JPH04360787A - Industrial robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a pipe from getting in the way in article fitting/removing action in a narrow place by providing this deflectable pipe for connecting the upper end of a fitting block to lateral guides, and wiring extended along the lateral guides after passing inside the pipe so as to be connected to a finger. CONSTITUTION:Laterally movable lateral guides 22, 24 are provided with a finger 32 fitted to one ends thereof, and a fitting block 14 for supporting a moving block 20, supporting the lateral guides 22, 24, movably in the longitudinal direction is provided rotatably or in the rectilinearly movable state. Wiring 64 with the tip thereof connected to the finger part 32 is led along the lateral guides 22, 24 as far as the other ends thereof, and passes inside a deflectable pipe 66 from the other ends of the lateral guides so as to be led up to the upper end of the fitting block 14 for connection.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an industrial robot having an improved wiring system for driving and controlling a finger attached to one end of a horizontal guide.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, wiring and piping systems for cylindrical robots have been constructed as shown in FIG. 6, for example. As shown in the figure, this cylindrical robot has a base a,
A vertical shaft b that can be retracted and protruded from the base a in the vertical direction, a vertical block c attached to the upper end of the vertical shaft b, and a vertical shaft b that can be retracted and extended from the vertical block c in the horizontal direction. A horizontal shaft d, a horizontal block e attached to the tip of the horizontal shaft d, a rotating shaft f rotatable about the vertical axis on the horizontal block e, and a rotating shaft f attached to the lower end of the rotating shaft f. , and fingers g for gripping an article. In the cylindrical robot constructed in this way, the finger g can move to any position defined in three-dimensional space.

Here, the conventional wiring system for driving and controlling the finger g is a hollow flexible first wire connecting the connecting blocks h fixed to the upper surface of the horizontal block e and the upper and lower blocks c to each other. a connecting pipe i, and a hollow second connecting pipe j that connects the lower surface of the connecting block h and the side surface of the base a,
Wires (not shown) are inserted through the first and second connecting pipes i and j, one end of which is connected to the finger g, and the other end of which is connected to a control unit (not shown).

0004

However, in such a conventional wiring system, since the wiring is passed from the finger g to the connecting block h via the first connecting pipe i, it is difficult to connect the finger g to the connecting block h. When the horizontal axis d must be extended and operated in a narrow space, such as when attaching and detaching an article to a processing device, the first connecting pipe i
There is a possibility that the conveyance operation may be blocked due to interference with processing equipment such as a milling machine. In addition, when attaching and detaching objects to processing equipment such as NC milling machines, the finger g
The installation side is in a bad environment such as oil splashing and deterioration of the first and second connecting pipes i and j is likely to occur, and a solution is desired.

[0005] The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an industrial apparatus in which a connecting pipe through which wiring to fingers is inserted does not interfere with attachment/detachment of an article in a narrow space. The goal is to provide robots. Another object of the present invention is to provide an industrial robot that can suppress deterioration of a connecting pipe through which wiring to fingers is inserted.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an industrial robot according to the present invention includes a lateral guide having a finger attached to one end and movable in the lateral direction; a movable block movably supported and movable along the longitudinal direction; a mounting block extending along the longitudinal direction; and a mounting block that guides the movable block movably along the longitudinal direction. The device is equipped with a guide means, a drive means for rotating or moving the mounting block, and a wiring means for driving and controlling the fingers, and the wiring means connects the upper end of the mounting block and the other end of the horizontal guide. A flexible pipe that connects the
The device is characterized by comprising a wire extending along the horizontal guide and connected to the finger.

Furthermore, in the industrial robot according to the present invention, the mounting block is formed hollow, and the wiring passes through the mounting block and is taken out from the lower end thereof. Further, in the industrial robot according to the present invention, the horizontal guide is formed hollow, and the wiring is taken into the horizontal guide from the other end, passes through it, and is connected to the finger. It is characterized by

[0008]

[Operation] As described above, by configuring the means for solving the problem, it has a lateral guide that is movable in the lateral direction with a finger attached to one end, and a moving block that supports this lateral guide. In an industrial robot that moves in the vertical direction and rotates or moves in a straight line a mounting block that supports the moving block in a vertically movable manner, the wiring whose tip is connected to the finger part is connected to other parts along the horizontal guide. From the other end of this transverse guide, it is led through a flexible pipe to the upper end of the mounting block.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure of an embodiment of an industrial robot according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the industrial robot 10 of this embodiment is configured as a cylindrical robot,
It includes a hollow cylindrical base portion 12 that is fixed in an upright position on a base (not shown). Attached to the upper end of the base portion 12 is a vertically extending mounting block 14. In this embodiment, the mounting block 14 is rotatably driven around a vertical axis by a rotary drive motor (not shown) disposed within the base portion 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, this mounting block 14 has an H-shaped cross section, and on the front side thereof, there are a pair of left and right guide rails 16 that extend along the vertical direction and are parallel to each other. , 18 are attached. and,
Slide bearings 18a and 18b are slidably attached to the pair of guide rails 16a and 16b, respectively.
A vertically moving block 20 is mounted to the mounting block 14 for vertical movement. This vertical movement block 20 has a pair of upper and lower horizontal shafts 22 and 24 that extend horizontally as horizontal guides and are parallel to each other, and are slidable in the horizontal direction via slide bushes (not shown). It is installed in a penetrating state. Here, both horizontal shafts 22 and 24 are
Each consists of a hollow shaft.

