End effector and robot device

Abstract

To provide an end effector that is configured so that a thickness in a height direction of the end effector is reduced, using a permanent magnet.SOLUTION: In an end effector 1, a permanent magnet 43 is fixed with a support bolt to an oscillating part 41 having a protrusion 41B to be pressed of an adsorbing part 40; the adsorbing part 40 is oscillatably installed on a guide part 30 which has an oscillation restricting part 30D that restricts an oscillation range of the adsorbing part 40 and a standing restricting part 30E that returns the adsorbing part 40 from an inclining state to a standing state; the protrusion 41B to be pressed is pressed against a pressing inclination 23E of a displacing part 20 to make the adsorbing part 40 incline up to the oscillation restricting part 30D, and the permanent magnet 43 is inclined and separated and then is separated by the standing restricting part 30E from an object to be adsorbed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an end effector and a robot device. [Background technology]

[0002] An end effector is attached to the end of the hand of an industrial robot. A particularly commonly used end effector is an object-grasping end effector that grasps a workpiece, which is the object to be worked on, moves the grasped workpiece, and then releases the moved workpiece.

[0003] There are several methods for gripping an object using an end effector, including pinching the object with a manipulator, adsorbing the object using negative air pressure, adsorbing the object using static electricity, and adsorbing the object using magnetic force. Of these, end effectors that adsorb objects using magnetic force have the advantage of being able to keep manufacturing costs low.

[0004] In a conventional magnetic end effector using a permanent magnet, when releasing a workpiece, a force is applied in the opposite direction to the magnetic flux that attracts the workpiece, thereby separating the permanent magnet (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to place a mechanism such as a solenoid or link that separates the permanent magnet from the workpiece in the direction facing the workpiece, sandwiching the permanent magnet between them, which increases the thickness of the end effector in the height direction.If the end effector is too thick in the height direction, for example, when workpieces are stored on a shelf with multiple storage levels, physical interference occurs between the end effector and the shelf, making it impossible to remove the workpiece from the shelf. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7107772 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an end effector that uses a permanent magnet but has a reduced thickness in the height direction of the end effector.

[0008] The contents of the above "Background Art" and "Problem to be Solved by the Invention" indicate the opportunity (trigger) that led to the invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the invention, nor do they permit a limited interpretation of the technical scope of the invention (see 2005 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10042 and the Patent Office Examination Guidelines, Part II, Chapter 2, Section 2, 3.2.1 as of the filing date). [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention provides a base part having a base part swing hole penetrating in the thickness direction and fixed to the hand of a robot device via a drive part having a drive link; a swing part having one pressurized protrusion on each of the front and rear surfaces, a flat bottom surface, and curved sides; an attraction part having a support bolt inserted into the base part swing hole and fixing a permanent magnet to the swing part, and an elastic body that urges the permanent magnet in the direction of an object to be attracted; a swing restriction part that opens at the upper end in a front view and restricts the swing range of the attraction part; a swing restriction groove that is provided at the upper end of the swing restriction part and has an upright restriction part that returns the attraction part from an inclined state to an upright state; a swing receiving groove that is cut from the front side to the back side in a side view and forms a swing plane that swingably supports the swing part; and a guide that communicates between the swing receiving groove and the bottom surface. a guide portion having a guide portion swing hole and fixed to the base portion so that the base portion swing hole and the guide portion swing hole are in communication; a positioning recess for positioning the pressed protrusion; a pressing inclination that rises upward from an end of the positioning recess at an angle θ1 greater than 0° and less than 90° and presses the pressed protrusion to tilt the attracting portion up to the swing restriction portion, thereby tilting the permanent magnet away from the attracted object and causing the attracting portion to stand up via the stand restriction portion; and a displacement operating portion having a separation displacement portion that is arranged at the end of the positioning recess opposite to the pressing inclination and pushes up the pressed protrusion to displace the attracting portion upward and separate the permanent magnet from the attracted object, and is displaced by displacement of the drive link. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an end effector that uses a permanent magnet but has a reduced thickness in the height direction of the end effector. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a robot device to which an end effector according to the present embodiment is attached. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded side view of the end effector. [Figure 3]FIG. 3 is a three-view diagram of the swinging part. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a three-view diagram of the guide part. [Figure 5] This is a three-view diagram of the operating part. [Figure 6] This is a three-view diagram of the base part. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the workpiece release operation of the end effector. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] An end effector 1 and a robot 6 device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a robot device 6 to which an end effector 1 of this embodiment is attached.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1(A), the robot device 6 includes a robot device main body 61, a control device 65, a hand 62, and an end effector 1.

