Line-shaped object moving device and line-shaped object moving method

A three-axis Cartesian robot system with a rotating wrist unit and three-dimensional sensor aligns and inserts linear objects efficiently, reducing costs and workspace needs by automating the connector connection and insertion process without vertical articulated robots.

JP2026006862APending Publication Date: 2026-01-16KURABO INDUSTRIES LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2024106186
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2024-07-01
Publication Date
2026-01-16

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing connector connection and insertion processes require expensive vertical articulated robots, leading to high costs and large workspace requirements, especially when multiple units are needed to shorten takt time, and alignment of connectors or holes is challenging.

Method used

A three-axis Cartesian robot with a rotating three-axis wrist unit and a three-dimensional sensor, such as a stereo camera, is used to align and insert or connect the tip of a linear object without relying on vertical articulated robots, allowing for precise alignment and insertion through a series of attitude and position adjustments.

Benefits of technology

The solution reduces equipment costs and workspace requirements while enabling accurate and automated insertion or connection of linear objects, eliminating the need for multiple expensive robots and addressing alignment challenges.

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Abstract

To provide a more inexpensive device for automatically inserting or connecting the tip of a linear object to a target.SOLUTION: A linear object moving device 10 is a device for inserting or connecting a distal end 52 of a linear object 50 into or to a target 60, and includes a triaxial Cartesian coordinate robot 20, a rotational triaxial wrist unit 30 attached to the Cartesian coordinate robot and including a gripping part 34 capable of gripping the linear object, and a three dimensional sensor 40 disposed so as to be capable of measuring a position and a posture of the distal end of the linear object gripped by the wrist unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1
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Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for automatically inserting or connecting the tip of a linear object to a target. [Background technology]

[0002] Robots are being used to automate the connection of linear objects such as lead wires. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an apparatus and method for gripping a connector connected to the end of a cable with a robot hand and connecting it to a mating connector. Patent Document 2 describes an apparatus and method for gripping a jack attached to the end of a cable with a robot hand and connecting it to a housing. Furthermore, Patent Document 3 describes an apparatus and method for gripping the wire portion of a linear object consisting of a wire and a connector attached to the end of the wire with a robot hand and inserting the connector into an insertion hole. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-096081 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2021-028107 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-192666 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] To connect a connector to a mating connector, the positions and orientations of the two connectors must be aligned. For this reason, Patent Documents 1 to 3 use a vertical articulated robot to freely adjust the position and orientation of the connector. However, vertical articulated robots have a problem in that they are expensive. In particular, when the connector connection process is performed in parallel using multiple pieces of equipment to shorten takt time, multiple vertical articulated robots must be introduced, and the resulting costs have become a major problem. Furthermore, when inserting a connector into a hole in an inspection device for inspection, the positions and orientations of the connector and the hole must be aligned, which poses the same problem as when connecting connectors. Another problem is that a large workspace is required for the operation of a vertical articulated robot.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and its objective is to provide a lower-cost device and method for automatically inserting the tip of a linear object into a target hole or automatically connecting it to a target connection part. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The linear object moving device of the present invention is a device for inserting or connecting the tip of a linear object to a target, and comprises a three-axis Cartesian robot, a rotating three-axis wrist unit attached to the Cartesian robot and equipped with a gripping portion capable of grasping the linear object, and a three-dimensional sensor positioned so as to be able to measure the position and posture of the tip of the linear object grasped by the wrist unit.

[0007] With this configuration, the tip of a linear object can be automatically inserted into a target hole or automatically connected to a target connection part without using a vertical articulated robot.

[0008] Preferably, the target is a hole, and the linear object moving device is a device for moving the linear object and inserting the tip of the linear object into the hole.

[0009] Alternatively, preferably, the linear object has a connecting portion at its tip, the target is a connected portion to which the connecting portion is connected, and the linear object moving device is a device for connecting the connecting portion to the connected portion. In this case, more preferably, the linear object that the linear object moving device targets is a lead wire, the connecting portion is a connector, and the connected portion is a mating connector that pairs with the connector.

