JP2023065131A - Sensor, apparatus, system, and method for manufacturing article - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technology advantageous for improving sensor productivity.SOLUTION: A sensor includes a structure and detection means for detecting deformation of the structure. The structure has at least four elastic sections discretely disposed in an imaginary plane. The structure includes at least one metal component formed by bending a metal member. The one metal component has at least two elastic sections of the four elastic sections.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to sensors.

2. Description of the Related Art A sensor that measures a dynamic quantity applied to a structure by including a structure and detection means for detecting deformation of the structure is known. Patent Document 1 discloses a torque sensor that includes an elastic body and an optical encoder.

JP 2017-96929 A

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200001 proposes casting or cutting of a predetermined material such as resin or metal as a method of integrally molding a fastening portion and a spring portion of an elastic body. However, casting and shaving processes have production problems such as a decrease in throughput and an increase in manufacturing costs. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique that is advantageous for improving the productivity of sensors.

Means for solving the above problems is a sensor comprising a structure and a detection means for detecting deformation of the structure, wherein the structure is discretely arranged in a virtual plane Having at least four elastic portions, the structure includes at least one metal part formed by bending a metal member, and the one metal part is one of the four elastic parts. It is characterized by having at least two elastic portions among them.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique advantageous to the productivity improvement of a sensor can be provided.

The schematic diagram explaining a sensor. The schematic diagram explaining a sensor. The schematic diagram explaining a sensor. The schematic diagram explaining a sensor. The schematic diagram explaining a sensor. Schematic diagrams for explaining a method for manufacturing a sensor. Schematic diagrams for explaining a method for manufacturing a sensor. Schematic diagrams for explaining a method for manufacturing a sensor. Schematic diagrams for explaining a method for manufacturing a sensor. The schematic diagram explaining a sensor. The schematic diagram explaining a sensor. The schematic diagram explaining a sensor. The schematic diagram explaining a sensor. Schematic diagrams for explaining a method for manufacturing a sensor. Schematic diagram for explaining equipment. The schematic diagram explaining a sensor. The schematic diagram explaining a sensor. Schematic diagram for explaining equipment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in the following description and drawings, common reference numerals are attached to structures common to a plurality of drawings. Therefore, common configurations will be described with reference to a plurality of drawings, and descriptions of configurations with common reference numerals will be omitted as appropriate. Separate items with the same name can be distinguished by adding a "No. 0" (where 〇 is a number), such as the first item and the second item. In the following description, when the codes N, N+1, N+2, ... n-1, n (n-N≧2) are continuous natural numbers from N to n, . . . n−1 and n may be abbreviated as symbols N to n. Also, when the total number of certain elements is K, the number of certain elements can be expressed as at least k using a number k (k≦K) that is less than or equal to K. The k elements at this time are k elements selected from K elements in an arbitrary combination.

FIG. 1(a) schematically shows a sensor 10 according to this embodiment. The sensor 10 comprises a structure 5 and detection means 8 for detecting deformation of the structure 5 . FIG. 1A shows a virtual plane P parallel to the xy plane in the xyz orthogonal coordinate system and parallel to the rθ plane in the rθz cylindrical coordinate system. A cylindrical coordinate system is represented by the r direction, the θ direction, and the z direction. The r direction can be called the radial direction, the θ direction can be called the circumferential direction, and the z direction can be called the axial direction. In the cylindrical coordinate system, the rθ plane coincides with the xy plane, and the z direction coincides with the z direction of the orthogonal coordinate system. The structure 5 has an elastic portion group 3, which is a group of a plurality of elastic portions discretely arranged within a virtual plane P. As shown in FIG. The elastic portion group 3 has at least four elastic portions 31, 32, 33, and 34 discretely arranged within a virtual plane P. As shown in FIG. That is, the number of elastic portions discretely arranged in the virtual plane P included in the elastic portion group 3 is four or more. Note that the sensor 10 can have one or more elastic portions that do not exist within the virtual plane P on which the elastic portion group 3 is arranged. However, one or more elastic portions that do not exist within the virtual plane P are not counted as the elastic portions of the elastic portion group 3 that exist within the virtual plane P. Structure 5 includes at least one metal part 51 . One metal part 51 has at least two elastic portions 31 , 32 out of the four elastic portions 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 . That is, the elastic portions 31 and 32 are part of one metal component 51 .

A range of continuous metal bonds of metal atoms contained in the metal part is included in one metal part. The two metal parts are separate metal parts because the metal bond is discontinuous between the two metal parts that are only fastened by screwing or glued together.

The metal material forming the metal part 51 is a single metal or a mixture (alloy) of metals. The metal part 51 may be formed by plating a base material made of a metal material. In order to ensure the rigidity of the structure 5, the metal part 51 is preferably hard, and preferably made of a metal material with a Vickers hardness of 90 HV or more. As the material of the metal part 51, an iron alloy (steel) such as carbon steel or alloy steel, an aluminum alloy, a titanium alloy, or the like can be used, but an iron alloy is preferable in terms of material cost.

A piece of metal part 51 can have an upper surface portion 1 and a lower surface portion 2 facing the upper surface portion 1 . At least two elastic portions 31 and 32 (in this example, four elastic portions 31 to 34) are provided so that the plane P is located between the upper surface portion 1 and the lower surface portion 2. As shown in FIG. In the following description, the expressions "up" and "down" simply correspond to the + side and the - side in the z direction. No need at all. The upper surface portion 1 can also be referred to as the front surface portion, and the lower surface portion 2 can also be referred to as the back surface portion.

The detection means 8 comprise one or more detectors. The detector of the detection means 8 may comprise a plurality of parts 6,7. As the structure 5 deforms, the relative positional relationship between the parts 6 and 7 changes, and the relative positional relationship between the parts 6 and 7 can be detected by the parts 6 and 7. can. A detector of the detection means 8 is, for example, an encoder including a head and a scale, an example of the part 6 is the head, and an example of the part 7 is the scale. Part 6 may be the scale and part 7 may be the head. The detection means 8 may include, in addition to the components 6 and 7 , components for processing the signals output from the components 6 or 7 . The encoder of the detection means 8 may be an optical encoder or a magnetic encoder. If an optical encoder is used as the detection means 8, the magnetism of the metal part 51 is less restricted. The head of the optical encoder has at least a light receiving section, and if necessary, may have a light emitting section that emits light to irradiate the scale. Here, an example in which the parts 6 and 7 face each other in the z-direction is shown, but the parts 6 and 7 may face each other in the x-direction, y-direction, r-direction, and θ-direction. The encoder as the detection means 8 may be a linear encoder or a rotary encoder. The output method may be an incremental type or an absolute type. The encoder can employ a configuration in which the parts 6 and 7 move relative to each other in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the parts 6 and 7 face each other. By adopting a configuration in which the parts 6 and 7 move relative to each other in the direction in which the parts 6 and 7 face each other, for example, the change in the distance between the parts 6 and 7 can be detected optically, magnetically, or A configuration for electrostatic detection may also be used. For example, the detector of the detection means 8 may be a capacitive displacement sensor. Further, the detector of the detection means 8 may be a strain gauge, and the strain gauge is attached to at least one elastic portion of the elastic portion group 3 of the structure 5 to detect deformation of the structure 5. good too.

Sensor 10 may be a force sensor. Here, the force detected by the force sensor (force to be detected) is the force in the x direction, the force in the y direction, the force in the z direction, the force around the x axis, the force around the y axis, and the force around the z axis. is at least one of The force around the z-axis in the rθz cylindrical coordinate system described above is the force in the θ direction. When these sensors 10 detect f forces (f≦6) out of six forces, the sensors 10 can be called f-axis force sensors. If sensor 10 detects exclusively x-axis, y-axis and/or z-axis forces, sensor 10 may be referred to as a torque sensor. If the sensor 10 detects only forces about the z-axis, it can be called a uniaxial force sensor or a uniaxial torque sensor.

If the detection means 8 includes a plurality of detectors, the plurality of detectors may adopt a form that detects forces in the same direction. By statistically processing the outputs of a plurality of detectors, it is possible to reduce the influence of characteristic variations among the detectors and improve the detection accuracy of the sensor 10 . Here, statistical processing means extracting the maximum value, minimum value, average value, total value, median value, etc. from the output of each detector of a plurality of detectors. When there are E detectors (E is an even number), the E/2-th or (E/2)+1-th largest value can be adopted as the median value.

FIG. 1(b) shows a first arrangement example of the arrangement of the four elastic portions 31 to 34 when the virtual plane P is viewed from the z direction. In the first arrangement example, four elastic portions 31 to 34 are arranged one-dimensionally. In FIG. 1B, the dashed lines connecting the elastic portions 31 to 34 indicate that one metal component 51 has these elastic portions 31, 32, 33, and . At least one detector 81 is provided for the metal part 51 .

FIG. 1(c) shows a second arrangement example of the arrangement of the four elastic portions 31, 32, 33, and 34 when the virtual plane P is viewed from the z direction. In the second arrangement example, four elastic portions 31, 32, 33, and 34 are arranged two-dimensionally. In FIG. 1C, the dashed line connecting the elastic portions 31 and 32 indicates that the elastic portions 31 and 32 are included in one metal component 51. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 1(c), the dashed line connecting the elastic portions 33 and 34 indicates that the elastic portions 33 and 34 are included in one metal part 52. As shown in FIG. The fact that the elastic portion 31 and the elastic portions 33 and 34 are not connected by broken lines and the elastic portion 32 and the elastic portions 33 and 34 are not connected by broken lines means that the metal parts 51 and 52 are separated from each other. It indicates that they are separate metal parts. That is, the metal component 52 has two elastic portions 33 and 34 other than the two elastic portions 31 and 32 of the metal component 51 among the four elastic portions 31 to 34 .

In the second arrangement example, at least one detector 81 is provided for the metal part 51 and at least one detector 82 is provided for the metal part 52 .

FIG. 2(a) shows a third arrangement example of the arrangement of the four elastic portions 31, 32, 33, and 34 when the virtual plane P is viewed from the z direction. In the third arrangement example, the four elastic sections 31-34 are arranged in the plane P so that a virtual circle 304 passes through the four elastic sections 31-34. Such an arrangement is advantageous in detecting deformation occurring in the θ direction (circumferential direction) in a cylindrical coordinate system. Alternatively, it is also advantageous in detecting deformations occurring in the x and y directions in a Cartesian coordinate system. Further, in the third arrangement example, one metal component 51 has four elastic portions 31-34. In the third arrangement example, at least four detectors 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 are provided for the metal part 51 .

FIG. 2(b) shows a fourth arrangement example of the arrangement of the four elastic portions 31, 32, 33, and 34 when the virtual plane P is viewed from the z direction. The fourth arrangement example differs from the third arrangement example in that one metal component 51 has the elastic portions 31 and 32 and one metal component 51 has the elastic portions 33 and 34 . is. In the fourth arrangement example, at least two detectors 81 and 82 are provided for the metal part 51 and at least two detectors 83 and 84 are provided for the metal part 52 . Other points may be the same as the third arrangement example.

