Reducers and robots

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein, a reducer and a robot are provided. The reducer includes: a cavity; an input member, which is rotated by a motor; a disk, which serves as an output member of the reducer and is configured to seal the cavity, and the disk includes: a boss, which is arranged on the inner surface of the disk facing the cavity and extends toward the cavity; a first hole, which extends along the length of the boss and passes through the disk to release the air pressure in the cavity to the surrounding environment. The reducer is capable of reducing the air pressure in the cavity and thus preventing leakage of the lubricant of the cavity. According to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein, a robot equipped with a reducer is also provided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a speed reducer and a robot equipped with the speed reducer. Background Art

[0002] The reducer is used for the joints of industrial robots. Generally, lubricant is retained in the cavity of the reducer for lubricating the rotating member of the reducer. For industrial robots, especially for multi-joint robots, it is important to prevent the lubricant retained in the reducer from leaking.

[0003] As a contact sealing element, an oil seal is provided in the output end member of the speed reducer to prevent lubricant leakage. However, when the rotating member is running, the air pressure in the cavity will become higher and higher, which will increase the risk of lubricant leakage. Therefore, an improved speed reducer and a robot that can operate reliably are needed. Summary of the invention

[0004] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an improved speed reducer and a robot are provided, which can reduce or eliminate the leakage of lubricant.

[0005] In a first aspect, a reducer is provided, which comprises: a cavity; an input member rotated by a motor; a disk as an output member of the reducer and configured to seal the cavity, wherein the disk comprises: a boss arranged on an inner surface of the disk facing the cavity and extending toward the cavity; and a first hole extending along the length of the boss and passing through the disk to release the air pressure in the cavity to the surrounding environment.

[0006] By using the first hole, the air pressure in the cavity can be released to the surrounding environment. The reduced air pressure in the cavity is conducive to reducing or eliminating lubricant leakage caused by high air pressure. In the case where the boss protrudes from the disk, it is difficult for lubricant to adhere to the end of the boss. In this way, the lubricant will not leak from the first hole.

[0007] In some embodiments, the disc further comprises a second hole in fluid communication with the first hole. This is advantageous as this makes the manufacture of the first hole and the second hole easier.

[0008] In some embodiments, the second hole is formed as a screw hole for receiving a positioning screw. The positioning screw can prevent dust or other contaminants from invading the reducer through the first hole.

[0009] In some embodiments, the second hole extends from the outer surface of the disk toward the cavity and has a base surface at a distance from the inner surface of the disk. Wherein the outer surface is opposite to the inner surface. With this device, the second hole can be easily manufactured.

[0010] In some embodiments, the speed reducer further includes a transmission assembly coupled between the input member and the disk; and wherein the transmission assembly is configured to reduce a rotational speed from the motor and transmit the reduced rotation to the disk.

[0011] In some embodiments, a transmission assembly includes: a circular rigid gear having internal teeth formed on an inner peripheral surface; and an annular flexible gear positioned inside the rigid gear and having external teeth formed on a portion of an outer peripheral surface, the external teeth being engageable with the internal teeth; a wave generator attached to an input member and configured to deflect the flexible gear in a radial direction; wherein a disk is attached to the flexible gear to output a rotational motion. The improved reducer is formed as a harmonic reducer, which can reduce or eliminate lubricant leakage caused by high air pressure in the cavity.

[0012] In some embodiments, a transmission component includes: a first-stage reduction gear mechanism, including: a first input gear attached to an input member; three second spur gears individually meshed with the first input gear; a second-stage reduction gear mechanism, including: an internal gear member; two external gear members meshed with the internal gear member; three crankshafts meshed with the two external gear members for eccentrically rocking the two external gear members relative to the internal gear member; and a support member for rotatably supporting the crankshafts so that the output is extracted from the internal gear member or the support member; in the case where the output is extracted from the internal gear member, the disk is coupled to the internal gear member, and wherein in the case where the output is extracted from the support member, the disk is coupled to the support member. An improved reducer formed as a rotating vector (RV) reducer can reduce or eliminate lubricant leakage caused by high air pressure in the cavity.

[0013] In some embodiments, the motor is attached to the disk. This arrangement can simplify the structure of the reducer.

