Robot cell device

Abstract

To provide a robot cell device that prevents coating mist and powder dust and the like from entering a device.SOLUTION: A robot cell device comprises: a frame 30 installed on a base in a coating booth; a revolving arm 41 that can revolve on the frame 30 and is provided with a mechanism 90 of expanding / contracting in a longer direction; a pair of sub-revolving parts 43 that are provided at both ends in the longer direction of the revolving arm 41 and that cause a workpiece to rotate; a robot performing coating on a workpiece held by the sub-revolving parts 43; a support member 33 which has a hollow structure to be inserted from a bottom surface of the frame 30 to the revolving arm 41 in order to support the robot; and a control board which accommodates control equipment for conducting various types of control. In the robot cell device, an area including a bottom part of the control board, an installation area of the frame 30 on the base 29, an internal part of the support member 33, and an internal part of the frame forms one closed space 84, and an interior of the closed space 84 is filled with gaseous matter that is pressurized to atmospheric pressure or higher.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a robot cell apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the introduction of robots into various production lines has progressed, and automated devices that use robots to automatically perform various processes instead of workers are widely used. As one such automated device, Patent Document 1 describes a robot cell device in which a stand is installed on the floor of a paint booth, a rotating body and a robot are housed in the paint booth, and the robot paints objects held on a pair of holding tables provided at both ends of the rotating body in the longitudinal direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-7053 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Here, when painting is performed in the painting booth, there is a possibility that paint mist, solvent, etc. may get into the components of the robot cell apparatus. In addition, there is a possibility that dust, etc. may get into the components of the robot cell apparatus when people enter and exit the painting booth, or when the robot cell apparatus is assembled or disassembled.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a robot cell apparatus that prevents paint mist, dust, etc. from entering the interior of the apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A first aspect of the present invention provides a robot cell apparatus comprising: a stand installed on a base within a paint booth; a rotating body having an axis located midway along the longitudinal direction, rotatable on the stand around the axis and equipped with a longitudinal extension mechanism; a pair of rotating units installed at both longitudinal ends of the rotating body and rotating objects placed on a table; a robot installed at the center of rotation of the rotating body and performing a paint process on the objects held by the rotating units; a hollow support member inserted into the rotating body from the bottom of the stand and supporting the robot; and a control panel housing control equipment for controlling the rotating body, the rotating units, and the robot; an area including the bottom of the control panel, the bottom of the installation area of ​​the stand on the base, the interior of the support member, and the interior of the stand forming a single sealed space, and the sealed space being filled with gas pressurized above atmospheric pressure.

[0007] According to this configuration, the area including the bottom of the control panel, the bottom of the installation area of ​​the stand on the base, and the interior of the stand is made into a single sealed space, and the sealed space is filled with gas pressurized above atmospheric pressure, thereby preventing paint mist, dust, etc. from entering the main parts of the interior of the robot cell device.

[0008] In the above-described robot cell device, a first partition may be provided inside the rotating body of the robot cell device closer to the middle than the area where the extension mechanism is provided, and the area from the first partition to the middle may be an enclosed space filled with the gas. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent paint mist, dust, etc. from entering the inside of the rotating body on the platform side.

[0009] The interior of the pair of rotating bodies of the robot cell device may be an enclosed space filled with the gas. With this configuration, paint mist, dust, etc. can be prevented from entering the interior where the rotation mechanism that rotates the rotating part of the rotating body is installed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide a robot cell apparatus that prevents paint mist, dust, etc. from entering the interior of the apparatus. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a robot cell apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the robot cell device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a main part of the robot cell apparatus according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a top view showing the sealed space of the base and the control panel according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing an enclosed space of the robot cell apparatus according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. First, the overall configuration of a robot cell apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0013] The robot cell apparatus 1 is broadly composed of a paint booth 10 with a paint chamber 11 inside, and a painting robot unit 20 installed in the paint chamber 11. In the following explanation, the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions are defined based on the worker shown in Figure 1 (the worker standing facing the paint booth 10).

