JP2021138127A - Automatic fiber bundle arrangement device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a configuration for preventing each of fiber bundles from interfering an arm or the like even without restricting the movement of an arrangement head upon the arrangement of the fiber bundles, with respect to an automatic fiber bundle arrangement device which includes an articulated robot moving an arrangement head as an articulated robot having an arrangement head for arranging a plurality of fiber bundles on an arrangement type, and an arm attached with the arrangement head, in which the arrangement head is attached to the articulated robot via a rotation mechanism for rotating the arrangement head, and which includes a guide mechanism for guiding the fiber bundles to the arrangement head.SOLUTION: A guide mechanism comprises: a support member for supporting a plurality of toe guides disposed correspondingly with each of fiber bundles; and a support mechanism for supporting the support member relative to an arm. The support mechanism is so formed as to make the support member displaceable in a width direction orthogonal to an extension direction of the arm in plane view.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

In the present invention, a supply device configured to send out a fiber bundle from each bob by setting a plurality of bobbies around which a fiber bundle is wound, and an arrangement of each fiber bundle supplied from the supply device on an arrangement type. An articulated robot having an arm for mounting the placement head and an articulated robot for moving the placement head for placement is provided, and the placement head is attached to a rotating portion driven to rotate. The present invention relates to an automatic fiber bundle arranging device including a guide mechanism in which the arranging head is attached to the articulated robot via a rotating mechanism and the articulated robot guides a fiber bundle from a feeding device toward the arranging head.

As an automatic fiber bundle arranging device, an AFP (Automated Faber Placement) device for arranging a narrow fiber bundle on an arrangement mold is known. In the present application, the "fiber bundle" refers to a material such as a so-called tow prepreg formed in a tape shape by impregnating a bundle of a plurality of reinforcing fibers (carbon fiber, glass fiber, etc.) with a matrix resin. .. Further, as the AFP device, there is a device configured to arrange the fiber bundle on the arrangement type by using an articulated robot.

In Patent Document 1, as such an AFP device, an unwinding mechanism configured to unwind (send) a fiber bundle from a bobbin around which the fiber bundle is wound, and an attachment as an arrangement head for performing the arrangement. A device comprising a head and an articulated robot having an arm to which the sticking head (arrangement head) is attached is disclosed. Further, in Patent Document 1, as a prior art thereof, a fiber bundle sent out from an unwinding mechanism provided separately from the articulated robot is guided to the arrangement head in a form of passing above the articulated robot (arm). The device configured to be such is disclosed. Then, the AFP device (articulated robot) is attached to the arm of the articulated robot as a configuration for guiding the fiber bundle as described above (although there is no specific description in Patent Document 1). It has a guide mechanism provided in the form of a robot.

Further, Patent Document 2 also includes, as an AFP device, a displacement system as an articulated robot and a fiber-attached head as a placement head, which is attached to the end of the articulated robot, and is impregnated with resin. An apparatus is disclosed in which a wide band (fiber bundle) composed of flat fibers is arranged by a fiber sticking head (arrangement head). Further, in Patent Document 2, the AFP device is provided with a creel (supply device) as a fiber storage means provided separately from the articulated robot, and a plurality of spools (bobbins) in which a fiber bundle is wound around the creel are provided. It is disclosed that a plurality of fiber bundles are set and supplied toward the placement head. On top of that, the AFP device of Patent Document 2 is provided with a flexible tube connecting the supply device and the arrangement head, and is configured so that the fiber bundle is guided through the flexible tube.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-130914 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-511781

By the way, in the above-mentioned AFP device, in the above arrangement, when the arrangement head is moved by an articulated robot and the fiber bundle is arranged on the arrangement type having a complicated shape, the arrangement head is swiveled or the like. The operation is performed and the arrangement is performed. The AFP device of Patent Document 1 is configured such that the fiber bundle to be supplied toward the arrangement head is guided by a guide mechanism attached to the arm of the articulated robot on the upstream side thereof as described above. The position for guiding the fiber bundle by the guide mechanism is a position that is relatively fixed to the arm. Therefore, in the case of performing the above arrangement, if the arrangement head is made to perform a complicated operation, the fiber bundle may interfere with the arm or the like and be damaged. Therefore, the AFP device that guides the fiber bundle by the guide configuration using the guide mechanism as in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the operation of the arrangement head is restricted, that is, it cannot correspond to the arrangement type having a complicated shape.

Further, in the AFP apparatus in which the arrangement head as disclosed in Patent Document 2 is configured to perform the arrangement of the plurality of fiber bundles, when the guide configuration as in Patent Document 1 is adopted, the arrangement head is used. On the other hand, since a plurality of fiber bundles are supplied, the above-mentioned problems due to interference are more likely to occur. However, in the AFP device of Patent Document 2, as described above, the fiber bundle is guided through the flexible tube connecting the supply device and the arrangement head. Therefore, in the case of performing the above arrangement, even if the arrangement head is moved in a complicated manner, the fiber bundle itself is protected by the flexible tube, so that the fiber bundle itself may interfere with the arm or the like and be damaged. do not.

However, in a device for guiding a plurality of fiber bundles with a guide configuration using a flexible tube as in Patent Document 2, since a flexible tube is provided for each fiber bundle, the guide configuration becomes complicated. It ends up. Further, in the case of the configuration, since the inside of the flexible pipe becomes dirty or clogged due to the passage of the fiber bundle as described above, it is necessary to perform maintenance work in the flexible pipe on a regular basis. Further, the maintenance work as described above has to be performed individually for each flexible tube provided for each fiber bundle, which has a problem that a great deal of labor and time are required.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention arranges a plurality of fiber bundles on the arrangement mold in an automatic fiber bundle arrangement arrangement including a guide mechanism for guiding a plurality of fiber bundles from the supply device toward the arrangement head. In the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide the structure of the guide mechanism which does not cause the above-mentioned problem.

In the present invention, a supply device configured to send out a fiber bundle from each bob by setting a plurality of bobbies around which a fiber bundle is wound, and an arrangement of each fiber bundle supplied from the supply device on an arrangement type. An articulated robot having an arm for mounting the placement head and an articulated robot for moving the placement head for placement is provided, and the placement head is attached to a rotating portion driven to rotate. It is assumed that the arrangement head is attached to the articulated robot via the rotating mechanism, and the articulated robot is provided with a guide mechanism for guiding the fiber bundle from the supply device toward the arrangement head. The present invention has the following features in the automatic fiber bundle arranging device that is the premise of the present invention.

