JPH02295696A - Robot for laser processing - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the irradiation of a laser from an adequate direction even in a relatively narrow space by mounting a motor for driving a nozzle part disposed at the front end of an arm to the arm to form the compact front end of the arm. CONSTITUTION:The rotating power of a guide part turning motor 23 mounted to the arm is transmitted to a 2nd driving shaft 32 and is transmitted to a guide part turning means connected to this 2nd driving shaft. The guide part turning means can turn the guide part 21 by the rotating force of the guide part turning motor thereof. The rotating force of the nozzle part turning motor 24 mounted to the arm is transmitted to the 1st driving shaft 31 and is transmitted via a transmission means connected to this shaft 31 to a nozzle part turning gear 30. The nozzle part turning gear turns the nozzle part 22. The compact guide part is obtd. in this way and the weight of the guide part is reduced. Since the moment of inertia at the time of turning is decreased as well, the size of the guide part turning motor 23 is reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a laser processing robot that automatically performs processing such as cutting and welding using a laser, and particularly for adjusting the direction of the irradiated laser. By attaching a motor that drives the nozzle located at the tip of the arm to the arm, and making the tip of the arm compact, it is possible to irradiate the laser from the appropriate direction even in a relatively narrow work space. Regarding laser processing robots.

(Prior Art) In general, spot welding, laser welding, etc. are used in automobile manufacturing factories to perform processes such as joining various parts of a car body, etc. With recent advances in automation technology, these tasks are now being performed automatically by so-called robots.

Especially recently, spot welding requires spot marks, which increases the weight of the car, and spot welding, which involves welding only parts, makes it difficult to improve the rigidity of the car body. For these reasons, there is a strong demand for laser welding, and conventionally, for example, such laser processing is automatically performed by a laser processing robot shown in FIG.

The laser processing robot 1 shown in FIG. A nozzle section 4 is attached to perform laser processing by irradiating a workpiece with laser light.

A high-power laser beam generated by a laser oscillator 5 and necessary for processing is transmitted to a horizontal movement mechanism 6, a horizontal movement machine 7, and an arm 3.
The laser beam is supplied to the nozzle part 4 through a laser passage formed inside the nozzle part 4, and the nozzle part 4 has an irradiation device that can irradiate the workpiece with the laser light from any direction. A direction adjustment mechanism is installed.

Such an irradiation direction adjustment mechanism is, for example, a mechanism as shown in FIG.

An L-shaped cylindrical guide part 8 is attached to the tip of the arm 3 to guide the laser light passing through the inside of the arm 3 in a right-angled direction. It is attached to the tip of the arm 3 so as to be rotatable about the center. A mirror 9 inclined at 45 degrees with respect to the laser beam is disposed at the inner bottom of the guide portion 8, and the laser beam is guided by this mirror 9 in a perpendicular direction. .

Further, at the exit of the guide section 8, there is a nozzle section 4 which further guides the laser beam that has passed through the guide section 8 in the right angle direction and irradiates the workpiece with the laser beam. It is mounted to rotate around the optical axis, and a mirror 10 tilted at 45° with respect to the laser beam is installed inside the nozzle part 4, similar to the guide part 8. The laser beam guided in the right angle direction by 10 is
The workpiece is irradiated with light from a nozzle 11 formed at the tip.

The guide section 8 and the nozzle section 4 are respectively attached to the arm 3 and rotate the guide section 8, and a guide section rotation motor 12 that is attached to the guide section 8 and rotates the nozzle section 4. Driven by a rotation motor 13, the direction of the nozzle 11 relative to the workpiece is set in an arbitrary direction,
It is possible to adjust the direction of laser light irradiation.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in such conventional robots,
Since the nozzle rotation motor that rotates the nozzle section is installed in the guide section, depending on the shape of the workpiece, this nozzle rotation motor may interfere with a part of the workpiece, making it difficult to operate properly. There was a problem that laser processing from this direction could not be performed, and the nozzle rotating motor got in the way.

In addition, since the nozzle rotation motor is disposed in the guide, the weight of the guide becomes large, and the nozzle rotation motor increases the moment of inertia of the guide. The guide section rotation motor for rotating the section needs to be relatively large and have a high output, which is not economical in terms of cost, power consumption, etc.

Furthermore, because the nozzle rotating motor is installed in the guide that rotates with respect to the arm, loads are applied to the various wirings connected to this motor each time the guide rotates. In some cases, there was a risk of wire breakage.

