Robot Base Maintenance Area Design for Compact Casing

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Maintenance of robots in limited spaces, such as within casings, is challenging due to space constraints, making it difficult to access and maintain components.

Innovation Solution

The robot design includes a base with side portions, where the joint between the arm and the base is positioned close to one side portion, and a maintenance area is provided on a non-parallel side portion to house and maintain control components.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Volume of moving object

If the robot is disposed inside a casing with limited space, then the robot can be protected and integrated into a compact system, but maintenance of the robot becomes difficult due to space constraints

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecasing sizeVSAvoidmaintainability

Core Design Contradiction:

Volume of moving objectVSEase of repair

Solution Approach 1:

The base is divided into multiple side portions, with specific maintenance areas designated on certain side portions. This segmentation allows maintenance components to be accessed from specific directions without requiring the entire robot to be relocated, resolving the contradiction between compact casing integration and ease of maintenance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Maintenance areas are extracted as specific zones on the base's side portions, allowing maintenance components to be independently accessed. This extraction enables maintenance activities to be performed on selected components without disturbing the entire robot system, improving maintainability while maintaining compact integration.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Ease of repair

If maintenance areas are provided on all side portions of the base, then maintainability is improved, but the device complexity and space requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovemaintainabilityVSAvoidbase structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of repairVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Maintenance areas are provided locally on specific side portions of the base rather than uniformly on all sides. This local quality approach allows maintenance access to be provided where needed while keeping the base structure simple and compact, resolving the contradiction between maintainability and device complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The base is designed with asymmetric placement of maintenance areas on specific side portions rather than symmetric distribution. This asymmetry allows optimization of maintenance access based on the actual layout of control components, improving maintainability without requiring complex symmetric structures on all sides.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #4Asymmetry

Data Source

PatentUS12202684B2Robot, and substrate transportation system comprising the same

Publication Date: 2025.01.21 KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KK

AI summary

A robot 100 includes a base 1 having side portions, an arm 3 rotatably coupled to the base 1, and a hand 8 coupled to the arm 3. A joint between the arm 3 and the base 1 is closest to a first side portion 11a in a plan view. The base 1 houses control components. A second side portion 11b is provided with a maintenance area 12 on which a maintenance component such as a first board 24 is disposed. The maintenance area 12 is used for maintenance of the maintenance component.