WO2008007517A1

WO2008007517A1 - Multi-joint robot and wiring method

Info

Publication number: WO2008007517A1
Application number: PCT/JP2007/062156
Authority: WO
Inventors: Satoshi Sueyoshi; Kentaro Tanaka; Tomohiro Matsuo
Original assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
Priority date: 2006-07-11
Filing date: 2007-06-15
Publication date: 2008-01-17
Also published as: JPWO2008007517A1; KR20080102223A; CN101484281A; JP4911371B2; TW200817150A; CN101484281B; TWI329558B; KR101108767B1

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To provide a multi-joint robot with increased productivity, used for loading and unloading thin sheet-like workpieces, such as glass substrates for liquid crystal and semiconductor wafers, into and from a stocker. [MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS] The multi-joint robot (1) has a hand part (8) for placing an object to be carried; multi-joint arms (1) connected to the hand part (8), having at least two or more rotating joints (3, 4, 5), extending/retracting so as to move the hand part (8) in one direction, and disposed so as to face each other in the axial direction; a support member (10) for connecting together the multi-joint arms (2) and a moving mechanism (11) moving in the vertical direction; and a pedestal (13) installed on the moving mechanism (11) and having a swing function. A connection hole (23) is formed in the rotation center of at least one of the rotating joints (3, 4, 5).

Description

Specification

Articulated robot and wiring method

Technical field

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an articulated robot for putting a thin plate-like workpiece such as a glass substrate for liquid crystal or a semiconductor wafer into and out of stock force.

Background art

[0002] Conventional articulated robots have been proposed in which the turning radius of the articulated robot is reduced when the pedestal is rotated by offsetting the rotational center of the shoulder joint and the rotational center of the pedestal. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

As shown in FIG. 5, the conventional articulated robot 1 includes two sets of arms 2 that are rotatably connected by joint portions 3, 4, and 5 to transmit a rotational force from a rotational drive source and perform a desired operation. Therefore, the rotation center axis of the joint portion 3 at the base end provided in the two sets of arms 2 is arranged vertically (or in the axial direction).

[0003] The articulated robot 1 includes a double-threaded arm 2, and one arm drive type device 2 is used for supplying and the other is used for taking out, and a workpiece 9 supplying operation and another workpiece 9 extracting operation are performed. It is possible to do it at the same time.

Further, the conventional articulated robot 1 is configured such that the hand portion 8 that holds the workpiece 9 by the arm 2 can be linearly moved in the direction of taking out and supplying the workpiece 9 indicated by an arrow X in the figure.

In addition, the conventional articulated robot 1 includes a moving member 11 that moves the support member 10 provided with the arm 2 up and down (hereinafter referred to as the up-and-down moving mechanism 11) so that the vertical position of the arm 2 can be adjusted. It is said. The pedestal 13 of the vertical movement mechanism 11 is rotatably provided so that the articulated robot 1 can be turned to change its direction.

Further, in the articulated robot 1 of the present embodiment, the base 13 is mounted on the base in the direction indicated by the arrow Y in the figure, that is, in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the hand unit 8 and the vertical moving direction of the support member 10. It is provided so as to be movable with respect to 14, and the position of the vertical movement mechanism 11 can be adjusted. Further, the two sets of arms 2 provided in the conventional articulated robot 1 have, for example, a plurality of joint parts, that is, the articulated robot 1 is configured as a horizontal articulated robot. In this embodiment, the arm 2 includes a first arm 6 (hereinafter referred to as the upper arm 6), a second arm 7 connected to the upper arm 6 (hereinafter referred to as the forearm 7), and a work arm 9 connected to the forearm 7. And a hand portion 8 for holding the

The base end of the upper arm 6 is connected to the support member 10 via a drive shaft to constitute a rotatable joint 3 (hereinafter referred to as a shoulder joint 3). This shoulder joint 3 becomes the joint 3 at the base end of the arm 2. Further, the distal end of the upper arm 6 and the proximal end of the forearm 7 are connected via a drive shaft to constitute a rotatable joint 4 (hereinafter referred to as an elbow joint 4). Further, the tip of the forearm 7 and the hand portion 8 are connected via a drive shaft to constitute a rotatable joint portion 5 (hereinafter referred to as a hand joint portion 5). The shoulder joint part 3 is arranged so as to face in the vertical direction so that the rotation center axis is coaxial.

