JP2022110213A - Gripper - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a gripper which has high holding power while flexibly gripping a gripping object.SOLUTION: A gripper 10 has a claw member 11 provided in an openable/closable manner, and a grip member 12 mounted on the claw member. The grip member 12 has a skin member 120 formed of a resin having Duro A hardness of 30-80, and an internal capsule material 130 that is arranged inside the skin member and is made of a foam resin. When the gripping object 99 is gripped, a vent 124 for releasing air inside the skin member is provided. The skin member 124 is integrally molded into a hollow shape having a flat gripping wall 121 contacting the gripping object, and side walls 122 and 123 extending in an opening/closing direction of gripping operation in a direction opposite to the gripping object 99 with respect to the gripping wall 121. In a state where the gripping object is not gripped, the internal capsule material 130 contacts the side walls 122 and 123 of the skin member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a gripper used in an industrial robot or the like, and more particularly to a gripper that grips a work object by opening and closing operations.

In recent years, industrial robots have been used for various purposes such as transporting and assembling parts. Industrial robots for so-called material handling, which transport work objects, have also been put to practical use. When an industrial robot transports a work object, a gripper (sometimes called an end effector) is attached to the arm of the industrial robot, and the work object is manipulated by the gripper. Different grippers are used depending on the nature and shape of the work object. There are grippers that use magnetic force, suction force such as vacuum suction, and grippers that grip the work object by opening and closing operations.

As a gripper that grips a work object by opening and closing operations, for example, the gripper disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In the gripper disclosed in Patent Document 1, a leaf spring and a cushion material are opened and closed by an actuator. The gripper is disclosed to be capable of gripping and transporting objects with weak mechanical properties.

JP-A-7-276281

The gripper of Patent Document 1 uses a cushioning material in the portion where the gripper grips the object to be gripped (object to be transported), so the impact force during gripping is reduced. As shown, the cushion material is likely to deform in the direction intersecting with the gripping direction, so the holding force is weak, and the gripped object is likely to fall, or the gripped object's position, posture, etc. are likely to change. There is a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a gripper that flexibly grips an object and has a high holding force.

As a result of intensive studies, the inventors have come up with the idea that the gripping member provided in the gripper and in contact with the object to be grasped is configured to have a resin-made outer skin member and a foamed resin inner package provided therein, and the outer skin member has a combination of a gripping wall and a side wall of a specific shape, and the gripping member is configured so that the inner package is in contact with the side wall, the gripping force can be increased while flexibly gripping the gripped object. , completed the present invention.

The present invention is a gripper having a claw member that can be opened and closed so as to grip an object to be grasped, and a grip member attached to the claw member so as to come into contact with the object to be grasped when the object to be grasped is gripped. The grip member has an outer skin member formed of a resin having a duro A hardness of 30 to 80 HDA conforming to JIS-K6253, and a foamed resin inner envelope disposed inside the outer skin member, and is gripped. A ventilation port is provided through which air inside the outer skin member is released to the outside of the outer skin member when an object is gripped. It is integrally molded into a hollow shape having a side wall extending along the opening and closing direction of the grasping motion in the direction opposite to the grasped object with respect to the wall, and the inner envelope is formed into the outer skin in a state in which the grasped object is not grasped. A gripper integrated with the skin member so as to contact the side wall of the member (first invention).

In the first invention, preferably, the inner package is adhered to at least a gripping wall of the outer skin member or a wall portion of the outer skin member that faces the gripping wall (second invention). Furthermore, in the second invention, preferably the outer skin member and the inner package are not adhered at the side wall (third invention).

In addition, in the first invention, preferably, the side walls are provided in pairs so as to sandwich at least a region in which the gripping object contacts the gripping wall when viewed along the opening and closing direction of the gripping operation (fourth aspect). invention). In the first invention, preferably, the side wall is provided on the distal end side of the claw member at least with respect to the area where the grasped object contacts the grasping wall when viewed along the opening and closing direction of the grasping operation (fifth aspect). invention). Further, in the fourth invention or the fifth invention, preferably, the side wall is flat and the outer skin member is formed in the shape of a hollow box (sixth invention). In addition, in the first invention, preferably, a partial side wall is provided so as to partition the gripping walls when viewed along the opening and closing direction of the gripping operation (seventh invention). Moreover, in the first invention or the second invention, preferably, the inner package is attached to the pawl member so as not to slide sideways (eighth invention).

