JP3294878B2 - Connector coupling device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector connecting device for connecting two members, each provided with a connector, and connecting connectors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional connector connecting device, for example, as described in US Pat. No. 4,545,723, a connecting member and a connector are aligned by a manipulator and then connected. The members are connected to each other and the connectors are connected to each other. The insertion force for inserting one connector into the other connector is the gripper that constitutes one connecting member.When the cross-section of the other connecting member grips a connecting column having a rhombic shape, the grip finger surface faces the surface of the connecting column. Sliding is obtained by the gripper moving in the connector insertion direction. That is, the insertion force of the connector is obtained by the force by which the gripper grips the connecting column. On the other hand, when pulling out the connector, it is performed by the tip force of the manipulator. By the way, in this connector coupling device, in order to simplify the coupling between the connectors, the connector itself is externally attached to the coupling member, and its electrical contacts are exposed.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional technique, since the connection of the connecting members and the connection of the connectors are simultaneously performed, the load on the manipulator increases, and the manipulator becomes large. There is a problem that it is. The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and provides a connector coupling device capable of reducing the load on a manipulator that operates a connecting member and reducing the size and weight of the manipulator. Aim.

[0004]

According to the present invention, there is provided a connector connecting device for achieving the above object, wherein a connector provided on two members is provided.
Connector on one of the connectors
Insertion / removal direction with respect to the connector provided on the other member
A connector insertion / removal mechanism for reciprocating
The connecting side of each of the two members is
The connector of one member is moved by the connector insertion / extraction mechanism.
Position that can be inserted into the connector of the other member when moved back
Then, the one member is relatively guided to the other member.
Taper portions are formed respectively, and the other member
It is provided with a drive unit for operating the locking portion and the engaging portion, before
The one member is engaged with the locking portion and is capable of being inserted.
Locked to restrict the relative positional relationship between the two members at a fixed position
And the locked portion is engaged with the locking portion.
Provided so as to be displaceable by the operation of the drive unit while maintaining
The displacement of the locked portion causes the one portion
Material connector is at least one of the reciprocating directions.
One of the connector insertion / extraction mechanisms so that it can move in one direction.
The part is connected to the locked part .

[0005]

Here, when the connector which reciprocates is provided with a connector pin, it is preferable to provide a connector protection plate which allows the connector pin of the connector to protrude and retract by the reciprocation of the connector. The above-described connector connecting device includes a member connection detecting unit that detects connection between the one member and the other member, and detects connection between the connector of the one member and the connector of the other member. Connector connection detecting means may be provided.

[0007]

Before connecting the two members, the reciprocally movable connector is located at the retracted position, that is, at the end in the pull-out direction. When the two members are connected by the connecting means, at least one connector is moved to the projecting position, that is, the end in the insertion direction by the connector inserting / extracting means. By this movement, the connectors are connected to each other.

As described above, since the connector can be retracted when the two members are connected, the connection and connection between the members can be performed without simultaneously performing the connection between the members and the connection between the connectors. . Therefore, the manipulator to which one of the two members is attached does not require a driving force enough to simultaneously connect the members and connect the connectors. Here, in those having the tapered portion, one member is relatively guided to the target position of the other member by the tapered portion, so that it is not necessary to keep the alignment of both members accurately before coupling. The two members can be easily connected. Further, in the connector provided with the connector protection plate, when the connectors are not connected to each other, the connector pins are protected by the protection plate, so that the connector pins can be prevented from being damaged.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Various embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, 1
00 is a first connecting member, and 200 is a second connecting member. The first connecting member 100 is attached to the manipulator arm 150 via the force / torque sensor 140,
The contact state at the time of coupling with the coupling member 200 and the load from the second coupling member 200 are detected.

[0010] The first connecting member 100 has a connecting mechanism 101 on the outer peripheral surface and the distal end. Coupling mechanism 10
2, a convex cone portion 102 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the first connecting member 100, and a cone portion 102, as shown in FIG.
Three cone projections 101a, 101a, 101a fixed at positions obtained by equally dividing the circumferential direction of the root of the first connecting member 100, and two fingers 1 protruding from the distal end of the first connecting member 100.
16, 116, and finger projections (locking portions) 117, 1 fixed near the tips of the two fingers 116, respectively.
17 and a finger opening / closing drive mechanism 110 for opening / closing the two fingers 116.