[0010] Preferably, in any of the linear object moving devices described above, the three-dimensional sensor is a stereo camera.

[0011] The linear object moving method of the present invention is a method for inserting or connecting the tip of a linear object to a target, and includes the steps of: grasping the linear object with a three-axis rotating wrist unit attached to a three-axis Cartesian robot; an attitude adjustment step of operating a rotary joint of the wrist unit based on the attitude of the tip of the linear object measured by a three-dimensional sensor to match the attitude of the tip of the linear object with the attitude of the target; and a position adjustment step of operating the Cartesian robot based on the position of the tip of the linear object measured by the three-dimensional sensor to make the tip of the linear object coaxial with the target.

[0012] Preferably, the linear object moving method includes, after the position adjustment step, a confirmation step of measuring the position and attitude of the tip of the linear object using the three-dimensional sensor to confirm whether the attitude of the tip of the linear object matches that of the target and whether the tip of the linear object and the target are coaxial; if it is found in the confirmation step that the attitude of the tip of the linear object does not match that of the target or that the tip of the linear object and the target are not coaxial, the attitude adjustment step and the position adjustment step are repeated.

[0013] Another method of moving a linear object of the present invention is a method of inserting or connecting the tip of a linear object into a target, and includes a step of grasping the linear object with a three-axis rotating wrist unit attached to a three-axis Cartesian robot, an attitude adjustment operation of operating a rotary joint of the wrist unit to bring the attitude of the tip of the linear object closer to the attitude of the target based on the attitude of the tip of the linear object measured by a three-dimensional sensor, and a position adjustment operation of operating the Cartesian robot to bring the tip of the linear object closer to the coaxial position with the target based on the position of the tip of the linear object measured by the three-dimensional sensor, and a position adjustment step of repeating these steps until the attitudes of the tip of the linear object and the target match and the tip of the linear object and the target are coaxial.

[0014] Preferably, in any of the above linear object moving methods, the target is a hole, and the linear object moving method is a method for inserting the tip of the linear object into the hole.

[0015] Alternatively, preferably, in any of the above-mentioned linear object moving methods, the linear object has a connecting portion at its tip, the target is a connected portion to which the connecting portion is connected, and the linear object moving method is a method for connecting the connecting portion to the connected portion. In this case, more preferably, the linear object is a lead wire, the connecting portion is a connector, and the connected portion is a mating connector that mates with the connector.

[0016] In addition, preferably, in any of the above linear object movement methods, the three-dimensional sensor is a stereo camera. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to the linear object moving device or linear object moving method of the present invention, the device can be made smaller at lower cost without using a vertical articulated robot, and the tip of a linear object can be automatically inserted into a target hole or automatically connected to a target connection part. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1]1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a linear object moving device according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating examples of a linear object, a connecting portion, and a connected portion. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the wrist unit. [Figure 4] 1A is an overall flow diagram of the linear object moving method of the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a flow diagram of step S2. [Figure 5] 1A to 1C are diagrams for explaining a linear object moving method according to a first embodiment. [Figure 6] 10A is an overall flow diagram of a linear object moving method according to a second embodiment, and FIG. 10B is a flow diagram of step S22. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] A linear object moving device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. In this embodiment, a case where the tip of a linear object is connected to a target will be described by taking as an example the case where a connector at the tip of a lead wire is connected to a mating connector.

[0020] 1, a linear object moving device 10 has a three-axis Cartesian robot 20, a three-axis rotating wrist unit 30 attached to the Cartesian robot 20 and equipped with a gripper 34 capable of gripping a lead wire (linear object) 50, and a stereo camera (three-dimensional sensor) 40 that measures the position and orientation of a connector (connecting portion) 52 at the tip of the lead wire 50 gripped by the wrist unit 30. With this device, the lead wire 50 can be gripped by the gripper 34 provided on the wrist unit 30, and the connector 52 can be connected to a mating connector (connected portion) 60.

