SE1550832A1 - A robot cell comprising an industrial robot and a positioner - Google Patents

A robot cell comprising an industrial robot and a positioner Download PDF

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Publication number
SE1550832A1
SE1550832A1 SE1550832A SE1550832A SE1550832A1 SE 1550832 A1 SE1550832 A1 SE 1550832A1 SE 1550832 A SE1550832 A SE 1550832A SE 1550832 A SE1550832 A SE 1550832A SE 1550832 A1 SE1550832 A1 SE 1550832A1
Authority
SE
Sweden
Prior art keywords
rotor
robot
rotation
servomotors
cell
Prior art date
Application number
SE1550832A
Other languages
Swedish (sv)
Inventor
Arvidsson Tommy
Original Assignee
Yaskawa Nordic Ab
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Yaskawa Nordic Ab filed Critical Yaskawa Nordic Ab
Priority to SE1550832A priority Critical patent/SE1550832A1/en
Priority to PCT/EP2016/063886 priority patent/WO2016202922A1/en
Publication of SE1550832A1 publication Critical patent/SE1550832A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B25HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
    • B25JMANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
    • B25J9/00Programme-controlled manipulators
    • B25J9/0096Programme-controlled manipulators co-operating with a working support, e.g. work-table
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23KSOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K37/00Auxiliary devices or processes, not specially adapted to a procedure covered by only one of the preceding main groups
    • B23K37/04Auxiliary devices or processes, not specially adapted to a procedure covered by only one of the preceding main groups for holding or positioning work
    • B23K37/0426Fixtures for other work
    • B23K37/0452Orientable fixtures
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23KSOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K37/00Auxiliary devices or processes, not specially adapted to a procedure covered by only one of the preceding main groups
    • B23K37/006Safety devices
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23KSOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K37/00Auxiliary devices or processes, not specially adapted to a procedure covered by only one of the preceding main groups
    • B23K37/04Auxiliary devices or processes, not specially adapted to a procedure covered by only one of the preceding main groups for holding or positioning work
    • B23K37/0461Welding tables
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23KSOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K37/00Auxiliary devices or processes, not specially adapted to a procedure covered by only one of the preceding main groups
    • B23K37/04Auxiliary devices or processes, not specially adapted to a procedure covered by only one of the preceding main groups for holding or positioning work
    • B23K37/047Auxiliary devices or processes, not specially adapted to a procedure covered by only one of the preceding main groups for holding or positioning work moving work to adjust its position between soldering, welding or cutting steps
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23QDETAILS, COMPONENTS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR MACHINE TOOLS, e.g. ARRANGEMENTS FOR COPYING OR CONTROLLING; MACHINE TOOLS IN GENERAL CHARACTERISED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTICULAR DETAILS OR COMPONENTS; COMBINATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS OF METAL-WORKING MACHINES, NOT DIRECTED TO A PARTICULAR RESULT
    • B23Q39/00Metal-working machines incorporating a plurality of sub-assemblies, each capable of performing a metal-working operation
    • B23Q39/04Metal-working machines incorporating a plurality of sub-assemblies, each capable of performing a metal-working operation the sub-assemblies being arranged to operate simultaneously at different stations, e.g. with an annular work-table moved in steps
    • B23Q39/042Metal-working machines incorporating a plurality of sub-assemblies, each capable of performing a metal-working operation the sub-assemblies being arranged to operate simultaneously at different stations, e.g. with an annular work-table moved in steps with circular arrangement of the sub-assemblies
    • B23Q39/046Metal-working machines incorporating a plurality of sub-assemblies, each capable of performing a metal-working operation the sub-assemblies being arranged to operate simultaneously at different stations, e.g. with an annular work-table moved in steps with circular arrangement of the sub-assemblies including a loading and/or unloading station
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23QDETAILS, COMPONENTS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR MACHINE TOOLS, e.g. ARRANGEMENTS FOR COPYING OR CONTROLLING; MACHINE TOOLS IN GENERAL CHARACTERISED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTICULAR DETAILS OR COMPONENTS; COMBINATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS OF METAL-WORKING MACHINES, NOT DIRECTED TO A PARTICULAR RESULT
    • B23Q5/00Driving or feeding mechanisms; Control arrangements therefor
    • B23Q5/54Arrangements or details not restricted to group B23Q5/02 or group B23Q5/22 respectively, e.g. control handles
    • B23Q5/56Preventing backlash
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23QDETAILS, COMPONENTS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR MACHINE TOOLS, e.g. ARRANGEMENTS FOR COPYING OR CONTROLLING; MACHINE TOOLS IN GENERAL CHARACTERISED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTICULAR DETAILS OR COMPONENTS; COMBINATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS OF METAL-WORKING MACHINES, NOT DIRECTED TO A PARTICULAR RESULT
    • B23Q1/00Members which are comprised in the general build-up of a form of machine, particularly relatively large fixed members
    • B23Q1/25Movable or adjustable work or tool supports
    • B23Q1/64Movable or adjustable work or tool supports characterised by the purpose of the movement
    • B23Q1/66Worktables interchangeably movable into operating positions
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23QDETAILS, COMPONENTS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR MACHINE TOOLS, e.g. ARRANGEMENTS FOR COPYING OR CONTROLLING; MACHINE TOOLS IN GENERAL CHARACTERISED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTICULAR DETAILS OR COMPONENTS; COMBINATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS OF METAL-WORKING MACHINES, NOT DIRECTED TO A PARTICULAR RESULT
    • B23Q16/00Equipment for precise positioning of tool or work into particular locations not otherwise provided for
    • B23Q16/02Indexing equipment
    • B23Q16/022Indexing equipment in which only the indexing movement is of importance
    • B23Q16/025Indexing equipment in which only the indexing movement is of importance by converting a continuous movement into a rotary indexing movement
    • FMECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16HGEARING
    • F16H1/00Toothed gearings for conveying rotary motion
    • F16H1/02Toothed gearings for conveying rotary motion without gears having orbital motion
    • F16H1/20Toothed gearings for conveying rotary motion without gears having orbital motion involving more than two intermeshing members
    • F16H1/22Toothed gearings for conveying rotary motion without gears having orbital motion involving more than two intermeshing members with a plurality of driving or driven shafts; with arrangements for dividing torque between two or more intermediate shafts
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10TTECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T74/00Machine element or mechanism
    • Y10T74/19Gearing
    • Y10T74/19623Backlash take-up

