direction around the axis of the tip portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 are uniquely defined. It is difficult. Therefore, for example, when the number of sets of the protrusion 45 and the guide groove 65 is only one, the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 are connected to the central axis CP (see FIG. 3A) of the plug 2 when viewed in the axial direction. There is a possibility of tilting in the direction of the line connecting the central portion of the projection 45, and when the number of the projection 45 and the guide groove 65 is only two, the plug 2 and the socket 3 are reversed. In this state, the plug 2 may be inserted into the socket 3.

  However, even if the number of pairs of the protrusions 45 and the guide grooves 65 is three or more, it is difficult to uniquely define a predetermined position in the direction around the axis if the arrangement direction of each pair is an equally spaced direction. . Therefore, in this case, the plug 2 may be inserted into the socket 3 in a state where the plug 2 and the socket 3 are in different directions. Therefore, even if the number of sets of the protrusions 45 and the guide grooves 65 is three or more, it is preferable that the arrangement directions of the sets do not become equal intervals.

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, in this embodiment, the protrusion 45 and the guide groove 65 are centered on the central axis CP of the plug 2 or the central axis CS of the socket 3. Three sets are formed in a T shape when viewed in the axial direction. FIG. 3A shows a configuration around the distal end portion 41 of the plug-side guide 4 as viewed from the distal end side. FIG. 3B shows a configuration around the opening 61 of the socket-side guide 6 as viewed from the opening side.

  In the present embodiment, three sets of protrusions 45 and guide grooves 65 are formed in a T shape, so that the predetermined positions in the direction around the axis of the tip portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 are uniquely defined. can do. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the tip portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 can be reliably aligned with predetermined positions in the direction around the axis.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the plug-side guide 4 includes a marking MP that serves as a mark for identifying the direction of the plug-side guide 4. The plug-side guide 4 and the socket-side guide 6 are each provided with lines LP and LS which serve as marks for identifying the fitting position when the plug 2 is inserted into the socket 3. The marking MP and the lines LP and LS are formed by, for example, applying a paint to an arbitrary part, and are imaged by a camera for operating the robot hand.

  In the example shown in FIG. 1, the marking MP is formed on each wide flat surface of the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4. However, the marking MP may be formed in other parts (for example, the contact parts 43 and 44). Also, the marking MP may be formed only at one place. In addition, the marking MP may be changed in color or shape according to the direction in which it is formed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 1, two lines LP are formed on the surface of the protrusion 45 of the plug-side guide 4. Further, the two lines LS are formed on the surface of the outer peripheral portion of the socket side guide 6 so as to correspond to the two lines LP. Lines LP and LS are one line corresponding to each other when the plug 2 is completely inserted into the socket 3 (when the pin 23 of the plug-side guide 4 and the contact 33 of the socket-side guide 6 are fitted). It is formed to be a line.

In such a configuration, the connector guide mechanism 1 has the following features.
(1) In this embodiment, the contact parts 43 and 44 of the plug side guide 4 function as the axial direction control part 7 which controls the axial movement range of the ring member 5 (refer FIG.1 and FIG.2). As a result, the robot hand can move the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 via the ring member 5.

  (2) In the present embodiment, a gap SP having an arbitrary size is formed between the inner peripheral portion 52 of the ring member 5 and the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4 (see FIG. 2). Therefore, the ring member 5 is engaged with the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4 by a weak frictional force at the contact portion where the inner peripheral portion 52 of the ring member 5 and the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4 abut. The plug side guide 4 can move with respect to the body portion 42. As a result, the ring member 5 is plugged at the inner peripheral portion 52 of the ring member 5 so that the plug-side guide 4 can move in the axial direction relative to the body portion 42, rotate around the axis, and swing. And the plug side guide 4 is supported. Therefore, the robot hand can perform the insertion / extraction operation of the plug 2 with a relatively high degree of freedom by holding the ring member 5 and moving the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4.

  (3) In this embodiment, three sets of the protrusions 45 and the guide grooves 65 are formed (see FIGS. 3A and 3B). Thereby, the connector guide mechanism 1 can uniquely define a predetermined position in the direction around the axis of the tip portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4.

  (4) In the present embodiment, the opening 61 of the socket side guide 6 is formed in a funnel shape (specifically, a truncated cone shape opposite to the tip portion 41 of the plug side guide 4) (see FIG. 2). When the plug 2 is inserted into the socket 3, the connector guide mechanism 1 guides the distal end portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 toward the socket 3 by the inclined surface of the opening 61, while positioning the positioning portion around the axis. 8, the tip portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 can be adjusted to predetermined positions in the direction around the axis.

