JPH052310Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is a technology related to a robot hand.

[Conventional technology]

In a robot, a hand is attached to the tip of the arm, and the object is gripped by the hand.

Prior art documents disclosing robot hands include, for example, Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-173591 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1987-173591.
146789, JP-A-60-6378, JP-A-60-19621, JP-A-61-96631, JP-A-58-181593 or JP-A-58-181592.

By the way, when a robot's hand grasps items that are not arranged in a row but is randomly placed, it is not necessary to grasp them mechanically, but to either attract them with negative pressure or with magnetic force. This method is used.

For example, if we consider magnetic attraction, there are two ways to do this: you can simply attract the item magnetically, or you can use a hand shaped to match the shape of the item and place your hand on the item. You can either align the item and then use magnetic force to attract it, but it is better to use the latter, that is, to use a hand that matches the shape of the item.

This is because, rather than simply attracting an item with magnetic force, it is better to match the shape of the item to increase the contact area between the item and the hand and then use magnetic force to attract the item. This is because the generated magnetic energy can be small even when the robot is used, and the entire robot can therefore be made smaller.

As an example of a hand that conforms to the shape of an item,
The applicant proposed a hand as shown in FIG. 7 in a utility model registration application dated January 14, 1988. However, the one shown in FIG. 7 is currently unknown.

In Fig. 7, a main shaft 30 is attached to the tip of a robot arm (not shown) via a hand housing 2, and a main shaft 30 is fixed to the main shaft 30 and extends in parallel with a certain interval. Right support 47 and left support 48
There is. Work pieces 61 and 62 for gripping the item 13 are attached to the tips of the right support 47 and left support 48, and work pieces 61 and 62 are attached to the tips of the right support 47 and left support 48. A claw 99 is provided that extends toward the metal members 61 and 62. The work pieces 61 and 62 are provided with stepped portions 98 that engage with the claws 99.

The stepped portions 98 of the workpiece pads 61 and 62 are removably engaged with the claws 99 from above, and when the claws 99 and the stepped portions 98 are engaged, the workpiece pads 61 , 62 are integrated with the right support 47 and the left support 48, and when the claw 99 and the stepped portion 98 are disengaged, the work pieces 61 and 62 are connected to the right support 47 and the left support 48. It can be slid in the vertical direction and rotated in the front and back directions.

Driving means 54, ie, electromagnets, are attached to the right support 47 and the left support 48 for causing the work pieces 61 and 62 to grip the article 13. Reference numeral 85 denotes a portion that comes into contact with the item 13, and the portion 85 is shaped to match the shape of the item 13.

According to such a hand, the contact area between the product and the hand is increased by matching the shape of the product, so the generated magnetic energy is small and the entire robot becomes smaller, as shown in Fig. 8. As shown, even when the hand 5 approaches the item 13 from diagonally above, the work pieces 61 and 62 are integral with the right support 47 and the left support 48, and the work pieces 61 and 62 are attached to the item 13. When the workpieces 61 and 62 come into contact with the right support 47 and the left support 48, they move upward (in the P direction).
Since it slides and then rotates in the direction of arrow M, it is suitable for gripping items 13 that are placed at an angle.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, with the one shown in Figure 7, the work piece rests directly on the item and receives force from the item, and then the work piece follows the shape of the item, so there is a problem that the work piece wears out when used for a long period of time. It was hot.

The present invention solves these problems of the conventional technology.

The technical problem of the present invention is to prevent the workpiece pad from being worn out even after long-term use.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve this technical problem, the following measures are taken in the present invention.

That is, the robot hand according to the present invention consists of a main shaft attached to the tip of the robot arm, and a right support and a left support that are fixed to the main shaft and extend parallel to each other with a certain distance between them. In the robot hand, a workpiece for gripping an item is attached to the tips of the right support and the left support, and the contact surface of the workpiece to the item is shaped like the item. The workpiece is shaped to be joined to the right support and the left support, and the workpiece is slidable in the vertical direction and rotatable in the front and back direction with respect to the right support and the left support, and the workpiece is connected to the workpiece from the workpiece. A workpiece copying antenna extends in the front-rear direction for making the workpiece imitate the article, and drive means is attached to the right support and the left support for gripping the article by applying the workpiece pads. It is characterized by

[Effect]

Considering the case where the hand approaches an item and grasps the item, the workpiece copying antenna comes into contact with the item before the workpiece pad contacts the item because of the workpiece copying antenna. At this time, the workpiece copying antenna receives a reaction force from the item, so the workpiece copying antenna rotates and becomes parallel to the item. Therefore, the workpiece support is then aligned perpendicularly to the item.

