JPH0531692A - Tool holding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform reliable mounting and demounting operation even a place where working environment is adverse by ensuring waterproofness and dustproofness by means of a simple structure. CONSTITUTION:In a tool holding device 3 for an industrial robot, a device body 6 is provided with a lock device 14 having a plurality of lock pins 21 movable forward and backward in a radiation direction and a seating surface 6a protruded in a position, located outside in the radiation direction of the lock pin 21, and outwardly of the lock device 14. A member 7 to be adhered is formed in an annular shape to surround the outside of the lock device 14, and the end surface thereof forms an adhering surface 7a. A cam part 37 protruded in an in side is located on the inner peripheral surface side of the member 7 to be adhered and in a position in a level in the vicinity of the adhering surface 7a. A cam surface 38 inclined in such a way that its outside is separated away from the adhering surface 7a is formed on the cam part 37 and by bringing the outer end part of the lock pin 21 into abutment with the cam surface 38, the adhering surface 7a is brought into press contact with the seating surface 6a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tool holding device for holding a tool in an industrial robot or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a production line or the like, an industrial robot uses a tool held at the tip of its operating arm to perform a required production operation such as machining or work.

In such a production line or the like, it may be necessary for an industrial robot to replace the held tool with another tool for production work. Conventionally, tool holding devices of various structures have been proposed. Has been done.

[0004]

By the way, the working environment of the industrial robot is bad, and foreign matter such as dust, water, sand, cutting chips and oil penetrates into each part of the tool holding device of the industrial robot. There is. In particular, if foreign matter enters the portion where the adhered member equipped with the tool is detachable, not only cannot it be reliably mounted, but it is also a cause of defective attachment / detachment.

The present invention has been made under these circumstances, and ensures waterproofness and dustproofness with a simple structure.
An object of the present invention is to provide a tool holding device that can be reliably attached and detached even in places where the working environment is poor.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a tool holder for detachably mounting an adhered member having a tool to an apparatus body provided at a tip of an operating arm. In the device, the device body includes a locking device in which a plurality of locking pins capable of advancing and retracting in the radial direction are arranged, and a seating surface that extends to the outside of the locking device at a position that is at least outside in the radial direction of the locking pin. And providing the adhered member in a ring shape surrounding the outside of the locking device, and using the end surface of the adhered member as a mounting surface that abuts against the seating surface, and the inner peripheral surface of the adhered member. A cam portion that projects inward is provided on the side, and a cam surface that is inclined so as to separate from the mounting surface toward the outer side in the radial direction is formed on the lower surface of the cam portion, and the lock pin is provided on this cam surface. Outer edge of While for abutting, it is characterized in that is brought into contact with the seating surface to form a cam portion upper surface in a continuous plane with the mounting surface.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the adhered member having the tool is formed in a ring shape, and the ring-shaped adhered member is installed so as to surround the outside of the lock pin and the cam surface as a mounting drive device for the adhered member and the apparatus main body. As a result, foreign matter does not easily reach the portions of the lock pin and the cam surface, and the mounting operation by the lock pin and the cam surface is reliably performed.

Further, since the upper surface of the cam portion is formed into a flat surface which is continuous with the mounting surface formed on the end surface of the adhered member and is brought into contact with the seating surface of the apparatus main body, the sealing surface between the apparatus main body and the adhered member is It becomes wide.

[0009]

Embodiments of the tool holding device of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a state of use in an industrial robot, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a tool holding device in a locked state, and FIG.
Is a sectional view of the tool holding device in an unlocked state, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is an industrial vertical articulated robot, and a tool holding device 3 is provided at the tip of an operating arm 2 of the industrial robot 1. The tool 4 is held by the tool holding device 3. The tool 4 held in the illustrated state is a work tool for picking and placing the work W. That is, the tool 4 has a hand, and by grasping the work W with this hand, the machining is performed by the drill D of the processing machine 5.

Various tools 4 used in the industrial robot 1
Is placed on the tool stand in advance, and the industrial robot 1
Is held by the tool holding device 3 and the tool 4 is replaced and installed as needed, and the required production work is performed by the new tool 4.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the tool holding device 3 of this embodiment comprises a device body 6 and an adherend member 7.

The apparatus body 6 includes a substrate 11 and the substrate 11
A cylinder member 12 fixed to the cylinder member 1 and the cylinder member 1
Holding member 13 attached to the lower end of 2, and this holding member 1
3 has a locking device 14 attached to it.

