JPS632690A - Signal transmitter between rotary connecting section in industrial robot - 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 device for transmitting signals of an industrial robot.

[Prior Art] Some industrial robots have a structure in which two pairs of arms are rotatably connected, and actuator signals and system signals are transmitted between the actuator terminal, sensor terminal, and input terminal of the robot control unit. It is necessary to transmit the I10 signal etc. through the inside or outside of the rotating arm.

In conventional industrial robots, signal lines are wired along the arm, and signals are transmitted through these signal lines.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] In the conventional signal transmission method described above, the signal wires are fixed and wired inside and outside the robot arm, so repeated rotational movements of the robot arm cause stress on the signal wires. The drawback is that it deteriorates and breaks due to stress.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a signal transmission device between rotary joints in an industrial robot that reliably transmits signals without contact.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides an industrial robot equipped with rotatably connected arms, which includes a pair of optical transmitter/receiver circuits that convert electrical signals into optical signals and mutually transmit and receive the signals. This is a signal transmission device between rotating coupling parts in an industrial Kawaguchi pot, characterized in that the coupling parts are positioned coaxially with and facing the rotational axis of a scissor arm.

[Example] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), reference numerals 1 and 1 represent a pair of arms, and the two arms 1 and 1 that form the pair are rotatably connected by a bearing 3. In FIGS.

The present invention includes a rotary shaft 1a in each arm 1, 1 from its inner wall.
A pair of optical transmitter/receiver circuits 2, 2 that convert electrical signals into optical signals and transmit and receive them to each other are supported on the supports 4, 4, respectively, and the connecting portion is sandwiched between the arms. The rotating shaft 1a of the rotating shaft 1 is positioned coaxially with the rotating shaft 1a of the rotating shaft 1, and is placed facing each other.

The optical transmitting/receiving circuits 2, 2 are connected to the robot control section 3 or the actuator section 6 by a signal line 1 via parallel/serial signal conversion circuits 4, 5, respectively, as shown in FIG.

In Fig. 2, a command signal from the robot control section 3 is converted into a signal by a parallel/serial signal conversion circuit 4, converted into an optical signal by an optical transmission/reception circuit 2, and then sent to the optical transmission/reception circuit 2 of the other arm connecting section. communicated. The transmitted command signal is sent to the actuator section 6 by the serial/parallel signal conversion circuit 5.
will be distributed to. Conversely, the signal from the actuator section 6 passes through the parallel/serial signal conversion circuit 4, is converted into an optical signal by the optical transmitter/receiver circuit 2, and is transmitted to the optical transmitter/receiver circuit 2 of the other arm connecting section. The transmitted signals are roughly distributed to each input port of the robot control section 3 by the serial/parallel signal conversion circuit 5.

According to the present invention, signal transmission between the arm connecting parts is carried out without contact between the pair of optical transmitter/receiver circuits facing each other across the arm connecting part, so there is no need for a signal line spanning between the arm connecting parts. Therefore, even if repeated rotational movements of the arm are applied between the arm connecting portions, signal transmission is not affected, and signal transmission can be performed reliably.

In this embodiment, the present invention was applied between the connecting parts of the arm, but the present invention is applied to the rotating connecting part with the base that rotatably supports the arm, or the rotating connecting part with the hand etc. that is rotatably connected to the arm. The invention is applicable.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention converts signals into optical signals at the robot arm connection part and transmits and receives them without contact, so actuator signals, system I10 signals, etc. can be transmitted without contact. This has the effect of preventing wire breakage accidents caused by repetitive movements of the robot arm.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1(a) is a cross-sectional view of a robot arm connecting portion of the present invention, FIG. 1(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A--A in FIG. 1(a), and FIG. 2 is a block diagram. 1... Robot arm 2... Optical transmitting/receiving circuit 3.
...Robot control section 4...Parallel/serial signal conversion circuit 5...Serial/parallel signal conversion circuit 6...Actuator section

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an industrial robot equipped with a rotatably connected arm, a pair of optical transmitter/receiver circuits that convert electrical signals into optical signals and transmit and receive them mutually are coaxial with the rotational axis of the arm by sandwiching the connecting part. 1. A signal transmission device between rotating coupling parts in an industrial robot, characterized in that the rotating coupling parts are provided facing each other at the top.