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the gripper of the present invention (the first invention), it is possible to flexibly grip an object to be gripped and to increase the holding force. Furthermore, according to the second invention and the eighth invention, the grip member can be more reliably prevented from being deformed sideways, and the holding force can be further enhanced. Furthermore, according to the third invention, the side wall of the outer skin member is encouraged to be deformed so as to protrude outward. can be enhanced.

Further, according to the fourth invention, the holding wall deforms so as to wrap the grasped object, while the pair of side walls deforms so as to sandwich the grasped object from both sides, so that the holding force is particularly enhanced. In addition, according to the fifth aspect, the side wall located on the tip side of the claw deforms so as to curve toward the gripped object to support the gripped object. In particular, the holding force is increased. Moreover, according to the sixth invention, the grasped object is supported so as to be surrounded by the side walls, so that the holding force is particularly enhanced. Furthermore, according to the seventh invention, even when the grasped object is small with respect to the grasping wall, it is easy to increase the holding force.

1 is a schematic diagram of an industrial robot equipped with a gripper of the present invention; FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the gripper of this invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a claw member and a grip member of the gripper according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a deformed form of a grip member when gripping an object to be gripped by the gripper of the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a claw member and a grip member of a gripper according to a second embodiment; FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a claw member and a grip member of a gripper according to a third embodiment; FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a claw member and a grip member of a gripper according to a fourth embodiment; FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a deformed form of a cushion member when gripping an object to be gripped by a conventional gripper;

Embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, taking a gripper attached to an industrial robot as an example. In addition, the invention is not limited to the individual embodiments shown below, and can be implemented by changing the form. For example, the gripper of the present invention can be used not only for industrial robots, but also for robots used in homes, hospitals, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an industrial robot equipped with a gripper 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The gripper 10 is used by being attached to the tip of the arm A of the robot. The specific form and form of the arm of the robot are not particularly limited. The arm A may be a multi-joint type or a parallel movement type arm.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the gripper 10 of the present invention. The gripper of the present invention can grip a gripping target 99 (also referred to as a work target) by opening and closing operations, and an industrial robot equipped with the gripper of the present invention can grip and transport the gripped target. can.

The gripper 10 has a drive portion 19 and claw bases 18,18. Claw bases 18, 18 are opened and closed by a power device (for example, motor, pressure cylinder, etc.) and mechanisms (for example, deceleration mechanism, link, cam, etc.) provided in drive unit 19, and claw members 11, 11 and a grip (to be described later) are opened and closed. The members 12, 12 are opened and closed. For example, in this embodiment, an electric motor and a ball screw are combined to configure the drive unit 19 so that the claw bases 18, 18 open and close in parallel. The specific configuration and mechanism of the driving portion 19 and the claw base portion 18 are not particularly limited, and the claw member and the grip member may be opened and closed in parallel, or may be opened and closed like a compass. . Further, the claw bases 18, 18 are not essential, and the claw members 11, 11, which will be described later, may be directly driven to open and close by the driving portion 19. FIG. With the claw bases 18, 18, the claw member 11 and the grip member 12 of the gripper 10 can be easily replaced, which is convenient.

The gripper 10 has claw members 11,11 and grip members 12,12. The claw member 11 is provided to be openable and closable so that the gripper 10 grips the gripping target 99 . In this embodiment, the claw member 11 is attached to the claw base portion 18 with a screw or the like so that it can be opened and closed. The grip member 12 is attached to the pawl member 11 and opens and closes together with the pawl member. Also, the grip member 12 is provided so as to come into direct contact with the grasped object 99 when grasping the grasped object 99 .

