Robotic arm device

Abstract

The robotic arm device of the present disclosure includes a robotic arm, a wire group, and a wire winding module. The robotic arm has a base, a first arm, and a second arm. The wire group is adjacent to the first arm and the second arm. The wire winding module is disposed on the first arm and has a slide rail, a slider, and a reset elastic member. The slider is slidably disposed on the slide rail and is connected to the wire group and the reset elastic member. Through the configuration of the wire winding module, the robotic arm device of the present disclosure can achieve the effects of improving the convenience of wire routing, reducing the wire routing interference degree, and saving the wiring time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a robotic arm, and particularly to a robotic arm device that can improve the convenience of wire routing. Background Art

[0002] The development and application of multi-axis robotic arms are very helpful in saving manpower, replacing humans in dangerous working environments, and improving the quality of precision machining. Due to the fast and highly complex movement mode of multi-axis robotic arms, a certain length needs to be reserved in the wire routing to prevent the wires from being damaged due to excessive pulling. However, this also increases the space requirement during the operation of the robotic arm, and the overly long wires are prone to entanglement or interference with surrounding objects.

[0003] The cable retraction system disclosed in US 10,989,282 patent case has a guide wheel and a set of constant force spring assemblies. When the movement angle of the robotic arm pulls the cable, the guide wheel will be pushed by the cable and move forward along the guide rail. During the forward displacement of the guide wheel, it will resist the elastic force provided by the constant force spring at the same time; conversely, when the movement angle of the robotic arm relaxes the cable, the elastic force provided by the constant force spring will drive the guide wheel to move backward, so that the guide wheel will tighten the slack cable during the backward movement.

[0004] The guiding system disclosed in US 9,399,299 patent case has a base and a support member configured to supply pipelines. The support member therein can be displaced between a steering position and a return position. The guiding system also has a return device for automatically returning the support member to the return position. When the movement angle of the robotic arm pulls the support member, the steering component will be pushed by the support member and move forward along the guide rail. During the forward displacement of the support member, it will resist the return force provided by the return device at the same time; conversely, when the movement angle of the robotic arm relaxes the support member, the return force provided by the return device will drive the support member back to the return position.

[0005] However, both of the aforementioned patent documents have the problems of large volume and high cost. Due to the large volume, the movement range of the robotic arm may be restricted and the moment of inertia of the robotic arm may be reduced. Therefore, there is still room for improvement in the structure. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The main object of the present disclosure is to provide a robotic arm device that can improve the convenience of wire routing, reduce the wire routing interference degree, and save the operation space.

[0007] To achieve the above main object, the robotic arm device of the present disclosure includes a set of robotic arms, a wire group, and a wire winding module. The robotic arm has a base, a first arm, and a second arm; the wire group is adjacent to the first arm and the second arm of the robotic arm, and one end of the wire group is fixed to the second arm of the robotic arm; the wire winding module is disposed on the first arm of the robotic arm and has a slide rail, a slider, and a reset elastic member, and the slider is slidably disposed on the slide rail and is connected to the wire group and the reset elastic member.

[0008] As can be seen from the above, the wire group will be pulled or released according to the movement angle of the robotic arm. When the robotic arm pulls the wire group, the wire group moves upward along the slide rail through the slider, and at the same time accumulates the elastic restoring force of the reset elastic member; conversely, when the robotic arm releases the wire group, the elastic restoring force generated by the reset elastic member will drive the slider to move downward and pull the wire group to return it to its original position. In other words, through the automatic wire winding function provided by the wire winding module, the wire group can be adjacent to the robotic arm during the process of being pulled or released, which can not only prevent the wire group from interfering with surrounding objects, but also save the space required for the robotic arm to operate, thereby improving the wire routing convenience.

[0009] Preferably, the wire group has a wire and a wiring conduit covering the wire. One end of the wiring conduit is fixed to the base of the robotic arm, and the other end of the wiring conduit is fixed to the front end of the second arm of the robotic arm.

