Magnetic tool changer

Abstract

A magnetic tool changer according to an embodiment of the present invention may comprise: a body which is coupled to an end portion of an arm of a robot, and in which a first magnet exhibiting magnetism is provided; a tool which is detachably coupled to the body, and in which a second magnet magnetically acting with the first magnet of the body is provided; and a tool holder which has a holding receptacle in which the tool is held, and which uses magnetic interaction between the first magnet of the body and the second magnet of the tool so as to separate the tool from the body, thereby holding the tool in the holding receptacle or fastening the tool held in the holding receptacle to the body.

Description

Magnetic tool changer

[0001] The present invention relates to a magnetic tool changer, and more particularly, to a magnetic tool changer that can easily separate or attach a tool to a main body by utilizing the magnetic properties of magnets provided in the main body and the tool, and can reduce the cost required for constructing the device because it is configured with a simple structure.

[0002] Generally, a robot is a mechanical device that uses electrical or magnetic action to perform movements similar to those of a human. Recently, thanks to advances in control technology, robots have been utilized in a variety of fields. Examples include surgical robots, domestic helper robots, service robots, aerospace remote-controlled robots, and hazardous material handling robots.

[0003] These robots perform tasks using manipulators, which are designed to move in a manner similar to the movements of arms or hands, using electrical and mechanical mechanisms.

[0004] In particular, domestic robots can perform specific tasks by attaching specific tools to their manipulators (i.e., their main bodies). For example, a cooking robot can perform cooking by attaching various tools, such as ladles, tongs, and pots, to its main body.

[0005] Therefore, in order to improve the work performance of the robot, tool replacement must be done quickly and accurately. However, in the case of conventional tool changers, complex equipment such as pneumatic systems were used, so not only did it take some time for replacement, but the cost of installing the equipment was also considerable.

[0006] Accordingly, there is a need for a new tool changer with a simple configuration that allows for easy tool replacement for the main body and reduces the cost of equipment construction.

[0007] An embodiment of the present invention provides a magnetic tool changer that can easily separate or attach a tool to a main body by utilizing the magnetic properties of magnets provided in the main body and the tool, and can reduce the cost required for constructing the device because it has a simple configuration.

[0008] The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the problem(s) mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

[0009] A magnetic tool changer according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a main body coupled to an end of an arm of a robot and having a first magnet having magnetism therein; a tool detachably coupled to the main body and having a second magnet magnetically acting with the first magnet of the main body therein; and a tool holder having a mounting groove in which the tool is mounted, and using a mutual magnetic action between the first magnet of the main body and the second magnet of the tool to separate the tool from the main body and to mount the tool in the mounting groove or to fasten the tool mounted in the mounting groove to the main body.

[0010] According to one aspect, the main body may include a circular arm coupling plate that is coupled to an end of an arm of the robot and has a pair of fixed pins symmetrically provided on one surface; and a circular rotation plate that is coupled to one surface of the arm plate so as to be rotatable relative to the arm coupling plate, has a catch groove provided on a side for catching a rotation pin of the tool holder, and has the first magnet provided inside.

[0011] According to one side, the side of the rotating plate having the engaging groove may be provided with a sliding portion extending from the engaging groove so that the rotating pin can be inserted while sliding into the engaging groove.

[0012] According to one side, the first magnet is provided in multiple numbers and can be provided in a radial direction from the rotating plate.

[0013] According to one aspect, the tool includes a tool plate having a pair of notches symmetrically provided for the pair of fixing pins to be caught, and a second magnet arranged inside corresponding to the arrangement of the first magnet, and a pair of slots for being caught on the tool holder may be cut out and provided at both ends of one side of the tool plate.

[0014] According to one side, the second magnets are provided in a plurality of pieces and can be provided in a radial direction from the tool plate so as to selectively match the arrangement of the first magnets provided in a plurality of pieces.

[0015] According to one side, the mounting groove of the tool holder is provided in a U shape so that the pair of slots provided in parallel with each other are caught, and the rotating pin that catches the engaging groove of the rotating plate is provided in a protruding manner on one side of the mounting groove so that the rotating plate can be axially rotated with respect to the tool plate when the tool to which the main body is coupled is lowered with respect to the mounting groove.

[0016] According to one side, when the fixing pin of the main body is inserted into the pair of notches of the tool, and the pair of slots of the tool are aligned with the mounting grooves of the tool holder and then lowered, the rotating pin of the tool holder is caught in the engaging groove of the rotating plate of the main body during the lowering, thereby causing the rotating plate to rotate, thereby releasing the alignment of the first magnet of the rotating plate and the second magnet of the tool plate, thereby enabling the separation of the tool from the main body.