The guide mechanism is a plurality of toe guides provided corresponding to each fiber bundle, a support member for supporting the toe guide, and a support mechanism for supporting the support member with respect to the arm, and the arm extends in a plan view. It includes a support mechanism configured so that the support member can be displaced in the width direction orthogonal to the direction.

Further, in such an automatic fiber bundle arranging device according to the present invention, the support mechanism may include a drive mechanism that displaces the support member by a drive motor that is driven according to the rotation of the arrangement head by the rotation mechanism. .. Further, the support mechanism may be configured so that the support member can be displaced in the height direction orthogonal to the width direction when viewed in the extending direction of the arm.

Further, in such an automatic fiber bundle arranging device according to the present invention, the drive mechanism is a rail-shaped rail member attached to the arm and provided so as to extend in the displacement direction of the support member. It may be configured to include a movable member which is a movable member which is guided by the rail member and is displaced on the rail member and to which the support member is attached, and a driving means for displacing the movable member on the rail member. ..

According to the guide mechanism of the automatic fiber bundle arranging device according to the present invention, the support for the arm of the support member that supports the toe guide for guiding each fiber bundle on one end side makes the support member displaceable in the width direction. It is done through. Then, according to the configuration, in the automatic fiber bundle arranging device for arranging a plurality of fiber bundles on the arranging mold, a flexible tube like the device of Patent Document 2 is used without limiting the operation of the arranging head. It is possible to prevent each fiber bundle from interfering with the arm or the like.

More specifically, in the automatic fiber bundle arranging device according to the present invention, the support member is supported by the arm of the articulated robot via the support mechanism as described above, so that each toe guide is displaceably supported with respect to the arm. It is configured to be. As a result, it is possible to configure the guide mechanism so that each toe guide is displaced according to the operation when the arrangement head is swiveled or the like. Then, by configuring each toe guide to be displaced in this way, it is possible to prevent the fiber bundle from interfering with the arm or the like of the articulated robot even if the placement head is made to perform a complicated operation in the above arrangement. .. Therefore, according to the configuration, it is not necessary to limit the operation of the arrangement head in consideration of the fact that each fiber bundle interferes with the arm of the articulated robot, and the arrangement is performed even in the arrangement type having a complicated shape. Can be done. Moreover, since each fiber bundle does not interfere with each other in this way, it is not necessary to use the flexible tube as described above for the purpose of preventing the interference, and the guide configuration and eventually the automatic fiber bundle arrangement It is possible to avoid complicating the configuration of the device.

Further, in the automatic fiber bundle arranging device according to the present invention, the toe guide (support member) is driven according to the rotation of the arranging head so that the displacement of the toe guide (support member) is positively performed in accordance with the rotation of the arranging head. By configuring the support mechanism so as to include a drive mechanism using the drive motor as a drive source, the displacement of the toe guide can be more reliably adapted to the rotation of the arrangement head. As a result, it is possible to more reliably prevent the fiber bundle as described above from interfering with the arm or the like of the articulated robot.

Further, the support mechanism can be made compact by configuring the support mechanism so that the support member can be displaced not only in the width direction but also in the height direction. More specifically, in the present invention, the support mechanism is configured so that the support member (toe guide) can be displaced in the width direction. Regarding the displacement, the support member may be displaced linearly in the width direction without changing the position in the height direction, but the position may be changed in the height direction as described above. It is also possible that the displacement is performed, that is, the displacement is performed so that the support member makes an arc motion. Then, by adopting the configuration of the support mechanism in which the displacement of the support member is performed as in the latter case, the support mechanism is made smaller (more compact) than in the configuration of the support mechanism in which the displacement of the support member is performed as in the former case. ) Can be done.

Further, when the toe guide is displaced by using the drive mechanism as described above, the drive mechanism is configured so as to displace the movable member to which the support member is attached on the rail member attached to the arm. It is possible to more accurately displace each toe guide according to the rotation of the arrangement head.

Specifically, for example, when the support member is displaced so as to perform an arc motion as described above, the configuration for that is such that a support member that supports a plurality of toe guides on one end side is centered on the other end. A configuration that swings as is conceivable. In that case, the drive mechanism is configured to connect the drive motor, its output shaft, and the support member, and the other end (swing center) of the support member is directly or driven by the drive motor. It is configured to be indirectly rotated via a member or the like. However, in that case, the force (rotational force) acting on the other end due to the inertial force accompanying the displacement of the support member acts on the drive mechanism as a force opposite to the drive direction by the drive mechanism.

On the other hand, by configuring the drive mechanism so as to displace the movable member (the other end of the support member) on the rail member as described above, the drive direction by the drive mechanism and the direction in which the rotational force acts. Is in a different direction. As a result, since not all of the rotational force acts on the drive mechanism at the time when the displacement of the movable member (support member) is started and at the time when the displacement is stopped, each toe guide corresponding to the rotation of the arrangement head Will be displaced more accurately.

It is a side view which shows an example of the automatic fiber bundle arrangement apparatus by this invention. It is a perspective view which shows around the guide mechanism of the automatic fiber bundle arrangement apparatus by this invention. It is a top view of the guide mechanism shown in FIG. It is a side view of the guide mechanism shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the automatic fiber bundle arranging device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic fiber bundle arranging device 1 is placed on the supply device 4 on which the bobbin 3 around which the fiber bundle 2 is wound is set, and the arrangement type 5 of the fiber bundle 2 supplied from the supply device 4. It is provided with an arrangement head 6 for arranging the above and an articulated robot 7 for moving the arrangement head 6 for the arrangement. In this embodiment, the automatic fiber bundle arrangement device 1 is configured so that the arrangement of 16 fiber bundles 2 can be performed at the same time. Therefore, although only the four bobbins on the front side are shown in the figure, the supply device 4 is provided with 16 bobbins 3.