[0010] Preferably, the robotic arm further has a first joint seat and a second joint seat. The first joint seat is pivotally provided at the top of the base, the bottom end of the first arm is pivotally provided at the first joint seat, the second joint seat is pivotally provided at the top of the first arm, and the rear end of the second arm is pivotally provided at the second joint seat.

[0011] Preferably, the wire winding module further has a cover and a conduit fixing member. The cover is disposed on the first arm of the robotic arm, the slide rail is disposed in the cover, the conduit fixing member connects the slider and the wiring conduit, and the top and bottom ends of the reset elastic member are respectively fixed to the conduit fixing member and the cover.

[0012] Preferably, the conduit fixing member has a positioning plate and a buckle. The positioning plate connects the slider and the top end of the reset elastic member, and the buckle is disposed on the positioning plate and fixes the wiring conduit. On this basis, the wire fixing member drives the wiring conduit to move up and down through the buckle.

[0013] Preferably, the positioning plate has a first positioning portion, a second positioning portion, and a third positioning portion. The second positioning portion and the third positioning portion are perpendicularly connected to two opposite sides of the first positioning portion. The first positioning portion is connected to the slider, the second positioning portion is connected to the buckle, and the third positioning portion is connected to the top end of the reset elastic member. Moreover, the length of the third positioning portion is greater than the length of the slider, so that the ineffective stroke of the reset elastic member can be shortened.

[0014] Preferably, the bottom end of the first arm pivots relative to a first joint seat with respect to a first rotation center, and the second joint seat pivots relative to the first arm with respect to a second rotation center. The line formed by the shortest distance between the first rotation center and the second rotation center is parallel to the movement track of the slider. With the above technical features, the movement stability of the slider can be improved.

[0015] Preferably, one end of the wiring conduit is fixed to a conduit fixing head, and the conduit fixing head is rotatably arranged on a cage. The cage is connected to a terminal base, and the terminal base is pivotally arranged on a third joint seat. The third joint seat is pivotally arranged at the front end of the second arm. Through the rotatable design of the conduit fixing head, it is possible to avoid the wiring conduit being damaged due to torsional stress during the movement of the second arm.

[0016] Preferably, the slide rail is fixedly arranged on a slide rail fixing seat, and the slide rail fixing seat is arranged on the protective cover. On this basis, the wire winding module can be completely detached from the robotic arm to achieve a modular effect.

[0017] Preferably, the slide rail is fixedly arranged on a slide rail fixing seat, and the slide rail fixing seat is fixedly arranged on the first arm of the robotic arm, so that the slide rail fixing seat and the first arm form an integral structure to improve the structural strength.

[0018] Preferably, the wire winding module further has two retaining pieces and two guide wheels. One of the retaining pieces is fixedly arranged at the top end of the protective cover, and the guide wheels are detachably arranged between the retaining pieces and allow the wiring conduit to pass through between the guide wheels. On this basis, on the one hand, it provides a guiding and limiting effect on the wiring conduit, and on the other hand, by removing one of the guide wheels, the wiring conduit can be conveniently disassembled and replaced.

[0019] Preferably, the tensile force of the reset elastic member is between 0.8 kg and 1.3 kg. If it is lower than 0.8 kg, when the robotic arm moves rapidly, the recovery of the wiring conduit will not be fast enough. If it is higher than 1.3 kg, it is easy to cause an increase in the load of the motor, resulting in damage to the wiring conduit and the wires inside it.

[0020] Preferably, the stroke of the slider is between 320 mm and 400 mm, so as to adapt to the movement of the robotic arm at multi-axis rotation angles.

[0021] Details regarding the detailed structure, features, assembly, or usage method of the robotic arm device provided in this disclosure will be described in the subsequent detailed description of the embodiments. However, those skilled in the art should understand that such detailed descriptions and the specific embodiments listed for implementing this disclosure are only used to illustrate this disclosure and are not used to limit the scope of the patent application of this disclosure. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] Figure 1 A perspective view of the robotic arm device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 2 A perspective view of the robotic arm device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure from another perspective.

