JP5907770B2 - Industrial robot - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an industrial robot in which a movable arm and an end effector supported so as to be rotatable with respect to the movable arm are electrically connected with a small number of wires, and more specifically, a rotation in which both are electrically connected with a small number of wires. The present invention relates to an industrial robot provided with wiring means.

  An end effector supported rotatably on a movable arm of an industrial robot includes, for example, an electric drive member such as an electric motor or an electromagnetic solenoid for opening and closing a claw portion to hold or release a work, and rotation of the electric motor. Various sensors such as a position sensor such as a rotary encoder that detects a corner and a pressure sensor that detects a holding pressure of a workpiece by a claw portion are provided.

  The movable arm and the end effector are electrically connected to a drive power supply line for supplying power to the drive member, and a number of signal lines for transmitting and receiving signals between various sensors and the control device for the industrial robot. In order to allow the end effector to rotate with respect to the movable arm, these drive power supply lines and signal lines are wired in a slacked state by a length corresponding to the amount of rotation at the connection location.

However, depending on the processing mode of the workpiece by the end effector, it is necessary to allow the end effector to enter the narrow space. However, when the end effector enters the narrow space, the drive power supply line and signal wired in a loose state There is a problem that the line becomes an obstacle, and the space that can be entered is limited.

In addition, when the end effector rotates, the electric wire bends and breaks, or when entering the narrow space, the drive power supply line and the signal line come into contact with the members constituting the narrow space and the wire covering is worn. There is a problem that power cannot be supplied to the end effector due to a short circuit and signals cannot be transmitted and received between the various sensors and the control device.

In order to solve these problems, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a flexible printed circuit board (Flexible Printed Circuits, hereinafter referred to as FPC) on which electrodes as a wiring pattern are printed and wired is used. Are fixed and electrically connected in a state of loosening in a circular arc shape between the movable arm and the end effector which are relatively rotated, and the rotation of the end effector relative to the movable arm is absorbed by the arc-shaped slack portion of the FPC. Provided.

However, even when the movable arm and the end effector are electrically connected in a state that can be rotated by the FPC as described above, the number of electrodes corresponding to the number of drive power lines and the number of signal lines is printed and formed. It is necessary to use the FPC, and the FPC width in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the electric wire is increased and the size of the FPC is increased, and the FPC mounting space at the connection portion of the movable arm and the end effector is increased. As a result, there is a problem that when the end effector enters the narrow space and the required operation is executed, the FPC becomes an obstacle and the required operation cannot be executed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-153290

  The problem to be solved is that in order to electrically connect the movable arm and the end effector in a rotatable state, it is necessary to use a wide FPC in which a large number of electrodes are printed and wired. It is difficult to provide a large-sized FPC.

The present invention, in industrial robot that can rotate the end effector is drivingly connected to an output shaft of the numerical controllable electric motor provided in the distal end portion of the movable arm is controlled to move in at least two dimensions, the end The effector is provided with an electric drive member and various electric sensors, and the industrial robot is provided with control means for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the drive power source and various electric sensors with respect to the electric drive member. The end effector is provided with a horizontal rotating body having a boss to which the movable arm is drivingly connected, and one end of the horizontal rotating body can be connected to the driving power line on the movable arm side, and the other end part is the electrode as a driving power supply line can be connected to the end effector side of the driving power supply line are printed circuit, to allow the rotation of the horizontal rotating member with respect to around the boss A flexible printed circuit board which is wound around a cylindrical shape having a gap, by superimposing a control unit and various sensors in the drive power supply line of the flexible printed circuit board converts the signals sent and received in the corresponding data Rotating wiring means consisting of power communication I / O members that enable input / output is provided, and when the end effector is rotated with the drive of the electric motor with respect to the tip of the movable arm, it is cylindrical with respect to the periphery of the boss The main feature is that the wound flexible printed circuit board is enlarged and reduced in diameter so as to be able to supply driving power and send / receive signals from various electric sensors between the electric driving member and the control means. .

  The present invention uses a narrow FPC in which a small number of electrodes are printed and wired, and can reduce the mounting space at the connection location and electrically connect the movable arm and the end effector in a rotatable state. .

It is a perspective view which shows the outline of the resin molded product taking-out machine as an industrial robot. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the chuck | zipper location as an up-and-down arm as a movable arm and an end effector. It is explanatory drawing which shows the winding state of FPC. It is explanatory drawing which shows the horizontal rotation and reverse rotation state of a chuck | zipper. It is explanatory drawing which shows the diameter reduction state of FPC at the time of rotating a chuck | zipper horizontally. It is explanatory drawing which shows the winding state of the flexible flow path sheet | seat and FPC which were overlapped.