As shown in FIG. 1, the finger opening / closing drive mechanism 110 includes a finger drive motor 110a and a brake 111 for maintaining the displacement of the motor 110a.
A worm 112 connected to a finger drive motor 110a via a brake 111;
A worm wheel 113 that meshes with a ball screw 114 serving as a rotation axis of the worm wheel 113;
And nuts 115 provided at the bases of the fingers 116 and 116 and engaged with the ball screw 114. The two nuts 115 are threaded in different directions from each other, and
The rotation of 4 causes movement in opposite directions. That is, the rotation of the ball screw 114 causes the two fingers 116 to open and close.

As shown in FIG. 13, a female connector 120 is provided at the tip of the cone portion 102 of the first connecting member 100. The female connector 120 guides power or a signal from the outside by a lead wire 130.

The second connecting member 200 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and its inner peripheral side has a connecting mechanism 1 as shown in FIG.
01, a concave guide cone 202 corresponding to the cone 102 is formed, and engagement grooves 201, 201, 201 for engaging with the cone projections 101a, 101a, 101a of the cone 102 are formed therein. I have. The connection mechanism of the second connection member 200 to the connection mechanism 101 of the first connection member 100 is the same as the guide cone 2 described above.
02, an engagement groove 201, and a guide piece 210 described later.
It is composed of

The second connecting member 200 has a connector insertion / extraction mechanism 211 therein. Connector insertion / extraction mechanism 21
1 is provided with two links 212, 212 which are swingably supported by pins 213 provided on the second connecting member 200. As shown in FIG. 12, each of the two links 212 has a leading end connected to the guide piece 210 via a pin 211a, and a pin 214 provided at a rear end thereof. Pin 214 is male connector 2
20. Male connector 220 is connector 1
The guide pins 222 are slidably supported so as to be able to reciprocate in the insertion / removal direction of 20, 20, that is, in the axial direction of the second connecting member 200. The pin 213, which is the swing center of the link 212, is supported so that the position can be moved so that the male connector 220 can reciprocate.

The male connector 220 is formed such that the distal end thereof can be inserted with the female connector 120, and is provided with a connector pin 221 for electrically connecting the two connectors 120 and 220. The male connector 220 is provided with a microswitch 224 for detecting the completion of the connection with the female connector 120 and outputting a signal.

The guide pieces 210, 210 are engaged with the guide cones 216, which abut against the outer cone surfaces of the fingers 116, 116, respectively, and the finger projections 117 formed on the outer cone surfaces to engage with the first connecting member 100. A locking hole (locked portion) 217 is formed to restrict movement. These two guide pieces 210, 210
Are the springs 215 and 215
It is energized by.

When the male connector 220 and the female connector 120 are not connected to each other, the connector pins 221 of the male connector 220 are hidden by the second connecting member 200 as shown in FIGS. When the male connector 220 moves due to the connection of the two, the connector pins 2
A protection plate 223 is provided in which only 21 protrudes therefrom. When the engagement groove 201 and the guide cone portion 202 of the second connection member 200 are completely connected to the projection 101a and the cone portion 102 of the first connection member 100, the micro switch 223a detects this and outputs a signal. Is provided. The second connection member 200 is attached to the payload 240, and the power and the signal from the first connection member 100 are taken into the payload 240 by the lead wire 230.

Next, the mechanical connecting operation between the first connecting member 100 and the second connecting member 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows a state before the first connection member 100 and the second connection member 200 are connected. From this state, the first connecting member 100 moves in the direction of the arrow and the second connecting member 200
Approach. When the cone portion 102 of the first connection member 100 comes into contact with the guide cone portion 202 of the second connection member 200, the first connection member 100 is moved along the guide cone portion 202 to the center of the second connection member 200. It will be led.
Further, when the first connecting member 100 is pressed in the direction of the second connecting member 200, as shown in FIG. 6, the cone portion 102 and the projection 101 a of the first connecting member 100 become the guide cone portion 202 of the second connecting member 200. And engagement groove 20
1 and 6 degrees of freedom alignment for coupling can be achieved. At this time, the micro switch 223a detects this and outputs a signal. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, when the alignment in the X direction or the Y direction is significantly different before the connection between the first connection member 100 and the second connection member 200, the first connection member 100 Tip finger 1
16 and 116 are the guide cones 21 of the second connecting member 200.
6 or the guide cone 202 of the second connecting member 200 after the contact with the guide cone 202 of the first connecting member 100.

