Robot device, robot arm, and end effectors

Abstract

To provide a robot device which can perform processing using two or more end effectors.SOLUTION: A robot device 1 includes: a robot arm 10 having an arm 11 which is driven by a motor, a pedestal 13 which is provided at a tip of the arm 11 and to which two or more end effectors 20 are detachably attached, and a power transmission coil 14 which transmits electric power to the end effectors 20 attached to the pedestal 13 in a non-contact manner; and two or more end effectors 20 each having a power reception coil 21 which may receive electric power from the power transmission coil 14 in a non-contact manner when attached to the pedestal 13. Further, the power reception coils 21 included in the end effectors 20 attached to the pedestal 13 are located at the inner side of the power transmission coil 14 when viewed from an axis direction of a coil of the power transmission coil 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a robot device or the like that is provided with a robot arm to which an end effector is detachably attached. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional robot arms are usually equipped with one end effector (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Therefore, for example, when performing two or more processes using a robot device equipped with a robot arm, it is necessary to prepare a separate robot device for each process. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-024007 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] On the other hand, when a robot device is provided for each of two or more processes, there are problems in that the cost increases and the workability is poor.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a robot device or the like that can perform processing using two or more end effectors. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, a robot arm according to one aspect of the present invention comprises an arm driven by a motor, a base provided at the tip of the arm to which two or more end effectors are detachably attached, and a power transmitting coil that transmits power in a non-contact manner to the end effector attached to the base, wherein the end effector has a power receiving coil that can receive power in a non-contact manner from the power transmitting coil when attached to the base, and the power receiving coil of the end effector attached to the base is located inside the power transmitting coil when viewed from the axial direction of the winding of the power transmitting coil.

[0007] With this configuration, two or more end effectors can be attached to the tip of the robot arm, so that two or more processes can be performed using one robot arm. For example, when an end effector having a gripping section and an end effector having an electric drill are attached to the tip of the robot arm, it becomes possible to grip an object with the gripping section and perform drilling with the electric drill. In addition, since the end effector can be detachably attached, for example, the end effector can be replaced depending on the desired process. In addition, since non-contact power transmission is performed between the robot arm and the end effector, it is not necessary to provide wiring for power transmission between the two. Therefore, the workability when attaching and detaching the end effector can be improved.

[0008] In addition, in the robot arm according to one aspect of the present invention, the base may be detachably provided at the tip of each of the multiple arms. With this configuration, for example, by replacing the pedestal, it is also possible to change the number of end effectors that can be attached to the tip of the robot arm.

[0009] In the robot arm according to one aspect of the present invention, the base may be disk-shaped and provided at the tips of the multiple arms so as to be rotatable about a central axis. With this configuration, the position of the end effector can also be changed by rotating the base.

[0010] A robot device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a robot arm and two or more end effectors detachably attached to a tip of the robot arm.

[0011] Further, an end effector according to one aspect of the present invention is an end effector that is detachably attached to a robot arm, and includes a receiving coil and a processing unit that performs predetermined processing using power received in a non-contact manner by the receiving coil. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to a robot device or the like according to one aspect of the present invention, processing can be performed using two or more end effectors. In addition, since non-contact power transmission is performed between the robot arm and the end effector, it is not necessary to install wiring for power transmission between the two. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a robot device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a base in the embodiment; [Figure 2B] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a base in the embodiment; [Figure 2C] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a base in the embodiment; [Figure 3A] FIG. 13 shows an example of an end effector in the embodiment. [Figure 3B] FIG. 13 shows an example of an end effector in the embodiment. [Figure 3C] FIG. 13 shows an example of an end effector in the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of an end effector in the embodiment; [Figure 5A] FIG. 2 shows the positional relationship between a power transmitting coil and a power receiving coil in the embodiment. [Figure 5B] FIG. 2 shows the positional relationship between a power transmitting coil and a power receiving coil in the embodiment. [Figure 5C]FIG. 2 shows the positional relationship between a power transmitting coil and a power receiving coil in the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a base in the embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The robot device according to the present invention will be described below using an embodiment. In the following embodiments, components with the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent, and repeated description may be omitted. The robot device according to this embodiment includes a robot arm and two or more end effectors detachably attached to the tip of the robot arm, and non-contact power transmission is performed between the robot arm and the end effectors.

