A gripper for a truss robot

Abstract

This utility model provides a gripper for a gantry robot, belonging to the technical field of gantry robot technology. It solves the problem that existing robots cannot feed parts into the machine tool through the top door. This gantry robot includes a drive structure and a long guide rail. The gripper includes a swing cylinder, finger cylinders for gripping parts, a mounting frame at one end of the guide rail, and a rotating shaft passing through the mounting frame. The drive structure can drive the mounting frame to move away from and towards the guide rail. The swing cylinder is fixedly connected to the mounting frame. One end of the rotating shaft is connected to the output flange of the swing cylinder, and the other end of the rotating shaft is connected to at least one finger cylinder. This gantry robot gripper has the advantages of convenient connection between the swing cylinder and the finger cylinder, and allows the gripper to feed parts into the machine tool through the top door.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of gantry robot technology and relates to a gripper for gantry robots. Background Technology

[0002] A gantry robot, also known as a gantry manipulator or Cartesian robot, is an industrial robot based on a gantry structure and precision linear guides that automates material handling, loading and unloading, or performs specific operations.

[0003] Existing gantry robots, such as the part reversing mechanism disclosed in Chinese patent literature [Patent No.: 202220223240.8; Application Publication No.: CN217322184U], include a frame and a back plate. The frame is equipped with a drive assembly that can drive the back plate to move up and down. A swing cylinder is fixed on the back plate. A pneumatic gripper is fixed on the rotating shaft of the swing cylinder. A limiting member is provided on the swing cylinder. Both sides of the pneumatic gripper are provided with abutting members, and the two abutting members are symmetrical to each other. One abutting member abuts against the limiting member to restrict the pneumatic gripper from rotating counterclockwise. When the pneumatic gripper rotates 180 degrees clockwise, the other abutting member can abut against the limiting member to restrict the pneumatic gripper from rotating clockwise.

[0004] This type of part reversing mechanism uses a swing cylinder to drive the pneumatic gripper to rotate, thereby achieving reversal. However, in this type of mechanism, the swing cylinder is a swinging cylinder, and the pneumatic gripper is a finger cylinder. The gripper is directly fixed to the swing cylinder, which is inconvenient, and only one gripper can be installed on one swing cylinder. Furthermore, in this type of part reversing mechanism, the swing cylinder and gripper are located on the side of the machine frame, and they can only move along the side of the machine frame. This allows for part reversal operations but prevents parts from being fed into the machine tool through the top door, thus hindering part exchange within the machine tool. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this utility model is to address the aforementioned problems in the existing technology by proposing a gripper for a gantry robot. The technical problem to be solved is how to make the connection between the swing cylinder and the finger cylinder convenient, and how to enable the gripper to send the part into the machine tool through the top door of the machine tool.

[0006] The objective of this utility model can be achieved through the following technical solution: a gripper for a gantry manipulator, the gantry manipulator including a drive structure and a long guide rail, the gripper including a swing cylinder and a finger cylinder for gripping parts, characterized in that the gripper also includes a mounting frame disposed at one end of the guide rail and a rotating shaft passing through the mounting frame, the drive structure being able to drive the mounting frame away from and towards the guide rail, the swing cylinder being fixedly connected in the mounting frame, one end of the rotating shaft being connected to the output flange of the swing cylinder, and the other end of the rotating shaft being connected to at least one of the finger cylinders.

[0007] A rotating shaft is installed between the swing cylinder and the finger cylinder of this gripper. This shaft connects the two cylinders, ensuring compatibility with different models of swing cylinders and finger cylinders. The swing cylinder drives the finger cylinder to rotate via the shaft. The drive structure is either a drive motor with a ball screw or a drive motor with a rack and pinion mechanism. Both ball screw and rack and pinion mechanisms are existing technologies, and their specific structures are not detailed here. The mounting frame is connected to the ball screw or rack and pinion mechanism and is located at one end of the guide rail. The drive structure allows the mounting frame to extend and retract. Furthermore, the swing cylinder and finger cylinder work together to change the orientation of larger shaft-like parts being gripped, preventing them from getting stuck in the machine tool's top door. This allows the gantry robot to feed the part through the top door into the machine tool, and parts can be exchanged inside the machine tool.

[0008] In the aforementioned gripper of a truss robot, the mounting frame is U-shaped. The swing cylinder is fixedly connected to one side wall of the opening of the mounting frame, and the rotating shaft passes through the other side wall of the mounting frame. The thickness of the other side wall of the mounting frame is greater than the thickness of the first side wall. The U-shaped mounting frame, with one side wall for mounting the swing cylinder and the other for mounting the rotating shaft, is a reasonable design. Due to the rotation of the rotating shaft, the other side wall of the mounting frame bears greater strength. The greater thickness of the other side wall ensures strength while reducing material costs. The swing cylinder being fixedly connected to one side wall of the opening of the mounting frame provides sufficient space for the finger cylinder, preventing the finger cylinder from getting stuck with other components.

