A robot encoder cable

Abstract

The present invention discloses a robot encoder cable, comprising a cable body, wherein the cable body comprises an external protective unit and an internal cable core, the cable core further comprises a floating body, the cross section of the floating body is a circle with a notch as a whole, the notch is elliptical, a power supply unit is arranged in the notch, and a communication unit is arranged at the center of the floating body; the cable body is installed on the robot body through a cable installation device, a corrugated tube is sleeved on the cable body between two cable installation devices, connecting units connected to the corrugated tube are arranged at both ends of the through hole of the cable installation device, and pipe openings matching with the connecting unit are arranged at both ends of the corrugated tube; the connecting unit comprises joint parts protruding at both ends of the through hole; the present invention is designed with an asymmetric floating body, so that the cable is easy to lay on water and has a certain reset function, and water will not enter the cable body even if the surface of the cable body is damaged, which greatly improves the safety in a water environment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of robots, in particular to a robot encoder cable. Background Art

[0002] The invention patent with application number CN201820460801.X discloses that "the utility model discloses a highly flexible, tensile and torsion-resistant robot cable, comprising an alloy wire conductor and an outer protective sleeve, wherein the outer surface of the alloy wire conductor is fixedly connected with a polymer insulating layer, and the outer wall of the polymer insulating layer is movably connected with a tinned copper wire shielding layer, and the number of the polymer insulating layers is two, and the two polymer insulating layers are movably connected to the inside of the tinned copper wire shielding layer, respectively, and the inside of the tinned copper wire shielding layer is filled with a torsion-resistant reinforcing core. The highly flexible, tensile and torsion-resistant robot cable can effectively enhance the elasticity and resilience of the cable and increase the softness of the cable by arranging a polymer insulating layer on the outer surface of the alloy wire conductor, and can effectively enhance the moisture resistance and moisture-proof performance by arranging a waterproof protective sleeve and a non-hygroscopic protective layer, so that the cable can work normally in a humid environment, and can effectively enhance the performance of the cable by arranging a connecting rod, a support frame and a mounting ring. "Similar robot cables such as the above-mentioned patents adopt various measures to achieve the durability of the cable, but do not take into account the use conditions of robots working underwater and in an environment that is easily exposed to water.

[0003] On the other hand, the invention patent with application number CN201220480704.X discloses that “the utility model relates to the technical field of industrial robots, and provides an industrial robot cable installation device, including an adapter, the adapter is a crankshaft-shaped structure, the adapter includes an adapter first flange, an adapter second flange, a first flange connecting member and a second flange connecting member; the adapter first flange is fixedly connected to the robot flange on the C-axis motion part of the industrial robot, and the adapter second flange is fixedly connected to the execution device; the adapter first flange and the adapter second flange are arranged in parallel and spaced apart, and ... The first flange of the adapter and the second flange of the adapter are fixedly connected by the first flange connector and the second flange connector, respectively, and the first section of the cable can be twisted and installed in the adapter. In the utility model, the cable will not interfere with the surrounding environment, reducing the loss of the cable and the equipment, and will not affect the movement of the motion axis of the industrial robot. Although the cable installation device described in the above patent can reduce the loss of the cable, the wear between the cable and the cable is inevitable. Once the cable skin is damaged, it is easy to get water in when it is underwater or in an environment that is easily exposed to water, resulting in dangers such as short circuit and electric shock. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a robot encoder cable suitable for use underwater or in an environment easily exposed to water, so as to solve the problems raised in the above background technology.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] A robot encoder cable comprises a cable body, wherein the cable body comprises an external protection unit and an internal cable core, wherein the protection unit comprises an outer sheath, a fiber braided layer, an inner sheath and a tetrafluoroethylene layer which are sequentially arranged from the inside to the outside;

[0007] The cable core includes a power supply unit and a communication unit, the power supply unit includes a plurality of conductors covered with an insulating layer, and the communication unit includes a wire group sheath and a plurality of twisted control wire cores inside the wire group sheath;

[0008] The cable core also includes a floating body, the cross section of which is a circle with a notch, the notch is elliptical, the power supply unit is arranged in the notch, and the communication unit is arranged at the center of the floating body;

[0009] The floating body provides buoyancy for the cable. The floating body adopts an asymmetric structure, and the power supply unit with higher density is arranged in the notch part of the floating body. Therefore, the buoyancy of the cable is no longer uniform when floating. The part with smaller buoyancy will be kept in a lower position without the influence of external force, which can play a role in assisting the resetting of the cable through the buoyancy difference after the cable rotates.

