wire body mounting element, wire body extension mounting element and wire body assembly method

Abstract

Wire body fastener, comprising: a first fastening element body that is attached to an outer surface of a robot and that secures a first wire body; and first protective elements covering opposite end faces of the first fastening element body, wherein the opposite end faces of the first fastening element body are arranged such that, in a state in which the first wire body is secured, they project outwards relative to an outer diameter of the first wire body, wherein at least one of the first protective elements is detachably attached to the first fastening element body by using a bolt which is attached to a threaded hole provided in an end face of the first fastening element body.

Description

{Technical field}

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wire body fasteners, wire body extension fasteners and wire body assembly methods. {State of the art}

[0002] A wire body mounting element known from the prior art attaches a base cable to an outer surface of a robot (see, for example, patent literature 1). This wire body mounting element is coupled at one end to a wire body extension mounting element, so that a retrofitted wire body can be routed along the same path as the base cable. {Reference list}{Patent specifications}{PTL 1}

[0003] The publication of Japanese patent no. 6985309 {Explanation of the invention}{Technical problem}

[0004] For a collaborative robot operating in a state where a person approaches, a flexible protective element must be provided whose contact pressure increases upon contact with the person. Therefore, it is desirable that the end of the wire body mounting element for external attachment of the base cable to the collaborative robot be covered by the protective element and easily coupled to the wire body extension mounting element. {Solution to the task}

[0005] A wire body fastening element comprises a first fastening element body attached to an outer surface of a robot and securing a first wire body, and first protective elements covering opposite end faces of the first fastening element body, the opposite end faces of the first fastening element body being arranged such that, in a state where the first wire body is secured, they project outwards relative to an outer diameter of the first wire body. At least one of the first protective elements is detachably fastened to the first fastening element body by means of a bolt that engages in a threaded hole provided in an end face of the first fastening element body. {Brief description of the drawings} { Fig. 1) Fig. Figure 1 is a side view illustrating a collaborative robot equipped with a wirebody attachment element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. { Fig. 2) Fig. Figure 2 is a perspective exploded view showing the wire body fastener made of Fig. 1 illustrates. { Fig. 3) Fig. Figure 3 is a front view illustrating a state in which a first wire body is attached to the wire body fastener made of Fig. 2 is attached. { Fig. 4) Fig. Figure 4 is a partial side view illustrating a case in which a second wire body is added using a wire body extension fastening element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. { Fig. 5) Fig. Figure 5 is a perspective exploded view showing the wire body extension fastener made of Fig. Figure 4 illustrates that the wire body fastener is made of Fig. 1 is attached. { Fig. 6) Fig. Figure 6 is a front view illustrating a state in which the second wire body is attached using the wire body extension fastener. Fig. 5 is attached parallel to the first wire body. { Fig. 7) Fig. Figure 7 is a perspective exploded view showing a modification of the wire body extension fastener made of Fig. Figure 4 illustrates that the wire body fastener is made of Fig. 1 is attached. {Description of the embodiments}

[0006] A wire body fastener 1, a wire body extension fastener 60 and a wire body assembly method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the drawings.

[0007] As in Fig. As illustrated in Figure 1, the wire body fastening element 1 is attached to the outer surface of a collaborative robot 100 according to this embodiment and serves to insert a first wire body, such as a cable, along the outer surface of the collaborative robot 100.

[0008] The collaborative robot 100, for example, is a vertical six-axis articulated robot and comprises a base 110, which is installed on a mounting surface, and a rotatable body 120, which is supported so that it can rotate about a first vertical axis A relative to the base 110. Furthermore, the collaborative robot 100 comprises a first arm 130, which is supported so that it can rotate about a second horizontal axis B relative to the rotatable body 120, and a second arm 140, which is supported from the distal end of the first arm 130 so that it can rotate about a third axis C parallel to the second axis B. The collaborative robot 100 also comprises a three-axis joint unit 150, which is supported from the distal end of the second arm 140.