FIG. 2(c) shows a fifth arrangement example of the arrangement of at least six elastic portions when the virtual plane P is viewed from the z direction. In the fifth arrangement example, the at least six elastic sections include elastic sections 35, 36, 37, and 38 in addition to the four elastic sections 31 to 34 described above, for a total of eight elastic sections 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38. In the fifth arrangement example, one metal component 51 has at least six elastic portions (for example, elastic portions 31 to 36) out of the eight elastic portions 31 to 38, and the eight elastic portions It has eight elastic portions 31-38 out of 31-38. In the fifth arrangement example, six elastic portions (for example, the elastic portions 31 to 36) are arranged in the plane P so that the virtual circle 306 passes through at least six elastic portions (for example, the elastic portions 31 to 36). are placed. In this example, a virtual circle 306 passes through eight elastic portions 31-38.

FIG. 2D shows a sixth arrangement example of the arrangement of at least six elastic portions when the virtual plane P is viewed from the z direction. In the sixth arrangement example, one metal part 51 has four elastic parts 31-34 out of the eight elastic parts 31-38, and another metal part 52 has eight elastic parts 31-38. It has four elastic portions 35-38 out of the elastic portions 31-38.

2A to 2D, each elastic portion included in the elastic portion group 3 is deformed, for example, in the θ direction, and the detectors 81 to 84 included in the detection means 8 detect force in the θ direction as torque. can be detected as Alternatively, each elastic portion included in the elastic portion group 3 can be deformed in the x-direction or the y-direction to detect the force in the x-direction or the y-direction.

As described above, in the sensor 10 according to the present embodiment, one metal component 51 has at least two elastic portions 31 and 32 out of the four elastic portions 31-34.

This embodiment is characterized in that one metal component 51 is formed by bending a metal member. A metal member to be bent is a metal plate, and the bending is, for example, press working. In manufacturing the metal part 51, not only bending but also various sheet metal processing such as punching are used. The productivity of the sensor can be improved by using the bending process as compared with metal casting and machining. In other words, metal casting (casting) requires a sand mold to form a complicated shape, and is not suitable for mass production. is. The cutting process is not efficient because the usage rate of the base material is low, although the solid wood used as the base material is expensive, and the cutting process using an NC machine or the like also requires a long processing time. By using bending, the metal component 51 having at least two elastic portions can be manufactured with high throughput and at low cost, and the productivity of the sensor 10 can be improved. When the structure 5 is composed of a metal part 51 and a single metal part 52 different from the metal part 51, the metal part 52 can also be formed by bending the metal member.

A configuration that is advantageous in securing sensor accuracy using a structure formed by bending a metal member will be described.

FIG. 3(a) is a perspective view of an example of one metal part 51 formed by bending a metal member, and FIG. 5 is a side view of an example of one metal component 51. FIG. FIG. 3B shows virtual planes Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd parallel to each other. FIG. 3(c) is a perspective view of an example of the sensor 10 including the metal part 51 and the detection means 8 (detectors 81 to 84). FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of the metal component 51 on the plane Pc, showing the structure of the metal component 51 on the plane Pc. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the metal component 51 on the plane Pd, showing the structure of the metal component 51 on the plane Pd.

The metal part 51 has a substantially regular M-sided contour 55 (see FIG. 4) in plan view with respect to the planes Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd. In this example, M=12, that is, a substantially regular dodecagon. has a contour 55 of M≧3 may be sufficient, and M=4 is also acceptable, but M≧5 is preferable, and M≦24 is preferable. The larger M is, the closer the outline 55 of the metal part 51 is to a circular shape, which improves the accuracy for detecting displacement in the θ direction. is reasonable. From the viewpoint of symmetry, M is preferably a multiple of 2 (an even number). Furthermore, from the viewpoint of symmetry in the x-direction and the y-direction orthogonal to the x-direction, M is more preferably a multiple of 4. To say that it is nearly circular, it is preferable that M≧6, where the circumference ratio is about 3. Considering the above, M=8, 12, and 16 are preferable. In the following description, the natural number M can be read as a positive real number m (M−0.5≦m<M+0.5) which is rounded to M.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the metal component 51 has an upper surface portion 1 and a lower surface portion 2 facing the upper surface portion 1 . The upper surface portion 1 is provided within the plane Pa. The lower surface portion 2 is provided within the plane Pb. The metal part 51 has eight elastic portions 31-38. As shown in FIG. 4(a), the eight elastic portions 31 to 38 are discretely arranged within the plane Pc. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the eight elastic portions 31 to 38 are discretely arranged within the plane Pd. Eight elastic portions 31 to 38 are arranged within the planes Pc and Pd so that the planes Pc and Pd are located between the upper surface portion 1 and the lower surface portion 2 .

As shown in FIG. 3(b), the metal component 51 has a side portion 4. As shown in FIG. Side portion 4 connects to top portion 1 and bottom portion 2 . A metal part 51 is bent at a connection portion 41 between the upper surface portion 1 and the side surface portion 4 by bending. A metal part 51 is bent at a connecting portion 42 between the lower surface portion 2 and the side surface portion 4 by bending. Each of the elastic portions 31 to 38 is connected to the side portion 4, and the metal component 51 is bent at a connecting portion 43 between each of the elastic portions 31 to 38 and the side portion 4 by bending.

The upper surface portion 1 shown in FIG. 3(b) includes a plurality of upper plate portions 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108 arranged along the plane Pa as shown in FIG. 3(a). , 109, 110, 111, and 112. The plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 are arranged within the plane Pa. 4A and 4B, the plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 arranged in the plane Pa are shown overlapping the elastic portions 31 to 38, and the plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 are shown. The positional relationship with a plurality of elastic portions 31-38 is shown.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, two mutually adjacent upper plate portions among the plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 are joined to each other by joint portions 48 . The joint portion 48 may be, for example, a weld portion in which two adjacent upper plate portions are welded together, or a bonded portion in which two mutually adjacent upper plate portions are bonded together. For example, the upper plate portion 101 and the upper plate portion 102 among the plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 are joined to each other by a joining portion 48 formed by welding. The upper plate portion 102 and the upper plate portion 103 among the plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 are joined together by a joining portion 48 formed by welding. The upper plate portion 103 and the upper plate portion 104 among the plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 are joined together by a joint portion 48 formed by welding.

The lower surface portion 2 shown in FIG. 3(b) includes a plurality of lower plate portions 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208 arranged along the plane Pb as shown in FIG. 3(a). , 209, 210, 211, and 212. The plurality of upper plate portions 201-212 are arranged within the plane Pb. 4A and 4B, the plurality of lower plate portions 201 to 212 arranged in the plane Pb are shown overlapping the elastic portions 31 to 38, and the plurality of lower plate portions 201 to 212 are shown. The positional relationship with a plurality of elastic portions 31-38 is shown.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, two mutually adjacent lower plate portions among the plurality of lower plate portions 201 to 212 are joined to each other by joint portions 49 . The joint portion 49 may be, for example, a weld portion in which two adjacent lower plate portions are welded together, or may be an adhesive portion in which two mutually adjacent lower plate portions are bonded together. For example, the lower plate portion 201 and the lower plate portion 202 of the plurality of lower plate portions 201 to 212 are joined together by a joining portion 49 formed by welding. The lower plate portion 202 and the lower plate portion 203 of the plurality of lower plate portions 201 to 212 are joined together by a joint portion 49 formed by welding. The lower plate portion 203 and the lower plate portion 204 of the plurality of lower plate portions 201 to 212 are joined together by a joint portion 49 formed by welding.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the side surface portion 4 shown in FIG. 3B includes a plurality of side plate portions 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405 arranged along the planes Pc and Pd. 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 411, 412. A plurality of side plate portions 401 to 412 are arranged within planes Pc and Pd.

Two mutually connected side plate portions among the plurality of side plate portions 401 to 412 are connected by a connection portion 44 (reference numerals omitted in the drawings). The number of connections 44 can be M or M−1 (eg, M=12). For example, the metal part 51 is bent at the connection portion 44 between the side plate portions 401 and 402 of the plurality of side plate portions 401 to 412 by bending. The metal part 51 is bent by bending at the connection portion 44 between the side plate portion 402 and the side plate portion 403 among the plurality of side plate portions 401 to 412 . The metal component 51 is bent by bending at the connection portion 44 between the side plate portion 403 and the side plate portion 404 among the plurality of side plate portions 401 to 412 . The metal component 51 is bent by bending at the connection portion 44 between the side plate portions 411 and 412 of the plurality of side plate portions 401 to 412 . Of the plurality of side plate portions 401 to 412, the side plate portion 412 and the side plate portion 401 may be joined by welding or the like at the joint portion between the side plate portion 412 and the side plate portion 401. may separate.

Each of the plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 and the plurality of side plate portions 401 to 412 adjacent to any of the plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 are connected by connecting portions 41 (see FIG. 3B). . For example, the metal part 51 is bent at the connecting portion 41 between the upper plate portion 101 of the plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 and the side plate portion 401 by bending. A metal component 51 is bent by bending at a connecting portion 41 between the upper plate portion 102 and the side plate portion 402 among the plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 . A metal component 51 is bent at a connection portion 41 between an upper plate portion 103 of the plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 and a side plate portion 403 by bending. A metal component 51 is bent at a connection portion 41 between an upper plate portion 104 of the plurality of upper plate portions 101 to 112 and a side plate portion 404 by bending.

Each of the plurality of plate portions 101 to 212 and the plurality of side plate portions 401 to 412 adjacent to any one of the plurality of lower plate portions 201 to 112 are connected by connecting portions 42 (see FIG. 3B). For example, the metal part 51 is bent at the connecting portion 42 between the lower plate portion 201 and the side plate portion 401 among the plurality of lower plate portions 201 to 212 by bending. A metal component 51 is bent at a connection portion 42 between the lower plate portion 202 and the side plate portion 402 among the plurality of lower plate portions 201 to 212 by bending. A metal component 51 is bent at a connection portion 42 between a lower plate portion 203 of the plurality of lower plate portions 201 to 212 and a side plate portion 403 by bending. The metal component 51 is bent at the connecting portion 42 between the lower plate portion 204 and the side plate portion 404 among the plurality of lower plate portions 201 to 212 by bending.

As described above, in the metal part 51, two portions connected to each other via the connection portions 41, 42, 43, 44 are bent at the connection portion therebetween. The angle formed by the two parts is defined as a minor angle between 0° and 180° or a dominant angle between 180° and 360°. The bending angle of the two segments is defined as 180° minus the minor angle.

The minor angle formed by the two side plate portions connected to each other generally matches the internal angle of the regular M-gon, which is approximately (180-(360/M))°, and is an obtuse angle if M≧5. = 5, it is 108°, and if M = 12, it is 150°. When M=12 and M is replaced by m (M-0.5≦m<M+0.5), the minor angle formed by the two side plate portions connected to each other is from 148.7° to 151.2°. be. The minor angles formed by the mutually connected upper plate portions 101 to 112 and the side plate portions 401 to 412 and the minor angles formed by the mutually connected lower plate portions 201 to 212 and the side plate portions 401 to 412 are typically right angles ( 90°), but it may be 80° to 100°.