The direction in which the claw member 11 and the gripping member 12 move as the gripper 10 grips is hereinafter referred to as the "gripping direction". In FIG. 2, the gripping direction is the horizontal direction in the figure.
Further, in this embodiment, two claw members 11 and two grip members 12 are provided so as to form a pair. As a result, the object to be gripped placed between the grip members 12, 12 is gripped between the grip members 12, 12 as the gap between the claw members 11, 11 narrows. The number of claw members 11 and grip members 12 is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more.

The configurations of the claw member 11 and the grip member 12 will be described in more detail below.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the claw member 11 and the grip member 12 in the gripper 10 of the first embodiment. The upper left figure in FIG. 3 is a sectional view from a viewpoint corresponding to the claw member 11 and the grip member 12 on the left side in FIG. In the upper left diagram of FIG. 3 and the lower left diagram of FIG. is in the depth direction of the paper surface.

The pawl member 11 is made of a material harder than the grip member 12, such as metal or plastic, so that the opening and closing motion of the pawl base portion 18 given by the driving portion 19 is well transmitted to the grip member 12. Although not essential, when gripping is performed by the gripper 10 , the gripping member 12 is sandwiched between the claw member 11 and the gripped object 99 so that the claw member 11 is gripped via the gripping member 12 . Preferably, the pawl member 11 is configured to push the object 99 .

The grip member 12 has an outer skin member 120 and an inner package 130 . The outer skin member 120 is a hollow member made of a resin having a Duro A hardness of 30 to 80 HDA conforming to JIS-K6253. The inner package 130 is arranged inside the outer skin member 120 . The inner package 130 is made of foamed resin. When the gripper 10 grips the gripping target 99, the gripping target 99 is gripped while the grip member 12 is deformed.

The resin constituting the outer skin member 120 may be rubber such as silicone rubber, acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, or urethane rubber, or a thermosetting resin, or a thermoplastic elastomer such as an olefinic thermoplastic elastomer or a styrene thermoplastic elastomer. It may be a thermoplastic resin such as soft vinyl chloride resin or vinyl acetate resin (EVA resin). Various additives, fillers, and the like may be added to these resins, if necessary.

The foamed resin forming the inner package 130 may be a foamed resin having an open cell structure or a foamed resin having a closed cell structure. From the viewpoint of increasing the flexibility of the inner package 130, it is preferable that the inner package 130 is made of a foamed resin having an open cell structure.
The hardness of the foamed resin forming the inner package 130 is such that the load (applied pressure) at 25% compression measured in accordance with JIS-K6254 or JIS-K6400-2 is 5 to 200 kPa. preferable. In addition, when the foamed resin is urethane sponge, it is measured according to JIS-K6400-2, and when the foamed resin is rubber sponge such as ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) or chloroprene rubber (CR), JIS - Shall be measured in accordance with K6254.

The foamed resin having an open-cell structure may be, for example, foamed urethane resin or foamed rubber that has been foamed and then broken. Flexible deformation of the grip member 12 is promoted by the open cell structure of the foamed resin. Note that the foamed resin having an open-cell structure may partially contain cells having a closed-cell structure.

When the inner package 130 is made of a foamed resin having a closed cell structure, such as foamed ethylene propylene rubber, foamed silicone rubber, or foamed polyethylene resin, the inner package 130 is formed into a block shape so that deformation of the inner package 130 is facilitated. It is preferable to provide a void such as a hole or a window in the formed inner package 130 .

The grip member 12 is configured such that the inner package 130 is wrapped in a hollow outer skin member 120, and the air inside the outer skin member 120 is absorbed by the grip member 12 when the gripping object 99 is gripped. A vent 124 is provided for exiting. The provision of the vent 124 promotes flexible deformation of the grip member 12 when gripping an object to be gripped.
In this embodiment, one side surface of the outer skin member 120 formed in the shape of a hollow box is removed, and that portion serves as a vent 124 . The specific form of the vent may be other forms. For example, as in an embodiment to be described later, the vent may be provided in the pawl member, or may be provided in the connecting portion between the pawl member and the grip member.