Further, the supply device 4 includes a guide unit 9 that guides the fiber bundle 2 drawn from each bobbin 3 toward the articulated robot 7. The guide portion 9 includes a guide member (not shown) provided for each fiber bundle 2 to guide each fiber bundle 2 individually, and the guide member makes each fiber bundle 2 higher than the articulated robot 7. It is configured to guide you by position. In the supply device 4, a dancer common to each fiber bundle 2 is used as a configuration for adjusting the tension of each fiber bundle 2 in the path of the fiber bundle 2 between each bobbin 3 and the guide portion 9. It has a roll 8. According to the configuration, each fiber bundle 2 is adjusted to an appropriate tension between the bobbin 3 and the guide portion 9, and is pulled out to the articulated robot 7 side in an appropriate tension state.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the articulated robot 7 is provided with a guide mechanism 20 for guiding each fiber bundle 2 guided by the guide unit 9 as described above. The guide mechanism 20 is attached to an arm 7a (a portion on the tip side of the joint portion 7b) on the tip side of the articulated robot 7. Further, the guide mechanism 20 includes toe guides provided for each fiber bundle 2 in order to guide each fiber bundle 2 individually, and each toe guide is supported by the support member 24. The guide mechanism 20 is provided so that the support member 24 extends upward above the arm 7a and guides each fiber bundle 2 on the tip end side of the support member 24.

Therefore, in the automatic fiber bundle arranging device 1, the fiber bundles 2 pulled out from each bobbin 3 are pulled out from the supply device 4 (guide portion 9) at a position higher than that of the articulated robot 7 in the vertical direction, and then many. The guide mechanism 20 is reached by passing above the joint robot 7. Then, each fiber bundle 2 is turned so as to be guided by the guide mechanism 20, and is guided to the arrangement head 6 attached to the tip of the arm 7a in the articulated robot 7.

The arrangement head 6 is attached to the arm 7a of the articulated robot 7 via a rotation mechanism 10. The rotation mechanism 10 has a rotation portion 10a that is driven to rotate, and the arrangement head 6 is attached to the rotation portion 10a. As a result, the arrangement head 6 is provided so as to be rotationally driven by the rotating mechanism 10 on the tip end side of the articulated robot 7.

Further, each fiber bundle 2 guided from the guide mechanism 20 toward the arrangement head 6 is introduced into the arrangement head 6 and arranged on the arrangement mold 5. Therefore, the arrangement head 6 has an introduction portion 6a for introducing each fiber bundle 2 into the inside in a form provided for each fiber bundle 2. The introduction portion 6a is provided at a position eccentric with respect to the axial center of the rotation mechanism 10 which is the turning center of the arrangement head 6. Due to this configuration, as the arrangement head 6 is swiveled, the introduction portion 6a is displaced so that its position is changed with respect to the tip of the arm 7a.

In the automatic fiber bundle arranging device 1 configured as described above, in the present invention, the guide mechanism 20 includes a support member 24 that supports the toe guide and a support mechanism that supports the support member 24, and the support mechanism supports the support member 24. The member 24 is configured to be displaceable in the width direction. However, the "width direction" referred to in the present invention is a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the arm 7a in a plan view. In addition, in the present embodiment, the support mechanism includes a drive mechanism for positively displaces the support member 24 and uses a drive motor as a drive source, and the drive mechanism provides the drive mechanism in the width direction. In addition, the support member 24 is also displaced in the height direction (the direction orthogonal to the width direction when viewed from the extending direction of the arm 7a), that is, the support member 24 is configured to be displaced along the arc direction. This is an example. The configuration of such a guide mechanism 20 will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

As described above, the automatic fiber bundle arranging device 1 of the present embodiment is configured so that 16 fiber bundles 2 can be arranged. Therefore, the automatic fiber bundle arranging device 1 includes 16 toe guides 22 corresponding to each fiber bundle 2. In this embodiment, each toe guide 22 is composed of a hollow cylindrical member having a collar portion. On top of that, the 16 toe guides 22 are supported by the support member 24.

The support member 24 is mainly composed of a pair of side plates 24a and 24a. More specifically, each side plate 24a is a plate-shaped member, and has a rectangular shape in which the dimension in the long side direction is sufficiently larger than the dimension in the short side direction when viewed in the plate thickness direction. It is a formed member. In the support member 24, the pair of side plates 24a and 24a are provided so as to face each other and are separated from each other.

Further, the support member 24 has a support shaft 24b provided so as to be erected on both side plates 24a and 24a. In other words, the pair of side plates 24a, 24a are connected by their support shafts 24b. Four support shafts 24b are provided on one end side of the side plate 24a in the long side direction (= longitudinal direction of the side plate 24a), which is a shaft for supporting the toe guide 22. The 16 toe guides 22 are provided so that four of them are supported by each support shaft 24b. The tow guide 22 is supported by the support shaft 24b by inserting the support shaft 24b into the hole of the hollow cylindrical toe guide 22, and each toe guide 22 can rotate with respect to the support shaft 24b. It has become.

Incidentally, in the illustrated example, the support member 24 also has a reinforcing member 24c that connects the side plates 24a and 24a. The reinforcing member 24c connects the side plates 24a and 24a so as to be erected in the vicinity of the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the side plate 24a.

On top of that, the support member 24 is supported by a support mechanism 26 attached to the arm 7a of the articulated robot 7. However, the guide mechanism 20 (support mechanism 26) of this embodiment has a vertical swing mechanism 50 (details will be described later) that swings the support member 24 in the extending direction of the arm 7a. The support member 24 is supported by the support mechanism 26 via the vertical swing mechanism 50. Therefore, the support member 24 is attached to the vertical rocking mechanism 50 so that the vertical rocking mechanism 50 is located between the side plates 24a and 24a on the other end side of the side plate 24a in the longitudinal direction.

Regarding the support mechanism 26 that supports the support member 24 in this way, in this embodiment, the support mechanism 26 supports the support member 24 and actively displaces the support member 24 using the drive motor 31 as a drive source. A guide support structure 40 that supports the 30 and its drive mechanism 30 with respect to the arm 7a is provided. Further, the drive mechanism 30 includes a rail member 32 that is supported with respect to the arm 7a via the guide support structure 40, and a movable member 33 that is a movable member that is displaced on the rail member 32 and to which the support member 24 is attached. , It is composed of a driving means 34 for displacing the movable member 33 on the rail member 32.

