TWI415723B - Manipulator - Google Patents

Abstract

A manipulator includes a base, a robotic arm, an elastic member, and a connecting part. The elastic member is disposed between the base and the robotic arm. The connecting part is fixed on one of the robotic arm and the base, and goes through the other one, thereby the robotic arm is capable of swinging relative to the base. The robotic arm described above is capable of achieving universal swing when the manipulator collides with another equipment. In addition, the elastic member can absorb the shock caused by the collision to protect the manipulator, and the elastic member can drive the robotic arm to restore to original state automatically and precisely after the robotic arm swung.

Description

Robot

The invention relates to a manipulator, in particular to a manipulator capable of achieving universal swing and being automatically reset.

At present, automation equipment has been widely used in various production fields, such as robots capable of grasping and transporting, which can be moved according to the set movement trajectory to realize automatic loading and unloading. However, when the manipulator performs a rotation or performs other actions in a limited space, the robot is easily affected by the peripheral device due to the limitation of the movement accuracy of the manipulator itself and the inertial force generated by the manipulator, or by the installation accuracy of the peripheral device. Rigid collisions can damage the robot or peripheral equipment, and even cause a safety accident in severe cases. This type of equipment damage caused by rigid collisions often occurs in other automated operations.

A method for avoiding the above rigid collision is to mount a sensing device, such as a force sensor, on a robot to sense the contact between the robot and the peripheral device. When the robot comes into contact with the peripheral device, the sensing is performed. The device senses the contact force and generates a signal, and then transmits the signal to the control device of the robot, and the control device issues a control command according to the signal to change the movement track of the robot, thereby causing the robot to avoid the peripheral device. To protect the robot. After the robot has avoided the peripheral equipment, the control device needs to issue a control command again before the robot can return to the original On the working path set first, the actual reset is performed for subsequent work.

However, the above sensing device and the corresponding control system increase the complexity of the robot structure, increase the cost, and require maintenance by a person with high professional skill.

In view of the above, it is necessary to provide a robot that is simple in structure, capable of absorbing shocks generated by collisions, and capable of realizing automatic resetting.

A robot includes a base, a robot arm, an elastic member, a connecting member, and an elastic support member, the elastic member abutting between the base and the mechanical arm, the connecting member being fixed to one of the base and the mechanical arm Connecting and movably traversing the other of the base and the robot arm to allow the robot arm to swing relative to the base, the elastic member is sleeved on the connecting member, and the elastic supporting member is disposed on the elastic member A circular hole is defined in the base for the connecting member to be inserted. The base is provided with a receiving groove. The elastic supporting member is received in the receiving groove and the middle portion protrudes toward one side to form a half. a spherical support surface that abuts the end of the elastic member.

The connecting member of the above-mentioned manipulator forms an active space with one of the base and the mechanical arm, and the mechanical arm can generate a universal swing after colliding with the peripheral device, can avoid rigid collision with the peripheral device, and can utilize the elastic deformation absorption of the elastic member. The impact generated by the collision protects the robot. When the robot arm is separated from the peripheral equipment, it can also be automatically reset by the elastic force of the elastic member.

20‧‧‧ Robot

21‧‧‧Base

212‧‧‧Boss

2124‧‧‧ accommodating slots

213‧‧‧ mounting holes

214‧‧‧Threaded holes

23‧‧‧ Robotic arm

231‧‧‧ Subject

232‧‧‧Connector

234‧‧‧connection hole

2341‧‧‧Matement Department

2343‧‧‧First Housing Department

2345‧‧‧Second accommodating department

25‧‧‧Flexible parts

27‧‧‧Connecting parts

271‧‧‧Guide

273‧‧‧Apartment

275‧‧‧Threaded Department

28‧‧‧elastic support

281‧‧‧Support surface

282‧‧‧ round hole

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a robot in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an exploded perspective view of the manipulator shown in FIG. 1.

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the manipulator shown in FIG. 1.

The manipulator of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 simultaneously, the robot 20 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a base 21, a robot arm 23, a plurality of elastic members 25, a plurality of connecting members 27, and a plurality of elastic supporting members 28.