[0015] The robot device main body 61 includes a control device 65 having an internal arithmetic unit that controls the operation of the robot device 6. The robot device main body 61 is further provided with a hand 62 having a plurality of joints.

[0016] The hand 62 has an end effector 1 fixed to its tip via a drive unit 63 having a drive link 64 that operates the end effector 1 .

[0017] 1(B) is a side view showing the end effector 1 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1(B), the end effector 1 includes a base portion 10, a displacement portion 20, a guide portion 30, and an adsorption portion 40.

[0018] The base portion 10 has one end fixed to the drive portion 63, the other end bent at a substantially right angle in side view, and a support portion 13 extending linearly from the bent portion to the tip.

[0019] The displacement unit 20 includes a transmission link 21 having one end connected to a drive link 64 and rotated by the drive link 64 in the forward / backward direction of the extension direction of the support unit 13 shown by arrow X1, with the transmission unit pivot pin 22 as the center of rotation, an operating unit 23 having one end connected to the other end of the transmission link 21 and displacing linearly in the forward / backward direction of the extension direction of the support unit 13 shown by arrow X2, upon rotation of the transmission link 21, a guide unit 30 fixed to the base unit 10, and an attraction unit 40 having one end rotatably installed on the guide unit 30 and the other end having a permanent magnet 43 that attracts the workpiece W.

[0020] The necessary number of guide units 30 and suction units 40 can be installed depending on the shape and weight of the workpiece W. In the example shown in Fig. 1, two guide units 30 and two suction units 40 are arranged in the extension direction, front-rear, as indicated by the arrow X2.

[0021] Fig. 2 is an exploded side view of the end effector 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the end effector 1 is first fixed by threading the fastening bolt 31 into the fastening tapped hole 30B through the fastening hole 10A of the base part 10 and the guide part 30 to the base part 10.

[0022] Next, the support bolt 42 is inserted into the guide part swing hole 30A from below the guide part 30, in the order of the permanent magnet 43, magnet case 44, tightening nut 45, and elastic coil spring 46. Then, the operating part 23, in which the transmission link 21 is rotatably locked by the transmission link pin 21B, is installed on the base part 10 from above the base part 10. Furthermore, the support bolt 42 is inserted into the base part swing hole 10B of the base part 10 and the swing part fastening hole 41A of the swing part 41, and the end is fastened with the fastening nut 47.

[0023] Finally, the transmission link rotation pin 22 is inserted through the transmission link rotation hole 21A of the transmission link 21 and the base rotation hole 11A of the rotation support part 11 of the base part 10 via the washer 22A, and the transmission link 21 is rotatably engaged with the base part 10.

[0024] Fig. 3 is a three-view diagram of the swinging portion 41. Fig. 3(S) is a front view of the swinging portion 41, Fig. 3(A) is a view of the swinging portion 41 as seen from the arrow A in Fig. 3(S), and Fig. 3(B) is a view of the swinging portion 41 as seen from the arrow B in Fig. 3(S).

[0025] 3(S), the swinging portion 41 has a shape defined by a first straight line below the center of a circle and shorter than the diameter thereof, and a second straight line above the center of the circle that is longer than the first straight line and parallel to the first straight line and shorter than the diameter thereof. The swinging portion 41 has one pressable protrusion 41B on each of the front and back surfaces.

[0026] The pressed protrusion 41B installed on the front surface has a cylindrical shape with a central axis extending toward the front near side, and is provided at its end with a groove 41C into which a ring 48 is fitted that is provided circumferentially with its center coincident with the central axis of the pressed protrusion 41B. The pressed protrusion 41B installed on the rear surface has a cylindrical shape with a central axis extending toward the rear far side, and is provided at its end with a groove 41C into which a ring 48 is fitted that is provided circumferentially with its center coincident with the central axis of the pressed protrusion 41B. The pressed protrusion 41B installed on the front surface and the pressed protrusion 41B installed on the rear surface have the same shape.

