JPH01140986A - Connector for support plate and torsional plate of flexible arm - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily position and connect a support plate and a twisting plate by mutually oppositely forming a bush fitting hole and an extracting hole in the support plate and the twising plate, and fastening a presser plate to hold a bush holder tightly fitted to these fitting hole and extracting hole, to the support plate by a machine screw. CONSTITUTION: A bush holder 26 is tightly fitted to a bush fitting hole 12 of a support plate 4. Next, an extracting hole 18 of a twisting plate 7 is tightly fitted to this bush holder 26, and the support plate 4 and the twisting plate 7 are positioned through the bush holder 26. Afterwards, a presser plate 27 is fastened to the support plate 4 by a machine screw, and the bush holder 26 is held by this presser plate 27, and the support plate 4 and the twisting plate 7 are connected to each other. In this way, the support plate 4 and the twisting plate 7 to form a flexible arm of an industrial robot can be positioned and connected to each other by using the bush holder 26 without using a pin.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a device for connecting a torsion plate and a support plate having a disk constituting a flexible arm used as a robot arm or the like.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional flexible arms of this type have a configuration in which disks having curved surfaces are arranged in series, and power is transmitted to each disk by attaching wires, cables, etc. to the disks themselves (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-21756). ), or a configuration with a torsion plate that holds the disc and transmits power to the disc (for example, Swedish Patent No. 790238B-9)
, 8001998-7), etc. are known.

The operating range of a normal robot's arm is generally up, down, left, right, and rotation, but in the conventional flexible arm mentioned above, each disk is a curvature surface, so the arm can curve, bend, or bend. Another feature was that the robot could move in the opposite direction from the direction in which the robot stands.

In the conventional flexible arm described above, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the minimum structural unit is four disks a and one support plate b.
, four torsion plates C, and a bush e through which a wire d passes. This minimum component is made by attaching the bushing e to the support plate b by spot welding or rivets, and then stacking the torsion plate C and the disk a on both sides of the support plate b as one body and fixing them by spot welding or rivets. , and two other disks a are integrally fixed to both sides of the torsion plate C by spot welding, rivets, etc., and one element fixed to the support plate b side and the two torsion plates. The elements fixed to the sides are arranged in contact with each other, and adjacent torsion plates are connected at their outer peripheral edges by spot welding, rivets, etc.

In the conventional configuration described above, a large tensile force or compressive force is applied to the actuating device such as a wire or cable that transmits power, each of the disks mentioned above, and the plate that supports the disk, resulting in damage to the torsion plate or damage to the contact surface of the disk. There were problems such as wear and tear, resulting in a shape that did not have a predetermined curvature, making smooth bending motion impossible.

In addition, when transmitting tensile force or compressive force through an actuator,
Due to the reaction force from each disk and the support plate of the disk, it is difficult to position the tip of the flexible arm at the desired position, resulting in poor positioning accuracy.

Therefore, the applicant first disposed a torsion plate between the support plate that supports the disk and the intermediate plate, connected both opposing sides of the torsion plate to the intermediate plate, and connected the connecting portion of the intermediate plate to the intermediate plate. By connecting the opposite sides, which are 90 degrees apart, to the support plate, only the work-related force of the stress applied to the contact surface of the disk and the support plate is transmitted to each unit, and the reaction force due to friction and rigidity is transmitted to each unit. We proposed a disk holding structure in which the disk is absorbed by an intermediate plate and a torsion plate.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

With such a disk holding structure, it is necessary to position and connect the support plate and the torsion plate. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, a pin hole is formed in the support plate f and the torsion plate g, and The pin j is fitted into the pin hole i for positioning, and the support plate f
A bushing holder m is fitted into a hole in a torsion plate f, a presser plate 0 is brought into contact with a flange n of the busher holder m, and the presser plate 0 is fixed to a support plate f with bolts p.

However, with the above-mentioned connection structure, the support plate f
Since a pin hole and a hole i are drilled in the torsion plate g, the machining becomes troublesome, and the assembly work becomes troublesome because the pin j is fitted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a device for connecting a support plate and a torsion plate of a flexible arm, which allows the support plate and torsion plate to be positioned and connected using a bush holder without using pins.