More specifically, with respect to each component of the drive mechanism 30, the rail member 32 is mainly composed of a plate-shaped base portion 32a as a base. However, the base portion 32a is formed in an arc shape of about 2/3 circle when viewed in the plate thickness direction. Further, the base portion 32a is formed so that the inner diameter thereof is such that the arm 7a of the articulated robot 7 can be arranged inside the base portion 32a.

Further, the rail member 32 has a guide rail 32b for guiding the displacement of the movable member 33, and a rack 32c that functions as a part of the driving means 34. Among them, the guide rail 32b is a rail-shaped portion having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape and extending on the surface which is one end face in the plate thickness direction of the base portion 32a. However, the guide rail 32b is formed in an arc shape so as to extend along the peripheral edge of the base portion 32a. The guide rail 32b is provided on the surface of the base portion 32a so as to be located on the outer peripheral edge side of the base portion 32a and extend over a range in the arc direction of the base portion 32a.

Further, the rack 32c is a so-called rack in which teeth that mesh with the pinion are formed, and is provided so as to extend on the surface of the base portion 32a like the guide rail 32b. Further, the rack 32c is also formed in an arc shape so as to extend along the peripheral edge of the base portion 32a, like the guide rail 32b. However, the rack 32c is formed so that the teeth face the inside of the arc. The rack 32c is provided on the surface of the base portion 32a so as to be located on the inner peripheral edge side of the base portion 32a apart from the guide rail 32b and extend over a range in the arc direction of the base portion 32a. There is.

The movable member 33 engages with the support 33a, which is the main body of the movable member 33 and supports the support member 24, and the guide rail 32b of the rail member 32 in order to guide the displacement of the support 33a on the rail member 32. It is composed of a matching engaging member 33b. Further, the drive means 34 for displacing the support 33a (movable member 33) in this way uses the drive motor 31 as a drive source as described above, and the drive motor 31 is supported by the support 33a. .. The details of these configurations are as follows.

The support 33a is a plate-shaped member, and is a member having a rectangular shape when viewed in the plate thickness direction (both plate surfaces in the plate thickness direction form a rectangular shape). However, the support 33a has a dimension in the long side direction of both plate surfaces sufficiently larger than the distance between the guide rail 32b and the rack 32c in the rail member 32 (a dimension about twice the distance). It is formed like this.

Further, the engaging member 33b is a block-shaped member formed in a thick plate shape. The engaging member 33b is attached to the support 33a in a direction in which the thickness direction coincides with the plate thickness direction of the support 33a, and one of both end faces in the thickness direction is an attachment surface. ..

Further, the engaging member 33b has a guide groove 33b1 formed so as to open to the other end face of the both end faces and also to open both sides in the long side direction of the other end face. ing. However, the guide groove 33b1 is formed so as to form an arc with the same curvature as the guide rail 32b in the rail member 32. Further, the guide groove 33b1 is formed in a size so that the guide rail 32b can be engaged with the guide rail 33b1. That is, the guide groove 33b1 is formed to have a size such that the groove width substantially matches (slightly large) the width of the guide rail 32b. The depth dimension of the guide groove 33b1 is smaller than the height dimension of the guide rail 32b, which is about half in the illustrated example.

Then, the engaging member 33b is attached by a screw member or the like in a state where the mounting surface is in contact with one of the two plate surfaces of the support 33a. However, regarding the mounting thereof, the engaging member 33b is located near the intermediate portion in the long side direction of the plate surface of the support 33a (= the long side direction of the support 33a), and the mounting surface of the engaging member 33b. The attachment is performed in a state where the long side direction of the support 33a and the short side direction of the plate surface of the support 33a are aligned with each other.

The drive means 34 is composed of a drive motor 31 which is a drive source, a pinion 31a attached to an output shaft of the drive motor 31, and a rack 32c that meshes with the pinion 31a. That is, the rack 32c provided on the rail member 32 also functions as a part of the drive means 34.

In the drive means 34, the drive motor 31 is provided so as to be supported by the support 33a as described above, and a screw member or the like is provided with respect to the other plate surface of the two plate surfaces of the support 33a. Is attached by. The mounting is performed so that the axial direction of the output shaft of the drive motor 31 coincides with the plate thickness direction of the support 33a. Therefore, the support 33a is formed with a through hole that allows the output shaft to pass through the portion corresponding to the output shaft at the position where the drive motor 31 is attached. However, the mounting position is the position on the inner peripheral side of the arc-shaped guide groove 33b1 in the engaging member 33b with respect to the long side direction of the support 33a in the positional relationship with the engaging member 33b which is also mounted on the support 33a. Therefore, the distance between the output shaft of the drive motor 31 and the guide groove 33b1 of the engaging member 33b is set to be substantially the same as the distance between the guide rail 32b and the rack 32c in the rail member 32.

Then, in the state where the drive motor 31 is attached to the support 33a as described above, the output shaft of the drive motor 31 penetrates the support 33a, and the tip end portion thereof is the one plate surface of the support 33a. It is in a state of being located on the side. On top of that, a pinion 31a is attached to the tip of the output shaft. As described above, the pinion 31a is meshed with the rack 32c of the rail member 32. Therefore, the mounting position of the drive motor 31 with respect to the support 33a is the pinion 31a mounted on the drive motor 31 in a state where the engaging member 33b mounted on the support 33a is engaged with the guide rail 32b of the rail member 32. The position is such that the rack 32c and the rack 32c mesh with each other.

Then, the drive mechanism 30 provided with each of such components engages the engaging member 33b in the movable member 33 with the guide rail 32b in the rail member 32 in the guide groove 33b1, and the movable member 33 and the rail member. It has a configuration in which 32 and 32 are combined. In the state where the engaging member 33b and the guide rail 32b are engaged with each other in this way, the drive motor 31 in the driving means 34 is attached to the support 33a at the above-mentioned position. The member 32 is located closer to the rack 32c than the guide rail 32b. In that state, the drive mechanism 30 is in a state in which the pinion 31a attached to the drive motor 31 and the rack 32c of the rail member 32 are in mesh with each other.

On top of that, the drive mechanism 30 is supported by the arm 7a of the articulated robot 7 via the guide support structure 40 as described above. The guide support structure 40 is configured to support the drive mechanism 30 by a pair of support bars 40a and 40a. Each of the support bars 40a is a prismatic member in this embodiment.