[0021] Referring to FIG. 2, the lead wire 50 comprises a lead wire body 51 and a hard connector 52 attached to the tip of the lead wire body. A lead wire may have multiple lead wire bodies connected to a single connector. The lead wire body 51 is a flexible or easily deformable, weak, thin wire. The diameter of the lead wire body is preferably 0.2 to 5.0 mm, more preferably 0.5 to 3.0 mm. This reduces the weight capacity of the Cartesian robot 20 and the wrist unit 30, enabling the linear object movement device 10 to be manufactured at lower cost. The connector 52 is a component for connecting to a mating connector 60, and includes those called plugs, jacks, contact pins, receptacles, housings, pin terminals, terminals, crimp terminals, metal terminals, tabs, sockets, couplers, and the like, regardless of whether they are male or female.

[0022] The linear object that the linear object moving device 10 targets is not limited to the lead wire exemplified in this embodiment, but may be various wires, optical fibers, resin tubes, etc. Furthermore, the linear object is not limited to one with a connector at the tip, but the tip of the linear object body may be processed to form a connection part or the like.

[0023] The posture of the connector 52 can be expressed by a set of three angles. For example, the posture of the connector 52 can be expressed by a set of angles relative to each axis (X, Y, Z in FIG. 1) of a coordinate system based on the Cartesian robot 20, with the central axis A1 of the connector 52 being the z1 axis and Cartesian coordinate axes x1, y1, and z1. In FIG. 2, the central axis A1 is the z1 axis, and the y1 axis is taken in the direction of the long side of a cross section of the connector perpendicular to the z1 axis. Alternatively, the posture of the connector 52 can also be expressed by the direction of the central axis A1 and the angle of rotation of the connector about the central axis A1. The angle of rotation can be, for example, the inclination of the y1 axis in FIG. 2 from the horizontal.

[0024] Similarly, the posture of the mating connector 60 can be represented by a set of angles of the Cartesian coordinate axes x2, y2, and z2, with the central axis A2 of the mating connector 60 as the z2 axis, relative to the X, Y, and Z axes in Figure 1. Alternatively, the posture of the mating connector 60 can be represented by the direction of the central axis A2 and the rotation angle of the mating connector around the central axis A2.

[0025] To connect connector 52 to mating connector 60, the connector is inserted into the mating connector by moving it straight toward the mating connector while the connector and mating connector are aligned and coaxial. The alignment of the connector and mating connector means that the above three angles of both connectors are aligned, or that the central axes A1 and A2 of both connectors are parallel and the angles of rotation around the central axes are aligned. The coaxial alignment of the connector and mating connector means that the central axis A1 of connector 52 and the central axis A2 of mating connector 60 are aligned.

[0026] The positions of the connector 52 and the mating connector 60 can be expressed by the three-dimensional coordinates of appropriately determined representative points. There are no particular restrictions on how to determine the representative points, but it is preferable to take the representative point of the connector on the central axis A1 and the representative point of the mating connector on the central axis A2, as this simplifies the control of the Cartesian robot 20.

[0027] Returning to FIG. 1, the Cartesian robot 20 is a robot in which three single-axis actuators are orthogonalized to enable three-dimensional movement. The type and structure of the Cartesian robot are not particularly limited. The Cartesian robot 20 illustrated in FIG. 1 has the following structure: The first Z-axis actuator 21 comprises a rail extending in the Z-axis direction and a slider (not shown) that moves linearly along the rail. The second Y-axis actuator 22 is fixed to the slider of the first actuator and comprises a rail extending in the Y-axis direction and a slider (not shown) that moves linearly along the rail. The third X-axis actuator 23 is an extendable cylinder fixed to the slider of the second actuator 22. A wrist unit 30 is fixed to a support portion 25 at the tip of a piston rod 24 of the third actuator 23.