The substrate 11 is a member for attaching the apparatus main body 6 to the operating arm 2, and the substrate 11 is provided with a first air passage 15 extending from the first air supply port 19 to the cylinder 17. ing.

The cylinder member 12 is mounted on the lower surface of the substrate 11 and forms a cylinder 17 inside which a piston 16 described below can be moved up and down. In the following, the central axis O indicates the center line of the piston 16.

In the cylinder 17, a piston 16 which is elastically urged downward by a coil spring 18 is arranged so as to be able to move up and down, and the first air passage 15 is communicated above the piston 16. There is.

At the lower end of the piston 16, a separate conical cam 22 for advancing a lock pin 21, which will be described later, is mounted via a spring pin 23 so as to be slightly movable in the radial direction of the cylinder 17. There is.

The conical cam 22 has a cam surface 22d. The cam surface 22d is inclined at the end of the piston 16 so as to approach the piston center line as it goes to the tip. Lock pin 2 on piston 16
1 is movably connected in a forward and backward direction.

The conical cam 22 has an upper end surface 2 at the peripheral edge of the conical cam 22 in the downward stroke of the piston 16.
2a and the lower end surface 16a of the piston 16 come into contact with each other, and the driving force of the piston 16 is transmitted.
In the ascending stroke of 6, the pulling force is received from the piston 16 via the spring pin 23.

The holding member 13 attached to the lower end of the cylinder member 12 has a through hole 13a formed in the center thereof so that the conical cam 22 can be projected and retracted downward.

Further, the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the holding member 13 is a seating surface 6a, and a mounting surface 7a formed on the upper end surface of an adherend member 7 which will be described later comes into pressure contact with the rubber packing 6b. , A positioning pin 2 inserted into a positioning hole 24 formed in the adherend member 7 from the mounting surface 7a side.
5 are installed. The seating surface 6a and the mounting surface 7a are in contact with each other through the rubber packing 6b over the entire circumference.

Further, in this embodiment, in order to enhance the airtightness of the cylinder 17, a sleeve member 26 formed separately is mounted in the through hole 13a.

The lock device 14 mounted on the holding member 13 includes a lock pin device 28 constituted by a lock pin 21 and a lock cylinder 27 as a piston / cylinder mechanism, and a lock pin device 28 arranged around the central axis O of the piston 16.
It is installed in the radial direction that divides it equally (Fig. 4). The lock cylinder 27 is fitted and held in a fitting hole provided in the holding member 13.

The lock pin 21 is the lock cylinder 2
The lock pin 21 is inserted so that it can move back and forth within 7.
Is elastically urged toward the central axis O side of the cylinder 17 in the retracting direction by the coil spring 31, and the plurality of lock pins 21 are in a radial direction, that is, in a direction extending outward from the central axis O of the piston 16. It is possible to move forward and backward.

Further, the compressed air supplied to the space below the piston 16 in the cylinder 17 from the second air supply port 32 formed on the side portion of the cylinder member 12 is a groove 34 on the outer surface of the sleeve member 26. Second air passage 33, etc.
And is supplied to the back of the head portion 21a of each lock pin 21 via.

At the lower center of the locking device 14, a separator 36 containing a coil spring 35 is built.
Is installed. This separator 36 is the holding member 1
3, the coil spring 35 is attached to a spring receiver 13e formed on the holding member 13, and always urges the separator 36 in a direction away from the holding member 13.

The separator 36 compresses and deforms the coil spring 35 by the mounting plate 39 when the adhered member 7 is held as will be described later, and then when the attached adhered member 7 is separated from the apparatus main body 6. The elastic force of the coil spring 35 causes the mounting plate 3
By pressing 9, the adherend 7 is smoothly separated from the apparatus main body 6.

The adhered member 7 mounted on the apparatus main body 6 thus constructed is a member formed in a substantially ring shape as shown in FIG. 4, and protrudes inside the upper part over the entire circumference. A cam portion 37 is formed. Further, mounting plate mounting holes 95 for mounting the mounting plate 39 are formed at six positions on the adherend 7, air supply insertion holes 96 are further formed at six positions, and electrode contacts 97 and electrode contacts 98 are located at ten positions. It is provided in.

