Operation device for industrial machine

Abstract

Provided is an operation device (10) for an industrial machine, said operation device (10) comprising: a housing (30) that has a rear surface and that defines therein an accommodation space (31); a control board (20) that is disposed in the accommodation space (31); and a connector (24) that is mounted on a mounting surface (22) of the control board (20), wherein the rear surface of the housing (30) is provided with a recess (50a) that is recessed further in the thickness direction of the housing (30) than the surroundings thereof, and at an inner surface of the recess (50a), the connection direction of the connector (24) is inclined diagonally outward with respect to a plane orthogonal to the thickness direction and a connection port (25) of the connector (24) can be exposed to the outside.

Description

Operating device for industrial machinery

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an operating device for industrial machinery.

[0002] For example, a teaching operation panel for performing a teaching operation on an industrial machine such as a robot generally has a connector that enables connection to an external device or the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The connection port of this connector is provided on a side surface extending in the thickness direction of the teaching operation panel.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-020388

[0004] When connecting a cable extending from an external device to the connector of the teaching operation panel as described above, the connector attached to the tip of the cable will protrude significantly outward from the side surface of the teaching operation panel. That is, a relatively large space must be secured around the teaching operation panel in a state where the connector is connected, resulting in a substantial increase in the size of the teaching operation panel. In addition, the connector connected so as to protrude from the side surface of the teaching operation panel is likely to be subjected to an external force in a direction orthogonal to the protruding direction, and there is a risk of being easily damaged even by a relatively small external force.

[0005] Therefore, in the operating device for industrial machinery, it is desired to prevent the connector of the connected external device from protruding significantly outward from the side surface and to more reliably protect the connector in the connected state.

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure is an operating device for industrial machinery, comprising a housing having a back surface and defining an accommodation space inside, a control board disposed in the accommodation space, and a connector mounted on a mounting surface of the control board, wherein a recess recessed in the thickness direction of the housing more than the periphery is provided on the back surface of the housing, and on the inner surface of the recess, the connection direction of the connector is inclined obliquely outward with respect to a surface orthogonal to the thickness direction so that the connection port of the connector can be exposed to the outside.

[0007] This is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a robot system to which an operating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is applied. This is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the operating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. This is a diagram illustrating a method for connecting the connector of an external device to the connector of the operating device shown in Figure 2. This is a perspective view showing the rear side of the operating device shown in Figure 2. This is a schematic diagram showing the shape of the ribs provided on the front case of the operating device in Figure 2. This is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view illustrating the shape of the ribs provided on the front and back cases in a modified example of the operating device in Figure 2.

[0008] A teaching control panel (operating device) 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a robot system 100 to which the teaching control panel 10 according to this embodiment is applied will be described. The robot system 100 includes, for example, a robot (industrial machine) 1, a control device 2 that controls the operation of the robot 1, and a teaching control panel 10 connected to the control device 2, as shown in Figure 1.

[0009] Robot 1 is, for example, a six-axis articulated robot. In the example shown in Figure 1, robot 1 is equipped with motors M1 to M6 that operate each of the six joints J1 to J6, and a reduction gear (not shown) that reduces their rotational force.

[0010] The control device 2 includes at least one memory, such as ROM and / or RAM (not shown), and at least one processor, such as a CPU. The control device 2 controls the movement of the robot 1 by driving each of the motors M1 to M6 based on the teaching data stored in the memory.

[0011] The teaching control panel 10 is a device used, for example, when creating teaching data to cause the robot 1 to perform a predetermined task, or when an operator manually operates the robot 1. As shown in Figure 2, the teaching control panel 10 comprises a control board 20, a housing 30 that houses the control board 20, and a monitor device 45, a key sheet 46, and an enable switch 55 attached to the housing 30.

[0012] The control board 20 is a printed circuit board that forms a control circuit for executing processing according to the teaching content input by an operator operating the teaching control panel 10. The control board 20 comprises a base material 21 formed in the shape of a roughly rectangular flat plate, mounting surfaces 22 and 23 arranged on both sides of the base material 21 in the thickness direction, and a plurality of electronic components mounted on the mounting surfaces 22 and 23. In other words, the control board 20 is a so-called double-sided mounting board.

[0013] As shown in Figure 2, a connector 24 is mounted on one end of the mounting surface 22 in the direction of its long side. The connector 24 is a component that enables connection between external devices (not shown), such as sensors, cameras, computers, and external memory, and control circuits formed on the mounting surfaces 22 and 23. The connector 24 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped component, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, and has a connection port 25 on one side to which a connector for an external device, so-called mating connector 60, is connected. In this case, the side of the connector 24 having the connection port 25 is positioned at one end edge in the direction of its long side of the mounting surface 22 so as to face outward from the control board 20. That is, the connection direction of the mating connector 60 that connects to the connection port 25 is set parallel to the mounting surface 22 on which the connector 24 is mounted.

