robot

Abstract

A robot (1) provided with: a forearm (6); a wrist (7) that has a proximal end coupled to the forearm (6) so as to be rotatable around a first axis (A) and a distal end on which work tools (100, 150) are mounted; a flexible conduit (8) that is arranged along the first axis (A) from the forearm (6) to the distal end of the wrist (7) and has an opening on both ends; and a lead-in striatum (4) that is arranged to pass through the inside of the conduit (8) in the axial direction of the conduit (8) and is extractable at least from the opening of the conduit (8) on the forearm (6) side, wherein both ends of the lead-in striatum (4) are detachably fixed to positions in which the ends can be handled from the outside of the conduit (8).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to robots. [Background technology]

[0002] A robot is known in which a plurality of work tools are attached to the tip of a wrist whose base end is connected to a forearm so as to be rotatable about a first axis (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this robot, a flexible first conduit and a flexible second conduit disposed within the first conduit are disposed along the first axis from the forearm to the tip of the wrist. A first umbilical cord for one work tool is wired within the second conduit, and a second umbilical cord for another work tool is wired in the space between the first conduit and the second conduit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-185603 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Not all of the work tools are attached to the robot when it is manufactured, but may be attached by the user after the robot is delivered to the user. For example, if the first wire body is wired when the robot is manufactured and the second wire body is wired at the user's site, the user must perform the difficult task of wiring the second wire body in a narrow gap between the first conduit and the second conduit.

[0005] In some cases, it is necessary to remove the work tool, the first wiring, and the conduit that were attached during the manufacture of the robot before wiring the second umbilical cord, which is a large-scale task. Therefore, it is desired to be able to easily wire the umbilical cord after installation of the robot at the user's site without the need for large-scale tasks. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure includes a forearm, a wrist rotatably connected to the forearm around a first axis at a base end and having a work tool attached to a tip end, a flexible conduit arranged along the first axis from the forearm to the tip of the wrist and having openings at both ends, and a retractable umbilical cord arranged to pass through the inside of the conduit in the axial direction and be removable from the opening at least on the forearm side of the conduit, The lead-in wire includes a wire body and a connecting member capable of connecting an end of a post-installation wire to be wired in the conduit to an end of the wire body on the working tool side, The robot has both ends of a lead-in wire removably fixed to positions that can be handled from outside the conduit. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a forearm and wrist of a robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of a pulling rope provided in the robot of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which a second umbilical cord is connected to the pulling rope of FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the flexible conduit, the first filament, and the retraction rope of the robot of FIG. 1. [Diagram 5] 1. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a wiring operation of a second wire body in the robot of FIG. [Figure 6] 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a second filament is retracted to a midway position in a conduit in the robot of FIG. [Figure 7] 1. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which a second line wired inside a conduit is connected to a sensor in the robot of FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a modified example of the robot of FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the pulling rope of FIG. 2. [Figure 10]FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which an end of a second filament is covered by the connecting member of the pulling rope of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] A robot 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1, the robot 1 according to this embodiment includes a robot body 2, and a work tool 100 and a work tool control device 200 attached to the robot body 2. The robot 1 also includes a first line body (line body) 3 that connects the work tool 100 and the work tool control device 200, and a retracting rope (retracting line body) 4.

[0009] The robot body 2 is equipped with a forearm 6 supported at the tip of the upper arm 5 so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis P, a wrist 7 supported on the forearm 6 so as to be rotatable around a first axis A, and a flexible conduit 8 arranged along the first axis A from the rear of the forearm 6 to the tip of the wrist 7. Wrist 7 comprises a first wrist element 9 that can be rotated about a first axis A, a second wrist element 10 that can be rotated about a second axis B that is perpendicular to the first axis A, and a third wrist element 11 that can be rotated about a third axis C that is perpendicular to the second axis B. Figure 1 shows a state in which the first axis A and the third axis C are arranged on a straight line.