[0014] The paint booth 10 comprises a paint chamber 11 for carrying out the paint treatment, an air supply chamber 12 provided above the paint chamber 11, an exhaust chamber 13 provided to the side of the paint chamber 11, a circulating water tank 14 provided below the paint chamber 11 and the exhaust chamber 13 for storing circulating water, an air supply device (air supply fan) 15 for supplying air into the paint chamber 11, an exhaust device (exhaust fan) 16 for discharging air from the exhaust chamber 13, and a guide plate 17 for separating the paint chamber 11 from the exhaust chamber 13. In Figure 1, the main air flow within the paint booth 10 is indicated by solid arrows.

[0015] The painting chamber 11 is formed as a roughly rectangular parallelepiped space, the front side of which is a painting area for painting the workpiece W, and the rear side of which is a loading / unloading area for loading the workpiece W before painting and unloading the workpiece W after painting.

[0016] The air supply device 15 takes in air from the outside and pressurizes and sends this air from the air supply chamber 12 to the coating chamber 11. A damper is provided in the air supply chamber 12, and by adjusting the opening of this damper, the amount of air (wind speed) entering the coating chamber 11 can be adjusted. In addition, a guide plate 18 is attached to the outlet of the air supply chamber 12, extending from the outlet toward the top of the guide plate 17, and guides the air discharged into the coating chamber 11 to the guide plate 17.

[0017] The guide plate 17 is provided on the front side of the coating chamber 11, straddling the area between the outlet of the air supply chamber 12 and the upper area of ​​the circulating water tank 14. The upper half of the guide plate 17 is curved in an arc shape concave toward the coating chamber 11, and the lower half extends vertically. The guide plate 17 is located behind the coating position of the workpiece W, and paint mist (excess paint) that has not been applied to the workpiece W flows through the guide plate 17. The coating chamber 11 and the exhaust chamber 13 are connected to each other through a narrow gap formed between the water surface 14a of the circulating water tank 14 and the guide plate 17. At this time, the air (air flow containing paint mist) in the coating chamber 11 flows out at high speed through the narrow gap due to the blowing action of the air supply device 15 and the exhaust device 16 into the exhaust chamber 13. Then, due to the Venturi effect generated in this gap, water droplets from the circulating water tank 14 are mixed into the air flow. As a result, the paint in the air stream becomes entrained in the droplets.

[0018] An exhaust device 16 is provided on the ceiling of the exhaust chamber 13, and the air inside the exhaust chamber 13 is filtered by a filter (not shown) before being sucked into the exhaust device 16 and discharged to the outside. Also, an eliminator 19 is provided inside the exhaust chamber 13 to separate water droplets (water droplets containing paint) from the air flow that has flowed in from the coating chamber 11.

[0019] In the coating booth 10 configured as described above, as the air supply device 15 and exhaust device 16 operate, the guide plate 17 causes the air flow containing excess paint generated when the workpiece W is being painted to flow downward into the gap at the bottom, and as the air passes through this gap, it is sucked up into the exhaust chamber 13 together with water droplets from the circulating water tank 14. At this time, the excess paint contained in the air flow comes into contact with and mixes with the water droplets. Then, only the water droplets containing excess paint are collected by the eliminator 19 provided in the exhaust chamber 13, and only the air is sucked into the exhaust device 16 and discharged to the outside. The water droplets containing excess paint collected by the eliminator 19 drip into the circulating water tank 14, where they are collected as appropriate, and removed from the circulating water system.

[0020] The robot unit 20 is mainly composed of a stand 30 that serves as the mounting base for the robot unit 20, a transport device 40 that is rotatably mounted on the stand 30 and transports the workpiece W, a robot 70 that is mounted at the center of rotation of the transport device 40 and paints the workpiece W, and a control panel 80 that provides overall control of the entire cell.