[0014] On the other hand, a relatively heat-generating electronic component (heat-generating component) 26, such as a CPU, is mounted on the other end of the long side of the mounting surface 23. In other words, the electronic component 26 is located at the furthest point on the control board 20, on the side opposite to the connector 24.

[0015] As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the housing 30 is composed of a front case (case) 40 and a back case (case) 50 that are assembled in a manner that allows them to be disassembled in the thickness direction. Both the front case 40 and the back case 50 are parts formed by injection molding of resin material and are formed in a tray shape having one opening surface 41, 51, respectively.

[0016] Multiple screw holes (not shown) are provided on the periphery of the opening surface 41 of the front case 40, and multiple through holes (not shown) are provided on the periphery of the opening surface 51 of the back case 50 at positions corresponding to the screw holes provided in the front case 40. In other words, by butting the opening surfaces 41 and 51 together and tightening screws that pass through each through hole in the back case 50 into the corresponding screw holes in the front case 40, a housing 30 is constructed that defines an internal storage space 31.

[0017] As shown in Figure 2, a monitor device 45 equipped with an LCD and a touch panel is mounted on one longitudinal end of the front case 40, that is, the portion above the teaching operation panel 10. On the other hand, a key sheet 46 is mounted on the surface of the other longitudinal end of the front case 40, that is, the portion below the teaching operation panel 10. The monitor device 45 is a device that displays, for example, an input screen when an operator teaches the robot 1, and the key sheet 46 is a device that receives various commands entered by the operator when creating teaching data. The monitor device 45 and the key sheet 46 are connected to a control circuit formed on the control board 20 by cables (not shown).

[0018] The inner circumferential surface of the front case 40 is provided with four ribs 42 that protrude toward the opening surface 41. These ribs 42 are spaced apart from each other at positions corresponding to the four corners of the control board 20. As shown in Figure 5, each rib 42 has a support surface (board support portion) 43 that can contact the mounting surface 23 of the control board 20, and a wall surface 44 positioned to surround the sides of the four corners of the control board 20.

[0019] Furthermore, two of the four ribs 42 are positioned between the monitor device 45 and the key sheet 46, i.e., in the middle of the longitudinal direction of the front case 40, while the remaining two are positioned on the other end of the longitudinal direction of the front case 40. The support surfaces 43 of the two ribs 42 positioned in the middle of the longitudinal direction of the front case 40 are located at positions corresponding to both corners on the connector 24 side of the control board 20. On the other hand, the support surfaces 43 of the two ribs 42 positioned at the lower end of the longitudinal direction of the front case 40 are located at positions corresponding to both corners on the opposite side of the connector 24 side of the control board 20.

[0020] In this embodiment, the support surfaces 43 of the two ribs 42 corresponding to the two corners of the control board 20 on the connector 24 side are positioned closer to the opening surface 41 than the support surfaces 43 of the other two ribs 42. As a result, the four ribs 42 support the control board 20 within the housing space 31 in a position inclined by an angle corresponding to the height difference of the support surfaces 43 of each rib 42 with respect to a plane perpendicular to the thickness direction of the front case 40. In other words, the control board 20 is positioned within the housing space 31 inclined so that the connector 24 side in the long side direction is close to the opening surface 41.

[0021] As shown in Figure 4, the back case 50 has a recess 50a that is recessed in the thickness direction in a region approximately in the center of the longitudinal and width directions of the surface that forms the back of the teaching operation panel 10. In other words, the peripheral edge of the outer surface of the back case 50 is raised in the thickness direction relative to the vicinity of the center. The recess 50a also has an inner surface that extends in the thickness direction and a bottom surface 50s that extends in a direction intersecting the thickness direction. The inner surface that extends in the thickness direction is provided with an opening 50o that opens toward the upper side of the teaching operation panel 10 and connects the housing space 31 of the housing 30 to the outside. A connection port 25 of the connector 24 mounted on the control board 20 housed in the housing space 31 is located in this opening 50o.

[0022] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, the bottom surface 50s of the recess 50a is adjacent to the inner surface where the opening 50o is provided and is inclined along the connection direction of the connector 24 exposed from the opening 50o. In addition, the width dimension of the bottom surface 50s increases significantly as it moves outward from the opening 50o. Moreover, the ridge around the recess 50a also decreases as it moves outward from the opening 50o.