[0010] The forearm 6, the first wrist element 9, the second wrist element 10 and the third wrist element 11 are provided with a through passage 12 near the first axis A, which runs along the first axis A from the rear of the forearm 6 to the front of the third wrist element 11. The flexible conduit 8 is, for example, a metal coil tube or a resin-molded tubular member, and can be easily bent. The conduit 8 is housed in a through-path 12 that passes from the rear of the forearm 6 to the front of the third wrist element 11.

[0011] The work tool 100 is, for example, a welding torch, and is fixed to a flange surface at the tip of the third wrist element 11. The work tool control device 200 is a wire feeder that controls the feeding of wire to the welding torch 100, and is fixed to the rear of the forearm 6.

[0012] The first umbilical member 3 is a linear member guided through a conduit 8 from a wire feeder 200 at the rear of the forearm 6 to a welding torch 100 at the tip of the wrist 7. The first umbilical member 3 includes a gas hose for supplying assist gas, a wire conduit for supplying welding wire, a power supply cable for supplying power to the welding torch 100, and the like.

[0013] First filament 3 has a cross-sectional area sufficiently smaller than that of conduit 8, is disposed penetrating conduit 8 in the longitudinal direction, and is connected to welding torch 100 and wire feeder 200 at positions protruding from openings at both ends of conduit 8. A gap large enough to accommodate second filament (post-attachment filament) 13 (described later) is formed between the inner surface of conduit 8 and the outer surface of first filament 3.

[0014] The retraction rope 4 is made of a flexible material and includes a rope body (filament body) 14 made of a wire having an outer diameter sufficiently smaller than that of the second filar body 13 described later, and a connecting member 15 attached to one end of the rope body 14. The rope body 14 is made of, for example, a single-core wire having a diameter of 2 mm or less.

[0015] 2, the connecting member 15 has at one end an opening (accommodating opening) 15a capable of accommodating the end of the second filament 13, and at the other end an attachment part 16 that is attached to the rope body 14. The connecting member 15 is made of a flexible material such as resin, and is tapered from the opening 15a toward the attachment part 16.

[0016] 3, the connecting member 15 can be contracted radially inward by tightening it from the radially outward with a nylon band 17 or the like with the end of the second filament 13 housed within the opening 15a. This allows the second filament 13 and the pulling rope 4 to be easily connected with one end of the second filament 13 covered by the connecting member 15.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 4, the pull-in rope 4 is disposed in the gap between the inner surface of the conduit 8 and the outer surface of the first filament 3, penetrating the conduit 8 in the longitudinal direction. Then, as shown in Fig. 1, the pull-in rope 4 is removably fixed at both ends to the first filament 3, the welding torch 100, or the wire feeder 200, respectively, by, for example, nylon bands 18, at positions pulled out to the outside from the openings at both ends of the conduit 8.

[0018] 1, the connecting member 15 attached to one end of the pull-in rope 4 is fixed to the welding torch 100 by a nylon band 18. The other end of the pull-in rope 4 has a sufficient length of excess length extending outward from the opening of the conduit 8, and is fixed to the first wire body 3 by the nylon band 18, and is stored in or removably fixed to the wire feeder 200 with the excess length wound around it.

[0019] The second umbilical member (retrofit umbilical member) 13 is, for example, a umbilical member connected to a sensor (work tool) 150 that detects the welding state of the welding torch 100. The second umbilical member 13 includes, for example, a cable for supplying power to the sensor 150 and transmitting a detection signal, and a pipe for supplying air for purging the sensor 150. The sensor 150 and the second umbilical member 13 are usually attached to the robot 1 after the robot 1 is installed at the user's site.

[0020] The operation of the robot 1 according to this embodiment configured as above will be described below. According to the robot 1 according to this embodiment, when the wrist 7 of the robot 1 moves, as each of the wrist elements 9, 10, 11 rotates, the movable conduit 8 is curved or twisted within the through-path 12 to follow the movement of each of the wrist elements 9, 10, 11. As the conduit 8 deforms, the first umbilical member 3 also deforms, but because space is secured within the conduit 8, the first umbilical member 3 is protected.

