Industrial machine and method for assembling same

Abstract

An industrial machine (100) is provided with: a first member (21) provided with a mounting surface (21s) disposed at an angle with respect to the horizontal; and a second member (22) having a mounted surface capable of being in close contact with the mounting surface (21s), the first member (21) or the second member (22) being provided with at least one support protrusion (21p) that supports the second member (22) so that the second member (22) does not fall off by bringing the second member (22) into contact with the first member (21) from above at a first position where the mounting surface (21s) is in close contact with the mounted surface, and the support protrusion (21p) being in close contact with the mounting surface (21s) at a second position where the mounting surface (21s) is in close contact with the mounted surface. The first member (21) and the second member (22) can be fixed to each other at a first position or at a second position at which the surface to be mounted is shifted along the mounting surface (21s) while the support state by the support projection (21p) is maintained.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to industrial machinery and methods for assembling the same. Background Technology

[0002] A robot is known to have a second robotic arm, which consists of a housing that internally houses a reducer or the like, and a cover mounted on the opening surface of the housing (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] In this case, the housing and the cover are supported by the first single arm and the second single arm, respectively, and the positioning of the cover when it is installed onto the housing is achieved by operating the second single arm.

[0004] Existing technical documents

[0005] Patent documents

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-176877 Summary of the Invention

[0007] The problem the invention aims to solve

[0008] However, when the robot lacks the aforementioned structure, the operator must use one hand to pick up the cover, hold it in the designated position, and simultaneously use the other hand to secure it to the housing. This is especially burdensome for the operator when the cover is heavy.

[0009] Therefore, in industrial machinery such as robots, there is a desire for easier assembly of two components that can be detached.

[0010] Solution for solving the problem

[0011] One aspect of this disclosure is an industrial machine comprising: a first component having a mounting surface angled relative to a horizontal plane; and a second component having a mounted surface capable of being tightly abutted against the mounting surface, the first component or the second component having at least one support protrusion at a first position where the mounting surface and the mounted surface are tightly abutted against each other, thereby supporting the second component from above and preventing it from falling off, the first component and the second component being capable of being fixed to each other at the first position or a second position, the second position being a position after the mounted surface is offset along the mounting surface while maintaining the support state based on the support protrusion. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a perspective view showing the disassembled state of the rotating body of the robot in the first embodiment of this disclosure.

[0013] Figure 2 It means Figure 1 A side view of the shell of the rotating body.

[0014] Figure 3 It means Figure 1 The front view of the shell of the rotating body.

[0015] Figure 4 This indicates that the cover is supported by Figure 1 A partial cross-sectional view of the state of the shell of the rotating body.

[0016] Figure 5 It means to support Figure 1 The front view of the cover on the shell of the rotating body in the first position.

[0017] Figure 6 It means to support Figure 1 The front view of the cover on the shell of the rotating body in the second position.

[0018] Figure 7 This indicates that the cover is supported by Figure 2 A partial cross-sectional view of the state of a deformed example of the shell. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The industrial machinery in one embodiment of this disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0020] The industrial machinery in this embodiment is, for example, a vertical six-axis articulated robot (hereinafter referred to as robot 100).

[0021] like Figure 1 As shown, the robot 100 includes a base 10 and a rotating body 20. The base 10 is disposed on a horizontal surface such as a ground surface, and the rotating body 20 is supported so that it can rotate relative to the base 10 about a vertical first axis J1. Additionally, the robot 100 includes a first arm 30, which is supported so that it can rotate relative to the rotating body 20 about a horizontal second axis J2. Furthermore, the robot 100 also includes a second arm (not shown) and a three-axis wrist unit (not shown). The second arm is supported relative to the front end of the first arm 30 so that it can rotate, and the three-axis wrist unit is mounted on the front end of the second arm.

[0022] The rotating body 20 has a housing (first component) 21 and a cover (second component) 22. The housing 21 has an opening 21a, and the cover 22 is detachably mounted on the housing 21 and can be opened and closed to close the opening 21a.