As described above, in the present invention, since the workpiece copying antenna first comes into contact with the article, the workpiece pad is always aligned at right angles to the article. Therefore, the work piece will not wear out even after long-term use.

Further, in the present invention, since the workpiece copying antenna rotates the workpiece pad, the rotational force is strong, and therefore, the workpiece pad is reliably aligned with the article. Therefore, even if the article is arranged at an angle, the workpiece is perfectly aligned with the article, so that the article can be reliably gripped.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main parts of a robot hand according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 47 is a right support, 48 is a left support, and 61 and 62 are workpiece supports.
Further, 65 is a sensor mounting member.

Since FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of FIG. 2, FIG. 2 will be explained first.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a robot hand according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In Fig. 2, 1 is the arm of the robot, and the arm 1 has a hand housing 2 attached to a bolt 3.
It is fixed by. Reference numeral 4 designates a knock pin for positioning the arm 1 and the hand housing 2.

A hand 5 is attached to the hand housing 2. Before explaining the hand 5, the overall structure of the robot to which the hand 5 of FIG. 2 is attached will be briefly explained based on FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a robot to which the hand of FIG. 2 is attached.

In FIG. 5, 10 indicates the entire robot, 1 is an arm of the robot, and 2 is a hand housing. The hand 5 in FIG. 1 is located at a portion designated by reference numeral 11.

12 is a first pallet containing many items 13. In the first pallet 12 there is an item 1
3 are not arranged in a row, but are stored randomly. The role of the robot 10 shown in FIG. 5 is to grasp these randomly stored items 13 one by one with the hand 5 and arrange them properly on a second pallet (not shown) or a belt conveyor (not shown). be. For this reason, although not shown, the robot 10 is equipped with an image recognition device.

The robot 10 is fixed to the floor 14 of the factory, and each arm 21, 22, 23 rotates using the parts 15, 16, 17 as fulcrums.
Items 13 on first pallet 12 are moved to a second pallet (not shown).

Returning to FIG. 2, reference numeral 31 denotes a backup housing which is sandwiched and fixed between the arm 1 and the hand housing 2. A sliding hole 32 opening downward is bored in the backup housing 31.

30 is a main shaft. The main shaft 30 includes an upwardly extending shaft portion 33 and a base portion 34 that is integrally provided with the shaft portion 33.

The shaft portion 33 extends upward through a through hole 35 formed in the hand housing 2, and its tip is slidably inserted into the slide hole 32. The inside of the shaft portion 33 is hollow, and a compression coil spring 36 is disposed between the shaft portion 33 and the backup housing 31. The main shaft 30 is the hand housing 2
It is attached so that it can be displaced relative to the top.

A locking plate 41 is fixed to the shaft portion 33 with a nut 42 . The entire main shaft 30 is suspended from the hand housing 2 by a locking plate 41.

An insulating substrate 4 is attached to the base 34 of the main shaft 30.
4 is fixed by a bolt 45. The insulating substrate 44 is made of aluminum alloy to insulate magnetic lines of force. 39 is a knock pin.

A right support 47 and a left support 48 are fixed to both left and right ends of the insulating substrate 44 by bolts 46 with an interval between them. The right support 47 and the left support 48 extend downward in parallel. The right support 47 and the left support 48 are made of a magnetic material such as soft iron.

A coil support 52 is fixed between the right support 47 and the left support 48 with bolts 51. Coil support 52 is connected to right support 47 and left support 48 . Coil support 5
2 is made of magnetic material such as soft iron.

A bobbin 53 is attached around the coil support 52, and a coil 54 is wound around the bobbin 53. Therefore, when power is supplied to the coil 54, the coil support 52 becomes an electromagnet.

Work pieces 61 and 62 are attached to the tips of the right support 47 and the left support 48.
Rods 68, 69 protrude outward from the respective work pieces 61, 62. Right support 47 and left support 48 have rods 68,
Elongated holes 78 and 79 are formed into which the holes 69 are fitted so as to be swingable. The long holes 78 and 79 extend in the longitudinal direction.

Returning to FIG. 1, 78 and 79 are long holes, and 68 is a rod. From Fig. 1, the work piece 61,
Rods 68, 69 protrude outward from the rods 62, and elongated holes 78, 79 into which the rods 68, 69 are slidably inserted are bored in the right support 47 and the left support 48. I understand that very well.

