JPS63191583A - Spherical work robot device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a spherical surface work robot suitable for work on a spherical or curved surface.

(Prior Art) As a conventional robot suitable for work on a spherical or curved surface, the present applicant proposed a robot called Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-71178. The first arm is attached to a rotatable first rotating shaft installed on the base, and the second rotating shaft is attached so that the first arm can rotate freely, and the axis line is perpendicular to the # line of the first rotating shaft. At the same time, a tool shaft is installed at the tip of the second arm attached to the second rotation shaft so that its axis is perpendicular to the axis of the second arm and intersects with the axis of the first rotation shaft. Attach an installation tool to the tip and connect the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft.
The tool is characterized in that a rotational drive mechanism is connected to each of the rotational axes, and by aligning the center of curvature of the workpiece sphere with the intersection of the first and second rotational axes, the axis of the tool axis can be curved. Since the normal line of It has features such as being able to passively correct the position using the guide as a guide without twisting, and a wide working area that covers the entire spherical surface.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, as shown in FIG. 4, since the workpiece W is installed outside the robot installation base 1, the first arm 2 and the second arm 3 may be used to place the workpiece depending on the location. The first rotation axis and the second rotation axis may interfere with the support column 4 that is attached to the
As shown in the figure, there was a problem in that it could not rotate more than 360 degrees and could not take full advantage of its feature of being able to obtain a wide working area that covered the entire spherical surface.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention aims to solve the above problems.A first arm is attached to a rotatable first rotating shaft installed on a base, and the first arm is rotatable. A second rotating shaft is attached so that the second rotating shaft can move freely and its axis is perpendicular to the axis of the first rotating shaft, and the axis of the second arm is attached to the tip of the second arm attached to the second rotating shaft. In a robot, a sliding shaft is installed so as to be orthogonal to the workpiece support shaft, a work tool is attached to the tip of the sliding shaft, and a rotational drive mechanism is connected to the first rotation shaft and the second rotation shaft, respectively. The base of the first arm is fixed to a rotating cylinder that rotates around the first arm.
The feature is that the arm can freely rotate 360 degrees around the outer circumference of the workpiece.

Hereinafter, a detailed explanation will be given based on the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. Hollow cylindrical portion 1a protruding from one end of base 1
Bearing 2a on the outer periphery of.

The rotary cylinder 3 is pivotally supported by 2b. The rotary cylinder 3 is connected to a pulley 4 at one end 3a, and the pulley 4 is connected to a first
It is connected to the base 5a of the arm 5. Further, a motor 7 is provided on a bracket 6 provided on the base 1 so that its axis is parallel to the rotating cylinder 3. A pulley 9 is coupled to the output shaft 7a of the motor 7, and is rotationally connected to the pulley 4 by a timing belt 1o.

A rotary shaft 11 is pivotally supported at the tip 5b of the first arm 5 on an axis OB perpendicular to the axis OA of the first arm. A base portion 12a of the second arm 12 is coupled to the tip of the rotating shaft 11. The other end of the rotating shaft 11 is rotatably connected to a motor 13 provided on the first arm 5. Second arm 12
At the tip 12b, a sliding shaft (spline shaft) 14 is rotatably supported so as to slide in the axial direction on an axis oc that is perpendicular to the axis OB of the second arm and coincides with the axis OA of the first arm. has been done. 15 is a spline bearing that slides and guides the sliding *l1i (spline shaft) 14, and the rotary bearing 1
6 is pivotally supported by the tip end 12b of the second arm 12. A pulley 17 is coupled to the spline bearing 15, and a motor 18 provided on the second arm 12 is connected to the spline bearing 15.
The timing belt 20 is rotatably connected to a pulley 19 coupled to the output shaft 18a of the timing belt 20.

Further, the sliding shaft 14 has one end connected to a pulley 21a connected to an output shaft 21a of a motor 21 provided on a second arm.
A nut 27 is connected at one end to a pulley 24 rotatably connected to the timing belt 23 and is screwed into a ball screw 26 which is pivotally supported on the second arm 12 by a bearing 25.
and are connected by a connector 28. Reference numeral 29 denotes a hand (working tool) provided at the other end of the sliding shaft 14.

On the other hand, sliding bearings 30a, 30 are provided in the hollow cylindrical portion la.
b, the hollow workpiece support shaft 31 is the first arm shaft ○A
It is coaxially and slidably supported. The work support shaft 3
A drive section 33 of an X table 32 that slides perpendicularly to the axis OA is provided at one end 31a on the arm side of the X table 32.

The table 32 has a built-in drive unit for a Y table 34 that slides at right angles to the sliding direction of the X table 32 and the axis OA. A spherical workpiece 35 is provided on the Y table 34 with its center aligned with the point ○. Further, at the other end 31b of the workpiece support shaft 31, one end thereof is connected to the output shaft 36a of the motor 36 provided on the base 1 by a coupling 37, and is screwed into a ball screw 39 which is pivotally supported by bearings 38a and 38b. It is connected with a nut 4° and a connecting plate 41. Reference numeral 42 denotes a cable installed inside the hollow workpiece support shaft 31 to supply electric power for driving the X table 32 and the Y table 34.
It's an air tube.

In addition, 43 is a cable/air tube for driving and controlling each motor/work tool, and the first arm 5
and are provided in a coil shape so as to be coaxial with the rotation axis at the rotation base of the second arm 12 (43a, 43b).