The base 21 is a disk body, and one side thereof protrudes in the axial direction to form a cylindrical boss 212. The peripheral edge of the base 21 is provided with a plurality of mounting holes 213 which are disposed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and the plurality of mounting holes 213 are for fixed connection with the spindle that drives the movement of the robot 20. The base 21 further includes an eight-threaded hole 214 extending through the base 21, and the eight-threaded holes 214 are circumferentially equally spaced around the periphery of the boss 212. Each of the threaded holes 214 is further formed with a receiving groove 2124 at one end thereof.

The robot arm 23 is substantially axisymmetric and the axis of symmetry is the axis a. The robot arm 23 includes a main body 231 and a connecting seat 232 provided at one end of the main body 231. The body 231 is generally an elongated cylinder having a free end for connecting a working component such as a mechanical gripper, a clamp, a suction cup, and the like. The connecting seat 232 is a disk body, and the peripheral edge thereof is provided with a connecting hole 234 extending through the connecting seat 232 in one-to-one correspondence with the eight threaded holes 214 of the base 21. Each of the connecting holes 234 includes a matching portion 2341 and a first receiving portion 2343 and a second receiving portion 2345 respectively disposed at two ends of the engaging portion 2341.

The elastic member 25 is used to generate an elastic force and can be axially oscillated, and can be in the form of a coil spring and a cylindrical spring. In this embodiment, the elastic member 25 is a cylindrical compression spring and has a plurality of coils.

The connecting member 27 is substantially a cylindrical body, and includes a guiding portion 271 and is respectively disposed on the guiding portion 271 The abutting portion 273 and the threaded portion 275 at both ends. The outer diameter of the guiding portion 271 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the engaging portion 2341 of the connecting hole 234 of the robot arm 23, and is configured to movably penetrate the engaging portion 2341 to form an active space. In this embodiment, the matching gap between the guiding portion 271 and the engaging portion 2341 is approximately 0.2 mm. The abutting portion 273 is a flange provided at one end of the guiding portion 271. The abutment portion 273 is also formed with a hexagonal recess to facilitate rotation of the connector 27 using a wrench.

The elastic support member 28 is a spring piece for providing an elastic force in the direction of the symmetry axis a of the robot arm 23. The central portion of the elastic support member 28 protrudes toward one side and forms a semi-spherical support surface 281. The central portion of the elastic support member 28 is further provided with a circular hole 282 for the connecting member 27 to pass through.

When assembling, the initial position of the robot 20 is first determined, that is, the axis of symmetry a of the robot arm 23 is substantially perpendicular to the base 21 and has a stable state. The elastic support members 28 are disposed in the receiving grooves 2124 of the base 21, and the supporting surface 281 of the elastic supporting member 28 faces the outside of the receiving groove 2124. One end of each elastic member 25 abuts against the support surface 281. Since the support surface 281 is a hemispherical surface, each elastic member 25 can be kept substantially perpendicular to the base 21. The connecting member 27 is sequentially passed through the connecting hole 234 of the robot arm 23, the elastic member 25, and the circular hole 282 of the elastic supporting member 28, and is screwed and locked with the threaded hole 214 of the base 21. At this time, the elastic members 25 and the elastic supporting members 28 are elastically deformed by the pressing, and the abutting portion 273 of the connecting member 27 abuts against the first receiving portion 2343 of the connecting hole 234 of the robot arm 23. Since the mechanical properties of the elastic members 25 and the elastic support members 28 are substantially the same, the robot arm 23 can be kept substantially perpendicular to the base 21 in the initial state. At the same time, the guiding portion 271 of the connecting member 27 is in a clearance fit with the engaging portion 2341 of the connecting hole 234 of the robot arm 23, thereby allowing the mechanical arm 23 to swing in a small amplitude in the axial direction.

In order to ensure the accuracy of the initial position of the robot 20, it is also possible to use a level or A measuring device such as a dial gauge corrects the initial position of the robot arm 23 by adjusting each of the connecting members 27 such that the axis of symmetry a of the robot arm 23 is perpendicular to the base 21.

In use, working parts such as a mechanical gripper, a clamp for holding the workpiece, a suction cup for sucking the workpiece, and the like can be attached to the free end of the robot arm 23. When the mechanical arm 23 collides with the peripheral device during the working process, since the guiding portion 271 of the connecting member 27 and the engaging portion 2341 of the connecting hole 234 have a movable gap, the robot arm 23 can generate a universal swing to avoid the peripheral device. . The impact force can be transmitted to the elastic member 25 and the elastic support member 28 by the mechanical arm 23. The elastic member 25 and the elastic support member 28 are elastically deformed under the impact force to absorb the impact generated by the collision, thereby effectively avoiding the mechanical action. The arm 23 is damaged by an external force impact. Since the eight elastic members 25 are equally spaced on one circumference, the mechanical arm 23 is relatively uniform in force, and the universal swing can be easily realized.

