JP2001277178A - Articulated robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To save pipes and wires by providing a robot final work shaft with an air manifold 13 and a remote-terminal-controlled printed board 14 to distribute supply air and process various signals. SOLUTION: This articulated robot has a first arm 1 and a second arm 2 that rotate only horizontally, and a hollow shaft 11 with opened upper and lower ends is disposed at the tip of the second arm 2 rotatably and vertically slidably. The lower part of the shaft 11 is mounted with the air manifold 13 having a solenoid valve 12 in each branch hole and the remote-terminal- controlled printed board 14, and the lower end of the shaft is provided with an actuator such as a hand 3 operated by air. Various cables 161 and an air pipe 20 extended over the second arm 2 are loosely inserted into the shaft hole of the shaft 11 and pulled out from the bottom opening of the shaft 11, the cables 161 are electrically connected to a predetermined terminal of the printed board 14, and the air pipe 20 is connected to the air manifold 13 to supply the air to the hand 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an articulated robot having a plurality of arms and a robot final working axis having a tip device such as a tool or a handling device rotatably attached to the tips of the arms. Air piping for supplying compressed air to the device is reduced, and various electric wiring for supplying power or transmitting signals is reduced, and the air piping and electric wiring may be bent or broken due to rotation of the arm or the tip device. The present invention relates to an articulated robot having improved piping and wiring so that the tip device can rotate about ± 360 ° without causing obstacles such as entanglement.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, horizontal articulated robots with reduced piping and wiring have been disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-47997, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-57792, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-48492. As shown in the figure, the cables and air pipes are stored in the arm so that the cables do not become entangled by the rotation of the arm, preventing breakage due to the entanglement, especially when using the robot in a clean room. Some attempt to prevent the generation of dust at the time.

[0003] Further, the present applicant has filed a Japanese Patent Application No. 1999-229391 and a Japanese Patent Application No. 22939.
The horizontal articulated robot used in No. 3 is the second arm 2
A robot final working shaft (tool mounting shaft) is slidably mounted on the tip of the robot, an actuator such as a pneumatic hand is attached to the lower end of the robot final working shaft, and an electromagnetic valve is provided on the outer surface of the second arm. An air manifold and a remote terminal control printed circuit board are provided. A multi-core cable extending above the second arm is connected to a predetermined terminal of a remote terminal control printed circuit board, and compressed air supplied through an air pipe is distributed by an air manifold to be supplied to an actuator.

[0004]

However, the robot disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-47997, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-57792 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-48492 has reduced wiring and piping. In addition, electric wiring is required for connection between each terminal, and the number of wirings cannot be reduced. Since all of these many wirings and air pipes are installed in the arm, the arm becomes extremely heavy. In other words, since the wiring and piping are not arranged outside the arm, for example, when operated in a clean room, no dust is generated,
There is a problem that only the merit that the cleanness is maintained, but the number of pipes and wirings is not actually reduced. Also, in order to rotate the arm while a large number of electric wires and air pipes are inserted through hollow joint shafts in the joints provided between the arms, a portion of the electric wires and air pipes centered on the joints. Each time the arm rotates, it bends or bends, causing the electrical wiring and air piping to bend, twist, break, and prevent air from passing.
If maintenance is not performed regularly, there is a problem that the initial functions may be impaired.

[0005] The pending Japanese Patent Application No. 229391/1999.
Articulated robot used in each of the devices of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Heisei 11-1999 and Japanese Patent Application No. 229393/1999, since a remote terminal control printed circuit board and an air manifold are attached to the second arm, a remote terminal control printed circuit board and an electromagnetic valve The cable and the air pipe connecting the actuator and the actuator are routed by overhanging the tip device, and it takes time to route the wiring and piping in consideration of the movement of the tip device. In addition, since the piping and wiring follow the operation of the advanced equipment, the wiring and piping are likely to be entangled or disconnected, and it takes an extremely long time to identify and repair the broken part, and the rotation of the advanced equipment is within ± 180 °. There was a problem of being restricted.