<Operation of connector guide mechanism>
Such a connector guide mechanism 1 can perform the insertion / extraction operation | movement of the plug 2 demonstrated below. Hereinafter, the operation of the connector guide mechanism 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 are operation explanatory views of the connector guide mechanism 1 according to the present embodiment, respectively.

  Here, a low-functional robot hand (not shown) whose wrist cannot be rotated moves the plug 2 placed on the floor or the like to the installation location of the socket 3 and inserts the plug 2 into the socket 3 (insertion). This will be described assuming the case. Further, the robot hand identifies the orientation of the plug-side guide 4 based on the marking MP of the plug-side guide 4 imaged by the camera, and performs a rough insertion operation (insertion operation) based on the orientation. It will be explained as a thing.

  In this case, the robot hand first holds the ring member 5 and lifts the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4. At this time, the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 move in the direction of gravity inside the ring member 5 due to their own weight. As a result, the contact portion 44 of the plug-side guide 4 is in contact with the side surface portion on the rear side (cable 91 side) of the ring member 5. At this time, the robot hand is in a state in which the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 are swingably supported via the ring member 5.

  Next, the robot hand moves the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 to the installation location of the socket 3 while holding the ring member 5, and moves the tip portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 to the socket-side guide. It operates so as to be inserted into the six openings 61.

  4 and 5 both show the state in which the direction of the central axis CP (see FIG. 5) of the plug 2 and the direction of the central axis CS (see FIG. 5) of the socket 3 coincide with each other. The state of the plug-side guide 4 and the socket-side guide 6 immediately before being inserted is shown when inserted into the socket 3. FIG. 4 shows a state viewed from the front side in that case. FIG. 5 shows the internal state. The state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is likely to occur when the socket 2 is arranged in parallel with the installation place of the robot hand.

  In the state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the ring member 5 is inserted in and removed from the robot hand (see the direction of the arrow Aa shown in FIG. 5) or in the direction orthogonal to the insertion and removal direction of the robot hand (see the arrow Ab shown in FIG. 5 (See direction).

  4 and 5, the robot hand inserts the plug 2 into the socket 3 by moving the ring member 5 to the socket 3 side. At this time, first, the tip portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 enter the inside of the opening 61 of the socket-side guide 6, and then the protrusion 45 of the plug-side guide 4 is guided by the socket-side guide 6. It enters the entrance portion of the groove 65.

  The opposing surface of the entrance portion of the guide groove 65 is formed as an inclined surface. When the protrusion 45 enters the entrance portion of the guide groove 65, the projection 45 abuts on the inclined surface of the entrance portion of the guide groove 65. As a result, the frictional resistance is applied to the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 via the protrusion 45, so that the moving speed of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 decreases. Therefore, the ring member 5 moves to the contact portion 43 side of the plug-side guide 4. As a result, the side surface portion on the front side (tip portion 21 side) of the ring member 5 comes into contact with the contact portion 43 of the plug-side guide 4. Accordingly, the robot hand can press the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 toward the socket 3 via the ring member 5.

  The ring member 5 supports the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 so as to be rotatable in the direction around the axis. Therefore, when the robot hand presses the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 toward the socket 3, the protrusion 45 of the plug-side guide 4 is directed toward the bottom portion of the guide groove 65 along the inclined surface of the entrance portion of the guide groove 65. Accordingly, the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 rotate in the axial direction inside the ring member 5. As a result, the protrusion 45 and the guide groove 65 (that is, the axial direction positioning portion 8 (see FIGS. 1 and 2)) place the tip portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 at predetermined positions in the axial direction. To match.

  Thereafter, when the robot hand further presses the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 toward the socket 3, the pin 23 of the plug 2 and the contact 33 of the socket 3 are fitted, and the plug 2 and the socket 3 are electrically connected. Connected to the. Thereby, the insertion of the plug 2 into the socket 3 is completed. At this time, the two lines LP (see FIG. 4) of the plug-side guide 4 and the two lines LS (see FIG. 4) of the socket-side guide 6 become one line between corresponding lines.

  Further, the robot hand grips the ring member 5 when the plug 2 is removed from the socket 3, and the plug 2 and the distal end portions 21 and 41 of the plug-side guide 4 are held in the socket-side guide 6 while the ring member 5 is gripped. It operates so as to be extracted from the opening 61. Thereby, extraction of the plug 2 from the socket 3 is performed.

