JP7564692B2 - Industrial Robots - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an industrial robot that transports objects, for example.

Conventionally, horizontal articulated industrial robots that transport glass substrates in a vacuum are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The industrial robot described in Patent Document 1 includes two hands on which glass substrates are mounted, two arms to which the tip ends of the two hands are rotatably connected, a common arm to which the base ends of the two arms are rotatably connected, and a main body to which the common arm is rotatably connected. A reducer is disposed in the joint that connects the arms and the common arm. The reducer is a hollow wave gear device.

In the industrial robot described in Patent Document 1, the reducer has an output shaft formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The lower end of the base end side of the arm is fixed to the upper end of the output shaft of the reducer. The hand, arm, and common arm are arranged in a vacuum chamber. The inside of the arm, which is formed hollow, is a vacuum, and the inside of the common arm, which is formed hollow, is at atmospheric pressure. A disk-shaped lid is fixed to the inner periphery of the output shaft of the reducer to separate the internal region of the arm, which is at vacuum, from the internal region of the common arm, which is at atmospheric pressure.

JP 2018-15839 A

In the industrial robot described in Patent Document 1, for example, two wires connected to a sensor or the like attached to the hand may be routed from the tip of the common arm to the tip of the arm. When this industrial robot is in use, the arm rotates many times relative to the common arm, and if the two wires come into irregular contact with each other at the joint that connects the arm and common arm when the arm rotates relative to the common arm, there is a risk of the wires being damaged. Therefore, in the industrial robot described in Patent Document 1, it is preferable that the two wires are prevented from coming into contact with each other at the joint that connects the arm and common arm.

The objective of the present invention is to provide an industrial robot that includes an arm and a support arm whose base end is rotatably connected to the tip end, and that can prevent contact between multiple wires at the joint that connects the arm and support arm with a simple configuration, even if multiple wires are routed from the tip end of the support arm to the tip end of the arm.

In order to solve the above problems, an industrial robot of the present invention includes an arm, a support arm having a base end side of the arm rotatably connected to a tip side thereof, a plurality of wires routed at least from the tip side of the support arm toward the tip side of the arm, and a wire holding structure that holds the plurality of wires at a joint portion that is a connection portion between the arm and the support arm, the wire holding structure including a first wire holding member and a second wire holding member that hold the plurality of wires overlapping with a gap in a rotation axis direction that is the axial direction of rotation of the arm relative to the support arm , a guide member for defining the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the plurality of wires that bend in association with the rotation of the arm relative to the support arm, and a third wire holding member and a fourth wire holding member that hold the plurality of wires aligned in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction , the first wire holding member being attached to the tip side of the support arm and arranged on one side of the arm in the rotation axis direction. the second wiring holding member is attached to the base end side of the arm and arranged on one side of the arm in the rotation axis direction, the guide member is attached to the tip side of the support arm and arranged on one side of the arm in the rotation axis direction and arranged between the first wiring holding member and the second wiring holding member in the wiring wiring direction, a plurality of guide grooves are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the guide member in which each of a plurality of overlapping wirings is arranged with a gap in the rotation axis direction , the third wiring holding member is attached to the tip side of the support arm and arranged on one side of the arm in the rotation axis direction, and the fourth wiring holding member is attached to the base end side of the arm and arranged on one side of the arm in the rotation axis direction, and the first wiring holding member, the second wiring holding member and the guide member are arranged between the third wiring holding member and the fourth wiring holding member in the wiring wiring direction .

In the present invention, for example, the wiring holding structure includes, as guide members, a first guide member for determining the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the multiple wirings when the arm rotates to one side in the rotation direction of the arm relative to the support arm, and a second guide member for determining the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the multiple wirings when the arm rotates to the other side in the rotation direction of the arm relative to the support arm.

In the industrial robot of the present invention, the wiring holding structure that holds multiple wirings at the joint portion that is the connecting portion between the arm and the support arm includes a first wiring holding member that is attached to the tip side of the support arm and arranged on one side of the arm in the direction of the rotation axis, a second wiring holding member that is attached to the base end side of the arm and arranged on one side of the arm in the direction of the rotation axis, and a guide member that is attached to the tip side of the support arm and arranged on one side of the arm in the direction of the rotation axis, and arranged between the first wiring holding member and the second wiring holding member in the wiring routing direction.