[0023] The housing 21 is supported by bearings and reducers (not shown) to enable it to rotate about a first axis J1 relative to the base 10. Additionally, the housing 21 supports the first arm 30 via a reducer (not shown) to enable it to rotate about a second axis J2.

[0024] The space enclosed by the housing 21 and the cover 22 contains a motor (not shown) that drives the rotating body 20 relative to the base 10, and a motor M that drives the first arm 30 relative to the rotating body 20.

[0025] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the opening 21a opens obliquely upward relative to the horizontal ground surface. Figure 3 As shown, a strip-shaped mounting surface 21s extending along the entire circumference is arranged obliquely upward around the opening 21a. A plurality of threaded holes 21h are provided circumferentially spaced on the mounting surface 21s.

[0026] In addition, for example Figure 2 As shown, the housing 21 has a protrusion (support protrusion) 21p projecting from the mounting surface 21s. The protrusion 21p is integrally formed with the housing 21. Furthermore, as... Figure 3 As shown, the protrusion 21p is positioned at the highest point of the space inside the opening 21a, that is, the space enclosed by the mounting surface 21s.

[0027] The cover 22 is a cover component used to close the opening 21a of the housing 21. For example... Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, the cover 22 is formed into a hollow dome shape, which has an opening 22a on one side.

[0028] In addition, the cover 22 has a strip-shaped mounting surface 22s, which is formed along the periphery of the opening 22a and can fit tightly against the mounting surface 21s of the housing 21.

[0029] On the mounting surface 22s, when the cover 22 is installed onto the housing 21, a plurality of through holes 22h are formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of threaded holes 21h provided on the mounting surface 21s of the housing 21.

[0030] By bringing the mounting surface 22s into close contact with the mounting surface 21s and tightening the bolts (not shown) passing through each through hole 22h into the corresponding threaded holes 21h, the cover 22 can be fixed to the housing 21 and the opening 21a can be closed.

[0031] In addition, such as Figure 4 As shown, an inner wall surface (inner circumferential surface) 22i is provided on the inner side of the cover 22. The inner wall surface 22i is positioned at a position offset inward from the outer wall surface 22o of the dome-shaped cover 22 by a predetermined thickness. The inner wall surface 22i is positioned so that it hangs above the upper surface 21p' of the protrusion 21p when the mounting surface 22s of the cover 22 is in close contact with the mounting surface 21s of the housing 21.

[0032] The assembly method of the robot 100 configured in this embodiment will now be described.

[0033] The following description will use the method of assembling the cover 22 onto the housing 21 of the rotating body 20 of the robot 100 as an example.

[0034] First, the operator picks up the cap 22 with both hands, as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the opening 22a side of the cover 22 is brought close to the opening 21a of the housing 21. Then, the mounting surface 22s of the cover 22 is positioned in close contact with the mounting surface 21s of the housing 21 (first position). At this time, the inner wall surface 22i of the cover 22 abuts against the upper surface 21p' of the protrusion 21p from above, thereby making the cover 22 hang on the protrusion 21p.

[0035] In other words, the mounting surface 22s of the cover 22 rests against the upwardly inclined mounting surface 21s, while the inner wall surface 22i of the cover 22 is attached to the protrusion 21p. Thus, as Figure 5 As shown, the operator can position the cover 22 with its center of gravity G positioned approximately vertically below the protrusion 21p, thereby enabling the operator to remove both hands from the cover 22.

[0036] Then, while keeping the mounting surface 22s and the mounting surface 21s in close contact, the operator rotates the cover 22 around the protrusion 21p as a fulcrum. Furthermore, as... Figure 6 As shown, the cover 22 is positioned at a position where the multiple through holes 22h coincide with their respective threaded holes 21h (second position).

