JPH10208809A - Electrical connector and mounting method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply and easily make alignment of the connecting side of an electrical connector with the connected side thereof. SOLUTION: Electrode insertion holes are provided in one of two, an upper case 11 and a lower case 1, which are cylindrical and coupled to each other by a fitting structure, and electrodes to be inserted into these electrode insertion holes are provided in the other, while guide receivers 1a are formed in cylindrical parts of the lower case 1, and tapered guide 11a inclining downward on the skew from the outer circumference side to the inner circumference side being formed on tip end parts of the cylindrical parts of the upper case 11 fitted in these guide receivers 1a, when the upper case 11 of mounted on the lower case 1, they are attracted to each other by permanent magnets 4 provided in the lower case 1, neatly the tapered guides 11a on the upper case side are caused to make contact with the guide receivers 1a on the lower case side while pushed downward, the lower case 1 being thereby slidingly moved on un upper surface of a frame in the horizontal direction such that their respective center positions agree with each other, thus the upper case 11 is mounted on the lower case 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric connector for connecting an electric cable used for an industrial robot, for example, and a method for mounting the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in an industrial robot, a tool adapter having a power tool attached thereto is detachably connected to a robot adapter supported by a movable arm.
2. Description of the Related Art An electrical connector is used which can supply drive power to a power tool on a tool adapter side through a power cable connected to a robot adapter side.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of such an electrical connector. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 21 denotes a robot adapter supported on the distal end of a movable arm 22 of the robot. The robot adapter 21 has a detachable lock mechanism 23 provided at the center of the lower surface, and a plurality of guide pins around the periphery. 24 and an electrode insertion hole (not shown) are provided at appropriate intervals, and a power supply power cable 25 is connected.

[0004] On the other hand, reference numeral 26 denotes a tool adapter held in an opening of a holding plate 28 supported on an upper portion of a gantry 27. The tool adapter 26 has a power tool 29 attached to a lower portion and a robot adapter 21 on an upper surface. The pin insertion hole 30 and the robot adapter 2 corresponding to the guide pin 24
A convex electrode 31 fitted into the electrode insertion hole on one side is provided.

In order to connect such a robot adapter 21 and a tool adapter 26, a movable arm 22 is required.
, The guide pin 24 and the pin insertion hole 30 are aligned at the same time, and then the robot adapter 2 is moved.
By lowering 1 to a predetermined position while inserting the guide pin 24 into the pin insertion hole 30, both are mechanically coupled by the lock mechanism 23 and are electrically connected by fitting of the electrodes.

[0006]

However, in the electrical connector having such a configuration, high accuracy is required in positioning the connection side and the connection side, which is limited to about ± 1 mm even at the maximum allowable value. However, there is a problem that it requires a lot of labor and time.

In addition, when tools need to be changed frequently as in an industrial robot, it takes a long time to attach and detach the tools, which is not suitable for those requiring quickness.
In particular, in the case of the lock mechanism, the lock mechanism 23 at the center of the lower surface of the robot adapter 21 is inserted into the tool adapter 26 so as to lock each other. The ON / OFF state must be checked from the outside, and the configuration is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is easy and easy to align the connection side and the connection side and check for the presence or absence of a locked state. An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that can be performed and a mounting method thereof.

[0009]

The present invention achieves the above object by the following means. An invention corresponding to claim 1 is an electrical connector including an electrode insertion hole in one of a cylindrical upper case and a lower case coupled by a fitting structure, and an electrode inserted in the electrode insertion hole on the other, A guide receiver is formed in the cylindrical portion of the lower case, and a taper guide that is inclined obliquely downward from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side is formed at the distal end of the cylindrical portion of the upper case that fits with the guide receiver. The case is attached to the lower case.

