WO2007122717A1

WO2007122717A1 - Robot jacket

Info

Publication number: WO2007122717A1
Application number: PCT/JP2006/308359
Authority: WO
Inventors: Masayuki Yazawa; Tomiko Kato; Atsushi Kanda; Nobuyuki Shinozaki
Original assignee: Guardner Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-04-20
Filing date: 2006-04-20
Publication date: 2007-11-01
Also published as: JPWO2007122717A1

Abstract

A robot jacket (10) for covering the surface of a painting robot (100). The robot jacket (10) is formed from a knit material and is constructed in a segmented manner from a part (12) for a stationary base, a part (20) for a rotation base, a part (36) for an arm, a part (50) for a wrist, and a part (54) for a spray gun.

Description

Specification

Robot jacket

Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a jacket (or cover) that covers the surface of an industrial robot or the like, and more specifically relates to improvement of attachment to a robot, reduction of dust generation, and protection of the robot.

Background art

[0002] Industrial robots that work on behalf of humans are widely used in automobiles and factories that produce electronic components. For example, there is a painting robot that paints car bodies as an industrial robot used in automobile production plants. The painting robot includes a plurality of arms and rotating parts, which can perform complex movements similar to human movements. However, the paint may adhere to the robot itself during painting, and the paint adhering to the surface may fall onto the product (workpiece). If the paint adhering to the robot itself dries and the paint falls onto the vehicle body, it may cause poor painting. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the adhered paint regularly.

[0003] For this reason, conventionally, a plastic sheet is wound around the robot, or the robot is covered with a large bag-like cover to prevent the paint from adhering to the robot. In addition, as a background art, there is an “arm cover of a ceiling-suspended mapper” described in Patent Document 1 below. According to this, the cover is divided into a plurality of jackets to cover the entire mapper in a cylindrical shape. The jackets are kept dustproof by overlapping each other at the connecting portion, and the bending operation shaft portion has a bellows structure, thereby ensuring followability to the bending operation. Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 2525267

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0004] However, the background art as described above has the following disadvantages. First, the plastic sheet wrapping method takes a lot of time to prepare for the painting process. Especially when the robot is large or installed in a high place, Even more so, you have to work with it. On the other hand, in the method using a large bag-shaped cover, the cover does not fit the robot, and the ground flutters due to the movement of the robot, resulting in dust generation. Needless to say, if dust is generated, problems such as adhesion to the product may occur. Furthermore, in the background art described in Patent Document 1, since the bellows are used, it may not always be preferable for the rotation operation, and when the robot moves with a large gap or space between the robot and the jacket. A considerable amount of air enters and exits, causing dust generation.

[0005] The present invention focuses on the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a robot jacket that can improve dusting by increasing adhesion to the robot and can also protect the robot itself. It is. Another object is to improve the operation rate by shortening the maintenance time of the robot by using the robot jacket.

Means for solving the problem

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a jacket that covers the surface of a robot, wherein the jacket body is formed of a knitted material having at least one kind of stretchability. .

[0007] Another invention is a jacket that covers the surface of a robot, and is characterized by being formed by a combination of a knitted material having at least one kind of stretchability and other materials.

[0008] One of the main forms is characterized in that the yarn of the knitted material is formed of long fibers. Another aspect is characterized in that the knitted material is formed of a long thread.

[0009] Yet another embodiment is characterized in that the jacket is composed of a plurality of parts corresponding to the shape of the robot. Yet another embodiment is characterized in that a connecting means for connecting the plurality of parts is provided. Yet another embodiment is characterized in that the plurality of parts have adjacent ends overlapping each other.

[0010] Yet another embodiment is characterized in that the stretchability of the end portion of the jacket or the end portion of the part formed of the knitted material is higher than the stretchability of other portions. Yet another embodiment is characterized in that the robot is a painting robot. The above and other objects of the present invention, Features and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawing power.