In addition, in the present invention, the first wiring holding member and the second wiring holding member hold multiple overlapping wirings spaced apart in the rotation axis direction, and the outer peripheral surface of the guide member is formed with multiple guide grooves in which the multiple overlapping wirings spaced apart in the rotation axis direction are disposed. Therefore, in the present invention, even if multiple wirings are routed from the tip side of the support arm to the tip side of the arm, it is possible to prevent contact between the multiple wirings at the joint.

In addition, when the multiple wires held by the first and second wire holding members are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction, the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the multiple wires cannot be determined by a common guide member, and multiple guide members according to the number of wires are required, but in the present invention, the multiple wires held by the first and second wire holding members are overlapped with a gap in the rotation axis direction, so that the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the multiple wires can be determined by a common guide member. Therefore, in the present invention, even if the multiple wires are routed from the tip side of the support arm to the tip side of the arm, it is possible to prevent contact between the multiple wires at the joint with a simple configuration.
In addition, in the present invention, the wiring holding structure includes a third wiring holding member and a fourth wiring holding member which hold a plurality of wirings arranged in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction, the third wiring holding member is attached to the tip side of the support arm and is arranged on one side of the arm in the rotation axis direction, the fourth wiring holding member is attached to the base end side of the arm and is arranged on one side of the arm in the rotation axis direction, and the first wiring holding member, the second wiring holding member and the guide member are arranged between the third wiring holding member and the fourth wiring holding member in the wiring routing direction.
Therefore, outside the third wiring holding member and the fourth wiring holding member in the wiring routing direction, the multiple wirings can be routed in a state where they are aligned in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction, and therefore, compared to the case where the multiple wirings are routed in a state where they are overlapped in the rotation axis direction outside the third wiring holding member and the fourth wiring holding member in the wiring routing direction, the multiple wirings can be routed more compactly.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the guide member is disposed near the center of rotation of the arm relative to the support arm when viewed from the rotation axis direction. With this configuration, the bent portion of the wiring that bends with the rotation of the arm relative to the support arm is less likely to be subjected to load. Therefore, it is possible to suppress deterioration of the wiring that bends multiple times with the rotation of the arm relative to the support arm, caused by the rotation of the arm.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the distance between the second wiring holding member and the guide member in the wiring routing direction is longer than the distance between the first wiring holding member and the guide member in the wiring routing direction. With this configuration, the bent portion of the wiring that bends as the arm rotates relative to the support arm is less likely to be subjected to load. Therefore, it is possible to suppress deterioration of the wiring that bends multiple times as the arm rotates relative to the support arm, caused by the arm's rotational movement.

As described above, in the present invention, in an industrial robot having an arm and a support arm whose base end is rotatably connected to its tip end, even if multiple wires are routed from the tip end of the support arm to the tip end of the arm, it is possible to prevent contact between the multiple wires at the joint that connects the arm and support arm with a simple configuration.

1 is a plan view of an industrial robot according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a side view of the industrial robot shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the joint portion shown in FIG. 1 . 4 is a side view for explaining the configuration of the wiring holding structure shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion E in FIG. 4 . FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion F in FIG. 3 . 4A is a view showing the first wiring holding member and the wiring from the GG direction in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B is a view showing the third wiring holding member and the wiring from the HH direction in FIG.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

(Overall configuration of industrial robots)
Fig. 1 is a plan view of an industrial robot 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention Fig. 2 is a side view of the industrial robot 1 shown in Fig. 1 .

The industrial robot 1 (hereinafter referred to as "robot 1") of this embodiment is a robot used in a vacuum. Specifically, the robot 1 is a horizontal articulated robot that transports a glass substrate 2 for liquid crystal displays (hereinafter referred to as "substrate 2"), which is the object to be transported, in a vacuum. The robot 1 is equipped with two hands 4, 5 on which the substrate 2 is mounted, two arms 6, 7 to which the tip ends of the two hands 4, 5 are rotatably connected, a common arm 8 as a support arm to which the base ends of the two arms 6, 7 are rotatably connected, and a main body 9 to which the common arm 8 is rotatably connected.