On the lower surface side of the cam portion 37, a cam surface 38 that cooperates with the lock pins 21 is formed, and the upper surface of the cam portion 37 is a plane continuous with the mounting surface 7a of the adhered member 7. Formed (Fig. 2). That is, the mounting surface 7a of the adhered member 7 is enlarged in size in the radial direction (radial direction in which the lock pin 21 moves forward and backward) by installing the cam portion 37, and thus the adhered member 7a is expanded. There is an advantage that the seal surface width is wide when 7 is mounted on the seating surface 6a of the apparatus main body 6, the connection rigidity of the adhered member 7 is high, and rattling of the tool 4 is suppressed.

On the lower surface of the adhered member 7, a mounting plate 39 for integrally supporting the tool 4 is fixed by bolts (not shown) or the like to form a bottomed container.
The mounting plate 39 may be formed integrally with the adherend member 7, or may not be formed.

When the adhered member 7 is held by the apparatus main body 6, the locking device 14, the cam portion 37, etc. are held by the holding member 1.
3 and the adherend 7 and the mounting plate 39 are stored in a space completely sealed.

As a result, even when the industrial robot 1 is used in a work space with many foreign substances such as dust,
Foreign matter such as dust is unlikely to adhere to the lock device 14 and the cam surface 38, the operation of the lock device 14 is less likely to be impaired by dust, and smooth and smooth tool exchange can be performed.

As described above, since the mounting surface 7a is widened by the cam portion 37 and the wide rubber packing 6b is interposed between the seating surface 6a and the mounting surface 7a, the dustproof function and The waterproof function is extremely good.

Even if a cutout is formed in the mounting plate 39 or the like in order to reduce the weight, the adhered member 7
Are disposed outside the lock pin 21 and the cam surface 38, so that the effects such as dust prevention can be achieved.

The tool 4 is held by the tool holding device 3 by connecting the adherend 7 having such a structure to the device body 6, and is attached to the tip of the operating arm 2 of the industrial robot 1.

It is also possible to form a hole in the adherend 7 and insert the lock pin 21 into the hole.

The mounting of the tool 4 by the tool holding device 3 is performed as follows.

That is, first, the apparatus body 6 fixed to the tip of the operating arm 2 of the industrial robot 1 is moved to a position corresponding to the required tool 4 on the tool holder, and the operating arm 2 is moved.
Is brought close to the adhered member 7 provided integrally with the tool 4 (see the phantom line in FIG. 3), and the adhered member 7 is fitted to the outside of the locking device 14.

Thereafter, compressed air is supplied to the space above the piston 16 of the cylinder 17 through the first air supply port 19 formed in the substrate 11.

As a result, the piston 16 descends, and the conical cam 22 is inserted into the space between the three lock pins 21.

At this time, when only a part of the lock pins 21 comes into contact with the conical cam 22, the conical cam 22 can move freely in the radial direction of the cylinder 17, that is, in the forward / backward direction of the lock pin 21 as described above. Therefore, the conical cam 22 slides and displaces due to the reaction force, which causes the conical cam 2 to move.
2 is in a state of being in uniform contact with all the lock pins 21.

As a result, the three lock pins 21 are pushed outward in the radial direction, and the tips of the lock pins 21 abut against the cam surface 38 of the adhered member 7 located outside thereof.

Due to the abutment of the lock pin 21 against the cam surface 38, the adhered member 7 receives a pressing force to the apparatus main body 6 side,
The upper surface of the mounting plate 39 abuts against the lowermost surface of the apparatus main body 6, and the state shown in FIG. 2 is obtained. Further, the rubber packing 6b is slightly elastically deformed to ensure the sealing between the apparatus body 6 and the adherend member 7.

A gap is provided between the lowermost surface of the holding member 13 of the apparatus body 6 and the upper surface of the mounting plate 39 so that the upper surface of the adhered member 7 is held when the lock pin 21 collates with the cam surface. You may make it abut against the lower surface of the member 13.
In this case, the rubber packing 6b between the holding member 13 and the adhered member 7 may or may not be provided.

As described above, since the adhered member 7 is fixed to the apparatus main body 6 separately from the lock pin 21 and the cam surface 38, the clearances associated with these connection drive structures are required to connect the two. It is possible to closely connect both without affecting.

Therefore, the apparatus main body 6 and the adherend member 7 can be reliably connected to each other without backlash, and the backlash of the attached tool 4 can be reliably reduced.

Next, when the tool 4 thus mounted is to be removed, it operates as follows.

That is, when the required work with the attached tool 4 is completed, the operating arm 2 of the industrial robot 1 is
The compressed air to the second air supply port 32 is stopped while the compressed air supply to the first air supply port 19 of the tool holding device 3 in the state of FIG. Supply.