The arm 2 rotates the shoulder joint portion 3, the elbow joint portion 4 and the hand joint portion 5 by a rotation drive source (not shown) to move the hand portion 8 in the workpiece take-out and supply direction. At this time, in the arm 2, due to the mechanism, the hand portion 8 is directed in the opposite direction, the extended position where the upper arm 6 and the forearm 7 are fully extended, and the contracted position where the upper arm 6 and the forearm 7 are folded. Extend and retract so that it moves linearly between

Patent Document 1: JP 2001-274218 (Pages 4-5, Fig. 1)

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

Articulated robots that take in and out thin plate-like workpieces such as glass substrates for liquid crystals and semiconductor wafers in stock force are required to be processed in a short time as the number of substrates to be processed increases and the number of substrates to be processed increases. For this reason, robots must arrange and process more substrates for the stock force even though the equipment itself becomes larger until the stock force for placing the substrate reaches a height that reaches the ceiling. Is desired. In addition, the number of liquid crystal substrates and semiconductor wafers produced is increasing year by year, and robots are required to have throughput to carry them in order to increase productivity. However, since robots contain machine parts, maintenance is required, and maintenance time is a major factor related to throughput. Therefore, it is desired that maintenance can be easily performed.

However, the conventional articulated robot stores a motor, a pulley, and the like at the base end of the arm, and wires a cable to a sensor arranged at the hand portion. Considering the bending radius of this cable, it has a thick structure in the vertical direction. For this reason, since the interval between the arms cannot be reduced, there arises a problem that the interval for arranging the liquid crystal substrate and the semiconductor substrate in the stocker must be widened. In other words, there has been a problem that productivity is lowered because the number of panels and substrates that can be arranged in the stocker is reduced. To avoid this, it is possible to change the height of the arm when moving it in and out with the vertical movement mechanism. In this case, it takes time to repeat the sequence of moving the arm up and down, and the work time becomes long. The problem was occurring.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and provides an articulated robot for taking in and out a thin plate-like workpiece such as a glass substrate for liquid crystal or a semiconductor wafer with improved productivity. With the goal.

Means for solving the problem

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.

The invention according to claim 1 is connected to the hand unit for placing a transported object and the hand unit, and includes at least two or more rotary joints, and expands and contracts the hand unit to move in one direction. A multi-joint arm comprising a multi-joint arm disposed so as to face in the axial direction, a support member that connects the multi-joint arm and a moving mechanism that moves up and down, and a pedestal having a turning function provided in the moving mechanism. In the joint robot, a hollow connection hole is provided at the rotation center of at least one of the rotary joints.

The invention according to claim 2 is arranged such that a cable passes through the hollow connection hole.

The invention according to claim 3 is such that the single-core cable from which the coating of the multi-core cable is removed is wired so as to pass through at least one of the rotary joints.

In the invention according to claim 4, the single-core cable from which the coating of the multicore cable is removed is wired so as to pass through at least one of the rotary joints through the hollow connection hole provided in the rotary joint. It is a thing. The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that at least one of the single-core cables from which the sheath of the multi-core cable is removed passes through the hollow connection holes provided in the rotary joints, and any of the hollow connection holes. At one of the end faces, the single-core cable is wired in a fountain shape so that the single-core cable passes on the circumference when the single-core cable exits.

In the invention of claim 6, the single-core cable from which the sheath of the multi-core cable is removed is wired so as to pass through at least one of the rotary joints, and when the multi-core cable is changed to the single-core cable, the single-core cable is A bundling means for fixing the cable is provided.

The invention described in claim 7 is such that the bundling means is provided in the hollow portion of the hollow connecting hole.

In the invention according to claim 8, the binding means has a substantially C-shaped cross section, and the C-shaped opening portion has a fastening portion such as a screw.

The invention according to claim 9 is the one in which the rotary joint provided in the support member is provided with a hollow connection hole, and the cable passing through the rotary joint is a single-core cable and wired through the hollow connection hole. It is.

The invention according to claim 10 is connected to a hand unit for placing a transported object and the hand unit,

A multi-joint arm provided with at least two or more rotary joints, extending and contracting to move the hand part in one direction, and arranged to face each other in the axial direction, and a movement to move up and down with the multi-joint arm In an articulated robot comprising a support member that connects a mechanism and a pedestal having a turning function provided in the moving mechanism, the axial thickness of the upper arm that is rotatably connected to the support member is The thickness is the same as or thinner than the thickness of the support member.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hand unit for placing a transported object, the hand unit coupled to the hand unit, including at least two or more rotary joints, and the hand unit is expanded and contracted to move in one direction. A multi-joint arm arranged to face in the axial direction; a support member that connects the multi-joint arm and a moving mechanism that moves up and down; and a pedestal that has a turning function provided in the moving mechanism. In this multi-joint robot wiring method, a cable is wired through a hollow connection hole provided in the rotary joint. The invention according to claim 12 is such that the cable passing through the rotary joint is wired in a single core cable.