Next, the finger driving motor 110a is driven, and as shown in FIG. 7, the two fingers 116, 116 are opened by the finger opening / closing drive mechanism 110, and the fingers 116, 116 are moved to the guide pieces 210, 210. Abut At this time, the finger projection 117 is engaged with the locking hole 217, and the two connecting members 100 and 200 are fixed in the Z-axis direction, thereby completing the mechanical connection.

The finger driving motor 110a is continuously driven, and as shown in FIG. 8A, the two fingers 116, 116 are further opened by the finger opening / closing drive mechanism 110, and the two guide pieces 210, 210 are moved. It is pushed apart in the direction of arrow A in FIG. Two guide pieces 21
When 0 and 210 are pushed open, the connector insertion / extraction mechanism 21
The first link 212 swings in the direction of arrow B with the pin 213 as a fulcrum, and the male connector 220 connected to the pin 214 at the rear end is in the direction of arrow C, that is, the first connecting member 100.
Pushed out to the side. At this time, the connector pins 221 protrude from the protection plate 223 and are inserted into the female connector 120.
As shown in (b), both connectors 120 and 220 are electrically connected.

Here, the electrical connection between the two connectors 120 and 220 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 shows a state before electrical connection. When the guide pieces 210, 210 are expanded from this state,
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the link 212 connected to the guide piece 210 swings around the pin 213, and the male connector 220 connected to the pin 214 is pushed out to the first connecting member 100 side. At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, the connector pins 221 of the male connector 220 protrude from the protection plate 223 and are connected to the female connector 120 (not shown).

Next, the male connector 220 by the spring 215
The operation of pulling out the connector pin 221 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12A shows the state when the male connector 220 is inserted. The guide piece 210 has a force F by a spring 215.
s, the fingers 11
6, the link 212 is swung by being pushed up with a force Ff larger than the force Fs. Link 212 is pin 2
The male connector 220 is swung about the fulcrum 13 to push out the male connector 220 connected by the pin 214 in the direction of arrow C. Here, the pushing force of the male connector 220 is defined as Fc push, and the pin 2
If the distance between the pin 213 and the pin 213 is a and the distance between the pin 213 and the pin 214 is b, Ff, Fs, Fc pus
The relationship of h can be expressed as (Equation 1) and (Equation 2) shown below.

(Ff−Fs) · a = Fc push · b (Equation 1) Fc push = a / b · (Ff−Fc) (Equation 2) When both connectors 120 and 220 are connected, brake 1 provided on finger opening / closing drive mechanism 110
11 drives and maintains this state.

FIG. 12B shows the state when the connector is pulled out. At this time, the fingers 116, 116 are closed, and the force Ff received from the fingers 116, 116 is not applied to the guide piece 210. Therefore, the guide piece 210 is pushed down by the force Fs by the spring 215, and a force in the direction of arrow C ′ is applied to the male connector 220 via the link 212. Here, if the force in the direction of arrow C ′ required to pull out the connector 220 is Fc pull, the relationship between Fs and Fc pull can be expressed as (Equation 3) and (Equation 4) shown below. .

Fs · a = Fc pull · b (Equation 3) Fc pull = a / b · Fs • (Equation 4) Generally, Fc push and Fc pull have the relationship shown in (Equation 5). is there. Fc push = Fc pull (Equation 5) Therefore, from (Equation 2) and (Equation 4) , Ff and Fs
And the relationship shown in (Equation 6) can be derived.

Ff = 2Fs (Equation 6) 6), the guide piece 210 is pushed up by a force twice as high as the reaction force of the spring 215.
0 can be moved in the direction of arrow C. By appropriately selecting the ratio of the arm lengths a and b of the link 212, the pushing force Ff and the spring force F
Even if s is small, the insertion / extraction force of the male connector 220 can be obtained.