[0015] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a robot device 1 according to this embodiment. The robot device 1 according to this embodiment includes a robot arm 10 and two end effectors 20a and 20b that are detachably attached to the tip of the robot arm 10. When there is no particular need to distinguish between the end effectors 20a and 20b, they may be referred to as the end effector 20. The same applies to the other components.

[0016] The robot arm 10 includes a plurality of arms 11a, 11b, and 11c driven by a motor, a base 13 provided at the tips of the plurality of arms 11a, 11b, and 11c, and a power transmission coil 14 that transmits power in a non-contact manner to an end effector 20 attached to the base 13. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a case where the robot arm 10 has three arms 11 will be mainly described, but the robot arm 10 may have, for example, one, two, or four or more arms 11 connected in series. In addition, when the robot arm 10 has two or more arms 11, the two or more arms 11 may be connected by joints 12a and 12b driven by a motor as shown in FIG. 1. The base ends of the plurality of arms 11 may be fixed to a base 18 as shown in FIG. 1, for example.

[0017] The robot device 1 may be, for example, a vertical articulated robot, a horizontal articulated robot, or other robots. In addition, non-contact power transmission may be performed at each joint 12 of the robot arm 10, or power transmission using wiring may be performed. The non-contact power transmission at the joint 12 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, the non-contact power transmission shown in JP 2021-151674 A.

[0018] The pedestal 13 may be fixed to the tips of the arms 11, for example. Two or more hand effectors 20 are detachably attached to the pedestal 13. FIGS. 2A and 2B are a perspective view and a plan view, respectively, of the pedestal 13 to which two hand effectors 20 can be detachably attached. In this embodiment, the pedestal 13 to which two hand effectors 20 can be detachably attached will be mainly described, but three or more hand effectors 20 may be detachably attached to the pedestal 13. The pedestal 13 may be a disc-shaped member, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, or may be a member of another shape. The pedestal 13 may be provided with mounting locations 15a and 15b for the hand effector 20, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

[0019] The power transmitting coil 14 may or may not be provided on the base 13, for example. In the former case, the power transmitting coil 14 may be configured by winding a winding around the outer circumferential surface of the base 13, which is a disk-shaped member, for example. Note that the power transmitting coil 14 may be disposed on a surface other than the outer circumferential surface of the base 13 in the robot arm 10, for example, but it is preferable that the relative positional relationship between the base 13 and the power transmitting coil 14 is fixed. In the arm 11c, for example, AC power received from the arm 11b through wiring or through non-contact power transmission may be supplied to the power transmitting coil 14. When AC power is supplied to the power transmitting coil 14, current and voltage may be adjusted by a control circuit or the like as appropriate.

[0020] The hand effector 20 may hold an object by, for example, gripping, vacuum suction, or electromagnet, may take a picture, may perform processing such as drilling or cutting, or may perform other processing. Figs. 3A to 3C are diagrams showing an example of the hand effector 20. The hand effector 20a may have, for example, a power receiving coil 21a and a processing unit 23a which is a gripping unit, as shown in Fig. 3A. The hand effector 20a can grip an object, for example. The hand effector 20b may have, for example, a power receiving coil 21b and a processing unit 23b which is an imaging unit, as shown in Fig. 3B. The hand effector 20b can capture, for example, images of the surroundings of the hand effector 20b. The hand effector 20c may have, for example, a power receiving coil 21c and a processing unit 23c which is a drill, as shown in Fig. 3C. This end effector 20c can be used to perform, for example, drilling.

[0021] The hand effector 20 may be detachably attached to the base 13 by any method. For example, the hand effector 20 may be attached to the base 13 by fitting the end of the cylindrical housing 24 of the hand effector 20 to the mounting location 15, which is a cylindrical recess shown in FIG. 2A. Also, a mechanism may be provided for fixing the end of the housing 24 fitted to the mounting location 15 so that it does not come off from the mounting location 15. As an example, a screw groove may be formed on the inner peripheral surface of the mounting location 15, which is a cylindrical recess, and a screw groove may also be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the end of the cylindrical housing 24 of the hand effector 20, and the hand effector 20 may be attached to the mounting location 15 by screwing the respective screw grooves. Also, the hand effector 20 may be detachably attached to the base 13 by other mechanisms.

[0022] Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the end effector 20. As shown in Fig. 4, the end effector 20 may include, for example, a receiving coil 21, a control circuit 22, and a processing unit 23. The receiving coil 21 is a coil that can receive power from the transmitting coil 14 in a non-contact manner when the end effector 20 is attached to the base 13.