Therefore, in order to eliminate the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, a robot final working shaft comprising a hollow body provided with a tool, an actuator and the like is slid on the tip of an arm, and further a robot final working shaft. Is equipped with an air manifold for distributing supply air and a remote terminal control printed circuit board for processing various signals, to reduce piping and wiring, and to limit movement of advanced devices such as tools and actuators. It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to rotate about ± 360 ° without performing the above, and to improve the workability of assembling parts.

[0007]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a robot having a plurality of arms and attached with a tip device such as a tool or an actuator for handling. In an articulated robot in which a final working axis is rotatably attached to a tip of an arm provided at the most distal end of the arm, an air pipe for supplying air to the actuator is omitted in the robot last working axis. An air manifold is provided for piping, the air manifold is provided with an electromagnetic valve that is controlled to open and close, and signal wiring for transmitting various sensor signals from the tip device to a controller; Remote terminal control pre-wired to reduce wiring such as electric wiring that transmits control signals for operating the device. Characterized in that a preparative substrate.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the final working shaft of the robot is a spline shaft composed of a hollow body opened at the top and bottom, and an air pipe and a cable extending to near one end opening of the spline shaft. Is loosely inserted into the spline shaft, pulled out from the other end opening of the spline shaft, the air pipe is connected to an air manifold, and the cable is electrically connected to a remote terminal control printed circuit board. It is characterized by.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view of an articulated robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory view showing a main part, and FIG. 3 is an arrangement state of an air manifold, a solenoid valve, an air pipe and a cable. FIG.

An articulated robot according to an embodiment of the present invention has an operation panel (not shown) manually operated by an operator or the like.
The first arm 1 and the second arm 2 are operated in accordance with the operation of the robot or an operation program input in advance to a robot controller (not shown), and the tip devices such as the hand 3 and the tool 4 are also operated. I have.

First, in FIG. 1, the articulated robot is a horizontal articulated robot, and a predetermined range is provided on the upper end of a substantially cylindrical robot column 6 having a robot base 5 fixed to the floor of the installation place. A first arm 1 is provided which is rotatable in the horizontal direction. The first arm 1 is formed in a hollow body having a hollow portion, and has an upper end of the robot column 6 and the first arm 1.
A hollow joint shaft having both ends opened is interposed between the base end of the arm 1 and a first joint centered on the upper end of the robot column 6.
The arm 1 is rotatably connected in the horizontal direction, and the first joint 7 is formed so as to communicate the hollow portion of the robot column 6 with the hollow portion of the first arm 1.

A second arm 2 is provided at the tip of the first arm 1 so as to be rotatable within a predetermined range in the horizontal direction. The second arm 2 is formed in a hollow body having a hollow portion,
A hollow joint shaft having both ends opened is interposed between the distal end of the arm 1 and the proximal end of the second arm 2, and the second arm 2 is connected to be rotatable in the horizontal direction around the distal end of the first arm 1. The second joint 8 is formed so that the hollow portion of the first arm 1 and the hollow portion of the second arm 2 communicate with each other. In the hollow portion between the robot column 6 and the first arm 1, the first arm 1
And a servomotor for driving the second arm 2 are provided by known means, respectively, and the first arm 1 and the second arm 2 are configured to perform predetermined operations. or,
The pipe 9 is connected to the robot column 6 and the second column so as to bypass the second joint 8 with the path above the outside of the first arm 1.
The hollow part of the arm 2 is connected and connected.

At the end of the second arm 2, a mounting hole is vertically provided. A mounting shaft 10 having a shaft hole is fixedly mounted in the mounting hole. Inside the hole, the upper and lower ends of the robot spline shaft 11 project outward from the upper and lower openings of the mounting shaft 10 and are slidably provided so as to be vertically movable or rotatable. A servo motor for driving the robot spline shaft 11 is provided in a hollow portion of the second arm 2 by a known means.