[0014] In some embodiments, the cavity is provided with a lubricant for lubrication. The lubricant is difficult to adhere to the end of the boss, thereby reducing leakage through the first hole.

[0015] In a second aspect, a robot is provided, comprising: a first arm; a second arm; and a speed reducer according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, coupled between the first arm and the second arm.

[0016] The Summary introduces some concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the Detailed Description below. The Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the subject matter described herein, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the subject matter described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent through a more detailed description of some embodiments of the present invention in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0018] Figure 1 An example robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 2 A perspective view showing an example reducer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 3 Shows Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of an exemplary reducer, wherein an enlarged view of a portion of the exemplary reducer is also shown;

[0021] Figure 4 Another example speed reducer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The principles of the subject matter described herein will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and to help those skilled in the art better understand and thus implement the subject matter described herein, rather than indicating any limitation on the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein.

[0024] As used herein, the term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The terms "embodiment" and "one embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc. may refer to different or the same objects. Other definitions, whether explicit or implicit, may be included below.

[0025] It should also be understood that the terms "comprises," "including," "having," "has," "includes" and / or "comprising," when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0026] A reducer is a common component in a joint of a robot, and a lubricant is usually filled in the reducer to lubricate rotating components. In order to reduce or eliminate the leakage of the lubricant, an improved reducer and a robot are provided.

[0027] Figure 1An example robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, i.e., a multi-joint robot, is shown. The robot includes multi-joint parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, to which reducers are attached, respectively. A first arm 31, a second arm 32, a third arm 33, a fourth arm 34, and a fifth arm 35 can rotate around the multi-joint parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, respectively.

[0028] refer to Figure 1 For example, the reducer 10 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can be coupled between the first arm 31 and the second arm 32, and / or between the second arm 32 and the third arm 33, and / or between the third arm 33 and the fourth arm 34, and / or between the fourth arm 34 and the fifth arm 35. Through the reducer 10, the relative movement of the two joint arms of the robot can be achieved in a desired manner.

[0029] It should be understood that the reducer 10 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to different robots, for example, a parallel robot or a ratio robot. Figure 1 A robot with more or fewer arms.

[0030] The speed reducer is used to reduce the rotation speed of the motor and transmit the reduced rotation to the arm. Figure 2-Figure 3 An exemplary reducer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 4 Another exemplary speed reducer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In general, the speed reducer 10 includes a cavity 11, an input member 13, and a disk 15. The input member 13 is configured to be rotated by a motor 19, and the disk 15 operates as an output member of the speed reducer 10.

[0031] The disk 15 is configured to seal the cavity 11. In some embodiments, the disk 15 can be formed as a flange. In some embodiments, a lubricant is provided in the cavity 11 for lubricating the rotating components of the reducer 10. For example, the lubricant is used to lubricate the bearings 16 in the reducer 10. With the disk 15 sealing the cavity 11, the lubricant can be retained in the cavity 11 without leaking to the surrounding environment.

[0032] like Figure 2-Figure 4 As shown, the disk 15 includes a boss 151 and a first hole 153. The boss 151 is arranged on the inner surface 152 of the disk 15 facing the cavity 11, and the boss 151 extends toward the cavity 11. As the boss 151 extends toward the cavity 11, the end 1511 of the boss 151 is arranged away from the inner surface 152. In this way, since the boss 151 protrudes from the inner surface 152, it is difficult for the lubricant to adhere to the end 1511 of the boss 151. In some embodiments, the boss 151 may be a cylindrical protrusion.

[0033] Since the disk 15 operates as an output member of the speed reducer 10, the disk 15 is a rotating member for outputting a rotational motion. In this case, even if the lubricant is attached to the end 1511 of the boss 151, the lubricant will inevitably fall from the end 1511 of the boss 151 under the action of the centrifugal force.

[0034] The first hole 153 extends along the length of the boss 151 and passes through the disc 15, so that the cavity 11 is in fluid communication with the surrounding environment. In this way, the first hole 153 can release the air pressure in the cavity 11 to the surrounding environment. Therefore, the high pressure generated by the operation of the rotating component can be released through the first hole 153, and the reduced air pressure in the cavity 11 is conducive to reducing or eliminating the leakage of the lubricant in the cavity 11.

