JP3787732B2 - Floating unit - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a floating unit attached to an output unit of a robot such as a manipulator .
[0002]
[Prior art]
As the floating unit, for example, there is a unit in which a fixed body and a driven body are connected to each other by using a laminated body made of rubber and a steel plate as an elastic means.
[0003]
This unit is used for an operation in which a fixed body is attached to the robot side and, for example, a hand mechanism is attached to the follower side, and a pin gripped by the hand mechanism is inserted into a hole (an example).
[0004]
However, when the unit is in the vertical posture, the above-described pin insertion operation is performed relatively smoothly. However, when the unit is in the horizontal posture shown in FIG. As a result, the driven body 2 hangs down (hereinafter referred to as “inclined”), and the pin insertion work becomes substantially impossible. Such a phenomenon is remarkable when the pin is long (when the moment is large).
[0005]
Recently, floating units equipped with a mechanism for locking the follower to the fixed body have come to market. When this unit is used, the locking function allows the follower to move relative to the fixed body in the horizontal position. Although the tilt can be prevented, the floating function is destroyed.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a floating unit that maintains the floating function and does not cause the follower to tilt with respect to the fixed body due to the weight of the follower.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
[Invention of Claim 1]
The present invention is a floating unit including a fixed body 1 and a driven body 2 arranged so as to be movable in a small amount in a three-dimensional direction with respect to the fixed body 1, and the fixed body 1 or the driven body 2 includes When the cylinder 50 having the piston 51 and at least three intake valves 52 for supplying air into the cylinder 50 are provided radially and at equal angular intervals, and the follower 2 is inclined with respect to the fixed body 1 The piston 51 is moved by the air supplied into the cylinder part 50 when the intake valve 52 arranged close to the inclination is opened, and is driven by the pressing force of the piston 51 and the fixed body 1. The body 2 is separated from the body 2.
[Invention of Claim 2]
The floating unit according to the present invention relates to the invention according to claim 1, wherein one end portion of the intake valve 52 is projected from one surface of the opposed surfaces of the fixed body 1 and the driven body 2 and the other surface. When the driven body 2 is inclined with respect to the fixed body 1, the intake valve 52 disposed at a portion closer to the inclination is pushed in by the pressing force from the other surface and opened. It is like that.
[Invention of Claim 3]
The floating unit of the present invention relates to the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the piston 51 disposed on one of the fixed body 1 or the driven body 2 and the other of the fixed body 1 or the driven body 2 Between them, a hard ball is interposed.
[0008]
The functions and the like related to the floating unit of the present invention will be described in the following embodiments of the present invention.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0010]
FIG. 1 shows a manipulator M attached with a hand mechanism H via a floating unit FU according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0011]
Hereinafter, a basic configuration of the floating unit FU, components of the unit FU, and the like will be described in detail.
[Basic configuration of floating unit FU]
As shown in FIG. 3, the floating unit FU inserts the shaft part 20 of the driven body 2 into the hole 10 of the fixed body 1 and, as shown in FIGS. The follower 2 is positioned with respect to the fixed body 1 by pressing the peripheral surface of the shaft portion 20 with the three aligning pressing means 3 provided in the above, and at intervals of 120 ° (60 ° with the pressing means 3). The follower 2 is connected to the fixed body 1 by the three connecting means 4 provided in the above manner. Further, in this unit FU, as shown in FIG. 10, an inclination preventing means 5 for preventing the inclination of the driven body 2 with respect to the fixed body 1 is provided.
[0012]
In the assembled state in which the fixed body 1 and the driven body 2 are connected, a gap G is formed between them as shown in FIG.
[Configuration of Fixed Body 1]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fixed body 1 is constituted by a thick circular plate, and the circular hole 10 is formed at the center thereof.
