KR20110133307A

KR20110133307A - Actuator module applicable in various joint type and joint structure using the same

Info

Publication number: KR20110133307A
Application number: KR1020100052965A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 김병수; 장욱
Original assignee: (주)로보티즈
Priority date: 2010-06-04
Filing date: 2010-06-04
Publication date: 2011-12-12
Also published as: KR101207853B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an actuator module that is adaptable to various joint shapes and a joint structure using the same. In particular, the actuator module is provided with a decelerator coupled to an actuator body including an electronic part and a driving part, and thus reduces the primary deceleration of the actuator module body. It is easy to change the speed and torque obtained through the secondary reducer, and since the reducer is combined with the actuator body, various types of reducers can be applied, and the reducer and the actuator body can be arranged in various ways so that they can be applied to various joint types. It is possible to form various joint structures using the actuator module.

Description

Actuator module applicable in various joint type and joint structure using the same}

In addition, the actuator module according to the present invention can compensate for the insufficient torque by mounting a load balancer on the drive shaft or the rotating shaft of the actuator body or the reducer, the slip ring is provided to increase the durability of the wiring and easy wiring arrangement The assembly and disassembly of the articulated robot can be done without disassembling the actuator module.

In addition, the actuator module according to the present invention is an actuator body portion, a reducer portion, a frame portion of various types that can be coupled to the drive shaft of the actuator body or reducer, and a slip ring, a load balancer of the type that can be coupled to the drive shaft of the actuator body or reducer It is composed of four parts such as accessory part, and it is easy to design the articulated robot using the main body, the reducer, the frame, and the accessory part, and the expandability to the joint form of various structures is high.

The robot technology or robot industry is divided into a wide variety of fields such as industrial robots, entertainment robots, and educational robots, and articulated robots are applied in almost all robot fields.

The articulated robot is a kind of robots in which a plurality of joint members sharing a rotation axis are coupled to each other, and the joint members are composed of actuators providing driving force and various types of connection members connecting the actuators.

Applicant has applied various types of articulated robots through repeated coupling of actuator module and connecting member through patent application No. 10-2005-0045316 filed on May 28, 2005. It has been proposed a structure that can be assembled, the basic joint structure is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, the driving force of the articulated robot is provided only by the small actuator module 10 and is transmitted only through the connection member 30 directly connected to the drive shaft 20 of the actuator module, thereby adjusting the speed and torque of each joint part. In order to control each actuator module individually to generate different speeds and torques, control programming becomes difficult and it is difficult to change the speed and torque generated by one actuator module. Since at least one of these must be included, a large amount of actuator modules are consumed, but it is difficult to form various types of joint structures.

In addition, in the case of the articulated robot of the application, more torque is required when the joint rotates in the opposite direction of the external force than when the joint rotates in the direction of the external force such as gravity, but additional torque is required. There is no means to compensate, and in order to obtain a large torque, the actuator module must be enlarged to increase the driving force, which is an obstacle to miniaturizing the articulated robot structure.

Therefore, the present invention is provided with a decelerator coupled to the actuator body is easy to change the speed and torque obtained by the first deceleration of the actuator module main body through the reducer, the actuator module and the joint structure of the articulated robot using the same The purpose is to provide.

In addition, the present invention can be applied to a variety of forms of the reducer because the reducer is coupled to the actuator body and can be variously arranged the reducer and the actuator body, the actuator module applicable to a variety of joint forms and the joint structure of the articulated robot using the same The purpose is to provide.

In addition, the present invention can compensate for the insufficient torque by mounting a load balancer on the drive shaft or the rotating shaft of the actuator body or reducer, the slip ring is provided to increase the durability of the wiring, easy to organize the wiring and assembly of the articulated robot An object of the present invention is to provide an actuator module capable of connecting without disassembling the actuator module at the time of disassembly and a joint structure of an articulated robot using the same.