[0035] In some embodiments, the diameter of the first hole 153 is required to be as small as possible. In this case, the disc 15 may further include a second hole 155 in fluid communication with the first hole 153. Since the requirement for the diameter of the second hole 155 is not as strict as the requirement for the diameter of the first hole 153, both the first hole 153 and the second hole 155 can be easily manufactured.

[0036] In some embodiments, the second hole 155 may be formed as a screw hole for receiving a positioning screw 156. The positioning screw 156 may prevent dust or other contaminants from entering the reducer 10 through the first hole 153. At the same time, when the air pressure in the cavity 11 increases, the air in the cavity 11 may escape to the surrounding environment through the first hole 153 and the gap between the screw hole and the positioning screw 156. In this way, the positioning screw 156 does not block the release of air in the cavity 11.

[0037] In some embodiments, the second hole 155 can extend from the outer surface 154 of the disk 15 opposite the inner surface 152 toward the cavity 11. The second hole 155 can have a base surface 1551 that is a certain distance from the inner surface 152 of the disk 15. Figure 2-Figure 4 As shown, the first hole 153 extends along the length of the boss 151 and passes through the disk 15 and is in fluid communication with the second hole 155.

[0038] In some embodiments, the speed reducer 10 may further include a transmission assembly 14 . The transmission assembly 14 is coupled between the input member 13 and the disk 15 to reduce the rotation speed from the motor 19 and then transmit the reduced rotation to the disk 15 .

[0039] In some embodiments, the reducer 10 is formed as a harmonic reducer. Figure 2-Figure 3As shown, the transmission assembly 14 may include a circular rigid gear 140, an annular flexible gear 141, and a wave generator 142. The rigid gear 140 has internal teeth formed on its inner peripheral surface, and the flexible gear 141 has external teeth formed on a portion of its outer peripheral surface 1411. The external teeth of the flexible gear 141 may engage with the internal teeth of the rigid gear 140.

[0040] The flexible gear 141 is positioned inside the rigid gear 140 while surrounding the wave generator 142. The wave generator 142 has an outer peripheral surface formed in an elliptical shape. The flexible gear 141 is capable of deflecting in a radial direction. The number of teeth of the flexible gear 141 is set to be slightly smaller than the number of teeth of the rigid gear 140.

[0041] At its long axis portion, the wave generator 142 deflects the flexible gear 141 in the radial direction and engages the external teeth of the flexible gear 141 with the internal teeth of the rigid gear 140 .

[0042] The wave generator 142 is attached to the input member 13. In this way, when the wave generator 142 is rotated by the input member 13, the engagement point is engaged and moved in the circumferential direction at the external teeth of the flexible gear 141 and the internal teeth of the rigid gear 140 according to the position change of the long axis portion of the wave generator 142. That is, the wave generator 142 and the flexible gear 141 are used as input and output, respectively.

[0043] like Figure 2-Figure 3 As shown, the disk 15 is attached to the flexible gear 141 to output the rotational motion. In this way, the disk 15 operates as an output member of the reducer 10. In addition, the cavity 11 of the reducer 10 may include a space formed by the wave generator 142, the flexible gear 141, the disk 15 and the bearing 16.

[0044] In some embodiments, Figure 4 As shown, the speed reducer 10 may be formed as a rotating vector (RV) speed reducer. The transmission assembly 14 is configured to include a first-stage reduction gear mechanism 145 and a second-stage reduction gear mechanism 146 for reducing the rotation speed of the motor 19.

[0045] The first stage reduction gear mechanism 145 includes a first input gear and three second spur gears. In some embodiments, the first input gear may be attached to the input member 13 or may be integrally formed with the input member 13. The three second spur gears are individually meshed with the first input gear and are equally arranged around the first input gear.

[0046] The second-stage reduction gear mechanism 146 is formed as an eccentrically rocking type speed reducer and includes: an internal gear member having internal teeth of a plurality of pins as internal teeth; two external gear members having external teeth engaged with the internal teeth of the internal gear members; three crankshafts engaged with the two external gear members for rocking the two external gear members relative to the internal gear members; a support member for rotatably supporting the three crankshafts so that the output is extracted from the internal gear member or the support member. Each of the three crankshafts is coupled to one of the three second spur gears.