The hand 4 is rotatably connected to the tip of the arm 6, and the hand 5 is rotatably connected to the tip of the arm 7. The hand 4 is disposed below the hand 5. The arm 6 is disposed below the hand 4. The arm 7 is disposed above the hand 5. The common arm 8 is disposed below the arm 6. The main body 9 is disposed below the common arm 8.

The main body 9 includes a rotation shaft to which the base end 8a of the common arm 8 is fixed, a rotation mechanism that rotates the rotation shaft with the vertical direction as the axial direction of the rotation, a lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the common arm 8 together with the rotation shaft and rotation mechanism, and a cylindrical case body 11 with a bottom in which the rotation mechanism and lifting mechanism are housed. The opening at the top end of the case body 11 is covered by a lid body 12. The lid body 12 is formed with a flange 12a that extends radially outward from the case body 11.

As described above, the robot 1 transports the substrate 2 in a vacuum. The robot 1 is attached to a vacuum chamber 13 when in use. As shown in FIG. 2, the part of the robot 1 above the lower surface of the flange 12a is disposed in the vacuum chamber 13. That is, the part of the robot 1 above the lower surface of the flange 12a is disposed in a vacuum, and the hands 4, 5, arms 6, 7 and common arm 8 are disposed in a vacuum. On the other hand, the part of the robot 1 below the lower surface of the flange 12a is disposed in the atmosphere.

The arms 6 and 7 are formed in a block shape with a thin vertical thickness and an elongated oval shape when viewed from above. The length of the arm 6 is equal to the length of the arm 7. The common arm 8 is formed in a roughly V-shape. The common arm 8 is also composed of the above-mentioned base end portion 8a fixed to the rotation shaft of the main body portion 9, two tip portions 8b to which the base ends of the arms 6 and 7 are rotatably connected, and two connecting portions 8c that connect each of the two tip portions 8b to the base end portion 8a. The connecting portions 8c are formed in a elongated cylindrical shape.

The connecting portion between the arm 6 and the common arm 8 is a joint portion 16. The connecting portion between the arm 7 and the common arm 8 is a joint portion 17. The arms 6 and 7 rotate with respect to the common arm 8 in the up-down direction as the axis of rotation. That is, in this embodiment, the up-down direction (vertical direction) is the axis of rotation of the arms 6 and 7 with respect to the common arm 8. The arms 6 and 7 are formed hollow. The insides of the hollow-formed arms 6 and 7 are vacuum. The common arm 8 is formed hollow. The inside of the hollow-formed common arm 8 is at atmospheric pressure. The inside of the main body portion 9 (i.e., the inside of the case body 11) is also at atmospheric pressure.

The robot 1 is equipped with a drive mechanism that rotates the hand 4 relative to the arm 6 and rotates the arm 6 relative to the common arm 8, and a drive mechanism that rotates the hand 5 relative to the arm 7 and rotates the arm 7 relative to the common arm 8. The drive mechanism is configured similarly to the drive mechanism of the industrial robot described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, and since the configuration of the drive mechanism is a publicly known configuration, a description of the drive mechanism will be omitted.

A pulley that constitutes part of the drive mechanism is disposed inside the base end of the arm 6, and this pulley is fixed to one tip 8b of the common arm 8 via a fixed member 18. The fixed member 18 is disposed outside the arm 6 and the common arm 8. The fixed member 18 is composed of a side portion 18a that is fixed to one tip 8b, and a flat top portion 18b that is connected to the upper end of the side portion 18a. The top portion 18b is disposed so that the thickness direction of the top portion 18b coincides with the up-down direction. The top portion 18b is disposed above the base end of the arm 6.