[0037] In this case, by bringing the mounting surface 22s into close contact with the upwardly inclined mounting surface 21s, a portion of the mass of the cover 22 is supported and reduced by the mounting surface 21s. Furthermore, by hanging the inner wall surface 22i of the cover 22 on the protrusion 21p, it can also share the weight of the reduced mass of the cover 22 with the protrusion 21p as a fulcrum during rotation.

[0038] Therefore, when moving the cover 22 from the first position to the second position, the weight borne by the operator is half the weight of the cover 22, which can be supported by only one hand, such as the left hand. Moreover, by tightening the bolts passing through each through hole 22h with the free right hand, the cover 22 can be easily installed onto the housing 21.

[0039] Thus, according to this design, when installing the cover 22 onto the housing 21, the cover 22 can be temporarily hung on the protrusion 21p of the housing 21. Therefore, the operator can remove their hands from the cover 22 to perform other tasks.

[0040] Furthermore, by reducing the weight borne by the operator to less than half the weight of the cover 22, the operator can align the cover 22 with the housing 21 using only one hand, for example, by inserting and tightening bolts with their dominant hand. This provides the advantage of improved workability when installing the cover 22 onto the housing 21 and reduced operator workload.

[0041] In addition, such as Figure 5 As shown, the center of gravity G of the cover 22 hanging on the protrusion 21p can be positioned approximately vertically below the protrusion 21p. In this position, the posture of the cover 22 will not change significantly at the instant the operator removes their hands from the cover 22 hanging on the protrusion 21p. Therefore, the cover 22 is supported in a stable posture, thus preventing it from falling off the housing 21 the instant the operator releases their hands.

[0042] In addition, the mounting surface 21s of the housing 21 is inclined upward relative to the horizontal direction, and the cover 22 is supported on the housing 21 in a leaning manner, which can also prevent the cover 22 from falling off.

[0043] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the cover 22, supported by the protrusion 21p, is rotated around the protrusion 21p as a fulcrum, thereby positioning the cover 22 in a position where it can be installed onto the housing 21. Alternatively, the cover 22 can also be supported by the protrusion 21p in a position where it can be installed onto the housing 21.

[0044] For example, the protrusion 21p provided on the housing 21 can also support the cover 22 at a position where the mounting surface 22s is in close contact with the mounting surface 21s and the multiple through holes 22h are aligned with the corresponding threaded holes 21h.

[0045] Therefore, when tightening the bolts used to install the cover 22 onto the housing 21, the operator does not need to use one hand to operate the cover 22 for alignment. As a result, the assembly of the two parts can be performed more easily.

[0046] In addition, in this embodiment, the protrusion 21p is positioned at the highest point of the inner space of the opening 21a, but the position of the protrusion 21p is not limited to this.

[0047] For example, it can also be like Figure 7 As shown, the protrusion 21p is positioned at the lowest point on the outer periphery of the mounting surface 21s. In this case, by making the outer wall surface 22o of the cover 22 contact the protrusion 21p from above, that is, by placing the cover 22 on the protrusion 21p, the cover 22 can be supported on the housing 21.

[0048] In this embodiment, a single protrusion 21p is provided on the housing 1, but multiple protrusions 21p may also be provided. For example, protrusions 21p may be provided at two locations at the same height in the inner space of the opening 21a.

[0049] In this configuration, the two protrusions 21p can be positioned to simultaneously contact the inner wall surfaces 22i on both sides of the vertical plane passing through the center of gravity G of the cover 22. This allows the cover 22 to be more stably supported on the housing 21.

[0050] In this embodiment, the upper surface 21p' of the protrusion 21p can also be formed as an upwardly convex curved surface. For example, the upper surface 21p' of the protrusion 21p can be a cylindrical outer surface with an axis parallel to the axis A orthogonal to the mounting surface 21s as its central axis. Furthermore, in this case, for example, the inner wall surface 22i of the cover 22 that contacts the upper surface 21p' of the protrusion 21p has a shape having a radius of curvature larger than that of the upper surface 21p'.