[0017] According to one side, by inserting the fixing pins of the main body into the pair of notches of the tool mounted on the tool holder, the main body is coupled to the tool, and then the tool is lifted relative to the main body, so that the rotating plate is rotated by the rotating pin of the tool holder, and an attractive force is applied between the first magnet of the rotating plate and the second magnet of the tool plate, so that the tool can be fastened to the main body.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the separation or attachment of the tool to the main body can be easily performed by utilizing the magnetic properties of the magnets provided in the main body and the tool, and since it is configured with a simple structure, the cost required for constructing the device can be reduced.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a magnetic tool changer according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the main body of the tool changer illustrated in Fig. 1.

[0021] Figure 3 is a perspective view of a tool of the tool changer illustrated in Figure 1.

[0022] Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the tool holder illustrated in Fig. 1 viewed from the opposite direction.

[0023] Fig. 5 is a drawing illustrating a process of mounting a tool coupled to the main body illustrated in Fig. 1 on a tool holder.

[0024] Figure 6 is a drawing illustrating the reverse process of the mounting process of Figure 5.

[0025] The advantages and / or features of the present invention, and the methods for achieving them, will become clearer with reference to the embodiments described in detail below together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms. These embodiments are provided only to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

[0026] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0027] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a magnetic tool changer according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main body of the tool changer illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a tool of the tool changer illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a tool holder illustrated in FIG. 1 viewed from the opposite direction, FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating a process of mounting a tool coupled to the main body illustrated in FIG. 1 on a tool holder, and FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating a process opposite to the mounting process illustrated in FIG. 5.

[0028] As illustrated in these drawings, a magnetic tool changer (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention is a tool changer (100) that uses the magnetic properties of a magnet to couple or separate a tool to or from a main body (110), and may include a main body (110) that can be coupled to an end of an arm (not shown) of a robot, a tool (130) that is mutually coupled or separated from the main body (110) by magnetic force, and a tool holder (150) that separates or couples the tool (130) to or from the main body (110) and places the tool (130).

[0029] By this configuration, the replacement work of the tool (130) for the main body (110) can be easily performed, and since it is configured with a simple configuration, the cost required for building the equipment can be reduced.

[0030] When explaining each configuration, first, the main body (110) of the present embodiment is detachably coupled to the end of an arm of a robot, etc., as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and is provided with a first magnet (125) having magnetism therein, so that the tool (130) can be fastened or separated by mutual magnetic action with a second magnet (133) of a tool (130) to be described later, thereby facilitating replacement of the tool (130) as needed.

[0031] This body (110) may include an arm coupling plate (111) coupled to the end of the robot arm, as well as a rotation plate (120) coupled to be axially rotatable with respect to the arm coupling plate (111), as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0032] First, the arm coupling plate (111) is a circular plate having a pair of fixing pins (113) symmetrically provided on one side, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and can be detachably coupled to the end of the robot arm. The arm coupling plate (111) can be fastened to the end of the robot arm using a bolt or the like, but is not limited thereto.

[0033] A pair of fixing pins (113) provided on the arm joint plate (111) are inserted into the tool (130), which will be described later, and can fix the position of the tool (130) with respect to the arm joint plate (111).

[0034] The rotating plate (120) of the present embodiment is a circular plate corresponding to the shape of the arm coupling plate (111), as shown in FIG. 2, and can be coupled by a shaft (122) to be capable of axial rotation with respect to the arm coupling plate (111).

[0035] The side of the rotating plate (120) is provided with a catch groove (121) in which a rotating pin (155) provided on a tool holder (150) to be described later is caught, and for example, a total of four first magnets (125) may be regularly provided inside.

[0036] In other words, a total of four first magnets (125) can be arranged at 90-degree intervals in the radial direction inside the rotating plate (120), through which a mutual magnetic action with the second magnet (133) of the tool (130) described later can be sufficiently achieved.

[0037] However, the number or arrangement structure of the first magnets (125) is not limited thereto, and it is obvious that a different number of first magnets may be provided on the rotating plate (120) with a different arrangement structure.

[0038] As will be described later, when the tool (130) is placed on the tool holder (150), the rotation pin (155) of the tool holder (150) is caught in the catch groove (121) of the tool (130), so that the rotation plate (120) rotates relatively to the arm coupling plate (111), and through this, a magnetic action is generated between the main body (110) and the tool (130). In order for the rotation pin (155) to be smoothly caught in the catch groove (121), as illustrated in FIG. 2, a sliding portion (123) may be further provided on the side of the rotation plate (120) provided with the catch groove (121).