Therefore, when M≧5, the minor angles formed by the two side plate portions connected to each other are is larger than the minor angle formed by the lower plate portions 201-212 and the side plate portions 401-412. For example, the minor angle between the side plate portions 401 and 402 is larger than the minor angle between the upper plate portion 101 and the side plate portion 401 and the minor angle between the upper plate portion 102 and the side plate portion 402 . In addition, the minor angle between the side plate portions 401 and 402 is larger than the angle between the lower plate portion 201 and the side plate portions 401 and the angle between the lower plate portion 202 and the side plate portions 402 . The minor angle formed by the side plate portion 402 and the side plate portion 403 is larger than the minor angle formed by the upper plate portion 102 and the side plate portion 402 and the minor angle formed by the upper plate portion 103 and the side plate portion 403 . In addition, the minor angle between the side plate portions 402 and 403 is larger than the angle between the lower plate portion 202 and the side plate portions 402 and the angle between the lower plate portion 203 and the side plate portions 403 .

As shown in FIG. 4(a), the eight elastic portions 31-38 are arranged such that a virtual circle 318 passes through the eight elastic portions 31-38 in the plane Pc. As shown in FIG. 4(b), the eight elastic portions 31-38 are arranged such that a virtual circle 328 passes through the eight elastic portions 31-38 in the plane Pd.

FIG. 5(a) is a cross-sectional view of the sensor 10 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, including the elastic portions 31 and 35. FIG.

The elastic portion 31 is provided below the upper plate portion 101 so that the elastic portion 31 overlaps the upper plate portion 101 in the z-direction. The elastic portion 31 is provided on the lower plate portion 201 so that the elastic portion 31 overlaps the lower plate portion 201 in the z-direction. The elastic portion 31 is provided between the upper plate portion 101 and the lower plate portion 201 facing each other.

The elastic portion 35 is provided below the upper plate portion 107 so that the elastic portion 35 overlaps with the upper plate portion 107 in the z-direction. The elastic portion 32 is provided on the lower plate portion 207 so that the elastic portion 35 overlaps the lower plate portion 207 in the z-direction. The elastic portion 35 is provided between the upper plate portion 107 and the lower plate portion 207 facing each other.

3 and 4, the elastic portion 32 is provided below the upper plate portion 103 so that the elastic portion 32 overlaps the upper plate portion 103 in the z-direction. The elastic portion 32 is provided on the lower plate portion 203 so that the elastic portion 32 overlaps the lower plate portion 203 in the z direction. The elastic portion 32 is provided between the upper plate portion 103 and the lower plate portion 203 facing each other.

3 and 4, the elastic portion 33 is provided below the upper plate portion 104 so that the elastic portion 33 overlaps the upper plate portion 104 in the z-direction. The elastic portion 33 is provided on the lower plate portion 204 so that the elastic portion 33 overlaps the lower plate portion 204 in the z direction. The elastic portion 33 is provided between the upper plate portion 104 and the lower plate portion 204 facing each other.

Similarly, the elastic portions 34 to 38 overlap the corresponding upper plate portions 106 , 107 , 109 , 110 and 112 and overlap the corresponding lower plate portions 206 , 207 , 209 , 210 and 212 .

As shown in FIG. 5A, each of the elastic portions 31 to 38 is joined to the upper surface portion 1 by a joining portion 46. As shown in FIG. The joint portion 46 may be, for example, a weld portion in which the mutually adjacent elastic portions 31 to 38 and the upper surface portion 1 are welded together, or may be a bonding portion in which the mutually adjacent elastic portions 31 to 38 and the upper surface portion 1 are bonded together. For example, the elastic portion 31 and the upper plate portion 101 overlapping each other are joined to each other by a joining portion 46 formed by welding. The elastic portion 35 and the upper plate portion 107 that overlap each other are joined to each other by a joining portion 46 formed by welding. Similarly, the elastic portions 32 to 34 and 36 to 38 and the upper plate portions 103, 104, 106, 109, 110 and 112 that overlap therewith are also joined together by joint portions 46. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5(a), each of the elastic portions 31 to 38 is joined to the lower surface portion 2 by a joining portion 47. As shown in FIG. The joint portion 47 may be, for example, a weld portion in which the mutually adjacent elastic portions 31 to 38 and the lower surface portion 2 are welded, or may be a bonding portion in which the mutually adjacent elastic portions 31 to 38 and the lower surface portion 2 are adhered. For example, the elastic portion 31 and the lower plate portion 201 overlapping each other are joined to each other by a joining portion 47 formed by welding. The elastic portion 35 and the lower plate portion 207 that overlap each other are joined to each other by a joining portion 47 formed by welding. The elastic portions 32 to 34 and 36 to 38 and the lower plate portions 203, 204, 206, 209, 210 and 212 overlapping them are similarly joined to each other by joint portions 47. As shown in FIG.

FIG. 5(b) is a sectional view including detectors 81 and 83 of the sensor 10 shown in FIGS. 3(b), 4(a) and 4(b). As shown in FIGS. 3(c) and 5(b), the component 61 of the detector 81 is fixed to the upper plate portion 102, and the component 71 of the detector 81 is fixed to the lower plate portion 202. As shown in FIG. A part 62 of the detector 82 is fixed to the upper plate portion 105 and a part 72 of the detector 82 is fixed to the lower plate portion 205 . A component 63 of the detector 83 is fixed to the upper plate portion 108 and a component 73 of the detector 83 is fixed to the lower plate portion 208 . A component 64 of the detector 84 is fixed to the upper plate portion 111 and a component 74 of the detector 84 is fixed to the lower plate portion 211 . The fixing of the parts 61 to 64 and the structure 5 (for example, the upper surface portion 1) is performed using an adhesive, for example. Fixing the parts 71 to 74 and the structure 5 (for example, the lower surface portion 2) is also performed using an adhesive, for example.

As understood from FIGS. 3, 4, 5(a), and 5(b), the side surface portion 4 constitutes the outer surface of the metal part 51. As shown in FIG. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5A, the elastic portion 31 and the elastic portion 35 can be positioned between the side plate portion 401 and the side plate portion 407, for example. Also, the distance between the elastic portion 31 and the elastic portion 35 is smaller than the distance between the side plate portions 401 and 407 . Further, as shown in FIG. 5C, the detectors 81 and 83 can be positioned between the side plate portions 402 and 408, for example.

In another form, the side portion 4 may constitute the inner surface of the metal part 51 . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5C, the side plate portion 401 and the side plate portion 407 can be positioned between the elastic portion 31 and the elastic portion 35, for example. The distance between elastic portion 31 and elastic portion 35 may be greater than the distance between side plate portion 401 and side plate portion 407 . Further, as shown in FIG. 5(d), the side plate portion 402 and the side plate portion 408 can be positioned between the detectors 81 and 83, for example.

Here, the form in which the component 6 is fixed to the upper surface portion 1, the component 7 is fixed to the lower surface portion 2, and the component 6 and the component 7 face each other in the z direction has been described. However, the deformation of the structure 5 may cause the parts 6 and 7 to be relatively displaced. For example, the parts 6 and 7 may face each other in the r direction. In that case, for example, an inner side surface and an outer side surface may be provided, one of the parts 6 and 7 may be fixed to the inner side, and the other of the parts 6 and 7 may be fixed to the outer side. Also, the component 6 and the component 7 may face each other in the θ direction. Moreover, the parts 6 and 7 may be fixed to parts (for example, reinforcing parts described later) other than the metal parts having the elastic portion group 3 in the structure 5 . Alternatively, one of the parts 6 and 7 may be fixed to a part outside the sensor 10 (for example, a link described later) and the other of the parts 6 and 7 may be fixed to the sensor 10 .

In the embodiment described above, the force to be detected is explained as a force in the θ direction (circumferential direction). 2. The side portion 4 can function as a rigid portion. However, for example, when the force in the x-direction or the r-direction in the y-direction is to be detected, the side portion 4 functions as an elastic portion, and the portions described as the elastic portions 31 to 38 may function as rigid portions. . Further, when the force in the z direction is used as the force to be detected, the portions described as the elastic portions 31 to 38 and the side portion 4 can function as elastic portions.

As shown in FIG. 3C, holes 100 are provided in the upper surface portion 1 (upper plate portions 101 to 112). Holes 200 are provided in the lower surface portion 2 (lower plate portions 201 to 212). The holes 100 and 200 are used to connect the metal parts, other parts (eg, links or reinforcing parts, which will be described later), and the sensor 10 . For example, thread grooves are formed on the inner surfaces of the holes 100 and 200 , and screws passing through other parts are screwed into the holes 100 and 200 to fasten the other parts to the metal part 51 . Alternatively, bolts passing through other parts pass through the holes 100 and 200 and are screwed into separately provided nuts, and the other parts are fastened to the metal part 51 with bolts and nuts.

6, 7, 8 and 9, a method of forming the metal part 51 shown in FIGS. 3-6 will be described. It should be noted that this example shows an example that can be industrially rationally manufactured, and is not limited to this.

First, a metal member 50 shown in FIG. 6A is prepared. The metal member 50 at this stage is an elongated plate-like member (metal plate) having a thickness Tm. The thickness Tm can be, for example, 0.4-3.2 mm. The metal member 50 may be produced by punching a metal plate as a material into a desired shape as shown in FIG. 6(a). In addition, since the metal material of the metal part 51 is also required to be easily bent, ordinary steel (carbon steel with a carbon content of 0.6% or less) is suitable. The metal member that becomes the metal part 51 can be, for example, a cold-rolled steel plate (SPCC) or an electro-galvanized steel plate (SECC, bonde steel plate) obtained by electro-galvanizing a cold-rolled steel plate.

The metal member 50 has an upper surface portion that serves as the upper surface portion 1, a lower surface portion that serves as the lower surface portion 2, and a central portion that is positioned between the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion and serves as the elastic portion 3 and the side surface portion 4. . Upper plate portions 101 to 112 are provided on the upper surface portion. Parts that become the lower plate parts 201 to 212 are provided on the lower surface part. The central portion is provided with portions to be the elastic portions 31 to 38 and portions to be the side plate portions 401 to 412 . The metal member 50 at this stage is formed by, for example, shearing a sheet metal. The metal member 50 at this stage may be formed by shaving from a rectangular bar or may be formed by casting, but forming by shearing is advantageous in terms of cost.

Next, the metal member 50 shown in FIG. 6(a) is subjected to the first to third bending processes to form the metal member 50 into the shape shown in FIG. 6(b). The metal member 50 at this stage is an elongated U-shaped member. The upper surface portion and the lower surface portion face each other. Also, the elastic portions 31 to 38 overlap the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion. In this example, the number of connecting portions 44 of the side plate portions 401 to 412 is M, and the side plate portion 401 and a part of the side plate portion 412 are connected via the connecting portion. is connected to the rest of the via the connecting part.

FIG. 7A is a partially enlarged view of the metal member 50 for explanation. 7(a) shows the state before the metal member 50 is subjected to the first to third bending processes, and FIG. 7(c) shows the state after the metal member 50 is subjected to the first to third bending processes. , and FIG. 7B shows the state before and after the metal member 50 is subjected to the first to third bending processes.

In FIG. 7A, the R processed portion 917 indicated by a two-dot chain line is used as a bending line, and the elastic portions 31 to 38 are bent in the direction of the arrow 918 by 80° to 100° (90° in this example). A first bending process is applied as shown in FIG. 7(b).