[0027] 3(A), the swinging part 41 has a shape defined by parallel lines between the upper and lower sides and by left and right lines. The swinging part 41 has a swinging part fastening hole 41A that penetrates the swinging part 41 from the front side to the back side in a plan view, at the center of the part where the extension lines of the central axes of the pressed protrusions 41B on the front side and the back side overlap in a plan view. A tap 41D for screwing in a support bolt 42 is cut into the inner surface of the swinging part fastening hole 41A.

[0028] 3(B), the swinging portion 41 has a support groove 41E that is notched from the front side to the back side and forms a flat surface that supports the fastening nut 47. The depth of the support groove 41E is the same as or greater than the height of the fastening nut 47.

[0029] Fig. 4 is a three-view diagram of the guide section 30. Fig. 4(S) is a front view of the guide section 30, Fig. 4(A) is a view of the guide section 30 as seen from the arrow A in Fig. 4(S), Fig. 4(B) is a view of the guide section 30 as seen from the arrow B in Fig. 4(S), and Fig. 4(C) is an enlarged view of the portion C1 circled by a dashed line in Fig. 4(S).

[0030] As shown in Figures 4(S) and 4(A), the guide portion 30 is provided with a swing restriction groove 30G that opens to the upper end, a swing receiving groove 30H that is cut out from the front side to the back side in the side view shown in Figure 4(B) and forms a swing plane that supports the swing portion 41 so that it can swing, a guide portion swing hole 30A that connects the swing receiving groove 30H to the bottom surface of the guide portion 30, and a fastening tap hole 30B that connects the swing restriction groove 30G to the bottom surface of the guide portion 30 and into which the fastening bolt 31 is screwed.

[0031] 4(S), the swing restriction groove 30G of the guide part 30 is recessed on the left side surface side in FIG. 4(S) and has a swing restriction part 30D that restricts the swing range of the suction part 40, and an upright restriction part 30E provided at the upper end part of the swing restriction part 30D. The right side surface of the swing restriction groove 30G of the guide part 30 forms a plane that extends vertically upward from near the bottom surface of the swing restriction groove 30G.

[0032] The swing width W2 of the swing restriction portion 30D, which is the width from the right end of the swing restriction groove 30G to the leftmost end of the swing restriction portion 30D, is wider than the opening width W3 of the opening of the swing restriction groove 30G. The opening width W3 is wider than the cross-sectional diameter W1, which is the diameter of the cross-sectional circle of the pressed protrusion 41B.

[0033] In the swing restriction portion 30D, the depth D1 of the swing restriction groove 30G is greater than the cross-sectional diameter W1 of the pressed projection 41B.

[0034] 4(B), the guide portion 30 has ring grooves 30C on both side walls of the swing-restricting groove 30G, through which the ring 48 passes back and forth. The deepest part of the ring groove 30C is deeper than the swing plane.

[0035] Fig. 5 is a three-view diagram of the actuating unit 23. Fig. 5(S) is a front view of the actuating unit 23, Fig. 5(A) is a view of the actuating unit 23 as seen from the arrow A in Fig. 5(S), Fig. 5(B) is a view of the actuating unit 23 as seen from the arrow B in Fig. 5(S), and Fig. 5(C) is an enlarged view of the portion C2 circled by a dashed line in Fig. 5(S).

[0036] As shown in Figures 5(S), 5(A), and 5(B), the actuating unit 23 is rotatably engaged with the transmission link 21 by inserting a transmission link pin 21B, which is inserted into the other end of the transmission link 21, into an actuating unit rotation hole 23C provided at the end of the actuating unit 23 on the transmission link 21 side.

[0037] The actuating portion 23 is formed in a planar shape using a plate-like member so that a pair of actuating portions 23 sandwich a planar rectangular actuating portion connecting portion 23B, and the actuating portions 23 at both ends of the actuating portion connecting portion 23B are bent downward so that the displacement actuating portion 23A is on top.

[0038] 5(C), the displacement actuating portion 23A has a positioning recess 23D that is shallower than the flat reference surface portion 23F by less than half the cross-sectional diameter W1 of the pressed protrusion 41B of the swinging portion 41 and has a depth H2 sufficient for positioning the pressed protrusion 41B, and that has a positioning width W4 that is shorter than half the cross-sectional diameter W1 of the pressed protrusion 41B. The displacement actuating portion 23A also has a pressing inclined portion 23E that rises upward from the end of the positioning inclined portion 23D toward the opposite side of the transmission link 21 of the actuating portion 23 at an angle θ1 greater than 0° and less than 90°, and that has a slope height H1 from the positioning inclined portion 23D that is smaller than the cross-sectional diameter W1 of the pressed protrusion 41B. The displacement actuating portion 23A also has a flat separating displacement portion 23G at the end of the pressing inclined portion 23E opposite the positioning inclined portion 23D.