[Means and actions for solving the problem] A bush holder is tightly fitted to the support plate, and a torsion plate is tightly fitted to the bush holder, so that the support plate and the torsion plate can be positioned using the bush holder. be.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the figure, 1 is a unit, and a flexible arm is constructed by stacking a plurality of units 1, 1°, etc. in series.

The unit 1 includes one support plate 4, one disk 5, one intermediate plate 6, and two torsion plates 7.
, 7.

In the above unit 1, the support plate 4 has a substantially rectangular planar shape, and bushing fitting holes 1 are provided at the four corners of the support plate 4.
2 is a provision. Further, in the center of the support plate 4, there is provided a disk support hole 13 into which the disk 5 is fixed by means such as press fitting. Furthermore, plate mounting surfaces 4a are provided at the four corners of the support plate 4, with a pair of plate mounting surfaces 4a facing each other in a diagonal direction and being shifted in phase on the front and back sides of the support plate 4, respectively.

The intermediate plate 6 has a square planar shape with a gap between it and the support plate 4, and a hole 14 is provided in the center of the intermediate plate 6, into which the disc 5 is fitted with a gap.
Furthermore, plate mounting surfaces 15 and 15 are provided on the front and back sides of two diagonally opposing locations among the four corners.

Further, punch holes 16a and 16b are provided at each of the four corners.

The torsion plate 7 and the support plate 4 have a rectangular planar shape with a gap between them, and a punch hole 17 into which the disk 5 fits loosely is provided in the center, and punch holes 18 are provided in the four corners. It is a provision. This torsion plate 7 is twisted in the front and back directions, and has mounting surfaces 19 at its four corners.
However, a set of diagonally opposite ones is provided with the phases shifted in the front and back directions.

The above unit 1,1. In the lower end unit 2 and the upper end unit 3, which correspond to the base end portions, one side of each support plate 8, 9 is flat, making it easy to fix. The shape of the fixed surfaces of both support plates 8.9 is formed in a shape corresponding to the surface shape of the mating member. Both the lower end side and upper end side support plates 8, 9 are provided with disk support holes 20, 23 into which respective disks 5a, 5b are inserted. Furthermore, each plate is provided with plate mounting surfaces 22, 22°25.25 at two locations, and punch holes 21.24 at the four corners.

Each of the above units 1, 1. A bushing holder 26 is fitted into the bushing fitting hole 12 of each support plate 4. Further, 27 is a mounting plate for mounting the torsion plate 7 on the mounting surfaces of the support plates 4, 8.9 and the intermediate plate 6.

The disk 5 used in the unit 1 has a body portion 28 that is fixed to the disk support hole 13 of the support plate 4 by means such as press fitting.
and contact surfaces 29 provided on both sides of this body portion 28 and curved in a convex manner. Also, the disk 5 on the lower end side
a consists of a body part 30 fixed to the disk support hole 20 of the support plate 8 on the lower end side by means such as press fitting, and a contact surface part 31 provided on one side of this body part 30 and curved convexly. ing. Furthermore, the disk 5b on the upper end side is the body part 3 that is press-fitted into the disk support hole 23 of the support plate 9 on the tip side.
2, and a contact surface portion 33 provided on the negative side thereof and curved convexly.

Each unit 1, 1 consisting of the above-mentioned members. . . . first attach the disk 5 to the support plate 4, and then insert the bushing fitting hole 1.
After press-fitting the bushing holders 26 into the respective mounting surfaces 19 of the torsion plates 7 and 7, as shown in FIG.
At the same time, the punched hole 18 is brought into contact with the bush holder 26.
The support plate 4 and the torsion plate 7 are positioned by the bush holder 26 by press-fitting them respectively, and then the presser plate 27 is placed on the torsion plate 7, and the screws 34
are connected to the support plate 4 by screwing them together. At this time, the plate mounting surface 4a of the support plate 4 has a front side and a back side that are diagonally opposed to each other and are out of phase, so that the plate mounting surface 4a on the front side and the back side of the support plate 4 is twisted. 7 and 7 are installed 90@ out of phase. Next, the intermediate plate 6 is attached to one of the two torsion plates 7, 7, and the plate mounting surface 19.19 provided on the diagonal of the torsion plate 7 and the plate mounting surface 19 of the intermediate plate 6 provided on the diagonal as well. 15. It is connected to 15 with screws 34 via the presser plate 27. At this time, the intermediate plate 6 and the torsion plate 7 are positioned using the bush holder 26 in the same manner as described above.

