JP4923192B2 - Robot hand fork and robot hand - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot hand fork used for conveying articles and a robot hand configured by fixing the fork to a base. More specifically, the present invention relates to a robot hand fork suitably used for transporting a thin plate such as a glass substrate in a manufacturing process of, for example, a liquid crystal display device or a color filter, and a robot hand configured by fixing the fork to a base. Is.

  In a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device, a color filter, and the like, when processing a substrate such as a glass substrate, the substrate is transferred using a robot hand. In recent years, with the increase in size of liquid crystal display devices, it has been required to transport a large glass substrate at the time of manufacture, and it is necessary to increase the length of a fork for a robot hand.

  However, when a large glass substrate is loaded on the elongated robot hand fork, the amount of deflection of the free end of the robot hand fork inevitably increases. Furthermore, since the weight of the robot hand fork itself increases due to the lengthening, the amount of deflection due to its own weight also increases. When the amount of deflection at the free end of the robot hand fork increases, vibration increases when supporting or transporting the glass substrate, the glass substrate falls, or interferes with the support member of the glass substrate storage shelf, etc. This will hinder transportability.

  Therefore, FRP has come to be used in order to reduce the weight while increasing the rigidity of the robot hand fork. In particular, carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) that is highly rigid and lightweight is used.

  The robot hand fork is attached to the base by, for example, tightening a bolt as disclosed in Patent Document 1. Here, since the robot hand fork is generally a tubular body having a rectangular cross section, problems such as cracking of the fork are likely to occur when the mounting bolt is tightened. Therefore, a method is generally used in which a metal block is inserted into the mounting portion of the robot hand fork to the base and the both are joined with an adhesive, and then fixed to the base by tightening the mounting bolt through the metal block. Has been adopted.

  Since the robot hand performs operations such as transporting a glass substrate and entering and exiting the storage shelf, it is preferable that there is no protrusion as much as possible. For this reason, the fork for robot hand can be countersunk so that the bolt head does not protrude after bolt tightening, and the bolt head can be attached so as to be embedded in the fork for robot hand.

  However, when such counterbore processing is performed, a through-hole is formed in the tubular body, and the counterbore process is performed on the metal block inserted therein, so the robot hand fork is fixed to the base. In doing so, the mounting bolt does not tighten the outer surface of the tubular body, but tightens the metal block. For this reason, the adhesive used for joining the tubular body and the metal block is peeled off or damaged, and the mounting portion is loose.

Depending on the size of the glass substrate to be transported, the robot hand is a long product with a length of more than 3m to 4m. The problem of increasing easily occurs.
JP 2006-159301 A

  The present invention addresses such problems, strengthens the bonding force between the tubular body constituting the robot hand fork and the members inserted therein, and includes the excellent robot hand fork and the fork. The subject is to provide a robot hand.

The present invention for achieving the above object is characterized by the following configurations (1) to (5).
(1) A fork which is fixed to a base with a screw and constitutes a robot hand, and the fork includes a tubular body A and a member B inserted into one end of the tubular body A, and the tubular body The screw body has a counterbore hole for the screw that penetrates from the outer surface to the inner surface of A and reaches the member B, and the tubular body A and the member B are opposed to at least the surface of the tubular body A that contacts the base and the contact surface. A fork comprising a structure in which a member B is pressed to spread the tubular body A against the inner surface of the surface, and is joined and fixed to the base by the screw.
(2) The fork according to (1), wherein the member B is divided into a plurality of parts.
(3) The fork according to (1) or (2), wherein the tubular body A includes a fiber reinforced resin.
(4) The fork according to any one of (1) to (3), which is used for transporting a glass substrate constituting a liquid crystal display.
(5) A robot hand comprising the fork according to any one of (1) to (4) fixed to a base with a screw.

According to the present invention, a member to be inserted into a mounting portion of a robot hand fork to a base is configured to be pressed against the inner surface of the tubular body, and the fork is joined and fixed to the base. The bonding force can be maintained regardless of peeling or damage of the adhesive. In addition, since the backlash of the attachment portion is less likely to occur, an increase in the amount of deflection of the free end of the robot hand fork can be suppressed. Therefore, the robot hand fork and the robot hand according to the present invention avoid interference with peripheral devices even when the robot becomes longer due to the increase in the size of the glass substrate in the manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device or a color filter, for example. However, the glass substrate can be safely transported.