Further, the guide support structure 40 is an attachment portion 40b for attaching each support bar 40a to the arm 7a, and has a pair of attachment portions 40b and 40b attached to the arm 7a. Each of the attachment portions 40b is attached to the rear end portion of the arm 7a on the side opposite to the front end portion to which the arrangement head 6 is attached. Further, the pair of mounting portions 40b, 40b are provided so as to extend from both side portions of the arm 7a toward both sides of the arm 7a. Each support bar 40a is attached to the attachment portion 40b at one end thereof so as to extend from the rear end portion of the arm 7a to which the attachment portion 40b is attached toward the tip end side of the arm 7a. Yes (supported). In the state where each support bar 40a is attached in this way, the other end thereof is located above the arm 7a, and the extending direction of the arm 7a is the extending direction of the arm 7a when viewed from the side. It is provided so as to form an angle of about 30 ° with respect to the relative.

Further, in the illustrated example, the guide support structure 40 has a reinforcing member 40d that connects both support bars 40a and 40a. The reinforcing member 40d connects the support bars 40a and 40a so as to be erected near the other end of the support bar 40a.

Further, the guide support structure 40 is a support portion 40c provided at the other end of each support bar 40a, and a drive mechanism 30 (rail member 32) is attached to each support bar 40a to support the drive mechanism 30 on both support bars. It has a pair of support portions 40c and 40c that are supported by the 40a and 40a.

Each of the support portions 40c is formed so that two plate-shaped portions 40c1 and 40c1 made of a plate material face each other. Each plate-shaped portion 40c1 has a rectangular portion attached to the support bar 40a and a triangular portion formed so as to extend from one side edge of the rectangular portion in the short side direction. It is formed in an L shape. Further, the triangular portion is formed so that its inclined side edge forms an obtuse angle with respect to the one side edge of the rectangular portion, and the angle is approximately 140 ° in the illustrated example. There is. Further, although not shown, each plate-shaped portion 40c1 has a plate surface extending in the plate thickness direction from the inclined side edge in the triangular portion.

On top of that, the two plate-shaped portions 40c1 and 40c1 constituting the support portion 40c have a rectangular portion with the plate surface facing the support bar 40a with respect to the side surface of the corresponding support bar 40a. It is attached at the end face. Therefore, in the state where each plate-shaped portion 40c1 is attached in this way, the two plate surfaces face the support bar 40a and form an angle of approximately 140 ° with respect to the extending direction of the support bar 40a. It will be in the form of existence. Then, the two plate surfaces serve as surfaces (mounting surfaces) on which the drive mechanism 30 (rail member 32) is mounted on the support portion 40c.

Then, the drive mechanism 30 guides the rail member 32 with the back surface of the base portion 32a (the end surface on the side opposite to the side on which the guide rail 32b or the like is provided) in contact with the mounting surface of each support portion 40c. It is attached to the support structure 40.
The guide support structure 40 is attached so that the support bars 40a and 40a (arms 7a) are located inside the base portion 32a, and the center of the base portion 32a is centered on the arm 7a in a plan view. It is done in a matched state. Then, in such an attached state, the drive mechanism 30 views the arm 7a from the side, and the base portion 32a forms an angle of about 70 ° with respect to the extending direction of the arm 7a to position the arm 7a. It is in a state of extending upward from.

Further, the drive mechanism 30 (support mechanism 26) has a vertical swing mechanism 50 that swings the support member 24 in the extending direction of the arm 7a as described above, and the support member 24 swings vertically. The mechanism 50 is supported by the drive mechanism 30. The vertical swing mechanism 50 includes a swing drive mechanism 51 for swinging the support member 24 using the drive motor 51a as a drive source, and a pair of swing arms connecting the swing drive mechanism 51 and the support member 24. 52, 52 and are included.

More specifically, the swing drive mechanism 51 is based on a substantially rectangular parallelepiped support housing 51b, and is attached to the support 33a in the movable member 33 in the support housing 51b. There is. The support housing 51b is attached to the support 33a on the side opposite to the drive motor 31 side with respect to the engagement member 33b in the long side direction of the support 33a, and the one plate surface (engagement member) of the support 33a. It is attached to the plate surface on the side to which 33b is attached). The support housing 51b has its end face abutted against the support 33a, and two of the four side surfaces orthogonal to the end face abutting the support 33a are parallel to the long side direction of the support 33a. It is attached to the support 33a in such an orientation as to form.

On that basis, the drive motor 51a is provided with a screw member or the like on the side surface of the support housing 51b that is orthogonal to the long side direction of the support body 33a and is far from the engaging member 33b. It is installed. That is, in the support housing 51b, the side surface thereof is the motor mounting surface. Further, the drive motor 51a is attached to the support housing 51b in a state where the output shaft is aligned with the long side direction of the support 33a and the output shaft penetrates the side wall including the motor mounting surface of the support housing 51b. It is attached to the other.

Further, the swing drive mechanism 51 has a swing shaft 51c provided on the support housing 51b in a direction parallel to the motor mounting surface of the support housing 51b. The swing shaft 51c penetrates the side walls including the lateral side surfaces of the support housing 51b with respect to two side surfaces (lateral sides) of the support housing 51b parallel to the long side direction of the support body 33a, and both sides thereof. It is supported by the wall. That is, the swing shaft 51c is supported by the support housing 51b, and both ends thereof are provided in the swing drive mechanism 51 so as to project from the lateral side surface of the support housing 51b.

On top of that, in the swing drive mechanism 51, the output shaft of the drive motor 51a and the swing shaft 51c are connected to each other inside the support housing 51b by using a gear mechanism (not shown). Since the output shaft of the drive motor 51a and the swing shaft 51c are orthogonal to each other in the axial direction, the gear mechanism thereof uses a bevel gear or the like. With such a configuration, the swing drive mechanism 51 swings and drives the swing shaft 51c by driving the drive motor 51a in the forward and reverse directions.