[0024] Figure 3 A partial perspective exploded view of the robotic arm device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 4 A perspective view of the wire winding module provided by the robotic arm device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 5 A partial perspective exploded view of the wire winding module provided by the robotic arm device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 6 A rear partial cross-sectional view of the robotic arm device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 7 Similar Figure 6 , mainly showing the state where the slider moves upward along the slide rail.

[0029] Figure 8 A side partial cross-sectional view of the robotic arm device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 9 A perspective view of the robotic arm device according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 10 A partial perspective exploded view of the robotic arm device according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 11 A perspective view of the robotic arm device according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 12 A partial perspective exploded view of the robotic arm device according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] In the figure,

[0035] 10: Robotic arm device

[0036] 20: Robot Arm

[0037] 21: Base

[0038] 22: First Joint Seat

[0039] 23: First Arm

[0040] 24: Second Joint Seat

[0041] 25: Second Arm

[0042] 26: Third Joint Seat

[0043] 27: End Base

[0044] 30: Wiring Duct

[0045] 32: Duct Fixed Head

[0046] 34: Cage

[0047] 40: Wire Take-up Module

[0048] 41: Cover

[0049] 42: Front Cover

[0050] 422: First Side Plate

[0051] 424: Second Side Plate

[0052] 426: First Connecting Plate

[0053] 427: Upper Embedded Groove

[0054] 428: Lower Embedded Groove

[0055] 43: Rear Cover

[0056] 432: Third Side Plate

[0057] 434: Fourth Side Plate

[0058] 436: Second Connecting Plate

[0059] 44: Upper End Cover

[0060] 45: Lower End Cover

[0061] 46: Upper Support Frame

[0062] 47: Lower Support Frame

[0063] 48: Gap

[0064] 50: Slide Rail Fixed Seat

[0065] 51: Slide Rail

[0066] 52: Slide Block

[0067] 60: Catheter fixing member

[0068] 61: Positioning plate

[0069] 62: First positioning portion

[0070] 63: Second positioning portion

[0071] 64: Third positioning portion

[0072] 65: Buckle

[0073] 70: Reset elastic member

[0074] 71: First bolt

[0075] 72: Second bolt

[0076] 73: Flap

[0077] P1: First rotation center

[0078] P2: Second rotation center

[0079] L: On-line

[0080] 80: Flap

[0081] 81: Guide wheel

[0082] 82: Guide wheel

[0083] 83: Axle

[0084] 84: Nut

[0085] 85: C-shaped buckle

[0086] 86: Nut

[0087] 87: Screw

[0088] 90: Wire winding module

[0089] 91: Slide rail fixing seat

[0090] 92: Cover. Detailed implementation manners

[0091] The applicant hereby states first that throughout the entire specification, including the embodiments introduced below and the claims in the claims, the directional terms are based on the directions in the drawings. Secondly, in the embodiments and drawings to be introduced below, the same component numbers represent the same or similar components or their structural features.

[0092] Please first refer to Figure 1, the robotic arm device 10 of the first embodiment of the present disclosure includes a set of robotic arms 20, a wire set, and a wire winding module 40.

[0093] The robotic arm 20 is a six-axis robotic arm in this embodiment, but is not limited thereto. The robotic arm 20 has a base 21, a first joint seat 22, a first arm 23, a second joint seat 24, a second arm 25, a third joint seat 26, and a terminal base 27. The first joint seat 22 is pivotally provided at the top of the base 21 in a rotatable manner; the bottom end of the first arm 23 is provided at the first joint seat 22 in an up-and-down pivotable manner; the second joint seat 24 is provided at the top of the first arm 23 in an up-and-down pivotable manner; the rear end of the second arm 25 is provided at the second joint seat 24 in a rotatable manner; the third joint seat 26 is provided at the front end of the second arm 25 in an up-and-down pivotable manner; the terminal base 27 is pivotally provided at the third joint seat 26 in a rotatable manner.