[About the structure of the follower 2]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the follower 2 is configured by a thin circular plate having the same diameter as the fixed body 1, and a portion pressed by the pressing means 3 is formed in a cross-sectional regular triangle shape at the center thereof. The shaft body 20 is inserted and fixed. The range in which the shaft portion 20 can move in the direction perpendicular to the shaft portion 20 in the hole portion 10 is the floating range in the XY direction. [Regarding the configuration of the pressing means 3]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pressing means 3 is urged by a spring 35 to press the cylinder portion 30 provided in the fixed body 1 and the peripheral surface of the shaft portion 20 provided in the cylinder portion 30. A piston 31, an intake valve 32 provided on the fixed body 1 for supplying air into the cylinder part 30, an exhaust valve 33 provided on the fixed body 1 for discharging air inside the cylinder part 30, The valve mechanism 34 is provided on the driven body 2. When the driven body 2 moves downward in the X or Y direction with respect to the fixed body 1 as shown in FIG. 4, it moves together with the driven body 2. The valve mechanism 34 thus opened opens the intake valve 32 located on the lower side and the exhaust valve 33 located on the upper side.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 2, the valve operating mechanism 34 is formed in a quadrangular shape in plan view and has a valve-operated main body 34 a having a linear ridge t that pushes the intake valve 32 or the exhaust valve 33, and the valve main body 34 a. As shown in FIG. 3, about half of the valve main body 34a and the coil spring 34b are accommodated in the shallow hole 22, as shown in FIG.
[0014]
Next, the intake valve 32 and the configuration around the intake valve 32 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 6, the intake valve 32 is inserted and arranged in a through hole that communicates the inside of the cylinder portion 30 with the outside. The valve is closed by the pressure contact between the valve ring 32a and the valve seat 12 generated by the urging force of the coil spring 32b disposed in the gap 13. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the intake valve 32 has a seal ring 32c so that the air introduced from the air introduction path 36 in both the on-off valve states is not discharged outside the unit through the small gap 13. Is arranged. The three air introduction passages 36 are connected to each other by a tube T as shown in FIG. 2, and for example, air from the compressor is always sent to all the air introduction passages 36 through the tube T. ing.
[0015]
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the exhaust valve 33 and the configuration around it are basically the same as those of the intake valve 32, and there is no difference corresponding to the seal ring 32c, and the air. There is no point corresponding to the introduction path 36.
[0016]
Therefore, when the follower 2 is not relatively moved with respect to the fixed body 1, that is, when the convex strip t of the valve operating body 34a in the valve operating mechanism 34 is in the neutral position shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. The intake valve 32 and the exhaust valve 33 are closed, and the pressures in all the cylinder portions 30 are balanced.
[0017]
6 and 7, reference numeral 33 a is a valve ring, reference numeral 33 b is a coil spring, and reference numeral 14 is a valve seat. The same function as the valve ring 32 a, coil spring 32 b, and valve seat 12 of the intake valve 32 is achieved. Is.
[About the configuration of the connecting means 4]
As shown in FIG. 3, the connecting means 4 is constituted by a hole H composed of the deep hole 15 of the fixed body 1 and the shallow hole 21 of the driven body 2, and the following components mounted in the hole H. Yes.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 3, the hole H includes a bearing 4a (comprising ball bearing members 42, 44 and balls 43) and a bearing 4b (comprising ball bearing members 44, 45 and balls 43). 11, the ball receiving member 45 and the coil spring 46 (which may be a disc spring or other spring) constituting the bearing 4b are accommodated on the shallow hole 21 side. Note that the outer diameter of the ball receiving member 42 is set smaller than that of other ball receiving members.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 3, the nuts 41, 47 are arranged above and below the inserted bolt 40 in such a manner that the gaps are relatively small with respect to the ball receiving members 42, 45 and there are many gaps with respect to the ball receiving members 44, 44. The fixed body 1 and the driven body 2 are integrated with each other.
[0020]
Since the connecting means 4 is configured as described above, the follower 2 can move by a small amount in the XY and M directions shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 with respect to the fixed body 1 due to the presence of the bearing 4a and the like. Further, due to the presence of the coil spring 46, the follower 2 can be moved by a small amount in the Z direction shown in FIG.