Each swing arm 52 is a thick plate-shaped member, and is a member formed in a rectangular shape when viewed in the plate thickness direction. Further, each swing arm 52 has a split tightening mechanism formed at one end in the longitudinal direction thereof. The pair of swing arms 52, 52 are attached to both ends of the swing shaft 51c in the swing drive mechanism 51 by split tightening so that they cannot rotate relative to each other. In addition, in the attachment of each swing arm 52 to the swing shaft 51c, the phases of both swing arms 52 and 52 are matched with respect to the swing shaft 51c, and each swing arm 52 is driven from the position of the swing shaft 51c. It is carried out so as to extend toward the motor 51a side.

The support member 24 is attached to the pair of swing arms 52, 52 and is supported by the vertical swing mechanism 50 in the drive mechanism 30. The support member 24 is attached to the swing arm 52 in a state where the pair of side plates 24a, 24a of the support member 24 have the longitudinal direction of the side plates 24a aligned with the extending direction of the swing arm 52. It is attached at the other end of each of the 24a in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the support member 24 is in a state of being supported by the vertical swing mechanism 50 in such a form that the side plate 24a extends from the vertical swing mechanism 50 (swing shaft 51c) in the extending direction.

On top of that, the longitudinal rocking mechanism 50 is included in the drive mechanism 30 of the support mechanism 26 as described above, and the movable member 33 is opposed to the movable member 33 provided on the rail member 32 of the drive mechanism 30. It is supported by the support 33a in the above. Since the drive mechanism 30 is supported by the arm 7a of the articulated robot 7 by the guide support structure 40, the support member 24 is supported by the support mechanism 26 including the guide support structure 40 and the drive mechanism 30. It is in a state of being supported by.

In the state of being supported by the arm 7a in this way, the support member 24 makes an angle of about 70 ° toward the tip end side of the arm 7a with respect to the extending direction of the arm 7a when the arm 7a is viewed from the side. The rail member 32 supported by the arm 7a is in a state of extending toward the tip end side of the arm 7a in a direction substantially along the surface of the rail member 32. The toe guides 22 provided according to the number of fiber bundles 2 (16 in this embodiment) so as to directly guide the fiber bundles 2 are supported by the arm 7a in the above manner. It is supported by the tip side of the pair of side plates 24a, 24a in the member 24. Incidentally, the position of the toe guide 22 supported in this way is a state in which the movable member 33 is located at the center of the rail member 32 (base portion 32a) in the width direction as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in this embodiment. Therefore, it is above the front of the tip of the arm 7a.

Then, according to the automatic fiber bundle arranging device 1 provided with the guide mechanism 20 (support mechanism 26) configured as described above, the articulated robot 7 (arm 7a) is operated according to a preset program. The arrangement of the plurality of fiber bundles 2 on the arrangement mold 5 is performed. Further, in the above-mentioned arrangement, the rotating mechanism 10 (rotating portion 10a) in which the arrangement head 6 is attached to the arm 7a is swiveled according to the shape on the arrangement mold 5 in which the fiber bundle 2 is arranged. As a result, the arrangement head 6 may be driven to rotate around the axis of the rotating portion 10a.

Then, as the arrangement head 6 is swiveled in this way, the drive motor 31 in the drive means 34 is driven in order to displace the movable member 33 on the rail member 32 in the drive mechanism 30 in the support mechanism 26. Will be done. When the drive motor 31 is driven, the pinion 31a attached to the output shaft meshes with the rack 32c on the rail member 32, so that the support 33a and the support 33a in the movable member 33 to which the drive motor 31 is attached The engaging member 33b attached to the support 33a is displaced in the arc direction of the rail member 32 along the guide rail 32b in a form of being guided by the engaging member 33b to the guide rail 32b on the rail member 32. The drive (drive timing, etc.) of the drive motor 31 is also preset in the program in accordance with the turning drive of the arrangement head 6. Therefore, the displacement drive of the movable member 33 is executed in accordance with the turning drive of the arrangement head 6.

Then, when the movable member 33 is driven so as to be displaced in this way, the support member 24 attached to the movable member 33 is displaced along the rail member 32 in accordance with the turning operation of the arrangement head 6. Since the rail member 32 is provided with respect to the arm 7a as described above, the displacement is performed so that the position of the support member 24 changes in the width direction. As a result, it is possible to prevent the fiber bundle 2 from interfering with the arm 7a or the like of the articulated robot 7 due to the turning operation of the arrangement head 6, so that the restriction on the operation of the arrangement head 6 can be reduced as much as possible.

Moreover, the rail member 32, which is a base for displacing the support member 24 in the width direction, is formed in an arc shape and is provided so as to be located around the arm 7a as described above. ing. As a result, the drive mechanism 30 (support mechanism 26) that displaces the support member 24 in the width direction as described above is compact as a whole. As a result of the rail member 32 being formed in an arc shape as described above in the drive mechanism 30, the support member 24 is displaced not only in the width direction but also in the height direction.

Further, in the drive mechanism 30, the rail member 32 is supported by the arm 7a so that the angle of the rail member 32 with respect to the extending direction of the arm 7a when the arm 7a is viewed from the side is about 70 °. It is configured. That is, the rail member 32 is provided so as to be tilted toward the tip end side of the arm 7a. Then, by configuring the rail member 32 so as to be provided in such an inclined state, the drive mechanism 30 is provided with the displacement of the support member 24 in addition to the above-mentioned width direction and the above-mentioned height direction, and further an arm. It will also be performed in the extending direction of 7a. As a result, it is possible to prevent the path length of each fiber bundle 2 from suddenly changing due to the turning operation of the arrangement head 6 between the toe guide 22 and the arrangement head 6.

More specifically, when the drive mechanism is configured so that the rail member is formed in an arc shape as described above, the drive mechanism is configured so that the angle of the rail member is 90 °. Is also good. However, in that case, the support member is displaced only in the width direction and the height direction. However, when the position of the portion (introduction portion) for introducing each fiber bundle 2 in the arrangement head 6 is eccentric from the rotation center of the arrangement head 6 as described above, the introduction is carried out with the rotation of the arrangement head 6. The portion is displaced not only in the width direction but also in the extending direction of the arm 7a. Therefore, when the drive mechanism is configured so that the angle of the rail member is 90 °, the support member is not displaced in the extending direction of the arm, so that each toe The change in the path length of each fiber bundle from the guide to the placement head becomes large.