[0051] This reduces the contact area between the curved upper surface 21p' and the inner wall surface 22i of the cover 22. Consequently, the inner wall surface 22i can slide relative to the upper surface 21p' of the protrusion 21p, thereby making it easy to change the orientation of the cover 22.

[0052] In this embodiment, the protrusion 21p is integrally formed with the housing 21. Alternatively, the protrusion 21p and the housing 21 may be separately constructed and configured to be detachably mounted on each other.

[0053] For example, a pin can be inserted into a pin hole located inside the opening 21a of the housing 21, and the pin can be made to protrude outward from the mounting surface 21s along an axis A orthogonal to the mounting surface 21s. In this case, the portion of the pin protruding from the mounting surface 21s acts as a protrusion 21p, which enables the cover 22 to be supported on the housing 21.

[0054] Alternatively, changing the pin and pin hole in this case to a bolt and a threaded hole respectively can also support the cover 22.

[0055] Furthermore, in this embodiment, an example is shown where the cover 22 is positioned from a first position where it is hung on the protrusion 21p, and the cover 22 is rotated about the protrusion 21p to a second position, but this is not the only possibility. The cover 22 can also be moved from the first position to the second position while maintaining its support on the protrusion 21p, through rotation about the protrusion 21p, sliding of the inner wall surface 22i of the cover 22 relative to the protrusion 21p, and combinations thereof.

[0056] In this situation, the cover 22 can be moved to a second position with more than half of its mass supported by the housing 21, thereby reducing the burden on the operator.

[0057] Alternatively, by rotating from the first position with the protrusion 21p as the fulcrum, the through hole 22h of any part of the cover 22 can be made to match the corresponding threaded hole 21h of the housing 21.

[0058] The bolt is passed through the through hole 22h and loosely tightened into the threaded hole 21h that corresponds to the through hole 22h. After that, the cover 22 can be rotated around the bolt as a fulcrum. Thus, by means of the bolt, the cover 22 can be moved to a second position where all the through holes 22h and the corresponding threaded holes 21h are aligned, with more than half of the mass of the cover 22 supported by the housing 21.

[0059] Therefore, in this case, in the second position, the inner wall surface 22i of the cover 22 does not need to contact the protrusion 21p.

[0060] In this embodiment, the protrusion 21p is provided on the housing 21. Alternatively, the cover 22 may have the protrusion 21p, and the cover 22 may be supported on the housing 21 by hooking the protrusion 21p onto the recess provided on the housing 21.

[0061] The various embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above, but this disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Various additions, substitutions, modifications, and partial deletions can be made to these embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as derived from the claims and their equivalents. For example, in the above embodiments, the order of the actions or the order of the procedures is only one example and is not limited thereto.

[0062] The following supplementary explanations are further disclosed regarding the above-described embodiments and variations.

[0063] (Supplementary Note 1)

[0064] An industrial machine, characterized by comprising: a first component having a mounting surface angled relative to a horizontal plane; and a second component having a mounted surface capable of being tightly abutted against the mounting surface, wherein the first component or the second component has at least one support protrusion at a first position where the mounting surface and the mounted surface are tightly abutted, such that the second component abuts against the first component from above to support the second component and prevent it from falling off, wherein the first component and the second component can be fixed to each other at the first position or a second position, the second position being a position after the mounted surface is offset along the mounting surface while maintaining the support state based on the support protrusion.

[0065] (Supplementary Note 2)

[0066] The industrial machinery described in Supplementary Explanation 1 is characterized in that,

[0067] The first component has a plurality of threaded holes formed on the mounting surface, and the second component has a plurality of through holes disposed at positions corresponding to each of the threaded holes. At the first position or the second position, at least one set of the threaded holes and the through holes are disposed at the same position.