[0009] In the aforementioned gripper of a truss robot, a stepped hole is provided through another side wall of the mounting frame, and a bearing is installed in the stepped hole, through which the rotating shaft passes. The bearing ensures smooth rotation of the rotating shaft.

[0010] In the aforementioned gripper of a truss robot, the outer side wall of the other sidewall of the mounting frame is planar. This structure prevents the part gripped by the finger cylinder from getting stuck with the mounting frame during rotation.

[0011] In the aforementioned gripper for a truss manipulator, the gripper further includes a mounting plate and two mounting strips. The mounting plate is fixedly connected to the output flange of the swing cylinder. The mounting plate has a recessed limiting groove. The two mounting strips are fixedly connected to the mounting plate by fasteners, and the two mounting strips are respectively located on both sides of the limiting groove. One end of the rotating shaft has a protruding, I-shaped first protrusion. The first protrusion passes through the space between the two mounting strips and is embedded in the limiting groove. Fasteners laterally pass through the two mounting strips and the first protrusion and lock them in place. The connection between the output flange of the swing cylinder and the rotating shaft can be easily achieved through the mounting plate, the two mounting strips, and the fasteners.

[0012] In the aforementioned gripper for a truss robot, the gripper further includes a mounting plate with a through-hole. The other end of the rotating shaft has a protruding, I-shaped second ridge, which is embedded in the through-hole and secured with fasteners. The finger cylinder is fixedly connected to the mounting plate. The mounting plate facilitates the connection between the finger cylinder and the rotating shaft.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the gripper for a gantry robot provided by this utility model has the following advantages:

[0014] 1. A rotating shaft is provided between the swing cylinder and the finger cylinder of this gripper. The swing cylinder and the finger cylinder are connected through the rotating shaft, which ensures that swing cylinders and finger cylinders of different models can be connected, making the connection convenient.

[0015] 2. The gripper is located at one end of the guide rail. The gripper can be extended and retracted through the drive structure. The gripper can rotate the part, so that the part will not get stuck with the top door of the machine tool. The part can be sent into the machine tool through the top door and the parts can be exchanged inside the machine tool. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of the gantry robot.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the grasping gripper.

[0018] Figure 3 This is an exploded view of the swing cylinder, finger cylinder, and rotating shaft of the gripper.

[0019] In the diagram, 1 is the drive structure; 2 is the guide rail; 3 is the swing cylinder; 31 is the output flange; 4 is the finger cylinder; 5 is the mounting bracket; 6 is the rotating shaft; 61 is the first convex strip; 62 is the second convex strip; 7 is the stepped hole; 8 is the bearing; 9 is the mounting plate; 91 is the limit groove; 10 is the mounting strip; 11 is the mounting plate; and 111 is the strip hole. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The following are specific embodiments of the present invention, which are described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0021] like Figure 1 As shown, this gantry robot includes a drive structure 1, a guide rail 2, and a gripper. In this embodiment, the drive structure 1 is a drive motor with a rack and pinion mechanism. In actual production, the drive structure 1 can be a drive motor with a ball screw mechanism. Both ball screw and rack and pinion mechanisms are existing technologies, and their specific structures will not be described in detail. The guide rail 2 is elongated, and the gripper is located at one end of the guide rail 2. The drive structure 1 can drive the gripper to move away from and towards the guide rail 2.

[0022] like Figure 2 , Figure 3 As shown, the gripper includes a swing cylinder 3, a finger cylinder 4, a mounting bracket 5, a rotating shaft 6, a bearing 8, a mounting plate 9, a mounting strip 10, and a mounting plate 11.

[0023] Mounting bracket 5 is located at one end of guide rail 2. Mounting bracket 5 is U-shaped. Swing cylinder 3 is fixed to one side wall of the opening of mounting bracket 5. Rotating shaft 6 passes through the other side wall of mounting bracket 5. The thickness of the other side wall of mounting bracket 5 is greater than the thickness of the first side wall of mounting bracket 5. The other side wall of mounting bracket 5 has a through stepped hole 7, and a bearing 8 is installed in the stepped hole 7. The rotating shaft 6 passes through the bearing 8. The outer side wall of the other side wall of mounting bracket 5 is planar.