When rotating the end effector with the drive of the electric motor with respect to the tip of the movable arm, the flexible printed circuit board wound in a cylindrical shape around the boss is enlarged and reduced in diameter, and the electric drive member and It is an optimal embodiment to enable supply of drive power between control means and transmission / reception of signals from various electric sensors .

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings showing examples.
First, the outline of the resin molded product take-out machine 1 as an industrial robot will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the resin molded product take-out machine 1 is fixed to the upper surface of a fixed platen 3 in a resin molding machine (not shown). The The resin molded product take-out machine 1 includes a main body frame 5 extending in a direction (left-right direction) perpendicular to the central axis of the resin molding machine, and a first frame supported so as to be reciprocally movable in the left-right direction on the main body frame 5. A traveling body 7 and a second traveling body 11 supported so as to be reciprocally movable in the front-rear direction on a front-rear frame 9 provided to extend in a direction (front-rear direction) that coincides with the central axis with respect to the first traveling body 7. And a vertical arm 13 as a movable arm supported so as to be movable up and down with respect to the second traveling body 11, and a chuck 15 as an end effector provided at the lower end of the vertical arm 13 so as to be horizontally rotatable. It consists of.

  The chuck 15 is provided with a plurality of holding members 17 such as a suction member and a holding member for holding the resin molded product, and after holding the resin molded product in the mold molded by the holding member 17, a predetermined member is provided. Move to the open position and take out the resin molded product. The chuck 15 is provided with various sensors (not shown) such as an optical sensor and a pressure sensor for detecting that the resin molded product is held on each holding member 17.

  The first and second traveling bodies 7 and 11 and the upper and lower arms 13 are drivingly connected to a numerically controllable electric motor (not shown) such as a servomotor, and the left and right direction and the front and rear direction are controlled by driving control of each electric motor. And reciprocally move up and down. A reciprocating mechanism connected to each electric motor to reciprocate the corresponding first and second traveling bodies 7 and 11 and the upper and lower arms 13 is linear instead of a known feed screw mechanism, belt mechanism or electric motor. The structure which moves the 1st and 2nd traveling bodies 7 and 11 and the up-and-down arm 13 directly using a motor may be sufficient.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the chuck 15 is provided at the lower end of the upper and lower arms 13 as described above so as to be horizontally rotatable and reversely rotatable. That is, a numerically controllable electric motor 19 such as a servo motor having an axis in the vertical direction is provided below the upper and lower arms 13, and the output shaft of the electric motor 19 constitutes a part of the end effector. It is fixed to the boss 21a of the horizontal rotating body 21 that performs. The horizontal rotation body 21 is horizontally rotated by the predetermined angle according to the driving of the electric motor 19.

  The horizontal rotating body 21 is provided with a numerically controllable electric motor 23 such as a servomotor having an axis in the horizontal direction. The electric motor 23 is rotatably supported at the lower part of the horizontal rotating body 21. It is drivingly connected to a reversing shaft 25 constituting a part of the end effector. The reverse shaft 25 is provided with a chuck mounting plate 26, and the chuck 15 is fixed to the chuck mounting plate 26. As the electric motor 23 is driven, the chuck 15 is rotated and rotated in the reverse direction.

In FIG. 4, toothed pulleys 23 a and 25 a are respectively attached to the output shaft and the reversing shaft 25 of the electric motor 23, and the reversing shaft 25 is rotated by passing a toothed belt around the pulleys 23 a and 25 a. It may be configured to be driven and connected by a gear. The electric motor 23 is provided with a position detector (not shown) such as a rotary encoder that detects the rotation angle of the reversing shaft 25.

  Since the horizontal rotating body 21 is provided with the above-described electric motor 23 and its position detector, and the chuck 15 is provided with various sensors on each holding member 17, the electric power is supplied to the electric motor 23. It is necessary to connect a drive power supply line for supply and a number of signal lines for transmitting and receiving signals between each sensor and a control device (not shown) of the resin molded product take-out machine 1. For this reason, the upper and lower arms 13, the horizontal rotating body 21 and the chuck 15 are electrically connected via the rotating wiring means 27.

  That is, around the boss 21 a in the horizontal rotating body 21, the FPC 31 is arranged in a cylindrical shape wound in a relaxed state according to the rotation angle of the horizontal rotating body 21. The FPC 31 is printed and wired so that two electrodes 31a (described in FIG. 3) corresponding to the motor driving power wires extend in the winding direction. Connectors 33 and 35, to which the electrodes 31a are electrically connected, are attached to the longitudinal ends of the FPC 31, respectively. In addition, the code | symbol 29 in a figure is a cylindrical cover which covers the outer peripheral surface of FPC31 wound by cylindrical shape.