Abstract

The invention concerns a robot cell (1) comprising an industrial robot (2) and a positioner (3), which comprises a rotor (4). The rotor (4) is rotatable about an axis of rotation (A) and supports at least two separate holding fixtures (5, 6), of which one at a time is used to present a work piece in a defined position to the industrial robot (2). Rotation of the rotor (4) is accomplished by means of a central gear, which is arranged about said axis of rotation (A) and meshes with two separate gears, which are individually controlled by one servomotor each, wherein the servomotors are arranged to rotate the rotor (4) with joint forces to said defined position and, in that position, to lock the rotor (4) by counter forces created through biasing the servomotors in opposite directions of rotation.Elected for publication: Fig. 1

Description

A ROBOT CELL COMPRISING AN INDUSTRIAL ROBOT AND APOSITIONER Technical FieldThe present invention concerns a robot cell comprising an industrial robot and a positioner, which comprises a rotor, which is rotatable about anaxis of rotation and supports at least two separate holding fixtures, of whichone at a time is used to present a work piece in a defined position to the in-dustrial robot.
Prior Art ln the art there are numerous robot cells comprising an industrial robotand a positioner. The known positioners are often rotatable and comprise dif-ferent locking means to assure that they keep a defined position vis-à-vis therobot such that the robot can perform different actions with high precision,such as welding, on a work piece held by a holding fixture of the positioner.
Obiect of the lnventionThe locking means of known rotatable positioners are prone to wear quickly, especially when heavy loads are to be handled, which generally isdetrimental to precision. Further, heavy loads do traditionally require high rat-ed driving means, which renders install difficult on the power supply and con-trol side and causes heavy gear loads. ln the light of this an object of the pre-sent invention is to mitigate the wear problem by providing a solution which isextremely durable and utterly precise, and to mitigate the rating problem by providing a solution which can do with individually lower rated driving means.
Brief Summary of the lnvention According to the present invention this object is achieved by means ofa robot cell according to preamble, said robot cell being characterized in thatrotation of the rotor to make it present a work piece held by a holding fixtureto the industrial robot is accomplished by means of a central gear, which is arranged about said axis of rotation and meshes with two separate gears,which are individually controlled by one servomotor each, wherein the servo-motors are arranged to rotate the rotor with joint forces to said defined posi-tion and, in that position, to lock the rotor by counter forces created throughbiasing the servomotors in opposite directions of rotation.
By using two servomotors, which can work jointly, the load on each canbe reduced compared to a solution with just one servomotor. Hence, the rat-ing of each individual servomotor can be lower than the rating that would berequired of a single servomotor, which facilitates install on the power supplyand control side and reduces gear loads. Further, by having the servomotorslock the rotor by acting in opposite directions of rotation, gear backlash caneasily be eliminated and stable and precise conditions reached for a workpiece presented by the positioner to an industrial robot.
Preferably, the central gear is stationary arranged on a support of thepositioner, whereas the servomotors which individually control the separategears are stationary arranged on said rotor. A solution like this is advanta-geous especially because it renders install and access to the servomotorseasier.
Preferably, a central part of the rotor is box-shaped, wherein the gearsand the servomotors are hidden within an interior of the box-shaped centralpart of the rotor. By this not only a clean design is achieved, but safe condi-tions are created too for said gears and motors.
Preferably, the servomotors are accessible through service openings ofthe central part of the rotor. Of course, during operation these openings areclosed, for instance by means of a lid secured by screws, but when service isneeded through said openings access can be gained without any major dis-mantling actions.
Preferably, the central part of the rotor comprises an elongate beam. lnmost applications a positioner in a robot cell comprises only two holding fix-tures, which are used in only two fixed positions, the first one being a position,in which work pieces are loaded and unloaded, and the second one being aposition, in which work pieces are treated by a robot. Thus, an elongate beam forms a convenient solution irrespective if two sides or two ends of the beamare used to support said two holding fixtures.
