JPH0343176A - Tool interface unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obviate the need for such an actuator as a vacuum pump and to reduce the damage of a robot main body at the collision of a tool with an obstruction by providing a fixed magnet on either a 1st unit or 2nd unit and providing on the other unit a movable magnet means capable of changing the magnetic pole at the side opposed to the fixed magnet. CONSTITUTION:In the case of a connection face 5d of a 2nd unit 5 being an N pole the connection face of a 1st unit 4 is an S pole and so the units attract each other and the 1st unit 4 and 2nd unit 5 are connected. In the case of separation the connection face 5d of the 2nd unit 5 is changed to S pole with the half rotation of a magnet rotor 5a, a repulsion force works in the space with the connection face of the 1st unit 4, so the 1st unit 4 and the 2nd unit 5 are separated. A tool is thus separated from a robot main body 1 formed on the 2nd unit 5 in accordance with the separation of the 1st unit 4 and 2nd unit 5 even when the tool provided on the 1st unit 4 collides with an obstruction, and the robot main body 1 scarcely receives damage.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tool interface unit that connects a tool and a robot body.

In order for conventional technology robots to work, it is necessary to replace the robot's tools with tools appropriate for the task. Nowadays, automation of production equipment is strongly desired, and each robot can handle a wide variety of tasks, and tools are frequently changed to suit the task.

Conventional tool interface units use negative air pressure to attach and detach tools. FIG. 6 is an example. A vacuum pump is used to make the pressure in the air passage 2 provided in the robot body 1 negative pressure, and the pressure difference between the air passage and the atmosphere is used to
/3 can be attached and detached.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the above structure requires a vacuum pump as an actuator, and also requires the work of piping an air tube from the vacuum bonder to N1.

Furthermore, if the robot exceeds the operating range set by the software due to disturbances such as noise and the tool collides with an obstacle, not only the tool but also the robot itself will be damaged.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the tool interface unit of the present invention includes a first unit that can be fixed to a tool;
A first unit comprising: a second unit fixable to a tool attachment portion of a robot body; means for positioning attachment positions of the first unit and the second unit; and means for supplying power to the tool.

Either one of the second units is provided with a fixed magnet, and the other is provided with movable magnet means for changing the W&pole on the side facing the fixed magnet. Furthermore, due to disturbances such as noise, the robot may exceed the operating range set by the software.
The units are connected to each other by a magnetic force that allows the first unit fixed to the tool to separate from the second unit fixed to the tool mounting portion of the robot body when the tool collides with an obstacle.

Operation With the above configuration, the actuator known as a vacuum pump, which was conventionally required, is no longer required, and therefore, the work of piping the air tube from the vacuum bonder to 2/I/1 is also omitted.

Furthermore, even if the tool collides with an obstacle when the robot exceeds the operating range set in the software due to disturbances such as noise, the tool will be separated from the robot body at the time of collision, so there will be little damage to the robot body.

Example Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIG.

In Figure 1, 4 is the first
A unit 6 is a second unit attached to the robot body 1.

The surface where the first unit 4 connects with the second unit 5 is always charged with Si due to the fixed magnet 4&.

The second unit 6 includes a magnet rotor 51L that is rotatable around the central axis 5b and has N and S magnetic poles on both sides, and a globe 6G that serves as a path for supplying current to the tool when the first unit is connected. Connection surface 6d with 1 unit 4
is always magnetized to the same polarity as the magnetic pole of the magnet rotor 5&.

Now, if the connection surface 5d of the second unit 5 is the N pole, 1
．． Since the connecting surface of the first unit 4 is the south pole, they attract each other and the first unit 4 and the second unit 5 are connected.

When separating, rotate the magnet rotor 51L halfway, and the connecting surface of the second unit 6, 5 (1 changes to the S pole, and the first
Since a repulsive force acts between the unit 4 and the connecting surface, the first unit 4 and the second unit 5 are separated. As described above, the units are attached and detached by the magnetic force of the magnet rotor 6a built in the second unit, so there is no need for an actuator such as a conventional vacuum pump.