Next, the effect will be explained. Each motor 7.1
3.18.21, the first arm 5
, the second arm 12 and the sliding shaft 14 can be rotated and the sliding shaft 14 can be slid. When the second arm 12 is rotated, the tip of the work tool 29 is moved to the workpiece 35 assuming that the axis OA is the earth's axis.
move in the meridian direction. Further, if the first arm 5 is rotated while the second arm 12 is tilted at a certain angle, the workpiece 35 will be moved in the latitude direction. When the sliding shaft 14 is further slid, the working tool 29 slides in the direction of the center of the sphere, so that the work area that can be occupied by the working tool 29 becomes spherical.

Also, the X table 32, Y table 34, work support shaft 3
By slidingly driving 1, the position of the workpiece 35 in the three-dimensional space can be adjusted, so the center of the displaced sphere and the center of curvature of the free-form surface can be made to coincide with O, and the It is also possible to move the sliding shaft 14 in a direction that does not coincide with the center of the .

The first arm 5 can obtain a rotation angle of 360° or more, and the working range of the second arm 12 is limited only to the rotation angle range where the work tool 29 and the support shaft 31 interfere, so the robot The work area that can be taken is the entire surface of the workpiece 35 other than the part of the workpiece 35 supported by the support shaft 31.

In addition, each of the cables and air tubes arranged in a movable part is coiled, so twisting of the cables and air tubes is converted into bending to avoid damage to the cables and air tubes themselves, and one rotation of each arm. It is now possible to follow the rotation angles above. Furthermore, since the workpiece support shaft 31 is hollow, cables and air tubes can be placed in the direction of the workpiece 35.

In particular, the first arm 5 can obtain a rotation angle of 360° or more.

Therefore, the first arm 5 can always move the shortest distance on the spherical surface. In other words, if there is a part that interferes with the rotation range, it may not be possible to reach it unless it is rotated nearly one rotation due to the movement of the location, whereas in the case of the present invention, the movement of the location is always less than half a turn as shown in Figure 3. can do.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the invention. 1st arm (a)
The base (a) is ring-shaped with a wide opening (mouth a) at one end.
) is supported by a bearing (c) on a base (b), and a workpiece support column (e) with a workpiece (d) installed at one end (hoa) is installed inside the base (b). ,z
It is fixed to the final output part (to a) of the table (to). (g) is the Z-axis section, (ch) is the Y table, (su) is the Y table drive motor, (nu) is the X table, (ru)
is the X-table drive motor.

(O) is a motor for driving the first arm (A) installed on the base (B), and the gear (W) fixed to its output shaft (Oa) drives the first arm (A). It meshes with a gear (force) installed coaxially with the rotation axis of the arm (A).

The second embodiment has the advantage that the amount of positional movement of the workpiece in three-dimensional space can be larger than that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the X, Y, and Z tables can be used to receive and transfer workpieces, and the range in which one point ○ and the center of curvature of the workpiece can be matched is widened. By using the device, it is possible to perform work suitable for not only spherical but also complex workpieces on a fairly wide surface of the workpiece without having to change the workpiece.

(Effects) The present invention provides a rotatable first rotating shaft installed on a base.
attaching an arm, attaching a second rotating shaft to the first arm so that it is rotatable and whose axis is perpendicular to the axis of the first rotating shaft, and to the tip of the second arm attached to the second rotating shaft, A sliding shaft is installed so that its axis is perpendicular to the axis of the second rotating shaft, a working tool is attached to the tip of the sliding shaft, and the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft each have a rotational drive mechanism. In this robot, the base of the first arm is fixed to a rotary cylinder that rotates around the workpiece support shaft, and the first arm can freely rotate 360 degrees around the workpiece outer circumference, so that the robot arm and the workpiece support shaft are connected to each other. The range of interference with the robot can be minimized, and therefore the wide working range of the robot can be fully utilized.

Furthermore, since the compliance of the robot is large in the curved surface (circumferential) direction and small in the tool axis direction, when the robot of the present invention is used for assembly work, it also has the effect of enabling insertion work with less strain.

Furthermore, if the above features are utilized, it can be applied not only to assembly work but also to other work such as processing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cutaway front view of essential parts of a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cutaway front view of essential parts of a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the first arm of each of the above embodiments. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the conventional device, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the first arm of the conventional device. 1...Base 1a...Hollow cylindrical part 3...
Rotating tube 5...first arm 5b...first arm tip 7
...Motor 11...Rotating shaft 12...Second arm 12a...Second arm base 13...Motor 14...Sliding shaft (spline shaft) 15...Spline bearing 18...・Motor 21...Second arm 31...Work support shaft 35...Spherical workpiece...First arm rod...Base knee...Workpiece ho...To work support column...x, y, z table o...drive motor

Claims (1)

[Claims] A first arm is attached to a rotatable first rotating shaft installed on a base, a second rotating shaft is attached to the first arm so that it is rotatable and its axis is perpendicular to the axis of the first rotating shaft, and 2 At the tip of the second arm attached to the rotating shaft,
A sliding shaft is installed so that its axis is perpendicular to the axis of the second rotating shaft, and a working tool is attached to the tip of the sliding shaft,
In a robot in which a rotary drive mechanism is connected to the first rotation shaft and the second rotation shaft, respectively, the base of the first arm is fixed to a rotary tube that rotates around the work support shaft, and the first arm moves around the workpiece outer circumference 360 degrees. A spherical work robot device that can rotate freely.