[0039] Fig. 6 is a three-view diagram of the base unit 10. Fig. 6(S) is a front view of the base unit 10, Fig. 6(A) is a view of the base unit 10 as seen from the arrow A in Fig. 6(S), and Fig. 6(B) is a view of the base unit 10 as seen from the arrow B in Fig. 6(S).

[0040] 6(S), 6(A), and 6(B), the base portion 10 is provided with a set of an oval base portion swing hole 10B that is long in the extension direction of the base portion 10 and four fastening holes 10A that are arranged to surround the base portion swing hole 10B, the number of sets being the same as the number of suction portions 40. The sets of base portion swing holes 10B and fastening holes 10A are provided with intervals between them so that the suction portions 40 do not physically interfere with each other.

[0041] The rotation support portion 11 has a base portion rotation hole 11A that penetrates the base portion 10 in the width direction, and is provided at a bent portion that rises upward in a front view of the base portion 10.

[0042] 7A and 7B are diagrams showing the operation of the end effector 1 to release the workpiece W. Fig. 7A shows the state in which the end effector 1 is adsorbing the workpiece W, Fig. 7B shows the state in which the adsorption portion 40 is tilted, and Fig. 7C shows the state in which the end effector 1 has released the workpiece W.

[0043] 7(A), when the pressed protrusion 41B of the attraction part 40 is fitted into the bottom of the positioning recess 23D, the permanent magnet 43 of the magnet case 44, which is biased by the coil spring 46 toward the workpiece W, reaches the workpiece W and attracts the workpiece W. Then, the lower bottom surface of the swinging part 41 comes into surface contact with the upper surface of the swing receiving groove 30H of the guide part 30, so that the attraction part 40 becomes more stable in the upright state.

[0044] When a release operation command is sent from the control device 65 of the robot device 6 to the drive unit 63 of the end effector 1, the drive unit 63 operates the drive link 64 to displace the displacement unit 20 in the release operation direction indicated by the arrow X3.

[0045] 7(B), when the pressed protrusion 41B is pressed in the release operation direction by the pressing inclination 23E, the adsorbing portion 40 starts to tilt. The adsorbing portion 40 then tilts until the pressed protrusion 41B reaches the swing restriction portion 30D. At this time, the curved surface of the side surface of the swinging portion 41 is displaced so as to roll on the upper surface of the swing receiving groove 30H, so that the adsorbing portion 40 is easily tilted.

[0046] When the attraction part 40 is tilted, the permanent magnet 43 of the magnet case 44, which had been in surface contact with the workpiece W, is separated obliquely according to the "lever principle," with the end of the magnet case 44 as the fulcrum and the point of contact between the pressed protrusion 41B and the pressing inclination 23E as the point of force. When the permanent magnet 43 is separated obliquely, it can be separated from the workpiece W with less force than when the permanent magnet 43 is pulled away from the surface contact state in a direction perpendicular to the contact surface.

[0047] 7(C), when the pressed protrusion 41B is further pressed by the pressing inclined portion 23E, the pressed protrusion 41B is returned by the upright restricting portion 30E in the direction opposite to the releasing operation direction indicated by the arrow X3, and the attraction portion 40 is returned from the inclined state to the upright state. Then, when the pressed protrusion 41B is further pressed by the pressing inclined portion 23E, the pressed protrusion 41B reaches above the separating displacement portion 23G, and the permanent magnet 43 is completely separated from the workpiece W, thereby completing the releasing operation.

[0048] The workpiece W is attracted by the controller 65 of the robot device 6 when it instructs the drive unit 63 of the end effector 1 to perform the reverse operation described above.