The invention's effect

[0006] According to the inventions of claims 1 to 9 and claims 11 and 12, the hollow joint hole is provided in the rotary joint, so that the cable is not rotationally connected and the cable is not twisted by the member. Furthermore, by routing the cable in the hollow connection hole, the cable can be routed without arranging a wiring path, and thus the size can be reduced. In addition, by making the cable passing through the hollow connection hole into a multicore cable force single core cable, the cable's radius of curvature can be reduced, and by removing unnecessary space, the vertical thickness of the rotary joint is reduced. can do. According to the invention of claim 10, the axial thickness of the upper arm rotatably connected to the support member is formed to be equal to or thinner than the thickness of the support member. Since the vertical thickness of the rotary joint can be reduced, the arm spacing can be narrowed, and a large number of liquid crystal substrates and semiconductor substrates can be placed in the stocker, improving productivity. It is.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an articulated robot showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of an articulated robot showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of a rotary joint of an articulated robot showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a rotary joint of an articulated robot showing an embodiment of the present invention.

[Figure 5] Perspective view of a conventional articulated robot

Explanation of symbols

[0008] 1 Articulated robot

2 arms

21 Upper arm

22 Lower arm

3 Shoulder joint

4 Elbow joint

5 Hand joint 7 Forearm

8 Hand part

9 Work

10 Support member

11 Vertical movement mechanism

12 columns

13 pedestal

14 base

16 = 3 ram blocks

17 Motor

18 pulley

19 Benoleto

20 cable

201 multi-core cable

202 single core cable

23 Hollow connection hole

24 Bundling means

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Example 1

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an articulated robot according to the present invention.

The articulated robot 1 of the present invention includes two sets of arms 2 that are rotatably connected by joint portions 3, 4, and 5 to transmit a rotational force from a rotational drive source and perform a desired operation. Further, the hand unit 8 that holds the workpiece 9 by the arm 2 is configured to be linearly movable in the direction of taking out the workpiece 9 indicated by an arrow X in the drawing. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the relationship between the rotation center axes of the base joints 3 provided in the two arms 2 is in the moving direction of the hand part 8 with respect to the base joints 3 of the upper arm. Position the joint 3 at the base end of the lower arm so that it is displaced It is configured as follows.

Further, the articulated robot 1 has a structure in which columns 12 divided into a plurality of blocks are connected in order to cope with an increase in stock force (not shown). Thus, the articulated robot 1 having a height corresponding to the high floor is formed by sequentially connecting the column blocks 16. In this embodiment, four column blocks 16 are connected.

Further, the arm 2 is provided, and a vertical movement member 11 for moving the support member 10 up and down is provided so that the vertical position of the arm 2 can be adjusted. The pedestal 13 of the vertical movement mechanism 11 is rotatably provided so that the articulated robot 1 can be turned to change its direction. Here, the vertical movement mechanism 11 is disposed in the same direction as the hand movement direction, and the support member 10 protrudes from the vertical drive mechanism 11 in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the hand, and the joint portion at the base end of the arm Linked to 3.

Next, the detailed structure of the arm will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the joint 3 at the base end of the arm 2 includes a motor 17 for turning the arm 2, a pulley 18 and a belt 19 connected to the motor 17, and the like. , Don't show the figure provided for the 8th! The sensor cable 20 is routed through the hollow connection hole 23. In order to reduce the thickness of the joint 3 at the proximal end, it is necessary to bend the cable 20 when the sensor cable 20 enters the hollow connection hole 23 from the upper arm 6, but a plurality of single-core cables are bundled. Since the radius of curvature increases when the multicore cable 201 is bent, the coating of the multicore cable 201 is removed in the section from the inside of the hollow connection hole 23 to the upper arm 6 so that the bend radius is reduced in the present invention. A single-core cable 202 is formed, and when the single-core cable 201 exits from the hollow connection hole 23 to the upper arm 6, it is wired in a fountain shape so that the single-core cable 202 passes on the circumference, and is wired to the upper arm 6. The At this time, when the single-core cable 202 is bundled into the multi-core cable 201, the single-core cable 201 can be bundled together by the bundling means 25. In this embodiment, the bundling means 25 is provided in the inside of the connecting hole 23 and the upper arm 6 and has a shape having a substantially C-shaped cross section and a C-shaped opening having a fastening portion such as a screw. With this structure, the radius of curvature of the sensor cable 20 can be reduced, the thickness of the joint 3 at the proximal end can be made thinner than the thickness of the support member 10, and the distance between the two arms can be reduced. Yes. In this embodiment, the force described for the wiring structure between the support member and the upper arm is not limited to this. Of course, the same method can be used between the upper arm and the forearm or between the forearm and the hand.