[0010] The cable body is installed on the robot body through a cable installation device, and the cable body passes through a plurality of cable installation devices in sequence. The cable installation devices are provided with through holes that match the cable body.

[0011] A corrugated tube is sleeved on the cable body between the two cable installation devices, and connecting units connected to the corrugated tube are provided at both ends of the through hole of the cable installation device, and pipe openings matching with the connecting units are provided at both ends of the corrugated tube;

[0012] The connecting unit includes a joint part protruding from both ends of the through hole, and the outer end of the joint part is provided with a first annular groove and a second annular groove, the depth of the first annular groove is twice the depth of the second annular groove, the outer diameter of the first annular groove is equal to the inner diameter of the second annular groove, and the outer half of the first annular groove is connected with the second annular groove; a pressure cover is provided in the second annular groove, and the pressure cover is clearance-matched with the pipe mouth of the bellows, and the second annular groove on the inner side of the pressure cover is filled with sealing filler.

[0013] As a further solution of the present invention: the material of the inner sheath is polyethylene.

[0014] As a further solution of the present invention: the fiber braided layer and the tetrafluoroethylene layer effectively improve the toughness of the cable body.

[0015] As a further solution of the present invention: the tetrafluoroethylene layer is formed by overlapping and wrapping polytetrafluoroethylene tapes.

[0016] As a further solution of the present invention: the outer end of the joint part and the outer end of the gland are provided with flanges matching each other, and the two flanges are connected by bolts.

[0017] As a further solution of the present invention: the axis of the joint portion and the axis of the through hole of the cable installation device are 90 to 180 degrees.

[0018] As a further solution of the present invention: the corrugated pipe is a double-walled corrugated pipe.

[0019] As a further solution of the present invention: the portion of the corrugated tube that is not connected to the connection unit and the cable body is sealed by filling sealant to ensure the sealing of the entire channel.

[0020] As a further solution of the present invention: the communication unit includes an inner protective sleeve and a control line arranged inside the inner protective sleeve, the outer surface of the inner protective sleeve is covered with a shielding layer, and a plurality of control lines are twisted with each other; the anti-interference performance is strong.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0022] 1. The present invention is designed with an asymmetric floating body, which makes the cable easy to lay on water and has a certain reset function;

[0023] Second, the present invention designs the corrugated tube to cooperate with the cable installation device to form a sealed passage, so that water will not enter even if the surface of the cable body is damaged, which greatly improves the safety in a water environment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the robot encoder cable.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the cable installation device in the robot encoder cable.

[0026] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the internal structure of the connecting unit in the robot encoder cable.

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure in which the axis of the connector in the robot encoder cable is at 90 degrees to the axis of the through hole of the cable installation device.

[0028] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a structure in which the axis of the robot encoder cable connector is 120 degrees to the axis of the through hole of the cable installation device.

[0029] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of the corrugated tube and the cable body filled with sealant in the robot encoder cable.

[0030] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication unit in the robot encoder cable.

[0031] In the figure: 1 cable body, 2 outer sheath, 3 fiber braided layer, 4 inner sheath, 5 tetrafluoroethylene layer, 6 power supply unit, 7 communication unit, 8 floating body, 9 notch, 10 cable installation device, 11 corrugated tube, 12 joint part, 13 first ring groove, 14 second ring groove, 15 gland, 16 pipe mouth, 20 sealant, 21 inner protective sleeve, 22 shielding layer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The technical solution of this patent is further described in detail below in conjunction with specific implementation methods.