[0039] Since the sliding portion (123) is formed by extending in a curved manner from the engaging groove (121) as illustrated in FIG. 2, when the tool (130) is mounted on the engaging groove (151) of the tool holder (150), the rotary pin (155) can be smoothly inserted into the engaging groove (121) by sliding through the sliding portion (123), and conversely, when the tool (130) is removed from the engaging groove (151), the rotary pin (155) inserted into the engaging groove (121) can be smoothly pulled out through the sliding portion (123). The mutual operation of the engaging groove (121) and the rotating pin (155) will be described later.

[0040] In addition, a cut-off portion (120a) cut inward may be provided on the side of the rotating plate (120). Referring to FIG. 2, a pair of fixing pins (113) are provided on the arm connecting plate (111), and a part of the rotating plate (120) is cut off to provide the cut-off portion (120a) so that the rotation of the rotating plate (120) is not interfered with by the fixing pins (113).

[0041] Meanwhile, the tool (130) of the present embodiment is selectively connected to the main body (110), and the user can selectively connect one of several tools according to his / her needs, and can also replace it with another tool. The tool (130) of the present embodiment is one example of various tools.

[0042] The tool (130) of the present embodiment may include a tool plate (131) having a pair of notches (132) symmetrically provided to catch a pair of fixing pins (113) provided on the aforementioned main body (110), as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and a second magnet (133) arranged inside corresponding to the arrangement of the first magnet (125).

[0043] And, a pair of slots (135) that are hung on the mounting groove (151) of the tool holder (150) may be provided in parallel on both ends of one side of the tool plate (131).

[0044] The second magnets (133) provided on the tool (130) are provided in a total of four, similar to the number of first magnets (125), and can be provided at 90-degree intervals in the radial direction from the tool plate (131) so as to selectively match the arrangement of the first magnets (125). Therefore, when fastening the tool (130) to the main body (110) by adjusting the rotation of the tool (130) with respect to the main body (110), the first magnet (125) of the main body (110) and the second magnet (133) of the tool (130) can be aligned.

[0045] Conversely, when separating the tool (130) from the main body (110), the rotation plate (120) of the main body (110) is rotated relative to the tool (130) so that the first magnet (125) of the main body (110) and the second magnet (133) of the tool (130) are intertwined, thereby weakening the magnetic attraction between the magnets (125, 133) and thereby separating the tool (130) from the main body (110).

[0046] And this action can be achieved through interaction with the tool holder (150).

[0047] The tool holder (150) of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, not only holds the tool (130), but also rotates the tool (130) relative to the main body (110) to fasten the tool (130) to the main body (110) or to separate the tool (130) from the main body (110). As described above, the tool holder (150) may be provided with a U-shaped holding groove (151) in which the tool (130) is held.

[0048] And, as shown in Fig. 4, a rotating pin (155) that is caught in a catch groove (121) of a rotating plate (120) is provided protrudingly on one side of the mounting groove (151), so that when the tool (130) to which the main body (110) is coupled is lowered with respect to the mounting groove (151), the rotating plate (120) can be axially rotated in one direction, and when the tool (130) to which the main body (110) is coupled is raised from the mounting groove (151), the rotating plate (120) can be axially rotated in the other direction.

[0049] By this configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, the tool (130) fastened to the main body (110) can be mounted on the tool holder (150), and as shown in FIG. 6, the tool (130) mounted on the tool holder (150) can also be easily fastened to the main body (110).

[0050] Referring to FIG. 5, when the fixing pins (113) of the main body (110) are inserted into a pair of notches (132) of the tool plate (131) to fasten the tool (130) to the main body (110), and then the slots (135) formed in the tool (130) are aligned with the mounting grooves (151) of the tool holder (150) and then lowered, the rotating pins (155) of the tool holder (150) are caught in the engaging grooves (121) of the rotating plate (120) of the main body (110) during the lowering, so that the rotating plate (120) can rotate in one direction (arrow A direction). Through this, the alignment of the first magnet (125) of the rotating plate (120) and the second magnet (133) of the tool plate (131) is released, thereby enabling the separation of the tool (130) from the main body (110).

[0051] In other words, as illustrated in the right drawing of Fig. 5, the first magnet (125) and the second magnet (133) are staggered, so that the attractive force interacting between the first magnet (125) and the second magnet (133) is weakened, and when the main body (110) is pulled from the tool (130), separation between the two can be achieved. In addition, the tool (130) can be placed on the tool holder (150).

