JPS6125993Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a flexible arm that is applied to refueling robots, painting robots, etc.

A support is rotatably attached to the base, an arm is rotatably attached to the support, a refueling nozzle or a painting gun is attached to the tip of the arm, and the nozzle or gun is automatically set to a desired position for refueling. Recently, robots have been proposed for performing work or painting tasks. It has also been proposed to make the arm bendable to increase the degree of freedom in setting the position of the nozzle or gun.

However, in conventionally proposed robots with bendable arms, that is, flexible arms, the supply of oil or paint to the nozzle or gun is difficult.
This is done through flexible piping that is connected to the nozzle or gun along the column or arm. If the piping is placed along the arm or the like in this way, the diameter of the arm itself including the piping becomes large, making it difficult to work in a narrow space. In addition, in order to bend the arm in the same way as the arm, it is necessary to provide a sufficient length of the pipe in advance depending on the degree of bending of the arm, which results in a structure in which the pipe hangs down from the arm, which is preferable. It's not a thing.

This invention was made in view of the above points,
Its purpose is to provide a flexible arm that can supply oil or paint to a nozzle or gun without installing separate piping, that can be compactly gathered around the arm, and that can facilitate work in narrow spaces. Our goal is to provide the following.

According to the present invention, the object is to connect a first central shaft member and a second central shaft member whose end on one side is connected to the end of the first central shaft member via a first universal joint. a central shaft member; a third central shaft member whose one end is connected to the other end of the second central shaft member via a second universal joint; In a first plane including the central axis of the central shaft member,
An end on one side is connected to the first central shaft member via a third universal joint, and an end on the other side is connected to a fourth central shaft member on the opposite side of the third universal joint with respect to the central axis. a first connecting rod connected to the third central shaft member via a universal joint; and an end on one side within a second plane that includes the central axis and intersects the first plane. is connected to the first central shaft member via a fifth universal joint, and the other end is connected to the first central shaft member via a sixth universal joint on the opposite side of the fifth universal joint with respect to the central axis. a second connecting rod connected to a third central shaft member; and a second connecting rod connected to the first central shaft member, the second central shaft member being centered on the first universal joint within the first plane. a first actuating device connected to the second central shaft member via a seventh universal joint to rotate the second central shaft member with respect to the first central shaft member; a second actuating device connected to the second central shaft member via an eighth universal joint to rotate the first universal joint in the second plane; passages formed in the first, second and third central shaft members are in communication with each other via passages formed in the first and second universal joints, respectively; achieved.

Next, a preferred specific example of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings.

In the figure, a base 1 is provided with a bearing 2, a first central shaft member 3 passes through the bearing 2, and the member 3 is rotatably supported on the base 1 via the bearing 2. has been done. A second central shaft member 5 is rotatably connected in series to the tip of the member 3 via a universal swivel joint 4 as a universal joint. Similarly, the member 5 and the third central shaft member 6 and the member 6 and the fourth central shaft member 7 are respectively
They are rotatably connected in series via a universal joint 8 and a universal joint 9, respectively. Each of the members 3, 5 to 7 is formed of a tubular body and has a hollow portion as a passage.For example, as shown in FIG.
Hollow portions 10 and 11 of and 5 communicate with each other at the universal joint 4. The universal joint 4 includes a bearing member 13 fitted in a spherical enlarged portion 12 provided at one end of the member 5, and a spherical enlarged portion 13 provided at one end of the member 3 within the member 13. A lid 15 is formed by being screwed onto the enlarged part 12 so that the enlarged part 14 is fitted and the members 13 and 3 do not slip out from inside the enlarged part 12. Further, a seal ring 16 is fitted between the members 13, and the hollow parts 10 and 11 serving as passages are kept liquid-tight from the outside. The other universal joints 8 and 9 are similarly configured, and the hollow portions of each member 3, 5 to 7 are communicated with each other at the universal joints 4, 8, and 9 to form a liquid passage P. A hydraulic cylinder device 17 as an actuating device whose one end is pivotally supported on a first central shaft member rotatably supported by the base 1 and a hydraulic cylinder device 18 as an actuating device are connected to piston rods 19 and 2, respectively.
0, and the rods 19 and 20 are rotatably connected to rods 23 and 24 fixed to the member 5 via connection mechanisms 21 and 22 as universal joints, respectively. The rod 23 is fixed to the member 5 in a direction perpendicular to the rod 24. A rod 25 having a predetermined length is fixed to the member 3.
A link member 27 as a first connecting rod and a link member 28 as a second connecting rod are connected to a connecting mechanism 29 as a universal joint and a connecting mechanism 29 as a universal joint to the rod 26 having a predetermined length. The link members 27 and 28 are rotatably connected via a mechanism 30, and the other ends of the link members 27 and 28 are connected to a rod 31 having a predetermined length and a rod 32 having a predetermined length fixed to the member 6, respectively. They are rotatably connected via a connecting mechanism 33 as a universal joint and a connecting mechanism 34 as a universal joint. The rod 25 extends from the member 3 in a direction opposite to the direction of extension of the rod 24 and parallel to the rod 24, and a rod 26 extends in a direction opposite to the direction of extension of the rod 23 and perpendicular to the rod 25. and
The rods 31 and 32 are arranged in the member 6 in a manner similar to the rods 23 and 24 with respect to the direction of extension.

