Adjustment devices and robots

Abstract

This is an adjustment device that adjusts the length of a filament (L2) that is wired along the longitudinal axis direction of an arm member (30), and includes: a main body that is rotatably arranged around a predetermined axis relative to the arm member (30) and can be fixed to the arm member (30) at two or more different angular positions around the axis; and a winding section (38) that is fixed to the main body and winds up an intermediate position in the longitudinal direction of the filament (L2) by a length corresponding to the rotation of the main body around the axis.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an adjustment device and a robot. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART A robot is known that includes a robot arm with a cable wired inside and a reel for adjusting the length of the cable (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2025-018821 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the robot described above, the reel is configured to rotate in conjunction with the movement of the robot arm in order to change the length of the cable according to the posture of the robot arm, so the length of the cable cannot be freely adjusted. Therefore, when performing maintenance on a reducer or the like to which the cable is connected, the cable must be detached from the reel to prevent excessive pulling on the cable, which makes the work complicated. Therefore, it is desirable to ensure that the cable routed along the arm has sufficient slack for the arm's operation while being able to easily adjust the length of that slack. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is an adjustment device that adjusts the length of a wire that is wired along the longitudinal axis direction of an arm member, and includes: a main body that is rotatably arranged around a predetermined axis relative to the arm member and that can be fixed to the arm member at two or more different angular positions around the axis; and a winding section that is fixed to the main body and winds up the wire at a midpoint along its length by a length that corresponds to the rotation of the main body around the axis. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the shape of a wire member wired within the first arm of the robot of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an adjustment device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the shape of a wire member wired within the first arm of the robot of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is a front view showing a first modified example of the adjusting device shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is a front view showing a second modified example of the adjusting device shown in FIG. 3. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a side view showing a third modified example of the adjusting device shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a fourth modified example of the adjusting device shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] A robot 100 and an adjustment device 35 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. A robot 100 according to this embodiment is, for example, a four-axis vertical articulated robot, as shown in FIG.

[0008] The robot 100 includes a base 10 placed on a horizontal installation surface such as a floor, and a rotating body 20 supported rotatably relative to the base 10 about a vertical first axis A. The robot 100 also includes a first arm 30 supported rotatably relative to the rotating body 20 about a horizontal second axis B, and a second arm 40 supported at the tip of the first arm 30 rotatably about a third axis C parallel to the second axis B. The robot 100 also includes a wrist unit 50 supported at the tip of the second arm 40 rotatably about an axis D parallel to the third axis C. The wrist unit 50 is a single-axis unit that rotates a mounting flange 50f at the tip about a fourth axis E. That is, the robot 100 has four joints.

[0009] The robot 100 also includes a drive link 61 that is supported for rotation about the second axis B relative to the rotating body 20, and a connecting link 62 that connects the drive link 61 to the second arm 40. In other words, the robot 100 includes a parallel four-bar link that is made up of the first arm 30, the second arm 40, the drive link 61, and the connecting link 62. Furthermore, the robot 100 includes a first link 41 supported at the tip of the first arm 30 so as to be rotatable about a third axis C, and a second link 51 supported at the tip of the second arm 40 so as to be rotatable about an axis D. The first link 41 and the second link 51 are connected by a connecting link 52, and the first link 41, the second link 51, the connecting link 52, and the second arm 40 form a parallel four-bar link.

[0010] The base 10 is a box-shaped member with a hollow space formed inside, and has a distribution board 11 attached to one side. One end of an external cable L1 extending from a power supply device and a control device (not shown) installed externally is connected to the distribution board 11. Meanwhile, an internal cable (wire) L2 is arranged within the base 10, one end of which is connected to the external cable L1 via the distribution board 11. A through-hole (not shown) that includes the first axis A and extends vertically is formed in the upper surface of the base 10. A reducer 12 having a hollow hole that connects to the through-hole formed in the upper surface of the base 10 is fixed between the base 10 and the rotating body 20.