[0052] Conversely, referring to FIG. 6, when the fixing pins (113) of the main body (110) are inserted into a pair of notches (132) of the tool (130) mounted on the tool holder (150) to couple the main body (110) to the tool (130) and then the tool (130) is lifted relative to the main body (110), the rotation plate (120) can be rotated in the other direction (arrow B direction) by the rotation pin (155) of the tool holder (150). Through this, alignment is achieved between the first magnet (125) of the rotation plate (120) and the second magnet (133) of the tool plate (131), so that the tool (130) can be fastened to the main body (110).

[0053] In other words, as shown in the right drawing of Fig. 6, the positions of the first magnet (125) and the second magnet (133) are aligned, so that an attractive force is generated between the first magnet (125) and the second magnet (133), thereby enabling fastening of the tool (130) to the main body (110).

[0054] In this way, according to the present embodiment, the separation or fastening of the tool (130) to the main body (110) can be easily performed by utilizing the magnetic properties of the magnets (125, 133) provided in the main body (110) and the tool (130), and since it is configured with a simple structure, the cost required for constructing the device can be reduced.

[0055] While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, it is clear that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the scope of the claims set forth below, but also by equivalents thereof.

[0056] Although the present invention has been described with reference to limited embodiments and drawings, it is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations are possible based on this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be understood solely by the scope of the claims set forth below, and all equivalent or equivalent modifications thereof are deemed to fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A main body coupled to the end of the robot's arm and having a first magnet having magnetism inside; A tool detachably coupled to the main body and having a second magnet inside that acts magnetically with the first magnet of the main body; and A tool holder having a mounting groove in which the tool is mounted, and using the mutual magnetic action of the first magnet of the main body and the second magnet of the tool to separate the tool from the main body and mount the tool in the mounting groove or to fasten the tool mounted in the mounting groove to the main body; A magnetic tool changer comprising:

2. In paragraph 1, The above body, A circular arm coupling plate coupled to the end of the arm of the robot and having a pair of fixing pins symmetrically provided on one side; and A magnetic tool changer characterized by including a circular rotating plate that is axially rotatable relative to the arm coupling plate and is coupled to one side of the arm plate, has a catch groove on the side for engaging the rotation pin of the tool holder, and has the first magnet provided inside.

3. In paragraph 2, A magnetic tool changer characterized in that the side of the rotating plate having the engaging groove is provided with a sliding portion extending from the engaging groove so that the rotating pin can be inserted while sliding into the engaging groove.

4. In paragraph 2, A magnetic tool changer characterized in that the first magnet is provided in a plurality and is provided in a radial direction from the rotating plate.

5. In paragraph 2, The above tool is, A tool plate is provided with a pair of notches symmetrically formed to receive the pair of fixing pins, and the second magnet is arranged inside the tool plate to correspond to the arrangement of the first magnet. A magnetic tool changer characterized in that a pair of slots for hanging on the tool holder are cut out and provided at both ends of one side of the tool plate.

6. In paragraph 5, A magnetic tool changer characterized in that the second magnets are provided in a plurality of pieces and are provided in a radial direction from the tool plate so as to selectively match the arrangement of the first magnets provided in a plurality of pieces.

7. In paragraph 5, The above-mentioned mounting groove of the above-mentioned tool holder is provided in a U shape so that the above-mentioned pair of slots arranged parallel to each other are caught, A magnetic tool changer characterized in that the rotating pin is protrudingly provided on one side of the above-mentioned mounting groove to be caught in the above-mentioned engaging groove of the above-mentioned rotating plate, and when the tool coupled to the main body is lowered with respect to the above-mentioned mounting groove, the rotating plate is axially rotated with respect to the above-mentioned tool plate.

8. In paragraph 7, A magnetic tool changer characterized in that when the fixing pins of the main body are inserted into the pair of notches of the tool, and the pair of slots of the tool are aligned with the mounting grooves of the tool holder and then lowered, the rotating pins of the tool holder are caught in the engaging grooves of the rotating plate of the main body during the lowering, thereby causing the rotating plate to rotate, thereby releasing the alignment of the first magnet of the rotating plate and the second magnet of the tool plate, thereby enabling the separation of the tool from the main body.

9. In paragraph 8, A magnetic tool changer characterized in that when the fixing pins of the main body are inserted into the pair of notches of the tool mounted on the tool holder to couple the main body to the tool and then the tool is lifted relative to the main body, the rotating plate is rotated by the rotating pin of the tool holder so that an attractive force is applied between the first magnet of the rotating plate and the second magnet of the tool plate, thereby aligning the tool to the main body.

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