[0033] Embodiment 1

[0034] See also Figure 1-3 A robot encoder cable comprises a cable body 1, wherein the cable body 1 comprises an external protection unit and an internal cable core, wherein the protection unit comprises an outer sheath 2, a fiber braided layer 3, an inner sheath 4 and a tetrafluoroethylene layer 5 which are sequentially arranged from the inside to the outside;

[0035] The cable core includes a power supply unit 6 and a communication unit 7. The power supply unit 6 includes a plurality of conductors covered with an insulating layer. The communication unit 7 includes a wire group sheath and a plurality of twisted control wire cores inside the wire group sheath.

[0036] The cable core also includes a floating body 8, the cross section of which is circular with a notch 9 as a whole, and the notch 9 is elliptical in shape. The power supply unit 6 is arranged in the notch 9, and the communication unit 7 is arranged at the center of the floating body 8;

[0037] The floating body 8 provides buoyancy for the cable. The floating body 8 adopts an asymmetric structure, and the power supply unit 6 with higher density is arranged in the notch 9 of the floating body 8. Therefore, the buoyancy of the cable is no longer uniform when floating. The part with smaller buoyancy will be kept in a lower position without the influence of external force, and the buoyancy difference can play a role in assisting the resetting of the cable after the cable rotates.

[0038] Preferably, the material of the inner sheath 4 is polyethylene;

[0039] Preferably, the fiber braided layer 3 and the tetrafluoroethylene layer 5 effectively improve the toughness of the cable body 1 .

[0040] Preferably, the tetrafluoroethylene layer 5 is formed by overlapping and wrapping polytetrafluoroethylene tapes.

[0041] The cable body 1 is installed on the robot body through the cable installation device 10. The cable body 1 passes through a plurality of cable installation devices 10 in sequence. The cable installation device 10 is provided with a through hole that matches the cable body 1.

[0042] A corrugated tube 11 is sleeved on the cable body 1 between the two cable installation devices 10, and connecting units connected to the corrugated tube 11 are provided at both ends of the through hole of the cable installation device 10, and pipe openings 16 matching with the connecting units are provided at both ends of the corrugated tube 11;

[0043] The connecting unit includes a joint part 12 protruding from both ends of the through hole, and the outer end of the joint part 12 is provided with a first annular groove 13 and a second annular groove 14, the depth of the first annular groove 13 is twice the depth of the second annular groove 14, the outer diameter of the first annular groove 13 is equal to the inner diameter of the second annular groove 14, and the outer half of the first annular groove 13 is connected with the second annular groove 14; a pressure cover 15 is provided in the second annular groove 14, and the pressure cover 15 is clearance-matched with the pipe mouth 16 of the bellows 11, and the second annular groove 14 on the inner side of the pressure cover 15 is filled with sealing filler.

[0044] When connecting, firstly insert the pipe mouth 16 of the bellows 11 into the first annular groove 13, then fill the sealing filler, and then connect the gland 15 through the flange, and the gland 15 presses the sealing filler to achieve sealing.

[0045] Preferably, the outer end of the joint portion 12 and the outer end of the gland 15 are provided with flanges that fit together, and the two flanges are connected by bolts.

[0046] Preferably, the connector 12 is designed as a detachable structure and is connected to the cable installation device 10 via a flange.

[0047] The present invention mainly solves the following problems:

[0048] 1. The present invention provides a cable body 1 structure that can offset part of the cable's gravity through buoyancy, and designs an asymmetric floating body, so that the cable body 1 has a certain reset function, providing technical support for the laying of the cable body 1 on water;

[0049] Second, the cable body 1 is eventually connected to the interface of the robot body. Since the rotating or swinging parts such as the robot servo will drive the movement of the cable body 1, it is necessary to design sufficient margin to ensure the normal operation of the parts. Therefore, it is necessary to design the cable installation device 10 to limit the position to prevent it from being entangled on the robot parts;

[0050] 3. Since the cable installation device 10 is designed to limit its position, the portion of the cable body 1 connected to the cable installation device 10 is prone to wear and damage, which may easily cause leakage of the outer layer of the cable body 1 when used underwater or in an environment easily exposed to water. Therefore, the present invention designs a bellows 11 to connect the connector unit of the cable installation device 10 to provide a waterproof channel for the cable body 1 as a safety guarantee. Even if the protective unit of the cable body 1 fails, the problem of water ingress and short circuit will not occur.