A rod 35 is fixed to the member 5, respectively, in a manner similar to rods 25 and 26 in the direction of extension.
and 36 are connected to link members 3 as connecting rods via coupling mechanisms 37 and 38 as universal joints, respectively.
One ends of 9 and 40 are rotatably connected,
The other ends of the link members 39 and 40 are connected to the rod 4 via coupling mechanisms 41 and 42 as universal joints, respectively.
3 and 44 in a rotatable manner. Rods 43 and 44 extend in the same direction as rods 31 and 32, respectively, and are secured to member 7. Each of the coupling mechanisms 21, 22, 29, . . . is configured similarly, and for example, in the coupling mechanism 29, the rotor 45
is attached to the rod 25 so as to be rotatable about an axis 46 of the rod 25, and one end of the link member 27 is rotatably connected to the rotor 45 via a pin 47. Tip 53 of member 7
For example, a refueling nozzle is attached to the refueling nozzle, and oil liquid from the liquid passage P is supplied to the refueling nozzle. As described above, in this specific example, the first central shaft member 3 has a connecting mechanism 29 at one end of the central axis 51 that is a predetermined distance away from the spherical enlarged portion 14, and a plane that includes the central axis 51 and the connecting mechanism 29. The second central shaft member 5 has a spherical enlarged portion 14 at one end thereof, and has a connecting mechanism 30 spaced apart from the spherical enlarged portion 14 by a predetermined distance in another plane that intersects with the central axis 51 and passes through the central axis 51. A spherical enlarged portion 12 rotatably connected to the enlarged portion 14 is provided at the other end with a spherical enlarged portion inside the universal joint 8, and the third central shaft member 6 is connected to the inner side of the universal joint 8. The outer spherical enlarged part of the universal joint 8 is rotatably connected to the spherical enlarged part of the universal joint 8, and a coupling mechanism 34 that is a predetermined distance away from the enlarged portion, and a coupling mechanism 33 that is a predetermined distance away from the outer spherical enlarged portion of the universal joint 8 in the opposite direction to the coupling mechanism 30 with respect to the central axis of the second central shaft member 5; and a link member 27
The link member 28 has one end rotatably connected to a connecting mechanism 29 as a universal joint, and the other end rotatably connected to a connecting mechanism 34 as a universal joint. The hydraulic cylinder device 17 is rotatably connected to a connecting mechanism 30, and the other end is rotatably connected to a connecting mechanism 33 as a universal joint.
In a plane including the central axis of the central shaft member 5,
The hydraulic cylinder device 18 is provided between the second central shaft member 5 and the first central shaft member 3 in order to rotate around the spherical enlarged portion 14.
In order to rotate the central shaft member 5 of the second central shaft member 5 about the spherical enlarged portion 14 within another plane that includes the central axis of the second central shaft member 5 and intersects the plane that includes the second central shaft member 5. , is provided between the second central shaft member 5 and the first central shaft member 3.

In the flexible arm 50 configured in this way,
Hydraulic pressure is supplied to the cylinder device 17, and the rod 19
is moved in the direction A, the member 5 is rotated relative to the member 3, and the rotation of the member 5 causes the link member 28
The member 6 is rotated in the same direction as the member 5, and the member 7 is similarly rotated in the same direction as the member 5. As a result, the arm 50 is bent as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the cylinder device 17
When 9 is moved in direction B, members 5 to 7 are bent in the opposite direction. Furthermore, the cylinder device 18
When the rod 20 is moved in the direction A, the member 5 is bent in a direction perpendicular to the bending direction.
As the member 5 rotates, the member 6 is rotated in the same direction as the member 5 via the link member 27, and the member 7 is similarly rotated in the same direction as the member 5. As a result, the arm 5
0 is bent upwards. On the other hand, the cylinder device 18
When the rod 20 is moved in the direction B, the arm 50 is bent downward. When the member 3 is rotated about the axis 51 of the member 3, the arm 50
The whole can be rotated in a straight or bent position.
Further, by supplying the oil from the one end 52 side of the member 3, the oil can be guided to the oil supply nozzle attached to the tip 53 of the member 7.

In the above example, the central shaft member is configured with four central shaft members, but it may be configured with three or five or more, and it may be configured to be bent in one plane and another plane perpendicular to the one plane, but it may be configured to be bent only in one plane. In addition, each central shaft member does not need to be formed straight, and may be bent appropriately, so long as it essentially functions as a central shaft member.

As described above, according to the present invention, the degree of freedom in setting the position of the nozzle or paint gun attached to the tip of the arm can be increased, and the passage provided in the arm itself is a passage for sending oil liquid and paint. can be formed,
There is no need to provide piping separately from the arm.
Therefore, it is possible to provide a robot whose arm and its surroundings can be made compact and which can easily perform work in narrow spaces.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the universal joint shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the connection mechanism shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the specific example shown in FIG. 1; 3... Central shaft member, 10, 11... Hollow part, P
...Liquid passage.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a first central shaft member; a second central shaft member whose end on one side is connected to the end of the first central shaft member via a first universal joint; and an end on one side of the second central shaft member; A second central shaft member is attached to the other end of the second central shaft member.
In a first plane including a third central shaft member connected via a universal joint and a central axis of the first central shaft member, an end of one side is connected via a third universal joint. and is connected to the first central shaft member, and the other end is connected to the third central shaft member via a fourth universal joint on the opposite side of the third universal joint with respect to the central axis. in a second plane that includes the central axis and intersects the first plane, an end of one side connects the first center via a fifth universal joint. a second joint connected to the shaft member, the other end of which is connected to the third central shaft member via a sixth universal joint on the opposite side of the fifth universal joint with respect to the central axis; and a seventh universal joint for rotating the second central shaft member relative to the first central shaft member in the first plane about the first universal joint. a first actuating device coupled to the second central shaft member; a second actuating device connected to the second central shaft member via an eighth universal joint for rotation about the center;
A flexible arm, wherein passages formed in the first, second and third central shaft members are in communication via passages formed in the first and second universal joints, respectively.