[0021] The stand 30 is formed by having a base 31 installed on the base 29 inside the painting booth 10, a base main body 32 arranged on the base 31 and supporting the conveying device 40, and a support member 33 erected on the base 31 and supporting the robot 70.

[0022] The gantry main body 32 is formed into a rectangular box shape as a whole by combining multiple steel plates or the like, and has a circular through-hole 35 at its center that passes through vertically and is surrounded by a cylindrical support shaft 34. A hollow support member 33 that extends vertically is inserted into the through-hole 35 of the gantry main body 32 and protrudes above the gantry main body 32.

[0023] The support member 33 has a hollow structure that is inserted from the bottom surface (base 31) of the stand 30 to the rotating arm 41, and supports the robot 70. The hollow portion of the support member 33 is inserted with a plurality of electric cables for transmitting power and signals from the control panel 80 to the motors of the robot 70, air hoses for supplying compressed air from an air supply device 82 described below to the end effector (paint gun 72) of the robot 70, a plurality of electric cables for transmitting power and signals from the control panel 80 to the servo motors 48, 51 of the transfer device 40, and air hoses for supplying compressed air from the air supply device 82 to the pneumatic cylinders 44 of the transfer device 40.

[0024] The support member 33 has its lower end from which the electric cables and air hoses are drawn into the interior thereof. The support member 33 has side surfaces formed with outlet holes 37A and 37B for drawing the electric cables and air hoses out of the support member 33. The outlet hole 37A is formed on the lower side of the support member 33, and the electric cables to the servo motor 48 and the like are drawn out from the outlet hole 37A. The outlet hole 37B is formed in a position corresponding to the intersection (the hollow portion) between the support member 33 and the swivel arm 41, and the electric cables and air hoses to the pneumatic cylinder 44 and the servo motor 51 are drawn out from the outlet hole 37B. Furthermore, the electric cables, air hoses, and the like to the robot 70 are drawn out from the upper end of the support member 33.

[0025] The base 29 is a box-shaped hollow portion for accommodating the wiring and piping such as the electric cables and air hoses. The platform body 32 is also fitted with a servo motor 48 as a drive source for rotating the transport device 40.

[0026] The conveying device 40 is configured with a swivel arm 41 that extends in the longitudinal direction (horizontal direction) and is rotatably mounted on the base body 32, and a pair of rotating tables (hereinafter also referred to as "pallets") 50 that are mounted at both ends of the swivel arm 41 in the longitudinal direction.

[0027] The swivel arm 41 has an axis X at the midpoint in the longitudinal direction, is rotatable about the axis X on the pedestal 30, and is provided with a longitudinal extension mechanism 90 (see FIG. 5). The swivel arm 41 comprises a main swivel unit 42 rotatably supported on the pedestal body 32, a pair of sub-swivel units 43 provided at both longitudinal ends of the main swivel unit 42 and rotating the workpiece W placed on the rotary table 50, and a pneumatic cylinder 44 whose bottom side is connected to the main swivel unit 42 and whose rod side is connected to the sub-swivel unit 43.

[0028] The swivel arm 41 is configured by combining a main swivel section 42 and an auxiliary swivel section 43 in a nested manner, and the auxiliary swivel section 43 can be moved in the longitudinal direction relative to the main swivel section 42 by the extension and contraction operation of a pneumatic cylinder 44. By moving the auxiliary swivel section 43 in the longitudinal direction relative to the main swivel section 42 in this way, the entire swivel arm 41 extends and contracts in a horizontal plane, making it possible to change the swivel radius.

[0029] Hereinafter, the state in which the swivel arm 41 is fully extended will be referred to as the "fully extended state," and the state in which the swivel arm 41 is fully retracted will be referred to as the "fully retracted state." The swivel arm 41 expands and contracts between the fully retracted state and the fully extended state, changing its swivel radius. Note that FIG. 2 shows the maximum swivel radius Rmax and the minimum swivel radius Rmin of the swivel arm 41. In other words, the difference between the maximum swivel radius Rmax and the minimum swivel radius Rmin is the extendable stroke of the swivel arm 41.