Therefore, in the electrical connector having such a configuration, when the upper case is fitted to the lower case by the fitting structure, the taper guide can be easily fitted into the guide receiver.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric device having an electrode insertion hole in one of a cylindrical upper case and a lower case connected by a fitting structure and an electrode inserted in the electrode insertion hole in the other. In the connector, a guide receiver is formed in the cylindrical portion of the lower case, and a taper guide that is inclined obliquely downward from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side is formed at the distal end of the cylindrical part of the upper case that fits with the guide receiver. The upper case is fitted to and coupled to the lower case, and a slide ring is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the guide receiver of the lower case so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and extends from the inside provided on the guide receiver to the outside. A locking ball that rolls according to the slide position of the slide ring is provided in a tapered ball insertion hole, and the locking ball is provided on a lock provided on the upper case side. Are engaged with the use groove is obtained so as to lock the lower case.

Therefore, in the electrical connector having such a configuration, when the upper case is fitted to the lower case by the fitting structure, the taper guide is easily fitted to the guide receiver, and the upper case is mounted to the lower case. After that, the slide ring provided on the outer peripheral surface of the guide receiver of the lower case is pushed up, and the locking ball provided in the ball insertion hole of the guide receiver is fitted into the locking groove of the upper case, thereby lowering the lower case. Since the connection between the case and the upper case is locked, the presence or absence of the locked state can be easily and easily confirmed without a complicated structure.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrode insertion hole in one of an upper case and a lower case joined by a fitting structure, and an electrode inserted in the electrode insertion hole in the other. A guide receiver is formed in the peripheral part, and a taper guide that slopes obliquely downward from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side is formed at the tip of the peripheral part of the upper case that fits with this guide receiver, and the upper case is attached to the lower case In doing so, the lower case is attracted by a permanent magnet provided on one or the other of the gantry, then the upper case is lowered from above the lower case, and a taper guide formed on the upper case is formed on the lower case. The lower case against the attraction force of the permanent magnet so that the upper surface of the pedestal can be moved inside the lower case. Position is horizontally slid to match those for attaching the upper case to lower case.

Therefore, in such an electrical connector mounting method, when the upper case is mounted on the lower case, even if the center position of the upper case is shifted with respect to the center position of the lower case, By simply pressing the lower case downward, the taper guide slides the lower case horizontally against the permanent magnet's attracting force so that the center positions of the lower case and the center position match, so the upper case is accurately and quickly moved to the lower case. Can be attached to

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of an electrical connector according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a lock mechanism on the lower case side, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the connector on the upper case side.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a circular lower case which is placed across the opening of the gantry 2 and has a power tool 3 attached to the lower surface thereof. And a cylindrical portion 1b having an appropriate diameter from the center is formed integrally with the guide receiver 1a, and a cylindrical body 1d having a plurality of electrode insertion holes 1c is inserted into the cylindrical portion 1b.
In this case, the bottom between the guide receiver 1a and the cylindrical portion 1b is a tapered surface that is inclined obliquely downward from the guide receiver 1a side.

Further, tapered ball insertion holes 1e extending outward from the inner side are provided at at least two appropriate height positions of the guide receiver 1a opposite to each other with the center of the lower case 1 interposed therebetween.

At the bottom of such a lower case 1, a frame 2
A plurality of permanent magnets 4 are buried facing upward. Further, the locking ball 5 movable along the tapered surface is inserted into the ball insertion hole 1e of the guide receiver 1a,
A slide ring 6 is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the guide receiver 1a corresponding to the ball insertion hole 1e so as to be slidable in the vertical direction.

The slide ring 6 is provided with a spring holding groove 6a for inserting a spring 7 on a sliding surface side with the guide receiver 1a, and a ball engaging groove 6 is provided on an upper portion thereof.
b, and a pin insertion hole 6c at the bottom. In this case, the spring 7 inserted in the spring holding groove 6a always applies a biasing force in a direction to lower the slide ring 6. An operating grip 8 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the slide ring 6.

Further, the ball insertion hole 1 of the guide receiver 1a
A stopper ring 9 is provided on the upper outer peripheral surface at an appropriate distance from e, and a plunger pin 10 that engages with the pin insertion hole 6c is mounted at the lowest position of the slide ring 6.

On the other hand, in FIGS. 1 and 3, reference numeral 11 denotes an upper case which is fitted to the lower case 1 described above. The upper case 11 comprises a guide receiver 1a and a cylindrical portion 1b of the lower case 1.
And a cylindrical portion having an electrode 11b inserted into the electrode insertion hole 1c of the cylindrical body 1d on the lower case 1 side in the cylindrical portion 11a. 11c is inserted.