The skin member 120 of the grip member 12 has the following form. The skin member 120 is integrally formed into a hollow shape having a flat holding wall 121 and side walls 122 and 123 . Here, the gripping wall 121 is a wall provided so as to come into contact with the gripping target. Also, the outer surface of the gripping wall 121 is hereinafter referred to as a gripping surface 12S.
The side walls 122 and 123 are walls extending along the opening/closing direction (gripping direction) of the gripping operation, and the side walls 122 and 123 are opposite to the gripping object 99 with respect to the gripping wall 121. extending in the direction

The flat plate-like gripping wall 121 does not have to be a perfect flat plate, and even if the gripping wall has a slightly bulging or dented curved surface or a spherical gripping wall like the gripping wall in other embodiments described later, it can be flat. included in the holding wall of the
The gripping surface 12S where the gripping wall 121 makes contact with the gripping object 99 is provided with projections, holes, ridges, grooves, checkering, dot patterns, and satin finish in order to adjust the frictional force and the adhesiveness of the surface. A background pattern such as embossing may be provided. Alternatively, the gripping surface 12S may be provided with a surface layer composed of a material different from that of the gripping wall, such as silicone rubber, EVA resin, or non-woven fabric.

Side walls 122, 123 extending along the gripping direction are preferably provided in a flat plate shape or a cylindrical shape. One side edge of the side walls 122 and 123 is the side connected to the gripping wall 121, and the other side edge of the side walls 122 and 123 is the claw member side. Although not essential, the sidewalls 122 and 123 are flat in this embodiment. Moreover, preferably, the side walls 122 and 123 are provided so as to be slightly curved so as to protrude toward the outside of the skin member.

Preferably, as in the present embodiment, when viewed along the opening/closing direction (gripping direction) of the gripping operation (as shown in the upper right diagram of FIG. 3), at least the area where the gripping object 99 contacts the gripping wall 121 ( A pair of side walls 123, 123 are provided so as to sandwich Q). Preferably, as in the present embodiment, the side wall 122 is at least the area Q where the gripping object 99 contacts the gripping wall 121 when viewed along the opening/closing direction (gripping direction) of the gripping operation. 11 (the side opposite to the side attached to the claw base 18). Moreover, preferably, the side walls 122 and 123 are flat like this embodiment, and the skin member 120 is formed like a hollow box.

In the gripper 10, the inner package 130 is integrated with the outer skin member 120 so as to be in contact with the side wall of the outer skin member 120 when the gripping object 99 is not gripped. In this embodiment, the inner envelope 130 is in contact with all sidewalls 122,123. In addition, the inner package 130 may be in contact with some side walls (for example, the side walls 123, 123) and not in contact with other side walls.

The integration of the inner package 130 and the outer skin member 120 may be by fitting such that the inner package 130 fits into the hollow portion of the outer skin member, but the integration means is not particularly limited. Preferably, a portion of the inner package and a portion of the outer skin member are integrated with each other with an adhesive, adhesive, adhesive tape, or the like. In order to prevent the two from being misaligned, they may be fitted to each other by providing a concave-convex shape. Moreover, if possible, both may be integrated by welding, or by using insert molding or cast molding.

Preferably, the inner package 130 and the outer skin member 120 are integrated so that the inner package 130 is at least attached to the gripping wall 121 of the outer skin member 120 or the wall portion 126 of the outer skin member 120 that is arranged to face the gripping wall 121, Integrated to be glued together.

Moreover, preferably, the integration of the inner package 130 and the outer skin member 120 is such that the outer skin member 120 and the outer skin member 130 are not bonded to the side walls 122 and 123, that is, in a non-bonded and loosely inserted state at that portion. are integrated as follows.

Integration (attachment) of the grip member 12 and the claw member 11 is not particularly limited. In this embodiment, the outer skin member 120 is provided with a mounting portion 125 having a bag-shaped hole, and the claw member 11 is inserted into the hole 125 of the mounting portion to integrate the grip member 12 and the claw member 11. is done. If necessary to prevent falling off, the outer skin member 120 and the claw member 11 may be screwed together, or they may be fixed with an adhesive, adhesive, or adhesive tape.

