A joint lubrication structure for an industrial robot with adaptive mounting posture

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of robotics technology, and specifically relates to a joint lubrication structure for an industrial robot with adaptive mounting posture. It includes a central cylinder and a base, a reducer, and a waist support, all coaxially mounted on the central cylinder. The waist support is connected to the output end of the reducer, and the reducer drives the waist support to rotate relative to the central cylinder. The base has a base cavity, and the waist support has an inner waist support cavity, both of which communicate with the lubrication cavity of the reducer. This invention adapts to different robot mounting configurations, not limited to upright, inverted, and side-mounted configurations, but also suitable for mounting on mobile vehicles and positioners. It ensures good lubrication even when the orientation of one axis of the industrial robot changes randomly in space during a single process flow, exhibiting strong adaptability and a wide range of applications.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of robotics technology, and specifically relates to a joint lubrication structure for an industrial robot with adaptive mounting posture. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, as industrial robots expand into more fields, their installation methods are no longer limited to upright, inverted, and side-mounted configurations. They are also mounted on mobile vehicles or positioners, causing the orientation of one axis of the industrial robot to change randomly in space during a single process. However, the lubrication requirements of the industrial robot's dedicated reducer differ depending on the orientation of its axis, resulting in less than ideal lubrication in each spatial direction and failing to meet the lubrication process requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the aforementioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a lubrication structure for industrial robot joints that is adaptive in installation posture, thereby solving the problem that the lubrication of existing industrial robot-specific reducers in various spatial directions is not ideal and cannot meet the lubrication process requirements.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0005] This invention provides a joint lubrication structure for an industrial robot with adaptive mounting posture, comprising a central cylinder and a base, a reducer, and a waist seat coaxially mounted on the central cylinder in sequence. The waist seat is connected to the output end of the reducer, and the reducer drives the waist seat to rotate relative to the central cylinder. The base has a base cavity, and the waist seat has a waist seat inner cavity. Both the base cavity and the waist seat inner cavity are connected to the inner cavity of the reducer and form a closed cavity, into which lubricating oil is injected.

[0006] In one possible implementation, the base has multiple base cavities arranged circumferentially, with adjacent base cavities connected by a base channel.

[0007] In one possible implementation, the top of the base is a mounting surface that is positioned and connected to the reducer, and the base channel is an arc-shaped groove provided on the mounting surface.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the base has a bottom plate at its bottom and an oil injection channel communicating with a cavity in the base on its side wall.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the reducer includes a reducer housing and a reducer spindle and planetary reduction gear mechanism disposed within the reducer housing. The reducer spindle is mounted on the central cylinder and fixedly connected to the central cylinder. The reducer spindle and the reducer housing are rotatably connected by a reducer bearing and rotatably sealed by a reducer sealing ring. The reducer spindle is provided with a channel for communicating between the base cavity and the inner cavity of the waist seat. The output end of the planetary reduction gear mechanism is drively connected to the reducer housing.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the lower end of the central cylinder is statically sealed to the reducer spindle, and the upper end of the central cylinder is rotary sealed to the waist seat via a central cylinder rotary seal.

[0011] In one possible implementation, a reducer input shaft is mounted on the waist seat via a motor rotation seal. The reducer input shaft is housed within the inner cavity of the waist seat and connected to the input end of the planetary reduction gear mechanism. The planetary reduction gear mechanism transmits the power from the reducer input shaft to the reducer housing, causing the reducer housing to rotate.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the reducer spindle has multiple countersunk through holes along its circumference, and the base has multiple threaded holes along its circumference. The reducer spindle is threadedly connected to the threaded holes on the base by bolts passing through the countersunk through holes.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the waist seat has a plurality of countersunk holes along the circumferential direction, and the upper end face of the reducer housing has threaded blind holes that correspond one-to-one with the countersunk holes on the waist seat. The corresponding countersunk holes and threaded blind holes are connected by screws.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the waist seat is provided with a vent hole communicating with the inner cavity of the waist seat, and the vent hole is sealed by a vent screw.

[0015] The advantages and beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: The present invention provides an industrial robot joint lubrication structure with adaptive installation posture, which can adapt to the robot installation form and is not limited to upright, inverted and side mounting. It is also suitable for installation on mobile vehicles and positioners. When the axis of one axis of the industrial robot changes its spatial position randomly in a process flow, it can ensure good lubrication, has strong adaptability and wide application range.

[0016] The present invention provides an adaptive joint lubrication structure for industrial robots, which can be installed and disassembled sequentially from the end to the base, making maintenance convenient and ergonomic. When the waist support, one-axis reducer, and base are heavy and inconvenient to operate manually, they can all be disassembled sequentially from the end away from the base.

[0017] Other features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the following description, and will be apparent in part from the description, or may be learned by practicing the invention. The objects and other advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the structures particularly pointed out in the written description and the accompanying drawings.