Next, the appearance of the first connecting member 100 and the second connecting member 200 will be described with reference to FIG. The first connecting member 100 is attached to a distal end of the manipulator arm 150 via a force / torque sensor 140. First
Two fingers 116 and a female connector 120 are provided at the tip of the connecting member 100. Second connecting member 2
00 is attached to the payload 240. The connection mechanism 101 is formed by the two fingers 116 of the first connection member 100.
And a male connector 220 coupled to the female connector 120 of the first connecting member 100.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the male connector 220 is provided so as to be able to reciprocate, both members 100, 2
00, when the male connector 220 is retracted, the connection between the members 100 and 200 and the connection between the connectors 120 and
It is not necessary to simultaneously perform the connection of 220, and the load on the manipulator can be reduced. The first connecting member 100 has a cone portion 102 formed on the distal end side of the first connecting member 100 and an outer cone surface formed on the finger 116. 200
The first connecting member 100 has a guide cone portion 202 formed on the tip of the second connecting member 200 and a guide cone 216 formed on the guide piece 210 on the side. Is guided relatively to the target position of the member. Therefore, the connection between the first connection member 100 and the second connection member can be easily performed. The connector pin 221 of the male connector 220 is
20 and 220 are not connected, the protection plate 223
Therefore, when the two members 100 and 200 are connected, the connector pin 221 does not come into contact with a part of the first connecting member 100, so that the connector pin 221 can be prevented from being damaged.

Next, an operation example of a space manipulator using the connector coupling device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 14 shows a manipulator 300 including a plurality of manipulator joints 301, a force / torque sensor 310, and a first connection member 320.
Shows a state of approaching to grasp the tool 420 stored in the tool storage box 421 on the exposure work table 400. When the first connecting member 320 is lowered from this state, as shown in FIG. 15, the first connecting member 320 is mechanically connected to the second connecting member 410 attached to the tool 420 and is also electrically connected. . An alignment mark 411 is engraved near the joint between the first connecting member 320 and the second connecting member 410, and the manipulator 300 is operated so that these two positions are aligned.
Next, when the first connection member 320 is raised, the manipulator 300 takes out the tool 420 from the tool storage foil 421 as shown in FIG.

Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 17, 500
Denotes a first connecting member, and 600 denotes a second connecting member. The first connecting member 500 includes a connecting mechanism 501 for connecting to the second connecting member 600. The coupling mechanism 501 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and includes a cone portion 502, a cone protrusion 503, two fingers 504, 504, and a finger opening / closing drive mechanism for opening / closing the fingers 504 (in FIG. Are not described.). The first connection member 500 has a female connector 520, and can receive power or a signal. First connection member 500
Is attached to the manipulator arm 550 via a force / torque sensor 540, and is capable of detecting a contact state at the time of coupling with the second connecting member 600 and a load received from the second connecting member 600. .

The second connecting member 600 includes a guide cone portion 602, a guide piece 610, and the like, which constitute a connecting mechanism on the second connecting member side. The second connecting member 600 includes a connector insertion / extraction mechanism 611 having basically the same configuration as that of the previous embodiment. The connector insertion / extraction mechanism 611 includes a pin 611.
a, link 612, pins 613, 614, 621, guide pin 622, microswitches 623, 624, and the like. The guide piece 610 includes the finger 50
Opening operation locking portion 610a that engages when opening operation is performed
And a closing operation locking portion 610b which is engaged when the finger 504 is closed. The second connection member 600 is attached to the payload 640, and receives power and signals from the first connection member 500 via the lead wire 630 to the payload 640 side. In this embodiment, the connector insertion / removal mechanism 211 in the first embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment.
Is not used.

Next, the connecting operation between the first connecting member 500 and the second connecting member 600 will be described. First connecting member 5
6 are connected to the guide cone 602 and the engagement groove 601 of the second connecting member 600, respectively, and the cone portion 502 and the cone protrusion 503 of FIG.
And alignment in the six-axis direction is achieved.

Next, when the two fingers 504 and 504 are opened, the fingers 504 are engaged with the opening operation locking portions 610 a of the guide piece 610. In addition, fingers 504, 5
04, the guide pieces 610, 610 are pushed open, and the link 612 connected thereto is connected to the pin 613.
The connector 620 connected to the rear end of the link 612 moves according to the guide of the guide pin 622 and is pushed out to the connector 520 side of the first connecting member 500. As a result, the connector pin 621 is inserted into the connector 520 and is electrically connected.