Work piece 61 by rods 68, 69,
62 is suspended from the right support 47 and the left support 48. Further, a sensor mounting member 6 is provided between the workpiece pad 61 and the workpiece pad 62.
5 is attached, and the workpiece pad 61 and the workpiece pad 62 are held together by a sensor attachment member 65.

The sensor attachment member 65 is attached to the work piece 61 and the work piece 62 by rods (not shown). That is, rods (not shown) extend from the sensor mounting member 65 to the left and right, and the rods are rotatably fitted into sliding holes (not shown) drilled in the work pieces 61 and 62. The sensor mounting member 65 is made of aluminum alloy or resin to insulate magnetic lines of force.

At the tips of the right support 47 and the left support 48, claws 99 facing the work pieces 61 and 62 are provided, and the work pieces 61 and 62 also have stepped portions 98 that align with the claws 99. It is provided.
This can be easily understood by looking at Figure 2. In FIG. 2, the stepped portions 98 of the work pieces 61 and 62 are detachably engaged with the claws 99 from above. When the right support 47 and the left support 48 are arranged vertically, the stepped portion 98 is connected to the claw 99.
Because it is consistent with the workpiece pads 61 and 62
are integrated into the right support 47 and the left support 48. However, the workpiece 61,6
When the stepped portion 98 is removed from the claw 99 by lifting the work piece 2 upward, the work pieces 61 and 62 are moved around the rods 68 and 69 as fulcrums, as shown in FIG.
can be rotated back and forth as shown by arrow M.

In FIG. 1, workpiece copying antennas 101 and 102 extend forward and backward, respectively, in front and behind the sensor attachment member 65. This is a feature of this embodiment. Workpiece copying antenna 101, 10
2 is made integrally with the sensor mounting member 65.

A contact portion 103 that contacts an article (not shown) is provided at the tip of the workpiece copying antenna 101, 102. Further, a first sensor 66 is attached to each of the workpiece copying antennas 101 and 102. A male screw is carved around the first sensor 66, and a female screw is carved in the workpiece copying antennas 101 and 102. The first sensor 66 is attached to the workpiece tracing antennas 101 and 102 by screwing the male screw and the female screw together.

Returning to Fig. 2, 101 is a workpiece copying antenna, 6
6 is a first sensor, and 103 is a contact surface with the item 13.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the workpiece copying antenna of FIG. 1. In FIG. 3, 65 indicates the entire sensor mounting member. 88 and 89 are rods.

Flanges 59 are provided at the front and rear of the sensor mounting member 65, and the work pads (61, 62 in FIG. 1) are sandwiched between the flanges 59.

At the front and rear of the sensor attachment member 65, workpiece copying antennas 101 and 102 extend in the front and rear directions, respectively. The workpiece copying antennas 101 and 102 are made integrally with the sensor attachment member 65.
A contact portion 103 that contacts an article (not shown) is provided at the tip of the workpiece copying antenna 101, 102. A first sensor 66 is attached to each of the workpiece copying antennas 101 and 102.

Returning to FIG. 2, there is a small gap d between the work pieces 61 and 62 and the sensor mounting member 65.
It's open. Because of this distance d, as mentioned earlier, the work pieces 61 and 62 and the sensor mounting member 65 are connected to the right support 47 and the left support 4.
8, it can smoothly rotate back and forth using the rods 68 and 69 as fulcrums, and can also smoothly slide upward.

The centers of gravity of the work pieces 61 and 62 and the sensor attachment member 65 are located below the rods 68 and 69. Therefore, in a normal state, the work pieces 61 and 62 and the sensor mounting member 65 are suspended from the right support 47 and the left support 47, and the stepped portion 98 and the claw 99 are engaged. It is parallel to the right support 47 and the left support 47.

Returning to the main shaft 30 in FIG.
A detent pin 71 is fixed to the base 34 of the main shaft 32. The locking pin 71 extends upward, passes through a through hole 72 formed in the hand housing 2, and further extends into the hand housing 2. A second sensor 73 is attached to the hand housing 2 above the rotation stopper pin 71. 74 is the second sensor 73
It is a nut to prevent loosening.