A hollow horizontal moving block 26 is fixed to one end of both horizontal shafts 22, 24, and a hollow connecting block 28 is fixed to the other ends of both. In this way, both horizontal shafts 22, 24, horizontal movement block 26, and connection block 28 are integrally formed.
It becomes movable along the horizontal direction. That is, in this embodiment, these horizontal shafts 22 and 24 function as the R axis of the cylindrical robot. A finger 32 is attached below the horizontal movement block 26 via a Z axis 30 extending along the vertical axis. Here, the Z-axis 30 is rotatable about its own central axis via a rotation drive motor (not shown) disposed within the horizontal movement block 26, and is fixed within the horizontal movement block 26. supporting block 26a
The support shaft 26b is rotatable between a vertical position shown in FIG. 1 and a horizontal position extending along a horizontal axis (not shown) around a support shaft 26b attached to the support shaft 26b. Also, finger 3
Reference numeral 2 has a well-known configuration for gripping the workpiece W, and the explanation thereof will be omitted here.

Next, a description will be given of the drive mechanism 34 that allows the finger 32 mentioned above to be moved to an arbitrary position within the vertical plane shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, this drive mechanism 34 includes toothed drive pulleys 36 attached to the upper and lower ends of the mounting block 14, respectively.
38, drive motors 44, 46 for rotationally driving these drive pulleys 36, 38 via endless belts 40, 42, respectively, and rotatable motors 44, 46 on the surface of the vertical movement block 26 at positions corresponding to the four corners of the rectangle. first to fourth idler pulleys 48, 50, 52, 54 with teeth pivotally supported on the
and a toothed fifth idler pulley 56 rotatably attached to the connecting block 28, one end of which is fixed to the upper part of a fixing block 58 attached to the horizontally moving block 26, and the first idler pulley 48 , through the first drive pulley 36, second idle pulley 50, fifth idle pulley 56, third idle pulley 52, second drive pulley 38, and fourth idle pulley 54,
It further includes a timing belt 60 fixed to the lower part of the fixed block 58 and having teeth on both sides.

Since the drive mechanism 34 is configured in this manner, the first and second drive motors 44 and 46 are rotated clockwise by the corresponding first and second drive pulleys 36 and 38. Vertical movement block 2
0 moves downward, and therefore the finger 32 descends. Moreover, the first and second drive motors 44,
46 to the corresponding first and second drive pulleys 36, 38
By driving both of them to rotate counterclockwise, the vertical movement block 20 moves upward, and therefore the finger 32 rises. On the other hand, by driving the first and second drive motors 44 and 46 so that the corresponding first and second drive pulleys 36 and 38 rotate counterclockwise and clockwise, respectively, the vertical movement block is moved. 20 remains at its height position, and the horizontal movement block 26 moves to the left, causing the finger 32 to also move to the left. And the first and second drive motors 44, 46
By driving the corresponding first and second drive pulleys 36 and 38 to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise, respectively, the vertical movement block 20 remains at its height position;
The horizontal movement block 26 moves towards the right, thus
The finger 32 will also move to the right.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, the mounting block 14
By rotating the finger 32 around the vertical axis, the finger 32 can be moved to any position around the base 12. Next, in the cylindrical robot 10 configured as described above, a wiring/piping system to the fingers 32, which is a feature of the present invention, will be explained.

In this embodiment, the finger 32 is composed of a pneumatically actuated mechanical part and an electrically controlled mechanical part, so that the finger 32 and the external part of the cylindrical robot 10 are The control unit 62 installed in the control unit 62 is connected to the control unit 62 via wiring and piping 64. Although not shown, the control unit 62 includes a CPU that controls the entire system, and a pneumatic control section and an electric control section that are driven and controlled under the control of the CPU.

On the other hand, in order to pass this wiring/piping 64,
A flexible duct 66 is provided. One end of the duct 66 is attached to the upper surface of the mounting block 14 via an attachment stay 68 at a predetermined distance from the upper surface, and the other end of the duct 66 is attached to the connecting block 28 and its internal space. Directly attached in communication. Here, this wiring/piping 64 connects the control unit 62 and the finger 32 to each other in a routed state as described below with reference to FIG.

