JPH04331089A - Robot hand setting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To change the position of a robot hand to a robot arm so easily after attached to this arm. CONSTITUTION:A slider 3 is slidably attached to a body 2 connectibly installed in a robot arm 20. A robot hand 30 is made connectible to this slider 3. In addition, a porous sintered body 8 is embedded in a part where the slider 3 of the body 2 is slidden, and the sintered boy 8 is connected to a vacuum source V via a control valve 13a. In succession, the slider 3 is attracted by dint of the vacuum source V and clamped tight.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a robot hand mounting device that allows the position of a robot hand to be changed with respect to a robot arm after it is mounted on the robot arm.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, working robots include robot hands with tools attached to them that are fixed to a robot arm to serve as a dedicated machine, and robots that can handle many types of work with one robot, such as There is a system in which a plurality of robot hands with various tools attached to them are arranged on a hand placement shelf, and the robot selects the necessary robot hand according to the task and attaches it to the robot arm to perform the task.

0003

In all of the conventional robots mentioned above, the robot hand is fixed to the robot arm, and the position of the robot hand relative to the robot arm cannot be changed. For this reason, if you find that it is better to slightly shift the workpiece stop position after the robot has started operating, for example, you can stop the robot, reteach the robot arm's stop position, or change the robot arm's stop position. There is a problem in that it is necessary to change the commands of the control device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a robot hand attachment device that can easily change the position of the robot hand with respect to the robot arm after being attached to the robot arm.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A robot hand attachment device of the present invention includes a main body connectable to a robot arm, a slider slidably attached to the main body and connectable to a robot hand, and the slider It is characterized by comprising a fixing means for fixing the fixing means to the main body, and a control means for controlling the operation of the fixing means. Preferably, the fixing means includes a vacuum source or a compressed gas source and is configured to attract or press the slider and fix it to the main body.

[0006]

[Function] In the robot hand mounting device of the present invention, when the action of the fixing means is released, the slider can slide relative to the main body. Therefore, by sliding the slider to a desired position in this state and then operating the fixing means again, the slider can be fixed at that position. thus,
The position of the robot hand can be changed after being attached to the robot arm.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that this invention is not limited to this.

(Structure) FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the robot hand mounting device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially sectional front view showing the robot hand mounting device in an installed state, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part showing a neutral position setting mechanism of the robot hand attachment device.

The robot hand attachment device 1 of the present invention includes:
The main body 2 has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped box with one side open, and a slider 3 is movably attached inside the main body 2. The body 2 is connected to the end 22 of the robot arm 20 via a connecting member 21 connected to the outer surface of its top. An upper sliding surface 2a and a lower sliding surface 2b are horizontally formed inside the top and bottom of the main body 2, respectively.

Like the main body 2, the slider 3 has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped box with one side opened, and the opening faces the same side as the opening of the main body 2. An upper sliding surface 3a provided on the outer surface of the top of the slider 3 and a lower sliding surface 3 provided on the outer surface of the bottom.
b is in contact with the upper sliding surface 2a and the lower sliding surface 2b of the main body 2, respectively. The side surface of the slider 3 is separated from the side portion of the main body 2. The slider 3 has sliding surfaces 2a, 2b, 3
It is horizontally slidable along a and 3b.

[0011] At the bottom of the slider 3, there is an engagement pin 1 which will be described later.
A pin engagement hole 3c into which the pin 0 is inserted and engaged is formed. The pin engagement hole 3c opens to the lower sliding surface 3b of the slider 3.

Inside the slider 3, a support rod 4 is provided between the top and the bottom at right angles to the sliding surfaces 3a and 3b (in the vertical direction).
It has been installed across the bridge. The base end of a rod-shaped hand connection member 7 is slidably attached to the support rod 4. The hand connection member 7 extends horizontally to the outside of the slider 3 and the main body 2 through openings thereof, and has a robot hand 30 connected to its tip.

Compression springs 5 and 6 that are engaged with the support rod 4 are arranged above and below the hand connecting member 7, respectively. When an external force in the vertical direction acts on the robot hand 30, the hand connection member 7 is displaced up and down against the elastic force of the compression springs 5 and 6 in response. The hand connecting member 7 is normally located at the central position shown in FIG. 1 by the elastic force of the compression springs 5, 6.

A depression 2c is formed in the bottom of the main body 2 directly below the slider 3, and a porous sintered body 8 is buried in the depression 2c. The surface of the sintered body 8 is a plane flush with the lower sliding surface 2b. This sintered body 8 has the function of sucking and exhausting air on its surface through small holes inside.