An air manifold 13 having an electromagnetic valve 12 and a remote terminal control printed circuit board 14 are fitted below the robot spline shaft 11, and a hand 3 operated by supplying compressed air is provided at the lower end of the robot spline shaft 11. A tip device such as a tool and a tool 4 is attached. More specifically, the air manifold 13 has a robot spline shaft 11 at the center as shown in FIG.
The solenoid valve 12 is formed in a regular-view regular polygon having a perforation for inserting the same, and each branch hole formed on the side surface is controlled to open and close. Remote terminal control printed circuit board 14
Has a hole in the center for inserting the robot spline shaft 11, is formed in a polygonal shape substantially similar to the air manifold 13 in plan view, and has a lower surface such as a wiring for exciting an electromagnetic valve and a wiring for sensor signals, etc. Various signal lines are printed with a conductive material. A cover body 15 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the remote terminal control printed circuit board 14 at an angle of about 90 ° with the lower surface of the remote terminal control printed circuit board 14. The air manifold 13 and the remote terminal control printed circuit board 14 are integrally mounted so that their perforated positions are vertically aligned, and the robot spline shaft 11 is fitted and fixed in each perforated hole. Incidentally, the remote terminal control printed circuit board 14 may be provided above the air manifold 13.

The multi-core cable 16 includes a power cable for supplying power to the servo motor and the remote terminal control printed circuit board 14, a cable for transmitting a control signal output from a robot controller (not shown), and a sensor from a leading device. It comprises various cables for sending signals to a robot controller (not shown), a power cable for supplying power to the servomotor branches inside the robot column 6, and another cable 161 passes through the inside of the pipe 9, It is pulled out from the upper end of the second joint 8, is inserted into the robot spline shaft 11 through the upper end opening of the robot spline shaft 11, is drawn out from the lower end opening of the robot spline shaft 11, and is fixed on the remote terminal control printed circuit board 14. Are electrically connected to the respective terminals. One terminal of the solenoid valve excitation wiring 17 is connected to the remote terminal control printed circuit board 14 and the other terminal is connected to the solenoid valve 1.
2 is connected. The robot controller (not shown) operates by receiving an instruction from an operation panel (not shown) as an external signal, and in response to the instruction, a wiring for exciting the electromagnetic valve and a wiring for exciting the electromagnetic valve of the remote terminal control printed circuit board 14. A signal for exciting the solenoid valve is sent to the solenoid valve 12 via 17 and
The solenoid of the solenoid valve 12 is excited to open and drive a predetermined solenoid valve 12. One terminal of the sensor signal wiring 18 is connected to the sensor 19 side, and the other terminal is connected to a predetermined terminal of the remote terminal control printed circuit board 14. (Not shown).

The air pipe 20 is composed of two air pipes, an air supply pipe and an air recirculation pipe. One end of the air pipe is provided outside the robot column 6 (not shown).
Is connected to the robot column 6, passes through the pipe 9 from the inside of the robot column 6, is drawn out from the upper end of the second joint 8, is loosely inserted in the robot spline shaft 11, and is drawn out from the lower end opening of the robot spline shaft 11. And is connected to a predetermined connection port of the air manifold 13.

The air pipe 21 has one end connected to each branch hole of the air manifold 13 with the electromagnetic valve 12 interposed therebetween, and the other end connected to an air supply port of an actuator such as the hand 3 operated by air supply. Connected. That is, the air pipe 21 communicates the actuator with the solenoid valve 12 of the air manifold 13 located on the same vertical line as the robot spline shaft 11 so as to be substantially parallel to the robot spline shaft 11. The air manifold 13 is supplied with compressed air from an external air supply source (not shown) through an air supply pipe of an air pipe 20, and supplies the compressed air to a flow path (FIG. (Not shown) and the electromagnetic valve 12 (branch hole) that is driven to open, is sent to the air pipe 21 and supplied to the actuator.