[0094] The wire set has a wire (not shown in the figure) and a wiring conduit 30 that wraps the wire. The aforementioned wire can be (but is not limited to) a wire for transmitting electricity, a signal line for transmitting signals, or a combination of a wire and a signal line. The wiring conduit 30 is mainly an elastic telescopic pipe in terms of material, such as a plastic corrugated pipe. One end of the wiring conduit 30 is fixed to the base 21 of the robotic arm 20, then folded back 180 degrees and fixed to the first joint seat 22 of the robotic arm 20, and then extends upward along the rear side of the first arm 23 of the robotic arm 20, and then extends forward along the right side of the second arm 25 of the robotic arm 20, and finally its other end is inserted through a rotatable-in-place conduit fixing head 32. The conduit fixing head 32 is fixed to a holder 34, and one end of the holder 34 is locked to the terminal base 27. It is worth mentioning that a cable tie can also be used to replace the wiring conduit 30 as long as it can fix the wire.

[0095] As Figure 4 and Figure 5 shown, the wire winding module 40 has a cover 41, a slide rail fixing seat 50, a slide rail 51, a slider 52, a conduit fixing member 60, and a reset elastic member 70, wherein:

[0096] The protective cover 41 has a front cover 42, a rear cover 43, an upper end cover 44, a lower end cover 45, an upper support frame 46 and a lower support frame 47. Among them, the front cover 42 has a first side plate 422, a second side plate 424 opposite to the first side plate 422, and a first connecting plate 426 connecting the first side plate 422 and the second side plate 424. The top and bottom ends of the first connecting plate 426 respectively have an upper embedding groove 427 and a lower embedding groove 428; the rear cover 43 has a third side plate 432, a fourth side plate 434 and a second connecting plate 436 connecting the third side plate 432 and the fourth side plate 434. The third side plate 432 of the rear cover 43 is stacked on the first side plate 422 of the front cover 42 and fixed together through a slide rail fixing seat 50. There is a gap 48 between the fourth side plate 434 of the rear cover 43 and the second side plate 424 of the front cover 42; the upper end cover 44 is assembled at the top of the front cover 42 and the top of the rear cover 43; the lower end cover 45 is assembled at the bottom of the front cover 42 and the bottom of the rear cover 43; the upper support frame 46 is embedded in the upper embedding groove 427 of the front cover 42 and fixed at the top of the slide rail fixing seat 50; the lower support frame 47 is embedded in the lower embedding groove 428 of the front cover 42 and fixed at the bottom of the slide rail fixing seat 50. As Figure 3 shown, the protective cover 41 assembles the upper support frame 46 and the lower support frame 47 to the first arm 23 of the robotic arm 20 by means of screwing.

[0097] A slide rail 51 is arranged in the protective cover 41 and fixed to the slide rail fixing seat 50. A slider 52 is assembled to the slide rail 51 so as to be slidable up and down.

[0098] The conduit fixing member 60 has a positioning plate 61. The positioning plate 61 has a first positioning portion 62, a second positioning portion 63 and a third positioning portion 64. The second positioning portion 63 and the third positioning portion 64 are integrally and perpendicularly connected to two opposite sides of the first positioning portion 62. As Figure 5 shown, the positioning plate 61 connects to the slider 52 with the first positioning portion 62, so that the positioning plate 61 can move synchronously with the slider 52. The second positioning portion 63 of the positioning plate 61 extends out of the protective cover 41 through the gap 48. In addition, the conduit fixing member 60 further has a buckle 65. On the one hand, the buckle 65 connects to the second positioning portion 63 of the positioning plate 61 and is located outside the protective cover 41. On the other hand, the buckle 65 buckles the wiring conduit 30, so that the buckle 65 can move synchronously with the positioning plate 61 and the wiring conduit 30.