The present invention has been made to solve these conventional problems, and by attaching the motor that drives the nozzle to the arm and making the tip of the arm compact, it can be used in a relatively narrow work space. An object of the present invention is to provide a laser processing robot capable of irradiating laser beams from an appropriate direction even if the robot is located inside the robot.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a guide for guiding a laser beam passing through the laser passage in a perpendicular direction to an arm that is attached to a robot body and has a laser passage inside. A nozzle section is rotatably attached to the guide section, and a nozzle section that guides the laser beam passing through the guide section in a right angle direction and irradiates the workpiece with the laser beam is rotatably attached to the guide section. A guide part rotation motor for rotating the guide part and a nozzle part rotation motor for rotating the nozzle part are attached to the arm, and a cylindrical first part has one end connected to the output shaft of the nozzle part rotation motor. A drive shaft is rotatably attached to the arm, and a second drive shaft, one end of which is connected to the output shaft of the guide rotation motor, is rotated so that it is coaxial with the first drive shaft. The guide section is provided with a guide section rotation means that is freely attached and connected to the other end of the second drive shaft and rotates the guide section by the rotational force of the guide section rotation motor;
A transmission means that is connected to the other end of the first drive shaft and transmits the rotational force of the nozzle part rotation motor to the nozzle part is provided in the guide part; The nozzle part is characterized in that the nozzle part is provided with a nozzle part rotating means for rotating the nozzle part by the rotational force of.

(Function) The present invention configured as described above functions as follows.

The rotational force of the guide rotation motor attached to the arm is transmitted to the second drive shaft, and then to the guide rotation means connected to the second drive shaft, and the guide rotation means rotates the guide rotation means. The guide portion can be rotated by the rotational force of the rotation motor.

Similarly, the rotational force of the nozzle rotation motor attached to the arm is transmitted to the first drive shaft, and transmitted to the nozzle rotation means via a transmission means connected to the first drive shaft, This nozzle part rotation means can rotate the nozzle part by the rotational force of the nozzle part rotation motor.

Therefore, the nozzle rotating motor that rotates the nozzle can be disposed on the arm, and the guide only needs to be provided with a transmission means for transmitting the rotational force of this motor, making the guide compact and compact. It becomes possible to

(Example) Below, a laser processing robot according to the present invention will be explained in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external view of the arm tip of the laser processing robot according to the present invention, and the figure shows an arm 20 attached to the robot body, a guide section 21 attached to the tip of the arm 20, and a nozzle. It is shown that a guide section rotation motor 23 and a nozzle section rotation motor 24, which respectively rotate the section 22, are attached, and the guide section 21 is formed compactly.

For example, an arm 20 that is attached to the main body of a Cartesian coordinate type robot as described in the related art and has a laser passage formed therein for passing a laser beam has this arm 20.
An L-shaped cylindrical guide portion 21 that guides the laser beam that has passed through the laser beam in the right angle direction is rotatably mounted around the optical axis of the laser beam. In this guide section 21,
Mirror 25 tilted at 45° with respect to the incident laser beam
is provided, and the laser beam is guided in a perpendicular direction by this mirror 25.

Further, at the exit of the guide section 21, there is a nozzle section 22 that further guides the laser light that has passed through the guide section 21 in the right angle direction and irradiates the workpiece with the laser light.
1, the nozzle section 22 is rotatably mounted around the optical axis of the laser beam, and the nozzle section 22 is provided with a mirror 26 that is inclined at 45@ with respect to the laser beam, similarly to the guide section 21. The laser beam guided in the right angle direction by this mirror 26 is directed to an irradiation port 27 formed at the tip of the nozzle section 22.
The beam is irradiated onto the workpiece from the beam, making it possible to laser-process the workpiece.

A guide section rotation motor 23 and a nozzle section rotation motor 24 rotate the guide section 21 and the nozzle section 22.
Each of the output shafts is installed so that the central axis of each output shaft is parallel to the central axis of the arm 20, that is, the optical axis of the laser beam, and the moder is disposed so that the arm direction is parallel to the arm 20. This prevents each motor from protruding from the arm 20 as much as possible.

Note that the guide section rotation motor 23 and the nozzle section rotation motor 24 are connected to a control device (not shown) that performs overall control of this robot, and by this control device,
It is installed in each part of the robot, including the robot body and arm 2.
It is designed to be driven and controlled in the same way as various motors that perform zero operation.

