JPH05131389A - Object handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable production of high rigidity against external force by supporting a top member swingably on a base member through a parallel combination of elastic members and connecting members, in a handling device which is provided with two members of which relative positions are changed according to external force and in which an object is rotated, held, etc., with the top member. CONSTITUTION:An object handling device is provided with a base member 1 connected to a robot arm 59 and a top member 2 of plate form with a flat surface form slightly larger than the member 1, if it is applied to a plate material handling robot hand for press brake. The both members 1 and 2 are connected to each other at specified positions by four connecting shaft members 3, and coiled springs 3a are provided between the both members 1 and 2 with the connecting shaft members 3 surrounded by the springs. Also balls 3b are formed integrally at both ends of the connecting shaft members 3, and engaged with ball bearings 3c and 3c provided at the opposed positions of the base member 1 and the top member 2. Then multiple suction pads c for sucking to hold a plate material 61 for press brake are located at specified positions of the top member 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an object handling device, and more specifically, it rotates one of two members whose relative positions change in response to an external force, either directly or at a joint. , Gripping, etc.,
For example, the present invention relates to a device for supporting an object such as a work or a tool while being attached to a robot arm or the like of an industrial robot and handling the object so as to control the object to a desired position and posture.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a robot hand is attached to the tip of a robot arm in order to support an object such as a work or a tool by an industrial robot and control the position, posture and the like. As a configuration of the robot hand, (I) a configuration in which a front member that supports an object is integrally and firmly connected to a base member that is integrally supported by a robot arm, and ( II) A structure has been proposed in which the front member is floatingly supported with respect to the base member.

In the floating support mechanism of the robot hand having the structure (II), a plurality of through holes having a relatively large diameter are formed at predetermined positions of the base member, and the through holes are provided at predetermined positions of the front member. A projecting shaft having a relatively small diameter and protruding through each of the corresponding through holes, and at a portion protruding from the through hole of the shaft or a portion located between the base member and the front member. A structure in which a coil spring is provided to bias the front member is adopted.

Therefore, the robot hand having the configuration (I) is applied to a purpose in which the object can be accurately handled based on the position and orientation obtained by controlling each axis of the industrial robot. Achieves accurate object handling. The robot hand having the configuration of (II) controls each axis of the industrial robot when the control of each axis of the industrial robot becomes significantly complicated due to the influence of other devices and other objects. Is also applied when the tracking of the robot hand is not sufficient, and the floating support mechanism gives the robot hand some degree of freedom in position and posture.
With this degree of freedom, it is possible to simplify the control of each axis of the industrial robot and improve the followability of the robot hand.

[0005]

In the robot hand having the structure (II), the floating support mechanism has the through hole, the protruding shaft, and the coil spring as essential components, and if the degree of freedom is to be increased, the protruding structure is used. Since it is indispensable to lengthen the shaft and increase the diameter of the through hole, there is a limit to downsizing of the robot hand as a whole, and there is an inconvenience that it cannot be applied to applications requiring work in a narrow space. Further, since the axial position of the front member with respect to the base member is restricted only by the coil spring, applications requiring high rigidity with respect to an external force that causes the front member to approach the base member, for example, a flat plate for a press brake. There is an inconvenience that it cannot be applied to applications such as handling materials.

In addition, the posture of the robot hand under no load is determined by the through hole, the machining accuracy of the protruding shaft, the elastic force of a plurality of coil springs, and the like. Since it has to be reduced as much as possible, not only the precision of each component but also the machining precision must be improved, which causes a disadvantage of increasing the cost of the robot hand.

Further, the robot hand having the configuration (II) and the robot hand having the configuration (I) are selected in accordance with the use of the floating support and the use of the floating support. If they are mixed, there is a disadvantage that the number of robot hands to be prepared in advance increases. Although only the robot hand including the floating support mechanism has been described above, the same inconvenience also occurs in an object handling device other than the robot hand when the floating support mechanism is included.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to easily achieve simplification of the structure and downsizing as a whole, and moreover, with respect to an external force that brings the front member closer to the base member. The object of the present invention is to provide a novel object handling device capable of exhibiting high rigidity.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the object handling apparatus according to claim 1 is a base member, a front member, a plurality of connecting members for connecting both members, and each connecting member. A rotary connecting member that includes an elastic member that is elastically mounted between both members in a state of surrounding the member, and that each connecting member is rotatable at least at one direction with respect to both ends of the connecting member with respect to the base member and the front member. have.

In the object handling device of the second aspect, the rotary connecting member is a ball that engages with a ball bearing provided on each member. In the object handling device according to claim 3, one member is
It further has a suction holding member that holds the other member by suction. The object handling device according to claim 4 has one member having at least two shaft members extending toward the other member, and the other member having a positioning member arranged corresponding to each shaft member. is doing.