The invention's effect

[0011] According to the present invention, since the jacket body covering the surface of the robot is formed using at least one kind of knitted material, the elasticity of the knitted material improves the adhesion to the robot. It is possible to reduce dust and protect the robot itself. Further, the effect of further reducing dust generation can be obtained by forming the yarn of the knitted material with long fibers or forming the knitted material with a long yarn.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing Embodiment 1 of the present invention, (A) is a perspective view showing a state in which the embodiment is mounted on a robot, and (B) is an external perspective view of the robot. FIG.

[FIG. 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the cover fabric, (A) is a diagram showing the fabric of Example 1, and (B) is a diagram showing a comparative fabric.

Explanation of symbols

[0013] 10: Robot jacket

12: Parts for fixed base

12A: Rim

14A, 14B, 16A, 16B, 22A, 22B, 24A, 24B, 26A, 26B: String

18, 28, 34, 38: Fastener

19: Tack

20: Parts for swivel base

20A: Rim

30: Switching line

32: Tack

36: Arm parts

36A, 36B

37: Curve

40, 42, 44, 46: gather

50: Wrist parts 50A, 50B: terminal

54: Parts for spray gun

54A, 54B: End

60: Yarn

62: Fabric

70: Yarn

72: Fabric

74: Fiber end

76: Knot

78: Yarn end

100: painting robot

102: Fixed base

104: swivel base

106, 108: Arm

110: wrist

112: Spray gun

112A: Tip

120: Floor

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0014] While there may be many embodiments of the present invention, an appropriate number of examples are provided and described in detail herein.

Example 1

First, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. FIG. 1 (A) is a perspective view showing a state in which the jacket of this embodiment is attached to the robot, and FIG. 1 (B) is an external perspective view of the robot. FIG. 2 (A) is an enlarged view showing the fabric of the robot cover of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 (B) is an enlarged view showing the fabric of the comparative example. The robot jacket of the present invention covers the surface of various types of industrial robots and is used as a jacket (or cover) for the painting robot 100 in this embodiment as shown in FIG. The painting robot As shown in Fig. 1 (B), 100 is a type that is stationary on the floor 120, fixed base 102, swivel base 104, first arm 106, second arm 108, wrist 110, spray gun 1 12, and these parts can be rotated or swiveled to enable complex operations. The illustrated example is an example, and the present invention can be applied to various known painting robots.

As shown in FIG. 1 (A), the robot jacket 10 of this embodiment includes a fixed base part 12 that covers the fixed base 102, a turning base part 20 that covers the turning base 104, and the first The arm part 36 covers the arm 106 and the second arm 108, the wrist part 50 covers the wrist 110, and the spray gun part 54 covers the spray gun 112.

As shown in FIG. 2 (A), the fabric 62 for forming these parts is a knitted material (or knitted material) made by knitting a thread 60. Since the knitted material is excellent in stretchability unlike the woven material, it is suitable for improving the fit to the painting robot 100. In addition, the elasticity can be easily adjusted by changing the material and knitting method of the yarn 60. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the yarn 60 is formed of a long fiber, the surface force of the fabric 62 is less likely to protrude from the end of the fiber, and dust generation can be greatly reduced. it can. In addition, using very long thread 60 itself and reducing the knots in the middle of green 62 is effective in reducing dust generation. In the comparative example, as shown in FIG. 2 (B), in the fabric 72 formed by the yarn 70 using short fibers, the fiber end 74 also jumps out the surface force of the fabric 72. It is easy to generate dust by the flow. In addition, when the thread 70 itself is short and the knot 76 is formed, the thread end 78 may come out on the surface, so that dust is easily generated. Compared to such a comparative example, the fabric 62 of the present embodiment can be considered as a suitable material for the robot jacket in terms of reducing dust generation and elasticity.

Next, each of the parts will be described. Each part is previously cut and sewed according to the shape of the painting robot 100 to be mounted. First, the fixed base part 12 is formed in a substantially belt-like shape that can be wound around the side surface of the fixed base 102. The fixed base 102 is connected to the fixed base 102 by connecting the strings 14A and 14B provided at both ends and the strings 16A and 16B. With Is possible. Further, one edge 12A of the fixed base part 12 is set to a width that reaches the floor 120 and does not expose the fixed base 102. The other edge can be connected by the fastener 18 in a state of being overlapped with the edge 20A of the turning base part 20. Further, a tack 19 is provided at an appropriate position of the fixed base part 12 (on the fastener 18 side in the illustrated example) so as to match the shape of the fixed base 102.