A method of manufacturing the members and the like for configuring the gripper 10 will be described.
The driving portion 19, the claw base portion 18, the claw member 11, and the like can be manufactured in the same manner as conventionally known industrial robot members.
The outer skin member 120 of the grip member 12 can be manufactured by injection molding, cast molding, or the like of a rubber material or a thermoplastic elastomer material. In addition, the inner package 130 of the grip member 12 can be manufactured by cutting a known foamed urethane sponge. The grip member 12 is obtained by applying an adhesive to a predetermined portion of the obtained outer skin member and pushing the inner package 130 into the outer skin member 120 to bond and integrate them.

The effect of the gripper 10 of the said 1st Embodiment is demonstrated.
According to the gripper 10, when gripping the gripping object 99, the gripping member 12 grips the gripping object 99 while deforming into a specific shape. power is increased. If the gripping target can be flexibly gripped, gripping targets having various shapes can be gripped in various postures, and the robustness of the gripping operation can be enhanced.

Here, the holding force when gripping the gripping object 99 is a force capable of resisting an attempt to move the gripping object in a direction orthogonal to the gripping direction (for example, the vertical direction in FIG. 2). It's about size. If the holding force is small, even if an attempt is made to lift the grasped object 99 vertically upward in the posture of the gripper as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the grasped object is likely to fall.

FIG. 8 shows a gripper having conventional cushion materials (for example, urethane sponge) 82, 82 at the tips of claw members 81, 81 as disclosed in Patent Document 1. In such a conventional technique, if the cushion material 82 is flexible, Also, since the cushioning members 82 and 82 are easily deformed in the direction perpendicular to the gripping direction, the gripped object 99 is easily dropped. In other words, in the conventionally known cushioning material, both the flexibility of the cushioning material and the holding force of the gripper could not be improved.

In the gripper 10 of the first embodiment, the grip member 12 attached to the claw member 11 includes the outer skin member 120 made of a resin having a Duro A hardness of 30 to 80 HDA conforming to JIS-K6253, and the outer skin member. The grip member 12 has an internal package 130 made of foamed resin arranged inside, and the grip member 12 has a ventilation hole 124 through which the air inside the outer skin member 120 escapes to the outside of the outer skin member 120 when the gripping object 99 is gripped. Further, the outer skin member 120 includes a flat gripping wall 121 provided so as to come into contact with the gripped object, and a flat plate-like gripping wall 121 that faces the gripping wall 121 in the opposite direction of the gripping object 99 in the opening and closing direction of the gripping operation. The inner package 130 is integrally molded into a hollow shape having side walls 122 and 123 extending along the outer skin member 120 so that the inner package 130 is in contact with the side walls 122 and 123 of the outer skin member 120 in a state in which the grip target 99 is not gripped. Furthermore, it is integrated with the outer skin member 120 . Therefore, when the grip wall 121 of the grip member 12 is pressed against the grip object 99, the grip member 12 is deformed as shown in FIG.

4A and 4B are cross-sectional views showing a deformed state when the grasped object 99 is pressed against the grip member 12. The upper left cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 corresponds to the upper left cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, and the lower left cross-sectional view of FIG. corresponds to the lower left cross-sectional view of FIG.

When the gripping object 99 is gripped by the gripper 10 of the first embodiment, the portion of the gripping wall 121 of the outer skin member 120 made of a flexible resin material that contacts the gripping object 99 is the claw member 11 . pushed towards. At this time, the inner package 130 is made of a flexible foamed resin, and the grip member 12 is provided with a vent 124 for releasing the air inside the outer skin member 120 to the outside. can be flexibly deformed to follow the shape of the grasped object 99 .

Side walls 122 and 123 provided to extend along the opening/closing direction of the gripping operation are oriented toward the outside of the outer skin member 120 in synchronism with the grasping wall 121 of the outer skin member 120 being pushed by the grasped object 99 . It deforms so that it becomes a convex shape. This deformation may also occur due to the properties of the integrally molded outer skin member 120, but in the gripper 10, the inner package 130 is attached to the side walls 122 and 123 of the outer skin member 120 in a state in which the gripping object 99 is not gripped. By being in contact, outwardly convex deformation of the side walls 122, 123 is more assured. That is, the side walls 122 and 123 receive a compressive force along the opening and closing direction of the gripping action, and try to buckle outward or inward of the outer skin member, but the internal package 130 contacts the side walls 122 and 123. This is because the side walls 122 and 123 of the outer skin member are prevented from buckling so as to protrude inward.