When the two fingers 504 and 504 are closed, the fingers 504 and 504 are
10 are engaged with the closing operation locking portions 610b, 610b of the guide piece 61 and the guide pieces 61 with the closing operation of the fingers 504, 504.
0,610 moves in the direction in which both approach. Therefore, the connector 620 is pulled by the operation reverse to the above, and the connector pin 621 in the coupled state is pulled out of the connector 520. As described above, in this embodiment, since the spring 215 is not used for pulling out the connector as in the previous embodiment, a force against the spring 215 is not required at the time of connection, and the capacity of the finger drive motor is reduced. can do.

In the above various embodiments, the connector on the second connecting member side is configured to be able to reciprocate, but the connector on the first connecting member side may be configured to be able to reciprocate. Further, in various embodiments, the connector performs electrical connection. However, in the present invention, the connector is not limited to this, and may be a fluid connector.

[0036]

According to the present invention, at least one connector is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating movement. Therefore, if the reciprocating connector is retracted when the two members are connected, the connection between the two members and the connection of both connectors can be achieved. The coupling need not be performed at the same time, and the load on the manipulator can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a connector coupling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first connecting member of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second connecting member of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a state of the connector connecting device before connecting members according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of the connector connecting device immediately before connecting members according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state of the connector coupling device when the members of the first embodiment according to the present invention are aligned.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a state of the connector connecting device when the members are connected according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the connector insertion / extraction mechanism of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a state of the male connector before connector connection according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of the male connector during the connector connection operation of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a state of the male connector at the time of connector connection of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing the operation principle of the connector insertion / extraction mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an external perspective view of a first connecting member and a second connecting member according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing work contents when the first embodiment according to the present invention is applied to a space manipulator.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing work contents when the first embodiment according to the present invention is applied to a space manipulator.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing work contents when the first embodiment according to the present invention is applied to a space manipulator.

FIG. 17 is an exploded side view of a main part of a connector coupling device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

100, 320, 500... First connecting member, 101, 50
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Connecting mechanism, 101a, 503 ... Cone protrusion, 10
2, 502: cone portion, 110: finger opening / closing drive mechanism, 116, 504: finger, 117: finger projection (locking portion), 120: female connector, 140, 310: force / torque sensor, 150: manipulator arm, 20
0, 410, 600... Second connecting member, 201, 601.
Engaging groove, 202, 602: guide cone portion, 210, 6
10 Guide piece, 211, 611 Connector insertion / extraction mechanism, 212, 612 Link, 215 Spring, 217
Locking hole (locked portion), 220: male connector, 221: connector pin, 223: protection plate, 223a, 224: micro switch, 240: payload, 300: manipulator.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kuraoka This morning This year, Space Development Corporation 2-4-1 Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo (56) References JP-A-62-241686 (JP, A) JP-A-59-205290 (JP, A) JP-A-4-187384 (JP, A) JP-A-61-265290 (JP, A) JP-A-3-117585 (JP, A) JP-A-3-26482 (JP) (U, U) Sho64-51278 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B25J 15/04 B25J 9/08 H01R 13/00-13/72

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connector connecting device for connecting two members each provided with a connector and connecting the connectors to each other, wherein one of the connectors provided on the two members is connected to one member. A connector insertion / extraction mechanism that reciprocates the provided connector in the insertion / removal direction with respect to the connector provided on the other member is provided on the one member. When the connector of the member is reciprocated by the connector insertion / extraction mechanism, a taper portion for relatively guiding the one member to the other member is formed at a position where it can be inserted into the connector of the other member, The other member includes a locking portion and a driving portion that operates the locking portion, and the one member is engaged with the locking portion and has two front portions at the insertable position. A locked portion for restraining a relative positional relationship of the member, wherein the locked portion is provided so as to be displaceable by an operation of the driving unit while maintaining a state of being engaged with the locking portion; A part of the connector insertion / extraction mechanism is connected to the locked portion so that the connector of the one member can move in at least one of the directions of the reciprocation by the displacement operation of the locked portion. A connector coupling device. The method according to claim 2, wherein the connector that reciprocates the connector pin is provided, according to claim connector pins of the connector by the reciprocating movement of the connector, characterized in that it is provided capable connector protecting plate infested 1 connector coupling device according to. 3. A connector coupling device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it comprises a member connecting the detection means for detecting the connection between the one member and the other member. 4. Any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises a connector coupling detecting means for detecting the binding of the connector of the one member of the connector and the other member
Connector coupling device according to one paragraph or.