[0018] The technical solution of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate the invention and form part of the specification. They are used in conjunction with embodiments of the invention to explain the invention and do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings:

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the upright mounting state of a joint lubrication structure for an industrial robot with adaptive mounting posture according to the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the inverted state of a joint lubrication structure for an industrial robot with an adaptive mounting posture according to the present invention.

[0022] Figure 3 This is an isometric view of the base in this invention.

[0023] In the diagram: 1-Base, 101-Oil Injection Channel, 102-Mounting Surface, 103-Threaded Hole, 104-Base Cavity, 105-Base Channel, 106-Base Plate, 2-Reducer, 201-Reducer Spindle, 202-Reducer Sealing Ring, 203-Reducer Housing, 204-Reducer Bearing, 205-Planetary Gear, 206-Sun Gear, 207-Channel, 3-Waist Seat, 301-Waist Seat Inner Cavity, 4-Center Cylinder Rotary Seal, 5-Center Cylinder, 6-Motor Rotary Seal, 7-Reducer Input Shaft, 8-Sealing Gasket, 9-Bolt, 10-Shaft Rotation Axis, 11-Front Mounting Lubrication Surface, 12-Reverse Mounting Lubrication Surface, 13-Break Screw, 14-Bearing. Detailed Implementation

[0024] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," and "counterclockwise," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention.

[0025] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0026] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0027] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the preferred embodiments described herein are for illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0028] This invention provides a posture-adaptive joint lubrication structure for industrial robots. It adapts to the robot's mounting configuration, ensures good lubrication, exhibits strong adaptability, and has a wide range of applications. See also... Figure 1-3 As shown, the installation posture adaptive industrial robot joint lubrication structure includes a central cylinder 5 and a base 1, a reducer 2, and a waist seat 3, which are coaxially mounted on the central cylinder 5 in sequence. The waist seat 3 is connected to the output end of the reducer 2, and the reducer 2 drives the waist seat 3 to rotate relative to the central cylinder 5. The base 1 has a base cavity 104, and the waist seat 3 has a waist seat inner cavity 301. Both the base cavity 104 and the waist seat inner cavity 301 are connected to the inner cavity of the reducer 2 and form a closed cavity. Lubricating oil is injected into the closed cavity.

[0029] This invention provides a posture-adaptive joint lubrication structure for industrial robots. It is not limited to upright, inverted, and side-mounted industrial robots, but is also suitable for installation on mobile vehicles and positioners. It can meet the process requirements for joint lubrication of industrial robots when the axis of one axis of the industrial robot changes randomly in space during a single process.

[0030] See Figure 3As shown in the embodiment of the present invention, the bottom of the base 1 is provided with a base plate 106. The base plate 106 is used for installation in industrial robot application scenarios, such as mounting the base plate 106 on the ground, or connecting it to a mobile vehicle and a positioner. Preferably, the base 1 has multiple base cavities 104, which are evenly arranged circumferentially. Adjacent base cavities 104 are connected through base channels 105 to ensure that the lubricating oil in the multiple base cavities 104 is connected, thereby improving the lubrication effect.

[0031] Specifically, the top of the base 1 is the mounting surface 102, which is positioned and sealed to the end of the reducer 2. The base channel 105 is an arc-shaped groove on the mounting surface 102 to facilitate processing and reduce costs.

[0032] Furthermore, the side wall of the base 1 is provided with an oil injection channel 101 that communicates with a base cavity 104. Lubricating oil is injected into the base cavity 104 through the oil injection channel 101. In addition, the oil injection channel 101 can also be used for venting and draining oil.

[0033] See Figure 1-2 As shown, in an embodiment of the present invention, the reducer 2 includes a reducer housing 203 and a reducer spindle 201 and a planetary reduction gear mechanism disposed within the reducer housing 203. The reducer spindle 201 is mounted on the central cylinder 5 and is fixedly connected to the central cylinder 5. The reducer spindle 201 and the reducer housing 203 are rotatably connected by a reducer bearing 204 and a rotary dynamic seal is formed by a reducer sealing ring 202. The reducer spindle 201 is provided with a channel 207 for connecting the base cavity 104 and the waist seat inner cavity 301. The output end of the planetary reduction gear mechanism is drively connected to the reducer housing 203.

[0034] Specifically, the lower end of the central cylinder 5 is provided with a shoulder, through which the reducer spindle 201 extends axially outward. This shoulder is statically sealed to the reducer spindle 201 via bolts and a sealing ring. The upper end of the central cylinder 5 is rotary sealed to the waist seat 3 via a central cylinder rotary seal 4. The reducer spindle 201 has multiple countersunk through holes along its circumference, and the base 1 has multiple threaded holes 103 along its circumference. The reducer spindle 201 is threadedly connected to the threaded holes 103 on the base 1 via bolts 9 passing through the countersunk through holes. Preferably, the threaded holes 103 and the base cavity 104 are alternately distributed circumferentially.