In FIG. 7A, the R processed portion 912 indicated by a two-dot chain line is used as a bending line, and the lower plate portions 201 to 212 are bent in the direction of the arrow 913 by 80° to 100° (90° in this example). , a second bending process is performed as shown in FIG. 7(b).

The upper plate portions 101 to 112 are bent by 80° to 100° (90° in this example) in the direction of the arrow 915 with the R processed portion 914 indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7A as the bending line. , and a third bending process is performed as shown in FIG. 7(b).

As shown in FIG. 7C, the elastic portions 31-38 overlap the upper plate portions 101-112 and the lower plate portions 201-212.

The order of the first to third bending processes is arbitrary, but it is preferable to perform the second and third bending processes after the first bending process. When the second bending process and the third bending process are performed and then the first bending process is performed, the upper plate portions 101 to 112 and the lower plate portions 201 to 212 are bent in the first bending process during the first bending process. This is because it tends to get in the way of the bending process.

Next, the metal member 50 shown in FIG. 6(b) is subjected to a fourth bending process to form the metal member 50 into a shape as shown in FIG. 7(a). Further, the metal member 50 shown in FIG. 7(a) is subjected to a fourth bending process to form the metal member 50 into a shape as shown in FIG. 7(b).

FIG. 9A is a partially enlarged view of the metal member 50 for explanation. FIG. 9(a) shows the state before the metal member 50 is subjected to the fourth bending process, and FIG. 9(c) shows the state after the metal member 50 is subjected to the fourth bending process. 9(b) shows the state before and after the metal member 50 is subjected to the fourth bending process.

As shown in FIG. 8A, the R processed portion 920 indicated by a two-dot chain line is used as a bending line, and the side portions 401 to 412 are bent by 30° ((360/M)°) in the direction of the arrow 922. A fourth bending process is applied as shown in (b). By the fourth bending process, two adjacent upper plate portions (for example, upper plate portion 101 and upper plate portion 102) of the upper plate portions 101 to 112 can come into contact with each other. In order to minimize the formation of gaps between the two adjacent upper plate portions, two adjacent upper plate portions among the upper plate portions 101 to 112 are separated from each other before the fourth bending process. The angle between the facing surfaces of the plate portions (for example, the upper plate portion 101 and the upper plate portion 102) is set to ((360/M)°). A portion of the side plate portion 412 connected to the side plate portion 401 and a remaining portion of the side plate portion 412 connected to the side plate portion 411 are connected.

As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9C, the connecting portion 43 between the side plate portion and the elastic portion (for example, the side plate portion 401 and the elastic portion 31, or the side plate portion 403 and the elastic portion 32) connected to each other is in the z direction. It includes an upper portion 431 and a lower portion 432 aligned with each other, with an air gap 430 provided between the upper portion 431 and the lower portion 432 . Gap 430 can function as a relief hole in the third bending process. Further, by providing the gap 430 , the rigidity of the connecting portion 43 is reduced, thereby reducing the rigidity of the elastic portion group 3 and making it easier for the structure 5 to deform.

As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9C, the connecting portion 44 between two adjacent side plate portions (for example, the side plate portion 401 and the side plate portion 402) has an upper portion 441 and a lower portion 441 arranged in the z direction. 442 , and an air gap 440 is provided between the upper portion 441 and the lower portion 442 . Gap 440 can function as a relief hole in the third bending process. Moreover, by providing the gap 440 , the rigidity of the connection portion 44 is reduced, thereby reducing the rigidity of the side surface portion 4 and making it easier for the structure 5 to deform.

Next, in FIG. 8B, the upper plate portions 101, 103, 104, 106, 107, 109, 110, 112 and the joint portion 46 between the upper plate portions and the elastic portions 31 to 38 that overlap each other. to form In addition, joint portions 47 are formed between the lower plate portions 201, 203, 204, 206, 207, 209, 210, and 212 and the elastic portions 31 to 38 that overlap each other. Joint portions 48 are formed between adjacent upper plate portions among the upper plate portions 101 to 112 . In addition, joint portions 49 are formed between adjacent lower plate portions among the lower plate portions 201 to 212 . Arc welding, spot welding, or laser welding can be used to form the joints 46-49.

As described above, by bending the metal member 50 having the plurality of elastic portions 31 to 38, the metal component 51 having the plurality of elastic portions 31 to 38 can be formed.

Another embodiment of the metal component 51 will be described with reference to FIG. 10(a) is a perspective view of the metal component 51, and FIG. 10(b) is a sectional view including the elastic portions 31 and 35 of the metal component 51 along the thick line shown in FIG. 10(a).

In the metal part 51 shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the metal part 51 is bent at the connecting portion between the side surface portion 4 and the elastic portion group 3 . However, in this embodiment, each of the elastic portions 31 to 38 of the elastic portion group 3 is connected to the upper surface portion 1 . A metal component 51 is bent by bending at the connecting portion between each of the elastic portions 31 to 38 of the elastic portion group 3 and the upper surface portion 1 . For example, the metal part 51 is bent by bending at the connecting portion between the upper plate portion 101 and the elastic portion 31 . The elastic portion 31 is provided on the lower plate portion 201 so that the elastic portion 31 overlaps the lower plate portion 201 in the z direction. Also, the metal part 51 is bent by bending at the connecting portion between the upper plate portion 103 and the elastic portion 32 . The elastic portion 32 is provided on the lower plate portion 203 so that the elastic portion 32 overlaps the lower plate portion 203 in the z direction. The metal part 51 is bent by bending at the connecting portion between the upper plate portion 107 and the elastic portion 35 . The elastic portion 33 is provided on the lower plate portion 207 so that the elastic portion 35 overlaps the lower plate portion 207 in the z direction. The elastic portions 33 , 34 , 36 , 37 , 38 similarly overlap the corresponding lower plate portions 206 , 207 , 209 , 210 , 212 .

As shown in FIG. 10(b), each of the elastic portions 31 to 38 is joined to the lower surface portion 2 by a joining portion 47. As shown in FIG. The joint portion 47 may be, for example, a weld portion in which the mutually adjacent elastic portions 31 to 38 and the lower surface portion 2 are welded, or may be a bonding portion in which the mutually adjacent elastic portions 31 to 38 and the lower surface portion 2 are adhered. For example, the elastic portion 31 and the lower plate portion 201 overlapping each other are joined to each other by a joining portion 47 formed by welding. The elastic portion 35 and the lower plate portion 207 that overlap each other are joined to each other by a joining portion 47 formed by welding. The elastic portions 32 to 34 and 36 to 38 and the lower plate portions 203, 204, 206, 209, 210 and 212 overlapping them are similarly joined to each other by joint portions 47. As shown in FIG.

As understood from FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b), the side surface portion 4 constitutes the outer surface of the metal part 51. As shown in FIG. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10B, for example, the distance between the elastic portions 31 and 35 is smaller than the distance between the side plate portions 401 and 407 . In another form, the side portion 4 may constitute the inner surface of the metal part 51 . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10C , for example, the distance between the elastic portions 31 and 35 may be greater than the distance between the side plate portions 401 and 407 .

Other embodiments of sensor 10 are described. A force to be detected by the detecting means 8 is called a detection target force, and a force in a direction different from the direction in which the detection target force is applied is called a non-detection target force. For example, when the detecting means 8 is to detect a force applied in the θ direction, forces applied in the r and z directions are non-detection forces. The non-detection target force can also be referred to as a multi-axis force. The non-detection target force becomes a disturbance factor in the detection of the detection target force. A disturbance in detection of a detection target force due to a multi-axis force is called multi-axis interference. This is advantageous in reducing the influence of cross-axis interference and improving the detection accuracy of the force to be detected by the sensor 10 . Since the structural body 5 includes a reinforcing part that reinforces the metal part 51, the rigidity of the structural body 5 against non-detection target force is increased, so that the detection accuracy of the detection target force of the sensor 10 can be improved.

The structure 5 of the sensor 10 shown in FIG. 11(b) can include reinforcing parts 56 shown in FIG. 11(a) in addition to the metal parts 51. In FIG. The reinforcing component 56 overlaps a plurality of elastic portions among at least four elastic portions included in the elastic portion group 3 . A reinforcement component 56 is bonded to the metal component 51 , typically the reinforcement component 56 can be bonded to the top surface 1 of the metal component 51 . The structure 5 of the sensor 10 can include, in addition to the metal part 51, a reinforcement part 57 shown in FIG. 11(a). The reinforcing component 57 overlaps a plurality of elastic portions among at least four elastic portions included in the elastic portion group 3 . A reinforcement component 57 is coupled to the metal component 51 , typically the reinforcement component 57 can be coupled to the underside 2 of the metal component 51 . In this example, the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 have substantially the same shape as shown in FIG. 11(a).

A metal part 51 is arranged between and joins the reinforcing part 56 and the reinforcing part 57 . The planar shape of the metal part 51 is substantially circular (regular M-square), and the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 are also substantially circular as shown in FIG. 11(a). As shown in FIG. 11C, the ring-shaped reinforcing part 56 and the ring-shaped reinforcing part 57 are arranged so as to sandwich the ring-shaped metal part 51 therebetween.

FIG. 11(c) shows the thickness Ta of the upper surface portion 1, the thickness Tb of the lower surface portion 2, the height Hc of the side surface portion 4, and the height Hm of the metal part 51. FIG. Here, the height Hm is the sum of the thickness Ta, the thickness Tb and the height Hc (Hm=Ta+Tb+Hc). The thickness Ta of the upper surface portion 1 and the thickness Tb of the lower surface portion 2 correspond to the thickness Tm of the metal member 50 (metal plate). The thickness of the side surface portion 4 and the thickness of the elastic portions 31 to 38 also correspond to the thickness Tm of the metal member (sheet metal). Typically, thickness Ta and thickness Tb are smaller than height Hc (Ta&Tb<Hc). Thus, by making the height Hc of the side surface portion 4 longer than the thicknesses Ta and Tb of the upper surface portion 1 and the lower surface portion 2, the rigidity of the metal part 51 against the force to be detected can be reduced. Thickness Ta and thickness Tb are, for example, 0.4 to 3.2 mm, typically 1.0 to 2.5 mm. The height Hc is for example 5-20 mm, typically 10-15 mm. The height Hm is, for example, 6-26 mm, typically 12-19 mm.

