JPS6128702Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a work unit that is attached to the tip of a work arm of a versatile industrial robot that is used when performing assembly work for high-mix, low-volume production.

Recently, this type of highly versatile industrial robots have been attracting attention, but as the use of industrial robots increases, the need for tightening screws to attach them to the tip of the work arm, packaging, etc. Various work tools have been developed for use. With the development of this type of work tool, there is a demand for the development of a work unit to which the work tool can be attached in order to further increase the versatility of industrial robots. Among these, the development of a work unit that allows the type of work tool to be changed at will according to the work content even if the work content of each work position is different was developed in accordance with this demand, and the industrial work described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-34268 was developed. This device has a housing at one end of the arm of an industrial robot, and inside this housing there is a wrist shaft fixed to the wrist shaft, which receives rotation from a rotary drive source. A rotating turret is placed. A plurality of work tools are fixed to this turret, and the turret is configured to be able to perform various tasks. Also,
The wrist shaft is provided with a plurality of air flow passages independently corresponding to each work tool. On the other hand, the turret is provided with a plurality of communication ports for supplying air to each work tool, and the communication ports are configured to communicate with each of the air flow passages regardless of the rotation of the turret. .

With this device, you can perform various tasks by selecting any work tool, and even if you select any work tool, air can be supplied from the housing side to the work tool. In order to supply air flow, it is necessary to provide separate air flow passages in the wrist shaft for each work tool, which is extremely troublesome to process and not only increases the cost of the equipment, but also requires the creation of holes in the wrist shaft. Since the number of air flow passages is limited, the number of power tools that can be mounted on the turret is also limited, regardless of the mounting surface of the turret. In addition, the wrist shaft requires a switching valve that switches between multiple air flow passages depending on the number of work tools, and a control device is required to control the opening and closing of the switching valve, which has disadvantages such as increasing the cost of the device. is occurring.

The purpose of this invention is to eliminate the above drawbacks.
Examples will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an articulated industrial robot, which has a first arm 4 and a second arm 5 that are rotated by a first motor 2 and a second motor 3, respectively. The first motor 2 and the second motor 3 are control devices (not shown)
The first motor 2 rotates the first arm 4 around the support 6, and the second motor 3 rotates the first rotating shaft rotatably held at the tip of the first arm 4. The second arm 5 is configured to pivot around the center point 7. A bracket 8 having a built-in lifting source is attached to the tip of the second arm 5. The lifting source is composed of a cylinder (not shown), and this cylinder is arranged so that its rod 9 moves up and down. The bracket 8 also has a spline shaft 10 juxtaposed with the rod 9, and the spline shaft 10 is connected to the rod 9.
It is held via an upper bearing 11 and a lower bearing 12 which are rotatably held with respect to the bracket 8 so that it can move up and down and rotate together with the bracket 8.
A toothed pulley 13a is fixed to the lower bearing 12, and toothed pulleys 13b, 13c, a toothed pulley 13d, and a toothed belt 14a are rotatably held on the first rotating shaft 7 and the support column 6, respectively. 14b, 14
The rotation of the pulse motor 15a attached to the support column 6 is transmitted to the toothed pulley 13a, that is, the spline shaft 10, through the shaft 6 and the spline shaft 10, thereby controlling the posture of the working tool, which will be described later.

Next, the main parts of the present invention will be explained. 2 to 4, a housing 17 of a working unit 16 is fixed to the lower end of the spline shaft 10. As shown in FIGS. A pulse motor 15b is attached to the housing 17, and its drive shaft 18 is arranged so that its axis intersects with the axis of the spline shaft 10. Further, a second rotation shaft 19 is rotatably held in the housing 17 so as to coincide with the axis of the drive shaft 18 , and the drive shaft 18 is attached to the second rotation shaft 19 so that the coupling member 20 is connected to the second rotation shaft 19 . are connected so that they rotate together.

A truncated conical turret 21 is attached to one end of the second rotating shaft 19 so as to rotate together with the turret 21, and the back surface of the turret 21 is connected to the housing 17.
It is configured to rotate along the end face of the
The turret 21 has mounting surfaces at four locations on its outer peripheral surface, and is configured such that the mounting surface perpendicularly intersects the axis of the spline shaft 10 every time the turret 21 rotates 1/4. There is. A first chuck unit 22 and a second chuck unit 23 are fixed to two opposing locations on the mounting surface, respectively. The first chuck unit 22 has a mounting base 25 to which two guide shafts 24a, 24b are fixed in parallel, and a slide block 26 is slidably guided by the guide shafts 24a, 24b. Said slide block 2
6 has a built-in first cylinder mechanism 27 as shown in FIG. 6, and a knockout plate 29 and a first locking pin 30 that move together with the first piston 28 are attached to one end of the first cylinder mechanism 27. . The center portion of the lid plate 34 of the first cylinder mechanism 27 has the first
A spacer 36 having a notch 35 through which the locking pin 30 can move is fixed, and a groove 33 is formed at the lower end of the spacer 36.
is drilled. Moreover, this groove 33 is formed so that a pin 32 implanted in the counterpart 31 can be inserted therein. Further, a leaf spring 37 whose tips extend in the same direction is attached to the spacer 36 so as not to block the notch 35. Furthermore, the spacer 3
6 is a spring retainer 38 that holds the leaf spring 37 between
is attached, and the leaf spring 37 is configured to be constantly pressed in the direction of the spacer 36.
Further, the first locking pin 30 and the slide block 2
A tension spring 40 is locked between the first piston 28 and the second locking pin 39 fixed to the second locking pin 39, and is configured to bias the first piston 28 in the direction of retreating. As shown in FIG. 4, the slide block 26 has a first
A supply/discharge port 41 is drilled, and the turret 21
The first communication port 42 is connected to the first communication port 42 formed in the first communication port 42 .
Further, the first communication port 42 is bored through the turret 21.