[0009] The collaborative robot 100 comprises a first wire body 10, which serves as a base cable for transmitting a drive force and a control signal to a motor that drives each joint. As in Fig. As shown in Figure 1, the first wire body 10 extends from a connection plate 111 on the rear surface of the base 110 into the base 110, is guided to an upper side of the rotatable body 120, then attached to the rotatable body 120 below the first arm 130, and subsequently bent upwards in a position facing the front of the first arm 130. The bent first wire body 10 is arranged along a side surface of the first arm 130 and attached to the first arm 130 at two intermediate positions along its length.

[0010] Two wire body fasteners 1 are attached to the side surface of the first arm 130 with a distance between them in the longitudinal direction of the first arm 130. The first wire body 10, e.g. a base cable, is secured to each wire body fastener 1 with a binding agent 11, e.g. a nylon strap.

[0011] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 2, each wire body fastener 1 comprises a fastener body (first fastener body) 2 which is attached by means of bolts (not shown) to a bearing surface (not shown) provided on an end face of the first arm 130, and also comprises protective elements (first protective elements) 3 which are detachably attached by means of bolts 4 to opposite ends of the fastener body 2.

[0012] As in Fig. As illustrated in Figure 2, the fastener body 2 is formed by pressing a flat metal plate into the shape of a box with four side walls 2a and 2b, which are bent from the four sides of a rectangular tab surface section 5 at a substantially right angle to the rear surface. The side walls 2a, extending along the two longitudinal sides of the fastener body 2, have distal ends that are further bent parallel to the tab surface section 5 and are provided with through holes 6 extending through the side walls 2a in the thickness direction, thereby forming fastening sections 7 for attaching the fastener body 2 to the bearing surface of the first arm 130 using two bolts.The side walls (one end surface) 2b, which extend along the two short sides of the fastening element body 2, run parallel to each other and are provided with threaded holes 8, which extend in the thickness direction through the side walls 2b and thus form fastening sections 9 for the releasable fastening of the protective elements 3 using the bolts 4.

[0013] The tab surface section 5 is provided with two pairs, i.e., four through holes 5a, extending through it in the thickness direction. As in Fig. As illustrated in Figure 3, the first wire body 10 is positioned in the short-side direction between the two pairs of through holes 5a, which are spaced apart in the direction extending along the long sides, and the ties 11, each extending through the pairs of through holes 5a, are tightened. Accordingly, the first wire body 10 is secured and lashed to the surface of the tab section 5 by the ties 11. Since the outer circumference of the tab section 5 of the fastener body 2, which is box-shaped due to the bending of the flat metal plate towards the rear surface, has no edge along its entire circumference, the lashed first wire body 10 is not damaged by an edge.

[0014] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 2, each protective element 3 is formed by attaching a flat metal plate 32 to a surface of a protective element body 31 made of urethane. The protective element body 31 and the flat metal plate 32 are provided with through holes 33 and 34, respectively. By fastening the bolts 4, which extend through the through holes 33 and 34 to the threaded holes 8 in the fastening sections 9 of the fastening element body 2, the protective elements 3 can be detachably fastened to the opposite ends of the fastening element body 2.

[0015] As in Fig. 2 and Fig. As shown in Figure 3, the protective elements 3 are attached to the fastening sections 9 at the opposite ends of the fastening element body 2, to which the first wire body 10 is lashed. This means that the opposite ends of the fastening element body 2, which are exposed in the radial direction of the first wire body 10, are covered by the protective elements 3 while the first wire body 10 is lashed. Accordingly, with respect to the collaborative robot 100 operating in a state where a person approaches, the opposite ends of the fastening element body 2, where the contact pressure increases in response to contact with the person, are covered by the flexible protective elements 3, thus preventing the person in contact with the collaborative robot 100 from experiencing high contact pressure.

[0016] The following description refers to a case in which a second wire body 40, which is to be added, is attached to the collaborative robot 100 with the configuration described above in a retrofittable manner.