FIG. 11(c) shows the thickness Sa of the reinforcing component 56 and the thickness Sb of the reinforcing component 57. As shown in FIG. The thickness Sa of the reinforcing component 56 is preferably larger than the thickness Ta of the upper surface portion 1 (Sa>Ta). The thickness Sb of the reinforcing component 57 is preferably greater than the thickness Tb of the lower surface portion 2 (Sb>Tb). By making the upper surface portions 1 and 2 thinner than the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 in this manner, the workability (ease of bending) of the metal part 51 is improved and the rigidity of the structure 5 is increased by the reinforcing parts 56 . , 57. To achieve this, the thicknesses Sa and Sb of the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 should be made larger than the thickness Tm of the metal member 50 (Sa&Sb>Tm). The thickness Sa of the reinforcing part 56 and the thickness Sb of the reinforcing part 57 are preferably smaller than the height Hm of the metal part 51 (Sa&Sb<Hm). The thickness Sa of the reinforcing component 56 and the thickness Sb of the reinforcing component 57 are preferably smaller than the height Hc of the side surface portion 4 (Sa&Sb<Hc). Thus, by making the height Hm of the metal part 51 and the height Hc of the side part 4 longer than the thicknesses Sa and Sb of the reinforcement parts 56 and 57, the rigidity of the metal part 51 against the force to be detected is increased. can be lowered. The height Hm of the metal part 51 roughly corresponds to the distance between the reinforcing part 56 and the reinforcing part 57 in the portion sandwiching the elastic portions 31-38. Therefore, the thicknesses Sa, Sb of the reinforcing parts 56 , 57 may be smaller than the distance between the reinforcing parts 56 , 57 . Thickness Sa and thickness Sb are, for example, 1.0 to 5.0 mm, typically 1.5 to 3.0 mm. Summarizing the above, it can be said that it is preferable to satisfy the relationship Ta&Tb&Tm<Sa&Sb<Hc<Hm.

The material constituting the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 may be any material that can ensure the desired rigidity, and metal materials, ceramic materials, glass materials, plastic materials, and the like can be used. A metal material with high toughness is preferable. The metal material used for the reinforcing parts 56, 57 is a single metal or a mixture (alloy) of metals. The reinforcing parts 56 and 57 may be made by plating a base material made of a metal material. In order to secure the rigidity of the structure 5, the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 are preferably hard, and preferably made of a metal material having a Vickers hardness of 90 HV or more. As materials for the reinforcing parts 56 and 57, iron alloys (steel) such as carbon steel and alloy steel, aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, and the like can be used, but iron alloys are preferable in terms of material cost. Alloy steel, especially stainless steel (SUS) is suitable as the metal material for the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 . Magnetic stainless steel, for example, can be used for the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 . Since the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 have a simpler structure than the metal part 51 having the elastic portions 31 to 38, the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 can be manufactured at low cost by a method such as shaving or casting.

If the metal part 51 has eight elastic parts 31-38, the reinforcing parts 56, 57 can overlap the eight elastic parts 31-38. The reinforcing parts 56 and 57 do not need to overlap all the elastic parts included in the elastic part group 3, and the elastic parts overlapping the reinforcing part 56 and the elastic parts overlapping the reinforcing part 57 need to completely match. no.

The reinforcing part 56 and the upper surface portion 1 are joined at a joining portion 58 shown in FIG. 11(b). The joint portion 58 may be, for example, a weld portion in which the upper plate portion 1 and the reinforcing component 56 are welded together, or may be an adhesive portion in which the upper surface portion 1 and the reinforcing component 56 are bonded together. The reinforcing part 57 and the lower surface portion 2 are joined at a joint portion 59 (not shown) in the same manner as the joint portion 58 . The joint portion 59 may be, for example, a weld portion in which the lower plate portion 2 and the reinforcing component 57 are welded together, or may be an adhesive portion in which the lower plate portion 2 and the reinforcing component 57 are bonded together.

The joint portion 58 joins the upper plate portions 101, 103, 104, 106, 107, 109, 110, and 112 overlapping the elastic portions 31 to 38 and the reinforcing component 56. As shown in FIG. As described above, the elastic portions 31 to 38 are joined to the upper plate portions 101, 103, 104, 106, 107, 109, 110 and 112 at the joining portion 46. FIG. Therefore, it can be said that the reinforcement component 56 is coupled to the elastic portions 31 to 38 via the upper plate portions 101 , 103 , 104 , 106 , 107 , 109 , 110 , 112 by the joining portions 46 , 58 . Also, the joining portion 58 joins the upper plate portions 102 , 105 , 108 , 111 to which the parts 61 to 64 are fixed and the reinforcing component 56 . Therefore, it can be said that the reinforcing component 56 is coupled to the components 61 to 64 via the upper plate portions 102, 105, 108, and 111 by the joint portion 58. FIG.

Similarly, the joint portion 59 joins the lower plate portions 201, 203, 204, 206, 207, 209, 210, and 212 overlapping the elastic portions 31 to 38 and the reinforcing component 57. As shown in FIG. As described above, the elastic portions 31 to 38 are joined to the lower plate portions 201, 203, 204, 206, 207, 209, 210 and 212 at the joining portions 47. FIG. Therefore, it can be said that the reinforcing component 57 is coupled to the elastic portions 31 to 38 via the lower plate portions 201 , 203 , 204 , 206 , 207 , 209 , 210 and 212 by the joint portions 46 and 58 . Also, the joint portion 59 joins the lower plate portions 202 , 205 , 208 and 211 to which the parts 71 to 74 are fixed and the reinforcing component 57 . Therefore, it can be said that the reinforcing component 57 is connected to the components 71 to 74 via the lower plate portions 202 , 205 , 208 and 211 by the joining portion 59 . In this manner, the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 are coupled with the elastic portions 31-38 or the detectors 81-84, so that the detection accuracy of the sensor 10 is enhanced.

At least one of the parts 61-64, 71-74 of the detectors 81-84 may be fixed to the reinforcing parts 56,57. In this case, at least one of the parts 61-64, 71-74 may be directly adhered to the reinforcing parts 56, 57 or may be directly adhered to supporting parts fixed to the reinforcing parts 56, 57.

As shown in FIG. 11( a ), the reinforcement component 56 is provided with a hole 560 and the reinforcement component 57 is provided with a hole 570 . The holes 560 , 570 are used to connect the structure 5 and other parts (eg links or metal parts 51 to be described later) and the sensor 10 . For example, the inner surfaces of the holes 560 and 570 are threaded, and screws passing through other parts are screwed into the holes 560 and 570 to fasten the other parts to the reinforcing parts. In this case, the portions of the screws screwed into the holes 560 and 570 that protrude from the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 (the holes 560 and 570) may be accommodated in the holes 100 and 200 of the metal part 51. Alternatively, bolts passing through other parts may be passed through the holes 560, 570 and screwed into separately provided nuts, and the other parts may be fastened to the reinforcing parts 56, 57 with bolts and nuts. Alternatively, screws passing through other parts can be passed through the holes 560, 570 and screwed into the holes 100, 200 of the metal part 51 and fastened to the reinforcing parts 56, 57 with screws. The holes 560 in the reinforcing part 56 and the holes 100 in the top part 1 are superimposed and a screw or bolt can be inserted in both. The holes 570 in the reinforcing part 57 and the holes 200 in the underside 2 overlap each other and screws or bolts can be inserted in both.

Another form in which the structure 5 includes reinforcing parts will be described with reference to FIG. 12 .

FIG. 12(a) is a plan view seen from the Z direction so as to show overlapping of the metal part 51 and the reinforcing parts 56 and 57. FIG. The reinforcing parts 56 and 57 shown in FIG. 12(a) are disk-shaped. The disk-shaped reinforcing parts 56 and 57 overlap the eight elastic portions 31-38. If the reinforcement parts 56 and 57 are disk-shaped, the rigidity of the reinforcement parts 56 and 57 is improved and the rigidity of the structure 5 is also improved compared to the case where the reinforcement parts 56 and 57 are annular. The reinforcing part 56 and the reinforcing part 57 overlap each other at a portion that does not overlap with the metal component 51 (a portion sandwiching the portion surrounded by the metal component 51).

In FIG. 12(b), the reinforcing part 56 shown in FIG. 11(a) is divided into a plurality of reinforcing parts 56a and 56b, and the reinforcing part 57 shown in FIG. 11(a) is divided into a plurality of reinforcing parts 57a and 57b. A divided form is shown. As the structure 5 of the sensor 10, there are four reinforcing parts 56a and 56b coupled to the upper surface 1 of the metal part 51 and two reinforcing parts 57a and 57b coupled to the lower surface 2 of the metal part 51. is provided with reinforcement parts. The reinforcing parts 56a, 57a overlap four elastic portions 31-33, 38 out of the eight elastic portions 31-38. Four elastic portions 31 to 33 and 38 are provided between the reinforcement component 56a and the reinforcement component 57a. The reinforcing parts 56b and 57b overlap four elastic portions 34-37 out of the eight elastic portions 31-38. Four elastic portions 31 to 33 and 38 are provided between the reinforcing component 562 and the reinforcing component 572. As shown in FIG.

FIG. 12(c) shows a configuration using cross-shaped reinforcing parts 56 and 57. FIG. The reinforcing component 56 overlaps the elastic portions 31 , 33 , 35 , 37 and does not overlap the elastic portions 32 , 34 , 36 , 38 . The reinforcing component 57 overlaps the elastic portions 32 , 34 , 36 , 38 and does not overlap the elastic portions 31 , 33 , 35 , 37 . The reinforcement part 56 and the reinforcement part 57 overlap each other at a portion not overlapping with the metal part 51 .

The contours of the reinforcement components 56, 57 may be generally the same as the contour 55 of the metal component 51, or they may differ. In this example, the outline 55 of the metal part 51 is a substantially regular dodecagon, and the outlines of the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 are circular. Extending portions may be provided in which the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 extend outside the outline 55 of the metal part 51. For example, the extending parts of the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 are provided with the parts 6 and 7 of the detection means 8. May be fixed.

FIG. 13(a) shows a configuration in which the elastic portion group 3 of the structure 5 is divided into two metal parts 51 and 52 and arranged. The semi-annular metal component 51 has four elastic portions 31-34, and the semi-annular metal component 52 has four elastic portions 35-38. The metal component 51 has upper plate portions 101 to 106, lower plate portions 201 to 206, and side plate portions 401 to 406, and the metal component 52 has upper plate portions 107 to 112, lower plate portions 207 to 212, and side plates. It has parts 407-412. Detectors 81 and 82 are fixed to the metal part 51 , and detectors 83 and 84 are fixed to the metal part 52 . The metal parts 51 and 52 are composed of eight elastic parts 31 to 38, upper plate parts 101 to 112, lower surface parts 201 to 212 and side surface parts 401 to 412, and detectors 81 to 84 as shown in FIGS. It is arranged so as to have the same arrangement as the structure 5 .

FIG. 13(b) shows a configuration in which the elastic portion group 3 of the structure 5 is divided into four metal parts 51, 52, 53, and 54 and arranged. The semi-annular metal component 51 has two elastic portions 31 and 32, and the semi-annular metal component 52 has two elastic portions 33 and . The semi-annular metal part 53 has two elastic portions 35 and 36 and the semi-annular metal part 54 has two elastic parts 37 and 38 . The metal component 51 has upper plate portions 101 to 103, lower plate portions 201 to 203, and side plate portions 401 to 403, and the metal component 52 has upper plate portions 104 to 106, lower plate portions 204 to 206, and side plates. It has parts 404-406. The metal component 53 has upper plate portions 107-109, lower plate portions 207-209, and side plate portions 407-409, and the metal component 54 has upper plate portions 110-112, lower plate portions 210-212, and side plates. It has parts 410-412. A detector 81 is fixed to the metal part 51 , a detector 82 is fixed to the metal part 52 , a detector 83 is fixed to the metal part 53 , and a detector 84 is fixed to the metal part 54 .