The output shafts of the guide rotation motor 23 and the nozzle rotation motor 24 are connected via a gear train 28 to a guide rotation gear 29 formed at the entrance of the guide section 21 and to the nozzle rotation gear 29, which is formed at the entrance of the guide section 21. The motors are connected to a nozzle rotating gear 30 formed in the artificial part of the section 22, and each motor transmits rotational force to these gears so that the guide section 21 and the nozzle section 22 can be rotated. It has become.

The power transmission system of each motor will be explained below based on FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG. 1, and shows a power transmission system for rotating the guide section 21 by the guide section rotation motor 23. FIG.

A first drive shaft 31 and a second drive shaft 32 for arranging the gears of the gear train 28 are attached to the arm 20. The first drive shaft 31, which is formed in a cylindrical shape, is attached to the tip of the arm 20. The second drive shaft 32 is rotatably attached to a housing 33 formed in the housing 33 via a bearing 34 so that its central axis is the same as the central axis of the output shaft of the guide rotation motor 23. , inserted through the inside of this first drive shaft 31,
Similarly, the first drive shaft 3 is supported by a bearing 35 so as to be coaxial with the output shaft of the guide rotation motor 23.
The first drive shaft 31 is rotatably attached to the first drive shaft 31 independently of the first drive shaft 31 .

The second drive shaft 32 is connected to the output shaft of the guide rotation motor 23 via a coupling 36.
A guide drive gear 37 that meshes with a guide rotation gear 29 attached to the guide 21 is attached to the tip.

That is, the rotational force of the output shaft of the guide rotation motor 23 is transmitted to the guide rotation gear 29 via the second drive shaft 32 and the guide drive gear 37, and this guide rotation gear 29 is driven. By doing so, the guide section 21 is rotated by the guide section rotation motor 2.
It rotates in accordance with the rotation of the output shaft No. 3.

Next, a drive transmission system for rotating the nozzle portion 22 will be explained based on FIGS. 2 and 3. Incidentally, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line BB shown in FIG. 1.

A first gear 38 is attached to the output shaft of the nozzle rotating motor 24 attached to the arm 20.
The gear 38 meshes with a second gear 39 attached to the motor side end of the first drive shaft 31 so that the rotational force of the nozzle rotation motor 24 is transmitted to the first drive shaft 31. It has become. A first transmission gear 40 is attached to the other end of the first drive shaft 31, and the first transmission gear 40 is connected to a second transmission gear 40 rotatably attached to the guide portion 21 via a bearing 41. ! The rotational force of the nozzle rotation motor 24 transmitted to the first drive shaft 31 is transmitted to the second transmission gear 42 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the guide section 21 has a first transmission gear train 28 for arranging a gear train 28 that transmits the rotational force transmitted to the second transmission gear 42 to the nozzle rotation gear 30. A housing 45, 4 for mounting a shaft 43 and a second transmission shaft 44 oriented perpendicularly to the first transmission shaft 43;
6 is formed (see FIG. 1), and these first transmission shaft 43 and second transmission shaft 44 are supported by bearings 47 and 48, and are rotatably attached to respective housings 45 and 46.
installed on. A third transmission gear 4 that meshes with the second transmission gear 42 is provided at the end of the first transmission shaft 43 on the arm side.
9 is attached to the other end, a first bevel gear 50 is attached to the other end, and the rotational force transmitted to the second transmission gear 42 is transferred to the first bevel gear 50.
The signal is transmitted to the bevel gear 50.

Further, a second bevel gear 51 that meshes with the first bevel gear 50 is attached to the end of the second transmission shaft 44.
A fourth transmission gear 52 that meshes with the nozzle rotation gear 30 attached to the nozzle section 22 is attached to the other end of the second transmission shaft 44 .

As the first bevel gear 50 and the second bevel gear 51, it is preferable to use a spiral bevel gear or the like with less backlash.

Therefore, the rotational force of the output shaft of the nozzle rotation motor 24 is transmitted to the first drive shaft 31 via the first gear 38 and the second gear 39, and the first transmission gear 40 and the second transmission gear 42
and is transmitted to the first transmission shaft 43 via the third transmission gear 49, further transmitted to the second transmission shaft 44 via the first bevel gear 50 and second bevel gear 51, and transmitted through the fourth transmission gear 52. and is transmitted to the nozzle concave gear 30,
Thereby, the nozzle part 22 is rotated by the nozzle part rotation motor 24.
It rotates according to the rotation of the output shaft.

With this configuration, the guide section 21 and nozzle section 22 that adjust the direction of the irradiated laser light operate as follows.