On the other hand, if the drive mechanism is configured so that the arc-shaped rail member is provided in a state of being tilted toward the tip end side of the arm 7a as described above, the displacement of the support member 24 also extends in the extending direction of the arm 7a. Therefore, the change in the path length of each fiber bundle 2 is reduced as compared with the rail member having the angle of 90 °. Then, when the path length changes significantly, there may be a problem that it adversely affects the arrangement, but the occurrence of such a problem can be prevented as much as possible.

Further, the drive mechanism 30 in the guide mechanism 20 (support mechanism 26) of the present embodiment has a vertical rocking mechanism 50 configured as described above, and the support member 24 has the vertical rocking mechanism 50. It is supported by the rail member 32 (movable member 33) via the rail member 32. The pair of swing arms 52, 52 to which the support member 24 is attached in the vertical swing mechanism 50 are swing-driven by the drive motor 51a in the extending direction of the arm 7a. Therefore, by swinging the pair of swing arms 52, 52, the support member 24 swings in the extending direction of the arm 7a around the position of the swing shaft 51c in the vertical swing mechanism 50. Driven. As a result, the support mechanism 26 can displace the toe guide 22 supported by the support member 24 in the extending direction of the arm 7a in accordance with the operation of the arrangement head 6.

As described above, the drive for displace the support member 24 in the width direction and the drive for swinging the support member 24 in the extending direction of the arm 7a are positively performed by using the drive motors 31 and 51a as drive sources. The drive mechanism 30 is configured as described above. As a result, the displacement of each toe guide 22 according to the operation of the arrangement head 6 is performed more reliably.

Incidentally, the vertical swing mechanism 50 of this embodiment includes a swing detection device 53 that detects that the swing of the support member 24 exceeds the permissible range. The swing detection device 53 includes a body to be detected 53a attached to the swing arm 52 and a detection mechanism 53b for detecting the body to be detected 53a.

More specifically, the rocking detection device 53 is a member formed of a thin plate material and mainly in the shape of a disk. Further, the detected body 53a has a protruding portion (projecting portion) 53a2 formed so as to extend in the radial direction from the outer peripheral edge of the main disc-shaped portion (disk-shaped portion) 53a1. The protruding portion 53a2 is a portion detected by the detection mechanism 53b, and is a detected portion in the detected body 53a. The body to be detected 53a is attached to the other end of the swing arm 52 by a plurality of screw members.

However, the mounting is performed at a position where the center of the disk-shaped portion 53a1 coincides with the axial center of the swing shaft 51c when viewed in the axial direction of the swing shaft 51c to which the swing arm 52 is mounted. Therefore, as the swing arm 52 is swing-driven, the protruding portion (detected portion) 53a2 of the detected body 53a is centered on the axis of the swing shaft 51c, and the swing amount of the swing arm 52 is increased. Swing as much as. Further, in the illustrated example, the body to be detected 53a is attached to the swing arm 52 in a phase in which the protruding portion 53a2 faces the support 33a.

Further, the detection device 53b is composed of a pair of detectors 53b1 and 53b1 and an attachment mechanism for attaching both detectors 53b1 and 53b1 to the support 33a so as to be supported. Further, the mounting mechanism includes a mounting plate 53b2 to which both detectors 53b1 and 53b1 are mounted, and a mounting bracket 53b3 for mounting the mounting plate 53b2 on the support 33a. The pair of detectors 53b1 and 53b1 are arranged so as to face the outer peripheral surface of the disk-shaped portion 53a1 of the detected body 53a at a position on the support 33a side with respect to the detected body 53a, and the support 33a is provided by the mounting bracket 53b3. It is attached to the attachment plate 53b2 supported by the above by a plurality of screw members.

Each detector 53b1 detects that the detected body 53a (detected unit 53a2) has reached the position of the detector 53b1 in the detection unit. The arrangement of both detectors 53b1 and 53b1 with respect to the detected body 53a is such that the detection unit of each detector 53b1 is located on the path of the swing of the detected portion 53a2 accompanying the swing of the swing arm 52. It is set to the position. Further, the arrangement of both detectors 53b1 and 53b1 is such that the position of the detected portion 53a2 corresponding to both swing limits in a preset permissible swing range (allowable range) for the swing of the swing arm 52 (the position of the detected portion 53a2). The boundary position) is set to a position beyond the boundary position in the swing direction of the detected portion 53a2.

Then, the swing detection device 53 refers to the control device (not shown) in the automatic fiber bundle arrangement device 1 as the detector 53b1 in the detection mechanism 53b detects the detected body 53a (detected unit 53a2). , The detection signal is output. As a result, for example, when an abnormality occurs in the drive portion of the vertical swing mechanism 50 and the swing arm 52 (support member 24) swings beyond the above-mentioned allowable range, the swing detection device 53 causes the swing detection device 53 to swing. It is detected and the detection signal is output to the control device. Therefore, since the control device grasps that the above-mentioned abnormality has occurred by the detection signal, it is possible to cause the control device to perform appropriate processing (stop, etc.) related to the control of the articulated robot 7. can.

In the above, one embodiment of the automatic fiber bundle arrangement apparatus to which the present invention is applied (hereinafter, referred to as “the above-mentioned embodiment”) has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to that described in the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in another embodiment (modification example) as described below.

(1) Regarding the support mechanism, in the above embodiment, the drive mechanism 30 included in the support mechanism 26 has a vertical swing mechanism 50 that swings the support member 24 in the extending direction of the arm 7a. 26 is configured to support the support member 24 via its longitudinal swing mechanism 50. However, in the support mechanism of the present invention, the longitudinal swing mechanism 50 is not always necessary and can be omitted. When the support mechanism does not have such a vertical swing mechanism, for supporting the support member with respect to the support mechanism, for example, an appropriate bracket or the like is attached to the support of the movable member in the drive mechanism and supported by the bracket or the like. It may be done by attaching a member.

(2) Regarding the support mechanism, in the above embodiment, the rail member 32 (guide rail 32b) for guiding the displacement of the support member 24 (the movable member 33 to which the support member 24 is attached) in the support mechanism 26 has an arc shape. It is formed. As a result, the support mechanism 26 displaces the support member 24 in the width direction as well as in the height direction. However, in the present invention, the support mechanism may be configured so that the support member can be displaced at least in the width direction, and the support member is configured to be displaced only in the width direction. There may be.