[0068] (Supplementary Note 3)

[0069] The industrial machinery described in Supplementary Explanation 1 or 2 is characterized in that,

[0070] The support protrusion has an upwardly projecting curved surface centered on an axis orthogonal to the mounting surface, and the second component has an inner circumferential surface having a radius of curvature larger than that of the curved surface and abutting against the curved surface from above.

[0071] (Supplementary Note 4)

[0072] The industrial machinery according to any one of Supplementary Explanations 1 to 3 is characterized in that,

[0073] In the first position, the support protrusion can be configured at a position on a vertical plane that includes the center of gravity position of the second component.

[0074] (Supplementary Note 5)

[0075] The industrial machinery according to any one of Supplementary Explanations 1 to 4 is characterized in that,

[0076] The support protrusion is detachably mounted on the first component.

[0077] (Supplementary Note 6)

[0078] The industrial machinery according to any one of Supplementary Explanations 1 to 5 is characterized in that,

[0079] The mounting surface is configured to be angled upwards.

[0080] (Supplementary Note 7)

[0081] A method for assembling industrial machinery involves mounting a second component to a first component. The first component has a mounting surface, and the second component has a surface that can be tightly fitted against the mounting surface. The method for assembling industrial machinery is characterized by...

[0082] The first component and the second component are positioned in a first position, wherein the second component is supported from above by at least one support protrusion of the first component or the second component to prevent it from falling off, and the mounting surface and the mounting surface are in close contact. Then, the first component and the second component are fixed to each other in the first position or the second position, wherein the second position is a position in which the mounting surface is offset along the mounting surface while maintaining the support state based on the support protrusion.

[0083] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0084] 21: Housing (First Component)

[0085] 21h: Threaded hole

[0086] 21p: Protrusion (supporting protrusion)

[0087] 21p´: Top surface (curved surface)

[0088] 21s: Mounting surface

[0089] 22: Cover (Second component)

[0090] 22i: Inner wall surface (inner circumferential surface)

[0091] 22h: Through hole

[0092] 22s: Mounted surface

[0093] 100: Robots (Industrial Machinery)

[0094] G: Center of gravity position

Claims

1. An industrial machine, characterized in that, have: The first component has a mounting surface configured at an angle relative to the horizontal; and The second component has a mounting surface that can be tightly attached to the mounting surface. The first component or the second component has at least one support protrusion at a first position where the mounting surface is in close contact with the surface to be mounted, so that the second component abuts against the first component from above, supporting the second component and preventing it from falling off. The first component and the second component can be fixed to each other in the first position or the second position, which is the position after the mounted surface is offset along the mounting surface while maintaining the support state based on the support protrusion.

2. The industrial machinery according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first component has a plurality of threaded holes formed on the mounting surface. The second component has a plurality of through holes disposed at positions corresponding to each of the threaded holes. In either the first or the second position, at least one set of the threaded holes and the through holes are configured in the same position.

3. The industrial machinery according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The support protrusion has an upwardly projecting curved surface centered on an axis orthogonal to the mounting surface. The second component has an inner circumferential surface having a radius of curvature larger than that of the curved surface and abutting against the curved surface from above.

4. The industrial machinery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, In the first position, the support protrusion can be configured at a position on a vertical plane that includes the center of gravity position of the second component.

5. The industrial machinery according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The support protrusion is detachably mounted on the first component.

6. The industrial machinery according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The mounting surface is configured to be angled upwards.

7. A method for assembling industrial machinery, comprising mounting a second component to a first component, the first component having a mounting surface, and the second component having a mounted surface capable of tightly abutting the mounting surface, characterized in that... The first component and the second component are positioned in a first position, wherein the second component is supported from above by at least one support protrusion of the first component or the second component, preventing the second component from falling off, and the mounting surface and the surface to be mounted are in close contact. Then, the first component and the second component are fixed to each other at the first position or the second position, wherein the second position is the position after the mounting surface is offset along the mounting surface while maintaining the support state based on the support protrusion.

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