In addition, the present invention is largely divided into an actuator body portion, a reducer portion, a frame portion of various forms that can be coupled to the drive shaft of the actuator body or reducer, and an accessory portion such as a slip ring, a load balancer that can be coupled to the drive shaft of the actuator body or reducer. It is composed of four parts, it is easy to design the articulated robot using the main body, the reducer, the frame, the accessory part is to provide an actuator module having a high form expandability and a joint structure of the articulated robot using the same.

In order to achieve the above object, the actuator module according to the present invention comprises an actuator body including an electronic portion and a driving portion; And a speed reducer coupled to the actuator body to change the speed and torque generated from the actuator body.

The reducer may be separately coupled to the actuator body, and the actuator body and the reducer may be coupled to each other by a frame.

In addition, a load balancer for compensating driving torque may be mounted on the actuator shaft or the rotating shaft of the reducer.

In addition, the actuator body or the drive shaft of the reducer is characterized in that the slip ring is mounted.

In addition, the reducer is characterized in that at least one of the belt and pulley structure, harmonic drive, gear structure.

The actuator body and the reducer may include an encoder for feeding back an operating state including a rotation angle of a drive shaft.

In addition, the actuator body is characterized in that it comprises an external port on one side for connection with an external sensor.

In addition, the frame is characterized in that the hinge structure coupled to at least one end of the actuator body or the reducer.

In addition, the actuator module according to the present invention includes an actuator body including an electronic part and a driving part; A first reducer coupled to a drive shaft of the actuator body to change the speed and torque generated by the actuator body; And a second reducer that is coupled to the actuator body through a frame to change the speed and torque generated by the actuator body or the first reducer.

In addition, the joint structure of the articulated robot according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises the actuator body, the reducer, the frame, the slip ring and the load balancer.

According to the present invention, the actuator body is provided with a decelerator separated from the actuator body, and the actuator module and the joint structure of the articulated robot using the same are easy to change the speed and torque obtained by the first deceleration of the actuator module to the secondary through the reducer. Is provided.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the reducer is separated from the actuator body, various types of reducers can be applied, and the reducer and the actuator body can be arranged in various ways so that the actuator module applicable to various joint shapes and the articulated robot using the same An articulation structure is provided.

In addition, according to the present invention, the load balancer can be compensated for by mounting a load balancer on the drive shaft or the rotating shaft of the actuator body or the reducer, and the slip ring is provided to increase the durability of the wiring and to facilitate the wiring arrangement. An actuator module and a joint structure of an articulated robot using the same are provided, which allow connection without disassembling the actuator module during assembly and disassembly.

Further, according to the present invention, the actuator body portion, the reducer portion, the frame portion of various forms that can be coupled to the drive shaft of the actuator body or the reducer, and the accessory portion such as slip rings, rod balancer of the form that can be coupled to the drive shaft of the actuator body or reducer It is largely composed of four parts, and easy to design the articulated robot using the body, the reducer, the frame, the accessory part is provided with a highly expandable actuator module and a joint structure of the articulated robot using the same.

1 is a structural view of the joint of the articulated robot according to the prior art.
2 is a conceptual diagram of an actuator module according to the present invention;
3 is a configuration diagram of an actuator module according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a configuration diagram of an actuator module according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a configuration diagram of an actuator module according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
6 to 8 is a joint configuration of the articulated robot using the actuator module according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
9 to 10 is a joint configuration of the articulated robot using the actuator modules according to the first and third embodiments of the present invention.
Figure 11 is a slip ring configuration mounted to the actuator module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
12 to 15 is a configuration diagram of a load balancer mounted to the actuator module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
16 is a conceptual diagram of a robot arm to which various embodiments of the present invention are applied.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a conceptual diagram of an actuator module according to the present invention.

The actuator module according to the present invention basically comprises an actuator body 100; And a reducer 200 coupled thereto to change the speed and torque generated from the actuator body, wherein the reducer 200 is coupled to the drive shaft of the actuator body 100 or separated from the actuator body 100. Combined. When the actuator body 100 and the reducer 200 are separated from each other, a frame for mechanically coupling the two is optionally provided. In addition, a functional accessory 300 such as a load balancer 700 or a slip ring 600 may be selectively mounted on the drive shaft of the actuator body 100 or the drive shaft of the reducer 200.