The metal parts 51 to 54 are eight elastic parts 31 to 38, upper plate parts 101 to 112, lower surface parts 201 to 212 and side parts 401 to 412, and detectors 81 to 84 are the structures shown in FIGS. 5 are arranged to be the same arrangement.

When the structure 5 is composed of a plurality of metal parts each having at least two elastic portions, each of the plurality of metal parts is selected from metal parts that can provide sufficient performance, thereby making the structure 5 Can improve accuracy. As the number of elastic parts included in one piece of metal part increases, the yield of this one piece of metal part may decrease. Therefore, by reducing the number of elastic portions included in one metal component and increasing the number of metal components, the yield of the structure 5 can be improved while maintaining the same number of elastic portions. Although the structure 5 is divided into two in the form shown in FIG. 13(a) and divided into four in the form shown in FIG. 13(b), the structure 5 may be divided into three or into six. However, if the number of divisions of the structure 5 (the number of metal parts having elastic portions) is large, the assembly of the structure 5 tends to be complicated.

The plurality of metal parts constituting the structure 5 can be produced by bending separate metal members, or by bending one metal member and cutting it into a plurality of metal parts. of metal parts may be produced.

When the structure 5 is composed of a plurality of metal parts each having at least two elastic parts, it is preferable that four or more elastic parts arranged separately in the plurality of metal parts deform similarly. Therefore, it is preferable that the plurality of metal parts are connected by reinforcing parts. In the form shown in FIG. 13(c), the metal component 51 and the metal component 52 shown in FIG. 13(a) or FIG. The reinforcement component 56 is joined to the upper surface of the metal component 51 and joined to the upper surface of the metal component 52 . The reinforcing component 56 overlaps the elastic portion of the metal component 51 and the elastic portion of the metal component 52 respectively. Moreover, the metal part 51 and the metal part 52 are connected via the reinforcing part 57 . The reinforcing component 57 is joined to the lower surface of the metal component 51 and joined to the lower surface of the metal component 52 . The reinforcing part 57 overlaps the elastic part of the metal part 51 and the elastic part of the metal part 52 respectively. The configuration of FIG. 12(b) and the configuration of FIG. 13(b) can be combined. You may connect with the component 54. FIG. With this alone, the metal parts 51 and 54 are not connected, and the metal parts 52 and 53 are not connected. Therefore, the reinforcing component 57a may further connect the metal component 51 and the metal component 54, and the reinforcing component 57b may connect the metal component 52 and the metal component 53. FIG. As a result, it is possible to obtain a form in which the four metal parts 51 to 54 are interconnected by the four reinforcing parts 56a, 56b, 57a, 57b.

The form of FIG.13(b) is demonstrated more concretely using FIG. The metal parts 51 to 54 shown in FIG. 13(b) are each formed by bending the metal member 50 shown in FIG. 14(a).

In the step shown in FIG. 14A, a metal member 50 is prepared. The metal member 50 includes side plate portions 451, 452, and 453, upper plate portions 151, 152, and 153 connected to the side plate portions 451 to 453, lower plate portions 251, 252, and 253 connected to the side plate portions 451 to 453, and side plates. and elastic portions 351 and 352 connected to the portions 451 and 453 .

In the step shown in FIG. 14B, the upper plate portions 151 to 153 are bent in the direction of arrow 915 so that the metal member 50 is bent at the connecting portion between the side plate portions 451 to 453 and the upper plate portions 151 to 153. 1 bending process is applied. Further, a second bending process is performed to bend the lower plate portions 251 to 253 in the direction of arrow 913 so that the metal member 50 is bent at the connecting portions of the side plate portions 451 to 453 and the lower plate portions 251 to 253 . The bending angles of the first and second bending processes are 80° to 100° (90° in this example).

In the step shown in FIG. 14(c), the elastic portions 351 and 352 are bent in the direction of the arrow 918 so that the metal member 50 is bent at the connection portion between the side plate portions 451 and 453 and the elastic portions 351 and 352. Bend. The bending angle of the third bending is 80° to 100° (90° in this example).

In the step shown in FIG. 14(d), the side plate portions 451 and 452 are bent at the connection portion between the side plate portions 451 and 452 and the connection portion between the side plate portions 452 and 453. A fourth bending process is performed to bend in the direction of 922 . The bending angle of the fourth bending is 20° to 40° (30° in this example).

In the step shown in FIG. 14(e), each part of the metal member 50 is welded together. The upper plate portion 151 and the elastic portion 351 are joined at the joining portion 46 , and the upper plate portion 153 and the elastic portion 353 are joined at the joining portion 46 . The lower plate portion 251 and the elastic portion 352 are joined at the joint portion 47 , and the lower plate portion 253 and the elastic portion 352 are joined at the joint portion 47 . The upper plate portion 151 and the upper plate portion 152 are joined at the joining portion 48 , and the upper plate portion 152 and the upper plate portion 153 are joined at the joining portion 48 . The lower plate portion 251 and the lower plate portion 252 are joined at the joining portion 49 , and the lower plate portion 252 and the lower plate portion 253 are joined at the joining portion 49 .

In this way, four metal parts 51-54 each having elastic portions 351, 352 are produced.

In the step shown in FIG. 14(f), reinforcement parts 56 and 57 are prepared in addition to the four metal parts 51-54. The reinforcement component 56 is provided with various fixing holes 560 and 506 , and the reinforcement component 57 is provided with various fixing holes 570 and 507 . The reinforcing part 56 and the reinforcing part 57 sandwich the four metal parts 51 to 54 . The metal parts 51-54 are arranged such that a virtual circle passes through the respective elastic portions 351, 352 of the metal parts 51-54. The elastic portion 351 of the metal component 51 corresponds to the elastic portion 31 in FIGS. 3 to 5, and the elastic portion 352 of the metal component 51 corresponds to the elastic portion 32 in FIGS. The elastic portion 351 of the metal component 52 corresponds to the elastic portion 33 in FIGS. 3 to 5, and the elastic portion 352 of the metal component 52 corresponds to the elastic portion 34 in FIGS. The elastic portion 351 of the metal component 53 corresponds to the elastic portion 35 in FIGS. 3 to 5, and the elastic portion 352 of the metal component 53 corresponds to the elastic portion 36 in FIGS. The elastic portion 351 of the metal component 54 corresponds to the elastic portion 37 in FIGS. 3 to 5, and the elastic portion 352 of the metal component 54 corresponds to the elastic portion 38 in FIGS.

The upper plate portion 151 of the metal component 51 corresponds to the upper plate portion 101 in FIGS. 3 to 5, the upper plate portion 152 of the metal component 51 corresponds to the upper plate portion 102 in FIGS. A portion 153 corresponds to the upper plate portion 103 in FIGS. The upper plate portion 151 of the metal component 52 corresponds to the upper plate portion 104 in FIGS. 3 to 5, the upper plate portion 152 of the metal component 52 corresponds to the upper plate portion 105 in FIGS. A portion 153 corresponds to the upper plate portion 106 in FIGS. The upper plate portion 151 of the metal component 53 corresponds to the upper plate portion 107 in FIGS. 3 to 5, the upper plate portion 152 of the metal component 53 corresponds to the upper plate portion 108 in FIGS. A portion 153 corresponds to the upper plate portion 109 in FIGS. The upper plate portion 151 of the metal component 54 corresponds to the upper plate portion 110 in FIGS. 3 to 5, the upper plate portion 152 of the metal component 54 corresponds to the upper plate portion 111 in FIGS. The portion 153 corresponds to the upper plate portion 112 in FIGS.

The lower plate portion 251 of the metal component 51 corresponds to the lower plate portion 201 in FIGS. 3 to 5, the lower plate portion 252 of the metal component 51 corresponds to the lower plate portion 202 in FIGS. A portion 253 corresponds to the lower plate portion 203 in FIGS. The lower plate portion 251 of the metal component 52 corresponds to the lower plate portion 204 in FIGS. 3 to 5, the lower plate portion 252 of the metal component 52 corresponds to the lower plate portion 205 in FIGS. A portion 253 corresponds to the lower plate portion 206 in FIGS. The lower plate portion 251 of the metal component 53 corresponds to the lower plate portion 207 in FIGS. 3 to 5, the lower plate portion 252 of the metal component 53 corresponds to the lower plate portion 208 in FIGS. A portion 253 corresponds to the lower plate portion 209 in FIGS. The lower plate portion 251 of the metal component 54 corresponds to the lower plate portion 210 in FIGS. 3 to 5, the lower plate portion 252 of the metal component 54 corresponds to the lower plate portion 211 in FIGS. A portion 253 corresponds to the lower plate portion 212 in FIGS.

The side plate portion 451 of the metal component 51 corresponds to the side plate portion 401 in FIGS. 3 to 5, the side plate portion 452 of the metal component 51 corresponds to the side plate portion 402 in FIGS. This corresponds to the side plate portion 403 in 1 to 5. The side plate portion 451 of the metal component 52 corresponds to the side plate portion 404 in FIGS. 3 to 5, the side plate portion 452 of the metal component 52 corresponds to the side plate portion 405 in FIGS. This corresponds to the side plate portion 406 in 1 to 5. The side plate portion 451 of the metal component 53 corresponds to the side plate portion 407 in FIGS. 3 to 5, the side plate portion 452 of the metal component 53 corresponds to the side plate portion 408 in FIGS. This corresponds to the side plate portion 409 in 1 to 5. The side plate portion 451 of the metal component 54 corresponds to the side plate portion 410 in FIGS. 3 to 5, the side plate portion 452 of the metal component 54 corresponds to the side plate portion 411 in FIGS. This corresponds to the side plate portion 412 in 1 to 5.

In the step shown in FIG. 14(g), the reinforcing component 56 and the upper plate portions 151 to 53 of the metal members 51 to 54 are joined at the joining portion 58, and the reinforcing component 57 and the lower plate portions 251 to 251 to 54 of the metal members 51 to 54 are joined. 252 are joined at the joining portion 59 .

In the step shown in FIG. 14H, a head unit 60 including the part 6 that is the encoder detection head and a scale unit 70 including the part 7 that is the encoder scale are fixed to the structure 5 . The head unit 60 includes the component 6 and a holding component 66 that holds the component 6. The holding component 66 that holds the component 6 is fixed to the reinforcing component 56 with a fixing component 65 such as a screw, rivet, or bolt. A fixing part 65 for fixing the holding part 66 is inserted into the hole 506 and joins with the holding part 66 . The scale unit 70 includes a component 7 and a holding component 77 that holds the component 7. The holding component 77 that holds the component 7 is fixed to the reinforcing component 57 with a fixing component 75 such as a screw, rivet, or bolt. A fixing part 75 for fixing the holding part 77 is inserted into the hole 507 and joins with the holding part 77 .