  On the other hand, FIG. 6 shows a state in which the direction of the central axis CP (see FIG. 5) of the plug 2 is inclined with respect to the direction of the central axis CS (see FIG. 5) of the socket 3. The plug-side guide 4 and the socket-side guide 6 are shown when the plugs 2 and the tip-end portions 21 and 41 of the plug-side guide 4 are inserted into the opening 61 of the socket-side guide 6. Yes. FIG. 6 shows an internal state viewed from the front side in that case. The state shown in FIG. 6 is likely to occur when the socket 2 is disposed to be inclined with respect to the installation place of the robot hand.

  In the state shown in FIG. 6, the distal end portion 21 of the plug 2 comes into contact with the slope of the opening 61 of the socket side guide 6. As a result, the frictional resistance is applied to the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 via the distal end portion 21 of the plug 2, so that the moving speed of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 decreases. Therefore, the ring member 5 moves to the contact portion 43 side of the plug-side guide 4. As a result, the side surface portion on the front side (tip portion 21 side) of the ring member 5 comes into contact with the contact portion 43 of the plug-side guide 4. Accordingly, the robot hand can press the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 toward the socket 3 via the ring member 5.

  At this time, since the ring member 5 has a gap SP formed between the inner peripheral portion 52 of the ring member 5 and the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4, the plug 2 and the plug-side guide can be swung. 4 is supported. Therefore, the connector guide mechanism 1 can incline the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 with respect to the insertion direction (pressing direction) Ac of the robot hand.

  When the robot hand presses the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 toward the socket 3, the tip 21 of the plug 2 moves toward the socket 3 along the slope of the opening 61 of the socket-side guide 6. At that time, the protrusion 45 of the plug-side guide 4 enters the entrance portion of the guide groove 65 of the socket-side guide 6.

  Thereafter, when the robot hand presses the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 toward the socket 3, the protrusion 45 of the plug-side guide 4 extends to the bottom portion of the guide groove 65 along the inclined surface of the entrance portion of the guide groove 65. Accordingly, the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 rotate in the axial direction inside the ring member 5. As a result, the protrusion 45 and the guide groove 65 (that is, the axial direction positioning portion 8 (see FIGS. 1 and 2)) place the tip portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 at predetermined positions in the axial direction. To match.

  Thereafter, when the robot hand further presses the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 toward the socket 3, the pin 23 of the plug 2 and the contact 33 of the socket 3 are fitted, and the plug 2 and the socket 3 are electrically connected. Connected to the. Thereby, the insertion of the plug 2 into the socket 3 is completed.

  In such a configuration, the connector guide mechanism 1 includes the direction of the central axis CP of the plug 2 and the central axis CS of the socket 3 by the gap SP between the body portion 42 of the plug-side guide 4 and the inner peripheral portion 52 of the ring member 5. Can be absorbed.

  Further, when the plug guide mechanism 1 is inserted into the socket 3, the connector guide mechanism 1 guides the tip 21 of the plug 2 toward the socket 3 by the inclined surface of the opening 61 formed in the funnel shape of the socket side guide 6. However, the distal end portions 21 and 41 of the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 can be aligned with predetermined positions in the axial direction by the axial direction positioning portion 8.

  Therefore, the connector guide mechanism 1 is provided with a low-functional robot hand that cannot rotate the wrist even if the direction of the central axis CP of the plug 2 is inclined with respect to the direction of the central axis CS of the socket 3. The plug 2 can be satisfactorily inserted simply by moving the member 5 in the insertion direction (pressing direction) Ac.

  Further, the robot hand grips the ring member 5 when the plug 2 is removed from the socket 3, and the plug 2 and the distal end portions 21 and 41 of the plug-side guide 4 are held in the socket-side guide 6 while the ring member 5 is gripped. It operates so as to be extracted from the opening 61.

  At this time, since the connector guide mechanism 1 supports the plug 2 and the plug-side guide 4 in a state where the ring member 5 can swing, the direction of the central axis CP of the plug 2 is the same as that of the central axis CS of the socket 3. Even when the robot is tilted with respect to the direction, the low-functional robot hand whose wrist cannot rotate simply moves the ring member 5 in the extraction direction (the direction opposite to the insertion direction Ac shown in FIG. 6). The plug 2 can be pulled out satisfactorily.

  As described above, according to the connector guide mechanism 1 according to this embodiment, even if the direction of the central axis CP of the plug 2 is inclined with respect to the direction of the central axis CS of the socket 3, the wrist rotates. The plug 2 can be satisfactorily inserted and removed simply by moving the ring member 5 in the insertion direction Ac or the extraction direction (the direction opposite to the insertion direction Ac) by the impossible low-functional robot hand.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiment has been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and is not necessarily limited to one having all the configurations described.

