JP3306992B2 - Industrial robot - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an industrial robot used in dusty and high-temperature environments.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A related art is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-1 / 1988.
No. 62187. In this technology, the robot body is cooled by flowing cold air into a dust-proof type protective suit covering the robot body. In the protective clothing, a cool air supply port is formed at a portion (tip) covering the vicinity of the hand of the robot body, and a pipe from a cool air device is connected to the cool air supply port. Further, the protective clothing has a cool air outlet formed at a portion (original portion) of the robot body covering the mechanism, and an exhaust pipe is connected to the cool air outlet. With this structure, when the cool air device is operated, cool air is supplied to the cool air supply port, and the cool air enters the inside of the protective suit, passes through a gap between the robot body and the protective suit, and flows from the cool air discharge port to the exhaust pipe. Is discharged. Thereby, the periphery of the robot main body is cooled by the cool air, and the temperature rise of the robot main body is suppressed. Further, since the robot main body is covered with the protective clothing, it is hardly affected by dust.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, since the cool air flows from the cool air supply port to the cool air discharge port of the protective clothing, that is, from end to end of the protective clothing, the distance of the flow of the cool air is small. It becomes longer and the airflow resistance increases. In particular, the size of the protective clothing cannot be increased so much for a robot having complicated movements with multiple joints. For this reason, the gap between the robot body and the protective clothing is reduced, and the ventilation resistance is further increased. For this reason, even if the capacity of the cool air device is increased, the flow rate of the cool air that can flow in the protective clothing naturally has a limit. For this reason, the cooling capacity is limited, and it is difficult to greatly improve the heat resistance of the robot body. In addition, when a robot is used in the vicinity of a high temperature part, the surface of the protective clothing becomes hot. Here, the cooling capacity (heat transfer amount) Δq of the cool air per unit flow is proportional to the temperature difference Δθ between the cool air temperature and the object to be cooled. That is, because of Δq∝Δθ, the cooling ability of the cool air is not sufficiently exhibited even when the back side of the protective clothing whose temperature is not as high as the surface of the protective clothing is cooled. Further, since only the surface of the robot body is cooled, the cooling efficiency is not good. Further, there is a problem that the movement of the robot body is hindered by the protective clothing and the piping for supplying cold air and the piping for exhausting air connected to the protective clothing, and the original function of the robot is reduced.

[0004] A technical problem of the present invention is to improve the cooling performance and ensure dust-proof performance by blowing cold air directly into the robot body and discharging it from the surroundings. By allowing the clothes and the like to be omitted, the original function of the robot is exhibited.

[0005]

The above-mentioned objects are attained by the present invention. The industrial robot according to claim 1 is formed over the entire surface of the robot main body, and is connected to a large number of through holes that communicate the inside and the outside of the robot main body with the inside of the robot main body via a pipe. And a refrigerant supply mechanism for blowing a refrigerant into the robot main body and applying an internal pressure to the inside of the robot main body by the refrigerant. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the industrial robot according to the first aspect, the robot main body is formed with a pipe-shaped refrigerant blowing pipe directed toward a hand of the robot main body. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the industrial robot according to the second aspect, the refrigerant outlet pipe is provided with a taper.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since a large number of through holes are formed in the surface of the robot main body, when the refrigerant is blown into the inside of the robot main body by the refrigerant supply mechanism and the internal pressure is applied, the refrigerant is cooled. Are discharged to the outside through the through holes. Thereby, a flow of the refrigerant is generated inside the robot main body, and the inside of the robot main body is cooled by the refrigerant. Further, since the through holes are formed over almost the entire surface of the robot body, the refrigerant discharged from the through holes forms a layer around the robot body and cools the surface of the robot body. That is,
The outside (surface) of the robot body is cooled by the refrigerant discharged after cooling the inside of the robot body. For this reason,
The cooling efficiency is improved by effectively utilizing the refrigerant. Further, since an internal pressure is applied to the robot main body by the refrigerant, external dust and the like do not enter the inside of the robot main body. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since a pipe-shaped refrigerant outlet pipe directed toward the hand of the robot main body is formed in the robot main body, a part of the refrigerant supplied to the inside of the robot main body is a refrigerant outlet pipe. And is sprayed onto the hand. For this reason, even if a high-temperature work is gripped by the hand, the work is cooled by the refrigerant, so that the heat of the work is hardly transmitted to the robot main body, and the cooling of the robot main body is promoted. In addition, as described in claim 3, it is preferable to provide a taper in the refrigerant outlet pipe.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An industrial robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Figure 1 shows about 200 ° C
FIG. 2 shows a side view of a spraying robot 10 that performs a spraying operation on a high-temperature work 2 at a temperature of 300 ° C. The spraying robot 10 includes a carriage 12 attached to a rail (not shown) provided on the ceiling 4 so as to be able to move along the rail (not shown).
A robot body 16 having a spray nozzle 14 is attached. Here, the working position of the spraying robot 10 has an ambient temperature of 100 ° C. or higher, and the dust is very large. On the other hand, the robot body 16 includes a servomotor 15s (heat-resistant
(40 ℃ ~ 50 ℃) and built-in rack & pinion etc., it is susceptible to heat and dust. For this reason, it is necessary to sufficiently take measures against heat and dust of the robot body 16.