[0030] A gear-integrated flange 45 is fixed to the lower center of the main swivel unit 42 by a fastening means such as a screw. Upper and lower bearings 46 are interposed between the inner peripheral surface of the flange 45 and the outer peripheral surface of the support shaft 34 of the gantry main body 32, smoothly guiding the swivel motion of the swivel arm 41. A driven gear 47 is integrally formed at the lower part of the flange 45 and is engaged with a drive gear 49 connected to the output shaft of a servomotor 48 via a reducer. Therefore, when the servomotor 48 is rotated, its rotational force is transmitted to the swivel arm 41 via the gears 47 and 49, and the swivel arm 41 rotates around the support shaft 34 of the gantry main body 32 by a rotation angle corresponding to the rotation amount of the servomotor 48. An opening is formed in the center of the swivel arm 41 for inserting the support member 33, and the gap between the support member 33 and the opening is substantially sealed by a seal member.

[0031] The rotary table 50 holds the workpiece W to be coated. The workpiece W is positioned on the rotary table 50 via a jig appropriate for the type of workpiece W. The rotary table 50 is rotatably supported on the upper surface of the sub-swivel unit 43 via a bearing, and rotates about a vertical axis via a reducer by a servo motor 51 disposed inside the sub-swivel unit 43. Therefore, the rotary table 50 can revolve by the pivoting action of the pivot arm 41, and can also rotate on its own axis at the pivoting position.

[0032] The transport device 40 functions as a pallet exchanger (APC) that automatically exchanges each rotary table 50 between a carry-in / out position and a coating position. Here, the carry-in / out position is a position where the workpiece W is carried in and out of the rotary table 50 from outside the machine (the position of the rear rotary table 50 in FIG. 1), and the coating position is a position where the workpiece W on the rotary table 50 is coated (the position of the front rotary table 50 in FIG. 1). (position of the rotary table 50 on the side).

[0033] In this embodiment, when the swivel arm 41 is in a position oriented in the front-to-rear direction (hereinafter referred to as the "reference position") and the swivel arm 41 is fully extended, one of the turntables 50 is positioned at the loading / unloading position, and the other turntable 50 is positioned at the painting position. Therefore, when the swivel arm 41 is in the reference position, the operator can load / unload the workpiece W and the robot 70 can paint the workpiece W almost simultaneously, enabling continuous operation of the equipment.

[0034] The robot 70 is a six-axis articulated robot with six rotation axes as joint axes, and is provided at the rotation center of the swivel arm 41, and performs a coating process on a workpiece W held by the sub-swivel unit 43. The robot 70 is attached to the upper end of the support member 33 via a base plate 71 provided at the lower end of the robot 70, and is disposed at the center position (rotation center) of the swivel arm 41. The robot 70 has a motor in each joint, and operates based on operation commands (control signals) output from a control panel 80. An encoder is built into each joint of the robot 70 to detect the angle of each movable part, and the detection information is fed back to the control panel 80.

[0035] The control panel 80 has a CPU that executes various types of calculation processing, a ROM that stores control programs and control data, etc., a RAM that functions as a work area, etc., and stores control equipment that controls the operation of the entire robot cell apparatus 1, including the transport device 40 and the robot unit 20. The control panel 80 is a roughly rectangular parallelepiped cabinet, and the control equipment is stored inside the cabinet, with the bottom of the cabinet joined to the base 29.

[0036] The control devices provided on the control panel 80 control the fuel supply device 81 and the air supply device 82 to adjust the amount of paint supplied to the paint gun 72 and the pressure of the compressed air supplied, and also control the operation of the robot 70 to control the position and attitude of the paint gun 72. The control panel 80 also controls the operation of each actuator provided on the transfer device 40 to control the rotation / extension position of the swivel arm 41 and the rotation position of the turntable 50 (to perform pallet exchange). The control panel 80 also controls the air volume of the air supply device 15 and the exhaust device 16 to control the air conditioning, air flow, etc. within the paint booth 10.