[0023] Furthermore, the inner circumferential surface of the back case 50 is provided with four ribs 52 that protrude toward the opening surface 51, similar to the front case 40. These four ribs 52 are positioned to correspond to the four corners of the control board 20, which is supported by the four ribs 42 of the front case 40, when the back case 50 is combined with the front case 40. As a result, when the front case 40 and the back case 50 are combined, the tip surface (board pressing portion) 53 of each rib 52 is pressed against the four corners of the control board 20, which is supported by the support surfaces 43 of the four ribs 42 of the front case 40. In other words, the control board 20, which is located in the housing space 31, is fixed by being sandwiched from both sides in the thickness direction by the support surfaces 43 of the ribs 42 and the tip surfaces 53 of the ribs 52 at its four corners.

[0024] In the example shown in Figure 3, the inner surface of the back case 50 is also provided with a protruding portion (connector pressing portion) 56 that protrudes toward the opening surface 51 at a position corresponding to the connector 24 of the control board 20 located in the housing space 31. When the front case 40 and the back case 50 are combined, this protruding portion 56 protrudes to a length that contacts the upper surface of the connector 24 of the control board 20 in the housing space 31.

[0025] Furthermore, a pair of enable switches 55 are mounted on the other end of the rear case 50 in the longitudinal direction, that is, the part corresponding to the lower side of the teaching operation panel 10. In this case, the enable switches 55 are switches that, for example, enable manual operation of the robot 1 only when pressed by the operator, and disable manual operation of the robot 1 when not pressed. The pair of enable switches 55, like the monitoring device 45 and the key sheet 46, are connected to the control circuit of the control board 20 by cables (not shown).

[0026] The operation of the teaching control panel 10 configured in this embodiment will be described below. In the following description, we will use the case where a connector 60 attached to the end of a cable connected to a computer installed outside the robot system 100 is connected to the teaching control panel 10 as an example.

[0027] The operator holds the teaching control panel 10 in one hand and, with the other hand, grips the connector 60 and brings it close to the connection port 25 provided on the back of the teaching control panel 10, along the connection direction. The connection direction of the connector 60 to the connection port 25 is inclined diagonally outward with respect to a plane perpendicular to the thickness direction of the front case 40. This allows the operator to advance the gripped connector 60 toward the recess 50a from the diagonally outward side of the recess 50a in the connection direction and connect it to the connection port 25.

[0028] In this case, the connector 60 connected to the connection port 25 is entirely housed within the recess 50a, and the base end of the connector 60 is positioned adjacent to the outside of the recess 50a. The space within the recess 50a widens considerably as it moves away from the connection port 25 due to the difference in height between the slope of the bottom surface 50s and the surrounding ridges. Therefore, the worker does not need to insert their fingers holding the connector 60 into the narrow inner part of the recess 50a, and can easily perform the connection work in the widened space. Furthermore, since the bottom surface 50s of the recess 50a extends along the connection direction of the connector 60, the bottom surface 50s of the recess 50a can be used as a guide when connecting the connector 60, allowing the connector 60 to be easily and accurately inserted into the connection port 25.

[0029] Thus, in this embodiment, the entire connector 60 can be placed within the recess 50a on the back of the teaching control panel 10 while connected to the connection port 25. This prevents the connected connector 60 from protruding significantly outside the contour of the teaching control panel 10, thereby suppressing the substantial increase in the size of the teaching control panel 10, and also provides more reliable protection for the connector 60.

[0030] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, the connector 24 of the control board 20 housed in the housing space 31 of the housing 30 is pressed against the mounting surface 22 by a protrusion 56 provided on the back case 50. Therefore, even if a force is unintentionally applied to the connector 24 in a direction that pulls it away from the mounting surface 22 when the connector 60 is inserted into the connection port 25, it is possible to prevent the connector 24 from peeling off from the mounting surface 22.

[0031] Furthermore, this embodiment is configured to fix the control board 20 to the housing 30 without using fastening members such as screws. Therefore, there is no need to provide pilot holes for screw fastening in the housing 30 (front case 40), thus improving the manufacturability of the front case 40. For example, if the control board 20 in the orientation shown in Figure 2 is to be fixed to the front case 40 by screw fastening, pilot holes for screw fastening must be formed in the front case 40, extending in the thickness direction of the control board 20. In other words, pilot holes must be formed in the front case 40 in a direction inclined with respect to the thickness direction. Therefore, the mold for injection molding the front case 40 must include not only a main mold with the thickness direction of the front case 40 as the mold splitting direction, but also a slide mold for the pilot holes. Alternatively, the pilot holes must be formed by post-processing after injection molding the front case 40.