Along with this, the piston 16 of the cylinder 17
Compressed air is supplied to the space below, and the piston 16 starts to move upward, and compressed air is also supplied to the back of each lock pin 21 via the second air passage 33 such as the groove 34. The lock pin 21 retreats toward the central axis O, and the tip of the lock pin 21 is separated from the cam surface 38, whereby the adherend 7 is released from the restraint of the apparatus body 6.

At the same time, the separator 36
When the coil spring 35 in the compressed state expands, the mounting surface 7a and the seating surface 6a are separated from each other, and the two can be smoothly separated.

As a result, the tool 4 can be stored in a predetermined position of the tool holder from the tip of the operating arm 2 of the industrial robot 1. Then, in the case of performing work with another tool 4 subsequently to this, after moving the operation arm 2 to the position of the tool 4, the required tool 4 is performed in the same manner as described above.
Should be attached.

Thus, the tool holding device 3 of this embodiment
According to the above, the conical cam 22 is provided by supplying compressed air.
By moving back and forth and operating the lock pin 21, the tool 4 can be quickly attached and detached via the cam surface 38 of the adherend 7, and the setup time associated with the tool change of the industrial robot 1 can be shortened. Therefore, the production efficiency in the production line can be improved.

In addition, the operation of the single conical cam 22 causes the plurality of lock pins 21 to operate, thereby pressing the lowermost surface of the apparatus main body 6 against the upper surface of the mounting plate 39 to connect them, so that the tool 4 is The device body 6 can be securely mounted without play.

In the embodiment described above, the mounting surface 7a
Although the seating surface 6a is formed in an annular shape that is continuous over the entire circumference, for example, in order to reduce the weight of the device main body 6 and the like, it corresponds to the lock pin device 28 of the holding member 13 and the locking device 14. Even when the notch is formed in a portion other than the portion, if the adhered member 7 is similarly attached to the seating surface 6a that is formed intermittently so as to correspond to the lock pin device 28 in the circumferential direction, Due to the seal structure of the seating surface 6a and the mounting surface 7a, dust and the like are less likely to reach the lock pin device 28 and the cam portion 37, and the reliability of the operation is secured.

[0056]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the adhered member having the tool is formed into a ring shape, and the lock pin as a mounting drive device for the adhered member and the apparatus main body is provided. Since it is installed so as to surround the outside of the cam surface, it is difficult for dust and the like to reach the portions of the lock pin and the cam surface, and the mounting operation by the lock pin and the cam surface is reliably performed.

Further, since the upper surface of the cam portion is formed into a flat surface which is continuous with the mounting surface formed on the end surface of the adhered member and is brought into contact with the seating surface of the apparatus main body, the sealing surface between the apparatus main body and the adhered member is The width is wide, and it is possible to reliably prevent foreign matter from reaching the portion of the lock pin and the cam surface, and to further secure the attachment operation of the adhered member to the apparatus main body.

As described above, the waterproof and dustproof properties are ensured by a simple structure, and the attachment / detachment operation can be reliably performed even in a place where the working environment is bad.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a usage state of an industrial robot.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the tool holding device in a locked state.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the tool holding device in an unlocked state.

4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Industrial Robot 2 Working Arm 3 Tool Holding Device 4 Tool 6 Device Main Body 6a Seating Surface 7 Adhered Member 7a Mounting Surface 14 Lock Device 16 Piston 17 Cylinder 21 Lock Pin 22 Conical Cam 27 Lock Cylinder 28 Lock Pin Device 37 Cam Part 38 Cam Department

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A device main body provided at the tip of an operating arm,
In a tool holding device for removably mounting an adherend member equipped with a tool, a locking device having a plurality of locking pins arranged in a radial direction in the device body, and at least a radial outside of the locking pin. A seating surface projecting to the outside of the locking device is provided, and the adhered member is formed in a ring shape surrounding the outside of the locking device, and the end surface of the adhered member is abutted to the seating surface. And a cam portion projecting inward is provided on the inner peripheral surface side of the adherend member, and the lower surface of the cam portion is separated from the mounting surface as it goes outward in the radial direction. The inclined cam surface is formed, and the outer end portion of the lock pin is abutted against the cam surface, while the upper surface of the cam portion is formed into a flat surface continuous with the mounting surface and is brought into contact with the seating surface. Characteristic tool holding Location.