[0028] Referring to FIG. 3 , the wrist unit 30 includes three rotary joints 31, 32, and 33 and a grip 34. The first rotary joint 31 is fixed to the support 25 of the third actuator 23, and an L-shaped first link member 36 is fixed to the opposite side of the support 25. A second rotary joint 32 is fixed to the first link member 36 so that its rotation axis is perpendicular to that of the first rotary joint 31. An L-shaped second link member 37 is fixed to the second rotary joint 32 on the opposite side of the first link member 36. A third rotary joint 33 is fixed to the second link member 37 so that its rotation axis is perpendicular to that of the second rotary joint 32, and a grip 34 is removably fixed to the opposite side of the third rotary joint from the second link member 37. The grip 34 has a pair of fingers 35, 35 that can grip a lead wire 50. The posture of the grip part 34 can be freely changed in three dimensions by rotating the first to third rotary joints 31 to 33. The structure of the wrist unit 30 is not limited to that shown in Fig. 3, as long as the posture of the grip part 34 can be freely changed in three dimensions by three rotary joints.

[0029] Returning to Figure 1, the stereo camera 40 is a three-dimensional sensor that measures the position and orientation of the tip of the lead wire 50 held by the wrist unit 30, i.e., the connector 52, in three dimensions. The three-dimensional sensor is not limited to a stereo camera, as long as it can measure the position and orientation of the connector. Examples of three-dimensional sensors other than a stereo camera include laser displacement meters. When a connector is measured using a three-dimensional sensor such as a stereo camera, the position and orientation of the connector can usually be obtained simultaneously, so the required information on the position and orientation can be used from the measurement results.

[0030] Next, a first embodiment of a linear object moving method of the present invention will be described with reference to the flow chart of Fig. 4. The linear object moving method of this embodiment is carried out using the linear object moving device 10 described above.

[0031] In the method for moving a linear object of this embodiment, roughly speaking, the lead wire 50 is grasped by the wrist unit 30, the attitude of the connector 52 is adjusted while being checked by the stereo camera 40, the position of the connector is adjusted, and the lead wire 50 is connected. Each step will be described in detail below.

[0032] (S1: Lead wire gripping process) The wrist unit 30 grips the lead wire 50 with a pair of fingers 35, 35 provided on the gripping portion 34 (FIG. 5A). Unlike Patent Documents 1 to 3, the lead wire 50 may be gripped by the lead wire main body 51 or by the connector 52. When the lead wire main body 51 is gripped, the tip of the lead wire will be bent beyond the gripped portion. This is because if the lead wire main body is weak, the tip will sag due to its weight, and if the lead wire main body is bent, the bend will cause it to be irregularly bent.

[0033] The method of supplying the lead wire 50 to the wrist unit 30 is not particularly limited. For example, another robot (not shown) may hand the lead wire to the gripper 34. Alternatively, although the wrist unit 30 is held facing upward in FIG. 1 to grip the lead wire 50, the third actuator 23 may be installed upside down, and the wrist unit 30 may grip the lead wire placed on a supply table or the like from above. In this case, the lead wire may be supplied to a predetermined position and gripped by the wrist unit, or if the supply position of the lead wire is not constant, the position of the lead wire may be measured by the stereo camera 40 or a separate sensor or the like and then gripped by the wrist unit.

[0034] (S2: Connector posture adjustment process) In this process, the stereo camera 40 measures the posture of the connector 52, and the wrist unit 30 operates to adjust the posture of the connector so that it approaches the posture of the mating connector 60, thereby making the posture of the connector match the posture of the mating connector (Figure 5B).

[0035] (S2a: Connector posture measurement) The stereo camera 40 measures the connector 52 of the lead wire 50 held by the wrist unit 30 to obtain the connector posture. When measuring the connector, for example, the lead wire may be moved to a position where the connector can be easily measured. Preferably, the connector is moved to the vicinity of the mating connector 60 before measurement. For example, it is preferable to set a connector posture measurement position near the mating connector in advance, and then move the connector to that position to perform measurement. This is because the connector's movement distance is shortened in the connector position adjustment step (S3) described below, and the connector's posture is less likely to change during movement.