A pulley constituting part of the drive mechanism is also disposed inside the base end of the arm 7, and this pulley is fixed to the other tip 8b of the common arm 8 via a fixing member 19. The fixing member 19 is disposed outside the arm 7 and the common arm 8. The fixing member 19 is composed of a side portion 19a that is fixed to the other tip 8b, and a flat top portion 19b that is connected to the upper end of the side portion 19a. The top portion 19b is disposed so that the thickness direction of the top portion 19b coincides with the up-down direction. The top portion 19b is also disposed above the base end of the arm 7.

(Configuration of Wiring and Wiring Retaining Structure)
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the joint portion 16 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a side view for explaining the configuration of the wiring holding structure 23 shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion E in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion F in Fig. 3. Fig. 7(A) is a view showing the wiring holding member 24 and the wiring 22 from the G-G direction in Fig. 3, and Fig. 7(B) is a view showing the wiring holding member 26 and the wiring 22 from the H-H direction in Fig. 3.

The robot 1 is equipped with a plurality of wires 22 routed from at least one tip of the common arm 8 toward the tip of the arm 6, and a wire holding structure 23 that holds the plurality of wires 22 at the joint 16. The robot 1 in this embodiment is equipped with two wires 22, and the wire holding structure 23 holds the two wires 22. Note that the wires 22 and the wire holding structure 23 are not shown in Figures 1 and 2.

One end of the wiring 22 is connected to, for example, a sensor attached to the hand 4. The other end of the wiring 22 is connected to, for example, a control board provided in the main body 9. That is, the wiring 22 is routed, for example, from the main body 9 to the tip of the arm 6. From one tip of the common arm 8 to the tip of the arm 6, the wiring 22 is routed outside the arm 6 and the common arm 8. That is, from one tip of the common arm 8 to the tip of the arm 6, the wiring 22 is routed in a vacuum. The wiring 22 in this embodiment is a four-core cable having four core wires.

The wiring holding structure 23 includes two wiring holding members 24, 25 that hold two overlapping wirings 22 spaced apart in the vertical direction (i.e., the direction of the rotation axis, which is the axial direction of the rotation of the arms 6, 7 relative to the common arm 8), and two wiring holding members 26, 27 that hold two wirings 22 arranged side by side in the horizontal direction (i.e., the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis). In this embodiment, the wiring holding member 24 is the first wiring holding member, the wiring holding member 25 is the second wiring holding member, the wiring holding member 26 is the third wiring holding member, and the wiring holding member 27 is the fourth wiring holding member.

The wiring holding structure 23 also includes a guide member 28 for determining the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the two wirings 22 that bend horizontally as the arm 6 rotates relative to the common arm 8. Specifically, the wiring holding structure 23 includes two guide members 28: a guide member 28 for determining the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the two wirings 22 when the arm 6 rotates to one side in the rotation direction of the arm 6 relative to the common arm 8, and a guide member 28 for determining the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the two wirings 22 when the arm 6 rotates to the other side in the rotation direction of the arm 6 relative to the common arm 8.

The wiring holding member 24 is attached to the tip side of the common arm 8. The wiring holding member 24 is also arranged on the upper side of the arm 6. Specifically, the wiring holding member 24 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper surface portion 18b of the fixing member 18, and is attached to one tip portion 8b of the common arm 8 via the fixing member 18. The wiring holding member 24 is arranged closer to the tip of the common arm 8 than the center of rotation CL of the arm 6 relative to the common arm 8.

The wiring holding member 25 is attached to the base end side of the arm 6. The wiring holding member 25 is also disposed on the upper side of the arm 6. Specifically, the wiring holding member 25 is attached to the upper surface of the arm 6 via a fixing plate 29 that is fixed to the upper surface of the arm 6. The fixing plate 29 is formed by bending a flat member into a predetermined shape, and is fixed to the upper surface of the arm 6 by screws. The wiring holding member 25 is fixed to the upper surface of the fixing plate 29. The wiring holding member 25 is disposed closer to the tip of the arm 6 than the center of rotation CL.