[0032] In contrast, this embodiment has the advantage of simplifying the equipment and processes, such as molds, for forming the front case 40, because it does not require the provision of pilot holes for fixing the control board 20 to the front case 40.

[0033] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, the gap space between the inner circumferential surface of the front case 40 and the mounting surface 23 of the control board 20 widens from the side where the electronic components 26 are located toward the side where the connector 24 is located. The teaching control panel 10 is normally used in an upright position with the key sheet 46 side facing downwards and the monitor device 45 side facing upwards, as shown in Figure 4, or in a position slightly tilted horizontally. That is, in the normal operating position of the teaching control panel 10, the gap space formed in the housing space 31 widens toward the upwards of the electronic components 26. Therefore, the air heated by the heat generated by the electronic components 26 can be more effectively diffused into the housing space 31, and there is also the effect of preventing the area around the control board 20 from becoming locally hot.

[0034] In this embodiment, the support surfaces 43 of each rib 42 provided on the front case 40 and the tip surfaces 53 of each rib 52 provided on the back case 50 may be formed to be in close contact with the mounting surfaces 22 and 23, respectively. For example, as shown in Figure 6, each support surface 43 and each tip surface 53 are formed to be inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to a plane perpendicular to the thickness direction of the housing 30. This allows the control board 20 to be supported more stably in an inclined position with respect to a plane perpendicular to the thickness direction of the housing 30 within the housing space 31. Therefore, rattling of the control board 20 within the housing space 31 can be more effectively suppressed, and the insertion of the mating connector 60 into the connection port 25 of the connector 24 is improved.

[0035] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a minute projection 57, as shown in Figure 6, may be provided on at least one of the support surface 43 or the tip surface 53. In this case, the projection 57 is set to a size that can be deformed in the compression direction by contact with the mounting surfaces 22 and 23 of the control board 20 when the front case 40 and the back case 50 are assembled.

[0036] As a result, even if the distance between the support surface 43 and the tip surface 53 is wider than the design median due to variations in the molding accuracy of the front case 40 and the back case 50, the projection 57 can still contact the control board 20. This ensures that the control board 20 is securely held in place. Conversely, if the distance between the support surface 43 and the tip surface 53 is narrower than the design median, the projection 57 is pressed against the control board 20 and compressed, preventing the control board 20 from being excessively pressed, deformed, or damaged. In other words, by providing the projection 57 on at least one of the support surface 43 and the tip surface 53, the dimensional accuracy required for the distance between the support surface 43 and the tip surface 53 can be relaxed, thereby improving the manufacturability of the front case 40 and the back case 50.

[0037] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control board 20 is positioned at an angle to a plane perpendicular to the thickness direction of the housing 30, thereby exposing the connection port 25 of the connector 24 to be obliquely outward from the recess 50a. Alternatively, if the connection port 25 of the connector 24 can be positioned at an angle to the control board 20, the control board 20 does not need to be inclined to a plane perpendicular to the thickness direction of the housing 30.

[0038] Furthermore, in this embodiment, each rib 42 is provided with a wall surface 44 that surrounds the corresponding side surface of the control board 20, thereby preventing misalignment when setting the control board 20 on the support surface 43 of each rib 42. In addition, the front case 40 may be provided with claw-shaped portions for temporarily holding down the control board 20 set on each support surface 43. In this case, the claw-shaped portions can be, for example, snap-fit ​​portions that hold down the upper surface (mounting surface 22) of the control board 20 set on each support surface 43. This prevents the control board 20 set on each support surface 43 of the front case 40 from lifting up and shifting due to vibration or the like when assembling the back case 50 to the front case 40. Alternatively, a notch may be provided on a part of the edge of the control board 20, and ribs shaped to fit into the notch may be provided on the inner surface of the front case 40. This also prevents misalignment of the control board 20 when combining the front case 40 and the back case 50.

[0039] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control board 20 is fixed by sandwiching its four corners between the support surfaces 43 of the front case 40 and the front end surfaces 53 of the back case 50. In addition, copper foil for grounding may be placed at the four corners of the control board 20. This makes it possible to stabilize the reference potential of the control circuit formed on the control board 20.

[0040] Furthermore, although this embodiment describes the connector 24 as a USB connector, the connector 24 is not limited to USB; it may be Ethernet or any other serial interface.

[0041] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the operation and effect were explained using the case where the mating connector 60 is inserted into the connection port 25 of the connector 24 as an example, but the same operation and effect are obtained when the connector 60 is pulled out from the connection port 25.

[0042] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the heat-generating electronic component 26 was positioned furthest from the connector 24 on the mounting surface 23 of the control board 20, but the position of the electronic component 26 mounted on the mounting surface 23 is not limited to this.

