JPH08261391A - Manipulator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce the size of a manipulator to support a camera or a sensor. CONSTITUTION: An elevation part 60 to which a camera 17 is attached is supported through a parallel link consisting of arms 10 and 11 to the lower part of a running truck 40 runnably suspended from a rail 1 and the elevation part is elevatably driven in such a way that a wire 9 is connected to the elevation part 60 to lift upward the elevation part. This constitution lifts the wire 9 and raises the elevation part 60 and contains the camera 17 in a running truck 40 part during non-use of the camera 17. During the use of the camera 17, the wire 9 is unwound and the camera 17 is lowered to a normal working position under the own weight of the elevation part 60. Further, sensors for detecting an angle are arranged in the front and at the rear of the operation range of the arm 11, and the start and the stop of a motor 6 to hoist the wire 9 is controlled by means of detecting signals therfrom.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manipulator installed on a traveling carriage suspended on a rail so as to vertically and horizontally rotate a camera or a sensor supported below.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are manipulators shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 which are installed in a traveling carriage suspended on a rail so as to vertically or horizontally rotate a camera or a sensor supported below. This manipulator has rail 22
The traveling carriage 40 is installed in a suspended form, and the wheels 23 are rotated for movement. The manipulator attached to the traveling carriage 40 is provided with a shaft 26 that horizontally turns by a motor 24 and a timing belt 25. A camera 30 is installed below the shaft 26 so as to be vertically rotated by a motor 28 and a timing belt 29 while being supported by a support 27. Here, as shown in FIG. 10, the camera 30 is installed with a sufficient space so that the camera 30 does not interfere with the upper portion of the support 27 even if the camera 30 vertically swivels. In addition, as shown in FIG.
The axis 26 for horizontal turning should be sufficiently spaced from the running vehicle 40 so as not to interfere with the running vehicle 40 even when 0 turns horizontally.
Is also installed. As a result, the camera 30 can make horizontal and vertical turns and perform posture conversion. In addition, it is necessary to secure a space as an operation range of the camera 30 in advance, and therefore, the camera 30 has a shape protruding from the traveling carriage 40.

[0003]

As described above, the manipulator hung on the traveling carriage 40 can change the posture by rotating the camera 30 and the sensor horizontally and vertically, but the camera 30 can be changed. A space must be secured in advance in the operation range so that the sensor does not interfere with the traveling carriage 40 and the manipulator. Therefore, the size of the manipulator becomes large, and accordingly, the traveling carriage 40 becomes large as a whole, which makes it difficult to reduce the size. The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a manipulator that can be easily downsized.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is to install a camera or a sensor vertically or horizontally installed below a traveling carriage suspended on a rail so as to support it downward. In the manipulator for turning, when the camera or the sensor is not used, the camera or the sensor is raised to be housed in the traveling carriage, and when the manipulator is used, the lifting mechanism is provided to lower the camera or the sensor to a normal operating position. .

A second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the elevating mechanism is constituted by a parallel link.

A third invention is characterized in that, in the second invention, a wire is connected to an elevating part supported by a parallel link and the wire is lifted to elevate and lower.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the third aspect of the invention, the wires connected to the elevating part are arranged so that the directions thereof are vertical at the positions where the respective links forming the parallel links overlap on a horizontal straight line. It is characterized by

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the second to fourth aspects of the present invention, a sensor for detecting the operating angle of the link forming the parallel link is installed, and the operation of the link corresponding to the upper and lower limit positions of the elevating part. It is characterized in that the drive of the lifting unit is controlled by detecting the angle.

[0009]

In the first aspect of the invention, the camera or the sensor can be vertically or horizontally swung by operating the elevating mechanism to lower the camera or the sensor to the normal operating position. Further, when the camera or the sensor is not used, the elevating mechanism is operated to raise the camera or the sensor so that the camera or the sensor is housed in the traveling vehicle unit, so that the traveling vehicle can travel.