[0011] The rotating body 20 is supported on the base 10 via the reducer 12 so as to be rotatable about the first axis A. A through-hole (not shown) connected to the hollow hole of the reducer 12 is formed in the bottom surface of the rotating body 20. As a result, the other end side of the internal cable L2 passes through the through-hole in the top surface of the base 10, the hollow hole in the reducer 12, and the through-hole in the bottom surface of the rotating body 20 and is pulled out upward. Further, a motor 22 for rotating a first arm 30 (described later) about a second axis B and a reducer 23 for reducing the rotational force of the motor 22 are attached to a side wall 21 of the rotating body 20. The motor 22 rotates a first arm 30 (described later) about a second axis B.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 2, the first arm 30 is a long hollow member with a hollow portion 31 therein. A base end of the first arm 30 is connected to an output shaft (not shown) of the reducer 23, whereby the first arm 30 is supported rotatably about the second axis B with respect to the rotating body 20. A through-hole (not shown) that connects the hollow portion 31 to the outside is provided at the base end of the first arm 30. As a result, a portion of the internal cable L2 drawn upward from the rotating body 20 branches off and is connected to the motor 22, and the remainder passes through the through-hole at the base end of the first arm 30, is drawn into the hollow portion 31, and extends toward the second arm 40.

[0013] 3, a circular through-hole 32 is formed on one side surface at a midpoint in the longitudinal direction of the first arm 30, connecting the hollow portion 31 with the outside. Four screw holes 33 are formed around the periphery of the through-hole 32 and are arranged at equal intervals (90° apart) in the circumferential direction. The through-hole 32 is closed by a main body 36 of a winding member (adjustment device) 35, which will be described later.

[0014] 3, the winding member 35 includes a main body 36 formed by punching out a metal flat plate into a circle having a diameter larger than the diameter of the through-hole 32. The winding member 35 also includes two cylindrical winding portions 38 that protrude outward from one surface of the main body 36 in the plate thickness direction. Four through-holes 37 that penetrate the main body 36 in the plate thickness direction are formed at positions corresponding to the screw holes 33 of the first arm 30.

[0015] The two winding portions 38 are disposed at positions on either side of the central axis of the main body 36 in the radial direction. Furthermore, both winding portions 38 are disposed so that the diameter of the cylindrical surface including the outer circumferential surfaces of both winding portions 38 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 32. In other words, with both winding portions 38 inserted into the through hole 32, the winding member 35 is guided rotatably around the central axis of the main body 36 by the contact between the outer circumferential surfaces of both winding portions 38 and the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 32.

[0016] 2, the in-flight cable L2 extending from the base end to the tip end within the first arm 30 is wound around the two winding portions 38 inserted into the hollow portion 31 at an intermediate position. Specifically, first, as shown in Fig. 4, the in-flight cable L2 is wound around both winding portions 38 in a generally S-shape. Thereafter, the winding member 35 is rotated clockwise by approximately 90° about the central axis of the main body 36 to align the four through holes 37 with the screw holes 33, thereby resulting in the in-flight cable L2 being wound around both winding portions 38 as shown in Fig. 2.

[0017] In this state, the bolts b that are inserted from the outside into the through-holes 37 of the main body 36 are fastened to the corresponding screw holes 33. That is, the winding member 35, which has wound up the in-flight cable L2 by a length corresponding to the rotation angle of both winding portions 38, is fixed to the first arm 30. As a result, an excess length necessary to allow movement of the first arm 30 relative to the rotating body 20 is ensured around the second axis B of the internal cable L2 within the hollow portion 31 of the first arm 30.

[0018] The operation of the robot 100 and the winding member (adjusting device) 35 according to this embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

[0019] First, when the robot 100 according to this embodiment is in operation, the winding member 35 is fixed in a position in which the internal cable L2 is wound around the winding portion 38, as shown in Fig. 2. In other words, the internal cable L2 has an optimal slack length required to allow rotation of the first arm 30 about the second axis B relative to the rotating body 20. As a result, even if the first arm 30 rotates significantly about the second axis B, the internal cable L2 will not be swung around significantly, and damage to the internal cable L2 due to contact with surrounding components can be prevented.

[0020] Next, for example, when performing maintenance work on the motor 22 of the robot 100, the worker removes the four bolts b that secure the winding member 35 to the first arm 30 from the first arm 30. Then, the worker grasps the main body 36 and rotates the main body 36 counterclockwise by 90°, following the guide formed by the contact between the outer peripheral surface of the winding portion 38 and the inner peripheral surface of the through-hole 32.