[0023] As an example, the power receiving coil 21 may be configured by winding a wire around the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical housing 24. Note that the power receiving coil 21 may be disposed on a part other than the outer circumferential surface of the housing 24 in the end effector 20, for example.

[0024] 2A and 3A to 3C show, for convenience of explanation, the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coil 21 exposed on the outer circumferential surfaces of the base 13 and the housing 24, but this is not necessarily the case. For example, a sheet-like member for protecting the windings of the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coil 21 may be provided on the surface of the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coil 21, and the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coil 21 may be disposed inside the base 13 and the housing 24.

[0025] In addition, the base 13 and the housing 24 are preferably made of a material that does not affect the non-contact power transmission performed between the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coil 21 when the end effector 20 is attached to the base 13. As an example, the base 13 and the housing 24 may be made of resin.

[0026] In addition, there is no particular limitation on the type of non-contact power transmission performed between the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coil 21. The type of non-contact power transmission may be, for example, a magnetic field coupling type such as an electromagnetic induction type or a magnetic field resonance type, or may be another type of non-contact power transmission.

[0027] The control circuit 22 supplies the power received by the power receiving coil 21 in a non-contact manner to the processing unit 23. That is, the processing unit 23 performs a predetermined process using the power received by the power receiving coil 21 in a non-contact manner. The control circuit 22 may adjust the voltage and current of the power output from the power receiving coil 21 and supply it to the processing unit 23. Note that the control circuit 22 may, for example, convert the AC power from the power receiving coil 21 into DC once and then adjust the voltage and current. For example, if the processing unit 23 has a DC motor, the DC power may be sent to the processing unit 23. If the processing unit 23 has a pulse motor or an AC motor, the control circuit 22 may convert the DC power into AC power and send it to the processing unit 23. Note that, if the power received by the power receiving coil 21 can be directly supplied to the processing unit 23, the end effector 20 may not have the control circuit 22.

[0028] The processing unit 23 performs a predetermined process in the hand effector 20. As shown in FIG. 3A, the processing unit 23a of the hand effector 20a that grasps the object may be, for example, a gripping unit for grasping the object. Also, as shown in FIG. 3B, the processing unit 23b of the hand effector 20b that captures the image may be, for example, a photographing unit such as a camera. Also, as shown in FIG. 3C, the processing unit 23c of the hand effector 20c that performs the drilling process may be, for example, an electric drill. Also, the processing unit 23 such as the gripping unit, the photographing unit, and the electric drill operates using the power transmitted from the power transmitting coil 14 to the power receiving coil 21 by non-contact power transmission.

[0029] In addition to the contactless power transmission, communication such as a control signal may also be performed via the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coil 21. In this case, for example, a control signal may be transmitted from the power transmitting coil 14 to the power receiving coil 21, and the processing unit 23 may perform a predetermined process based on the control signal. Furthermore, a result of the processing by the processing unit 23 may be transmitted to the power transmitting coil 14 via the power receiving coil 21. As an example, the result of the processing by the processing unit 23 may be a captured image captured by the processing unit 23b, which is an imaging unit. Then, the result of the processing by the processing unit 23 may be passed to a control unit that controls the processing unit 23. The control unit may control the processing unit 23 using, for example, the result of the processing by the processing unit 23.

[0030] Furthermore, communication of the control signal of the processing unit 23, the result of the processing, etc. may be performed without passing through the power transmitting coil 14 or the power receiving coil 21. For example, the control signal, the result of the processing, etc. may be transmitted and received wirelessly between the control unit and the end effector 20.

[0031] Next, the positional relationship between the power transmission coil 14 and the power receiving coil 21 of the hand effector 20 mounted on the base 13 will be described with reference to Figs. 5A to 5C. Fig. 5A is a view of the power transmission coil 14 and the power receiving coils 21a and 21b of the hand effector 20a and 20b mounted on the base 13, as viewed from the axial direction of the winding of the power transmission coil 14. As shown in Fig. 5A, when the power transmission coil 14 and the power receiving coils 21a and 21b of the hand effector 20a and 20b mounted on the base 13 are viewed from the axial direction of the winding of the power transmission coil 14, it is preferable that the power receiving coils 21a and 21b are located inside the power transmission coil 14. With this arrangement, highly efficient non-contact power transmission from the power transmission coil 14 to the power receiving coils 21a and 21b can be realized. In addition, it is preferable that each end effector 20 is mounted on the base 13 so as to be arranged in this manner.