The wiring holding members 24, 25 are composed of a block-shaped groove forming member 30 in which two linear guide grooves 30a in which the wiring 22 is arranged are formed, and an L-shaped fixing bracket 31 to which the groove forming member 30 is fixed (see FIG. 7(A)). The guide groove 30a is formed as a square groove extending horizontally. The two guide grooves 30a are formed with a gap between them in the vertical direction. The fixing bracket 31 of the wiring holding member 24 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper surface portion 18b by a screw, and the fixing bracket 31 of the wiring holding member 25 is fixed to the upper surface of the fixing plate 29 by a screw.

If the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the up-down direction of the connecting portion 8c, which is formed in a long, thin cylindrical shape, is defined as the lateral direction of the connecting portion 8c, the guide groove 30a of the groove forming member 30 of the wiring holding member 24 is disposed at the center position of the connecting portion 8c in the lateral direction of the connecting portion 8c. This guide groove 30a is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the connecting portion 8c. Both ends of this guide groove 30a in the longitudinal direction of the connecting portion 8c and one end of this guide groove 30a in the lateral direction of the connecting portion 8c are open. The opening of this guide groove 30a in the lateral direction of the connecting portion 8c is blocked by the fixing bracket 31.

If the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction of the arm 6, which has an elongated oval shape when viewed from the top and bottom, is defined as the short side direction of the arm 6, the guide groove 30a of the groove forming member 30 of the wiring holding member 25 is disposed at the center position of the arm 6 in the short side direction of the arm 6. This guide groove 30a is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the arm 6. Both ends of this guide groove 30a in the longitudinal direction of the arm 6 and one end of this guide groove 30a in the short side direction of the arm 6 are open. The opening of this guide groove 30a in the short side direction of the arm 6 is blocked by the fixing bracket 31.

When viewed from above and below, the intersection of the center line of the short side of the connecting part 8c and the center line of the short side of the arm 6 is the rotation center CL. When the connecting part 8c and the arm 6 overlap such that the longitudinal direction of the connecting part 8c and the longitudinal direction of the arm 6 coincide, the guide groove 30a of the groove forming member 30 of the wiring holding member 24 and the guide groove 30a of the groove forming member 30 of the wiring holding member 25 are arranged at the same position in the short side direction of the connecting part 8c and the arm 6. In addition, the wiring holding member 24 and the wiring holding member 25 are arranged at the same height. In other words, the two wirings 22 held by the wiring holding member 24 and the two wirings 22 held by the wiring holding member 25 are arranged at the same height.

The guide member 28 is attached to the tip side of the common arm 8. The guide member 28 is also disposed on the upper side of the arm 6. Specifically, the guide member 28 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper surface portion 18b with a screw, and is attached to one tip portion 8b of the common arm 8 via the fixing member 18. The guide member 28 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The two guide members 28 are disposed at the same position in the longitudinal direction of the connecting portion 8c. The two guide members 28 are also disposed adjacent to each other in the lateral direction of the connecting portion 8c, and are disposed symmetrically with respect to the center of the lateral direction of the connecting portion 8c when viewed from the top-bottom direction.

The guide member 28 is disposed between the wiring holding member 24 and the wiring holding member 25 in the wiring direction of the wiring 22. That is, when the connecting portion 8c and the arm 6 overlap such that the longitudinal direction of the connecting portion 8c and the longitudinal direction of the arm 6 coincide, the guide member 28 is disposed between the wiring holding member 24 and the wiring holding member 25 in the longitudinal direction of the connecting portion 8c and the arm 6. The distance between the wiring holding member 25 and the guide member 28 in the wiring direction of the wiring 22 is longer than the distance between the wiring holding member 24 and the guide member 28 in the wiring direction of the wiring 22.

Two guide grooves 28a are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the guide member 28, in which two overlapping wirings 22 are arranged with a gap between them in the vertical direction. The guide grooves 28a are formed, for example, in a V-groove shape. The radius of curvature of the two wirings 22 that bend horizontally as the arm 6 rotates relative to the common arm 8 is determined according to the radius of curvature of the guide grooves 28a. The vertical pitch of the two guide grooves 28a is equal to the vertical pitch of the two guide grooves 30a of the groove forming member 30.