That is, the wiring/pipes 64 coming out of the control unit 62 are taken into the back side of the base part 12 while being hooked to the base cover 70 attached to the lower side surface of the base part 12, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
It is taken into the back side of the mounting block 14 from below through the lower opening 14a of the mounting block 14, and guided upward along the back surface. The wiring/piping 64 is once taken out above the mounting block 14 through the upper opening 14b, and then taken into this from one end of the duct 66, passing through it, and leading to the duct 6.
6 into the connecting block 28 from the other end. Within this connecting block 28, the wiring/piping 64 is divided into two parts, one passing through the upper horizontal shaft 22, and the other passing through the lower horizontal shaft 24, and both are taken into the horizontal moving block 26. and Z axis 3 at the bottom end of this.
0 to the attached finger 32.

By routing the wiring/piping 64 in this manner, the wiring/piping 64 can absorb the movement of the finger 32 in two axes along the vertical axis line and the horizontal shaft line at one location in the duct 66. It is possible. In this way, the structure of the wiring/piping 64 for absorbing the movement of the finger 32 can be simplified, and costs can be reduced.

The duct 66 through which the wiring/piping 64 is inserted is connected at one end to the upper end of the mounting block 14, and at the other end opposite to the one end side where the fingers 32 of the horizontal shafts 22, 24 are attached. connected to the other end of the side. As a result, as long as there is a space for the finger 32 to enter, the duct 66 is located only on the opposite side of the mounting block 14 from where the finger 32 is installed, and there is no possibility of interference with the machining equipment, etc. Since it is completely excluded, it is possible to attach and detach the workpiece W in a narrow space while completely ignoring the existence of the duct 66.

On the other hand, as mentioned above, the mounting block 14 is constructed so that its horizontal cross section is H-shaped.
As a result, it is possible to provide sufficient rigidity against the moment in the rotational direction due to the rotation of this mounting block 14, and the vertical movement block 20 can be mounted on the surface while the overall configuration is miniaturized. Separately,
It is possible to secure a space for routing the wiring/piping 64 without providing a duct to house it, and thus it is possible to reduce costs.

This effect will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows an NC milling machine 74 as a machining device using the cylindrical robot 10 described above.
The work of attaching and detaching the workpiece W to and from the attachment jig 76 is shown. This cylindrical robot 10 drives the drive mechanism 34 to move the finger 32 directly above the magazine 78, and controls the drive of the finger 32 to move the finger 32 to the magazine 78.
The workpiece W is picked up from the center, and the drive mechanism 34 is driven again to move the finger 32 into the NC milling machine 74 through the narrow opening formed by opening the opening/closing door 80 to support the finger 32. It is attached to the attachment jig 76 by appropriately rotating it around the shaft 26b. The workpiece W mounted on this mounting jig 76
When the milling operation for the workpiece W is completed, the cylindrical robot 10 performs the above-described procedure in reverse to return the processed workpiece W to the magazine 78.

In the operation of the cylindrical robot 10 as described above, the finger 32 must be operated to be taken into the NC milling machine 74 through the opening/closing door 80. If the other end of the duct 66 is connected to the upper surface of the horizontal movement block 26, care must be taken not to interfere with the duct 66 when it passes through the narrow opening. If the duct 66 inevitably interferes with the edge of the opening due to the size of the opening, a great force will act on the duct 66 due to this interference, and the duct 66 will Problems such as breakage will occur.

However, in this embodiment,
When the finger 32 is taken into the NC milling machine 74, the duct 66 is located completely outside the NC milling machine 74 so as not to interfere with it at all. As a result, there is no need to take any precautions to prevent the duct 66 from interfering with the opening.

On the other hand, inside the NC milling machine 74,
Since a large amount of lubricating oil is used, in the conventional configuration, when taking the finger 32 into the NC milling machine 74, even if the duct 66 does not interfere, the NC milling
Even if the duct 66 is taken into the milling machine 74 in the same way, the duct 66 itself will be contaminated with oil, and if the duct 66 is made of rubber, for example, the oil will cause the duct 66 to become dirty. Deterioration occurs, resulting in poor durability and reliability.

However, in this embodiment,
Since the duct 66 does not enter the NC milling machine 74, the possibility of contamination and deterioration due to oil is completely eliminated.
This can improve durability and reliability.