[0047] As described above, the disk 15 is used as an output member of the speed reducer 10. Therefore, in the case where the output is extracted from the internal gear member, the disk 15 is coupled to the internal gear member. Alternatively, in the case where the output is extracted from the support member, the disk 15 is coupled to the support member. In some embodiments, as Figure 4 As shown, the motor 19 may be attached to the disk 15. This arrangement may simplify the overall structure of the speed reducer 10 and the motor 19.

[0048] The cavity 11 of the reducer 10 may include the space between the disk 15 and the support member. Figure 4 As shown, the cavity 11 of the reducer 10 may include a space between the disk 15 and the first-stage reduction gear mechanism 145. Since the boss 151 protrudes from the inner surface 152, it is difficult to attach the lubricant (e.g., lubricant) in the cavity 11 to the end 1511 of the boss 151. By using the first hole 153, the high pressure of the cavity 11 can be released, thereby reducing or eliminating the leakage of the lubricant.

[0049] It should be understood that the above specific embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to illustrate or explain the principles of the present disclosure, and are not used to limit the present disclosure. Therefore, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure. At the same time, the attached claims of the present disclosure are intended to cover all variations and modifications that fall within the scope and boundaries of the claims or the equivalents of the scope and boundaries.

Claims

1. A reducer (10), comprising: Cavity (11); an input member (13) which is rotated by a motor (19); as well as A disk (15) operating as an output member of the reducer (10) and configured to seal the cavity (11), the disk (15) comprising: a boss (151), the boss being arranged on an inner surface (152) of the disk (15) facing the cavity (11) and extending toward the cavity (11); as well as A first hole (153) extending along the length of the boss (151) and through the disk (15) to release the air pressure within the cavity (11) to the surrounding environment.

2. The reducer (10) according to claim 1, wherein the disk (15) further includes a second hole (155) in fluid communication with the first hole (153).

3. The reducer (10) according to claim 2, wherein the second hole (155) is formed as a screw hole for accommodating a positioning screw (156).

4. The reducer (10) according to claim 3, wherein the second hole (155) extends from the outer surface (154) of the disk (15) toward the cavity (11) and has a base surface (1551) at a certain distance from the inner surface (152) of the disk (15); wherein the outer surface (154) is opposite to the inner surface (152).

5. The speed reducer (10) according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission assembly (14) coupled between the input member (13) and the disk (15); The transmission assembly (14) is configured to reduce the rotation speed from the motor (19) and transmit the reduced rotation to the disk (15).

6. The reducer (10) according to claim 5, wherein the transmission assembly (14) comprises: a circular rigid gear (140) having internal teeth formed on an inner peripheral surface; an annular flexible gear (141) positioned inside the rigid gear (140) and having external teeth formed on a portion of an outer peripheral surface (1411), the external teeth being engageable with the internal teeth; as well as a wave generator (142) attached to the input member (13) and configured to deflect the flexible gear (141) in a radial direction; The disk (15) is attached to the flexible gear (141) to output a rotational motion.

7. The reducer (10) according to claim 5, wherein the transmission assembly (14) comprises: The first stage reduction gear mechanism (145) comprises: a first input gear attached to the input member (13); and three second spur gears, the three second spur gears individually meshing with the first input gear; The second stage reduction gear mechanism (146) comprises: Internal gear components; two external gear members meshing with the internal gear member; three crankshafts engaged with the two outer gear members for eccentrically rocking the two outer gear members relative to the inner gear member; and a support member for rotatably supporting the crankshaft so that an output is extracted from the internal gear member or the support member; The disk (15) is coupled to the internal gear member in a condition where the output is extracted from the internal gear member; and wherein the disk (15) is coupled to the support member in a condition where the output is extracted from the support member.

8. The reducer (10) according to claim 7, wherein the electric motor (19) is attached to the disk (15).

9. The reducer (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the cavity (11) is provided with a lubricant for lubrication.

10. A robot comprising: First arm; Second arm; According to the reducer (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the reducer is coupled between the first arm and the second arm.

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