[0036] If the position and orientation of the mating connector 60 are known in advance, then that known information can be used. If the position and orientation of the mating connector are not constant for each connection operation and cannot be known in advance, then the mating connector can be measured using the stereo camera 40 or other measuring device.

[0037] (S2b: Connector posture adjustment operation) The rotary joints 31 to 33 of the wrist unit 30 are operated to bring the posture of the connector 52 closer to that of the mating connector 60. The amount of rotation of each rotary joint and the resulting direction and extent of change in the posture of the connector can be roughly determined by preliminary experiments and calculations.

[0038] (S2c: Determine whether the target posture has been reached) The posture of the connector 52 is measured by the stereo camera 40 to determine whether the connector is in the target posture, i.e., whether it matches the posture of the mating connector. If the connector has not reached the target posture, the connector posture adjustment operation (S2b) is repeated. As the connector posture adjustment operation (S2b) and posture determination (S2c) are repeated, the difference between the connector posture and the target posture gradually decreases. If the connector has reached the target posture, the connector posture adjustment process (S2) is completed.

[0039] (S3: Connector position adjustment process) Based on the position of connector 52 measured by stereo camera 40, Cartesian robot 20 is operated to adjust the position of connector 52 to a target position where connector 52 is coaxial with mating connector 60 (FIG. 5C). The connector position may be measured again, but as described above, when a connector is measured, the connector position and orientation can usually be obtained simultaneously, so if the connector position measured the last time it was determined whether the connector has reached the target orientation (S2c) can be used, there is no need to measure the connector position again.

[0040] The connector 52 can be translated by operating the actuators 21 to 23 of the Cartesian robot 20. Since this connector position adjustment process only involves translating the connector, the required movement amount of each actuator 21 to 23 can be easily determined from the current position of the connector and the target movement position. Preferably, the target movement position is set to a position immediately before the start of insertion into the mating connector. The immediately preceding position is, for example, a position where the distance between the connector and the mating connector is 1 to 10 mm.

[0041] (S4: Confirmation process) The stereo camera 40 acquires the position and posture of the connector 52, and it is confirmed that the postures of the connector and the mating connector 60 match and that the connector and the mating connector are coaxial. In the connector position adjustment step (S3), the wrist unit 30 and the lead wire 50 held by the wrist unit are moved parallel together, so the posture of the connector 52 does not usually change before and after the connector position adjustment step.

[0042] If it is confirmed in the confirmation step that the connector 52 and the mating connector 60 are in the same orientation and are coaxial, the process proceeds to the next connection step (S5).

[0043] If the confirmation step determines that the orientations of connector 52 and mating connector 60 do not match, or that the connector and mating connector are not coaxial, the connector orientation adjustment step (S2) and connector position adjustment step (S3) are repeated. This situation occurs when the orientation of the connector changes during translation in the connector position adjustment step for some reason. When the orientation of the connector is corrected in the connector orientation adjustment step (S2), the position of the connector also changes due to the operation of the rotary joint of the wrist unit 30, so the position of the connector is corrected again in the connector position adjustment step (S3).

[0044] (S5: Lead wire connection process) The Cartesian robot 20 is operated to move the connector 52 straight toward the mating connector 60, and the connector is inserted into the mating connector to connect. This completes the lead wire connection process.

[0045] Next, a second embodiment of a linear object moving method of the present invention will be described with reference to the flow of Fig. 6. The linear object moving method of this embodiment is carried out using the linear object moving device 10 described above.

[0046] In the first embodiment, the posture of connector 52 is adjusted to match the posture of mating connector 60, and then the position of connector 52 is adjusted, whereas in this embodiment, both the posture and position of the connector are adjusted little by little to approach the target. The following mainly describes the differences from the first embodiment.