In this case, the cylindrical portion 11a of the upper case 11
Is formed in a tapered guide 11d which is inclined obliquely downward from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side. In addition, the cylindrical portion 11
A lock groove 11e is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower case 1 for locking the upper case 11 to the lower case 1 by fitting a part of the locking ball 5 corresponding to the ball insertion hole 1e formed in the guide receiver 1a of the lower case 1. Have been.

Next, the operation of the electrical connector configured as described above will be described. First, upper case 1
The operation when mounting 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

Now, it is assumed that the lower case 1 is in a state of being attracted to the upper surface of the gantry 2 by the permanent magnet 4. In such a state, the slide ring 6 on the lower case 1 side is lowered downward in the figure against the elastic force of the spring 7, and the plunger pin 10 is inserted into the pin insertion hole 6 c of the slide ring 6. Is fixed to the lower case 1 side. The locking ball 5 at this time is
To the ball engaging groove 6b.

In this state, the upper case 11 is
As shown in (a), the arm moves downward toward the lower case 1 by an arm (not shown). Eventually, the upper case 11
The tapered guide 11d at the tip of the cylindrical portion 11a of FIG.
As shown in (b), when the lower case 1 comes into contact with the guide receiver 1a of the lower case 1 and is further pressed down, the lower case 1 is reduced in the attraction force by the permanent magnet 4 by the tapered guide 11d formed at the tip of the cylindrical portion 11a. In opposition, the upper surface of the gantry 2 is slid in the horizontal direction so that the center positions thereof coincide with each other, and the cylindrical portion 11a of the upper case 11 is
4c, the electrode 11b on the upper case 11 side is inserted into the electrode insertion hole 1c of the cylindrical body 1d on the lower case 1 side as shown in FIG. Is inserted into.

Next, after the upper case 11 is fitted to the lower case 1 and the tip of the operating rod 12 is engaged with the operating grip 8 and operated upward, the plan is inserted through the pin insertion hole 6 c of the slide ring 6. The jar pin 10 comes off, and the slide ring 6 moves by the elastic force of the spring 7, and FIG.
When the bottom of the ball engaging groove 6b hits the stopper ring 9 as shown in FIG.

At this time, the locking ball 5 is disengaged from the ball engaging groove 6b of the slide ring 6 and the guide receiver 1a.
The lower case 1 and the upper case 11 are connected by moving along the tapered surface of the ball insertion hole 1e of the above and fitting into the locking groove 11e provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 11a of the upper case 11. And locked.

The above is the case where the upper case 11 is mounted on the lower case 1.
The sliding ring 6 on the lower case 1 side is pushed downward in the figure against the elastic force of the spring 7 to remove the locking ball 5 from the locking groove 11e of the cylindrical portion 11a of the upper case 11. The lower case 1 and the upper case 11 are unlocked by rolling into the ball engaging groove 6 b of the ring 6. Then, upper case 1
The lower case 1 can be detached from the lower case 1 by lifting it with an arm (not shown).

As described above, in the present embodiment, the columnar body 1d having the plurality of electrode insertion holes 1c is provided at the center portion, and the permanent magnet 4 is provided on the bottom surface of the lower case 1 having the guide receiver 1a formed at the circumferential portion. And a tubular portion 11a inserted into the upper case 11 by a fitting structure between the guide receiver 1a and the tubular portion 1b of the lower case 1 and the tubular portion 11a. A cylindrical body 11c having an electrode 11b inserted into the electrode insertion hole 1c of the cylindrical body 1d on the lower case 1 side is provided in the lower case 1a, and the distal end of the cylindrical portion 11a is obliquely downward from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side. When the upper case 11 is mounted on the lower case 1 by forming the inclined taper guide 11d, even if the center position of the upper case 11 is shifted with respect to the center position of the lower case 1, Below The lower case 1 is slid horizontally by the taper guide 11d formed on the cylindrical portion 11a so that the center positions of the lower case 1 and the permanent magnet 4 coincide with each other just by pressing the upper case 11 side. Electrode 1
Since 1b is inserted into the electrode insertion hole 11c on the lower case 1 side, the upper case 11 can be accurately and quickly mounted on the lower case 1 by remote control.