[0049] As described above, the end effector 1 of this embodiment includes the base 10 having the base swing hole 10B penetrating in the thickness direction and fixed to the hand 62 of the robot device 6 via the drive unit 63 having the drive link 64, the swing restricting groove 30G having the swing restricting portion 30D that is open at the upper end in a front view and restricts the swing range of the suction part 40, and the upright restricting portion 30E that is provided at the upper end of the swing restricting portion 30D and returns the suction part 40 from an inclined state to an upright state, and the swing restricting groove 30G having the swing restricting portion 30D that is open at the upper end in a front view and restricts the swing range of the suction part 40 The guide part 30 has a swing receiving groove 30H that is cut out toward the side and forms a swing plane that swingably supports the swing part 41, and a guide part swing hole 30A that communicates between the swing receiving groove 30H and the bottom surface of the guide part 30, and is fixed to the base part 10 so that the base part swing hole 10B and the guide part swing hole 30A communicate with each other; the swing part 41 is arranged above the swing plane of the guide part 30, has one pressed protrusion 41B on each of the front and back surfaces, has a flat bottom surface, and has curved sides; The attraction part 40 includes a support bolt 42 inserted through the swing hole 10B and the guide part swing hole 30A to fix the permanent magnet 43 to the swing part 41, and a coil spring 46 which is an elastic body that urges the permanent magnet 43 from the guide part 30 in the direction of the workpiece W that is the object to be attracted. The attraction part 40 also includes a positioning recess 23D that positions the pressed protrusion 41B, and a spring 46 which rises upward from the end of the positioning recess 23D at an angle θ1 that is greater than 0° and less than 90° and presses the pressed protrusion 41B to move the attraction part 40 to the swing limiting part. 30D to tilt the permanent magnet 43 away from the workpiece W, which is the object to be attracted, and raise the attraction portion 40 via the raising restriction portion 30E, and a displacement operating portion 23A having a separation displacement portion 23G that is arranged at the opposite end of the positioning recess 23D of the pressing inclined portion 23E and pushes up the pressed protrusion 41B to displace the attraction portion 40 upward and raise the permanent magnet 43 away from the workpiece W, which is the object to be attracted, and the displacement portion 20 is displaced by the displacement of the drive link 64.

[0050] Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide an end effector 1 that uses the permanent magnet 43 while reducing the thickness of the end effector 1 in the height direction. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1 End Effector 10 Base 10A fastening hole 10B Base swing hole 11 Rotation support part 11A Base rotation hole 13 Support part 20 Displacement section 21 Transmission Links 21A Transmission link pivot hole 21B Transmission link pin 22 Transmission unit pivot pin 23 Operating unit 23A Displacement operating part 23B Actuating part connection part 23C Actuating part rotation hole 23D positioning recess 23E Pressurized Incline 23F Reference plane section 23G Separation displacement part 30 Guide section 30A Guide swing hole 30B Fastening tap hole 30C ring groove 30D Swing control part 30E Standing Restriction Unit 30G swing restriction groove 30H Swing groove 31 Fastening bolt 40 Adsorption part 41 Swinging part 41A Swinging part fastening hole 41B Pressed projection 41C Groove 41D Tap 41E Support groove 42 Support bolt 43 Permanent Magnets 44 Magnet Case 45 Clamping nut 46 coil spring 47 Fastening nut 48 Ring 6. Robotic Devices 61 Robot device main body 62 hands 63 Drive unit 64 drive link 65 Control device double work

Claims

1. a base portion having a base portion swing hole penetrating in a thickness direction and fixed to a hand of a robot device via a drive portion having a drive link; a swinging part having a pressurized protrusion on each of the front and rear surfaces, a flat bottom surface, and curved sides; an attracting part including a support bolt inserted into the base swinging hole for fixing a permanent magnet to the swinging part; and an elastic body for biasing the permanent magnet in the direction of the object to be attracted; a guide portion having a swing receiving groove cut out from the front side toward the back side in a side view and forming a swing plane that swingably supports the swinging portion, and a guide portion swing hole that communicates with the swing receiving groove and a bottom surface, the guide portion being fixed to the base portion so that the base portion swing hole and the guide portion swing hole communicate with each other; a displacement operating unit including a positioning recess that positions the pressed protrusion, a pressing inclination that rises upward from an end of the positioning recess at an angle θ1 that is greater than 0° and less than 90°, and presses the pressed protrusion to tilt the attracting portion up to the swing restricting portion, thereby tilting the permanent magnet away from the attracted object, and raising the attracting portion via the raising restricting portion, and a separation displacement unit that is disposed at the end of the positioning recess opposite to the pressing inclination and pushes up the pressed protrusion, displacing the attracting portion upward, and separating the permanent magnet from the attracted object, and is displaced by displacement of the drive link; An end effector comprising:

2. A robot device in which the end effector according to claim 1 is attached to the tip of the hand.

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