Unit 1 with the above configuration. ... are connected to a predetermined number of stages by sequentially attaching the intermediate plate 6 and torsion plate 7 of this unit 1 to each other using the mounting plate 27.

Support plate 4.8.9 to which the above torsion plate 7 is attached
and each plate mounting surface 4a of the intermediate plate 6,
15, 22, and 25 are inclined at an angle θ with respect to the plane perpendicular to the axis so that the outer side is thinner, and the four corners of the torsion plate 7 are also attached to the respective plate mounting surfaces 4a.

15.22.25.

The wires 35 are inserted into the holes at the four corners of the units 1, 1°, etc. connected as described above, that is, into the bush holders 26, and their respective tips are fixed to the support plate 9 of the upper end unit 3. The base end of each wire is connected to four cylinder devices 36a, 36b, 36c, and 36d provided in parallel below the support plate 8 of the lower end unit 2. Each of the cylinder devices 36a to 36d is fixed to the base plate 8 of the base unit 2.

The materials of each of the above-mentioned components include lightweight materials such as aluminum alloy and plastic for the support plate 4 and intermediate plate 6, spring steel for the torsion plate 7, steel plate for the mounting plate 27, and base and distal plates 8.9. Aluminum alloy or steel is used for this purpose.

In the above configuration, four cylinder devices 38a to 36d
By selectively extending and contracting the units 1, 1 .・・・
・It is curved at the part. At this time, each unit 1, 1.・
... roll and displace each other on the contact surfaces of the respective disks 5.5a, 5b. Also in this action the disk 5.5a.

Of the stress applied to the contact surface of 5b and the support plate 4,
Only the force related to work is transmitted to each unit 1.2゜3,
Reaction forces due to friction and rigidity are absorbed by the intermediate plate 6 and torsion plate 7, which are arranged with a phase shift of 90@ around the axis.

Further, the torsional force of the torsion plate 7 is absorbed by the inclined mounting portion of the torsion plate 7. Further, since the mounting portion of the torsion plate 7 is inclined, the back side of the mounting portion of the support plate 4 or the intermediate plate 6 facing the mounting portion does not come into contact with the mounting plate 27.

In the above configuration, the plate mounting surface 4a of the support plate 4 may be in the same phase around the axis on the front side and the back side.

Further, each plate mounting surface may be parallel to the direction perpendicular to the axis without being inclined. Furthermore, the support plate 4 and the intermediate plate 6
The material of construction is not limited to lightweight materials and can be made of any material. Furthermore, the torsion plate 7.7 can also be planar.

The flexible arm of the above embodiment includes a plurality of units 1 as described above.
,1. ... are stacked in series and the disks of each unit are brought into contact with each other, but embodiments of the present invention also include structures in which the lower end unit 2 and the upper end unit 3 are directly stacked.

〔Effect of the invention〕

By tightly fitting the bushing holder 26 into the bushing fitting hole 12 of the support plate 4 and tightly fitting the punching hole 18 of the torsion plate 7 into the bushing holder 26, the support plate 4 and the torsion plate 7 can be positioned via the bushing holder 26. Then, by screwing the presser plate 27 to the support plate 4, the support plate 4 and the torsion plate 7 can be connected.

Therefore, there is no need to drill holes in the support plate 4 and the torsion plate 7, or to fit the bottles into each other, making processing and assembly easier.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are a sectional view and an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are a plan view and a sectional view of a conventional example, and FIG.
The figure is an exploded perspective view of the improved device. 4 is a support plate, 5 is a disk, 6 is an intermediate plate,
7 is a torsion plate, 12 is a bushing fitting hole, 18 is a punching hole, 26 is a bushing holder, and 27 is a holding plate. Applicant Komatsu Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Representative Patent Attorney Masaaki Yonehara

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a flexible arm in which a support plate 4 with a disk 5 and an intermediate plate 6 are connected by a torsion plate 7, a bush fitting hole 12 and a punch hole 18 are provided in which a bush holder 26 is tightly fitted into the support plate 4 and the torsion plate 7. A device for connecting a support plate and a torsion plate for a flexible arm, characterized in that the bush holders 26 are held by a presser plate 27 fixed to the support plate 4 with screws.