Preferably, the elongate beam supports a first holding fixture, which isarranged on a first side of a Iongitudinal centerline of the beam, and a secondholding fixture, which is arranged on a second side of said centerline. A solu-tion like this makes use in an advantageous way of the length of the beamand renders it possible to handle large work pieces, such as automobile subframes.
Preferably, planar shield is attached to the beam in a plane defined bythe rotational axis and said centerline, said shield being arranged to separatea part of the robot cell where the industrial robot is arranged from an oppositepart of the robot cell where work pieces are supplied. Such a shield does notrequire any extra measures to enable rotation of the positioner and can beused for instance to protect an operator against harmful light from a weldingoperation performed by the robot of the robot cell.
Brief Description of the Drawinqs ln the drawings a preferred embodiment of the robot cell according tothe invention is shown schematically, wherein fig. 1 is an isometric side view, fig. 2 is a top view, and fig. 3 is an isometric view especially illustrating some hidden parts offig. 1.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment ln the drawing figures like reference numbers denote like items, where-in particularly reference number 1 is used to denote a complete robot cell,reference number 2 is used to denote an industrial robot, which is symbolical-ly illustrated by means of a circle, and reference number 3 is used to general-ly denote a positioner.
As can be seen, the robot 2 is placed on one long side of the positioner3 (in fig. 1 in front of the positioner). This means, if the robot cell 1 is to beserved by an operator, e.g. to feed work pieces (not shown) into and out of the robot cell 1, in fig. 1 such an operator would naturally be placed oppositeto the robot 2 behind the positioner 3.
The positioner 3 itself comprises a rotor 4, which is rotatable about avertical axis of rotation A in the centre of the rotor 4. The rotor is shaped likean elongate beam 15 and comprises a box-shaped central part 3, which at itsends supports two separate holding fixtures 5, 6 for work pieces. Each hold-ing fixture 5, 6 is composed of a pair of cooperating parts denoted 5, 5 and 6,6, respectively, which are arranged on a first side of a longitudinal centerline Lof beam 15 and a second side of said centerline L. Said pairs 5, 5 and 6, 6,respectively, are used pair wise to hold a large work piece, such as a vehiclesub frame, which is to be welded by means of the robot 2.
Inside of the box-shaped beam 15 the positioner 3 comprises a drivingmeans, which is composed i.a. of a larger central gear 7, two separate small-er gears 8, 9 to the side of and meshing with the larger gear 7, and two ser-vomotors 10, 11 to drive one of the smaller gears 8, 9 each.
The larger gear 7 is stationary arranged on a support 12 of the posi-tioner 3 in a horizontal plane, such that said axis of rotation A runs rightthrough the centre of it. The smaller gears 8, 9 are rotatable about axes inparallel with axis A and are mounted to said servomotors 10, 11, which intheir turn are mounted to beam 15 of the rotor 4. Thus all gears 7-9 and ser-vomotors 10, 11 are hidden within the interior of the box-shaped central partof the rotor 4, wherein service openings 13, 14, closeable for e.g. by lids (notshown), are provided in said central part to make the servomotors 10, 11easily accessible for service or the like.
A further apparatus feature of the preferred embodiment of the robotcell 1 is a planar shield 16 (shown only in fig. 1), which is attached to thebeam 12 in a plane defined by the rotational axis A and said centerline L. Theshield 16 is arranged to separate the part of the robot cell 1, where the indus-trial robot 2 is arranged, from the opposite part of the robot cell 1, where forinstance work pieces are supplied by an operator. The shield 16 can be usede.g. to shield off harmful light from a welding operation and can of course becombined with other shielding means.
Having described essential apparatus features of the robot cell 1, be-low its mode of operation is elucidated.
To a person skilled in the art it is well known that gears meshing withone another are prone to shown some backlash. This is detrimental to preci-sion and makes use of positioners to present work pieces to an industrial ro-bot difficult. Thanks to the positioner 3 of the robot cell 1 according to the in-vention, the precision issue is practically eliminated by use of two servomo-tors 10, 11, which control one smaller gear 8, 9 each, such that these smallergears 8, 9 in mesh with the larger central gear 7 with joint forces rotate therotor 4 about its axis of rotation A to a desired position, where they lock therotor 4 by counter forces created through biasing the servomotors 10, 11 inopposite directions of rotation, thereby totally eliminate gear backlash.
Obviously the described preferred embodiment can be altered withinthe scope of the appendant claims. Thus, for instance, the positioner 3 can bemade to provide more than two holding fixtures 5, 6, and the servomotors 10,11 can be mounted stationary to the support 12 and the larger central gear 7be attached to the rotor 4.

