Power Harness and Robot

Abstract

A power harness (1) comprising: a first connector (2) that can be connected to a power supply (140); a second connector (3) that can be connected to a power connector (131) provided to a single actuator (130); and a connection table (4) connecting the first connector (2) and second connector (3), wherein at least a portion of the connection cable (4) in the length direction is a movable region composed of a plurality of small diameter cables (5) disposed in parallel, and the sum of the allowable current values of all of the small diameter cables (5) satisfies the allowable current value of the connection cable (4).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a power harness and a robot. [Background technology]

[0002] A known harness has multiple cables that are wired to a movable part such as a sliding door of an automobile, and is provided with a flat section formed by arranging the cables in parallel. The flat section is thin and easily bendable, allowing the harness to be moved, bent, or wired into a flat space (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-179117 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Each cable used in the harness generally has a multi-core structure in which multiple core wires are twisted together and covered with an insulating sheath to improve flexibility. A power harness for supplying power to a single actuator that requires a large current uses a cable with a large number of core wires to improve the allowable current value.

[0005] The more core wires there are, the larger the cable's outer diameter and the larger the allowable bending radius. As a result, not only does the space required to accommodate the cable increase, but the space required to bend and move the cable also increases. In addition, if the outer diameter of only some of the power cables is larger than that of other signal cables or other power cables that are wired together, the difference in safety factor against bending will result in a difference in lifespan, which reduces maintainability. Therefore, even in the case of a power harness requiring a large current, it is desirable to prevent an increase in the accommodation space and the movable space and to improve the ease of maintenance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a power supply device including a first connector that can be connected to a power supply, a second connector that can be connected to a power connector provided on a single actuator, and a connection cable that connects the first connector and the second connector, and at least a portion of the connection cable in the longitudinal direction is provided with a power supply. To A movable area composed of multiple small diameter cables arranged in parallel and a region in which the small-diameter cables are bundled together in another portion in the longitudinal direction. The total allowable current value of all the small diameter cables in the power harness satisfies the allowable current value of the connection cable. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing a connection example of a power harness according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Diagram 2] 2 is a front view showing a state in which a carrier is attached to the power harness of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] This is a reference example showing a case where the power harness is a single connecting cable. [Diagram 5] 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an arrangement of small-diameter cables in the internal space of the carrier of FIG. 2. [Figure 6] 5 is a reference diagram showing an example of an internal space of the carrier in the case of FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 7] 3 is a front view showing a modified example of the power harness of FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] A power harness 1 and a robot 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The power harness 1 of this embodiment is a harness used, for example, in a robot 100 having a linear motion mechanism, and as shown in FIG. 1, includes a single first connector 2, a single second connector 3, and a connection cable 4 connecting the first connector 2 and the second connector 3.

[0009] The first connector 2 is fixed to a distribution board 111a provided on a base 111 of the robot 100, and can be electrically connected to a power source by connecting a power cable 141 from an externally placed power source 140. The second connector 3 can be connected to a power connector 131 of a motor (actuator) 130 provided in a mechanical part 120 moved by the linear motion mechanism 110.

[0010] The connection cable 4 includes a plurality of (e.g., three) small diameter cables 5 arranged in parallel. The small diameter cables 5 have approximately the same outer diameter dimension, and the sum of the allowable current values ​​of the small diameter cables 5 is equal to or greater than the allowable current value required for a single cable when the first connector 2 and the second connector 3 are connected by the single cable.

[0011] Next, a robot 100 equipped with the power harness 1 according to this embodiment will be described. 3, the robot 100 includes a linear motion mechanism 110 and a mechanical unit 120 having one or more axes that is moved linearly by the linear motion mechanism 110. The mechanical unit 120 includes a motor 130 fixed to a slider 112.

[0012] 3, the linear motion mechanism 110 includes a base 111, a slider 112 on which a mechanical unit 120 is mounted, a guide rail 113 that supports the slider 112 so as to be linearly movable in one direction relative to the base 111, and a driving force conversion mechanism 114 that is driven by a motor 116 and linearly moves the slider 112. The driving force conversion mechanism 114 is a mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the motor 116, such as a ball screw 115 (or rack and pinion), into linear motion.

[0013] 2, the power harness 1 according to this embodiment has a carrier X attached to a portion of the connection cable 4 in the longitudinal direction. To attach the power harness 1 according to this embodiment to the linear motion mechanism 110, the first connector 2 is fixed to the distribution board 111a of the base 111, and the second connector 3 is connected to the power connector 131 of the motor 130 of the mechanism section 120, as shown in FIG. 3. In addition, one end of the carrier X is fixed to the base 111, and the other end of the carrier X is fixed to the slider 112.

[0014] The carrier X is formed in a bendable chain shape, for example, by mounting a plurality of hollow frames rotatably about parallel axes. The carrier X has an internal space through which the connection cable 4 can pass, and by housing a portion of the connection cable 4 in the internal space in the longitudinal direction, the movement of the housed portion (movable area) of the connection cable 4 can be guided.

