JP7707028B2 - manual tool changer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a manual tool changer that manually attaches tools, etc., that are applied to various industrial robots to a work main body mechanism such as a robot arm in a removable and replaceable manner.

Conventionally, automatic tool changers are known that use air, electrical power, or other power to attach and detach tools applied to various industrial robots to and from the work main body mechanism. In the conventional technology shown in Patent Document 1, a cylinder is formed in the robot side changer on the work main body mechanism side, and a piston in the cylinder is advanced and retreated by a pressurized fluid. As the piston advances and retreats, a connecting mechanism is operated to attach and detach the robot side changer and the tool side changer.

The tool exchange device described in Patent Document 2 is used to manually attach and detach various tools to a work main body mechanism such as a robot arm for exchange, and has an L-shaped connector with a semicircular engagement recess formed therein, and a cam shaft with an engagement cam that engages with the engagement recess. The cam shaft is rotated by rotating a handle attached to one end of the cam shaft, and the engagement recess and the engagement cam are engaged or disengaged.

Patent Publication 2018-118333 Patent Publication 2008-272875

However, the automatic tool changer shown in Patent Document 1, as described above, moves a piston back and forth by introducing and discharging pressurized fluid into a cylinder to attach and detach the robot side changer and the tool side changer. Because a compressor, pressure tank, valve mechanism, etc. are required to generate the pressurized fluid, the changer has a complex configuration, which makes manufacturing time-consuming and expensive. In addition, the compressor, etc. must be operated every time a tool is changed, resulting in poor work efficiency.

The tool changer shown in Patent Document 2 requires a handle to rotate the camshaft, and a lot of space is required in the vertical and circumferential directions to rotate the handle, which causes problems in that the tool or main work mechanism interferes with the range of motion of the handle.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a manual tool changer that can be attached and detached manually, improving work efficiency and reducing the space required for attachment and detachment.

The present invention relates to a manual tool changer including a connection plate fixed to the tip rotating part of a robot, a pair of convex positioning parts provided on the connection plate, a plurality of tool plates to which separate tools for different work purposes are fixed, a pair of concave or hole-shaped positioned parts provided on the tool plate, and a connecting mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the connection plate and the tool plate, the connecting mechanism comprising a tapered shaft that can move back and forth horizontally via a guide cylinder provided on the connection plate, a ball holder that is arranged parallel to the tapered shaft and has a through hole in a direction perpendicular to the tapered shaft, and a ball holder that can move the tool by the back and forth movement of the tapered shaft via the ball holder. The coupling mechanism is characterized by having an engaging member that moves back and forth, a lock plate provided on the tool plate, and a receiving surface formed on the lock plate so that the engaging member can engage with the engaging member, and by having a toggle mechanism for moving the tapered shaft back and forth, the engaging member and the receiving surface are engaged and connected by the tapered shaft moving in the back and forth direction, and by using a toggle mechanism for moving the tapered shaft back and forth, no space is required in the vertical and circumferential directions, and attachment and detachment are possible regardless of the shape of fixed objects such as tools and robots, and by having a toggle mechanism, a self-locking mechanism can be installed.

The toggle mechanism is characterized by being rotatably arranged on the tapered shaft, allowing the space required for attachment and detachment to be changed, and allowing for flexible adaptation to installation locations.

The positioning portion and the positioned portion are arranged symmetrically at a distance from each other, which improves the rotational strength when the connection plate and the tool plate are connected.

As described above, according to the present invention, in a manual tool changer that manually attaches and detaches tools applied to various industrial robots to a work main body mechanism such as a robot arm, it is possible to provide a manual tool changer that can improve work efficiency and reduce the space required for attachment and detachment by manually attaching and detaching the tools, can change the space required for attachment and detachment depending on the installation location, and can improve the rotational direction cleanliness when connected.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a connection plate according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view of a connection plate according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a tool plate according to an embodiment of the present invention; AA cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention before connection. AA cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention after connection. BB cross-sectional view of a connection plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The following describes the present invention based on Figures 1 to 6.

The manual tool changer according to this embodiment has a connection plate 1 that is fixed to the rotating tip of the robot and a tool plate 2 that is fixed to a tool such as an air hand, electric hand, or welding gun that is detachably connected. If necessary, the connection plate 1 and tool plate 2 can be detached by switching the coupling mechanism 3 of the connection plate 1, and replaced with the tool plate 2 that is fixed to a different tool.

As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 6, the connection plate 1 is composed of a pair of convex positioning parts 3, a guide cylinder 4 attached horizontally to the connection plate 1, a tapered shaft 5 that can move back and forth horizontally via the guide cylinder 4, a ball holder 6 that is arranged parallel to the tapered shaft 5 and has a through hole perpendicular to the tapered shaft 5, an engagement member 7 that moves back and forth via the ball holder 6 as the tapered shaft 5 moves back and forth, and a toggle mechanism 8 for moving the tapered shaft 5 back and forth. The toggle mechanism 8 is driven by a detachable lever.