The distance in the short direction of the connecting portion 8c between the bottom of the guide groove 28a of one of the two guide members 28 that are adjacently arranged in the short direction of the connecting portion 8c and the bottom of the guide groove 28a of the other guide member 28 is slightly larger than the outer shape of the wiring 22. The two wirings 22 pass between the two guide members 28. In the wiring 22 routing direction, at least between the wiring holding member 24 and the wiring holding member 25, the two wirings 22 are routed with a gap in the vertical direction and overlapping in the vertical direction.

When viewed from the top-bottom direction, the guide member 28 is disposed near the pivot center CL. As shown in FIG. 6, when viewed from the top-bottom direction, the center of the guide member 28 is disposed closer to the tip of the common arm 8 than the pivot center CL. For ease of explanation, if the tip side of the common arm 8 (the X1 direction side in FIG. 3) is taken as the left side and the base end side of the common arm 8 (the X2 direction side in FIG. 3) is taken as the right side, then as shown in FIG. 6, the right end of the guide groove 28a is disposed to the right of the pivot center CL.

The wiring holding member 26 is attached to the tip side of the common arm 8. The wiring holding member 26 is also arranged on the upper side of the arm 6. Specifically, the wiring holding member 26 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper surface portion 18b by a screw, and is attached to one tip portion 8b of the common arm 8 via the fixing member 18. The wiring holding member 27 is attached to the base end side of the arm 6. The wiring holding member 27 is also arranged on the upper side of the arm 6. Specifically, the wiring holding member 27 is fixed to the upper surface of the fixing plate 29 by a screw, and is attached to the upper surface of the arm 6 via the fixing plate 29.

Wire holding member 26 is disposed closer to the tip of common arm 8 than wire holding member 24. Wire holding member 27 is disposed closer to the tip of arm 6 than wire holding member 25. That is, in the direction in which wire 22 is routed, wire holding members 24, 25 and guide member 28 are disposed between wire holding member 26 and wire holding member 27. Wire holding member 27 is disposed below wire holding member 25.

Outside the wiring holding members 26 and 27 in the wiring direction of the wiring 22, the two wirings 22 are routed in a state of being arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. In other words, the arrangement of the two wirings 22 that overlapped in the vertical direction between the wiring holding members 24 and 25 changes from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction between the wiring holding members 24 and 26, and between the wiring holding members 25 and 27.

The wiring holding member 26 and the wiring holding member 27 are formed in the same shape. The wiring holding member 26 is formed in a substantially rectangular groove shape that is open on both sides and the bottom side in the longitudinal direction of the connecting portion 8c (see FIG. 7(B)). The two wirings 22 held by the wiring holding member 26 are aligned in the short direction of the connecting portion 8c. The bottom surfaces of the two wirings 22 held by the wiring holding member 26 are in contact with the top surface of the upper surface portion 18b. The wiring holding member 27 is also formed in a substantially rectangular groove shape that is open on both sides and the bottom side in the longitudinal direction of the arm 6. The two wirings 22 held by the wiring holding member 27 are aligned in the short direction of the arm 6. The bottom surfaces of the two wirings 22 held by the wiring holding member 27 are in contact with the top surface of the fixing plate 29.

The wiring holding member 26 is disposed at the center of the connecting portion 8c in the short-side direction of the connecting portion 8c, and the wiring holding member 27 is disposed at the center of the arm 6 in the short-side direction of the arm 6. When the connecting portion 8c and the arm 6 overlap such that the longitudinal direction of the connecting portion 8c and the longitudinal direction of the arm 6 coincide, the wiring holding member 26 and the wiring holding member 27 are disposed at the same position in the short-side direction of the connecting portion 8c and the arm 6. Also, at this time, the guide groove 30a of the groove forming member 30 of the wiring holding member 24, the guide groove 30a of the groove forming member 30 of the wiring holding member 25, the wiring holding member 26, and the wiring holding member 27 are disposed at the same position in the short-side direction of the arm 6.