[0015] 3, the carrier X is bent into a U-shape and disposed between the base 111 and the slider 112, and when the slider 112 is moved linearly relative to the base 111, the carrier X moves the other end fixed to the slider 112 linearly while changing the curved position. As a result, the small diameter cable 5 in the movable region housed in the internal space is deformed while being guided by the carrier X.

[0016] Then, by connecting a power cable 141 connected to a power source 140 to the first connector 2 fixed to the distribution board 111a, power from the power source 140 is supplied to the motor 130 of the mechanism unit 120 mounted on the slider 112 through the power harness 1. This allows the mechanism unit 120 to operate at each position of the slider 112.

[0017] According to the power harness 1 of this embodiment, the power supplied to the first connector 2 is divided and transmitted to the three small diameter cables 5, and is supplied to the motor 130 of the mechanism unit 120 via the second connector 3. In particular, since the connection cable 4 is composed of three small diameter cables 5, as shown in Fig. 4, the bending radius R1 of the carrier X can be kept sufficiently small compared to the bending radius R0 in the case where one connection cable 150 having an allowable current value for three cables is used. As a result, there is an advantage that the space occupied by the carrier X inside the linear motion mechanism 110 can be reduced, and the linear motion mechanism 110 can be made smaller in size.

[0018] Furthermore, according to the power harness 1 of this embodiment, the first connector 2 and the second connector 3, which are originally connected by a single cable, are connected by three small diameter cables 5, thereby reducing the outer diameter dimension of the cables. As a result, as shown in Fig. 5, when the internal space of the carrier X is divided into a plurality of small spaces by partitions, the size of the small spaces through which each small diameter cable 5 (shown by hatching in the figure) passes can be kept small.

[0019] In addition to the power harness 1 that requires a large current, the carrier X also accommodates smaller diameter cables 5 or tubes etc. that are connected to the motor 130 etc. on the other axis of the mechanism unit 120. According to the power harness 1 of this embodiment, by employing multiple small diameter cables 5 instead of a single cable, the size of the small space in the carrier X that accommodates the small diameter cables 5 can be made close to the size of small spaces that accommodate other cables etc.

[0020] As a result, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, it may be possible to efficiently utilize the space within the internal space of the carrier X and reduce the width dimension W1 compared to the width dimension W0 of the carrier X when the connection cable 4 (shown by hatching in the figure) consists of a single cable. In addition, by making the outer diameter of the small-diameter cable 5 closer to that of the other cables, the lifespan against repeated bending can be set to the same level for all the cables, which has the advantage of reducing the maintenance cycle and costs.

[0021] In this embodiment, the first connector 2 and the second connector 3 of the power harness 1 are connected over the entire length by three small diameter cables 5. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 7, only the vicinity of the portion accommodated in the carrier X may be configured by three small diameter cables 5, and the other portions may be configured by one cable that combines the three small diameter cables 5.

[0022] This has the advantage that in the movable area formed by multiple small diameter cables 5, the bending radius can be reduced and the linear motion mechanism 110 can be made smaller, and in the area where the cables are combined into a single cable, handleability can be improved. In this embodiment, the power harness 1 may also include a connection cable 4 and a carrier X assembled to the connection cable 4. In this case, it is preferable that the number of small spaces of equal size obtained by dividing the internal space of the carrier X by partitions is greater than the number of small diameter cables 5. Another cable or tube having an outer diameter equal to that of the small diameter cable 5 can be passed through the small spaces other than the small spaces through which the small diameter cables 5 pass.

[0023] In addition, the robot 100 of this embodiment has been exemplified as having the linear motion mechanism 110. Alternatively, the robot 100 may include a first member and a second member supported so as to be movable relative to each other, the power harness 1, and one end of the carrier X may be fixed to the first member, and the other end of the carrier X may be fixed to the second member. In other words, the robot 100 is not limited to a case in which the first member and the second member are movable linearly, and may be rotatable relative to each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 1 Power harness 2 First Connector 3 Second Connector 4 Connection cable 5 Small diameter cable 100 Robots 130 Motor (actuator) 131 Power Connector X-Career

Claims

1. a first connector connectable to a power source; a second connector connectable to a power connector provided on the single actuator; a connection cable that connects the first connector and the second connector, a movable region formed of a plurality of small diameter cables arranged in parallel in at least a portion of the length of the connection cable, and a region in which the small diameter cables are bundled together in another portion of the length; A power harness in which the sum of the allowable current values ​​of all the small diameter cables satisfies the allowable current value of the connection cable.

2. a carrier surrounding at least a portion of the movable region and guiding the movement of the movable region; 2. The power harness according to claim 1, wherein the interior space of said carrier is divided into a plurality of small spaces through which each of said small diameter cables passes along the length of said carrier.

3. 3. The power harness according to claim 2, wherein the small spaces have the same size, and the number of the small spaces is greater than the number of the small cables.

4. a first member and a second member supported so as to be movable relative to each other; The power harness according to claim 2 or 3, The robot, wherein one end of the carrier is fixed to the first member and the other end of the carrier is fixed to the second member.

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