As shown in FIG. 4, the second chuck unit 23 consists of a chuck body 43 and a chuck pawl 44.
The opening/closing operation is performed by a cylinder (not shown) built in 3. A second supply and discharge port 45 for supplying and discharging air to and from the cylinder is formed in the chuck body 43, and this second supply and discharge port 45 is connected to a second supply and discharge port 45 formed in the turret 21.
It is connected to the communication port 46. Further, the second communication port 46 is bored through the turret 21.

On the other hand, the housing 17 has the rotating shaft 19
A second cylinder mechanism 47 and a third cylinder mechanism 48 are arranged parallel to each other. The second cylinder mechanism 47 is composed of a second cap 49, a second piston 50, a second rod 51, and a second rod guide 52, and air is supplied from a third supply/discharge port 53 bored in the second cap 49. The fourth supply/discharge port 54
The second piston 50 and the second rod 51 are moved forward by discharging air from the turret 21, so that the second rod 51 is engaged with a positioning hole 55 on the back surface of the turret 21. Further, the third cylinder mechanism 48
As shown in FIG.
By supplying air from the fifth supply/discharge port 61 bored in the cap 56 and discharging air from the sixth supply/discharge port 62, the air causes the third piston 57 to move forward, and the third piston 57 and the third It is configured to be sent to the first communication port 42 formed in the turret 21 through a through hole 63 formed through the rod 58.

Furthermore, a home position detection switch 64 is attached to the housing 17 .

In the industrial robot configured as described above, the first motor 2 and the second motor 3 are driven by the control device, the first arm 4 and the second arm 5 turn, and the first chuck unit 22 reaches a predetermined position. . At this time, the second rod 51 of the second cylinder mechanism 47 is protruding to position the turret 21, but the third rod 58 of the third cylinder mechanism 48 is in the retracted position. In this state, the cylinder operates and its rod 9 and spline shaft 10
When the first chuck unit 22 is lowered, the spacer 36 at the lower end of the first chuck unit 22 is lowered, and the spacer 36 at the lower end of the first chuck unit 22 is moved down to the upright pin 32.
It comes into contact with an object 31 having a . Since the spacer 36 has a groove 33 into which the pin 32 can be loosely inserted, the pin 32 is inserted into this groove 33 and comes into contact with the leaf spring 37, and the pin 32 is inserted into the spacer 3.
Pressed to the 6 side. Therefore, the other object 31 is the first
It is held in the chuck unit 22.

Thereafter, the cylinder rod 9 and the spline shaft 10 are raised to the first chuck unit 22.
lifts up the object 31. The control device again drives the first motor 2 and the second motor 3 to move the first chuck unit 22 to a preset working position. At this working position, a board 65 is provided with a pilot hole into which the pin 32 of the counterpart 31 is inserted.
is arranged, and the counterpart 31 is located above the prepared hole. After the positioning of the first chuck unit 22 is completed, the cylinder is operated again to lower the rod 9 and spline shaft 10, and the pin 32 of the mating member 31 is inserted into the prepared hole of the base plate 65.

After that, the second supply/discharge port 6 of the third cylinder mechanism 48
1 , the third piston 57 and the third rod 58 move forward, the tip of the third rod 58 comes into contact with the turret 21 , and the through hole 63 communicates with the first communication port 42 . Therefore, air flows through the first communication port 4.
2 to the first supply/discharge port 41, and the first cylinder mechanism 27 is supplied with air.

The first piston 28 moves forward by supplying air to the first cylinder mechanism 27 . Therefore, the knock-out plate 29 tries to descend against the tension spring 40, but the knock-out plate 29 has already reached the opposite object 31.
Since the slide block 26 is in contact with the guide shafts 24a and 24b, the slide block 26 rises along the guide shafts 24a and 24b. Therefore, the leaf spring 37 is integrated with the slide block 26.
Since the plate spring 37 also rises, the leaf spring 37 separates from the pin 32 of the counterpart 31. In this state, when the cylinder rod 9 is raised, the first chuck unit 22
However, the object 31 is attached to the substrate 65 and does not rise.