The robot 1 also includes two wires 22 routed from the other tip of the common arm 8 toward the tip of the arm 7, and a wire holding structure 23 that holds the two wires 22 at the joint 17. The wire holding structure 23 installed at the joint 17 is configured similarly to the wire holding structure 23 installed at the joint 16, except that the wire holding members 24, 26 and the guide member 28 are fixed to the upper surface of the upper surface portion 19b of the fixed member 19, and the wire holding members 25, 27 are attached to the upper surface of the arm 7 via a fixed plate 29. Therefore, a description of the wire holding structure 23 installed at the joint 17 will be omitted.

(Main effects of this embodiment)
As described above, in this embodiment, in the joints 16, 17, the wire holding member 24 attached to the tip side of the common arm 8 and disposed on the upper side of the arms 6, 7 holds the two wires 22 that overlap with a gap in the vertical direction, and the wire holding member 25 attached to the base end side of the arms 6, 7 and disposed on the upper side of the arms 6, 7 holds the two wires 22 that overlap with a gap in the vertical direction. Also, in this embodiment, the guide member 28 attached to the tip side of the common arm 8 and disposed on the upper side of the arms 6, 7 is disposed between the wire holding member 24 and the wire holding member 25 in the routing direction of the wires 22.

In addition, in this embodiment, two guide grooves 28a are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the guide member 28 in which the two overlapping wires 22 are arranged with a gap therebetween in the vertical direction, and the two wires 22 are routed at least between the wire holding member 24 and the wire holding member 25 with a gap therebetween in the vertical direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the two wires 22 are routed from the tip of the common arm 8 toward the tip of the arms 6 and 7, it is possible to prevent the two wires 22 from contacting each other at the joints 16 and 17.

In addition, if the two wires 22 held by the wire holding members 24, 25 are arranged horizontally, the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the two wires 22 cannot be determined without the four guide members 28. However, in this embodiment, the two wires 22 held by the wire holding members 24, 25 are overlapped with a gap between them in the vertical direction, so that the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the two wires 22 can be determined by the two guide members 28. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the two wires 22 are routed from the tip side of the common arm 8 toward the tip side of the arms 6, 7, it is possible to prevent the two wires 22 from contacting each other at the joints 16, 17 with a simple configuration.

In this embodiment, if an 8-core cable having eight core wires is used instead of the two 4-core cables 22, the wiring holding members 24 and 25 are not necessary. When using one 8-core cable, it is sufficient to form one guide groove 28a on the outer peripheral surface of the guide member 28. However, since an 8-core cable is harder to bend than the 4-core cable 22, when an 8-core cable is used, a large space is required to bend the 8-core cable that bends with the rotation of the arms 6 and 7 relative to the common arm 8. In contrast, in this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the space required to bend the wiring 22.

In this embodiment, the guide member 28 is disposed near the center of rotation CL of the arms 6 and 7 relative to the common arm 8 when viewed from the top-bottom direction. Also, in this embodiment, the distance between the wiring holding member 25 and the guide member 28 in the direction in which the wiring 22 is routed is longer than the distance between the wiring holding member 24 and the guide member 28 in the direction in which the wiring is routed. Therefore, in this embodiment, the bent portion of the wiring 22 that bends with the rotation of the arms 6 and 7 relative to the common arm 8 is less likely to be subjected to load. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to suppress deterioration of the wiring 22 that bends many times with the rotation of the arms 6 and 7 relative to the common arm 8, which is caused by the rotation of the arms 6 and 7.

In this embodiment, the wiring holding members 24, 25 and the guide member 28 are disposed between the wiring holding members 26 and 27 in the wiring direction of the wiring 22, and the two wirings 22 are routed in a state where they are aligned horizontally outside the wiring holding members 26, 27 in the wiring direction of the wiring 22. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to route the two wirings 22 more compactly than when the two wirings 22 are routed in a state where they are overlapped vertically outside the wiring holding members 26, 27 in the wiring direction of the wiring 22.