A cool air supply port 16a is formed in the upper part of the robot body 16, and a cool air pipe 18p for guiding cool air from the cool air generator 18 to the cool air supply port 16a.
Is connected. The tip of the cold air pipe 18p is a flexible pipe, and the blowing robot 1
Care is taken not to hinder the movement of the zero. That is, the cool air generator 18 and the cool air pipe 18p correspond to the refrigerant supply mechanism of the present invention, and the cool air corresponds to the refrigerant. Further, the surface cover 16c of the robot body 16 has a large number of through holes 1 for discharging the cool air blown into the robot body 16.
6h are formed throughout. In particular, a large number of large-diameter through holes 16k are formed near the servomotor 15s. Here, the arrangement and diameter of the through holes 16h and 16k are determined with reference to the temperature distribution of the robot body 16, the capacity of the cold air generator 18, and the like.

Next, the spraying robot 10 according to the present embodiment
The function of will be described. First, when the cool air generator 18 is driven, cool air is supplied to the inside of the robot main body 16 from the cool air pipe 18p. Robot body 16
Most of the cold air blown into the inside of the robot body is discharged to the outside from the through holes 16h and 16k before reaching the tip of the robot body 16. For this reason, the distance through which the cool air flows becomes shorter on average, and the ventilation resistance in the robot body 16 decreases. As a result, even if the pressure of the cool air supplied by the cool air generator 18 is the same as in the related art, a large amount of cool air can flow in the robot body 16. Further, as described above, the surface cover 16 of the robot body 16 is used.
c has a large-diameter through hole 16 near the servomotor 15s.
Since a large number of k are formed, the flow rate of the cool air flowing near the servomotor 15s increases, and the cooling capacity of this portion becomes particularly high.

Further, since the cool air is discharged from a large number of through holes 16h and 16k formed in the front cover 16c of the robot body 16, as shown in FIG.
The surface of the robot main body 16 is cooled by the layer A of the cool air discharged outside from h and 16k. That is, the outside of the robot body 16 is cooled by the cool air discharged after cooling the inside of the robot body 16. Therefore, the cool air is effectively used, and the cooling efficiency is improved. By increasing the flow rate of the cool air and improving the cooling efficiency in this way, the cooling capacity is greatly improved, and the robot can be used in a high heat environment. Further, since the internal pressure of the cold air is applied to the inside of the robot main body 16, dust and the like from the outside
h, 16k and the gap between the front cover 16c do not enter the inside of the robot body 16. Therefore, the robot can be used in a dust environment. In this way,
The robot body 16 is moved to the position of the high-temperature workpiece 2 by the carriage 12 in a state where cold air is supplied to the inside of the robot body 16 and heat resistance and dust prevention measures are sufficiently performed, and a spraying operation is performed. If the supply of cold air is stopped due to a trouble during the operation, an alarm is issued and the robot body 16 is returned to the standby position.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an industrial robot 20 according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a part of a hand 24 of the industrial robot 20. The industrial robot 20 is a robot for holding and transporting the high-temperature work 8, and a cold air supply port 26 a is provided at the base (mechanical unit) of the robot main body 26, as in the first embodiment. Is formed. Then, the cool air pipe 2 for guiding the cool air from the cool air generator 28 to the cool air supply port 26a.
8p is connected. In the front cover 26c of the robot main body 26, a large number of through holes 26h for discharging the cool air blown into the robot main body 26 are entirely formed. In particular, a large number of large-diameter through holes 26k are formed near the servo motor 25s used for controlling the posture of the robot. Here, the through holes 26h, 26k
Are determined with reference to the temperature distribution of the robot body, the capacity of the cold air generator 28, and the like. Further, a pipe-shaped cold air blowing pipe 26p or a tapered pipe-shaped cold air blowing pipe 26t is formed at the tip of the front cover 26c (near the hand 24) so as to face the hand 24. With this structure, the cold air generator 2
A part of the cool air supplied from 8 to the robot main body 26 is discharged from the cool air blowing pipes 26p and 26t and is blown to the hand 24. Thereby, the hand 24
It becomes difficult for the heat of the high-temperature work 8 gripped to be transmitted to the robot main body 26 side, and cooling of the robot main body 26 is promoted.

[0012]

According to the present invention, since the surface of the robot main body can be cooled by the refrigerant that has cooled the inside of the robot main body, the refrigerant is effectively used and the cooling efficiency is improved. Therefore, the robot can be used in a high-temperature environment. Further, since the internal pressure of the refrigerant is applied to the robot main body, dust and the like do not enter the inside of the robot main body. For this reason, the conventionally required protective clothing and the like become unnecessary, and the movement of the robot is not hindered by the protective clothing and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a spraying robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a main part of a cover of the spraying robot.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an industrial robot according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a main part of the industrial robot.

[Explanation of symbols]

 16 Robot body 16c Surface cover 16h Through hole 16k Large diameter through hole 18 Cold air generator (refrigerant supply mechanism) 18p Cold air pipe (refrigerant supply mechanism)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of through-holes formed over the entire surface of the robot main body and communicating between the inside and the outside of the robot main body, and connected to the inside of the robot main body via piping, An industrial robot, comprising: a refrigerant supply mechanism for blowing a refrigerant into a main body and applying an internal pressure to the inside of the robot main body by the refrigerant. 2. The industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein the robot body has a pipe-shaped refrigerant outlet pipe directed toward a hand of the robot body. 3. The industrial robot according to claim 2, wherein the refrigerant outlet pipe is provided with a taper.