[0024] One end of the rotating shaft 6 is connected to the swing cylinder 3, and the other end of the rotating shaft 6 is connected to two finger cylinders 4. Specifically, the mounting plate 9 is fixedly connected to the output flange 31 of the swing cylinder 3. The mounting plate 9 has a recessed limiting groove 91. Two mounting strips 10 are fixedly connected to the mounting plate 9 by fasteners such as bolts, and the two mounting strips 10 are located on both sides of the limiting groove 91. One end of the rotating shaft 6 has a protruding, I-shaped first protrusion 61. The first protrusion 61 passes through the space between the two mounting strips 10 and is embedded in the limiting groove 91. It is laterally passed through the two mounting strips 10 and the first protrusion 61 by fasteners such as bolts and locked. The mounting plate 11 has a through strip hole 111. The other end of the rotating shaft 6 has a protruding, I-shaped second protrusion 62. The second protrusion 62 is embedded in the strip hole 111 and locked by fasteners such as bolts. The cylinder body of the finger cylinder 4 is fixedly connected to the mounting plate 11.

[0025] During operation, the drive structure 1 extends the gripper, the finger cylinder 4 clamps the part, and the swing cylinder 3 drives the finger cylinder 4 to rotate through the rotating shaft 6, thereby rotating the part. Then, the gantry robot sends the part into the machine tool through the top door. By reversing the operation, the gripper can return to its original position.

[0026] The specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative examples illustrating the spirit of this utility model. Those skilled in the art to which this utility model pertains may make various modifications or additions to the described specific embodiments or use similar methods to substitute them, without departing from the spirit of this utility model or exceeding the scope defined by the appended claims.

[0027] Although this document frequently uses terms such as drive structure 1, guide rail 2, swing cylinder 3, output flange 31, finger cylinder 4, mounting bracket 5, rotating shaft 6, first convex strip 61, second convex strip 62, stepped hole 7, bearing 8, mounting plate 9, limiting groove 91, mounting strip 10, mounting plate 11, and strip hole 111, the possibility of using other terms is not excluded. The use of these terms is merely for the convenience of describing and explaining the essence of this utility model; interpreting them as any additional limitation would contradict the spirit of this utility model.

Claims

1. A gripper for a gantry manipulator, the gantry manipulator comprising a drive structure (1) and a long guide rail (2), the gripper comprising a swing cylinder (3) and a finger cylinder (4) for gripping parts, characterized in that, The gripper also includes a mounting bracket (5) disposed at one end of the guide rail (2) and a rotating shaft (6) passing through the mounting bracket (5). The drive structure (1) can drive the mounting bracket (5) away from and close to the guide rail (2). The swing cylinder (3) is fixedly connected to the mounting bracket (5). One end of the rotating shaft (6) is connected to the output flange (31) of the swing cylinder (3), and the other end of the rotating shaft (6) is connected to at least one of the finger cylinders (4).

2. The gripper for a truss robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting bracket (5) is U-shaped. The swing cylinder (3) is fixed to one of the side walls at the opening of the mounting bracket (5). The rotating shaft (6) passes through the other side wall of the mounting bracket (5). The thickness of the other side wall of the mounting bracket (5) is greater than the thickness of one of the side walls of the mounting bracket (5).

3. The gripper for a truss robot according to claim 2, characterized in that, The mounting bracket (5) has a through stepped hole (7) in another side wall, and a bearing (8) is provided in the stepped hole (7), through which the rotating shaft (6) passes.

4. The gripper for a truss robot according to claim 2, characterized in that, The outer side wall of the other side wall of the mounting bracket (5) is planar.

5. A gripper for a gantry robot according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, characterized in that, The gripper also includes a mounting plate (9) and two mounting strips (10). The mounting plate (9) is fixedly connected to the output flange (31) of the swing cylinder (3). The mounting plate (9) has a recessed limiting groove (91). The two mounting strips (10) are fixedly connected to the mounting plate (9) by fasteners, and the two mounting strips (10) are located on both sides of the limiting groove (91). One end of the rotating shaft (6) has a protruding first protrusion (61) in the shape of a straight line. The first protrusion (61) passes through the space between the two mounting strips (10) and is embedded in the limiting groove (91). It is locked by fasteners passing laterally through the two mounting strips (10) and the first protrusion (61).

6. A gripper for a gantry robot according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, characterized in that, The gripper also includes a mounting plate (11), which has a through slot (111). The other end of the rotating shaft (6) has a protruding second protrusion (62) in the shape of a straight line. The second protrusion (62) is embedded in the slot (111) and locked by fasteners. The finger cylinder (4) is fixed to the mounting plate (11).

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