The fork for a robot hand according to the present invention includes a hollow tubular body A, a member B such as a metal block inserted into one end of the tubular body, and penetrates from the outer surface to the inner surface of the tubular body A to reach the member B. and a counterbore of the screws have, so that the tubular member a and member B, push the tubular body a with respect to the base surface in contact and該接surfaces and the inner surface of the opposing surfaces of at least the tubular body a The member B is pressed against the base, and is fixedly bonded to the base with the screws. DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a robot hand used in a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device, a color filter and the like. Reference numeral 10 denotes a part generally called a fork, which is composed of a tubular body 1 having a rectangular cross section. Reference numeral 2 denotes a base to which the fork 10 is attached, and is generally called a frame.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the attachment portion of the fork 10 to the frame 2 when FIG. 1 is viewed from the A direction. The fork 10 is generally attached to the frame 2 by mechanical fastening by tightening bolts 3. In order to prevent cracking when the bolt 3 is tightened inside the tubular body 1 constituting the fork 10, a metal member 4 is inserted into the attachment portion to the frame 2, and the tubular body 1 and the metal member 4 are Bonded by adhesive.

  Here, since the robot hand performs operations such as carrying a glass substrate and moving in and out of the storage shelf, it is preferable that there is no protrusion as much as possible. For this reason, the fork 10 is subjected to spot facing so that the bolt head 5 does not protrude, and the bolt head 5 is attached so as to be embedded inside the robot hand fork. However, in such an attachment method, a through-hole is formed in the tubular body, and a counterbore process is performed on the metal block inserted therein, so when fixing the fork for the robot hand to the base, The mounting bolt does not tighten the outer surface of the tubular body, but tightens the metal block. For this reason, as the bolt 3 is tightened, the inner surface of the fork 10 on the side subjected to the counterbore processing and the metal member 4 generate a force to be peeled off, and as a result, the adhesive is peeled off / damaged. Play occurs. Depending on the size of the glass substrate to be transported, the robot hand may be a long product with a fork length exceeding 3 m, and if the mounting part is loose, the amount of deflection at the free end of the fork will increase. Will occur.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the metal member 4 is pressed against the inner surface of the tubular body 1 in order to join and fix the tubular body 1 and the metal member 4. With such a structure, the tubular body 1 and the metal member 4 can be used regardless of the presence or absence of an adhesive used for joining the tubular body 1 and the metal member 4, and whether or not the adhesive is peeled off or damaged. And can be prevented from being loosely joined. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in the deflection amount of the free end of the fork 10.

  In order to obtain the joining method as described above, for example, the tubular body 1 is heated / expanded to a certain temperature, and in that state, the metal member 4 is inserted into the tubular body 1 and then brought into a stable state at a constant temperature. To do. By doing so, since the tubular body 1 contracts, the metal member 4 has a structure that presses the inner surface of the tubular body 1. Further, the metal member 4 to be inserted is cooled / contracted, and in this state, the metal member 4 is inserted into the tubular body 1 and then brought into a stable state at a constant temperature. By doing so, the metal member 4 expands, so that the metal member 4 presses the inner surface of the tubular body 1. Further, the above two methods may be performed simultaneously. That is, the tubular body 1 is heated / expanded to a certain temperature, and at the same time the inserted metal member 4 is cooled / contracted, and the metal member 4 is inserted into the tubular body 1 in that state, and then fixed. Make the temperature stable. By doing so, the tubular body 1 contracts and the metal member 4 expands, so that the metal member 4 presses the inner surface of the tubular body 1.

  As another method, as shown in FIG. 3, a structure in which the inner surface of the tubular body 1 and the metal member 4 are wedged and the metal member 4 is driven to press the inner surface of the tubular body 1. It holds. At this time, it is also preferable to divide the metal member 4 into a plurality of pieces. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, it is also preferable that the metal member 4 is composed of three members, each surface is wedged, and the central member α is driven. By doing so, the upper and lower members β are spread, and as a result, a structure is formed in which the metal member 4 presses the inner surface of the tubular body 1.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, there is a method in which the metal member 4 is composed of two members, one member γ is threaded, and the screw 6 is tightened toward the other member Δ. . In this method, the member Δ is pressed upward in the drawing by the screw 7, and the member γ tends to spread in the direction opposite to the tightening direction (downward in the drawing) as the screw is tightened. The structure which presses the inner surface of the tubular body 1 is realized.