When the gripping wall 121 and the side walls 122 and 123 of the outer skin member 120 are deformed as described above, the side wall deformed into a convex shape promotes further deformation of the gripping wall 121 , and the gripping wall 121 allows the gripped object 99 to move. It is grasped so as to be wrapped. The side walls 122 and 123 deformed into convex shapes facing outward support the object to be grasped 99 so as to press down from the surroundings. Such deformation of the gripping wall 121 and the side walls 122 and 123 fixes the gripped object 99 in the recessed portion of the gripping wall as if the gripping member had been bowl-shaped from the beginning. In the gripper 10, since the grip member 12 is flexibly deformable, it is possible to fix a gripped object corresponding to various shapes of gripped objects.

In addition, if the outer skin member 120 has side walls 122 and 123 that extend along the opening and closing direction of the gripping operation, due to the presence of the side walls, in the direction perpendicular to the gripping direction and along the side walls, The grip wall 121 becomes difficult to move. Therefore, the phenomenon (see FIG. 8) in which the gripped object is dropped due to the cushion member being deformed sideways, which occurs in the cushion member of the conventional gripper, is less likely to occur.

Due to this action, the gripper 10 of the first embodiment flexibly grips the object to be gripped, and the holding force in the direction orthogonal to the gripping direction is increased.

From the viewpoint of further increasing the holding force, it is preferable that the inner package 130 is adhered to at least the gripping wall 121 of the outer skin member 120 or the wall portion 126 of the outer skin member arranged opposite to the gripping wall 121 . This is because the inner package 130 and the outer skin member 20 are prevented from slipping sideways, and the grip member 12 is less likely to be overturned.

Moreover, from the viewpoint of increasing the holding force, it is preferable that the outer skin member 120 and the inner package 130 are not adhered to each other at the side walls 122 and 123 . If the outer skin member 120 and the inner package 130 are not adhered to the side walls 122, 123, the side walls 122, 123 are not restrained by the inner package 130 as shown in FIG. Since a gap may occur between 130 , the side walls 122 and 123 can more easily deform into an outwardly convex shape, allowing the outer skin member 120 to wrap around the grasped object 99 by the grasping wall 121 . This is because deformation occurs more effectively. With such a configuration, it is possible to increase the holding force while flexibly gripping the gripping target more effectively.

In addition, from the viewpoint of further increasing the holding force, the side walls 123 and 123 are arranged so as to sandwich at least a region Q where the grasped object 99 contacts the grasping wall 121 when viewed along the opening/closing direction of the grasping operation. is preferably provided. When the side walls 123 , 123 are provided in a pair in this way, the grasping wall 121 deforms so as to wrap the grasped object 99 , while the paired side walls 123 , 123 sandwich the grasped object 99 from both sides. Since it comes to support, the holding power is particularly enhanced. In the above embodiment, the pair of side walls 123, 123 are provided substantially parallel to each other. may be provided.

Further, from the viewpoint of further increasing the holding force, when viewed along the opening and closing direction of the gripping operation, at least the side wall 122 is located at the tip of the claw member 11 with respect to the region Q where the gripped object 99 contacts the gripping wall 121 . It is preferably provided on the (11t) side. With this arrangement, when the side wall 122 located on the tip end side of the claw member 11 is deformed so as to be curved, the side wall 122 presses and supports the object to be grasped 99 . The gripped object 99 is less likely to fall out of the grip, and particularly the holding force is enhanced.

Moreover, from the viewpoint of further increasing the holding force, it is particularly preferable that the side wall is flat and the outer skin member is formed in the shape of a hollow box, as in the present embodiment. With this configuration, the grasped object is supported so as to be surrounded by the side walls, so that the holding force is particularly enhanced.

As described above, according to the gripper 10 of the above-described embodiment, the outer skin member 120 having the specific shape and the inner package 130 are combined as the grip member 12, so that when the gripping object 99 is gripped, the grip member 12 is It deforms flexibly in a specific deformation mode, and the holding force in the direction perpendicular to the gripping direction is enhanced.