[0099] The top end of the reset elastic member 70 (taking a tension spring as an example here) is fixed to a first bolt 71, the first bolt 71 is locked to the top end of the third positioning portion 64 of the positioning plate 61, the bottom end of the reset elastic member 70 is fixed to a second bolt 72, the second bolt 72 is locked to a retaining piece 73, and the retaining piece 73 is fixed to the bottom end of the slide rail fixing seat 50. On this basis, when the positioning plate 61 moves upward along the slide rail 51 following the slider 52, the reset elastic member 70 can be stretched by the positioning plate 61 to accumulate elastic restoring force. It is worth mentioning here that, as Figure 5 shown, the length of the third positioning portion 64 of the positioning plate 61 is greater than the length of the slider 52, so that the ineffective stroke of the reset elastic member 70 can be shortened.

[0100] As can be seen from the above, during the movement of the robotic arm 20, the wiring conduit 30 will be pulled or released according to the movement angle of the robotic arm 20. When the wiring conduit 30 is pulled, as Figure 6 and Figure 7 shown, the wiring conduit 30 will drive the slider 52 to move upward along the slide rail 51 through the buckle 65, and at the same time stretch the reset elastic member 70 through the positioning plate 61 to accumulate the elastic restoring force of the reset elastic member 70. Once the robotic arm 20 releases the wiring conduit 30, the elastic restoring force of the reset elastic member 70 will drive the slider 52 to move downward through the positioning plate 61, and at the same time pull the wiring conduit 30 through the buckle 65 to make it return to its original position. In this way, continuous retraction and release are carried out until the robotic arm 20 stops moving. During the continuous retraction and release process, the wiring conduit 30 will always be adjacent to the first arm 23 and the second arm 25 of the robotic arm 20, which can not only avoid interference between the wiring conduit 30 and surrounding objects, but also save the operating space of the robotic arm 20.

[0101] In addition, it should be supplemented and explained that, as Figure 8As shown, the bottom end of the first arm 23 pivots relative to the first joint seat 22 about a first rotation center P1, and the second joint seat 24 pivots relative to the first arm 23 about a second rotation center P2. The line L formed by the shortest distance between the first rotation center P1 and the second rotation center P2 is parallel to the movement trajectory of the slider 52, enabling the slider 52 to move stably and achieving the overall line effect during movement. Secondly, since the wiring conduit 30 is stretched according to the movement angle of the robotic arm 20, once the wiring conduit 30 is stretched, the slider 52 will move upward along the slide rail 51. That is, the stroke of the slider 52 will depend on the length by which the wiring conduit 30 is stretched. In this embodiment, the stroke of the slider 52 is between 320 mm and 400 mm, thus being able to accommodate the maximum stretching length of the wiring conduit 30. The maximum stretching length of the wiring conduit 30 usually occurs when the second arm 25 rotates 90 degrees, the third joint seat 26 rotates 120 degrees, and the end base 27 rotates 360 degrees. In addition, the tensile force of the reset elastic member 70 is between 0.8 kg and 1.3 kg in this embodiment. If it is lower than 0.8 kg, when the robotic arm 20 moves rapidly, the recovery of the wiring conduit 30 will not be fast enough, thereby affecting subsequent winding and unwinding. If it is higher than 1.3 kg, it is easy to cause an increase in the load of the motor, resulting in damage to the wiring conduit 30 and the wires inside it.

[0102] Please continue to refer to Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown in FIGS. and, the second embodiment of the present disclosure further provides two retaining plates 80 and two guide wheels 81, 82. One of the retaining plates 80 is fixed to the top end of the cover 41. Each of the guide wheels 81, 82 is pivotally provided between the two retaining plates 80 by a wheel shaft 83. The two ends of one of the wheel shafts 83 are respectively fixed by a nut 84 and a C-shaped buckle 85, and the two ends of the other wheel shaft 83 are respectively fixed by a nut 86 and a screw 87. On this basis, the wiring conduit 30 is allowed to pass through between the two guide wheels 81, 82, providing a guiding and limiting effect on the wiring conduit 30 on the one hand. On the other hand, by removing the guide wheel 82, the wiring conduit 30 and the wires inside it can be conveniently repaired and replaced.