When the robot arm 23 is separated from the peripheral device, the deformation of each of the elastic members 25 and the elastic support members 28 is gradually restored, and the robot arm 23 swings back to the initial position. Among them, the elastic member 25 mainly provides the elastic force for swinging the mechanical arm 23 from the yaw position to the initial position, and the elastic support member 28 mainly provides the elastic force for holding the mechanical arm 23 in the initial position. In this embodiment, the eight elastic members 25 are arranged at equal intervals on a circumference, and the elastic members 25 are connected in parallel, thereby increasing the overall rigidity, so that the mechanical arm 23 can quickly return to the original shape, and the mechanical arm can be enhanced. 23 Stability in the initial state. In addition, the elastic support member 28 disposed in the receiving groove 2124 of the base 21 can abut the end of the elastic member 25 by the hemispherical supporting surface 281 to guide the elastic member 25 to make the elastic member 25 and the base 21 is substantially vertical so that after the mechanical arm 23 swings back, the elastic member 25 is only forced in the axial direction, thereby contributing to an improvement in the resetting accuracy of the robot arm 23. By using the elastic member 25 in combination with the elastic support member 28, the mechanical arm 23 can have a higher reset precision. In this embodiment, the resetting accuracy of the robot arm 23 in any direction can be within 0.02 mm. It can be understood that in the case where the re-accuracy requirement is low, for example, when only the reset accuracy is within 0.05 mm, the elastic support member 28 can be omitted, and only the elastic member 25 can be used for resetting.

In summary, the present invention has indeed met the requirements of the invention patent, and has filed a patent application according to law. However, the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it is not possible to limit the scope of the patent application of the present invention. Equivalent modifications or variations made by persons skilled in the art in light of the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

20‧‧‧ Robot

21‧‧‧Base

212‧‧‧Boss

213‧‧‧ mounting holes

23‧‧‧ Robotic arm

232‧‧‧Connector

25‧‧‧Flexible parts

27‧‧‧Connecting parts

Claims (8)

A robot comprising a base and a robot arm, the improvement comprising: the robot further comprising an elastic member, a connecting member and an elastic support member, the elastic member abutting between the base and the mechanical arm, the connecting member and the connecting member One of the base and the mechanical arm is fixedly connected, and the base and the other of the robot arms are movably disposed to allow the mechanical arm to swing relative to the base, and the elastic member is sleeved on the connecting member, the elasticity The supporting member is disposed between the elastic member and the base and has a circular hole for the connecting member to pass through. The base is provided with a receiving groove, and the elastic supporting member is received in the receiving groove and the middle portion thereof Projecting to one side to form a hemispherical support surface that abuts the end of the elastic member. The robot of claim 1, wherein the robot comprises at least three elastic members, and the at least three elastic members are equally spaced on the same circumference. The robot of claim 2, wherein the number of the connectors is the same as the number of the elastic members, and each of the elastic members is sleeved on a connecting member. The robot of claim 3, wherein the robot arm is provided with a connecting hole equal in number to the elastic member, and each of the connecting members is movably disposed with a connecting hole, and the connecting member and the connecting hole are The mating clearance is equal to or less than 0.2 mm. The robot of claim 4, wherein the connecting member comprises a guiding portion and an abutting portion and a threaded portion respectively disposed at the two ends of the guiding portion, and the connecting portion of the guiding portion and the robot arm The abutting portion abuts against the mechanical arm, and the base is provided with a threaded hole that is screwed into the threaded portion. The robot of claim 5, wherein the base is a disk body, and the circumference thereof The rim is provided with a plurality of mounting holes that are equally spaced in the circumferential direction and are used to mount the robot. The robot according to claim 6, wherein one side of the base protrudes in the axial direction to form a cylindrical boss, and the threaded holes provided on the base are circumferentially equally spaced around the periphery of the boss. . The robot of claim 1, wherein the elastic member is a spiral compression spring.