The holding part 66 has a fixing part 67 fixed to the reinforcing part 56 and a holding part 68 holding the part 6 . It is bent by The holding part 77 has a fixing part 76 fixed to the reinforcing part 57 and a holding part 78 holding the part 7 . It is bent by

A fixing portion 67 of the holding component 66 in the detector 81 is provided between an upper plate portion 153 of the metal component 51 (corresponding to the upper plate portion 103) and an upper plate portion 151 of the metal component 52 (corresponding to the upper plate portion 104). The fixing portion 76 of the holding component 77 in the detector 82 is provided between the lower plate portion 253 of the metal component 51 (corresponding to the lower plate portion 203) and the lower plate portion 251 of the metal component 52 (corresponding to the lower plate portion 204). A fixing portion 67 of the holding component 66 in the detector 82 is provided between an upper plate portion 153 of the metal component 52 (corresponding to the upper plate portion 106) and an upper plate portion 151 of the metal component 53 (corresponding to the upper plate portion 107). The fixing portion 76 of the holding component 77 in the detector 82 is provided between the lower plate portion 253 of the metal component 52 (corresponding to the lower plate portion 206) and the lower plate portion 251 of the metal component 53 (corresponding to the lower plate portion 207). The fixing portion 67 of the holding component 66 in the detector 83 is provided between the upper plate portion 153 of the metal component 53 (corresponding to the upper plate portion 109) and the upper plate portion 151 of the metal component 54 (corresponding to the upper plate portion 110). The fixing portion 76 of the holding component 77 in the detector 83 is provided between the lower plate portion 253 of the metal component 53 (corresponding to the lower plate portion 209) and the lower plate portion 251 of the metal component 54 (corresponding to the lower plate portion 210). A fixing portion 67 of the holding component 66 in the detector 84 is provided between an upper plate portion 153 of the metal component 54 (corresponding to the upper plate portion 112) and an upper plate portion 151 of the metal component 51 (corresponding to the upper plate portion 101). The fixing portion 76 of the holding component 77 in the detector 84 is provided between the lower plate portion 253 of the metal component 54 (corresponding to the lower plate portion 212) and the lower plate portion 251 of the metal component 51 (corresponding to the lower plate portion 201).

The holding portions 68 and 78 are bent with respect to the fixing portions 67 and 76, and the component 6 and the component 7 face each other in the r direction (radial direction). A force (torque) in the θ direction can be detected from the relative displacement between the parts 6 and 7 in the θ direction caused by the deformation of the structure 5 . Here, an example in which the holding parts 66, 77 are fixed to the reinforcing parts 56, 57 is shown, but the reinforcing parts 56, 57 have holding portions for holding the parts 6, 7, and the reinforcing parts 56, 57 The parts 6, 7 may be fixed to the holding part.

The sensor 10 can be mounted on various mechanical devices. Various mechanical devices can include prime movers (electric motors) such as motors and engines, and sensors 10 . and the second link are operated relative to each other, and various mechanical devices include video equipment such as cameras, optical equipment such as lenses, office equipment such as printers and copiers, medical equipment such as CT and MRI, and robots. and exposure machines, and transportation equipment such as vehicles, ships, and airplanes. Vehicles may include automobiles, bicycles, railroad vehicles, and the like. Also, the various mechanical devices may be medical devices/nursing devices such as powered suits and artificial limbs. By mounting a sensor 10 for measuring a dynamic quantity on these mechanical devices and measuring the force generated in the movable portion and its vicinity, it is possible to control the operation of these mechanical devices.

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate an example of how the sensor 10 is used. Mechanical equipment 1000 including sensor 10 includes link 630 and link 640 . A link is a mechanical element that moves relative to each other, and a connection between links is a joint. For example, the link 630 and the link 640 rotate relative to each other with the axis 680 as the rotation axis. A sensor 10 is provided between the link 630 and the link 640 . The sensor 10 is fixed to the link 630 by a fixing member 650 such as a screw, and the sensor 10 is fixed to the link 640 by a fixing member 660 such as a screw or bolt. The fixing member 660 can be inserted into at least one of the holes 100 and 560 described above, and the fixing member 650 can be inserted into at least one of the holes 200 and 570 described above. A prime mover (not shown) included in device 1000 relatively operates link 630 and link 640 .

In the sensor 10 of FIG. 15( a ), the upper surface portion 1 of the metal component 51 is fixed to the link 640 by the fixing member 660 , and the lower surface portion 2 of the metal component 51 is fixed to the link 630 by the fixing member 650 . In the sensor 10 of FIG. 15(b), the reinforcing component 56 fixed to the upper surface portion 1 is fixed to the link 640 by the fixing member 660, and the reinforcing component 57 fixed to the lower surface portion 2 is fixed to the link 630 by the fixing member 650. is fixed to

In recent years, a robot 600 that operates according to a robot program has been used for the production of articles. For the production of articles that require precision in the assembly operation, a control method in which a sensor 10 that can acquire dynamic information such as torque is arranged in the robot 600 and the force acting on the joint is measured to control the operation of the robot. is used. As this type of sensor 10, a torque sensor that detects the torque acting on the joint based on the detected deformation and the rigidity of the structure 5 using detection means that can detect the deformation of the structure 5 constituting the sensor 10 is attracting attention. are collecting. As for the torsion of the rotating shaft, the rotating shaft of the torque is the force of Mz, and the force in the other direction is the other axial force. The other-axis force becomes a torque detection disturbance (other-axis interference). The amount of torsion due to interference with other axes becomes a disturbance factor in torque detection. By providing the structure 5 with the upper surface portion 1 and the lower surface portion 2 as well as the reinforcing parts 56 and 57, it is possible to reduce other-axis interference.

16 and 17 schematically illustrate a torque detection method using the sensor 10. FIG. 16 corresponds to the form of FIG. 15(a), and FIG. 17 corresponds to the form of FIG. 15(b).

16(a) and 17(a) show a state in which no torque is generated. This state is the initial position of the parts 6 and 7 attached to the upper surface portion 1 .

FIGS. 16(b) and 17(b) show states in which, for example, the shaft 680 shown in FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b) rotates and torque is generated. In this case, the upper surface portion 1 coupled to the link 640 and the lower surface portion 2 coupled to the link 630 are displaced in the rotational direction. Furthermore, the upper surface portion 1 and the lower surface portion 2 are elastically deformed, and the amount of deformation is proportional to the magnitude of the generated torque.

Here, the positional relationship between parts 6 and 7 in FIGS. 16(b) and 17(b) has a change 930 from the initial positions shown in FIGS. 16(a) and 17(b). The sensor 10 measures the change 930 and detects the value of the torque being developed based on that measurement. For this purpose, the rotational stiffness Gz [kNm/rad], which is the torque Nt [kNm] required to rotate the sensor 10 by a unit angle [rad], is obtained by measurement or the finite element method. If the rotation angle measured by the parts 6 and 7 is θ, the generated torque Nt is detected as Nt=Gz×θ [kNm]. In this regard, FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b) can similarly detect the force to be detected.

FIGS. 16(c) and 17(c) show a state in which a bending moment 931 as shown in FIGS. 15(a) and (b) is generated. In this case, the component 6 is displaced to the left in the drawing as the upper surface portion 1 bends and deforms. This displacement causes parts 6 and 7 to be displaced 932 from their initial positions. Displacement due to this bending moment 931 appears as multi-axis interference, which may reduce the detection accuracy of the sensor.

In the form of FIG. 17(c), the addition of the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 increases the rigidity of the structure 5 . Therefore, the displacement 933 from the initial positions of the parts 6 and 7 when the bending moment 931 is generated becomes smaller than the displacement 933 in the configuration of FIG. .

For example, an electrogalvanized steel sheet (SECC) having a thickness Tm of 1.6 mm is subjected to punching and bending, and the inner diameter (diameter) of the metal part 51 is 78 mm, the outer diameter (diameter) is 106 mm, and the thickness Hm. is 15.6 mm, and the height Hc is 12.4 mm. The thickness of the upper surface portion, the lower surface portion, and the side surface portions is 1.6 mm. The inner diameter (diameter) of the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 is 78 mm, the outer diameter (diameter) is 106 mm, and the thicknesses Sa and Sb are 2.3 mm. The elastic constants of the metal part 51 and the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 are Young's modulus: 195 [GPa] and Poisson's ratio: 0.29. Under this condition, using the finite element method, the stiffness Gb against the bending moment of the other axis is Gb = 169 [kNm / rad] in the form of Fig. 3 (c), and Gb = 591 [kNm / rad] in the form of Fig. 11 (b). kNm/rad]. Thus, it can be seen that the addition of the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 increases the rigidity by about 3.5 times, and has a large effect of reducing the influence of interference with other axes. The physical properties of the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 are as follows. °C or less. The thermal expansion coefficient of the reinforcing parts 56 and 57 is 9.8×10 ⁻⁶ /° C. or more and 11.8×10 −6 /° C. or less, and the elastic modulus is 10.0×10 ³ kg/mm ² or more and 30.0×. It is 10 ³ kg/mm ² or less and contains copper and niobium.

FIG. 18(a) is a perspective view showing a robot system 900 according to an embodiment. In FIG. 18, the work WA is, for example, a ring-shaped member, and the work WB is, for example, a member having projections. An article W0 is manufactured by fitting the work WA and the work WB.

A robot system 900 includes a robot 600 , a controller 700 that controls the robot 600 , and a teaching pendant 800 . A robot 600 is an example of the mechanical device 1000, and is a multi-joint robot in this example. The robot 600 has an articulated robot arm 601 and a robot hand 602 attached to the tip of the robot arm 601 and serving as an end effector of the robot 600 .

The controller 700 controls the rotation angles of the joints J1 to J6 of the robot arm 601, respectively. Under the control of the controller 700, the robot 600 can orient its hands in arbitrary three-dimensional positions and orientations in arbitrary three directions within its movable range.

The teaching pendant 800 is teaching means for transmitting teaching point data to the controller 700 , and is mainly used by an operator to specify the motion of the robot 600 at the installation site of the robot system 900 . The teaching pendant 800 is provided with an operation unit including operation keys for moving, for example, the posture (position and angle) of the joints of the robot arm 601 or the position of a reference position arranged at the tip of the robot 600 or the like. be. When some robot operation is performed with the operation unit of the teaching pendant 800 , the controller 700 controls the motion of the robot arm 601 according to the operation of the teaching pendant 800 . At that time, the controller 700 controls each part of the robot 600 by executing the robot control program.

The robot hand 602 has a hand body 620 and a plurality of fingers 621 supported by the hand body 620 so as to be openable and closable. By closing the plurality of fingers 661, the workpiece WA can be gripped, and by opening the plurality of fingers 621, the workpiece WA can be gripped and released. By gripping the work WA with the plurality of fingers 621, the work of assembling the work WA to the work WB can be performed.

The robot arm 601 has a plurality of links 611-616, and the plurality of links 611-616 are rotatably connected by joints J1-J6. A base 610 of the robot arm 601 is fixed to the pedestal 150 . Each of the joints J1 to J6 of the robot arm 601 is provided with a drive mechanism having an electric prime mover (motor) or the like. The electric motor is, for example, a servomotor. A drive mechanism for each of the joints J1 to J6 has an appropriate output according to the required torque. A sensor 10 is provided on at least one of the joints J1 to J6. Controller 700 controls a prime mover (motor) based on information obtained from sensor 10 . The mechanisms of the joints J1 to J6 may have the same configuration or may be different.

For example, in the case of the joint of the robot arm 601, the sensor 10 measures the drive torque of a motor (not shown) that drives the joint, that is, the rotational drive force applied from this motor to the link. This sensor 10 is arranged at a predetermined position on the drive shaft of a drive system, for example a motor arranged inside the joint or further a reduction gear.