[0011]

According to the object handling apparatus of the present invention, the base member and the tip member are connected via the connecting members having the rotating connecting members at both ends, and the elastic member is mounted. Therefore, the connecting member is tilted in response to the external force applied to the front member in the direction in which the rotation of the rotating connecting member is permitted, and when the external force disappears, the elasticity of the elastic member causes the connecting member to move. The front member restores to its original state by being raised. Further, when an external force in a direction in which the rotation of the rotating member is not permitted or an axial external force of the connecting member in the initial state is applied, the external force cannot tilt the connecting member. Can exhibit high rigidity.

In the object handling device according to the second aspect, since the rotation connecting member is a ball that engages with a ball bearing provided on each member, an external force for moving the front member in an arbitrary horizontal direction. Also, the connecting member tilts in response to an external force that horizontally rotates the front member, and the degree of freedom of floating support can be increased. In addition, when an external force in the axial direction of the connecting member in the initial state is applied, the external force cannot tilt the connecting member, so that high rigidity can be achieved as a whole.

According to the object handling apparatus of the third aspect, since one member further has a suction holding member for holding the other member by suction, the other member is sucked and held by the suction holding member. By doing so, it can function as an object handling device that does not include a floating support mechanism. Therefore, even when the object handling device that requires the floating support and the object handling device that does not require the floating support are required, it is not necessary to prepare these object handling devices in advance.

In the object handling apparatus according to the fourth aspect, one member has at least two shaft members extending toward the other member, and the other member is arranged corresponding to each shaft member. Even if the relative position of the front member with respect to the base member is indefinite due to external load etc. due to the floating support, the positioning member is operated to operate the shaft member. By restricting the position of, the front member can be positioned so as to be surely at the known relative position.

[0015]

Embodiments will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a flat plate material handling robot hand for a press brake (hereinafter, abbreviated as a PB robot hand) as an embodiment of the object handling apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. It is a plan view, and robot arm 59 of the flat plate material handling robot for press brakes.
A base member 1 connected to the base member 1, and a flat plate-like front member 2 having a plane shape slightly larger than the plane shape of the base member 1.
Four connecting shaft members 3 that connect the base member 1 and the front member 2 at predetermined positions, respectively, and are mounted between the base member 1 and the front member 2 so as to surround each connecting shaft member 3. And a coil spring 3a. In addition, each connecting shaft member 3
Balls 3b are integrally formed at both ends of the base member 1, and are engaged with a ball bearing 3c provided at a corresponding position of the base member 1 and a ball bearing 3c provided at a corresponding position of the tip member 2. A plurality of suction pads 2 for holding the press brake flat plate material 61 by suction are provided at predetermined positions of the front member 2.
c is arranged.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of a press brake system including a press brake flat plate material handling robot (hereinafter referred to as a PB robot) to which the PB robot hand having the structure shown in FIG. 1 is attached and a press brake. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a PB robot 5 at a predetermined position that does not directly face either the front face or the side face of a press brake 4 having an upper die 41, a lower die 42 and a back gauge (not shown).
And a material support portion 6 that supports a plurality of flat plate materials 61 in a stacked state at a predetermined position directly facing the front surface of the press brake 4.

As shown in detail in FIG. 4, the PB robot 5 has a reciprocating arm 52 that reciprocates on a base 51 having a predetermined length, and a first rotation provided at the tip of the reciprocating arm 52. The first arm 54 is rotated by the shaft 53 in a plane orthogonal to the tip of the reciprocating arm 52, and the second rotary shaft 55 is provided at the tip of the first rotating arm 54.
The second rotating arm 5 is rotated by a second rotating arm 56 which is rotated in a plane orthogonal to the tip of the rotating arm 54 and a third rotating shaft 57 which is provided at the tip of the second rotating arm 56.
The third rotating arm 58 is rotated in a plane parallel to the tip of the third rotating arm 58, and the tip of the third rotating arm 58 is formed by the fourth rotating shaft 59 provided at the tip of the third rotating arm 58. PB robot hand 6 rotated in a plane parallel to
It has 0 and. In addition, this PB robot hand 6
The configuration of 0 is as shown in FIG.

The operation of the press brake system having the above structure is as follows. By controlling each axis of the PB robot 5, the suction pad 2c of the PB robot hand 60 is brought into contact with the uppermost flat plate material 61 of the plurality of flat plate materials 61 stacked on the material supporting portion 6. Then, the flat plate material 61 is suction-held by the suction pad 2c. In this case, since a relatively heavy flat plate material 61 is gripped, a considerably large tensile load is applied in the direction of the connecting shaft member 3 in the initial state, but this load is applied to the ball bearings 3b and 3b. Since it is received by the base member 1 via the connecting shaft member 3, the flat plate material 61 can be securely and stably adsorbed and held.