[0017] As in Fig. As illustrated in Figure 4, in this embodiment a retrofitted wire body unit 50, obtained by previously attaching wire body extension fasteners 60 to the second wire body 40, is prepared and added without removing the first wire body 10, which is attached to the first arm 130 by the wire body fasteners 1.

[0018] As in Fig. As illustrated in Figure 5, each wire body extension fastener 60 comprises a fastener body (second fastener body) 61 and a guard (second guard) 62.

[0019] The fastening element body 61 is formed by pressing a flat metal plate into the shape of a box with three side walls 61a and 61b, which are bent at right angles in the same direction from three sides of a rectangular tab surface section 63.

[0020] Similar to the wire body fastener 1, the tab surface section 63 is provided with two pairs, i.e., four, through holes 63a and 63b extending in the thickness direction. A through hole 63b is a recess. As in Fig. As illustrated in Figure 6, the second wire body 40, extending towards the short side, is positioned between the two pairs of through holes 63a and 63b, which are spaced apart in the direction extending along the long sides, and the ties 11, each extending through the pairs of through holes 63a, are tightened. Accordingly, the second wire body 40 can be secured while being lashed to the surface of the lashing surface section 63 by the ties 11.

[0021] The side walls 61a, which extend along both longitudinal sides of the fastening element body 61, are parallel to each other. The side wall (one end) 61b, which extends along one of the short sides of the fastening element body 61, is provided with through holes (not shown) extending through it in the thickness direction, and the protective element 62 is attached to an end face (other end) that extends along the other short side.

[0022] The through holes in one side wall 61b have the same pitch as the threaded holes 8 provided in each fastening section 9 of the wire body fastener 1. One side wall 61b is brought into close contact with the fastening section 9 of the wire body extension fastener 1, from which the protective element 3 has been removed, and the bolts 4 passing through the through holes are fastened to the threaded holes 8, thereby enabling the fastener body 61 of the wire body extension fastener 60 to be fastened to the fastening section 9 of the wire body fastener 1.

[0023] The tab surface section 63 of the wire body extension fastener 60 is set at a predetermined angle relative to the tab surface section 5 of the wire body fastener 1. When the fastener body 61 of the wire body extension fastener 60 is attached to the fastening section 9 of the wire body fastener 1, the tab surface section 63 of the wire body extension fastener 60 and the tab surface section 5 of the wire body fastener 1 are attached at an angle to each other.

[0024] With the wire body extension fastening element 60 attached to the fastening section 9 of the wire body fastening element 1, the second wire body 40, attached to the wire body extension fastening element 60, is arranged parallel to the first wire body 10, attached to the wire body fastening element 1, so that it essentially travels the same path as the first wire body 10.

[0025] In this state, the side wall 61b of the wire body extension mounting element 60 is attached to one of the side walls 2b of the mounting element body 2 of the wire body mounting element 1 and is positioned between the first wire body 10 and the second wire body 40 so that it is not exposed radially outwards from the first wire body 10 and the second wire body 40. The other end of the wire body extension mounting element 60 is also covered by the protective element 62. Accordingly, in the collaborative robot 100, which is operating in a state where a person approaches, the opposite ends of the mounting element bodies 2 and 61, where the contact pressure increases in response to contact with the person, are covered by the protective elements 3 and 62, which are flexible and thus prevent the contact pressure from increasing.

[0026] With the wire body mounting element 1 according to this embodiment, the contact pressure against the person in contact with the first wire body 10 can be reduced from the outside by the protective elements 3 when the first wire body 10 is attached to the outer surface of the collaborative robot 100 using each wire body mounting element 1. Furthermore, the already mounted first wire body 10 does not need to be removed when the second wire body 40 is to be added. This has the advantage that the second wire body 40 can be easily attached by simply removing the protective element 3 at one end of the mounting element body 2, using the threaded holes 8 to which the protective element 3 was previously attached.