[0019] The turning base part 20 can be attached to the turning base 104 by tying fasteners 28 provided at the end portions and strings 22A, 22B, 24A, 24B, 26A, 26B. Further, the lower edge 20A is connected to the fixed base part 12 by the fastener 18, and the upper edge can be connected to an arm part 36 to be described later by another fastener 34. In addition, the upper portion is sunk by a tack 32 provided below the switching line 30.

[0020] The arm part 36 covers both the first arm 106 and the second arm 108 at the same time. By closing the fastener 38, the entire part 36 can be formed into a substantially cylindrical shape. At the same time, the position corresponding to the connection portion of the first arm 106 and the second arm 108 is cut so that the cloth itself draws an appropriate curve 37 so that the movement of the connection portion is not hindered. 'Sewed. Further, gathers 40 and 42 are formed at appropriate positions on both sides of the curve 37 by rubber or the like (not shown) so as to improve the mounting property to the arms 106 and 108. In addition, the portions corresponding to the second arm 108 are also provided with gathers 44 and 46 made of rubber or the like, not shown at appropriate positions.

[0021] It should be noted that the rubber or the like (not shown) may be provided according to the shape of the painting robot 100, which is not necessarily provided as a force that is effective for enhancing the fit. In addition, the position to be provided may be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, it is possible to follow the shape of the painting robot 100 by various known methods such as providing a tack that is not limited to rubber. One end 36A of the arm part 36 is connected to the turning base part 20 by the fastener 34. The other end 36B is formed so that the mouth becomes narrower by using rubber, and is overlapped with an end 50A of a wrist part 50 described later.

[0022] Next, the wrist part 50 as a whole is initially formed into a substantially cylindrical shape, and the wrist 110 is It is attached by covering. In the present embodiment, the wrist part 50 is made of a cloth having a generally higher expansion / contraction than the above-mentioned parts (for example, a cloth like a stocking), so that it is not necessary to use a fastener or the like. The one end portion 50A can be attached to the painting robot 10 by overlapping the end portion 36B of the arm part 36. The other end 50B of the wrist part 50 is overlapped with one end 54A of a spray gun part 54 described later. Finally, the spray gun part 54 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape by the same fabric as the wrist part 50, and can cover almost the entire spray gun 112. One end 54A of the spray gun part 54 is overlapped with one end 50B of the wrist part 50, and the tip 112A of the spray gun is exposed from the other end 54B. It should be noted that, here, the wrist part 50 and the spray gun part 54 are prepared separately as a single cylindrical part of a length that can cover both the wrist 110 and the spray gun 112. Try to form it.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The fixed robot part 12, turning base part 20, arm part 36, wrist part 50, spray gun part 54 are attached to the painting robot 100 shown in Fig. 1 (B). And cover the surface. In such a state, paint is sprayed from the spray gun 112, and coating of a metal object (not shown) is started. During painting, the painting robot 100 moves in a complicated manner, but all the parts that make up the robot jacket 10 are made of a stretchable knitted material and the fabric is fitted to the robot. This can reduce dust generation that does not flutter. In addition, even if a part of the sprayed paint repels the coating robot 100, the fabric absorbs the paint. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the paint from adhering directly to the coating robot 100 and to prevent unnecessary paint from adhering to the metal object. The fixed base part 12, the swivel base part 20, the arm part 36, the wrist part 50, and the spray gun part 54 can be replaced when the dirt becomes severe. Let's replace it.

Thus, according to the first embodiment, there are the following effects.

(1) The robot jacket 10 shall be formed of a knitted material (knit material) having elasticity. Therefore, it can fit in the painting robot 100 and respond to its movement, so dust generation can be greatly reduced.

(2) Since the paint can be adsorbed by the robot jacket 10, the painting robot 100 can be protected and maintenance can be facilitated, and the occurrence of defective products due to the fall of the paint can be suppressed.

