JP6144886B2 - Cable processing structure for industrial robots - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing structure for a cable routed along the outside of a robot arm of an industrial robot.

  A cable is routed along the outside of the robot arm from the base end side of the robot arm to the movable part such as a work hand attached to the tip of the robot arm, and the cable follows the movement of the robot arm and the movable part. An industrial robot configured to do this is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, in order to improve the followability to the movement of the robot arm and hand, as a cable for the robot hand, the flexibility and stretchability called mechatronic coil tube (the cable itself is attached with a coil spring-shaped winding rod) There are many examples of cables that have both.

  On the other hand, an example in which the outside of the cable is covered with a cover-like member in order to restrict excessive movement of the cable routed along the robot arm is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-224689 JP 2012-61565 A

  When the cable is routed outside the robot arm as in the example described in Patent Document 1, the cable moves freely according to the movement of the movable part such as the robot arm or the hand. Problems with cable interference with equipment are likely to occur. For example, when a robot arm is inserted into a narrow area such as between the blades of a bender, the hand cable is likely to interfere with surrounding devices. For this reason, there have been cases where the movement of the robot arm or hand has to be restricted to prevent this.

  Further, when the mechatronic coil tube is used as the cable for the robot hand, the followability to the movement of the robot arm and the hand is improved, but the problem of interference with surrounding devices sometimes becomes large.

  Further, as in the example described in Patent Document 2, when the outside of the cable is covered with a cover-like member, the moving range of the cable can be regulated, so that the problem of interference with surrounding devices can be solved. Useful. However, simply covering the outside of the cable with a cover-like member may hinder the smooth movement of the cable.

In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention helps to solve the problem of interference with surrounding devices without obstructing the smooth movement of the cable following the movement of the movable part or bracket attached to the tip of the robot arm, Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cable processing structure for an industrial robot that does not require any special restriction on the movement of the movable part and the bracket .

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a movable part for working at the tip of a robot arm so as to be swingable in a vertical direction, and a bracket is provided on the movable part so as to be pivotable in a horizontal direction, and The cable is routed from the base end side of the robot arm toward the bracket of the movable part along the outside of the robot arm so that the cable moves following the movement of the movable part and the bracket. the cable processing structure configured industrial robot, the cable support frame vignetting Installing having vertical floating space on the distal end side of the outer surface of the robot arm, the floating space of the cable support frame, the longitudinal direction base carp end fixed through the bracket in the longitudinal direction of the distal end portion to pivot in the lateral direction on the movable portion is fixed to the base end side of the robot arm A middle portion in the longitudinal direction of a telescopic cylindrical guide made of a spring is inserted in a state in which it can slide in the vertical direction and is constrained to move in the left-right width direction of the robot arm, and the cable extends in the longitudinal direction in the cylindrical guide It is characterized by being slidably inserted.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the cable is slidably inserted into the cylindrical guide made of the coil spring, the cable is protected by the cylindrical guide (coil spring), and the movable part or the bracket Follow the movement smoothly. At this time, since the cylindrical guide is constituted by a coil spring, the cylindrical guide freely expands and contracts with the movement of the movable part and the bracket , so that the cable passed through the cylindrical guide member is fixed at a certain position. It will be pulled or pushed back, and no extra slack or bending will occur in the middle of the cable. In addition, since the middle part of the cylindrical guide slides up and down within the floating space of the cable support frame, the cable can be routed in the shortest path while regulating the vertical movement range of the cylindrical guide and cable. You will be able to guide. In addition, the restraining action by the cable support frame restricts the vertical movement of the cylindrical guide and the cable inserted therein and the movement of the robot arm in the left-right width direction. Thus, it is possible to limit the area that is likely to be small. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a restriction for avoiding interference between the cable and surrounding devices in the movement of the movable part and the bracket .

It is a side view which shows the structure of the front end side of the industrial robot which employ | adopted the cable processing structure of embodiment of this invention. In the robot, it is a side view for explaining movement of a cable and a coil spring (tubular guide) when the wrist is bent downward and the hand is turned. FIG. 4 is a side view for explaining the movement of the cable and the coil spring (cylindrical guide) when the wrist is lifted to a horizontal position in the robot. FIG. 4 is a side view for explaining the movement of the cable and the coil spring (tubular guide) when the wrist is lifted further upward from the position of FIG. 3 in the robot. FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow X in FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of the distal end side of an industrial robot incorporating the cable processing structure of the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cable and coil spring (tubular shape) when the wrist portion is bent downward and the hand portion is turned. 3 is a side view for explaining the movement of the guide, and FIG. 3 is a side view for explaining the movement of the cable and the coil spring (tubular guide) when the wrist is lifted to a horizontal position. FIG. 5 is a side view for explaining the movement of the cable and coil spring (cylindrical guide) when the wrist is lifted further upward than the position of FIG.

This robot is a vertical articulated robot 1, which includes a fixed part (not shown), a turning part (not shown) that is pivotally supported by the fixed part and pivots around the vertical axis, and is supported by the turning part in the front-rear direction . a lower arm 5 swings, the upper arm (robot arm) 10 which swings in the vertical direction is rotatably supported by the lower arm 5, rocking in the vertical direction (arrow C) attached to the end of the upper arm 10 moving It comprises a wrist part (movable part) 11 that can be freely moved, and a hand part 13 that is attached to a bracket 12 of the wrist part 11 and that can turn together with the bracket 12 in the left-right direction ( arrow D direction ) .