[0035] Furthermore, the waist support 3 has multiple countersunk holes along its circumference, and the upper end face of the reducer housing 203 has threaded blind holes that correspond one-to-one with the countersunk holes on the waist support 3. The corresponding countersunk holes and threaded blind holes are connected by screws. That is, the bolts 9 connecting the reducer 2 and the base 1 point towards the base 1, and the screws connecting the waist support 3 and the reducer 2 point towards the reducer 2. Therefore, maintenance and upkeep can be completed without flipping the base in industrial robot usage scenarios. Compared to traditional reducers where the connecting bolts of the waist support, reducer, and base all point towards and away from the base, requiring the tooling to be flipped during installation, making disassembly cumbersome and inconvenient, this invention eliminates the need to flip the base, making disassembly and installation convenient and facilitating maintenance.

[0036] Furthermore, the side wall of the waist seat 3 is provided with a vent hole that communicates with the inner cavity 301 of the waist seat, and the vent hole is sealed by a vent screw 13.

[0037] Furthermore, a reducer input shaft 7 is mounted on the waist seat 3 via a motor rotary seal 6, forming a rotary seal relationship between the reducer input shaft 7 and the waist seat 3. The reducer input shaft 7 is housed within the inner cavity 301 of the waist seat and is drive-connected to the input end of the planetary reduction gear mechanism. The planetary reduction gear mechanism transmits the power from the reducer input shaft 7 to the reducer housing 203, causing the reducer housing 203 to rotate. The lower end of the reducer input shaft 7 forms a static seal and assembly relationship with the motor shaft via a sealing gasket 8 and screws.

[0038] In an embodiment of the present invention, the axis of the central cylinder 5 is a rotation axis 10, which is orthogonal to the base plate 106. The positive direction of the rotation axis 10 is from the base plate 106 to the waist seat 3. The rotation axis 10 pointing upward is upright, the rotation axis 10 pointing downward is inverted, and the rotation axis 10 pointing in any horizontal direction is side hanging.

[0039] In this embodiment, the planetary reduction gear mechanism is existing technology. Specifically, the planetary reduction gear mechanism includes a drive gear, planetary gears 205, and a sun gear 206. The drive gear is mounted on the input shaft 7 of the reducer and rotates with the input shaft 7. The sun gear 206 is a hollow structure and is sleeved on the central cylinder 5. The waist seat 3 is connected to the sun gear 206 through a bearing 4. The sun gear 206 is a two-stage gear structure. The first stage gear of the sun gear 206 meshes with the drive gear, and the second stage gear meshes with the three planetary gears 205. The planetary gears 205 are rotatably mounted on the reducer spindle 201 and mesh with an internal gear ring on the reducer housing 203. During operation, the reducer input shaft 7 drives the drive gear to rotate, the drive gear drives the sun gear 206 to rotate, the sun gear 206 drives the reducer housing 203 to rotate through the three planetary gears 205, and the reducer housing 203 drives the waist seat 3 to rotate around an axis 10.

[0040] This invention provides a posture-adaptive joint lubrication structure for industrial robots, comprising an internal sealed cavity containing lubricating oil and air. Under different operating conditions of the motor and reducer, the temperature rise varies, causing the lubricating oil to expand and the air to be compressed. Therefore, the volume ratio of lubricating oil to air has strict process requirements; exceeding 0.3 bar will lead to joint leakage. The problem solved by this invention is how to use a single structure to adapt to various robot mounting positions.

[0041] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the upright mounting state of a joint lubrication structure for an industrial robot with adaptive mounting posture according to the present invention; as shown. Figure 1 As shown, in the upright position of the industrial robot, the lubricating surface 11 of the lubricating oil precisely reaches the center of the bearing of the sun gear 206, ensuring effective lubrication of the reducer transmission components. Under different operating conditions of the motor and reducer, the temperature rise varies, causing the lubricating oil to expand and the air to be compressed in the opposite direction. Therefore, the volume ratio of the lubricating oil to the air meets strict process requirements, being less than 0.3 bar.

[0042] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the inverted state of a joint lubrication structure for an industrial robot with adaptive mounting posture according to the present invention; as shown. Figure 2 As shown, the reverse lubrication surface 12 of the lubricating oil reaches exactly the center of the base channel 105, ensuring effective lubrication of the reducer transmission components. Under different operating conditions of the motor and reducer, the temperature rise varies, causing the lubricating oil to expand and the air to be compressed in the opposite direction. Therefore, the volume ratio of the lubricating oil to the air meets strict process requirements, being less than 0.3 bar.