[0032] In addition, when the end effector 20a, 20b is attached to the base 13, the axial direction of the winding of the power transmitting coil 14 and the axial direction of the winding of the power receiving coils 21a, 21b of the end effector 20a, 20b may be parallel. For example, in FIG. 5A, the axial direction of the winding of the power transmitting coil 14 and the axial direction of the winding of the power receiving coils 21a, 21b may extend in a direction perpendicular to the paper. For example, when a coil is formed by winding a winding around the side surface of a cylinder, an elliptical cylinder, or a rectangular cylinder, the direction of a straight line connecting the centers or the center of gravity of both bottom surfaces of the cylinder, elliptical cylinder, or rectangular cylinder may be the axial direction of the winding of the coil. In this way, the axial direction of the winding is usually perpendicular to the winding.

[0033] 5B and 5C are views of the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coils 21a and 21b of the end effectors 20a and 20b mounted on the base 13, viewed from a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the winding of the power transmitting coil 14. In Fig. 5B and Fig. 5C, the axial direction of the windings of the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coils 21a and 21b may extend in the vertical direction of the paper. As shown in Fig. 5B, the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coils 21a and 21b of the end effectors 20a and 20b mounted on the base 13 may be located at the same position in the axial direction of the winding of the power transmitting coil 14. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 5B, in the axial direction of the windings of the transmission coil 14, the receiving coils 21a, 21b may be included inside the transmission coil 14, or in the axial direction of the windings of the transmission coil 14, a portion of the receiving coils 21a, 21b may overlap a portion of the transmission coil 14.

[0034] 5C, the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coils 21a, 21b of the end effectors 20a, 20b mounted on the base 13 may be located at different positions in the axial direction of the winding of the power transmitting coil 14. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5C, the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coils 21a, 21b may not overlap in the axial direction of the winding of the power transmitting coil 14. Even in this case, it is preferable that the power transmitting coil 14 and the power receiving coils 21a, 21b are located close enough to each other to perform highly efficient contactless power transmission therebetween.

[0035] Next, a method of using the robot device 1 according to this embodiment will be described using a specific example. First, a user of the robot device 1 mounts two desired end effectors 20 on the pedestal 13 at the tip of the robot arm 10. For example, the end effector 20a having a gripping unit and the end effector 20b having an imaging unit may be mounted on the pedestal 13.

[0036] When a user inputs an instruction to start a desired process to the robot device 1, a control unit (not shown) controls the robot arm 10 and the end effectors 20a and 20b accordingly to perform the desired process. This process may be, for example, transportation or assembly using the end effector 20a having a gripping unit. The state of the transportation or assembly may be photographed by the end effector 20b having an imaging unit and recorded by the control unit. When these processes are performed, non-contact power transmission is performed from the power transmitting coil 14 of the robot arm 10 to the power receiving coils 21a and 21b of the end effectors 20a and 20b, respectively. Then, the processing unit 23a, which is a gripping unit, and the processing unit 23b, which is an imaging unit, which the end effectors 20a and 20b have, respectively, can drive the gripping unit, perform imaging, and the like, using the power transmitted by non-contact power transmission. The control process by the control unit may be performed, for example, using teaching data prepared in advance.

[0037] Next, in order to perform processing using the end effector 20c having an electric drill instead of processing using the end effector 20a having a gripping part, the user removes the end effector 20a attached to the pedestal 13 and attaches the end effector 20c to the pedestal 13. Then, when the user inputs an instruction to start a desired processing to the robot device 1, photographing using the end effector 20b having an imaging unit and drilling using the end effector 20c having an electric drill are performed accordingly. In this case, the power supplied to the electric drill and the like is supplied from the robot arm 10 to the end effectors 20b and 20c by non-contact power transmission.

[0038] As described above, according to the robot device 1 of this embodiment, two or more end effectors 20 can be attached to the tip of the robot arm 10, and two or more processes can be performed using one robot device 1. In addition, since the end effector 20 attached to the tip of the robot arm 10 is detachable, the end effector 20 according to the desired process can be attached to the robot arm 10. In addition, by performing non-contact power transmission from the robot arm 10 to the end effector 20, it is not necessary to install wiring for power transmission between the two. Therefore, the workability when attaching and detaching the end effector 20 to the tip of the robot arm 10 can be improved.