[0021] As a result, the in-board cable L2 that has been wound around the winding portion 38 is unwound, and as shown in FIG. In this state, bolts b are inserted from the outside into the four through holes 37 of the main body 36 and fastened to the corresponding screw holes 33. This makes it possible to maintain a state in which a larger slack length is secured in the portion of the in-flight cable L2 near the second axis B.

[0022] Therefore, even if the motor 22 to be maintained is disconnected from the reducer 23 and the motor 22 is pulled outward while the internal cable L2 remains connected, excessive pulling of the internal cable L2 can be avoided.

[0023] Thus, according to this embodiment, the length of the internal cable L2 inside the first arm 30 can be easily adjusted simply by removing the four bolts b from the outside of the first arm 30 and rotating the main body 36 by hand. In other words, the surplus length of the internal cable L2 when the robot 100 is operating can be set to an optimal length, and the surplus length can be extended during maintenance, facilitating maintenance work.

[0024] In this embodiment, the through holes 37 through which the bolts b for fixing the winding member 35 to the first arm 30 are inserted are arranged at equal intervals (90° intervals) in the circumferential direction so as to correspond to the screw holes 33. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 5 or 6, an elongated hole 37' may be formed in the main body 36 so as to extend along the circumference of a circle that passes through the centers of the four screw holes 33 when the winding part 38 is inserted into the through hole 32.

[0025] In this case, the take-up member 35 can be fixed to the first arm 30 at any angular position around the central axis of the main body 36 within the range where the elongated hole 37' and the screw hole 33 overlap. Therefore, the slack length of the internal cable L2 secured during operation and maintenance of the robot 100 can be more precisely adjusted and set to an optimal length.

[0026] Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, when adjusting the slack length of the in-flight cable L2, the worker manually grips and rotates the main body 36. Alternatively, the main body 36 may be provided with an operating unit that can be operated by the worker. For example, a screw hole (not shown) may be formed in the center of the main body 36, and during maintenance, the screw hole may be used to attach a handle 39 as shown in Fig. 6. This allows the worker to change the position of the main body 36 more easily, making maintenance work even easier.

[0027] In addition, in this embodiment, an example has been given of a case in which a single in-flight cable L2 in which multiple cables are bundled together by a sheath is wired, but multiple in-flight cables L2 may also be wired in parallel.

[0028] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the two winding portions 38 are each formed in a cylindrical shape, but the shape of the winding portions 38 is not limited to this. For example, as shown in Fig. 7, the winding member 35 may include a columnar winding portion 38' having a plurality of grooves 38d formed in the outer circumferential surface thereof, recessed in the radial direction. In this case, the in-flight cable L2 is wound along the inside of the grooves 38d, which effectively prevents the in-flight cable L2 from shifting in the axial direction.

[0029] 7, a disk-shaped stopper member 38s large enough to cover both ends may be fixed to the ends of the two winding portions 38. This prevents the in-flight cable L2 from falling off the winding portions 38, 38' because it hits the stopper member 38s even if the in-flight cable L2 wound around the winding portions 38, 38' is significantly misaligned in the axial direction.

[0030] Alternatively, the gap between the tips of the two reel portions 38 and the inner wall of the first arm 30 facing the tips may be set smaller than the diameter of the in-flight cable L2. In this case, the stopper member 38s can be omitted while maintaining the effect of preventing the in-flight cable L2 from falling off the reel portions 38, 38', as described above.

[0031] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the retraction section 38 may be replaced with a retraction section 38" having a curved surface with which the inboard cable L2 comes into contact, formed by bending a substantially rectangular metal flat plate in the width direction as shown in FIG. 8. That is, in this case, the retraction section 38" has a shape in which the outer peripheral surface that is not used for retracting the inboard cable L2 is omitted. Therefore, even if the diameter of the retraction section 38" is increased, the effect on the weight of the retraction member 35 can be kept small.

[0032] Therefore, when the in-flight cable L2 is a tube that allows gas or liquid to pass through and a large minimum bending radius must be ensured, the curvature of the outer surface of the winding portion 38'' can be increased while suppressing an increase in the weight of the winding member 35. Furthermore, since the winding portion 38'' is formed by bending a metal flat plate, the flat portion can be easily formed. This has the advantage that, as shown in FIG. 8, holes 38h for passing a band member (not shown) for fixing the in-flight cable L2 to the winding portion 38'' can be easily formed.