Since the actuator module of the present invention is conceptually divided into four parts as described above, the articulated robots of various types can be configured by varying the shape of each part and the shape of each part. .

First, the actuator body 100 includes a driver including the motor 120, the gear unit 130, and the driving pulley 140, and the electronic unit including the electronic circuit 150 and various sensors connected thereto. Optionally, an encoder 160 for measuring an operating state such as a rotation angle of the driving unit and feeding back to the electronic circuit 150 of the electronic unit is embedded, and an external port 170 for electrical connection with an external device such as an external sensor is provided. It can be built in.

The reducer 200 may have various forms such as a belt and pulley structure, a harmonic drive, a gear structure, and the like. In FIG. 2, a belt and pulley structure including a connecting shaft 210 and a driving pulley 220 is illustrated. The power transmission of the belt is shown by arrows). When the reducer 200 is configured to be separated from the actuator body 100 as illustrated in FIG. 2, a frame 400 for physically or mechanically coupling the actuator body 100 and the reducer 100 is provided. It is preferable that a reducer encoder 230 is provided to detect an operating state such as a rotation angle of the drive shaft of the reducer 200 and feed back to the electronic circuit 150 of the actuator body 100. The frame 400 may be variously provided in a manner in which the frame 400 is manufactured integrally with the actuator body 100 or manufactured in a detachable manner and coupled to the actuator body 100 using a known coupling means.

In addition to the reducer illustrated in FIG. 2, a reducer having various structures may be applied to the present invention, which will be described below through various embodiments.

3 is a configuration diagram of an actuator module according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The actuator module of FIG. 3 is an actuator body 100 including a drive pulley 140, a belt 240 and a driven pulley 220, and a reducer composed of a connecting shaft 210, and an actuator body mechanically connecting the reducer. And a Π-shaped frame 410 forming a hinge structure.

The actuator body 100 is provided with a gear unit 130 composed of a plurality of gears interconnecting the motor 120 and the driving pulley 140 and decelerating the driving speed of the motor 120 primarily. The driving pulley 140 is connected to the driven pulley 220 and the belt 240 of the reducer to transfer the driving force first reduced in the gear unit 130 of the actuator body 100 to the driven pulley 220 of the reducer, The driven pulley 220 of the reducer reduces the driving speed to the second and increases the driving torque to transmit the driving force to an external connection member (not shown) connected through the insertion hole 250 of the driven pulley 220.

In this case, the Π-type frame 410 may have a side frame longer or shorter than that shown in FIG. 3, and the distance and the reducer 220 and the connecting shaft to which the driving force of the actuator body 100 is transmitted according to the length of the side frame. The location in space of 210 is determined.

Referring to the configuration of the Π-type frame 410 in more detail, the base portion coupled to the actuator body 100 (Note: when the Π-type frame 410 is provided integrally perpendicular to the actuator body 100, the base portion And a pair of side frames (note: configurable as a single side frame and virtually unlimited in form of the frame) provided at right angles to the base portion, each side frame having a connecting shaft ( A shaft insertion hole into which the 210 may be inserted is provided.

The connecting shaft 120 is fixedly coupled to the shaft insertion hole between the pair of side frames or is rotatably inserted through the bearing. One end of the connecting shaft 120 is coupled to the driven pulley 220 and the other end thereof is It is coupled to the external connection member (not shown) to rotatably couple the actuator module consisting of the actuator body 100, the Π-type frame 410 and the reducer with the external connection member (not shown).

4 is a configuration diagram of an actuator module according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a structure in which a harmonic drive 260 is added as an additional reducer to the structure of the first embodiment, in which a driven pulley (not shown) and a harmonic drive 260 are coaxially coupled to the connecting shaft 210 and driven. The drive 260 decelerates secondly and increases the torque increased driving force in the driven pulley (not shown) to the third to generate additional torque. The outer surface of the harmonic drive 260 is also provided with an insertion hole 270 for coupling with the external connection member.