In the second aspect of the present invention, the parallel link mechanism keeps the camera or the sensor in the same posture by drawing an arcuate locus between the housed position of the traveling carriage and the operating position obliquely below it. Move back and forth.

In the third aspect of the invention, the wire connected to the elevating part is pulled upward to raise the elevating part, and the elevating part is lowered due to its own weight when the wire is loosened.

In the fourth aspect of the invention, the wires connected to the elevating part are arranged so that the directions thereof are vertical at the positions where the respective links forming the parallel links are aligned on a horizontal straight line. The tensile load applied is minimal.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the sensor detects the operating angle of the parallel link when the elevating part reaches the upper limit or the lower limit position, whereby the ascending or descending of the elevating part is stopped.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof. In addition, FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 are explanatory diagrams of the operation. In FIGS. 1 and 2, there is a traveling carriage 40 that is suspended on an installed rail 1 and moves by wheels 2. The manipulator 50 installed on the traveling carriage 40 is first installed with the shaft 3 that is driven by the motor 3 and the timing belt 4 to make a horizontal turn. Then, a drum 7 which is rotated by a motor 6 and a pulley 8 are installed on a base 14 which is horizontally swung by the shaft 5, one end of a wire 9 is attached to the tip of an arm 11, and the drum 7 is wound up through the pulley 8. It is located at.

Arms 11 to 13 of equal length are attached to the four corners of the base 14 so as to be freely rotatable on a plane orthogonal to the vertical swivel axis 41, and the arms 10 and 11 and the arm 1 are attached.
By attaching the other ends of 2, 13 to the side plates 15, 16 at equal intervals, respectively, so that they can rotate freely,
The base 14, the arms 10, 11 and the side plate 15 and the base 14, the arms 12, 13 and the side plate 16 having the same size 2
A set of parallel links will be installed to serve as a guide for lifting. Then, the vertical swing shaft 41 is provided on the side plates 15 and 16, and the motor 1
8 and the timing belt 19 to drive the camera 17 to rotate vertically.

When it is not necessary to change the attitude of the camera 17, the manipulator 50 turns the camera 17 in the horizontal direction toward the traveling direction of the traveling carriage 40, rotates the drum 7 by the motor 6, and winds the wire 9. Due to
The camera 17 is stored as shown in FIG. Then, when the camera 17 is rotated, the motor 6 is rotated in the reverse direction and the wire 9 is sent out, so that the camera 1 is rotated as shown in FIGS.
7 is moved down, and the camera 17 moves to a position where it does not interfere with the manipulator or the traveling carriage 40 even if the camera 17 turns. Accordingly, the camera 17 can be stored when the camera 17 is not used, so that the traveling carriage 40 can be downsized.

When the camera 17 is moved up and down,
The camera 17 maintains its posture because it is guided by two sets of parallel links formed by the base 14, the arms 10 and 11 and the side plate 15 and the base 14, the arms 12 and 13 and the side plate 16 and having the same size. The camera 17 can move as it is.
A space can be formed in both the upper part and the rear part (side of the traveling carriage 40). The elevating part 60 including the side plates 15 and 16 and the camera 17 is driven by winding the wire 9 through the pulley 8 and winding up the drum 7. Therefore, at the time of ascending, the wire 9 is driven by a motor and lifted. However, at the time of descending, it is in a state of being suspended from the wire 9 by its own weight, and even if it collides with an obstacle while descending, a force greater than its own weight is not applied and the camera 17 and the obstacle are protected. be able to.

The wire 9 that suspends the elevating part 60
As shown in FIG. 6, when the parallel links of the guides are aligned on a straight line, the wire 9 is installed vertically so as to determine the path of the pulley 8.
0 is the position to hang. Here, if the weight of the elevating part 60 is N, the tension applied to the wire 9 is also N. On the other hand, when the wire 9 is tilted by the angle θ, the tension applied to the wire 9 becomes N / (cos θ), and the driving force required to move up and down increases. That is, the pulley 8 is moved to the above-mentioned position.
By installing the lifter 60 with the smallest driving force
Can be raised.