  The FPC 31 is in an expanded cylindrical state at the rotation origin position of the horizontal rotating body 21, and when the horizontal rotating body 21 rotates at a required angle, the cylindrical state is reduced in diameter. Deformed. Note that the winding state of the FPC 31 may be the reverse of the above. When the electric motor 23 is a three-phase motor, the number of electrode lines printed and wired on the FPC 31 is three.

  One connector 33 is fixed to the lower end of the upper and lower arms 13 and is electrically connected to a drive power line (not shown) accommodated in the upper and lower arms 13. The other connector 35 is fixed to the horizontal rotating body 21 and is connected to a drive power line (not shown) of the electric motor 23 and a signal line (not shown) from the power communication input / output member 41. The

The power communication input / output member 41 converts an input signal into transmission data of the internal communication bus and outputs it to the internal communication bus, and also converts an input signal from the internal communication bus into an output signal. Generates the internal power supply for the output card and functions as a gateway for the communication line and the internal communication bus, and converts data from the communication line to data on the internal communication bus, or converts data from the internal communication bus to data on the communication line The signal line is connected to one terminal of the power communication input / output member 41, and signal lines (not shown) of various sensors are connected to the other terminal. .

Next, the operation of the resin molded product take-out machine 1 and the rotating wiring means 27 configured as described above will be described.
First, the operation of the resin molded product take-out machine 1 will be described. When a molding completion signal is output from the resin molding machine to the resin molded product take-out machine 1, the upper and lower arms 13 are moved down to open the chuck 15. After entering between the molds, the second traveling body is moved forward, and the chuck 15 is made to face the resin molded product held in the mold.

In this state, the protruding mechanism of the resin molding machine is operated to protrude and hold the resin molded product from the mold to the chuck 15, and then the second traveling body 11 is moved backward and the upper and lower arms 13 are raised. After the chuck 15 holding the resin molded product is extracted from between the molds, the first traveling body 7 is moved to move the chuck 15 to the open position set on the operation side or the non-operation side of the resin molding machine. . When the chuck 15 is moved to the open position, for example, the holding of the resin molded product is released from the inside of the container of the carry-out conveyor or the boxing device, and the removal of the resin molded product is completed.

When the resin molded product is opened in the container of the carry-out conveyor or the boxing device described above, it is necessary to control the posture of the resin molded product by opening the chuck 15 horizontally or reversely rotating. . For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4, the electric motor 19 is driven and controlled to rotate the horizontal rotating body 21 at a required angle with respect to the horizontal direction, and the electric motor 23 is driven and controlled to reversely rotate the chuck 15. .

When the horizontal rotating body 21 rotates in the horizontal direction with respect to the upper and lower arms 13, the FPC 31 wound in a slack state as shown in FIG. Allow rotation. The electric power applied to the electric motor 23 is supplied through an electrode 31 a printed and wired on the FPC 31. Further, between the control device of the resin molded product take-out machine 1 and various sensors, signals are transmitted and received while being superimposed on the drive power supply line.

That is, a signal output from the control device of the resin molded product take-out machine 1 is input to the power communication input / output member 41 while being superimposed on the drive power line and the electrode 31a in the upper and lower arms 13, and then the power communication input / output member 41 It is converted into output data by 41 input / output cards and output to the position detector and each sensor. The signals output from the position detector and each sensor are converted into output data by the input / output card of the power communication input / output member 41 and then superposed on the electrode 31a and the drive power supply line in the upper and lower arms 13 for control. Output to the device.

In the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid the wiring of the electric wire between the upper and lower arms 13 and the chuck 15 being loosened, and to electrically connect the chuck 15 to the upper and lower arms 13 in a rotatable state. it can. Further, a signal transmitted and received between the control device of the resin molded product take-out machine 1 and the position detector and each sensor on the chuck 15 side is superimposed on the drive power line in the electrode 31a and the upper and lower arms 13, thereby wiring between them. The number can be reduced.

  In the above description, the resin molded product take-out machine 1 that moves the chuck 15 as an end effector in three orthogonal directions as an industrial robot has been described as an example. However, the present invention is a multi-joint type that moves the end effector in multiple axes. Of course, this can also be implemented in other industrial robots.

  In the above description, the drive power line on the movable arm side and the drive power line on the end effector side are connected by the FPC at the connection point between the movable arm and the end effector, and the drive power line and the FPC are connected between the control means and various sensors. Although the signal transmitted and received in a superimposed manner is converted into corresponding data by the power communication input / output member, the chuck 15 as an end effector has a plurality of pressures such as an air cylinder that operates with a pressure fluid such as compressed air. A fluid actuating member may be provided. In this case, it is necessary to connect the plurality of pressure fluid pipes provided on the movable arm side and the pressure fluid pipes of the respective pressure fluid operating members so as to allow the chuck 15 to rotate.