[0027] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the wire body extension fastening element 60 can be coupled to the fastening element body 2 by using the threaded holes 8 at one end of the fastening element body 2, from which the protective element 3 has been removed. Accordingly, the second wire body 40 can be attached in a similar manner to the first wire body 10, without having to remove the first wire body 10.

[0028] In this case, the protective elements 3 and 62 can also reduce the contact pressure against the person coming into contact with the collaborative robot 100 from the outside, even when the second wire body 40 is added. Furthermore, by performing the assembly using the retrofitted wire body unit 50, in which the second wire body 40 is attached to the wire body extension fasteners 60, the torsion or bending exerted on the second wire body 40 can be easily reproduced by simply attaching each wire body extension fastener 60 to the corresponding wire body fastener 1. By setting an angle between the tab surface section 63 of the wire body extension fastening element 60 and the tab surface section 5 of the wire body fastening element 1, the second wire body 40 can be fastened at a suitable angle near the first wire body 10.

[0029] In particular, according to this embodiment, the wire body assembly method comprises adding the second wire body 40 to the collaborative robot 100, to which the first wire body 10 is attached using each wire body mounting element 1. This method first comprises preparing the retrofitted wire body unit 50, wherein the second wire body 40 is attached to the mounting element body 61 of each wire body extension mounting element 60.

[0030] Then, the protective element 3 is removed from the side wall 2b, which serves as an end face of the fastening element body 2 of the wire body fastening element 1. In a state where the side wall 61b, which serves as an end of the fastening element body 61 of the wire body extension fastening element 60, is brought into close contact with the side wall 2b of the fastening element body 2, the bolts 4 extend through the through holes in the side wall 61b and are secured to the threaded holes 8 in the fastening section 9. Accordingly, the wire body extension fastening element (60) is coupled to the wire body fastening element (1), so that the second wire body (40) can be attached to the outer surface of the collaborative robot (100) in a similar way to the first wire body (10), without having to remove the first wire body (10).

[0031] If, for example, the retrofitted wire body unit 50 is to be manufactured in a factory, the retrofitted wire body unit 50 is manufactured by actually attaching it to a model that is equipped with the same wire body mounting element 1 in the same position as the collaborative robot 100 to which the retrofitted wire body unit 50 is to be attached. In particular, during the actual assembly, the length of a movable part of the second wire body 40 is determined, for example with regard to the working range of the first arm 130 in relation to the rotatable body 120 and the working range of the second arm 140 in relation to the first arm 130.Furthermore, the second wire body 40 can move by appropriate bending and torsion of the second wire body 40 without, for example, coming into contact with the first wire body 10 and the rotatable body 120, which represents a surrounding structural body, when the movable part of the second wire body 40 bends.

[0032] Accordingly, the second wire body 40, which undergoes a similar bending and torsion as in the actual equipment, is lashed to the wire body extension fastener 60 using the binders 11 and then removed from the wire body fastener 1 of the model, thus producing the retrofitted wire body unit 50. Therefore, by simply coupling the wire body extension fastener (60) of the retrofitted wire body unit (50) to the wire body fastener (1) of the collaborative robot (100), the second wire body (40) can be assembled in a state that reproduces the length, bending, and torsion of the moving part applied during the manufacturing process.

[0033] If the wire body fastening element 1 is to be provided with a lashable part for lashing the first wire body 10 by the prior addition of the second wire body 40, it is necessary to carry out the assembly process on site, adjusting the length, bending and twisting of the movable part.

[0034] This embodiment does not have this problem and is advantageous in that it facilitates the addition of the second wire body 40 on site and reduces the number of operations.

[0035] If the second wire body 40 is to be added, it is conceivable to remove the first wire body 10 and replace the entire retrofitted wire body unit 50, in which the first wire body 10 and the second wire body 40 are attached to the wire body mounting element 1. In this case, it is not necessary to perform the assembly and adjust the length, bend, and twist of the movable part on-site. However, this is associated with high costs, since the first wire body 10 also has to be replaced in this process. Because this embodiment facilitates the addition of the second wire body 40 on-site without having to remove the first wire body 10, it is advantageous in that it can significantly reduce costs.