[0103] Please refer to again Figure 11 and Figure 12, the wire winding module 90 provided in the third embodiment of the present disclosure is substantially the same as the first embodiment described above. The main difference is that the wire winding module 40 provided in the first embodiment is externally mounted on the first arm 23 in a modular manner. In the third embodiment, the slide rail fixing base 91 is integrally formed on the first arm 23, and the cover 92 is screwed to the first arm 23 and covers the slide rail fixing base 91, so as to further improve the structural strength. As for other components of the wire routing module 90 (such as the slide rail 51, the slider 52, the conduit fixing member 60, and the return elastic member 70), they are the same as those in the first embodiment described above, and the structural relationship and movement principle thereof will not be elaborated herein.

[0104] In summary, through the wire winding functions provided by the wire winding modules 40 and 90, the wire group (wiring conduit 30) of the robotic arm device 10 of the present disclosure can be made to fit as closely as possible to the outer surface of the robotic arm 20 during the process of being stretched or released. In addition to making the overall structural appearance more concise, it can also prevent the wire group (wiring conduit 30) from interfering with surrounding objects and save the space required for the robotic arm 20 during operation, thereby improving the wire routing convenience.

Claims

1. A robotic arm device, characterized in that, Including: A robotic arm having a base, a first arm and a second arm; A wire set adjacent to the first arm and the second arm of the robotic arm, one end of the wire set being fixed to the second arm of the robotic arm; and A wire take-up module provided on the first arm of the robotic arm, the wire take-up module having a slide rail, a slider and a reset elastic member, the slider being slidably provided on the slide rail and connected to the wire set and the reset elastic member; Wherein, the wire set has a wire and a wiring duct covering the wire, one end of the wiring duct being fixed to the base of the robotic arm, and the other end of the wiring duct being fixed to the front end of the second arm of the robotic arm; Wherein, the wire take-up module further has a cover and a duct fixing member, the cover is provided on the first arm of the robotic arm, the slide rail is provided in the cover, the duct fixing member connects the slider and the wiring duct, and the top and bottom ends of the reset elastic member are respectively fixed to the duct fixing member and the cover; Wherein, the duct fixing member has a positioning plate and a buckle, the positioning plate connects the slider and the top end of the reset elastic member, and the buckle is provided on the positioning plate and fixes the wiring duct; Wherein, the positioning plate has a first positioning portion, a second positioning portion and a third positioning portion, the second positioning portion and the third positioning portion are vertically connected to two opposite sides of the first positioning portion, the first positioning portion connects the slider, the second positioning portion connects the buckle, the third positioning portion connects the top end of the reset elastic member, and the length of the third positioning portion is greater than the length of the slider.

2. The robotic arm device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The robotic arm further has a first joint seat and a second joint seat, the first joint seat is pivotally provided at the top end of the base, the bottom end of the first arm is pivotally provided at the first joint seat, the second joint seat is pivotally provided at the top end of the first arm, and the rear end of the second arm is pivotally provided at the second joint seat.

3. The robotic arm device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The bottom end of the first arm pivots relative to the first joint seat about a first rotation center, the second joint seat pivots relative to the first arm about a second rotation center, and the line formed by the shortest distance between the first rotation center and the second rotation center is parallel to the movement trajectory of the slider.

4. The robotic arm device according to claim 1, characterized in that, One end of the wiring duct is provided on a rotatable duct fixing head, the duct fixing head is fixed to a holder, the holder is connected to a terminal base, and the terminal base is pivotally provided at a third joint seat, and the third joint seat is pivotally provided at the front end of the second arm.

5. The robotic arm device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The slide rail is fixed to a slide rail fixing seat, and the slide rail fixing seat is provided in the cover.

6. The robotic arm device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The wire take-up module further has two stoppers and two guide wheels, one of the stoppers is fixed to the top end of the cover, and the two guide wheels are pivotally provided between the two stoppers detachably and allow the wiring duct to pass between the two guide wheels.

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