[0021] Furthermore, when the first filament 3 deforms, the pull-in rope 4 also deforms accordingly, but since the pull-in rope 4 has a sufficiently small diameter and a gap is secured between the conduit 8 and the first filament 3, there is no significant friction between the pull-in rope 4 and the first filament 3. Furthermore, the pull-in rope 4 is fixed outside the openings at both ends of the conduit 8, and the first filament 3 does not deform significantly at the fixed position of the pull-in rope 4 to the first filament 3. As a result, no significant force is applied to the first filament 3 even at the fixed position of the pull-in rope 4, and the first filament 3 is maintained in a sound state.

[0022] Next, the work of attaching sensor 150, which is another work tool, to the tip of robot 1 according to this embodiment and wiring second umbilical member 13 connected to sensor 150 inside conduit 8 will be described below. First, the nylon bands 18 that secure both ends of the retraction rope 4 are cut or otherwise released. Since both ends of the retraction rope 4 are secured outside the opening of the conduit 8, the securing nylon bands 18 can be easily accessed from the outside and cut or otherwise removed.

[0023] Next, as shown in Fig. 5, one end of the second wire body 13 to be wired is connected to the connection member 15 attached to one end of the pulling rope 4 on the welding torch 100 side. The second wire body 13 is attached to the connection member 15 by accommodating the end of the second wire body 13 in the opening 15a of the connection member 15 and tightening the nylon band 17 from the outside of the connection member 15, as shown in Fig. 3. The tightening force of the nylon band 17 causes the connection member 15 to contract radially inward, tightening the connection member 15 and the second wire body 13 together. As a result, one end of the second wire body 13 is connected to one end of the pulling rope 4.

[0024] In this state, the other end of the retraction rope 4 disposed at the rear of the forearm 6 is pulled in the length direction as shown in Fig. 6. Since the other end of the retraction rope 4 has an excess length, the worker can easily apply a pulling force to the retraction rope 4 by grabbing the excess length with his / her hand without using any tools.

[0025] As a result, the pulling rope 4 to which a pulling force has been applied moves toward the forearm 6 inside the conduit 8, and the second filament 13 connected to the connection member 15 on one end side is pulled into the conduit 8 from the opening on the tip side. Furthermore, by pulling the pulling rope 4, the connection member 15 on the tip side of the pulling rope 4 is pulled out from the opening on the rear side of the conduit 8, as shown in FIG. 7. This causes the second filament 13 to pass through the conduit 8. The second filament 13 that has passed through the conduit 8 has both ends removably fixed to the first filament 3, the welding torch 100, or the wire feeder 200 by nylon bands 19, respectively, at positions where it is pulled out to the outside from the openings on both ends of the conduit 8.

[0026] In this case, since connection member 15 covers one end of second filament 13, the worker can work without one end of second filament 13 getting caught inside conduit 8 from the start of pulling into conduit 8 to the end of removing from conduit 8. Furthermore, since connection member 15 is tapered toward pulling rope 4, it is possible to prevent connection member 15 itself from getting caught when pulling into conduit 8 and moving into conduit 8, and to move smoothly.

[0027] Therefore, there is an advantage that, simply by pulling the pulling rope 4 and pulling it out from within the conduit 8, one end of the second filament 13 can be smoothly pulled into the conduit 8 and passed smoothly through the conduit 8, thereby easily positioning the second filament 13 in a state in which it penetrates within the conduit 8. In other words, according to the robot 1 of this embodiment, after the robot 1 is installed at the user's site, it is not necessary to wire the second wire body 13 for the sensor 150, which is a work tool prepared by the user, inside the conduit 8 during the manufacture of the robot 1, and the user can wire the desired second wire body 13.

[0028] In addition, the wiring work for the second wire body 13 only requires connecting the pull-in rope 4 to the second wire body 13 and pulling out the pull-in rope 4 from the conduit 8, and can be easily performed even by an inexperienced user.

