JPH03142188A - Suction hand - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the deflection of a material due to the gravity of the material itself caused by the imbalance at a support point during transport time, by composing plural suction pads arranged on one plane below a suction band adjustably in their respective positions. CONSTITUTION:It is installed in the middle of the machine tool of an NC turret punch press, etc., and the material yard where the sheet material of an iron sheet, etc., worked thereby are placed with their lamination. Each pulse motors 13a - 13d are driven by the command from a control unit so that the weight distribution of the sheet materials shared by each suction pads 11a - 11d, according to the data of the size/ shape of the materials input in advance to the control unit prior to the work and the suction pads 11a - 11d are arranged at adequate positions. The arm of a robot is then moved onto the material yard to closely fit the suction pads 11a - 11c onto the sheet material laminated on the uppermost. The suction from a suction source acts hereby and the sheet material is sucked to the suction pads 11a - 11c.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Summary] A sheet material before processing is placed on a workbench of a machine tool,
Regarding the structure of the suction hand used to transport sheets after processing, the purpose is to provide a suction hand that can handle sheet materials of all sizes and shapes, and is an industrial type that can move in three dimensions. A suction hand for transporting sheet materials that is attached to the tip of a robot arm, and has a configuration in which a plurality of suction pads are arranged in one plane, and a means is provided for adjusting the position of the suction pads within the plane. .

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to the structure of a suction hand used for placing an unprocessed sheet material on a worktable of a machine tool such as an NC turret punch press, and for transporting a processed sheet from there.

(2) [Prior art] The suction hand used for the above purpose is equipped with a plurality of suction pads arranged and fixed in a well-balanced manner on a plane, and is movable in three dimensions as shown in Fig. It is attached to the tip of the arm 2 of the industrial robot 1. Then, the sheet material is sucked and grasped by suction air from the suction source connected to the suction pad, conveyed to a desired location by the movement of the arm 2, and placed at that position by releasing the suction air. It is composed of

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In this conventional suction hand, the position of the suction pad is fixed, so depending on the external shape of the sheet material to be suctioned, it may not be possible to grip it with even weight distribution, and in the case of large sheet materials, When it is lifted, its own weight causes parts in the surrounding area to become large in flexure, causing bending of the material and scratches due to contact with the table, resulting in a reduction in processing quality. In order to reduce this problem (3), it is possible to make the suction hand itself larger so that it can handle large sheet materials, but this would also require a larger robot to attach it to, making it less economical. Not the point.

Furthermore, there are holes in the sheet material after processing, but if these correspond to the positions of the suction pads, the suction force may decrease and conveyance may become impossible.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems of the prior art and to provide a suction hand that can handle sheet materials of all sizes and shapes.

[Means to solve the problem]

The purpose of this is to provide a suction hand for transporting sheet materials that is attached to the tip of the arm of an industrial robot that can move three-dimensionally. This is achieved by a suction hand for conveying sheet material, which is characterized by being provided with means for adjusting the position of the pad.

(4) [Function] When suctioning a sheet material, the position of each suction pad is adjusted so that the weight distribution is even, taking into account its size and shape. Therefore, even when the sheet material is lifted for conveyance, the deflection due to its own weight is reduced, and bending of the material and scratches caused by contact with the table are eliminated. For the material after processing, the position of the suction pad is changed to avoid the position of the hole created by processing, so the material can always be gripped with sufficient suction force.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the drawings.

〔Example〕

A suction hand 10 of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is attached to the tip of an arm of an industrial robot, and has four suction pads 11a to 11a whose positions are movable, and one whose position is fixed. and a suction pad 11e. The lower surfaces of these suction pads 11a to 11e are arranged on one plane and are connected to a suction source (not shown) via a pulse (5).

When the intake air is supplied while being pressed onto a sheet material such as an iron plate, the sheet material is attracted by the suction force and can be lifted by raising the arm.

The suction pad 11a and Ilb form a pair, and pulse motors 13a and 13b are attached to a common horizontal frame 12Δ.
They are fixed to the tips of parallel gears 14a and 14b that mesh with a gear (not shown) fixed to the output shaft of the motor.

The pulse motor 1 is driven by a command from a control device (not shown).
3a, 13b are driven, the racks 13a, 13b move in the longitudinal direction of the horizontal frame 12A, and the suction pad 11
The distance between a and 11b is arbitrarily set.

The other suction pads 11c and Ild also form a pair with the same configuration, and are moved in a similar manner parallel to the pair described above by pulse motors 13C and 13d and racks 14c and 14d mounted on a common horizontal frame 12B. given movement.