The difference between the present invention and Patent Document 1 is that the cable passing through each joint is composed of a single-core cable, and the axial radius of the arm is reduced by reducing the radius of curvature of the cable. It is the part formed so that a space | interval may be arrange | positioned narrowly.

Next, the operation will be described. The two sets of arms 2 provided in the articulated robot 1 of the present invention have, for example, a plurality of joint portions, that is, the articulated robot 1 is configured as a horizontal articulated robot. The arm 2 in this embodiment has a structure similar to that of the conventional arm 2.

The base end of the upper arm 6 is connected to the support member 10 via a drive shaft to form a rotatable shoulder joint 3. This shoulder joint 3 becomes the joint 3 at the base end of the arm 2. Further, the distal end of the upper arm 6 and the proximal end of the forearm 7 are connected via a drive shaft to constitute a rotatable elbow joint 4. Further, the tip of the forearm 7 and the hand portion 8 are connected via a drive shaft to constitute a rotatable hand joint portion 5.

[0013] The arm 2 rotates the shoulder joint 3, the elbow joint 4, and the hand joint 5 by a rotation drive source (not shown), and moves the hand 8 in the workpiece take-out and supply direction. At this time, in the arm 2, due to the mechanism, the hand portion 8 is directed in the opposite direction, the extended position where the upper arm 6 and the forearm 7 are fully extended, and the contracted position where the upper arm 6 and the forearm 7 are folded. Extends and retracts so that it moves linearly between.

Industrial applicability

[0014] Since the article replacement work can be performed by placing the article on such a hand portion and transporting it, the present invention can also be applied to a work of transporting a thick plate or box-shaped article.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A hand unit for placing a transported object and the hand unit, which includes at least two rotary joints, expands and contracts so that the hand unit moves in one direction, and faces the axial direction A multi-joint robot comprising: a multi-joint arm disposed on the base; a support member that connects the multi-joint arm to a moving mechanism that moves up and down; and a pedestal having a turning function provided in the moving mechanism.

An articulated robot comprising a hollow connection hole in at least one of the rotary joints.

[2] The hollow connection hole is arranged so that a cable passes therethrough.

The articulated robot according to 1.

[3] The multi-joint robot according to claim 1, wherein the single-core cable from which the sheath of the multi-core cable is removed is wired so as to pass through at least one of the rotary joints.

[4] The single-core cable from which the sheath of the multicore cable has been removed is wired so as to pass through at least one of the rotary joints through a hollow connection hole provided in the rotary joint. The articulated robot according to claim 1.

[5] The single-core cable from which the coating of the multicore cable has been removed passes through at least one of the rotary joints through the hollow connection hole provided in the rotary joint, and at one end surface of the hollow connection hole, 2. The articulated robot according to claim 1, wherein the multi-joint robot is wired in a fountain shape so that the single-core cable passes on the circumference when the single-core cable comes out.

[6] Bundling means for fixing the single-core cable when the single-core cable from which the coating of the multi-core cable has been removed is wired so as to pass through at least one of the rotary joints and is changed from the multi-core cable to the single-core cable. The articulated robot according to claim 1, further comprising:

7. The articulated robot according to claim 6, wherein the binding means is provided in a hollow portion of a hollow connection hole.

8. The articulated robot according to claim 6, wherein the binding means has a substantially C-shaped cross section, and the C-shaped opening has a fastening portion such as a screw.

[9] The rotary joint provided in the support member has a hollow connection hole, and a cable passing through the rotary joint becomes a single-core cable force and is wired through the hollow connection hole. The articulated robot according to claim 1, wherein:

[10] A hand unit for placing a transported object and the hand unit, which includes at least two or more rotary joints, expands and contracts so that the hand unit moves in one direction, and faces the axial direction. A multi-joint robot comprising: a multi-joint arm disposed on the base; a support member that connects the multi-joint arm to a moving mechanism that moves up and down; and a pedestal having a turning function provided in the moving mechanism.

An articulated robot characterized in that an axial thickness of an upper arm that is rotatably connected to the support member is formed to be equal to or thinner than a thickness of the support member.

[11] A hand unit for placing a transported object, coupled to the hand unit, including at least two or more rotary joints, extending and contracting the hand unit to move in one direction, and facing the axial direction Cabling for an articulated robot comprising: a multi-joint arm arranged on the base; a support member that connects the articulated arm to a moving mechanism that moves up and down; and a pedestal having a turning function provided in the moving mechanism.ぉ to the way

A wiring method for an articulated robot, wherein a cable is routed through a hollow connection hole provided in the rotary joint.

[12] A wiring method for an articulated robot, wherein the cable passing through the rotary joint is wired with a single-core cable.