[0033] In addition, in this embodiment, the winding member 35 is provided with two winding portions 38, but the number of winding portions 38 can be any number as long as the in-flight cable L2 can be wound and pulled out.

[0034] Furthermore, although the present embodiment has exemplified a case in which the winding member 35 is fixed to the first arm 30, the fixing position of the winding member 35 is not limited to this. For example, if the second arm 40 has the same configuration as the first arm 30, the winding member 35 may be fixed to the side surface of the second arm 40, and the length of the in-flight cable L2 routed inside the second arm 40 may be adjusted.

[0035] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above, the present disclosure is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. Various additions, substitutions, modifications, partial deletions, etc. are possible to these embodiments without departing from the gist of the invention or the concept and spirit of the present invention derived from the content of the claims and their equivalents. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the order of each operation and the order of each process are shown as examples and are not limited to these.

[0036] The following additional notes are provided regarding the above-described embodiment and modifications. (Appendix 1) An adjustment device for adjusting the length of a wire wired along the longitudinal axis direction of an arm member, comprising: a main body that is rotatably arranged on the arm member about a predetermined axis and that can be fixed to the arm member at two or more different angular positions about the axis; and a winding section that is fixed to the main body and winds up the wire at a midpoint in the longitudinal direction by a length corresponding to the rotation of the main body about the axis. (Appendix 2) An adjustment device as described in Appendix 1, wherein the wire body is wired through a hollow portion provided in the arm member, the winding portion is placed in the hollow portion through a through hole provided in the arm member, and the main body is fixed to the arm member in a position that blocks the through hole from the outside. (Appendix 3) The adjustment device described in Appendix 2, wherein the main body is a flat member having an outer dimension larger than that of the through hole, and the winding section includes two columnar members arranged on both sides of the center point of one side of the main body in the plate thickness direction, with a gap larger than the diameter of the filament, and each extending from the main body along the plate thickness direction. (Appendix 4) An adjustment device as described in Appendix 3, wherein when the winding portion is inserted into the hollow portion, a portion of the outer surface of each of the columnar members contacts the inner surface of the through hole. (Appendix 5) 5. The adjustment device according to claim 3, wherein, when the main body is fixed to the arm member, a gap smaller than a diameter dimension of the filament is formed between the tip of the columnar member and the inner surface of the hollow portion of the arm member. (Appendix 6) 6. The adjustment device of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the main body is provided with a handle that accepts input of an external force that rotates the main body about the axis. (Appendix 7) A robot comprising the adjustment device according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 6 and the arm member. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 30 First arm (arm member) 31 Hollow part 32 Through hole 35 Winding member (adjustment device) 36 Main Unit 38 Winding section 39 Handle 40 Second arm (arm member) 100 robots L2 In-flight cable (wire)

Claims

1. An adjustment device for adjusting the length of a wire that is wired along the longitudinal axis direction of an arm member, a main body that is rotatably disposed about a predetermined axis relative to the arm member and that can be fixed to the arm member at two or more different angular positions about the axis; and a winding section fixed to the main body, which winds up the filament at a midpoint in the length direction by a length corresponding to the rotation of the main body about the axis.

2. The wire is routed through a hollow portion provided in the arm member, The adjustment device according to claim 1, wherein the winding portion is positioned within the hollow portion through a through hole provided in the arm member, and the main body is fixed in a position relative to the arm member that blocks the through hole from the outside.

3. the main body is a flat plate-like member having an outer dimension larger than that of the through hole, 3. The adjustment device according to claim 2, wherein the winding section comprises two columnar members arranged on both sides of the center point of one side of the main body in the thickness direction, with a gap larger than the diameter of the filament, and each extending from the main body along the thickness direction.

4. The adjusting device according to claim 3 , wherein a portion of an outer circumferential surface of each of the columnar members is in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the through hole when the take-up portion is inserted into the hollow portion.

5. 5. The adjustment device according to claim 3, wherein when the main body is fixed to the arm member, a gap smaller than a diameter dimension of the filament is formed between the tip of the columnar member and the inner surface of the hollow portion of the arm member.

6. The adjusting device according to claim 1 , wherein the main body is provided with a handle that receives an external force for rotating the main body about the axis.

7. A robot comprising the adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and the arm member.

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