[0037] Here, various cables, such as electric cables and air hoses, for operating the transfer device 40 and the robot 70 are inserted from the control panel 80 through a support member 33 installed inside the base 30 to reach the transfer device 40 and the robot 70, and control the pneumatic cylinder 44, servo motors 48 and 51, and actuators. Paint mist generated during the painting process may enter the components inside the painting chamber 11. The robot cell apparatus 1 of this embodiment can be divided into, for example, three separate pieces and moved for installation. Therefore, for example, when the robot cell apparatus 1 is divided and moved, dust may enter the components, including the base 30.

[0038] Therefore, the robot cell apparatus 1 of this embodiment has a main part formed as an enclosed space to prevent paint mist and dust from entering inside.

[0039] 4 and 5, in the robot cell apparatus 1 of this embodiment, an area including the bottom 83 of the control panel 80, the bottom 96 of the installation area of ​​the platform 30 on the base 29, the inside of the support member 33, and the inside of the platform 30 is one sealed space 84, and the sealed space 84 is filled with gas pressurized to atmospheric pressure or higher. Note that the area surrounded by a dashed line and hatched with diagonal lines in FIGS. 4 and 5 is the sealed space 84. The gas filling the sealed space 84 is, for example, air, but is not limited to this and may be, for example, an inert gas such as argon gas.

[0040] FIG. 4 is a top view showing the sealed space 84 of the base 29 and control panel 80 according to this embodiment, illustrating the area below the top plate 85 of the base 29 (see FIG. 5). The top plate 85 is formed of, for example, a steel plate. The area indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 4 is the installation position of the frame 30, and the frame 30 is installed on the top plate 85. An opening through which various cables are passed is formed in the top plate 85 so as to correspond to the installation position of the frame 30. An outer frame 87 and beams 88 are provided below the top plate 85 of the base 29, and the outer frame 87 and beams 88 are installed on the lower plate 86. The area of ​​the base 29 hatched with diagonal lines is box-shaped, forming the sealed space 84.

[0041] The control panel 80 has a bottom 83 that forms a box-shaped sealed space 84. Various cables leading from the control panel 80 to the base 29 are inserted from the bottom 83 of the control panel 80 to the base 29 via connectors or openings provided in beams 88 or the like that form the sealed space 84 of the base 29.

[0042] 5 is a side cross-sectional view showing the sealed space 84 of the robot cell apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, in which the area including the bottom 96 of the base 29, the interior of the support member 33, and the interior of the pedestal 30 is one sealed space 84. A servo motor 48 is provided inside the pedestal 30. Furthermore, inside the swivel arm 41 of this embodiment, a first partition wall 91 is provided on the intermediate side (on the axis X side) of the area where the extension / retraction mechanism 90 is provided, and the area from the first partition wall 91 to the middle in the longitudinal direction is the sealed space 84 filled with gas.

[0043] As described above, the sub-swivel section 43 is provided with the servo motor 51 that rotates the rotary table 50, and the interior of the sub-swivel section 43 also forms an enclosed space 84. For this reason, the sub-swivel section 43 of this embodiment is provided with a second partition 92 on the side of the swivel arm 41, and the area on the servo motor 51 side of the second partition 92 forms an enclosed space 84 filled with gas. Note that the sub-swivel section 43 of this embodiment is provided with a hatch on the opposite side of the location where the second partition 92 is provided, for repairing the servo motor 51, and this hatch is also formed as a partition (third partition 93).

[0044] In this way, by making the space in which the servo motors 48, 51 are provided into the sealed space 84, paint mist, dust, etc. do not enter the space in which the servo motors 48, 51 are provided, thereby improving the explosion-proof performance.