In the elevating part 60 supported by the manipulator 50, as shown in FIG. 7, the sensor 20 is installed so as to detect the arm 11 when the elevating part 60 rises, and the elevating part 60 descends. Sometimes, the sensor 21 is installed so as to detect the arm 11. The sensor 2 is used to position the ascending / descending position of the ascending / descending portion 60.
It is performed by turning on and off 0 and 21. As a result, even if the length of the wire 9 changes due to a change in temperature or it elongates over time, the elevating part 60 can be positioned independently of it. In the embodiment, the case where the camera is supported by 17 has been described, but the case where a sensor is supported instead of the camera 17 can be similarly applied.

[0020]

As described above, according to the first invention,
By providing the elevating mechanism, it is possible to raise the camera or the sensor when not in use and store the camera or sensor in the traveling carriage unit, and thus the traveling carriage can be downsized. As a result, for example, when the traveling vehicle passes through the through hole or the like, the traveling vehicle is downsized and the passing cross-sectional area is reduced, so that the through hole is also small, which is advantageous in installation.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the parallel link mechanism enables the camera or the sensor to reciprocate while keeping the same posture between the storage position of the traveling carriage and the operating position obliquely below it. Becomes That is, it is possible to control the forward / backward movement and the vertical movement between the storage position and the operation position of the camera or the sensor by one axis.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the wire is connected to the elevating part supported by the parallel link, and the elevating part is lifted to drive the elevating part. Since no load more than the weight of the parts is applied, it is possible to prevent damage to both parts.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the wires connected to the elevating part are arranged so that their directions are vertical at the positions where the respective links forming the parallel links overlap on a horizontal straight line. Minimizes the tensile load applied to. As a result, the torque of the actuator of the elevating and lowering drive unit such as a motor can be reduced, and the wire and other structural members of the elevating and lowering drive unit can be reduced in size and weight.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the sensor detects the operating angle of the parallel link when the elevating part reaches the upper limit or the lower limit position and stops the ascending or descending of the elevating part.
Even if the wire expands or contracts due to temperature change or deterioration over time, the upper and lower limit positions of the elevating part are always held accurately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view of the embodiment in which a main part is enlarged.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view of the embodiment in which a main part is enlarged.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a conventional example.

9 is a front view of FIG. 8. FIG.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram of a conventional example.

FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Rail 2 Wheels 3 Motor 4 Timing Belt 5 Axis 6 Motor 7 Drum 8 Pulley 9 Wire 10-13 Arm 14 Units 15, 16 Side Plate 17 Camera 18 Motor 19 Timing Belt 20, 21 Sensor 40 Traveling Vehicle 41 Vertical Swing Axis 50 Manipulator 60 Lifting part

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Haruhiko Sawada 1-1, Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A manipulator for vertically or horizontally rotating a camera or a sensor, which is installed below a traveling carriage suspended on a rail so as to support the camera or sensor downward, and raises the camera or the sensor when the camera or the sensor is not used. The manipulator is equipped with a lifting mechanism that lowers the camera or the sensor to a normal operating position when used while being stored in the traveling carriage. 2. The manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the elevating mechanism is constituted by parallel links. 3. The manipulator according to claim 2, wherein a wire is connected to an elevating part supported by a parallel link, and the manipulator is moved up and down by pulling up the wire. 4. The manipulator according to claim 3, wherein the wires connected to the elevating part are arranged so that the directions thereof are vertical at the positions where the respective links forming the parallel links overlap on a horizontal straight line. Characteristic manipulator. 5. The manipulator according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein a sensor that detects an operating angle of a link that forms a parallel link is installed, and the manipulator corresponds to the upper and lower limit positions of the elevating part. A manipulator characterized in that drive control of an elevating part is performed by detecting an operation angle of a link.