When the robot spline shaft 11 is rotated by driving the servo motor in the second arm 2, the tip devices such as the air manifold 13, the remote terminal control printed circuit board 14 and the hand 3 are rotated together with the robot spline shaft 11. , The air pipe 21 and the various wirings 17 and 18 also rotate together with the robot spline shaft 11 without changing the position with respect to the robot spline shaft 11, and the air pipe 21 and the wirings 17 and 18 are rotated.
8 does not become entangled or twisted. Cable 16
And the air pipe 20 is loosely inserted into the shaft hole of the robot spline shaft 11, so that the rotation of the robot spline shaft 11 causes the robot spline shaft 1 to rotate.
The tip device provided at the lower part of the robot spline shaft 11 is rotated by about ± 360 °, with the cable 16 and the air pipe 20 in one shaft hole being twisted only slightly, and practically hardly twisted. It becomes possible.

In this embodiment, a spline shaft, which is the robot's final working axis, is slid on the arm at the tip, and an air manifold for distributing supplied air and a remote terminal control printed circuit board for signal processing are mounted on the spline shaft. Since it was installed, it was possible to reduce piping and wiring. Specifically, by attaching the air manifold for distributing the supplied air to the spline shaft, only two air pipes, one for supplying air and the other for recirculating air, are sufficient, and there is an effect that piping can be saved. . In addition, since the remote terminal control printed circuit board for signal processing is attached to the splined shaft, the wiring is two electric wirings for power supply, and a total of four electric wirings for sensor signals and each signal wiring for solenoid valve control. That is, it is possible to use one multi-core cable composed of four core wires, which has an effect of reducing wiring.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the horizontal articulated robot shown in the present embodiment, and a robot final working axis having an air manifold and a remote terminal control printed circuit board is provided at an end of a plurality of arms. By providing this, it can also be used for a vertical articulated robot.

[0022]

According to the present invention, an air manifold and a remote terminal control printed circuit board are mounted on a robot final working axis provided on an arm, and distribution of supply air and processing of various signals are performed by the air manifold and the remote terminal control printed circuit board. With such a configuration, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce piping and wiring to the final working axis of the robot.

Further, the robot can be reduced in weight and size by reducing piping and wiring.

Further, in the final working axis of the robot which moves up and down and rotates, distribution of supply air and signal processing are performed.
There is an effect that the tip device can be rotated by ± 360 ° without entanglement or disconnection of the air piping or wiring.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a horizontal articulated robot according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory view showing a main part.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement state of an air manifold, a solenoid valve, an air pipe, and a cable.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 Arm 3 Hand 4 Tool 11 Robot spline shaft 12 Solenoid valve 13 Air manifold 14 Remote terminal control printed circuit board 161 Cable 20, 21 Air piping

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasushi Kawato 418 Wakamiya Minaminoda, Oshige-gun, Onsen-gun, Ehime Prefecture -4 Hikari Co., Ltd. 418 Wakamiya -4 Hikari Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3F060 AA01 AA08 EB02 EB12 EC02 EC12 FA03 FA07 GA05 GA13 GA16 GB16 HA02 HA03 HA05 HA28 HA35

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A robot having a plurality of arms and having a tip device such as a tool or an actuator for handling mounted thereon, is capable of rotating a robot final working axis to a tip of an arm provided at the most tip of the arms. In the articulated robot to be mounted, an air manifold is provided on the final working axis of the robot to reduce the amount of air piping for supplying air to the actuator, and the air manifold includes an electromagnetic valve that is controlled to open and close. To reduce the number of wires such as signal wiring for transmitting various sensor signals from the tip device to a controller and electrical wiring for transmitting control signals for operating the tip device from the controller. An articulated robot comprising a remote terminal control printed circuit board. 2. The spline shaft, wherein the robot's final working shaft is a spline shaft made of a hollow body that is open at the top and bottom, and the air pipe and the cable extending to the vicinity of one end opening of the spline shaft are allowed to flow into the spline shaft. The air line is connected to the air manifold, and the cable is electrically connected to the remote terminal control printed circuit board. 2. The articulated robot according to 1.