[0047] (S1: Lead wire gripping process) The lead wire holding step (S1) is the same as in the first embodiment (FIG. 5A).

[0048] (S22: Connector position and orientation adjustment process) In this process, the stereo camera 40 measures the position and posture of the connector 52, the wrist unit 30 operates to adjust the posture of the connector so that it approaches the posture of the mating connector 60, and the Cartesian robot 20 operates to adjust the position so that the central axis A1 of the connector approaches the central axis A2 of the mating connector. By repeating these steps, the posture of the connector is made to match the posture of the mating connector, and the connector and the mating connector are made coaxial (Figure 5C).

[0049] (S22a: Connector position and orientation measurement) The stereo camera 40 measures the connector 52 of the lead wire 50 held by the wrist unit 30 to obtain the position and orientation of the connector. As in step S2a of the first embodiment, the lead wire may be moved when measuring the connector.

[0050] (S22b: Connector posture adjustment operation) The rotational joints 31 to 33 of the wrist unit 30 are actuated to bring the attitude of the connector 52 closer to the attitude of the mating connector 60.

[0051] (S22c: Connector position adjustment operation) The Cartesian robot 20 is operated to translate the connector 52 so that the central axis A1 of the connector approaches the central axis A2 of the mating connector 60.

[0052] (S22d: Determine whether the target position and orientation has been reached) The position and attitude of the connector 52 are measured by the stereo camera 40 to determine whether the connector has reached the movement target position and target attitude, i.e., whether the attitudes of the connector and the mating connector 60 match and the connector and the mating connector are coaxial. As in the first embodiment, the movement target position of the connector is preferably set immediately before the mating connector. If the connector has not reached the target attitude, the connector attitude adjustment operation (S22b) and the connector position adjustment operation (S22c) are repeated. As the connector attitude adjustment operation (S22b), connector position adjustment operation (S22c), and determination (S22d) are repeated, the difference between the connector position and attitude and the movement target position and target attitude gradually decreases. If the connector has reached the movement target position and target attitude, the connector position and attitude adjustment process (S22) is completed.

[0053] In the position and posture adjustment process of this embodiment, the connector posture adjustment operation (S22b) and the connector position adjustment operation (S22c) were performed based on the position and posture of the connector measured in process S22a, but the current position of the connector may be measured again after the connector posture adjustment operation.

[0054] Furthermore, the order of the connector attitude adjustment operation (S22b) and the connector position adjustment operation (S22c) may be reversed.

[0055] (S5: Lead wire connection process) The lead wire connecting step (S5) is the same as in the first embodiment. This completes the lead wire connecting operation.

[0056] According to each embodiment of the linear object moving device and linear object moving method described above, the lead wire 50 can be connected without using a vertical articulated robot. This reduces equipment costs. As a secondary effect, the problem of singular points that occurs when using a vertical articulated robot does not occur with the linear object moving device of this embodiment.

[0057] Here, as a modification of the above embodiment, the insertion of the tip of a linear object into a hole using the linear object moving device 10 and linear object moving method will be described. Examples of such insertion operations include inserting the tip of a linear object into a hole of an inspection device for inspection, setting it in a hole of a processing device for some processing, inserting a lead wire into a connector, inserting a lead wire into a hole in a board, and inserting a lead wire into a terminal. The tip of the linear object may be a connector as in the above embodiment, or the tip of the linear object itself may be processed. As in the case of the mating connector (FIG. 2), the orientation of the hole can be expressed by a set of angles of the orthogonal coordinate axes x2, y2, and z2, with the center axis of the hole as the z2 axis, relative to the X, Y, and Z axes in FIG. 1, or by the orientation of the center axis of the hole and the rotation angle of the cross-sectional shape of the hole around the center axis. The linear object moving method proceeds according to the flow shown in FIG. 4 or 6. In the final step (S5), instead of connecting the linear object, the tip of the linear object is moved straight toward the target hole and inserted into the hole.