The preferred sintered body 8 is, for example, a sintered body such as Teflon powder.

A communication hole 2d communicating from the depression 2c to the lower surface of the bottom is formed below the depression 2c, and a pipe 9 is connected to the communication hole 2d. The pipe 9 is connected to the control valve 13
It is connected to a vacuum source V such as a vacuum pump via a.

When the control valve 13a is opened, the air in the recess 2c is discharged through the tube 9 under the action of the vacuum source V, thereby causing the sliding surface 3b of the slider 3 in contact with the surface of the sintered body 8 to be removed. adsorbs. The slider 3 is fixed to the main body 2 by this attraction.

A pin insertion hole 2e is further formed in the bottom of the main body 2 adjacent to the recess 2c. The pin insertion hole 2
The engagement pin 10 and the compression spring 11 that biases the engagement pin 10 upward are fitted into the hole e.

As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the engagement pin 10 has a small diameter portion 10c in contact with a bush 14 fitted and fixed in the pin insertion hole 2e, and a large diameter portion 10b in contact with the inner wall of the pin insertion hole 2e. It is in contact with and can be slid in the vertical direction. In addition, 15a and 15b are O-rings for sealing, 1
Reference numeral 6 indicates a gap through which compressed air is supplied and discharged, and reference numeral 17 indicates an air hole that is formed through the engagement pin 10 from its tip to its base. It functions to supply and exhaust air within the spring chamber.

[0020] The engagement pin 10 is in a normal state as shown in Fig. 3 (
As shown in b), the elastic force of the compression spring 11 causes the tip portion to protrude above the sliding surface 2b and is inserted into the pin engagement hole 3c formed at the bottom of the slider 3. This engagement fixes the slider 3 in the neutral position shown in FIG.

[0021] The bottom of the main body 2 further includes a pin insertion hole 2e.
A communication hole 2f communicating from the top to the bottom surface is formed, and a pipe 12 is connected to the communication hole 2f. The pipe 12 communicates with a compressed air source C via a control valve 13b.

When the control valve 13b is opened and compressed air is supplied from the compressed air source C to the pin fitting hole 2e, the compressed air enters the gap 16 and presses the engagement pin 10 downward. Thereby, the engagement pin 10, as shown in FIG. 3(a),
It is lowered against the elastic force of the compression spring 11. At this time, the air in the spring chamber passes through the air hole 17 and is discharged to the outside of the pin insertion hole 2e. When the engagement pin 10 is lowered in this manner, the slider 3 becomes slidable and its position can be changed in the horizontal direction.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3(a), even when the engagement pin 10 is retracted, its tip portion protrudes slightly from the sliding surface 2b. For this reason,
The slider 3 slides within a range until the tapered surface 10a at the tip of the engagement pin 10 and the tapered surface 3d at the tip of the pin engagement hole 3c collide. This configuration has the advantage of being able to prevent further displacement of the slider 3 with a simple configuration.

[0024] When compressed air is supplied to the pin fitting hole 2e, the entire engaging pin 10 may be inserted into the pin fitting hole 3c. In that case, the sliding range of the slider 3 becomes wider, but in that case, it is preferable to provide the main body 2 or the slider 3 with a stopper that limits the sliding range.

With the above configuration, the robot hand 30 connected to the hand connecting member 7 can move up and down from the center position along the support rod 4 in response to external force, and can also move from the neutral position to the sliding surfaces 2a, 2b. , 3a, 3b in the horizontal direction.

Note that a glass filter or a slatted member may be used instead of the sintered body 8, or a slit may be formed directly at the bottom of the main body 2. In short, it is sufficient if the slider 3 can be attracted to the main body 2 by exhausting air through them.

Alternatively, compressed air may be blown out from the sintered body 8 to press and fix the slider 3 against the upper sliding surface 2a of the main body 2. In this case, it is necessary to seal the periphery of the surface of the sintered body 8.

The robot hand 30 is adapted to remove and tighten the plug P of the drum can. In this robot hand 30, a support plate 32 is fixed to a bracket 31 attached to the hand connection member 7, and an air driver DR is attached to the support plate 32. A gripper 36 having three gripping claws 37 is attached to a movable plate 33 displaceably attached below the support plate 32 . The gripper 36 closes the three gripping claws 37 by sending compressed air to close the plug P.
grasp. The rotation shaft 34 of the air driver DR rotates an engagement member 38 fixed to its tip via a transmission shaft 35.