[Regarding the configuration of the tilt prevention means 5]
As shown in FIG. 10, the inclination prevention means 5 includes a cylinder portion 50 having a piston 51 and a suction valve 52 that supplies air into the cylinder portion 50 in a radial manner at intervals of 120 °. Three air pipes are provided, and the air guided by the tube T <b> 1 reaches the upstream side of the intake valve 52 through the air introduction path 53.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 10, one end of the intake valve 52 protrudes from the driven body 2 and is brought into contact with the fixed body 1, and the driven body 2 is inclined with respect to the fixed body 1 as shown in FIG. 11. In this case, the intake valve 52 disposed at a portion closer to the inclination is pushed by the pressing force from the fixed portion 1 and opened.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 10, the cylinder portion 50 is configured by a circular hole provided on the driven body 2 side, and a piston 51 and a coil spring 54 that urges the piston 51 toward the fixed body 1 side are provided therein. A plurality of hard balls 55 are interposed between the piston 51 and the bottom surface of the shallow hole formed in the fixed body 1. As shown in FIG. 10, the cylinder portion 50 is provided with a minute hole 56 communicating with the outside air (preferably a variable flow rate with a speed controller instead of the fixed minute hole 56). Therefore, the piston 51 is prevented from moving. Here, if the said structure is shown as an air circuit diagram, it is as FIG. In the figure, the symbol AC is an air compressor.
[0023]
In place of this embodiment, the tilt preventing means 5 may be provided on the fixed body 1 side.
[When the unit FU is in the state shown in FIGS. 3 to 4]
Here, when the posture of the unit FU changes from the above state to the state shown in FIG. 4, the driven body 2 is lowered with respect to the fixed body 1, and the lower intake valve 32 shown in FIG. The valve main body 34a is pushed in and opened. Then, the air guided from the lower air introduction path 36 shown in FIG. 7 is supplied into the lower cylinder part 30, and the air pressure in the cylinder part 30 increases. Since the upper intake valve 32 shown in FIG. 6 is kept closed, the air pressure in the upper cylinder portion 30 is not increased.
[0024]
Simultaneously with the opening of the lower intake valve 32 described above, the upper exhaust valve 33 is also opened. That is, the upper exhaust valve 33 shown in FIG. 6 is pushed open by the valve operating main body 34a of the valve operating mechanism 34, and the air in the upper cylinder part 30 is discharged out of the unit FU. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the lower exhaust valve 33 is maintained in the closed state, and the air in the lower cylinder portion 30 is not discharged outside the unit FU.
[0025]
Therefore, [pressing force on the shaft portion 20 by the upper piston 31] <[pressing force on the shaft portion 20 by the lower piston 31], and the position of the driven body 2 moves upward. 3, that is, when the valve mechanism 34 is in a neutral state where all the intake valves 32 and the exhaust valves 33 are not opened, the upward movement of the driven body 2 is stopped, and the floating unit FU The automatic alignment is finished.
[When the follower 2 rotates with respect to the fixed body 1]
In a state where the driven body 2 is not rotating with respect to the fixed body 1, the front end plane of the piston 31 is in full contact with the plane of the shaft portion 20 as shown in FIG. 8.
[0026]
Here, when the driven body 2 rotates with respect to the fixed body 1, a gap as shown in FIG. 9 is formed between the tip end plane of the piston 31 and the plane of the shaft portion 20. Since the ridge portion t of the valve operating main body 34a moves along the locus L (shown by three curves) shown in FIG. 8, all the intake valves 32 are opened. Accordingly, the pressure in all the cylinder portions 30 is increased, and the pressing force of the piston 31 returns to the original state where the tip plane of the piston 31 is in full contact with the plane of the shaft portion 20. [When the follower 2 is inclined with respect to the fixed body 1]
As shown in FIG. 11, when the driven body 2 is inclined with respect to the fixed body 1, the intake valve 52 disposed in the portion closer to the fixed body 1 is opened, and the air is in the tube T1 → the air introduction path 53 → the intake air. It will be supplied into the cylinder part 50 through a path around the valve 52. As a result, the piston 51 is moved, and the fixed body 1 and the driven body 2 are separated from each other up to the state shown in FIG. The range in which the fixed body 1 and the driven body 2 are separated is limited by the length between the nuts 41 and 47 of the connecting means 4.