[0058] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and its modifications, and various other modifications are possible within the scope of the technical concept thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 10 Linear object moving device 20 Cartesian robot 21 First actuator 22 Second actuator 23 Third Actuator 24 Piston rod 25 Support part 30 Wrist Unit 31 First rotational joint 32 Second rotational joint 33 Third rotational joint 34 Gripping part 35 fingers 36 First link member 37 Second link member 40 Stereo camera (3D sensor) 50 Lead wire (linear object) 51 Lead wire body 52 Connector (tip of a linear object, connection part) 60 Mating connector (target, connected part) A1 Connector central axis A2 Central axis of the mating connector

Claims

1. A device for inserting or connecting the tip of a linear object to a target, A three-axis Cartesian robot, a three-axis rotating wrist unit attached to the Cartesian robot and equipped with a gripping portion capable of gripping the linear object; a three-dimensional sensor arranged to be able to measure the position and orientation of the tip of the linear object grasped by the wrist unit; A linear object moving device having the same.

2. the target is a hole; the linear object moving device is a device for moving the linear object and inserting the tip of the linear object into the hole; The linear object moving device according to claim 1 .

3. The linear object has a connecting portion at a tip thereof, the target is a connected part to which the connecting part is connected, The linear object moving device is a device for connecting the connecting portion to the connected portion. The linear object moving device according to claim 1 .

4. The linear object is a lead wire, the connecting portion is a connector, and the connected portion is a mating connector that is paired with the connector. The linear object moving device according to claim 3.

5. The three-dimensional sensor is a stereo camera. The linear object moving device according to claim 1 .

6. A method for inserting or connecting a tip of a linear object to a target, comprising: gripping the linear object with a three-axis rotating wrist unit attached to a three-axis Cartesian robot; an attitude adjustment step of operating a rotary joint of the wrist unit based on the attitude of the tip of the linear object measured by a three-dimensional sensor to make the attitude of the tip of the linear object coincide with the target attitude; a position adjustment step of operating the Cartesian robot based on the position of the tip of the linear object measured by the three-dimensional sensor to make the tip of the linear object coaxial with the target; A linear object moving method comprising the steps of:

7. a confirmation step of measuring the position and orientation of the tip of the linear object by the three-dimensional sensor after the position adjustment step, and confirming whether the orientation of the tip of the linear object and the orientation of the target coincide with each other and whether the tip of the linear object and the target are coaxial; If it is found in the confirmation step that the attitude of the tip of the linear object does not match that of the target, or that the tip of the linear object and the target are not coaxial, the attitude adjustment step and the position adjustment step are repeated. The linear object moving method according to claim 6.

8. A method for inserting or connecting a tip of a linear object to a target, comprising: gripping the linear object with a three-axis rotating wrist unit attached to a three-axis Cartesian robot; a position and attitude adjustment step in which an attitude adjustment operation is performed to operate the rotary joint of the wrist unit to bring the attitude of the tip of the linear object closer to the target attitude based on the attitude of the tip of the linear object measured by the three-dimensional sensor, and a position adjustment operation is performed to operate the Cartesian robot to bring the tip of the linear object closer to the same axis as the target based on the position of the tip of the linear object measured by the three-dimensional sensor, and these steps are repeated until the attitudes of the tip of the linear object and the target match and the tip of the linear object and the target are coaxial; A linear object moving method comprising the steps of:

9. the target is a hole; the linear object moving method is a method for inserting the tip of the linear object into the hole; A linear object moving method according to any one of claims 6 to 8.

10. The linear object has a connecting portion at a tip thereof, the target is a connected part to which the connecting part is connected, the linear object moving method is a method for connecting the connecting portion to the connected portion, A linear object moving method according to any one of claims 6 to 8.

11. The linear object is a lead wire, the connecting portion is a connector, and the connected portion is a mating connector that is paired with the connector. The linear object moving method according to claim 10.

Citation Information

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