The invention relating to the gripper 10 of the first embodiment is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications. Other embodiments of the invention will be described below, but in the following description, the description will focus on the parts that differ from the above-described embodiment, and the same parts will be assigned the same reference numerals and described in detail. is omitted. Moreover, these embodiments can be implemented by combining some of them with each other or replacing some of them.

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the structure of the claw member 21 and the grip member 22 of the gripper of the second embodiment. The left-right direction in the left drawing of FIG. 5 is the grasping direction.
In this embodiment, the grip member 22 and the claw member 21 are integrated by bonding the peripheral edge portion of the outer skin member 220 of the grip member 22 to the claw member 21 . A through hole (vent) 212 is provided in the claw member 21 so that the air in the space inside the outer skin member 220 can be discharged to the outside.

The skin member 220 in the second embodiment has a cylindrical side wall 222 and a disk-shaped gripping wall 221 . As such, the sidewalls may be cylindrical. Moreover, the gripping wall 221 is formed in a bulging shape that protrudes outward. Thus, gripping wall 221 may be convex.

The inner envelope 230 in the second embodiment is formed and arranged in a substantially columnar shape so as to fill the space surrounded by the claw member 21 and the outer skin member 220. The sidewall 222 of the outer skin member and the inner envelope 230 are in contact.

Further, the inner package 230 in the second embodiment is fitted into the recess 211 provided in the claw member 21, and is attached to the claw member 21 so as not to slide sideways. In order to prevent skidding, the inner wrapper 230 may be attached to the pawl member 21 using an adhesive or adhesive.

In the gripper including the claw member 21 and the grip member 22 of the second embodiment, the grip member 22 is flexibly deformed in a specific deformation mode when gripping the grasped object 99, like the gripper 10 of the first embodiment. and the holding force in the direction perpendicular to the gripping direction is enhanced. Further, as in the present embodiment, when the inner package 230 is attached to the pawl member 21 so as not to slide sideways, the grip member 22 is more reliably prevented from being laterally deformed, and the holding force is increased. especially enhanced.

FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of the structure of the claw member 31 and the grip member 32 of the gripper of the third embodiment. The left-right direction in the left drawing of FIG. 6 is the grasping direction.
In this embodiment, the grip member 32 and the claw member 31 are integrated by bonding the periphery of the outer skin member 320 of the grip member 32 to the claw member 31, which is the same as in the second embodiment. . A through hole (vent) 326 is provided in a side wall 325 of the skin member 320 so that the air in the space inside the skin member 320 can be discharged to the outside. Moreover, the point that the inner package 330 is arranged so as to be in contact with the side walls 323 , 324 , 325 of the outer skin member 320 is the same.

The grip member 32 of this embodiment has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, but the distal end side of the claw member 31 is narrowed so that the narrowed portion can grip a smaller object to be grasped. . That is, the grip member 32 is shaped like a ship.

The gripper having the claw member 31 and the grip member 32 according to the third embodiment, like the gripper according to the first and second embodiments, has the grip member 32 in a specific deformation mode when the gripping object 99 is gripped. It deforms flexibly, and the holding force in the direction perpendicular to the gripping direction is enhanced.

Particularly, in this embodiment, the outer skin member 320 is formed in a boat shape, and side walls 324 and 324 and side walls 323 323 are provided, and the holding force can be reliably increased even when the size, shape, or arrangement of the object to be grasped changes.

FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of the structure of the claw member 41 and the grip member 42 of the gripper of the fourth embodiment. The left-right direction in the left drawing of FIG. 7 is the gripping direction.
In this embodiment, the grip member 42 and the claw member 41 are integrated by bonding the periphery of the outer skin member 420 of the grip member 42 to the claw member 41, which is the same as in the second embodiment. . A plurality of through holes (air vents) 414 are provided in the claw member 41 so that the air in the space inside the outer skin member 420 can be discharged to the outside. Moreover, the point that the inner package 430 is arranged so as to contact the side walls 422 , 423 , 424 of the outer skin member 420 is the same.