[0043] In this embodiment, the concept of side mounting is that the rotation axis 10 of one shaft is horizontal to the ground and orthogonal to the Earth's gravity. The process requirement is that the side-mounted lubrication surface is located at a height of 0.75 times the diameter of the reducer spindle 201. When mounted on a positioner, the rotation axis 10 of one shaft is neither orthogonal nor parallel to the horizontal ground. The process requirement is that the lubrication surface of the positioner is located at a height of 0.75 times the diameter of the reducer spindle 201. In this embodiment, the reducer 2 is an RV-C series reducer.

[0044] The present invention provides an adaptive joint lubrication structure for industrial robots, which can adapt to the robot's installation form. It is not limited to upright, inverted, and side-mounted installations, but is also suitable for installation on mobile vehicles and positioners. When the axis of one of the industrial robots changes its spatial orientation randomly during a process, it can ensure good lubrication, has strong adaptability, and a wide range of applications.

[0045] The present invention provides an adaptive joint lubrication structure for industrial robots, which can be installed and disassembled sequentially from the end to the base, making maintenance convenient and ergonomic. When the waist support, one-axis reducer, and base are heavy and inconvenient to operate manually, they can all be disassembled sequentially from the end away from the base.

[0046] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this invention without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, if these modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this invention and their equivalents, this invention also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A mounting pose adaptive industrial robot joint lubrication structure, characterized by, The application relates to a lubricating oil injection device for a centering cylinder (5) and a base (1), a speed reducer (2) and a waist seat (3) which are coaxially arranged on the centering cylinder (5) in sequence, wherein the waist seat (3) is connected with the output end of the speed reducer (2), the speed reducer (2) drives the waist seat (3) to rotate relative to the centering cylinder (5); the base (1) is provided with a base cavity (104), the waist seat (3) is provided with a waist seat inner cavity (301), the base cavity (104) and the waist seat inner cavity (301) are communicated with the inner cavity of the speed reducer (2), and form a closed cavity, and lubricating oil is injected into the closed cavity. The number of the base cavities (104) on the base (1) is multiple, and the base cavities (104) are arranged in the circumferential direction; two adjacent base cavities (104) are communicated through a base channel (105). The top of the base (1) is an installation surface (102) which is positioned and connected with the speed reducer (2); the base channel (105) is an arc-shaped groove arranged on the installation surface (102). The bottom of the base (1) is provided with a bottom plate (106), and the sidewall of the base (1) is provided with an oil injection channel (101) which is communicated with one base cavity (104). The speed reducer (2) comprises a speed reducer shell (203), a speed reducer shaft (201) and a planetary speed reduction gear mechanism which are arranged in the speed reducer shell (203); the speed reducer shaft (201) is sleeved on the centering cylinder (5) and is fixedly connected with the centering cylinder (5); the speed reducer shaft (201) and the speed reducer shell (203) are rotatably connected through a speed reducer bearing (204) and are rotatably sealed through a speed reducer sealing ring (202); the speed reducer shaft (201) is provided with a channel (207) for communicating the base cavity (104) and the waist seat inner cavity (301); the output end of the planetary speed reduction gear mechanism is drivingly connected with the speed reducer shell (203). The waist seat (3) is provided with a gas discharge hole which is communicated with the waist seat inner cavity (301) and is blocked by a gas discharge screw (13).

2. The mounting pose adaptive industrial robot joint lubrication structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lower end of the centering cylinder (5) is in static sealing connection with the speed reducer shaft (201), and the upper end of the centering cylinder (5) is in rotatable sealing connection with the waist seat (3) through a centering cylinder rotary sealing device (4).

3. The mounting pose adaptive industrial robot joint lubrication structure according to claim 1, characterized by The waist seat (3) is provided with a speed reducer input shaft (7) which is arranged through a motor rotary sealing device (6) and is accommodated in the waist seat inner cavity (301) and connected with the input end of the planetary speed reduction gear mechanism; the planetary speed reduction gear mechanism transmits the power of the speed reducer input shaft (7) to the speed reducer shell (203) to drive the speed reducer shell (203) to rotate.

4. The mounting pose adaptive industrial robot joint lubrication structure according to claim 1, characterized by, The speed reducer shaft (201) is provided with multiple countersunk through holes in the circumferential direction, and the base (1) is provided with multiple threaded holes (103) in the circumferential direction; the speed reducer shaft (201) is in threaded connection with the threaded holes (103) of the base (1) through bolts (9) which penetrate the countersunk through holes.

5. The mounting pose adaptive industrial robot joint lubrication structure according to claim 1, characterized by, The waist seat (3) is provided with a plurality of connecting counterbores in the circumferential direction, and the upper end face of the speed reducer shell (203) is provided with threaded blind holes corresponding to the connecting counterbores on the waist seat (3) one by one, and the corresponding connecting counterbores and threaded blind holes are connected through screws.

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