Thus, by providing a plurality of reduction gears, it is easy to adjust the driving speed according to the setting of various reduction ratios, and even when a large torque is required, it is possible to generate a sufficient torque using a small actuator module without difficulty. One of the main features of the present invention can be provided with one or more external gears that perform additional speed reduction functions in addition to the speed reduction function in the actuator main body 100, thereby simplifying the driving speed and the driving torque. Various controls can be made, and the driving force transmission position can be configured in various ways.

5 is a configuration diagram of an actuator module according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

The actuator module of FIG. 5 has a configuration in which a driving shaft of the actuator main body 100 is a connecting shaft with a reducer constituted by the harmonic drive 260 so that driving force is directly transmitted to the coaxial shaft. In addition to the harmonic drive, planetary gears, spur gears, and other known physically engageable gear structures can of course be provided with additional reducers. The harmonic drive 260 of FIG. 5 is also provided with an insertion hole 270 to facilitate connection with an external connection member.

In the first, second and third embodiments described above, the encoder 121 is provided in each of the secondary or tertiary reducers such as driven pulleys or harmonic drives to detect the operating state of the reducer such as the rotation angle of the drive unit inside the reducer and to detect the actuator body ( Feedback to the electronic circuit 150 (ie, the controller) of the 100 enables more accurate driving force control.

6 to 8 is a joint configuration of the articulated robot using the actuator module according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

First, in FIG. 6, the connecting member 500 is coupled to the actuator module of FIG. 3, and the outer ring part 610, the inner ring part 620, and the connecting line are connected to the connecting shaft insertion hole 510 connected to the connecting member 500. The joint portion of the slip ring 600 is formed, including the insert is shown.

The connecting member 500 is composed of a Π-type frame and the connecting shaft insertion holes 510 are formed in the pair of side frames, so that the left end of the connecting shaft 210 is connected to the left side frame through the driven pulley 220. It is coupled to the right end of the connecting shaft 210 is coupled to the right side frame through the slip ring (610, 620) structure. When the connecting shaft 210 is a rotatable shaft as well as a fixed shaft, the rotation of the connecting member 500 is guaranteed. Since the driven pulley 220 and the slip ring 600 are both rotatable structures, even when the connecting shaft 210 is a fixed shaft, the external connecting member 500 coupled to both ends of the connecting shaft is configured to use the connecting shaft 210 as a driving shaft. It can rotate or swing in the form of a hinged structure.

The slip ring of FIG. 6 is an electric component for supplying power to the rotating part. The basic structure of the slip ring is illustrated in the outer ring 610 and the inner ring 620 and the inner ring 620 and the outer ring 610, respectively. The connected wire 630 is included. Since the outer ring 610 and the inner ring 620 of the slip ring 600 have a structure in which the other rotates while the other is fixed while maintaining the electrical connection, the twisting of the wire is prevented, thereby increasing the joint structure and the durability of the wiring. Since the interference problem between the wire and the mechanism such as the connecting member 500 or the actuator module does not occur, the wiring is very easy, and the slip ring inner ring 620 is equipped with an external connector for connecting the wire 630 to the actuator body. The wiring can be easily performed without disassembling the module 100 to the module.

Next, in the case of Figure 7, the connecting member 500 is coupled to the actuator module of Figure 3, consisting of a fixing member 710 and the rotating member 720 at one end of the connecting shaft 210 connected to the connecting member 500 An articulation portion of the load balancer 700 is illustrated.

The coupling relationship between the connection member 500 and the actuator module is substantially the same as in FIG.

The load balancer 700 is a component that is mounted on the rotating shaft constituting the joint of the robot and compensates for the insufficient torque when a relatively large torque is required to drive the joint and maintains a balance of load applied to the joint. Is exemplarily shown in FIGS. 12 to 15.