Further, according to this embodiment, the duct 66
By connecting the horizontal shafts 22 and 24 to the side opposite to the finger attachment side, it is possible to suppress dynamic characteristics, specifically vibration, at the tip of the finger attachment side. That is, in the conventional system, when the vertical shaft b is rotated around the vertical axis in the installed state shown in FIG. 6, the first connecting pipe i swings around.
This will amplify the vibration of finger g. However, in this embodiment, mounting block 14
When the duct 66 is driven to rotate around the vertical axis, the duct 66 still swings around, but it is not connected to the finger attachment side, and the horizontal shafts 22 and 24 are in a state where vibration is most likely to occur. When the finger 32 is protruded most outwardly, the distance between the mounting position of the duct 66 and the vertical axis is the shortest, and the vibration of the duct 66 itself is also reduced, so that the vibration of the finger 32 is kept to a minimum. becomes.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, but can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the mounting block 14 was described as having an H-shaped horizontal cross section, but the present invention is not limited to such a structure, and the mounting block 14 may be constructed from a flat plate-like member. Alternatively, it may be constructed from a hollow casing.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the pair of horizontal shafts 22 and 24 are provided as horizontal guides, and the mounting block 14 is extended along the vertical direction. However, the mounting block 14 may be configured to extend along a horizontal direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the horizontal shafts 22, 24, and to support the mounting block 14 in a vertically movable manner. It's okay.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the industrial robot according to the present invention was explained as being composed of a cylindrical robot, but the present invention is not limited to such a structure. As shown in FIG. 5 as another embodiment, the robot may be composed of an orthogonal robot that can move along three axes that are orthogonal to each other. In addition, in this other embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as in the above-mentioned embodiment, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

That is, in this other embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the mounting block 14 extends along the horizontal direction and in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the mounting block 14 extends. The slide rail 82 is slidably attached to the slide rail 82 along the extending direction thereof. In addition, in this other embodiment, unlike the above-mentioned embodiment, the horizontal guide is a single hollow shaft 8 having a rectangular cross section.
It consists of 4.

[0031]

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, the industrial robot according to the present invention includes a lateral guide having a finger attached to one end and movable in the lateral direction, and a lateral guide that supports the lateral guide so as to be movable in the lateral direction. a moving block movable along the longitudinal direction; a mounting block extending along the longitudinal direction; a guide means for guiding the moving block to the mounting block so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction; The device includes driving means for driving the mounting block to rotate or move, and wiring means for driving and controlling the fingers, and the wiring means connects the upper end of the mounting block and the other end of the horizontal guide. It is characterized by comprising a flexible pipe, and wiring that passes through the pipe, extends along the horizontal guide, and is connected to the finger.

Furthermore, in the industrial robot according to the present invention, the mounting block is formed hollow, and the wiring passes through the mounting block and is taken out to the outside from the lower end of the mounting block. Further, in the industrial robot according to the present invention, the horizontal guide is formed hollow, and the wiring is taken into the horizontal guide from the other end, passes through it, and is connected to the finger. It is characterized by

Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided an industrial robot in which the connecting pipe through which the wiring to the fingers is inserted does not interfere with the attachment and detachment of articles in narrow spaces. Further, according to the present invention, there is provided an industrial robot that can suppress deterioration of the connecting pipe through which the wiring to the finger is inserted.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing the configuration of an embodiment of an industrial robot according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing the configuration around a mounting block of the industrial robot shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear sectional view showing how the internal wiring of the industrial robot shown in FIG. 1 is routed.

4 is a front view illustrating a state in which a workpiece is attached to and detached from an NC milling machine using the industrial robot shown in FIG. 1; FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of another embodiment in which the industrial robot according to the present invention is applied to an orthogonal robot.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional cylindrical robot.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 industrial robot, 12 base unit, 14 mounting block, 14a lower opening, 14b upper opening, 16a; 16b guide rail, 18a; 18b
Slide bearing, 20 vertical movement block, 22, 24 horizontal shaft, 26 horizontal movement block, 26a support block, 26b support shaft, 28 connection block, 30 Z axis, 32 finger, 34 drive mechanism, 36; 38 first and second drive pulley, 40;
42 first and second endless belts, 44;
46 first and second drive motors, 48; 50;
52; 54; 56 first to fifth idle pulleys, 58 fixing block, 60 timing belt, 62 control unit, 64 wiring/piping, 66 duct, 68 mounting stay, 70 base cover, 72 latching hook, 74 NC milling machine , 76 mounting shaft, 78 magazine, 80 opening/closing door, and 82 slide rail.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A horizontal guide having a finger attached to one end and movable in the horizontal direction; a moving block supporting the horizontal guide in a horizontally movable manner and movable in the vertical direction; a mounting block extending along the mounting block; a guide means for movably guiding the moving block along the longitudinal direction to the mounting block; a driving means for rotationally driving or moving the mounting block; wiring means for drive control; the wiring means includes a flexible pipe connecting the upper end of the mounting block and the other end of the horizontal guide; and a wire extending along the finger and connected to the finger. 2. The mounting block is formed hollow, and the wiring passes through the mounting block and is taken out from the lower end of the mounting block.
Industrial robots described in . 3. The lateral guide is formed hollow, and the wiring is introduced into the lateral guide from the other end thereof, passes through the lateral guide, and is connected to the finger. The industrial robot according to 1 or 2.