Next, by controlling each axis of the PB robot, the uppermost flat plate material 61 is lifted and inserted between the upper die 41 and the lower die 42 of the press brake 4 to press the edge against the back gauge. By doing so, each connecting shaft member 3 is tilted by a corresponding angle, and positioning with respect to the press brake 4 is achieved (see FIG. 5). The coil spring 3a provides a certain amount of resistance during this floating operation, and smooth and accurate positioning can be achieved.

After the positioning is achieved, the flat plate material 61
Is clamped by the upper die 41 and the lower die 42, and the edge portion is bent, so that the press brake 4 substantially follows the operation of the flat plate material 61 whose edge portion is bent.
Each axis of the B robot 5 is controlled. In this case,
Since the moving speed of the portion of the flat plate material 61 that is sucked and held by the PB robot hand 60 is significantly higher than the operating speed of the press brake 4, that is, the moving speed of the upper die 41, the PB robot. It is difficult for the PB robot hand 60 to follow the flat plate material 61 with high accuracy only by controlling each axis of No. 5. But PB
The robot hand 60 for robots eliminates the inconvenience that the robot hand 60 for PBs obstructs the movement of the flat plate material 61 because the front member 2 is floatingly supported with respect to the base member 1. Suction pad 2 with 2
By making c follow the flat plate material 61, it is possible to reliably prevent the bending of the waist and the second bending and the like and to achieve the high-precision bending of the flat plate material 61. Further, the front member 2 can be made to follow the positional deviation before and after bending due to the thickness of the flat plate material 61 with high accuracy, and high-precision bending can be achieved also from this surface.

When the bending is completed, the upper die 41 and the lower die 42 of the press brake 4 are separated from each other and the flat plate material 61 is released.
Is released, and each axis of the PB robot 5 is controlled to carry out the flat plate material 61 to a desired position. Hereinafter, by repeating the above-described series of operations, it is possible to bend a desired portion of the flat plate material 61 a desired number of times.

[0022]

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment of the object handling apparatus of the present invention. The difference from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is that the base member 1 and the tip member 2 are different. The intermediate member 2d is further provided between the base member 1 and the front member 2.
And a connection shaft member 3d that connects the base member 1 and the intermediate member 2d and a connection shaft member 3e that connects the intermediate member 2d and the front member 2 in place of the connection shaft member 3 that directly connects The base member 1 and the intermediate member 2 are configured so that the shaft member 3d can be rotated only in one direction by a bearing or the like (not shown).
In addition to being connected to d, the connecting shaft member 3e is connected to the intermediate member 2d and the front member 2 by a bearing or the like not shown so as to be rotatable only in a direction orthogonal to the rotating direction of the connecting shaft member 3d. Only.

In the case of this embodiment, the intermediate member 2d is floatingly supported only in one direction with respect to the base member 1, and the front member 2 is only supported in the direction orthogonal to the floating supporting direction with respect to the intermediate member 2d. Since the front member 2 is floatingly supported, it means that the front member 2 is floatingly supported with respect to the base member 1 in the above-mentioned two directions, and the external force for rotating the front member 2 is not floatingly supported. With respect to the external force for moving the front member 2 in parallel, it is floatingly supported in all directions. Therefore, the same operation as that of the above-described embodiment can be achieved except that the tip member 2 cannot rotate regardless of the external force.

[0024]

[Embodiment 3] FIG. 7 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing still another embodiment of the object handling apparatus of the present invention.
The difference from the embodiment shown in FIG.
It is only that it further has one vacuum suction pad 1a. Since this vacuum suction pad 1a is used to eliminate the floating support by vacuum-sucking the front member 2, when applied to the above-mentioned press brake system, the press brake 4 with the flat plate material 61 floating supported. When it is carried in, the relative position with respect to the press brake 4 is corrected by pressing the edge portion of the flat plate material 61 against the back gauge. And the flat plate material 61
After the relative position is corrected, the front member 2 is vacuum-sucked by the vacuum suction pad 1a to eliminate the floating support, and the relative position correction state of the flat plate material 61 is maintained.
As a result, it is possible to reliably eliminate the inconvenience that the flat plate material 61 released after the bending by the press brake 4 is completed is restored to the state before correction.

When applied to a purpose other than the press brake system, an object handling device or floating support that does not perform floating support depending on whether or not the front member 2 is vacuum-sucked by the vacuum suction pad 1a is used. It can be applied to any target object handling device, and the applicable range of the target object handling device can be greatly expanded.

[0026]

[Embodiment 4] FIG. 8 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing still another embodiment of the object handling apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a transverse sectional view, and the point different from the embodiment shown in FIG. A pair of shaft members 2e extending from a predetermined position of the member 2 toward the base member and the restricting member 1 for pressing the shaft members 2e to restrict the position.
It is only that it further has b.

Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, when the relative position with respect to the robot arm 59 cannot be grasped because the object is floatingly supported together with the tip member 2, the base member 1 The corresponding shaft member 2e can be pressed by the restricting member 1b provided on the base member 1e to restrict the relative position of the shaft member 2e and thus the relative position of the tip member 2 to a known relative position with respect to the base member 1.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view for explaining the operation when the object handling apparatus of this embodiment is applied to the above press brake system. First, with the vacuum suction pad 1a stopping the vacuum suction of the front member 2, the regulating member 1
By operating b, the front member 2 is positioned (origin position) with respect to the base member 1 (see FIG. 10).
Then, the front member 2 is vacuum-sucked by the vacuum suction pad 1a to eliminate the floating support (see FIG. 10B). In this case, the regulating member 1b
By stopping the driving of (1), the interference with the shaft member 2e is eliminated. After that, each axis of the PB robot 5 is controlled to suck and hold the flat plate material 61 (see the broken line in FIG. 10C) by the suction pad 2c (see FIG. 10C).
As it is, it is carried in between the upper 41 and the lower mold 42 of the press brake 4. Then, before the flat plate material 61 comes into contact with the back gauge of the press brake 4 (see 43 in FIG. 10D), the vacuum suction of the front member 2 by the vacuum suction pad 1a is stopped to obtain a floating support state. The edge of the flat plate material 61 is regulated by the back gauge to achieve relative positioning with respect to the press brake 4 (FIG. 10).
(D)). After that, the front member 2 is again vacuum-sucked by the vacuum suction pad 1a to eliminate the floating support (see FIG. 10 (E)), and each axis of the PB robot 5 is controlled, so that the flat plate for the press brake 4 is pressed. The relative position of the material 61 can be accurately controlled to perform bending with high accuracy. When the bending of the flat plate material 61 is completed, the regulating member 1b is operated as necessary to position the front member 2 with respect to the robot arm 59 and carry out the work.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, instead of the coil spring 3a, a cylinder made of an elastic material such as rubber can be used, and the shaft member 2e and It is possible to set the number of the regulating members 1b to 3, and it is possible to use a bearing that allows only one-direction rotation in place of the ball bearing 3c in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In addition, the vacuum suction pad 1a, the shaft member 2e, and the regulating member 1b can be provided on the opposite side member, and various design changes can be made within the range not changing the gist of the present invention. ..

[0030]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, good floating support can be achieved in the direction in which the rotation of the rotating member is permitted, and in the directions other than the direction in which the rotation is permitted. Has the unique effect of exhibiting high rigidity. In addition to the effect of claim 1, the invention of claim 2 has a unique effect that the degree of freedom of floating support can be expanded.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even if an object handling device in which floating support is essential and an object handling device in which floating support is unnecessary are required, these object handling devices are prepared in advance. It has the unique effect of eliminating the need. According to the invention of claim 4, even if the relative position of the front member with respect to the base member is indefinite due to an external load or the like due to the floating support, the positioning member is operated to regulate the position of the shaft member. As a result, there is a unique effect that the front member can be surely positioned so as to have the known relative position.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a flat plate material handling robot hand for a press brake as an embodiment of an object handling apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the essential parts of a flat plate material handling robot / hand for a press brake.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a press brake system including a press brake flat plate material handling robot to which the PB robot hand having the configuration of FIG. 1 is mounted and a press brake.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of a flat plate material handling robot for a press brake.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a plate when positioning a flat plate material.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment of the object handling apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing still another embodiment of the object handling apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing still another embodiment of the object handling apparatus of the present invention.

9 is a cross-sectional view of the object handling device of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation when the object handling device of FIG. 8 is applied to a press brake system.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base member 1a Vacuum adsorption pad 1b Control member 2 Front member 2d Intermediate member 2e Shaft member 3 Connecting shaft member 3a Coil spring 3b Ball 3c Ball bearing

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A base member (1) and a tip member (2) (2)
d), a plurality of connecting members (3) for connecting the two members (1), (2), and (2d), and between the two members (1), (2), and (2d) in a state of surrounding each connecting member (3). And an elastic member (3a) elastically attached to each of the connecting members (3) at both ends thereof,
An object handling device comprising a base member (1) and a pivotal connecting member (3b) rotatable in at least one direction with respect to the front member (2) (2d). 2. The object handling device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation connecting member (3b) is a ball (3b) engaging with a ball bearing (3c) provided on each member. 3. The object handling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one member further has a suction holding member (1b) that holds the other member by suction. 4. A positioning member (wherein one member has at least two shaft members (2e) extending toward the other member, and the other member is arranged corresponding to each shaft member (2e). The object handling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising 1c).