The load balancer 700 includes a fixing member 710 mounted to one end of a fixed first joint member, such as an actuator module (or frame 400), and one end of a rotatable second joint member such as an external connection member 500. Rotating member 720 is mounted to, and the elastic member 730 is installed between the fixing member 710 and the rotating member 720 to form a torque in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the rotating member 720, including Is formed.

The fixing member 710 and the rotating member 720 are formed of a flat plate member (Note: the disk is preferably but not necessarily limited to the disk shape), the shaft insertion for coupling with the connecting shaft 210 in the center The hole 723 is formed. Between the fixing member 710 and the rotating member 720, the elastic means 730 in the form of a torsion spring and the rotating coupling means 714 in the form of a bearing are mounted, and the rotating coupling means 714 on the inner side of the fixing member 710. ) And a support 713 for coupling the fixing member 710 and the rotating member 720 to each other is formed. A step 715 is formed on the outer circumference of the fixing member 710 to provide an inner space for accommodating the elastic means 730 and the rotation coupling means 714. In this case, according to the design of those skilled in the art, the components such as the support and the step may be formed on the rotating member 720 or both the fixing member 710 and the rotating member 720.

At least one inner surface of the fixing member 710 and the rotating member 720 is provided with a plurality of insertion holes 711 and 721 along the virtual concentric circle to insert the reference protrusion 712.

The inner side of the fixing member 710 is formed with a fixing part 733 for fixing the fixing end 732 of the elastic means 730, the moving end 731 of the elastic means is caught by the reference projection 712. The distance between both ends of the elastic means 730 at the initial position or the reference position of the load balancer 700 is determined according to the positions of the insertion holes 711 and 721 into which the reference protrusion 712 is inserted. The insertion position of the reference protrusion 712 is arbitrarily adjustable by the user, and the amount of torque compensated by the load balancer 700 is determined according to the insertion position of the reference protrusion 712 and the elastic force of the elastic means 730.

The inner surface of the rotating member 720 is provided with a fixing projection 722 for moving the moving end 731 of the elastic means together when the rotating member 720 is rotated.

Before describing the operation of the load balancer 700 with reference to FIGS. 14 to 15, the direction in which the articulation portion of the articulated robot is bent (or the direction in which the load is small or the gravity direction) is determined in the forward direction, and the direction in which the articulation portion is extended ( Or the direction of heavy load or the direction opposite to gravity).

In FIG. 15, when the rotating member 720 is rotated in the forward direction of the arrow, the rotating protrusion 722 mounted to the rotating member 720 is simultaneously rotated forward while moving end portion 731 of the torsion spring, which is an elastic means 730. ) Will be pushed forward. Accordingly, the moving end 731 of the elastic means 730 is moved while generating torque in the reverse direction. This is the case, for example, when the joint portion is bent in the direction of gravity, and in addition to the forward torque generated by the driving force of the actuator body 100 or the reducer 200, the forward torque generated by the external force such as gravity is further added to the load balancer 700. It is a proper balance with the reverse torque by), it is possible to rotate the natural joint.

On the other hand, for example, when the joint portion is unfolded in the direction of gravity, the rotating member 720 starts to rotate in the opposite direction to the arrow shown, in addition to the reverse torque generated by the driving force of the actuator body 100 or the reducer 200 Since the reverse compensation torque generated by the balancer (00) is mutually coupled, sufficient reverse torque can be obtained even in the presence of forward torque generated by an external force such as gravity.

When a large amount of driving torque is required in the joint, when the compensation torque is obtained using the load balancer 700 in the above-described manner, the joint can be configured even using a small actuator, and the difference in driving torque according to the joint driving direction is reduced. Therefore, the overload of the actuator driving unit, and thus, the risk of power consumption, malfunction, or failure is prevented or minimized, and the amount of compensation torque can be predicted according to the positions of the insertion holes 711 and 721 into which the reference protrusion 712 is inserted. Programming for controlling the drive of the device becomes easy.