The tapered shaft 5 moves back and forth via the toggle mechanism 8. At this time, the tapered portion of the tapered shaft 5 comes into contact with the engaging member 7 in the through hole provided in the ball holder 6, causing the engaging member 7 to move back and forth within the through hole of the ball holder 6.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the tool plate 2 is composed of a pair of concave positioning portions 9, a compression spring 10 built into the tool plate 2, a pair of lock plates 11 arranged parallel and facing each other, and a receiving surface 12 formed on the lock plates 11 so as to be able to engage with the engaging member 7.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, when the tool plate 2 is inserted into the connection plate 1, the engagement member 7 is moved back and forth using the toggle mechanism 8, and the engagement member 7 comes into contact with the receiving surface 12. Because the engagement member 7 is spherical and the receiving surface 12 is tapered, when the engagement member 7 comes into contact with the receiving surface 12, a force is applied in the direction that draws the contact plate 1 and the tool plate 2 together, and they become engageable.

When the contact plate 1 and tool plate 2 are in an engageable state, the tapered shaft 5 moves back and forth via the toggle mechanism 8, functioning as a toggle clamp. By functioning as a toggle clamp, the engagement state between the contact plate 1 and tool plate 2 is maintained and the mechanism has a self-locking function.

The toggle mechanism 8 is rotatably arranged on the tapered shaft 5, so that the direction of the detachable lever for operating the toggle mechanism 8 can be freely selected and changed depending on the installation environment of the installation location.

When the contact plate 1 and tool plate 2 are engaged, the positioning accuracy is improved by the convex positioning portion 3 on the outer surface of the contact plate 1 and the concave positioned portion on the outer surface of the tool plate 2.

The positioning portion 3 is formed in a pin shape that extends outward from the contact plate 1, and is tapered from the tip, so that it can engage along the tapered shape even if the connection plate 1 and tool plate 2 are misaligned when engaged.

The positioned portion 9 has a shape in which the inner diameter becomes smaller from the surface that connects to the contact plate 1 of the tool plate 2, and has a tapered shape that can fit into the base of the positioning portion 3, and is installed so that it is pushed up toward the axial center from inside the tool plate 2 by the compression spring 10. The positioned portion 9 also has a notch on its circumference.

The positioning part 3 and the positioned part 9 engage at the tapered portion, preventing radial misalignment of the contact plate 1 and the tool plate 2. The positioned part 9 is constantly subjected to axial force by the compression spring 10, preventing axial misalignment of the contact plate 1 and the tool plate 2. The positioning part 9 has a notch on its circumference, which applies a radial force when the positioning part 3 comes into contact with the positioned part 9. Eliminating the clearance between the tool plate 2 and the positioned part 9 prevents the positioned part 9 from misaligning, improving the accuracy of position reproduction when the contact plate 1 and the tool plate 2 are engaged.

The positioning parts 3 and the positioned parts 9 are arranged symmetrically about the center of the contact plate 1 and the tool plate 2, respectively, at a distance from each other. By increasing the distance between each pair of positioning parts 3 and positioned parts 9, it is possible to improve strength in the rotational direction when connected.

The tapered shaft 5, ball holder 6, and lock plate 11 are used as the connecting mechanism between the connection plate 1 and the tool plate 2. The engagement between the engagement member 7 and the receiving surface 12 and the toggle mechanism 8 for the forward and backward movement of the tapered shaft 5 eliminate the need for space in the vertical and circumferential directions, and attachment and detachment are possible regardless of the shape of the fixed object such as the tool or robot. A self-locking mechanism can also be installed. The toggle mechanism 8 is rotatably arranged relative to the tapered shaft 5, so the space required for attachment and detachment can be changed, allowing for flexible response to the installation location. The positioning portion 3 and the positioned portion 9 are arranged symmetrically and at a distance from each other on the contact plate 1 and the tool plate 2, respectively, improving the strength in the rotational direction when connected.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Connection plate 2 Tool plate 3 Positioning portion 4 Guide cylinder 5 Tapered shaft 6 Ball holder 7 Engagement member 8 Toggle mechanism 9 Positioned portion 10 Compression spring 11 Lock plate 12 Receiving surface

Claims (3)

A manual tool changer including a connection plate fixed to the tip rotating part of a robot, a pair of convex positioning parts provided on the connection plate, a plurality of tool plates to which separate tools for different work purposes are fixed, a pair of concave or hole-shaped positioned parts provided on the tool plate, and a connecting mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the connection plate and the tool plate, the connecting mechanism including a tapered shaft that moves back and forth horizontally via a guide cylinder provided on the connection plate, a ball holder that is arranged parallel to the tapered shaft and has a through hole in a direction perpendicular to the tapered shaft, an engaging member that moves back and forth via the ball holder as the tapered shaft moves back and forth, a lock plate provided on the tool plate, and a receiving surface formed on the lock plate so as to be engageable with the engaging member, and a toggle mechanism for moving the tapered shaft back and forth. 2. The manual tool changer according to claim 1, wherein the toggle mechanism is rotatably disposed relative to the tapered shaft. 2. The manual tool changer according to claim 1, wherein the positioning portion and the positioned portion are disposed symmetrically about a center thereof at a distance from each other.