[About another embodiment 1 of the tilt preventing means 5]
As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the tilt preventing means 5 is configured such that the ball receiving member 45 in the connecting means 4 is replaced with a ring-shaped piston 51 and the shallow hole 21 is a cylinder portion 50. As a result, the cylinder 50 having the piston 51 and the connecting means 4 are located on the same plane, so that the area occupied by the connecting means 4 and the inclination preventing means 5 in plan view can be reduced, and the unit FU can be made compact. Can be
[0027]
Note that the cylinder part 50 and the intake valve 52 in the inclination preventing means 5 are arranged on the radiation at intervals of 120 ° (see FIG. 15) and other structures and functions are completely different from those of the inclination preventing means 5 described above. It is the same.
[About other embodiment 2 of the inclination preventing means 5]
In the tilt preventing means 5 of the above embodiment, the hard ball 55 is interposed between the piston 51 and the fixing member 1 so that the driven body 2 moves smoothly with respect to the fixed body 1. The piston 51 and the fixing member 1 may be directly brought into contact with each other without interposing them.
[0028]
Further, the inclination preventing means 5 is not limited to three as long as it is equiangular, and may be four or more.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.
[0030]
As apparent from the description in the column of the embodiment of the present invention, a floating unit can be provided in which the floating function is maintained and the driven body is not inclined with respect to the fixed body due to the weight of the driven body.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view showing a state in which a hand mechanism is attached to an output end of a manipulator via a floating unit.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a floating unit according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the driven body side.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of upper and lower intake valves and exhaust valves in a state where a follower of the floating unit is lowered with respect to a fixed body.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of connection means in a state where a follower of the floating unit is lowered with respect to a fixed body.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the state of the upper intake valve and the exhaust valve in a state where the follower of the floating unit is lowered with respect to the fixed body.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state of the lower intake valve and the exhaust valve in a state where the follower of the floating unit is lowered with respect to the fixed body.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a movement trajectory of a ridge portion t mainly of a valve operating when a follower of the floating unit rotates with respect to a fixed body.
FIG. 9 is a view showing a contact state between a tip end plane of a piston and a plane of a shaft portion when a follower of the floating unit is rotated with respect to a fixed body.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a tilt prevention means of the floating unit.
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of a piston and an intake valve when a follower of the floating unit is inclined with respect to a fixed body.
FIG. 12 is an air circuit diagram of the tilt preventing means.
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a tilt preventing means of a floating unit according to another embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of a piston and an intake valve when a follower of a floating unit according to another embodiment is inclined with respect to a fixed body.
FIG. 15 is a plan view of a floating unit according to another embodiment as viewed from the driven body side.
FIG. 16 is a front view of a prior art floating unit.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fixed body 2 Follower body 50 Cylinder part 51 Piston 52 Intake valve

Claims (3)

A floating unit comprising a fixed body (1) and a follower (2) arranged so as to be movable in a small amount in a three-dimensional direction with respect to the fixed body (1), the fixed unit (1) or follower The body (2) is provided with at least three cylinder parts (50) having a piston (51) and at least three intake valves (52) for supplying air into the cylinder part (50) radially and at equal angular intervals. When the driven body (2) is inclined with respect to the stationary body (1), the intake valve (52) disposed at a portion closer to the inclination is opened and supplied to the cylinder portion (50). The floating unit is characterized in that the piston (51) is moved by the air and the fixed body (1) and the driven body (2) are separated from each other by the pressing force of the piston (51).  One end of the intake valve (52) protrudes from one of the opposing surfaces of the fixed body (1) and the driven body (2) and is in contact with the other surface. When the driven body (2) is inclined with respect to 1), the intake valve (52) disposed at a portion closer to the inclination is pushed by the pressing force from the other surface to be opened. The floating unit according to claim 1.  A hard ball is interposed between the piston (51) disposed on one of the fixed body (1) or the driven body (2) and the other of the fixed body (1) or the driven body (2). 3. The floating unit according to claim 1, wherein the floating unit is provided.

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