  In the present invention, an adhesive may be applied to the inner surface of the tubular body 1 or the metal member 4, and a countersunk screw 7 as shown in FIG.

  In the fork for a robot hand of the present invention, the tubular body 1 may be made of various metal materials, but is preferably made of fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) from the viewpoint of light weight and high rigidity. The fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) includes a reinforced fiber and a matrix resin.

  As the reinforcing fiber, at least one of carbon fiber, aramid fiber, high-strength polyethylene fiber, glass fiber, boron fiber, and the like can be used, but carbon fiber is most preferable from the viewpoint of high rigidity and light weight. .

  Matrix resins include thermosetting resins such as epoxy resins, unsaturated polyester resins, vinyl ester resins, phenol resins, and polyimide resins, and thermoplastic resins such as ABS resins, nylon resins, polyether ether ketone resins, and polyolefin resins. Can be used. Among these, an epoxy resin excellent in adhesiveness with carbon fiber, or a combination of an epoxy resin and a vinyl ester resin is preferable.

  Further, the tubular body 1 does not have to be limited to a rectangular cross section as described in the above embodiment. If the tubular body 1 is hollow, the cross section has a circular shape, a polygonal shape, or a polygonal corner. It may have a rounded shape.

    On the other hand, as the metal member 4 inserted into one end of the tubular body 1, steel, carbon steel, stainless steel, cast iron, copper, aluminum or the like can be used, but aluminum is preferable from the viewpoint of weight reduction.

  The robot hand fork of the present invention described above is manufactured, for example, as follows.

  First, with respect to the tubular body 1, a reinforcing fiber prepreg is wound on or pasted on a metal core having a rectangular cross section, and an outer mold having a predetermined shape is pressed on the outer peripheral surface and heated and pressurized. It can be produced by removing the core material. Here, in order to prevent the FRP layer from contracting and becoming difficult to pull out when the core material is extracted, a woven FRP layer made of reinforcing fibers may be disposed on the inner periphery of the four surfaces constituting the hollow rectangle. .

  Next, regarding the metal member 4, the metal material to be inserted is machined into the shape as described above, and then, for example, an adhesive is applied to the surface in contact with the tubular body 1 and inserted into the tubular body 1. Then, fork for robot hand can be manufactured by drilling counterbore. Here, when attaching the countersunk screw 7 as a role which reinforces joint fixation, it is necessary to give a threading process to an attachment position separately.

  The present invention can be applied not only to a liquid crystal display glass substrate transfer device, but also to a semiconductor transfer device, a forklift, and the like, and its application range is not limited thereto.

It is the schematic of the robot hand which shows one embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a robot hand fork mounting portion viewed from the direction A in FIG. 1. It is a cross-sectional enlarged view of a robot hand fork mounting portion showing another embodiment of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional enlarged view of a robot hand fork mounting portion showing still another embodiment of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional enlarged view of a robot hand fork mounting portion showing still another embodiment of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional enlarged view of a robot hand fork mounting portion showing an example of reinforcement of joint fixation.

Explanation of symbols

A: Arrow direction α: Part of divided metal member β: Part of divided metal member γ: Part of divided metal member Δ: Part of divided metal member 1: Tubular body 2: Base (frame) )
3: Bolt 4: Metal member 5: Bolt head 6: Screw 7: Countersunk screw 10: Fork

Claims (5)

A fork which is fixed to a base by a screw and constitutes a robot hand, the fork comprising a tubular body A and a member B inserted into one end of the tubular body A, and an outer surface of the tubular body A The screw body has a counterbore hole for the screw that penetrates from the inner surface to the inner surface and reaches the member B, and the tubular body A and the member B are at least a surface that contacts the base and an inner surface of the surface that faces the contacting surface. A fork comprising a structure in which the member B is pressed to spread the tubular body A against the base, and is joined and fixed to the base by the screw.   The fork according to claim 1, wherein the member B is divided into a plurality of parts. The fork according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tubular body A contains a fiber reinforced resin.   The fork according to claim 1, wherein the fork is used for transporting a glass substrate constituting a liquid crystal display.   A robot hand comprising the fork according to any one of claims 1 to 4 fixed to a base with a screw.

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