[0039] In this embodiment, the pedestal 13 may be detachably provided at the tip of the arms 11. In this case, by replacing the pedestal 13 provided at the tip of the arms 11, the number of the hand effectors 20 that can be attached to the tip of the robot arm 10 can be easily changed. For example, instead of the pedestal 13 having two attachment points 15a, 15b for attaching two hand effectors 20 shown in FIG. 2A, a pedestal having three attachment points 15a to 15c for attaching three hand effectors 20 shown in FIG. 6 can be provided at the tip of the arms 11, so that the number of the hand effectors 20 that can be attached to the tip of the robot arm 10 can be easily changed from two to three. For example, when the power transmitting coil 14 is fixed to the pedestal 13, the power transmitting coil 14 may be replaced together when the pedestal 13 is replaced, or when the power transmitting coil 14 is not fixed to the pedestal 13, only the pedestal 13 may be replaced.

[0040] In addition, in the present embodiment, the case where the base 13 is fixed to the tips of the arms 11 has been mainly described, but this is not necessarily the case. The base 13 may be, for example, disk-shaped and provided at the tips of the arms 11 so as to be rotatable around a central axis. This central axis may be a straight line passing through the center of the disk shape of the base 13 and extending in a direction perpendicular to the surface direction of the disk shape. As an example, the base 13 may be rotatably attached to the tips of the arms 11 by a bolt 16 as shown in FIG. 2C. In this case, the base 13 may be rotatable around a threaded portion of the bolt 16. That is, the threaded portion of the bolt 16 may be provided so as to pass through a hole provided at the center of the disk-shaped base 13. Also, the base 13 may be fixed to the tips of the arms 11 by tightening the bolt 16 to the arm 11, and the base 13 may be rotatable by loosening the bolt 16. With this configuration, for example, by loosening the bolt 16 and rotating the pedestal 13, the position of the end effector 20 attached to the pedestal 13 can be changed, and by tightening the bolt 16, the position of the end effector 20 can be prevented from changing when the end effector 20 is performing a process. Note that the pedestal 13 may be rotatably provided at the tips of the multiple arms 11 using something other than a bolt. In this case, a stopper or the like may be provided to prevent the pedestal 13 from rotating when the end effector 20 attached to the pedestal 13 is performing a predetermined process.

[0041] In addition, in this embodiment, the case where two or more different types of hand effectors 20 are attached to the pedestal 13 has been mainly described, but this is not necessary. Two or more hand effectors 20 of the same type may be attached to the pedestal 13. For example, two hand effectors 20 having a gripping portion may be attached to the pedestal 13. In this case, for example, one hand effector 20 may perform a process such as assembly, and the other hand effector 20 may perform transportation, or one hand effector 20 may transport a dirty object to a cleaning device, and the other hand effector 20 may transport an object after cleaning by the cleaning device. Also, the number of hand effectors 20 that is less than the number of mounting locations 15 that the pedestal 13 has may be attached to the pedestal 13. As an example, two hand effectors 20 may be attached to the pedestal 13 shown in FIG. 6, which can mount three hand effectors 20.

[0042] The above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples for specifically implementing the present invention, and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention. The technical scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not by the description of the embodiments, and is intended to include modifications within the literal scope of the claims and the scope of equivalent meanings. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1 Robot device 10 Robot Arm 11, 11a, 11b, 11c Arms 12, 12a, 12b joints 13 Pedestal 14 Transmission coil 20, 20a, 20b, 20c Hand effector 21, 21a, 21b, 21c Receiving coil 22 Control circuit 23, 23a, 23b, 23c Processing section

Claims

1. An arm driven by a motor; a base provided at the tip of the arm, on which two or more end effectors are detachably attached; a power transmission coil that transmits power to the end effector attached to the base in a non-contact manner, the end effector has a power receiving coil capable of receiving power from the power transmitting coil in a non-contact manner when the end effector is attached to the base, the power receiving coil of an end effector attached to the base is located inside the power transmitting coil when viewed from an axial direction of a winding of the power transmitting coil.

2. A robot arm according to claim 1; and two or more of the end effectors detachably attached to the tip of the robot arm.

3. 2. An end effector that is detachably attached to the robot arm according to claim 1, A receiving coil; a processing unit that performs a predetermined process using the power received contactlessly by the power receiving coil.

Images