Returning to the workpiece pads 61 and 62, the workpiece pads 61 and 62 are used to contact the article (work) 13 and attract the article 13 with magnetic force. That is, the right support 47, the left support 48, and the work pieces 61 and 62 are made of a magnetic material, for example, soft iron. Therefore, when power is supplied to the coil 54, the coil support 52 becomes an electromagnet, and the right support 47, the left support 48, and the work pieces 61 and 62 are magnetized. Therefore, the item 13 is attracted. In other words, the item 13 is gripped by the hand 5.

In this embodiment, the article 13 has a circular cross-sectional shape, as can be seen from FIG. In addition, the contact portion 8 of the work pieces 61 and 62 with the item 13
5 is shaped to match the shape of the item 13. The work pieces 61 and 62 are aligned with the item 13 and then magnetically attracted to the item 13 to grip the item 13. As mentioned earlier, rather than simply attracting the item 13 with magnetic force, this is done by aligning the shape of the item 13 and increasing the contact area between the item 13 and the workpieces 61 and 62, and then using the magnetic force. This is because the attraction requires less magnetic energy and the entire robot (reference numeral 10 in FIG. 5) can be made smaller.

In FIG. 2, coil 54 is not always energized. In FIG. 5, when the target item 13, that is, the item 13 to be gripped by the hand 5, is found in the first pallet 12 by an image recognition device (not shown), the hand 5 is displaced downward. When the hand 5 approaches the item 13, the first sensor 66 in FIG. 2 senses this and sends a signal to a control device (not shown). The control device then supplies power to the coil 54. When power is supplied to the coil 54, the workpiece 61 and the workpiece 62 are magnetized, so the article 13 is attracted to the workpiece 61 and the workpiece 62. At the same time, upon receiving the output signal from the first sensor 66, the control device stops the downward movement of the hand 5. In this way, the role of the first sensor 66 is to signal the power supply to the coil 54 and the signal to stop the movement of the hand 5.

Since the hand 5 has inertia when moving downward, the workpiece holder 61 and the workpiece holder 62 will move slightly downward even after gripping the item 13. Therefore, the main shaft 30 tends to move slightly upward relative to the hand housing 2. For this purpose, as described above, the main shaft 30 is attached to the hand housing 2 so as to be movable relative to the hand housing 2 in an upward direction.

Bearing metals 81 and 82 are provided between the shaft portion 33 and the through hole 35 of the hand housing 2, and between the detent pin 71 and the through hole 72 of the hand housing 2 to improve sliding. . Both bearing metals 81 and 82 are fixed to the hand housing 2. A bearing metal 83 is also attached to the backup housing 31 for the same reason.

The second sensor 73 detects the approach of the detent pin 71 when the downward movement of the hand 5 does not stop despite the output signal of the first sensor 66 due to some abnormality. This is to send a signal for an emergency stop of arm 1 to the control device that does not operate. This is the role of the second sensor 73.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the robot shown in FIG. 2 with its hand grasping an item.

In FIG. 4, 2 is a hand housing, 30
is the main shaft, 47 and 48 are the right support and left support, and 61 and 62 are the work pads. Further, 54 is a coil, and 13 is an article. Moreover, 101 and 102 are workpiece copying antennas.

When gripping the item 13 with the work pieces 61 and 62, an image recognition device (not shown) always controls the axial direction of the item 13 and the position of the hand 5 so that the positional relationship is optimal for gripping the item 13.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained.

In this embodiment, as described above, when the right support 47 and the left support 48 are facing downward, the claws 99 are aligned with the stepped portions 98, so the workpiece pads 61, 62 are integrated into the right support 47 and the left support 48. Therefore,
Figure 6 (In Figure 6, 5 is the entire hand, 47
and 48 are the right support and left support, 30 is the main shaft, and 2 is the hand housing), even when the hand 5 approaches the diagonally arranged item 13 from diagonally above, On the way, the work pieces 61, 62
is parallel to the right support 47 and the left support 48.

In this embodiment, since the workpiece copying antennas 101 and 102 are provided, the workpiece pads 61 and 62 are attached to the article 13.
Before contacting the workpiece copying antennas 101, 102
contacts item 13. At this time, the workpiece copying antennas 101, 102 receive a reaction force from the item 13, so the claws 99 and stepped portions 98 come off, and the workpiece copying antennas 101, 102 rotate in the direction of arrow M as shown by the two-dot chain line. Workpiece copying antenna 101, 10
2 will be parallel to item 13. Therefore, the workpiece supports 61, 62 are then aligned perpendicularly to the item.