[0045] Here, the telescopic mechanism 90 moves relatively in the longitudinal direction along the rails 95 by the extension and contraction of the pneumatic cylinder 44 through the slide bracket 94 supporting the sub-swivel unit 43. For this reason, it is difficult to make the area of ​​the swivel arm 41 where the telescopic mechanism 90 is provided into an enclosed space 84, and explosion-proofing is not required for the pneumatic cylinder 44. Note that the slide bracket 94 cantilevers the sub-swivel unit 43 on which the workpiece W is placed, and in order to obtain the strength to enable relative movement, for example, the vertical cross section of the slide bracket 94 is U-shaped, but the slide bracket 94 may have any other shape as long as sufficient strength can be obtained.

[0046] The first partition 91 and the second partition 92 are provided with connectors for connecting various cables between inside and outside the sealed space 84. By providing the connectors in the first partition 91 and the second partition 92, the inside of the sealed space 84 is isolated from the outside air. Connectors are also provided as appropriate between other parts of the sealed space 84, such as the bottom 83 of the control panel 80 and the upper end of the support member 33, and the outside, and various cables are connected between the sealed space 84 and the outside via these connectors.

[0047] The swivel arm 41 swivels along the outer periphery of the support member 33. Therefore, an O-ring 97 (see FIG. 3) is provided between the swivel arm 41 and the support member 33 at a location where there is a possibility that outside air may enter the sealed space 84, thereby isolating the inside of the sealed space 84 from the outside air. In this way, in each configuration that forms the sealed space 84, there is a possibility that outside air may enter the sealed space 84. By using an O-ring, a sealant, or the like in the places where there is a gap, the inside of the sealed space 84 is isolated from the outside air, and the inside of the sealed space 84 is kept sealed.

[0048] The gas filling the sealed space 84 is introduced from an air supply device 82 provided in the control panel 80. For this purpose, an air hose is inserted from the air supply device 82 into the sealed space 84. The air hose, like other cables, is inserted from the control panel 80 to the base 29, the stand 30, the swivel arm 41, and the sub-swivel section 43. Furthermore, while the robot cell apparatus 1 is performing a painting process, the gas filling the sealed space 84 is continuously supplied from the air supply device 82.

[0049] Although the present invention has been described above using the above-mentioned embodiment, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above-mentioned embodiment. Various changes or improvements can be made to the above-mentioned embodiment without departing from the gist of the invention, and such changes or improvements are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1 Robot cell device 10 Paint Booth 20 Robot Unit 29 Foundation 30 Mounting stand 33 Support member 40 Conveyor 41 Swivel arm (swivel body) 43 Sub-swivel unit (rotating unit) 44 Telescopic arm (telescopic operating part) 48 Servo motor (rotating body drive means) 80 Control Panel 84 Closed space 90 Telescopic mechanism 91 1st bulkhead 92 Second bulkhead

Claims

1. A stand installed on the base inside the paint booth; a rotating body having an axis at the middle in the longitudinal direction, capable of rotating on the base about the axis, and having an extension and contraction mechanism in the longitudinal direction; A pair of rotating units provided at both ends of the rotating body in the longitudinal direction to rotate the processing object placed on the table; a robot that is provided at the center of rotation of the rotating body and that performs a coating process on a processing object held by the rotating part; a support member having a hollow structure inserted into the rotating body from the bottom surface of the base and supporting the robot; a control panel that houses control devices for controlling the rotating body, the rotating unit, and the robot; Equipped with A region including the bottom of the control panel, the bottom of the installation area of ​​the frame on the base, the inside of the support member, and the inside of the frame is formed into a single sealed space, and the sealed space is filled with gas pressurized to atmospheric pressure or higher. Robot cell equipment.

2. a first partition wall is provided inside the rotating body closer to the middle than a region where the telescopic mechanism is provided, and a region from the first partition wall to the middle is an enclosed space filled with the gas; The robot cell apparatus according to claim 1 .

3. The interiors of the pair of rotating bodies are sealed spaces filled with the gas.

3. The robot cell apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

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