The center portion of the horizontal frame 12A is fixed to the tip of a rack 16A extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the frame 12A from the vertical frame 15 at the center of the suction hand (6). The rack 16A meshes with a gear (not shown) fixed to the tip of the output shaft of the pulse motor 17A, and moves the horizontal frame 12A in the distance direction relative to the vertical frame 15.

The other horizontal frame 12B has a similar configuration and moves in the same manner as the rack 16A due to the action of a rack 16B and a pulse smoke 17B extending in the opposite direction to the rack 16A with respect to the vertical frame 15. In addition, the racks 16Δ and 16B are arranged so that their movements do not interfere with each other.
As shown in FIG. 2, the upper and lower positions are different.

Further, the fixed suction pad lie is fixed to the lower surface of the vertical frame 15, and this position is fixed to each of the suction pads 11a to 11a.
It corresponds to approximately the middle L of Ild, -1.

FIG. 3 shows details of the structure of the fixed suction pad 11e provided at the central position. When the pad main body 20 comes into contact with the sheet material X by lowering the suction hand 10, a spring 21 elastically applies a pressing force (7>).This pressing force is kept constant to ensure stable work. In order to guarantee this, a proximity switch 22 is installed, and when the distance between the detection piece fixed to the top of the pad body 20 reaches a predetermined value, the suction hand 10
configured to stop the descent of

This spring 21 is also used for other suction pads 1la to 11d.
are established for the same purpose. In place of the proximity switch, a microswitch (not shown) is installed on these pads, and even if the proximity switch 22 fails and the suction hand 10 descends beyond its limit, this microswitch will not work. The device is configured to stop the suction hand and prevent damage to the device.

Next, the operation of the suction hand of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

In this figure, the chain lines indicate the movement range of each suction pad, and the arrows indicate the movement direction.

An industrial robot with the suction hand of the present invention attached to the tip of its arm has a machine tool such as an NC coolet punch tip (8) and a sheet material such as a steel plate processed by the machine tool placed in a stack. It is located between the material storage area and the material storage area. Prior to the work, each suction pad 11a to lid is set to each pulse smoke so that the weight distribution of the sheet material that each suction pad 11a to lid is assigned to is even. 13
a to 13d are driven by commands from the control device and placed at appropriate positions.

Next, the arm of the robot moves to the top of the material storage area and brings the suction pads 11a-lie into close contact with the topmost sheet material. Here, suction from the suction source acts, and the sheet material is attracted to the suction pad. The arm is raised to pick up the sheet material and position it precisely on the worktable of the machine tool. The suction from the suction source is then cut off, the sheet material is placed in position, and the arm returns to its standby position.

In this state, a predetermined drilling operation is performed on the sheet material.

(9) At the standby position, the suction pad 11a of the suction hand 10
~11d is controlled by commands from the control device based on data on the size and shape of the sheet material after processing, which is known in advance, so that the weight distribution is again made equal and the pad is not located in the area where the holes have been made. Placed. After processing is completed, the arm moves, carries the suction hand 10 onto the sheet material on the work table, lifts it up as before, and
Take it out of the processing area.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the plurality of suction pads arranged on one plane at the lower part of the suction hand are configured so that their positions can be adjusted, so that the sheet material conveyed by these pads can be adjusted. Depending on the shape and size of the parts, the arrangement can be changed so that the weight shared by each part is equal. Therefore, during transportation, distortion of the material due to its own weight due to imbalance of support points, and pad adsorption force (10
), it becomes possible to always carry out stable conveyance of sheet materials.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the suction hand of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the same, FIG. 3 is a side view showing the structure of a fixed suction pad, and FIG. 4 is the same as the one shown in FIG. , FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an industrial robot to which the suction hand is attached. 10 suction hand, 11a to 11e suction pad, 12A, 12B horizontal frame, 13a to 13d pulse motor, 14a to 14d rack, 15 vertical frame, 16A, 16B rack, 17A, 17B pulse motor, (11) 20 bud body, 21 spring, 22 proximity switch,

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A suction hand (10) for transporting sheet material attached to the tip of an arm of an industrial robot capable of three-dimensional movement
A plurality of suction pads (11a to 11e) are arranged in one plane, and the suction pads (11a to 11e) are arranged in one plane.
means (13a to 13d,
14a to 14d; 16A, 16B; 17A, 17B). 2. A pair (11a, 11b) in which the suction pads (11a to 11d) are movable in the direction of distance from each other on a straight line A in the plane.
; 11c, 11d), and the two movable pairs are configured to be movable in the distance direction on a straight line B in the plane perpendicular to the straight line A. Suction hand.