When the work of attaching the object 31 to the base plate 65 is completed, the second rod 51 of the second cylinder mechanism 47 is moved back, and the positioning of the turret 21 is released.
At the same time, the third cylinder mechanism 48 also returns. At the same time, the control device drives the pulse motor 15b to rotate the turret 21 by half a turn, and the second chuck unit 23 is rotated from the spline shaft 1.
0 axis. Thereafter, the second cylinder mechanism 47 is operated to position the turret 21, and the cylinder is operated to lower the second chuck unit 23. When the second chuck unit 23 stops at a predetermined position, the third cylinder mechanism 48 operates, causing the third piston 57 and the third
As the rod 58 moves forward, the third rod 58 comes into contact with the turret 21, and the through hole 63 communicates with the second communication port 46. Therefore, air is supplied from the second communication port 46 to the second supply/discharge port 45, the second chuck unit 23 is operated, and the chuck claws 44 clamp the substrate 65. In this state, the cylinder returns, its rod 9 rises, and the substrate 65 is lifted.

Thereafter, the control device drives the first motor 2 and the second motor 3, and the second chuck unit 23 transports the object 31 to the next process.

As explained above, the present invention has a turret rotatably disposed in the housing at the tip of the arm, and has only one air flow passageway that can freely protrude by having a cylinder mechanism rod on the housing side. Since the communication port provided corresponding to each work tool on the turret is configured to communicate with the communication port when the turret reaches a predetermined position, there is only one air flow passage on the housing side regardless of the number of work tools. Often, it is only necessary to provide a cylinder mechanism on the housing side, which requires extremely simple machining and provides an inexpensive device, as well as allowing the installation of as many power tools as the turret mounting surface allows. , it has advantages such as being able to provide an extremely efficient device. In addition, since only one air flow path is required on the housing side regardless of the number of working tools, there is no need to switch the air flow path between the air source and an extra switching valve and its control device. There are advantages.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a front view of the present invention, Figure 2 is a front view of the main parts of the present invention, Figure 3 is a rear view of Figure 2, and Figure 4 is a view taken along line A-A in Figure 2. 5 is a partial sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part of the power tool according to the present invention. 1...Industrial robot, 2...First motor, 3
...Second motor, 4...First arm, 5...Second
Arm, 6... Support, 7... First rotating shaft, 8...
Bracket, 9...Rod, 10...Spline shaft, 11...Upper bearing, 12...Lower bearing, 1
3a, 13b, 13c, 13d...Toothed pulley,
14a, 14b, 14c...Toothed belt, 15
a, 15b...Pulse motor, 16...Working unit, 17...Housing, 18...Drive shaft, 1
9... Second rotating shaft, 20... Connector, 21... Turret, 22... First chuck unit, 23...
...Second chuck unit, 24a, 24b...Guide shaft, 25...Fixing base, 26...Slide block, 27...First cylinder mechanism, 28...
...First piston, 29...Knockout plate, 30
...First locking pin, 31...Mate, 32...Pin, 33...Groove, 34...Lid plate, 35...Notch,
36... Spacer, 37... Leaf spring, 38... Spring holder, 39... Second locking pin, 40... Tension spring, 41... First supply/discharge port, 42... First communication port,
43...chuck body, 44...chuck claw, 4
5...Second supply/discharge port, 46...Second communication port, 47...
...Second cylinder mechanism, 48...Third cylinder mechanism, 49...Second cap, 50...Second piston, 51...Second rod, 52...Second rod guide, 53...Third supply/discharge port , 54...Fourth supply/discharge port, 55...Positioning hole, 56...Third cap, 57...Third piston, 58...Third rod, 59...Third rod guide, 60...Spring,
61...5th supply/discharge port, 62...6th supply/discharge port, 63
...Through hole, 64...Origin detection switch, 65...
…substrate.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A lifting source having a slide shaft is attached to one end of the arm of the industrial robot 1, a housing 17 is fixed to one end of the slide shaft, and a housing 17 is fixed to the housing 17 in a direction intersecting the slide shaft. A rotating shaft extending from the housing 17 is configured to rotate in response to the rotation of a rotational drive source, a turret 21 having a plurality of working tools is fixed to one end of the rotating shaft, and an air flow passage is provided on the housing 17 side. , a plurality of communication ports 42 and 46 are bored in the turret 21 in correspondence with the working tools, so that the air flow passage and the communication ports 42 and 46 communicate with each other regardless of the rotation of the turret 21. In the working unit, a third cylinder mechanism 48 is provided in the housing 17, and a third rod 58 of the third cylinder mechanism 48 is provided.
protrudes from the housing 17 and the communication port 42,
46, and a through hole 63 is formed in the third rod 58 so that the third rod 58 can be connected to the through hole 63.
is used as an air flow path on the side of the housing 17, while a second cylinder mechanism 47 is provided in the housing 17, and a plurality of positioning holes 55 are bored in the turret 21 in correspondence with the working tools, so that the second cylinder mechanism 47 The second rod 51 of the positioning hole 5
5, and the communication ports 42 and 46 are configured to be stopped at positions corresponding to the through holes 63.