As can be seen from the above description, in this embodiment, the workpiece copying antennae 101, 102 first contact the item 13, and then the workpiece pads 61, 62 follow the shape of the item 13 (that is, the workpiece copying antennae first contact the item 13. Since the workpiece pads are in contact with the item, the workpiece pads are always aligned at right angles to the product), so the workpiece pads 61 and 62 will not wear out even after long-term use.

In addition, in this embodiment, the workpiece copying antenna 101,
102 rotates the workpiece pads 61, 62, the rotational force is strong, and therefore the workpiece pads 61, 62 are reliably made perpendicular to the item 13. Therefore, even if the item 13 is arranged at an angle, the work pieces 61 and 62 are perfectly aligned with the item 13. Therefore, the item 13 can be gripped reliably.

Further, according to this embodiment, only the parts necessary for gripping the article 13, that is, the work pieces 61 and 62 and the work copying antennas 101 and 102, are movable, so the rotating parts are small. Therefore, the responsiveness when matching the item 13 is good.

Furthermore, when the workpiece pads 61 and 62 align with the item 13, it is inevitable that some impact will be applied to the item 13, but in this embodiment, since the movable parts are small, the impact is small. Therefore, the item 13 is hardly scratched.

Further, in this embodiment, work pieces 61 and 6 are attached to the ends of the right support 47 and the left support 48.
2 is attached, and the workpiece pads 61, 6
2 is used to grasp an item (work) 13. In other words, right support 47 and left support 4
8 does not grasp the item 13 at the tip. Therefore, when the surface marked 85 in FIG. 2 becomes worn, only the workpiece pads 61 and 62 need to be replaced, and there is no need to replace the entire hand 5. Therefore, according to this embodiment, costs can be kept low.

Further, according to this embodiment, even when gripping another type of item 13 with a different diameter, the workpiece support 6
Only 1,62 needs to be replaced in accordance with item 13. Therefore, there is an advantage that the versatility of the hand 5 is greatly increased.

Although a specific embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and includes various embodiments within the scope of the utility model registration claims.

[Effect of idea]

According to the present invention, the workpiece copying antenna first comes into contact with the item, and then the workpiece holder follows the shape of the item, so that the workpiece holder does not wear out even after long-term use.

Further, according to the present invention, since the workpiece copying antenna rotates the workpiece stopper, the rotational force is strong, and therefore, the workpiece stopper is reliably brought to face the article. Therefore, it is possible to reliably grip even items placed at an angle.

Further, according to the present invention, since only the portion necessary for gripping the item is movable, the rotating portion is small. Therefore, the responsiveness when matching the item is good.

Further, when the workpiece is aligned with the item, it is inevitable that some impact will be applied to the item, but in the present invention, since the movable parts are small, the impact is small. Therefore, there is almost no chance of scratches on the item.

Further, in the present invention, even if the workpiece pad becomes worn, it is only necessary to replace the workpiece pad, and there is no need to replace the entire hand, so there is no increase in costs.

Further, according to the present invention, even when gripping a different type of item, it is only necessary to replace the workpiece support, so that the versatility of the hand is greatly increased.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main parts of a robot hand according to an embodiment of the present invention (partial perspective view of FIG. 2), and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a robot hand according to an embodiment of the present invention. A longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the workpiece copying antenna in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the robot hand in FIG. 2 gripping an item,
5 is a side view of a robot to which the hand of FIG. 2 is attached, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the hand of FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the hand of a conventional robot (however, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of a conventional robot hand. 1...Arm, 5...Hand, 10...Robot, 30...Main shaft, 47...Right support, 48...Left support, 54...Coil (driving means), 61, 62...Workpiece support , 85...
Abutment surface of work piece against article, 101, 102
...Work imitating antennae.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A robot having a main shaft attached to the tip of an arm of the robot, and a right support and a left support fixed to the main shaft and extending in parallel with a certain distance between them. In the hand, a workpiece for gripping an item is attached to the tips of the right support and the left support, and the surface of the workpiece that comes into contact with the item has a shape that matches the shape of the item. The workpiece support is slidable in the vertical direction relative to the right support and the left support, and is rotatable in the front and rear directions, and the workpiece support is configured to allow the workpiece support to follow the shape of the item. A workpiece copying antenna for gripping the workpiece extends in the front-rear direction, and driving means for gripping the workpiece by gripping the workpiece is attached to the right support and the left support. The robot's hand.