Other Embodiments
The above-described embodiment is one example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In the above-described embodiment, the number of wirings 22 routed from the tip of the common arm 8 to the tip of the arms 6 and 7 may be three or more. In this case, a plurality of guide grooves 28a corresponding to the number of wirings 22 are formed in the guide member 28 at a predetermined pitch in the vertical direction. In addition, a plurality of guide grooves 30a corresponding to the number of wirings 22 are formed in the groove forming member 30 at a predetermined pitch in the vertical direction.

In the above-described embodiment, instead of the common arm 8, the robot 1 may be provided with an arm to which the base end side of the arm 6 is rotatably connected to the tip side, and an arm to which the base end side of the arm 7 is rotatably connected to the tip side. In this case, the arm to which the arm 6 is connected and the arm to which the arm 7 is connected are support arms. The number of hands provided by the robot 1 may be one. In this case, the robot 1 is provided with, for example, the hand 4, the arm 6, and an arm to which the base end side of the arm 6 is rotatably connected to the tip side. In this case, the arm to which the arm 6 is connected is a support arm.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the object to be transported by the robot 1 may be something other than a glass substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer. Also, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the robot 1 may be used in an environment in which the external pressure of the robot 1 is atmospheric pressure. Furthermore, the industrial robot to which the present invention is applied may be a vertical articulated robot. In this case, the robot includes an arm and a support arm to which the base end side of the arm is rotatably connected to the tip end side, and, for example, the arm rotates with the horizontal direction as the axis of rotation relative to the support arm. That is, in this case, for example, the horizontal direction is the axis of rotation, which is the axis of rotation of the arm relative to the support arm.

1. Robots (industrial robots)
6, 7 Arm 8 Common arm (support arm)
16, 17 Joint portion 22 Wiring 23 Wiring holding structure 24 Wiring holding member (first wiring holding member)
25 Wiring holding member (second wiring holding member)
26 Wiring holding member (third wiring holding member)
27 Wiring holding member (fourth wiring holding member)
28 Guide member 28a Guide groove CL Rotation center

Claims (4)

a support arm having a base end side of the arm rotatably connected to a tip end side thereof; a plurality of wires routed from at least the tip end side of the support arm to the tip end side of the arm; and a wire holding structure that holds the plurality of wires at a joint portion that is a connection portion between the arm and the support arm,
the wiring holding structure includes a first wiring holding member and a second wiring holding member that hold the plurality of wirings overlapping with a gap in a rotation axis direction that is an axial direction of rotation of the arm relative to the support arm, a guide member that defines a magnitude of a radius of curvature of the plurality of wirings that bend in association with the rotation of the arm relative to the support arm , and a third wiring holding member and a fourth wiring holding member that hold the plurality of wirings aligned in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction ;
the first wiring holding member is attached to a tip end side of the support arm and disposed on one side of the arm in the rotation axis direction,
the second wire holding member is attached to a base end side of the arm and disposed on one side of the arm in the rotation axis direction,
the guide member is attached to a tip end side of the support arm, is disposed on one side of the arm in the rotation axis direction, and is disposed between the first wire holding member and the second wire holding member in the wiring routing direction,
a plurality of guide grooves are formed on an outer circumferential surface of the guide member, in which the plurality of wirings overlapping with a gap in the rotation axis direction are disposed ,
the third wire holding member is attached to a tip end side of the support arm and is disposed on one side of the arm in the rotation axis direction,
the fourth wire holding member is attached to a base end side of the arm and disposed on one side of the arm in the rotation axis direction,
an industrial robot comprising: a first wiring holder, a second wiring holder, and a guide member disposed between the third wiring holder and the fourth wiring holder in a wiring routing direction ; 2. The industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein the wiring holding structure comprises, as the guide members, a first guide member for determining the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the multiple wirings when the arm rotates to one side in the rotation direction of the arm relative to the support arm, and a second guide member for determining the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the multiple wirings when the arm rotates to the other side in the rotation direction of the arm relative to the support arm. The industrial robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the guide member is disposed near the center of rotation of the arm relative to the support arm when viewed from the rotation axis direction. An industrial robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the distance between the second wiring holding member and the guide member in the wiring direction is longer than the distance between the first wiring holding member and the guide member in the wiring direction.

Images