Claims (7)

1. A robot cell (1) comprising an industrial robot (2) and a positioner (3), whichcomprises a rotor (4), which is rotatabie about an axis of rotation (A) and sup-ports at least two separate holding fixtures (5, 6), of which one at a time isused to present a work piece in a defined position to the industrial robot (2), c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that rotation of the rotor (4) to make it present a workpiece held by a holding fixture (5, 6) to the industrial robot (2) is accomplishedby means of a central gear (7), which is arranged about said axis of rotation(A) and meshes with two separate gears (8, 9), which are individually con-trolled by one servomotor (10, 11) each, wherein the servomotors (10, 11) arearranged to rotate the rotor (4) with joint forces to said defined position and, inthat position, to lock the rotor (4) by counter forces created through biasingthe servomotors (10, 11) in opposite directions of rotation.
2. The robot cell (1) according to claim 1, wherein the central gear (7) is sta-tionary arranged on a support (12) of the positioner (3), whereas the servo-motors (10, 11) which individually control the separate gears (8, 9) are sta-tionary arranged on said rotor (4).
3. The robot cell (1) according to claim 2, wherein a central part of the rotor(4) is box-shaped and wherein the gears and the servomotors (10, 11) arehidden within an interior of the box-shaped central part of the rotor (4).
4. The robot cell (1) according to claim 3, wherein the servomotors (10, 11)are accessible through service openings (13, 14) of the central part of the ro-tor (4).
5. The robot cell (1) according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the central part of therotor (4) comprises an elongate beam (15).
6. The robot cell (1) according to any one of claims 5, wherein the elongatebeam (15) supports a first holding fixture (5), which is arranged on a first side 5 of a Iongitudinal centerline (L) of the beam (15), and a second holding fixture(6), which is arranged on a second side of said centerline (L).
7. The robot cell (1) according to ciaim 6, wherein a planar shield (16) is at-tached to the beam (12) in a plane defined by the axis of rotation (A) and saidcenterline (L), said shield (16) being arranged to separate a part of the robotcell (1) where the industrial robot (2) is arranged from an opposite part of therobot cell (1 ) where work pieces are supplied.
SE1550832A 2015-06-17 2015-06-17 A robot cell comprising an industrial robot and a positioner SE1550832A1 (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
SE1550832A SE1550832A1 (en) 2015-06-17 2015-06-17 A robot cell comprising an industrial robot and a positioner
PCT/EP2016/063886 WO2016202922A1 (en) 2015-06-17 2016-06-16 A robot cell comprising an industrial robot and a positioner

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
SE1550832A SE1550832A1 (en) 2015-06-17 2015-06-17 A robot cell comprising an industrial robot and a positioner

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
SE1550832A1 true SE1550832A1 (en) 2016-12-18

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
SE1550832A SE1550832A1 (en) 2015-06-17 2015-06-17 A robot cell comprising an industrial robot and a positioner

Country Status (2)

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SE (1) SE1550832A1 (en)
WO (1) WO2016202922A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN109262188A (en) * 2018-11-02 2019-01-25 河野精机(大连)有限公司 A kind of horizontal rotation positioner
CN111069820A (en) * 2019-12-05 2020-04-28 武汉艾德科技开发有限公司 Multifunctional welding machine

Family Cites Families (7)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2105234A (en) * 1981-09-08 1983-03-23 Lansing Bagnall Ltd Work support including positionable work-tables
US4644897A (en) * 1985-10-01 1987-02-24 Graco Robotics, Inc. Modular robotic finishing work center
CN201342673Y (en) * 2009-01-19 2009-11-11 青岛华东工程机械有限公司 Dual-motor locking mechanism
JP5356910B2 (en) * 2009-05-15 2013-12-04 高丸工業株式会社 2-axis positioner
CN202182153U (en) * 2011-07-20 2012-04-04 西安理工大学 Cantilever drive type double-motor anti-backlash rotary mechanism
DE102011113570B4 (en) * 2011-09-19 2016-01-07 Fibro Gmbh roundtable
WO2014035352A1 (en) * 2012-08-29 2014-03-06 Gokhan Vargin Gok A positioner with angular wings

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