[0029] In this embodiment, the retraction rope 4 is fixed to the first filament 4, etc., by nylon bands 18 at positions exposed from the openings at both ends of the conduit 8. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 8, an adapter 20 may be attached between the flange surface of the third wrist element 11 and the work tool 100, 150. By providing the adapter 20 with an opening 20a through which the retraction rope 4 is pulled out radially outward from within the conduit 8, the retraction rope 4 pulled out from the opening 20a can be fixed to the work tool 100, 150, etc.

[0030] In addition, in this embodiment, the second umbilical member 13 connected to the sensor 150 is exemplified, but the second umbilical member 13 connected to any other work tool may be adopted. In addition, the pulling rope 4 is removably fixed to the first umbilical member 3 etc. by the nylon band 18, but it may be removably fixed by any other means such as a hook and loop fastener.

[0031] Also, the pulling rope 4 and the second filament 13 were connected by fastening the connecting member 15 and the second filament 13 together with a nylon band 17. Alternatively, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, the connecting member 15 may be configured as a tubular member attached so as to be movable in the length direction of the pulling rope 4, and the connecting part connecting the rope main body 14 and the second filament 13 may be covered with the connecting member 15.

[0032] In this case, the connection between the pulling rope 4 and the second filament 13 may be made by tying the rope body 14 to the second filament 13, or by fastening the rope body 14 and the second filament 13 with a nylon band 17. This prevents the nylon band 17 from being exposed to the outside of the connecting member 15, making it even easier to pull the second filament 13 into the conduit 8.

[0033] Furthermore, although a deformable resin member has been exemplified as the connecting member 15, it may be configured, for example, by a foldable bag-like member and fixed to the first filament 3 in a folded state. Furthermore, a metallic member capable of plastic deformation in the radial direction may be adopted as the connecting member 15, and the pulling rope 4 and the second filament 13 may be connected by radially crushing the connecting member 15 that houses the second filament 13 in the opening 15a.

[0034] In addition, although the present embodiment has been described with reference to an example in which a single pulling rope 4 is provided, a plurality of pulling ropes 4 may be provided. Alternatively, a single pulling rope 4 may be provided, and when second filament 13 is pulled into conduit 8, the pulling rope 4 may be pulled in together with other pulling ropes 4, so that the pulled-in pulling rope 4 can be used to pull in other second filaments 13.

[0035] In addition, in this embodiment, the welding torch 100 and the sensor 150 are exemplified as the work tools, but the present invention is not limited to this. Furthermore, the number of work tools is not limited to two. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1. Robot 3 First striatum (striatum) 4. Pull-in rope (pulling wire) 6. Forearm 7. Wrist 8 Conduit 13 Second striatum (posterior striatum) 14 Rope body (filament body) 15 Connection parts 15a Opening (accommodation opening) 16 Mounting part 100 Welding Torch (Work Tool) 150 Sensor (Work Tool) A 1st axis

Claims

1. The forearm and a wrist having a base end connected to the forearm so as to be rotatable about a first axis and a tip end to which a work tool is attached; a flexible conduit disposed along the first axis from the forearm to the tip of the wrist and having openings at both ends; a lead-in wire disposed inside the conduit in an axial direction of the conduit and capable of being drawn out from the opening of the conduit at least on the forearm side; the lead-in wire comprises a wire body and a connection member capable of connecting an end of a post-installation wire to be wired in the conduit to an end of the wire body on the working tool side, A robot in which both ends of the lead-in wire are removably fixed to positions that can be handled from outside the conduit.

2. 2. The robot according to claim 1, wherein both ends of the lead-in wire are fixed to the outside of the opening at both ends of the conduit.

3. The working tool is fixed to the tip of the wrist, 3. The robot according to claim 1, wherein a wire for the work tool is wired so as to pass through the inside of the conduit in the axial direction.

4. 4. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member has at one end an accommodation opening capable of accommodating an end of the post-attachment wire body, and at the other end an attachment portion that is attached to the wire body main body, and is tapered from the accommodation opening toward the attachment portion.

5. The robot according to claim 4 , wherein the connecting member is formed in a bag shape and made of a foldable material.

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