For example, as in the above embodiment, in the configuration in which the displacement of the movable member to which the support member 24 is attached is guided by the rail member (guide rail), the rail member is made linear instead of the arc shape as in the above embodiment. It shall be formed. Then, the linear rail member may be provided on the arm 7a of the articulated robot 7 in a direction in which the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the width direction. Even in that case, the configuration for displacing the movable member can be realized by using the rack and the pinion as in the above embodiment. Further, in the above embodiment, when the rail member is formed in an arc shape, the rail member 32 is provided so as to form an angle of about 70 ° with respect to the extending direction of the arm 7a when the arm 7a is viewed from the side. Has been done. However, the angle of the rail member is not limited to such an angle, and can be any angle as long as it does not hinder the guidance of the fiber bundle from the toe guide supported by the support member toward the arrangement head. It is possible to set.

(3) Regarding the drive mechanism for displacing the support member, when the support member is positively displaced in the present invention, the support mechanism is configured to include the drive mechanism. On top of that, in the above embodiment, the drive mechanism 30 is configured to displace the movable member 33 to which the support member 24 is attached (supporting the support member 24), and the drive motor 31 which is a drive source is movable. The pinion 31a attached to the member 33 (support 33a) and attached to the output shaft of the drive motor 31 meshes with the rack 32 provided on the rail member 32 for guiding the displacement of the movable member 33. It is configured in. As a result, the drive mechanism 30 is configured so that the drive motor 31 is also displaced together with the movable member 33.

However, in the present invention, even if the support member is configured to be positively displaced, the drive mechanism thereof is not limited to the one configured as in the above embodiment. For example, in a configuration in which the displacement of the movable member is guided along the arc-shaped rail member as in the above embodiment, the drive motor is fixedly arranged at a position centered on the curvature of the rail member (arc). It shall be. Further, the drive motor may be arranged so as to be supported by the arm using a bracket or the like. Then, a lever member attached so as not to rotate relative to the output shaft of the drive motor is rotatably connected to the movable member, and the movable member is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor via the lever member. The configuration is as follows. Then, according to the configuration, the movable member is oscillated and displaced by reversely driving the drive motor. In the case of this configuration, since the movable member is supported by the lever member, the rail member can be omitted.

Further, the drive mechanism is not limited to the one configured by using the rack and the pinion as described above, and is, for example, a linear motor including an electromagnetic coil provided on the movable member and a permanent magnet provided on the rail member. You can also do it. Further, when the support mechanism is configured so that the movable member is displaced only in the width direction, that is, the movable member is displaced linearly, the drive mechanism may be replaced with the ball screw and the drive motor instead of the configuration described above. It can also be a ball screw mechanism composed of a combination, or a cylinder mechanism such as a cylinder such as an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder.

(4) In each of the examples described above, the support mechanism includes a drive mechanism having a drive source in order to positively displace the support member. However, in the present invention, the support mechanism is not limited to the one provided with such a drive mechanism, and may be configured so that the support member is passively displaced.

For example, in a support mechanism in which a support member is supported by a movable member and the displacement of the movable member is guided by a rail member, the movable member is a rail member without a drive source such as a drive motor. On the other hand, the configuration may be such that the displacement is freely provided. Even with such a configuration, as the placement head is swiveled, the position of the portion of each fiber bundle from each toe guide to the placement head on the placement head side is displaced in the swivel direction. By doing so, each toe guide is pulled by the fiber bundles that are guided by each toe guide, whereby the support member is displaced according to the rotation of the arrangement head.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made as long as the gist of the present invention is not deviated.

1 Automatic fiber bundle placement device 2 Fiber bundle 3 Bobbin 4 Supply device 5 Placement type
6 Arrangement head 6a Introductory part 7 Articulated robot 7a Arm 7b Joint part 8 Dancer roll 9 Guide part 10 Rotating mechanism 10a Rotating part 20 Guide mechanism 22 Toe guide 24 Support member 24a Side plate 24b Support shaft 24c Reinforcing member 26 Support mechanism 30 Drive mechanism 31 Drive motor 31a Pinion 32 Rail member 32a Base part 32b Guide rail 32c Rack 33 Movable member 33a Support 33b Engagement member 33b1 Guide groove 34 Drive means 40 Guide support structure 40a Support bar 40b Mounting part 40c Support part 40c1 Plate Part 40d Reinforcing member 50 Vertical swing mechanism 51 Swing drive mechanism 51a Drive motor 51b Support housing 51c Swing shaft 52 Swing arm 53 Swing detection device 53a Detected body 53a1 Disc-shaped part 53a2 Protruding part (detected part)
53b Detection mechanism 53b1 Detector 53b2 Mounting plate 53b3 Mounting bracket

Claims (4)

A supply device configured to send out the fiber bundle from each of the bobbins in which a plurality of bobbies around which the fiber bundle is wound is set, and an arrangement of the fiber bundles supplied from the supply device on the arrangement type. An articulated robot having an arrangement head for performing the operation and an arm to which the arrangement head is attached, and an articulated robot for moving the arrangement head for the arrangement, is provided on a rotating portion driven to be rotated. The arrangement head is attached to the articulated robot via a rotation mechanism to which the arrangement head is attached, and the articulated robot includes a guide mechanism for guiding the fiber bundle from the supply device toward the arrangement head. In the automatic fiber bundle placement device
The guide mechanism is a plurality of toe guides provided corresponding to each fiber bundle, a support member for supporting the toe guide, and a support mechanism for supporting the support member with respect to the arm in a plan view. An automatic fiber bundle arranging device including a support mechanism configured so that the support member can be displaced in a width direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the arm. The automatic fiber bundle arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the support mechanism includes a drive mechanism that displaces the support member by a drive motor driven by the rotation mechanism of the arrangement head. Device. 1 or claim 1, wherein the support mechanism is configured so that the support member can be displaced also in a height direction orthogonal to the width direction when viewed in the extending direction of the arm. 2. The automatic fiber bundle arranging device according to 2. The drive mechanism is a rail-shaped rail member attached to the arm, which is provided so as to extend in the displacement direction of the support member, and is guided by the rail member on the rail member. The automatic fiber bundle arrangement according to claim 2, further comprising a movable member that is a displaceable movable member to which the support member is attached, and a driving means for displace the movable member on the rail member. Device.

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