(3) By forming the yarn 60 forming the fabric 62 with long fibers and using the yarn 60 itself that is long, it is possible to further reduce dust generation.

(4) Fixed base parts 12, turning base parts 20, arm parts 36, wrist parts 50, spray gun parts 54, so that the shape of the painting robot 100 can be supported. it can.

(5) Since the adhering paint can be disposed of by simply replacing the robot jacket 10, the operation stop time can be shortened by cleaning (maintenance) the coating port bot 100 and the operating rate can be improved.

[0025] There are many embodiments of the present invention, and various modifications can be made based on the above disclosure. For example, the following are included.

(1) The shapes and dimensions shown in the above embodiments are examples, and may be appropriately changed as necessary.

(2) The material forming the robot jacket 10 is also an example, and various known knitted materials (-tatt materials) may be used. For example, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to use a knitted material obtained by using various known knitting methods such as the force of using the material of Melias knitting. In addition, even if it is a knitted material using short yarn of fibers, it can be applied by applying appropriate treatment to suppress dust generation. Longer fibers are more effective in reducing dust generation. More convenient.

[0026] (3) The number of divisions of the robot jacket 10 shown in the above embodiment is an example, and may be appropriately increased or decreased according to the shape or size of the target robot.

(4) The method of attaching the parts and the method of connecting the parts are also examples. In addition to the fasteners, various other known methods such as rubber and Velcro (registered trademark) may be applied. . Moreover, it is not necessary to connect them. It is also possible to simply overlap the ends having strong elasticity. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the robot is exposed from between the parts. This is just an example, and if you don't need it, you can have a configuration that exposes part of the robot!

[0027] (5) In the above-described embodiment, the forces S and 32 and the gathers 40 to 46 improve the fit of each part to the painting robot 100 S, and these tacks and gathers are used as necessary. What is necessary is just to provide. Also, a combination of tacks and gathers may be provided in one part.

[0028] (6) In the above embodiment, the entire robot jacket 10 is formed of a knitted material. However, if necessary, the portion using the knitted material is increased or decreased, and only a part of the knitted material is used as the knitted material. It may be used in combination with other materials. For example, when applied to food-related robots, use knitted materials only for moving parts, and cover other parts with fabrics and materials that have heat resistance, water resistance, oil resistance, heat insulation, etc. Also good. Of course, depending on the application of the robot to be installed, be sure to use a combination of knitted materials and other materials that have chemical resistance and water resistance.

[0029] (7) In the above-described embodiment, the floor-standing type painting robot 100 may be applied to the force ceiling type robot described as an example.

(8) The coating robot 100 is also an example, and the present invention is applicable to robots such as handling robots, welding robots, assembly robots, inspection robots, polishing robots, cleaning robots, food robots, and the like. In addition, it is suitable for mouth bots and the like that are difficult to maintain because it can improve the fit to a robot with a complicated shape to reduce dust generation and protect the robot itself.

Industrial applicability

[0030] According to the present invention, the jacket main body that covers the surface of the robot is formed using at least one kind of knitted material having elasticity, thereby improving the adhesion to the robot and reducing dust generation. Since the robot itself is protected, it can be applied to jackets such as industrial robots. In particular, it is suitable for applications such as a coating robot jacket.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A robot jacket that covers the surface of the robot, and is formed of a knitted material having at least one type of stretchability of the jacket body.

[2] A robot jacket that covers the surface of the robot and is formed by a combination of at least one kind of stretchable knitted material and other materials.

3. The robot jacket according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the yarn of the knitted material is formed of long fibers.

[4] The knitted material is formed of a long thread.

V, the robot jacket described in the gap.

[5] The robot jacket according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the jacket includes a plurality of parts corresponding to the shape of the robot.

6. The mouth hot bucket according to claim 5, wherein a connecting means for connecting the plurality of parts is provided.

[7] The robot jacket according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the plurality of parts have adjacent parts overlapping each other at their ends.

[8] The robot jacket according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the elasticity of the end of the jacket or the end of the part formed of the knitted material is higher than the elasticity of the other part. .

9. The robot jacket according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the robot is a painting robot.