When operating the robot hand 30, first,
The robot hand 30 is moved above the drum positioned at a predetermined position, and then lowered to engage the engaging member 38 at the tip of the transmission shaft 35 with the plug P of the drum. next,
After the plug P is removed from the opening of the drum by rotating the engaging member 38, it is gripped by the gripping claws 37 of the gripper 36 and placed on a plug stand (not shown). During this time, the drum is filled with a predetermined content. After filling is completed, the plug P on the plug stand is gripped by the gripping claw 37 and fitted into the opening of the drum, and the engaging member 38 is then engaged with the plug P, and the rotating shaft 36 is rotated to remove the plug. Tighten P.

(Operation) Next, the operation of the robot hand attachment device 1 having the above structure will be explained. The robot hand attachment device 1 normally places the engagement pin 10 in the pin engagement hole 3c.
(see FIG. 3(b)) to fix the slider 3 at the neutral position. At this time, considering the stability of the slider 3, it is preferable to operate the vacuum source V to attract the slider 3, but it is not necessary to attract the slider 3.

[0031] The robot hand 30 is connected to the robot arm 20.
If it is necessary to change the position of the robot hand 30 for some reason after it is attached to the robot hand 30, the compressed air source C is activated and the control valve 13b is opened to fill the gap 16 around the engagement pin 10 with compressed air. supply. The compressed air causes the engagement pin 10 to descend and disengage from the pin engagement hole 3c (see FIG. 3(a)). On the other hand, the control valve 13a leading to the vacuum source V is opened to introduce air into the sintered body 8. As a result, the adsorption of the slider 3 is released. Therefore,
Move the slider 3 to the desired position.

After the position change is completed, the control valve 13a
Open and activate the vacuum source V. Then, the lower sliding surface 3b of the slider 3 is attracted to the sintered body 8 and fixed at that position. After the slider 3 is fixed in this manner, the robot may be operated in the usual manner. Note that when the slider 3 is shifted from the neutral position, the engagement pin 10 is moved as shown in FIG. 3(a).
It is in a state where it is recessed into the pin insertion hole 2e as shown in FIG.

During operation, if the control valve 13a is closed, the vacuum pressure inside the pipe 9 is almost maintained, so it is not necessary to operate the vacuum source V, but for safety reasons, if the pipe 9 is It is preferable that the vacuum pump P is configured to automatically restart operation when the internal pressure reaches a predetermined value or higher. Furthermore, when the slider 3 is moved from the neutral position, the tip of the locking pin 10 comes into contact with the slider 3 and is prevented from rising, so there is no need for compressed air to exist in the gap 16, but the supply of compressed air Afterwards, the control valve 13b is closed and the pipe 12
It is preferable to maintain the pressure within.

In this embodiment, even if there is a displacement in the vertical direction, it can be reliably absorbed by the slider 3 displacing along the support rod 4, and even if there is a displacement in the horizontal direction,
By changing the position of the slider 3 with respect to the main body 2 as described above, there is an advantage that the displacement can be easily and reliably absorbed.

In the above embodiment, the sintered body 8 and the tube 9 are provided in the main body 2, but they may also be provided in the slider 3. Further, the present invention can be applied to other working robots other than those exemplified here.

[0036]

As described above, the robot hand attachment device of the present invention can easily change the position of the robot hand with respect to the robot arm after it is attached to the robot arm.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of a robot hand attachment device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially sectional front view showing an attached state of the robot hand attachment device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part showing a neutral position setting mechanism of the robot hand attachment device of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Robot hand attachment device 2 Main body
2a Upper sliding surface 2b Lower sliding surface
2c depression 2d
communication hole
2e Pin insertion hole 2f Communication hole 3 Slider
3a Upper sliding surface 3b Lower sliding surface
3c pin engagement hole 3d
Tapered surface 4 Support rod
5, 6 Compression spring 7 Hand connection member
8 Porous sintered body 9
Pipe 10 Locking pin
10a Tapered surface 10b Large diameter part
10c small diameter part 11
compression spring 1
2 Pipes 13a, 13b control valve
14 Bush 15a, 15b O-ring
16 Gap 17 Air hole

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A main body connectable to a robot arm, a slider slidably attached to the main body and connectable to a robot hand, fixing means for fixing the slider to the main body, and a fixing means for the slider. A robot hand attachment device comprising: a control means for controlling the operation of the robot hand. 2. The robot hand attachment device according to claim 1, wherein the fixing means includes a vacuum source or a compressed gas source and is configured to suck or press the slider and fix it to the main body. .