In the grip member 42 of the fourth embodiment, part of the side walls (424, 424) of the outer skin member are provided so as to partition the gripping wall 421 when viewed along the opening/closing direction of the gripping operation. In this embodiment, the holding wall 421 is partitioned in a river shape by the two side walls 424 , 424 . The encapsulant 430 may be arranged so as to fill the entire partitioned space, but there may be a space in which no encapsulant is arranged.

In addition, the skin member 420 in the fourth embodiment has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and has a rectangular holding wall 421 . The gripping wall 421 is formed in a concave shape that protrudes inward. As such, the gripping wall 421 may be concave.

The gripper having the claw member 41 and the grip member 42 of the fourth embodiment, like the gripper of the first and second embodiments, when gripping the gripping object 99, the grip member 42 is deformed in a specific deformation mode. It deforms flexibly, and the holding force in the direction perpendicular to the gripping direction is enhanced. In particular, as in the present embodiment, when some side walls (424, 424) are provided so as to partition the grip wall 421 when viewed along the opening and closing direction of the gripping operation, the grip member 42 Sideways deformation is more reliably suppressed, and the holding force is particularly enhanced.

In the description of the above embodiment, the claw member is mainly a hard member. The claw member is not particularly limited as long as it can transmit the force to the object to be grasped. For example, the pawl member may be a highly rigid member made of metal or hard plastic, but the pawl member may be made of rubber or soft plastic. Alternatively, the pawl member may be made hollow, and the rigidity of the pawl member may be varied by filling gas or liquid therein. Moreover, the claw member may have a movable portion and be configured to be capable of active deformation such as bending.

The shape and properties of the object to be gripped by the gripper are not particularly limited as long as the gripping operation is possible. Since the grippers of the above embodiments are highly flexible, they are capable of gripping objects of various shapes, such as cuboids, cylinders, polygonal pyramids, polyhedrons, spheres, and ellipsoids, in various postures. .

The gripper is attached to the tip of the robot arm and can be used for, for example, transportation work, and has a high industrial utility value.

A Robot arm 10 Gripper 11 Claw member 12 Grip member 120 Outer skin member 121 Gripping walls 122, 123 Side wall 124 Vent 130 Inner package 99 Object to be gripped

Claims (8)

a claw member that can be opened and closed so as to grip an object to be gripped;
a gripping member attached to the claw member so as to come into contact with the gripped object when gripping the gripped object, the gripper comprising:
The grip member has an outer skin member formed of a resin having a Duro A hardness of 30 to 80 HDA conforming to JIS-K6253, and a foamed resin inner envelope disposed inside the outer skin member,
A vent is provided through which the air inside the outer skin member escapes to the outside of the outer skin member when the gripping object is gripped,
The outer skin member includes a flat gripping wall provided so as to come into contact with the gripped object,
The holding wall is integrally formed into a hollow shape having a side wall extending in the direction opposite to the grasped object and along the opening and closing direction of the grasping operation,
The enclosing body is integrated with the outer skin member so as to be in contact with the side wall of the outer skin member when the gripping object is not gripped.
gripper. The inner package is adhered to at least a gripping wall of the outer skin member or a wall portion of the outer skin member disposed opposite to the gripping wall,
Gripper according to claim 1. The outer skin member and the inner package are not adhered at the side wall,
Gripper according to claim 2. Viewed along the opening and closing direction of the gripping motion,
The sidewalls are provided in pairs so as to sandwich at least a region where the gripping object contacts the gripping walls.
Gripper according to claim 1. Viewed along the opening and closing direction of the gripping motion,
At least the side wall is provided on the distal end side of the claw member with respect to the region where the grasped object contacts the grasping wall.
Gripper according to claim 1. The side wall is flat and the outer skin member is formed in the shape of a hollow box,
A gripper according to claim 4 or claim 5. Viewed along the opening and closing direction of the gripping motion,
Some side walls are provided so as to partition the gripping walls,
Gripper according to claim 1. the encapsulant is non-skiddingly attached to the pawl member;
A gripper according to claim 1 or claim 2.

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