  In order to connect the pressure fluid pipe at the connection point of the movable arm 15 and the end effector 15 (21), as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of flow paths 51a extending in the longitudinal direction are arranged in the longitudinal orthogonal direction. The flexible flow path sheet 51 made of rubber or the like is wound into a cylindrical shape while being slackened so as to allow the end effector 15 (21) to rotate, similarly to the FPC 31, and the movable arm 15 ( The pressure fluid pipe 53 on the 21) side and the pressure fluid pipe 55 on the end effector 15 (21) side may be connected to the other side.

In this case, the flexible flow path sheet 51 and the FPC 31 are overlapped with each other so that the end effector 15 (21) is loosened so as to allow rotation, and is formed into a cylindrical shape. That's fine. At that time, a resin sheet having a low coefficient of friction such as a fluorinated resin sheet is interposed between the FPC 31 and the flexible flow path sheet 51 to reduce the coefficient of friction between them, thereby reducing the end effector 15 (21). The diameter expansion and contraction of the FPC 31 and the flexible flow path sheet 51 accompanying the rotation can be smoothly performed.

In the above description, the FPC 31 and the power communication input / output member 41 are provided at the connection point between the upper and lower arms 13 and the horizontal rotating body 21, but the FPC and power communication input / output member are provided at the connection point between the horizontal rotating body 21 and the reversing shaft 25. It is good also as a structure which provides.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Resin molded product take-out machine as an industrial robot 3 Fixed platen 5 Main body frame 7 First traveling body 9 Front and rear frame 11 Second traveling body 13 Vertical arm 15 as movable arm End chuck 17 as holding effector Holding member 19 Electric motor 21 End Horizontal rotating body 21a constituting part of effector Boss 23 Electric motor 25 Reversing shaft 26 constituting part of end effector Chuck mounting plate 27 Turning wiring means 29 Cylindrical cover 31 FPC
31a Electrode 33/35 Connector 41 Power communication input / output member 51 Flexible flow path sheet 51a Flow path 53 Pressure fluid pipe 55 Pressure fluid pipe

Claims (7)

In an industrial robot in which an end effector driven and connected to an output shaft of a numerically controllable electric motor provided at the tip of a movable arm that is controlled to move in at least a two-dimensional direction is rotatable.
The end effector is provided with an electric drive member and various electric sensors, and the industrial robot has a control means for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the drive power source and various electric sensors with respect to the electric drive member. While providing
The end effector is provided with a horizontal rotating body having a boss to which the movable arm is drivingly connected,
The horizontal rotating body is printed with an electrode as a drive power supply line, one end of which can be connected to the drive power line on the movable arm side and the other end connected to the drive power supply line on the end effector side , A flexible printed circuit board wound in a cylindrical shape with a gap that allows the horizontal rotation body to rotate around the boss , and a drive power line of the flexible printed circuit board from the control means and various sensors. There is provided a rotating wiring means composed of a power communication input / output member that converts the signal transmitted and received into the corresponding data and enables input / output ,
When rotating the end effector with the drive of the electric motor with respect to the tip of the movable arm, the flexible printed circuit board wound in a cylindrical shape around the boss is enlarged and reduced in diameter, and the electric drive member and An industrial robot characterized in that it enables supply of drive power between control means and transmission / reception of signals from various electric sensors . In claim 1,
The horizontal rotating body is provided with a plurality of flow paths, one of the flow paths is connected to the fluid pressure pipe on the movable arm side, and the other of the flow paths is connected to the fluid pressure pipe on the end effector side. An industrial robot provided with a flexible flow path sheet wound in a cylindrical shape with a gap allowing rotation of a horizontal rotating body with respect to the surroundings . In claim 2,
An industrial robot in which the flexible flow path sheet is wound in a cylindrical shape with a gap that allows the horizontal rotating body to rotate around the boss in a state of being superimposed on the flexible printed board . In claim 1,
An industrial robot is an industrial robot that moves an end effector three-dimensionally to a required position by moving at least three orthogonal movable arms in each axial direction . In claim 4,
A first traveling body supported movably on a main body frame extending in a direction orthogonal to the central axis of the resin molding machine, and front and rear frames extending in a direction coinciding with the central axis by the first traveling body A resin molded product take-out machine comprising a second traveling body supported so as to be movable upward and an upper and lower arm supported so as to be movable up and down relative to the second traveling body, and an end effector is provided at the lower end of the upper and lower arms. Industrial robot as a chuck that is rotatably supported by the part . In claim 5,
The chuck is an industrial robot provided via a horizontal rotating body connected to the output shaft of a numerically controllable electric motor built in the lower end of the upper and lower arms . In claim 5,
The chuck includes a horizontal rotating body connected to an output shaft of a numerically controllable electric motor built in a lower end portion of the upper and lower arms, and a reversing shaft connected to the numerically controllable electric motor provided in the horizontal rotating body. Industrial robot provided through .

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