[0051] Embodiment 2

[0052] See also Figure 4-5 On the basis of the first embodiment, because the function of the cable installation device 10 is to generate a limit point for the cable, different steering or swinging parts of the robot have different effects on the cable, and the cable limit point sometimes requires the cable to be bent at a certain angle to avoid the movement track of the robot parts, which requires the bending of the cable to be limited by the bending of the joint part 12, and the necessary joint part 12 can be extended to a certain extent;

[0053] Preferably, the axis of the connector portion 12 is 90-180° to the axis of the through hole of the cable installation device 10 .

[0054] Embodiment 3

[0055] On the basis of the first embodiment, the bellows 11 is a double-walled bellows.

[0056] Embodiment 4

[0057] See also Figure 6 On the basis of the first embodiment, the opening 16 of the corrugated tube 11 that is not connected to the connecting unit and the cable body 1 are sealed by filling the sealant 20 to ensure the sealing of the entire channel.

[0058] Embodiment 5

[0059] See also Figure 7 On the basis of the first embodiment, the communication unit 7 includes an inner protective sleeve 21 and a control wire core arranged inside the inner protective sleeve 21, the outer surface of the inner protective sleeve 21 is covered with a shielding layer 22, and a plurality of control wire cores are twisted together; the anti-interference performance is strong.

[0060] Preferably, another inner protective cover 21 is provided on the surface of the shielding layer 22 to optimize the contact surface between the shielding layer 22 and the floating body 8 .

[0061] The above describes in detail the preferred implementation of this patent, but this patent is not limited to the above implementation. Various changes can be made within the knowledge scope of ordinary technicians in this field without departing from the purpose of this patent.

Claims

1. A robot encoder cable, characterized in that: The cable body includes an outer protection unit and an inner cable core, wherein the protection unit includes an outer sheath, a fiber braided layer, an inner sheath and a tetrafluoroethylene layer arranged in sequence from the inside to the outside; the cable core includes a floating body, the cross section of which is a circle with a notch as a whole, the notch is elliptical, the power supply unit is arranged in the notch, and the communication unit is arranged at the center of the floating body; The cable body is installed on the robot body through a cable installation device, and the cable body passes through a plurality of cable installation devices in sequence. The cable installation devices are provided with through holes that match the cable body; a corrugated tube is sleeved on the cable body between two cable installation devices, and connection units connected to the corrugated tube are provided at both ends of the through hole of the cable installation device, and pipe openings that match the connection units are provided at both ends of the corrugated tube; The material of the inner sheath is polyethylene; The tetrafluoroethylene layer is formed by overlapping and wrapping polytetrafluoroethylene tapes.

2. The robot encoder cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting unit includes a joint part protruding from both ends of the through hole, and the outer end of the joint part is provided with a first annular groove and a second annular groove, the depth of the first annular groove is twice the depth of the second annular groove, the outer diameter of the first annular groove is equal to the inner diameter of the second annular groove, and the outer half of the first annular groove is connected with the second annular groove; a pressure cover is provided in the second annular groove, and the pressure cover is clearance-matched with the pipe mouth of the bellows, and the second annular groove inside the pressure cover is filled with sealing filler.

3. The robot encoder cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cable core comprises a power supply unit and a communication unit. The power supply unit comprises a plurality of conductors covered with an insulating layer. The communication unit comprises a wire group sheath and a plurality of twisted control wire cores inside the wire group sheath.

4. The robot encoder cable according to claim 2, characterized in that: The outer end of the joint part and the outer end of the gland are provided with flanges matching each other, and the two flanges are connected by bolts.

5. The robot encoder cable according to claim 2, characterized in that: The axis of the joint portion is 90 to 180 degrees with the axis of the through hole of the cable installation device.

6. The robot encoder cable according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The corrugated pipe is a double-walled corrugated pipe.

7. The robot encoder cable according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The pipe opening of the corrugated pipe and the cable body are sealed by filling sealant.

8. The robot encoder cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication unit comprises an inner protective sleeve and a control line arranged inside the inner protective sleeve, the outer surface of the inner protective sleeve is covered with a shielding layer, and a plurality of control lines are twisted together.

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