  The cable 20 is routed along the outside of the fixed portion, the turning portion, the lower arm 5, and the upper arm 10, and reaches the bracket 12 of the wrist portion 11. The cable 20 is routed from the proximal end side of the upper arm 10 to the bracket 12 of the wrist portion 11 through the distal end side of the upper arm 10, and the movement of the upper arm 10 and the wrist portion 11 and the hand portion 13 are It is configured to move following the movement.

  A distal end side cable support frame 31 and a proximal end side cable support frame 32 are respectively attached to the distal end side and the proximal end side of the outer surface of the upper arm 10. As shown in FIG. 5, the distal end side cable support frame 31 is provided with a floating space 31a in the vertical direction.

  The distal end side of the cable 20 including the upper arm 10 is inserted in a longitudinally slidable cylindrical guide 50 made of a coil spring (in the direction of arrow A in the drawing) so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction. The cylindrical guide 50 is in a state in which the longitudinal intermediate portion 52 is slidable in the up and down direction (in the direction of arrow B in the figure) in the idle space 31a of the distal end side cable support frame 31 and the movement in the left and right width direction of the upper arm 10 is restricted. It is inserted. Further, the longitudinal base end portion 51 of the cylindrical guide 50 is fixed to the proximal end side of the upper arm 10 by the proximal end side cable support frame 32, and the longitudinal direction distal end portion 53 of the cylindrical guide 50 is the bracket 12 of the wrist portion 11. It is fixed to.

  Next, the operation will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, when the wrist portion 11 is directed downward, a certain amount of tensile force acts on the cable 20, so that the cylindrical guide 50 made of a coil spring is somewhat long. It moves to the lower side in the idle space 31a of the distal end side cable support frame 31 while extending.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, when the hand portion 13 is turned with the wrist portion 11 facing downward, the cable 20 is further pulled according to the movement, so that the cylindrical guide 50 made of a coil spring is provided. Will grow longer.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, when the wrist 11 is lifted to a horizontal position, a pushing back force acts on the cable 20, so that the cylindrical guide 50 made of a coil spring is contracted shortly. The tip end side cable support frame 31 moves upward in the free space 31a.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the wrist portion 11 is further lifted, a pulling force acts on the cable 20, so that the cylindrical guide 50 made of a coil spring extends while the distal end side cable support frame 31 is extended. It moves upward in the idle space 31a.

  As described above, the cable 20 is slidably inserted into the cylindrical guide 50 when the cylindrical guide 50 and the cable 20 move along with the movement of the wrist portion 11 and the hand portion 13. Smoothly follows the movement of the wrist portion 11 and the hand portion 13 while being protected by the cylindrical guide (coil spring) 50.

  In this case, since the cylindrical guide 50 is constituted by a coil spring, it can freely expand and contract with the movement of the wrist portion 11 and the hand portion 13, so that the cable 20 passed through the cylindrical guide 50 is Then, it is pulled or pushed back at a certain position, so that no excessive slack or bending occurs in the middle of the cable.

  Moreover, since the intermediate part of the cylindrical guide 50 slides up and down within the floating space 31a of the distal end side cable support frame 31, the vertical range of the cylindrical guide 50 and the cable 20 is regulated. The cable 20 can be guided by the shortest route.

  Further, the restraining action by the distal end side cable support frame 31 restricts the movement of the cylindrical guide 50 and the cable 20 inserted therein and the movement of the upper arm 10 in the left-right width direction. An area where the cable 20 may interfere with surrounding devices can be limited to a small size. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a restriction for avoiding interference between the cable 20 and surrounding devices in the movement of the wrist portion 11 and the hand portion 13.

1 Vertical articulated robot (industrial robot)
10 Upper arm (robot arm)
11 Wrist (movable part)
12 Bracket 20 Cable 31 End-side cable support frame (cable support frame)
31a Free space 50 Cylindrical guide made of a coil spring 51 Longitudinal proximal end 52 Longitudinal intermediate 53
C Vertical direction
D Left / Right direction

Claims (1)

A working movable part is provided at the tip of the robot arm so as to be swingable in the vertical direction, and a bracket is provided on the movable part so as to be pivotable in the horizontal direction, and the robot arm extends along the outside of the robot arm. In the cable processing structure of an industrial robot configured such that a cable is routed from the base end side toward the bracket of the movable part, and the cable follows the movement of the movable part or the bracket .
Vignetting cable support frame takes with vertical floating space on the distal end side of the outer surface of the robot arm, the floating space of the cable support frame, fixed length direction base end portion on the base end side of the robot arm with the longitudinally intermediate portion of the longitudinal tip telescopic tubular guide made of a coil spring which is fixed through the bracket to pivot in the lateral direction on the movable portion of the vertical slide freely and the robot arm A cable processing structure for an industrial robot, wherein the cable is inserted in a state in which movement is restricted in the left-right width direction, and the cable is slidably inserted in the cylindrical guide in the longitudinal direction.

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