After the upper case 11 is mounted on the lower case 1, the slide ring 6 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the guide receiver 1a of the lower case 1 is opposed to the elastic force of the spring 7 inserted therebetween. The connection between the lower case 1 and the upper case 11 is locked by fitting the locking ball 5 provided in the ball insertion hole 1e of the push-up and guide receiver 1a into the locking groove 11e on the upper case 11 side. Therefore, the presence or absence of the locked state can be easily and easily confirmed without a complicated configuration.

In the above embodiment, the permanent magnet 4 is buried in the lower surface of the lower case 1 and is attracted to the upper surface of the gantry 2. On the contrary, the permanent magnet 4 is mounted on the upper surface of the gantry 2.
The same operation as described above can be obtained by embedding.

In the above embodiment, the upper case 11
The electrode 11b is provided on the lower case 1 side, and the electrode 11b is provided on the lower case 1 side.
Although the configuration in which the electrode insertion hole 1c to be fitted with b is provided has been described, it is needless to say that the electrode may be provided in the lower case 1 side and the electrode insertion hole may be provided in the upper case 11 side.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the alignment of the connection side and the connection side and the confirmation of the presence or absence of the locked state are simple and easy, and the attachment and detachment can be performed quickly and accurately. And a method for mounting the same.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment for describing an electrical connector and a mounting method thereof according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary sectional view showing a main part of a lower case according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary plan view showing an upper case according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining an operation when the upper case is attached to the lower case in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of an electric connector attached to a conventional robot arm.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Lower case 1a ... Guide receiver 1b ... Cylindrical part 1c ... Electrode insertion hole 1d ... Cylindrical body 1e ... Ball insertion hole 2 ... Stand 3 ... Electric tool 4 ... Permanent magnet 5 ... Locking ball 6 Slide ring 6a Spring holding groove 6b Ball engaging groove 6c Pin insertion hole 7 Spring 8 Operating grip 9 Stopper ring 10 Plunger pin 11 Upper case 11a Cylindrical part 11b Electrode 11c Cylindrical body 11d Taper guide 11e Lock groove

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electrical connector comprising: an electrode insertion hole in one of a cylindrical upper case and a lower case joined by a fitting structure; and an electrode in the other, an electrode inserted into the electrode insertion hole. A guide receiver is formed in the cylindrical part, and a taper guide that is inclined obliquely downward from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side is formed at the distal end of the cylindrical part of the upper case to be fitted with the guide receiver, and the upper case is formed into the lower case. An electrical connector characterized by being fitted to and mounted on a connector. 2. An electric connector comprising: an electrode insertion hole in one of a cylindrical upper case and a lower case connected by a fitting structure; and an electrode in the other, an electrode inserted into the electrode insertion hole. A guide receiver is formed in the cylindrical part, and a taper guide that is inclined obliquely downward from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side is formed at the tip of the cylindrical part of the upper case that fits with the guide receiver, and the upper case is formed into the lower case. A slide ring is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the guide receiver of the lower case so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and a tapered ball insertion hole extending from the inside to the outside provided in the guide receiver. A lock ball that rolls according to the slide position of the slide ring is provided, and the lock ball is engaged with the upper case and locked to the lower case. Electrical connector, characterized in that. 3. An electrode insertion hole in one of a cylindrical upper case and a lower case connected by a fitting structure, and an electrode inserted in the electrode insertion hole in the other, and a cylindrical portion of the lower case is provided. When mounting the upper case to the lower case by forming a guide receiver and forming a taper guide inclined obliquely downward from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side at the distal end of the cylindrical portion of the upper case fitted with the guide receiver Then, the lower case was attracted by a permanent magnet provided on any one of them on a gantry, then the upper case was lowered from above the lower case, and a taper guide formed on the upper case was formed on the lower case. By contacting the guide receiver and pressing it downward, the lower case is brought into contact with the upper surface of the gantry against the attraction force of the permanent magnet so that their respective center positions coincide. And mounting the upper case on the lower case by sliding in a horizontal direction.