[0036] In the embodiment of the wire body fastener 1, the protective elements 3, which cover the side walls 2b serving as opposite end faces of the fastener body 2, are detachably attached by means of the bolts 4. As an alternative to the case described above, in which the wire body extension fastener 60 is attached by removing the protective element 3 for the side wall (one end face) 2b of the fastener body 2, the protective elements 3 for the opposite side walls (opposite end faces) 2b of the fastener body 2 can be removed, and two second wire bodies 40 can be attached to opposite sides of the fastener body 2 using two wire body extension fasteners 60.

[0037] As an alternative to the case described above, in which the protective elements 3 covering the opposite side walls (opposite end faces) 2b of the fastening element body 2 are detachably fastened by means of the bolts 4, if the wire body extension fastening element 60 is to be fastened only to one side wall (one end face) 2b, the protective element 3 for the other side wall (other end face) 2b can be permanently connected to the fastening element body 2.

[0038] As an alternative to the case described above, in which the protective element 62 is attached to the side wall (an end face) 61b of the fastening element body 61 of the wire body extension fastening element 60, the protective element 62 can be detachably attached to the threaded holes 8 provided in the side wall (end face) 2b of the fastening element body 2 using the bolts 4. Accordingly, the protective element 62 for the wire body extension fastening element 60 coupled to the wire body fastening element 1 can be removed, and another wire body extension fastening element 60 can be coupled to it.

[0039] Furthermore, as in Fig.Figure 7 illustrates how, using the bolts 4 to fasten the fastening element body 61 of the wire body extension fastening element 60 to the wire body fastening element 1, the protective element 62 can be arranged in a position where it covers the other end of the wire body extension fastening element 60 by using an additional element 64.

[0040] In the wire body fastening element 1 according to this embodiment, the base cable is referred to as the first wire body 10. The base cable can alternately be housed, for example, in the first arm 130, and a retrofitted wire body can be attached externally as the first wire body 10. {Reference symbol list} 1 wire body fastener 2 Fastener bodies (first fastener body) 2b Side wall (one end surface) 3 Protective element (first protective element) 4 bolts 8 threaded holes 10 Base cables (first wire body) 40 second wire body 50 retrofitted wire body units 60 Wire Body Extension Fastener 61 Fastener body (second fastener body) 61b Side wall (one end) 62 Protective element (second protective element) 100 collaborative robots (robots)

Claims

[1] Wire body fastener comprising: a first fastening element body that is attached to an outer surface of a robot and that secures a first wire body; and first protective elements covering opposite end faces of the first fastening element body, wherein the opposite end faces of the first fastening element body are arranged such that, in a state in which the first wire body is secured, they project outwards relative to an outer diameter of the first wire body, wherein at least one of the first protective elements is detachably attached to the first fastening element body by using a bolt which is attached to a threaded hole provided in an end face of the first fastening element body. [2] Wire body extension fastening element used in combination with the wire body fastening element according to claim 1 and serving to fasten a second wire body to be added, the wire body extension fastening element comprising: a second fastening element body to which the second wire body to be retrofitted is lashed and which is provided with a through-hole through which the bolt extends, the through-hole being arranged at one end in close contact with one end face of the first fastening element body from which a first protective element has been removed; and a second protective element that covers the other end of the second fastening element body. [3] Wire body assembly method for adding the second wire body to the robot equipped with the first wire body using the wire body fastening element according to claim 1, the wire body assembly method comprising: Preparing a retrofitted wire body unit, wherein the second wire body is lashed to the second fastening body of the wire body extension fastening element according to claim 2; removing the first protective element from one end face of the first fastening body of the wire body fastening element; and Coupling the wire body extension fastener to the wire body fastener by attaching the bolt to the threaded hole in a state where one end of the second fastener body of the retrofitted wire body unit is in close contact with one end face of the first fastener body.

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