When the guide rotation motor 23 is driven by the control device that performs overall control of the robot, the guide rotation motor 2
The rotational force of the output shaft 3 is transmitted to the guide rotation wheel 29 via the second drive shaft 32 and the guide drive gear 37. When the guide rotation gear 29 rotates due to its rotational force, the guide section 21 rotates around the optical axis of the laser beam passing through the inside of the arm 20, and directs the laser beam toward its tip axis. Guide in any perpendicular direction.

Similarly to the guide section rotation motor 23, when the nozzle section rotation motor 24 is driven by the control device, the rotational force of the output shaft of the nozzle section rotation motor 24 is caused by the first gear 38,
Second gear 39, first drive shaft 31, first transmission gear 40, second transmission gear 42, third transmission gear 49, first transmission shaft 43,
First bevel gear 50, second bevel gear 51, second transmission shaft 44
and is transmitted to the nozzle rotation gear 30 via the fourth transmission gear 52. Then, when the nozzle portion rotating gear 30 rotates due to its rotational force, the nozzle portion 22 is rotated by the guide portion 21.
The laser beam that has passed through can be further guided in any right angle direction and irradiated onto the workpiece from the irradiation port 27, so that the workpiece can be irradiated with the laser light from any angle.

Therefore, by attaching the nozzle part rotation motor 24 to the arm 20, it becomes possible to form the guide part 21 compactly.

Further, since the guide portion driving gear 37 and the first transmission gear 40 are arranged so as to have the same central axis, the movement of the housing 45 and the third transmission gear 49, which move in accordance with the rotation of the guide portion 21, is prevented. The range becomes larger, the rotation range of the guide part 21 becomes larger, and the laser irradiation direction can be adjusted over a wider angle.

In this embodiment, the gear train 28 is used as an example of transmitting the rotational force of the guide rotation motor 23 and the nozzle rotation motor 24, but the gear train 28 is not limited to this, and for example, a belt, a boob, etc. Of course, it may also be configured by

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, the present invention has the following effects.

The nozzle rotation motor is attached to the arm, and the rotational force of the output shaft of the nozzle rotation motor is transmitted to the nozzle rotation means via the transmission means provided in the guide part. The means rotates the nozzle part, and the nozzle part can irradiate the workpiece with laser light from any direction, and the guide part only needs to be provided with a transmission means, making the guide part compact. It is now possible to configure
Laser irradiation can be performed from an appropriate direction even on a workpiece whose working space is relatively narrow, thereby expanding the working range.

In addition, by making the guide part more compact, the weight of this guide part is reduced, and the moment of inertia that occurs when the guide part rotates is also reduced. The motor can be made smaller and extremely economical.

Furthermore, since no motor is disposed in the guide section, there is no wiring or the like connected to the motor, and there is no risk of wire breakage or the like due to rotation of the guide section.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an external view of the arm tip of a laser processing robot according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional laser processing robot. 20... Arm, 21... Guide part, 22... Nozzle part, 23... Guide part rotation motor, 24... Nozzle part rotation motor, 28... Gear train, 29... - Guide part rotation gear (guide part rotation means), 30... Nozzle part rotation gear (nozzle part rotation means), 31... First drive shaft, 32
...Second drive shaft, 42...Second transmission gear (transmission means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] A guide part that guides the laser light passing through the laser passage in the right angle direction is rotatably attached to the arm that is attached to the robot body and has a laser passage inside, and the guide part that guides the laser light passing through the guide part in the right angle direction is attached. A nozzle part that guides the workpiece and irradiates the workpiece with the laser beam is rotatably attached to the guide part, a guide part rotation motor that rotates the guide part, and a nozzle that rotates the nozzle part. A cylindrical first drive shaft, one end of which is connected to the output shaft of the nozzle rotation motor, is rotatably attached to the arm, and one end of which is connected to the guide rotation motor. A second drive shaft connected to the output shaft of the first drive shaft is rotatably attached to the inside of the first drive shaft so as to have the same central axis, and is connected to the other end of the second drive shaft and connected to the guide portion rotation. a guide part rotating means for rotating the guide part by the rotational force of a motor is provided in the guide part, and is connected to the other end of the first drive shaft;
A transmission means for transmitting the rotational force of the nozzle part rotation motor to the nozzle part is provided in the guide part, and a nozzle is connected to the transmission means and rotates the nozzle part by the rotational force of the nozzle part rotation motor. A laser processing robot comprising a part rotation means provided in the nozzle part.