8 again, FIG. 8 illustrates a joint structure of a multi-joint robot in which a plurality of actuator modules having a slip ring 600 and a load balancer 700 mounted on one joint part are coupled through a connecting member 500. It is shown.

The joint portion illustrated in FIG. 8 has a reduction ratio of 1: n or 1 / n when the ratio of the diameter of the driving pulley (not shown) of the actuator body 100 to the diameter of the driven pulley 220 is, for example, 1: n. The drive torque of the driven pulley 220 is increased in inverse proportion thereto. Accordingly, the connecting member 500 and the upper actuator module coupled thereto may be slowly rotated using a large driving torque.

9 and 10 illustrate a joint structure of an articulated robot that couples actuator modules according to the first embodiment of FIG. 3 and the third embodiment of FIG. 5 from two different directions, in which two actuator modules are coupled to each other. A joint structure having two degrees of freedom is formed.

According to the first embodiment, a frame of a first actuator module having a decoupling device (for example, driven pulley 220) separated is enclosed by a first actuator body 100 in the form of a first connection member 500. And a second actuator module having a reducer (for example, a harmonic drive 260) coaxially coupled between the side frames of the first connection member 500 according to the second embodiment. Both ends of the drive shaft of the second actuator body 1000 are connected to the second connection member 5000, and a projection-type connection part (not shown) is provided on the outside of the body in a direction perpendicular to the drive shaft, so that the second actuator body 1000 ) Is sandwiched between the side frames of the first connection member 500.

The second connecting member 5000 is rotatable by receiving the driving torque by the harmonic drive 260 of the second actuator module, the first connecting member is driven by the driven pulley 220 of the first actuator module. It is rotatable upon application. At this time, if the main body of the two actuator module is fixed, the first actuator module swings about the axis to which the driven pulley 220 is coupled.

16 is a conceptual diagram of a robot arm in which various types of actuator modules according to the above-described embodiments are coupled to each other. Through the conceptual diagram of Figure 16 it can be confirmed all the effects of the present invention.

What has been described above is only one embodiment according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the present invention may be made without departing from the technical scope of the present invention as claimed in the following claims. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the field will be able to implement various changes.

100: actuator body 200: reducer
300: Accessories 400: Frame
500: connecting member 600: slip ring
700: load balancer

Claims

In the actuator module used for the joint of the articulated robot,
An actuator body including an electronic part and a driving part; And
And a reducer coupled to the actuator body to change a speed and a torque generated from the actuator body.

The method of claim 1,
The reducer is coupled to the actuator body separately, the actuator body and the reducer actuator module, characterized in that coupled by the frame.

The method of claim 1,
And the reducer is coaxially coupled to the actuator body.

The method according to claim 3 or 4,
Actuator module, characterized in that the load balancer for the compensation of the drive torque is mounted on the rotary shaft of the actuator body or the reducer.

The method according to claim 3 or 4,
Actuator module, characterized in that the slip ring is mounted to the actuator body or the drive shaft of the reducer.

The method according to claim 1 or 2,
And the reducer is at least one of a belt, a pulley structure, a harmonic drive, and a gear structure.

The method according to claim 1 or 2,
At least one of the actuator body and the reducer includes an encoder for feeding back an operating state including a rotation angle of a drive shaft.

The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The actuator main body has an external port for connecting to an external sensor on one side of the actuator module.

The method of claim 2,
The frame is an actuator module, characterized in that the hinge structure is coupled to at least one end of the actuator body or the reducer.

The method according to claim 1 or 2,
And an additional speed reducer connected to the actuator body or the drive shaft of the speed reducer to change the driving torque generated by the actuator body or the speed reducer.

An actuator body generating a driving force;
A reducer coupled to the actuator body to change the speed and torque generated by the actuator body;
A frame for coupling the actuator body and the reducer to each other;
A load balancer mounted on a drive shaft of the actuator body or the reducer to compensate for the drive torque of the actuator body or the reducer; And
And a slip ring mounted on the drive shaft for supplying power via the drive shaft.