A robot arm 601 shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B is a robot arm having a configuration in which a plurality of links are interconnected via a plurality of joints (6 axes), for example, in a serial link format. A robot hand 602 as an end effector is connected to a link 616 at the tip of the robot arm 601 . The links 611, 612, 613, 614, 615, and 616 of the robot arm 601 are connected, for example, via joints, in this embodiment joints J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, and J6.

A base 610 (base portion) of the robot arm 601 and a link 611 are connected by a joint J1 that rotates around a rotation axis in the Z-axis direction. It is assumed that the joint J1 has a movable range of approximately ±180 degrees from the initial posture, for example. A link 611 and a link 612 of the robot arm 601 are connected by a joint J2. The rotation axis of the joint J2 coincides with the Y-axis direction in the illustrated state. This joint J2 has a movable range of, for example, about ±80 degrees from the initial posture.

A link 612 and a link 613 of the robot arm 601 are connected by a joint J3. The joint J3 shall have a movable range of, for example, about ±70 degrees from the initial posture. The links 613 and 614 of the robot arm 601 are connected by a joint J4. The joint J4 shall have a movable range of about ±180 degrees from the initial posture, for example.

A link 614 and a link 615 of the robot arm 601 are connected by a joint J5. The rotation axis of the joint J5 coincides with the Y-axis direction in the illustrated state. This joint J5 shall have a movable range of, for example, about ±120 degrees from the initial posture. A link 615 and a link 616 of the robot arm 601 are connected by a joint J6. The joint J6 shall have a movable range of, for example, about ±240 degrees from the initial posture.

As described above, in this embodiment, the rotation axes of the joints J1, J4, and J6 are arranged in parallel (or coaxially) with the central axes (one-dot chain lines) of the two links that are coupled to each other. It is arranged so that the (relative) angle around the axis of rotation of the link can be changed. On the other hand, the rotation axes of the joints J2, J3, and J5 are arranged so that the intersecting (relative) angle of the central axes (same) of the two links to which they are coupled can be changed.

Further, the end of the link 616 of the robot arm 601 is connected to a robot hand 602 (end effector) such as an (electric) hand or a (pneumatically driven) air hand for performing assembly work or movement work in the production line. The robot hand 602 (end effector) is attached to the link 616 by (semi-)fixing means (not shown) such as screwing, or by attaching/detaching means (not shown) such as latching (ratchet). ). In particular, when the robot hand 602 is detachable, a method of controlling the robot arm 601 and detaching or replacing the end effector arranged at the supply position (not shown) by the robot's own operation is also conceivable.

FIG. 18(b) is a schematic cross-sectional view of one of the joints J1 to J6. This joint connects link 630 and link 640 . The sensor 10 has an annular shape, and a connection part 670 that connects the link 630 and the link 640 is provided in the space surrounded by the sensor 10 . The connecting piece 670 is surrounded by at least four elastic parts (eg, eight elastic parts 31-38) included in the sensor 10. FIG. The connection part 670 may be a mechanical part such as a motor or a speed reducer provided on the link 630 or the link 640, or a mechanical shaft that interconnects the mechanical parts. The connection component 670 may be a wiring component that electrically connects the electrical component provided on the link 630 and the electrical component provided on the link 640 . Using the ring-shaped sensor 10 and arranging the connection part 670 so as to be surrounded by the sensor 10 in this manner is advantageous for downsizing the robot 600 . Therefore, the ring-shaped reinforcing parts 56 and 57 shown in FIG. 11(b) are preferable to the disk-shaped reinforcing parts 56 and 57 shown in FIG. 12(a). The force applied to at least one of the links 630 and 640 deforms the structure 5 of the sensor 10 and the deformation is detected by the detection means 8 . For example, sensor 10 can be used as a torque sensor that detects torque about axis 680 .

A robot 600 having a torque sensor and capable of torque control is often used for assembling automobile engine parts with a load of several kilograms and parts with a load of several hundred grams. On the other hand, the robot 600 is not often used for assembling small parts weighing several grams, thin films or sheets, and the like, where the load applied to parts during assembly is only a few grams. The reason for this is that the accuracy of force (torque) control of conventional articulated robots is not so high, and the end effector at the tip of the robot arm 601 is required to assemble parts with a load of several grams. This is because the required accuracy could not be achieved. The sensor 10 of the present embodiment can be used as a low-cost, high-precision torque sensor, and enables the robot 600 to handle minute workpieces with precise motions.

The robot 600 shown in FIG. 18(a) may be a collaborative robot. In manufacturing an article using a collaborative robot, the robot 600 cooperates with a person to manufacture an article within a range of 1 m from the person. In such a manufacturing method, when a person contacts the robot 600, the contact can be detected by the sensor 10 provided in the robot 600, and control such as operation stop can be performed. By reducing the cost of the sensor 10 provided in the robot 600, the cost of the robot 600 can be reduced, the cost of the product manufactured by the manufacturing method using the collaborative robot can be reduced, and the safety of the manufacturing method can be improved. .

The embodiments described above can be modified as appropriate without departing from the technical concept. For example, multiple embodiments can be combined. Also, some items of at least one embodiment may be deleted or replaced. Also, new additions may be made to at least one embodiment.

It should be noted that the disclosure of this specification includes not only what is explicitly described in this specification, but also all matters that can be grasped from this specification and the drawings attached to this specification. The disclosure herein also includes complements of the individual concepts described herein. That is, for example, if there is a statement that "A is B" in this specification, even if the description of "A is not B" is omitted, It can be said that it discloses the case. This is because, when "A is B" is stated, it is assumed that "A is not B" is considered.

5 structure 8 detection means 3 elastic part group 51 metal part

Claims (25)

A sensor comprising a structure and detection means for detecting deformation of the structure,
The structure has at least four elastic parts discretely arranged in a virtual plane,
The structure includes at least one metal part formed by bending a metal member,
A sensor in which said one metal part has at least two of said four elastic portions. 2. The sensor of claim 1, wherein said one metal part has side portions that are discretely arranged in said plane. Each of the two elastic portions is connected to the side portion, and the one metal member is bent by bending at a connection portion between each of the two elastic portions and the side portion. 3. The sensor of claim 2. The connecting portion with each of the two elastic portions includes a first portion and a second portion arranged in a direction perpendicular to the plane, and a gap is provided between the first portion and the second portion. 4. A sensor according to claim 3, provided. The one metal component has an upper surface portion and a lower surface portion facing the upper surface portion, and the two elastic portions are arranged such that the flat surface is positioned between the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion. 5. A sensor according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sensor is provided with a . The one metal component has a side surface portion connected to the top surface portion and the bottom surface portion, and the one metal member is bent by bending at a connection portion between the top surface portion and the side surface portion. 6. The sensor according to claim 5, wherein said one metal member is bent by bending at a connecting portion between said lower surface portion and said side surface portion. Each of the two elastic portions is connected to the upper surface portion, and the one metal member is bent by bending at a connection portion between each of the two elastic portions and the upper surface portion. A sensor according to claim 5 or 6. 8. A sensor according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein each of said two elastic portions is welded to at least one of said upper surface portion and said lower surface portion. The upper surface portion is composed of a plurality of upper plate portions arranged along the plane,
The lower surface portion is composed of a plurality of lower plate portions arranged along the plane,
The side portion is composed of a plurality of side plate portions arranged along the plane,
The one metal member is bent by bending at a connection portion between a first side plate portion and a second side plate portion of the plurality of side plate portions,
The one metal member is bent by bending at a connecting portion between a first upper plate portion and the first side plate portion among the plurality of upper plate portions,
The one metal member is bent by bending at a connecting portion between a second upper plate portion and the second side plate portion among the plurality of upper plate portions,
the one metal member is bent by bending at a connecting portion between a first lower plate portion of the plurality of lower plate portions and the first side plate portion;
the one metal member is bent by bending at a connecting portion between a second lower plate portion of the plurality of lower plate portions and the second side plate portion;
The minor angle formed between the first side plate portion and the second side plate portion is the minor angle formed between the first upper plate portion and the first side plate portion, and the minor angle formed between the first upper plate portion and the second side plate portion. the minor angle formed by the side plate portion, the minor angle formed by the first lower plate portion and the first side plate portion, and the minor angle formed by the second lower plate portion and the second side plate portion larger than
7. The sensor of claim 6, wherein a first elastic portion of said two elastic portions overlaps at least one of said first upper plate portion and said first lower plate portion. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first upper plate portion and the second upper plate portion are welded together, and the first lower plate portion and the second lower plate portion are welded together. Described sensor. the one metal member is bent by bending at a connecting portion between a third side plate portion and the second side plate portion among the plurality of side plate portions;
the one metal member is bent by bending at a connecting portion between a third upper plate portion of the plurality of upper plate portions and the third side plate portion;
the one metal member is bent by bending at a connecting portion between a third lower plate portion of the plurality of lower plate portions and the third side plate portion;
The minor angle formed between the second side plate portion and the third side plate portion is the minor angle formed between the third upper plate portion and the third side plate portion and the minor angle formed between the third lower plate portion and the third side plate portion. larger than the minor angle formed with the third side plate,
11. The sensor according to claim 9 or 10, wherein a second elastic portion of said two elastic portions overlaps at least one of said third upper plate portion and said third lower plate portion. 12. The sensor of claim 11, wherein a first part of said detection means is fixed to said second upper plate portion and a second part of said detection means is fixed to said second lower plate portion. 13. The sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the four elastic parts are arranged such that an imaginary circle passes through the four elastic parts in the plane. 14. A sensor according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said one metal part comprises four of said four elastic parts. 15. The sensor of any one of claims 1-14, wherein the metal member is a cold rolled steel plate. With the one metal part as a first metal part, the structure includes a second metal part, the second metal part being the first metal part of the four elastic parts. 14. A sensor according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising two elastic parts other than said two elastic parts comprising. The structure includes a reinforcing part overlapping a plurality of elastic parts of the four elastic parts, the reinforcing part is coupled to the one metal part, and the thickness of the reinforcing part is the 17. A sensor according to any one of the preceding claims, which is greater than the thickness of the metal member and less than the height of the metal part. The structure includes a first reinforcing part that overlaps with a plurality of elastic parts out of the four elastic parts, and a second reinforcing part that overlaps with the plurality of elastic parts, and is the one metal part. is arranged between the first and second reinforcement parts and is connected to the first and second reinforcement parts. sensor described in . 19. The sensor of claim 18, wherein said first reinforcing component and said second reinforcing component overlap four of said four elastic portions. 20. A sensor according to claim 18 or 19, wherein each of said first reinforcement component and said second reinforcement component are welded to said one metal component. 21. Any one of claims 1 to 20, comprising a first link, a second link operating relative to said first link, and coupled to said first link and said second link. A device comprising the described sensor. 22. The apparatus of claim 21, comprising a prime mover for relatively moving said first link and said second link. 23. The device of claim 22, wherein the device is an articulated robot. A system comprising the equipment according to claim 22 or 23, and a controller for controlling the prime mover based on information obtained from the sensor. 24. A method of manufacturing an article, wherein the device according to any one of claims 21 to 23 cooperates with a person within a range of 1 m from the person to manufacture the article.

Images