As shown in FIG. 2, a drive motor 6g rotates the magnet rotor 51L, and a gear sr serves as a speed reduction mechanism.

6e, the attachment and detachment of the first unit 4 and the second unit 6 can be automated by controlling the current supplied to the motor.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

This unit includes a first unit 6 attached to TwoN,
9. Third unit attached to the tool attachment part of the robot body. The FM is connected to the second unit 7, which acts as an intermediary for connecting the first unit e and the third unit 9.

The first unit 6 has the same structure as the first unit of the first embodiment.

The second unit 7 is composed of three parts 7a, 7f', and 7g. 70 has the same structure as the second unit of the first embodiment, and 7f is a material that does not pass magnetic force.

7g is a fixed magnet with an S pole.

Since the substance 7f does not pass magnetic force, the fixed magnet 7g does not receive magnetic force from the magnet rotor 7a. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
Even if they are S poles at a point near the fixed magnet 7g of a, no repulsive force acts on each other.

The third unit 9 has an N pole at the contact surface with the second unit 7, and the second unit 7 and the third unit 9 are connected by the attractive force with the S pole of the fixed magnet 7g. Here, let F be the inertia force applied to the third unit 9 when the tool moves with the maximum acceleration while holding a target object, and the magnetic force between the second unit 7 and the third unit 9 is added to a force y' that is slightly larger than this F. Set.

Then, if the robot exceeds the operating range set by the software due to disturbances such as noise and the tool collides with an obstacle, the impact force received by the tool is much larger than the above-mentioned gravitational force F', so the second unit 7 and The three units 9 are separated, and there is almost no damage to the robot body.

Furthermore, the second unit 7 and the third unit 9 are
, when connected with a tube like Bb.

Even if the unit is separated, the distance over which the tool can fall is limited by the lengths of the tubes am and Bb, so it is possible to prevent the tool from falling and damaging the peripheral equipment of the robot.

FIG. 4 shows how a tool collides with an obstacle using a conventional tool interface, and FIG. 6 shows how a tool collides with an obstacle using an interface of the present invention.

As described in detail, according to the present invention, there is no need for an actuator like the conventional vacuum pump, and therefore, the work of piping an air tube from the vacuum bonder to the two-N is also omitted.

Furthermore, even if the tool collides with an obstacle when the robot exceeds the operating range set in the software due to disturbances such as noise, the tool separates from the robot body at the time of collision, so there is little damage to the robot body.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the first embodiment of the two-N interface according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a mechanism diagram for automatically rotating the magnetic rotor in half, and Fig. 3 is the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the conventional two-N interface when the tool collides with an obstacle, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the tool interface of the second embodiment of the present invention when the tool collides with an obstacle. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a conventional two-N interface. 1...Robot body, 3...Tools,
4...First unit, 41L...Fixed magnet, 5...Second unit, 6a...
magnet rotor.

Claims

[Claims] (1) A first unit that can be fixed to a tool, a second unit that can be fixed to a tool mounting portion of the robot body, means for positioning the mounting positions of the first and second units, and supplying power to the tool. A tool interface unit, characterized in that one of the first unit or the second unit is provided with a fixed magnet, and the other is provided with movable magnet means capable of changing the magnetic pole on the side facing the fixed magnet. . (2) The movable magnet means is characterized in that it is equipped with a magnet rotor made of a permanent magnet that is rotatable around a central axis and whose magnetic pole at a predetermined position can be changed to S or N pole, and a drive motor that rotates the permanent magnet. The tool interface unit according to claim 1. (3) The first unit and the second unit are connected by magnetic force so that when the tool collides with an obstacle, the first unit fixed to the tool can be separated from the second unit fixed to the tool mounting part of the robot body. The tool interface unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: 4. The tool interface unit according to claim 3, further comprising means for limiting the fall distance of the first unit when the first unit separates from the second unit due to collision of the tool with an obstacle.