[0043] Although embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above, this disclosure is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. These embodiments can be added, replaced, modified, partially deleted, etc., in any way that does not depart from the gist of the invention or from the spirit and intent of the invention derived from the claims and their equivalents. For example, the order of operations and processes in the embodiments described above are shown as examples only and are not limited thereto.

[0044] The following additional notes are disclosed with respect to the above embodiments and modifications. (Note 1) An operating device for an industrial machine, comprising a housing having a back surface and defining a housing space inside, a control board disposed in the housing space, and a connector mounted on the mounting surface of the control board, wherein the back surface of the housing is provided with a recess that is recessed in the thickness direction of the housing compared to the surrounding area, and the connection direction of the connector is inclined diagonally outward with respect to a plane perpendicular to the thickness direction on the inner surface of the recess, thereby exposing the connection port of the connector to the outside. (Note 2) The operating device according to Note 1, wherein the connector is mounted on the control board with the connection direction facing in a direction along the mounting surface. (Note 3) The operating device according to Note 1 or Note 2, wherein the bottom surface of the recess adjacent to the inner surface of the recess is inclined in a direction along the connection direction. (Note 4) The operating device according to Note 3, wherein the recess widens as it moves away from the inner surface. (Note 5) The operating device according to Note 4, wherein the connector is mounted on one end of the mounting surface on one side of the control board, a heat-generating component is mounted on the mounting surface on the other side of the control board, and in the housing space, the space defined between the housing and the mounting surface on the other side of the control board expands from the other end toward the one end. (Note 6) The operating device according to any one of Notes 1 to 5, wherein the housing comprises a pair of cases that are combined in the thickness direction to define the internal space, one of the cases is provided with a board support portion for supporting the control board, and the other case is provided with a connector pressing portion for pressing the connector against the control board supported by the board support portion when the pair of cases are combined with each other. (Note 7) The operating device according to Note 6, wherein when the pair of cases are combined with each other, a board pressing portion is provided for sandwiching and fixing the control board between the board support portion and the board. (Note 8) The operating device according to Note 7, wherein the board support portion and the board pressing portion are provided at positions corresponding to the four corners of the control board, respectively. (Note 9) The operating device according to Note 7 or Note 8, wherein a projection is provided at the tip of at least one of the substrate support portion or the substrate pressing portion, which is deformed by contact with the control board when the pair of cases are combined with each other.

[0045] 10 Instruction operation panel (operation device) 20 Control board 22, 23 Mounting surface 24 Connector 25 Connection port 26 Electronic component (heat-generating component) 30 Housing 31 Accommodation space 40 Front case (case) 43 Support surface (board support part) 50 Rear case (case) 50a Recess 53 Front end surface (board pressing part) 56 Projection (connector pressing part) 57 Protrusion

Claims

1. An operating device for an industrial machine, comprising: a housing having a rear surface and defining a housing space inside; a control board disposed within the housing space; and a connector mounted on the mounting surface of the control board, wherein the rear surface of the housing is provided with a recess that is recessed in the thickness direction of the housing compared to the surrounding area, and the connection direction of the connector is inclined diagonally outward with respect to a plane perpendicular to the thickness direction on the inner surface of the recess, thereby exposing the connection port of the connector to the outside.

2. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein the connector is mounted on the control board with the connection direction oriented in a direction along the mounting surface.

3. The operating device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the bottom surface of a recess adjacent to the inner surface of the recess is inclined in a direction along the connection direction.

4. The operating device according to claim 3, wherein the recess widens as it moves away from the inner surface.

5. The operating device according to claim 4, wherein the connector is mounted on one end of the mounting surface on one side of the control board, the heat-generating component is mounted on the other mounting surface of the control board, and in the housing space, the space defined between the housing and the other mounting surface of the control board expands from the other end toward the one end.

6. The operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the housing comprises a pair of cases that are combined in the thickness direction to define the housing space, one of the cases is provided with a substrate support portion for supporting the control board, and the other case is provided with a connector pressing portion for pressing the connector against the control board supported by the substrate support portion when the pair of cases are combined with each other.

7. The operating device according to claim 6, further comprising a substrate pressing portion that sandwiches and fixes the control substrate between the substrate support portion and the pair of cases when they are combined with each other.

8. The operating device according to claim 7, wherein the substrate support portion and the substrate pressing portion are provided at positions corresponding to the four corners of the control board, respectively.

9. The operating device according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein a projection is provided at the tip of at least one of the substrate support portion or the substrate pressing portion, which is deformed by contact with the control substrate when the pair of cases are combined with each other.

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