[Modification]
For example, the connector guide mechanism 1 can be modified like a connector guide mechanism 1a shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a connector guide mechanism 1a according to a modification.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, the connector guide mechanism 1 a includes a plug side guide 4 a and a socket side guide 6 a instead of the plug side guide 4 and the socket side guide 6 as compared with the connector guide mechanism 1 according to the embodiment. It has become.

The plug-side guide 4a is a guide member having a tip part 41a formed in a truncated pyramid shape.
The socket-side guide 6a is a guide member in which the opening 61a is formed in a truncated pyramid shape opposite to the tip 41a of the plug-side guide 4a.
In this configuration, the axial direction positioning portion is constituted by the corner portion of the tip end portion 41a of the plug-side guide 4a and the corner portion of the opening 61a of the socket-side guide 6a.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1a Connector guide mechanism 2 Plug 3 Socket 4, 4a Plug side guide 5 Ring member 6, 6a Socket side guide 7 Axial direction control part 8 Axis direction positioning part 21, 41a, 41a Tip part 23 Pin (conductive connection part) )
33 Contact (conductive connection)
41, 41a Tip portion 42 Body portion 43, 44 Contact portion 43a, 44a Protrusion portion (rotation stop portion)
45 Projection portion 51 Outer peripheral portion 51a Flat surface 52 Inner peripheral portion 61, 61a Opening 65 Guide groove 91 Cable Aa Axial direction Ab Orthogonal direction Ar Axis direction CP Plug side central axis CS Socket side central axis LP Insertion alignment line LS Insertion Alignment line MP Direction marking SP SP gap

Claims (9)

Plug and
Socket,
A plug-side guide attached to the plug;
A ring member attached to the body part of the plug-side guide so that a gap of an arbitrary size is formed between the inner peripheral part of the ring and the body part of the plug-side guide;
A socket-side guide attached to the socket;
The plug-side guide includes an axial direction restricting portion that restricts an axial movement range of the ring member,
The socket side guide comprises an opening into which the plug and the tip of the plug side guide are inserted when the plug is inserted into the socket.
The opening is formed in a funnel shape around the socket,
The plug-side guide and the socket-side guide include an axial direction positioning portion that aligns the plug and the distal end portion of the plug-side guide with a predetermined position in the axial direction when the plug is inserted into the socket. A featured connector guide mechanism. The connector guide mechanism according to claim 1,
The radial cross section of the body portion of the plug-side guide is formed in a non-circular shape,
When the ring member is rotated in the axial direction, the gap comes into contact with a part of the body portion of the plug-side guide in which a part of the inner peripheral part of the ring is formed in a non-circular shape. It is set to a size that restricts rotation around the axis of the member,
A connector guide mechanism characterized in that one or more flat surfaces to be gripped by a robot hand are formed on an outer peripheral portion of the ring member. In the connector guide mechanism according to claim 1 or 2,
The tip of the plug-side guide is formed in a truncated cone shape,
The connector guide mechanism is characterized in that the opening of the socket-side guide is formed in a funnel shape opposite to the tip of the plug-side guide. In the connector guide mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The axial direction positioning part is formed in the opening part of the socket side guide so that the protruding part is formed in the tip part of the plug side guide so as to protrude in the radial direction, and the protruding part enters the inside. It is constituted by the formed guide groove,
The guide groove is formed to extend along the axial direction of the socket, and the opposing surface of the inlet portion is symmetrical so that at least the inlet portion into which the protrusion enters is widened toward the inlet side. A connector guide mechanism characterized in that the connector guide mechanism is inclined. The connector guide mechanism according to claim 4,
A connector guide mechanism, wherein three or more sets of the protrusion and the guide groove are formed. In the connector guide mechanism according to claim 5,
3. A connector guide mechanism, wherein the projection and the guide groove are formed in three sets in a T shape as viewed in the axial direction. The connector guide mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The axial direction restricting portion includes an abutting portion formed on a side closer to the cable of the body portion of the plug-side guide so as to abut on a side surface portion on the rear side of the ring member, and a front side of the ring member. A connector guide mechanism comprising: a contact portion formed on a side of the body of the plug-side guide that is close to the socket so as to contact the side surface portion. The connector guide mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The plug guide is provided with a marking as a mark for identifying the direction of the plug guide. The connector guide mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The plug-side guide and the socket-side guide each include a line serving as a mark for identifying a fitting position when the plug is inserted into the socket.

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