JPH03216289A - Mirror holder for laser robot and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify maintenance and control for a laser beam reflection mirror by providing an adjustment means for elasticity holding force for pressing a mirror holder to the laser beam reflection mirror under a fixed elastic force and setting the laser beam reflection mirror to a fixed position. CONSTITUTION:When the laser beam reflection mirror 4 is mounted in the machine body of a laser robot or a laser beam machine, a mirror holder 50 is provided with the adjustment means for elasticity holding force, therefore, when, in case of maintenance and processing for the mirror 4, the laser reflection mirror 4 is removed from the mirror holder 50 once and mounted on this holder 50 again, it can be mounted as reproducing the same state that it was adjusted and positioned in the holder before. Therefore, after the mirror 4 is maintained, troublesome angle adjusting operation need not be carried out. Consequently, the maintenance and control for the laser beam reflection mirror 4 in the laser robot and laser beam machine can be simplified still more.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is directed to a holding device for always holding a laser beam path changing reflection mirror installed in the body of a laser processing machine or a laser robot in a fixed position. In particular, a mirror that is removably installed inside the aircraft so that it can always be installed in a fixed position with good reproducibility when it is removed and reinstalled after maintenance such as cleaning. Regarding the cage.

[Conventional technology]

Laser robots introduce laser light into the robot body from a laser light source via a laser optical path, guide it to a laser light emitting device installed at the tip of the robot, condense the light, and emit it as high laser light energy. It is already well known as an industrial robot that can emit laser light energy at a desired position in three-dimensional space due to the degree of freedom of movement in its joints, and laser robots with various configurations have already been proposed and provided. .

In such a laser robot, a laser beam path having a conduit structure is disposed within movable elements such as the robot arm, wrist, and rotating shaft of the robot body, especially within the robot arm. A laser beam reflecting mirror for changing the course of the laser beam from one movable element to the other movable element is provided at the joint portion of the movable element. That is, a mirror holder is provided to arrange a reflecting mirror at each joint, and this mirror holder positions and holds the LED light reflecting mirror, thereby reflecting the incident laser beam in a desired direction. A configuration is adopted that allows for course changes. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional laser beam reflecting mirror holder. The mirror holder 1 is fixed to a predetermined location inside the body of a laser robot or laser processing machine by fixing means such as screws. A mirror holding base 2 to be attached has a stump-shaped external shape and an internal structure including a laser light entrance 1a, a light exit 1b, a mirror holding hole 10, etc., and a mirror holding base 2 is fitted into the mirror holding hole 1c of this mirror holding base 2. A dish-shaped mirror storage housing 3 having a perforated bottom that is fitted together and fixed with screws, and the same mirror storage housing 3
A cylindrical laser beam reflecting mirror 4 is detachably mounted and stored in the perforated bottom of the housing, and a stepped disk-shaped mirror holder supports and positions the mirror 4 between the storage housing 3 and the storage housing 3. 5, a screw bolt 6 for fixing the mirror storage housing 3 to the mirror holding base 2 via a spring 7, and a mirror stored by adjusting the position of the mirror storage housing 3 with respect to the mirror holding base 2. an adjustment screw 8 that adjusts the angle of the reflective surface 4a of 4 with respect to the incident laser light so that the light is emitted in a desired direction;
A fixing screw 9 that fixes the adjustment screw 8 after adjustment, and a fixing screw 9 that fixes the mirror holder 5 to the mirror storage housing 3 and connects the laser light reflecting mirror 4 through the mirror holder.
It is formed using various elements such as a fixing screw 10 that fixes the mirror 4 so as to apply a pressing force to the mirror 4.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, according to the structure of the conventional mirror holder 1 shown in FIG. 4, when the mirror 4 is installed in the mirror storage housing 3 and held by the mirror holder 5, 5 has a structure in which it is fixed to the mirror storage housing 3 by tightening the fixing screw 10, so the pressing force applied from the mirror holder 5 to the laser beam reflecting mirror 4 varies depending on the tightening force of the fixing screw 10. Therefore, if there are variations in the screw tightening force among the plurality of fixing screws 10, the laser beam reflecting mirror 4 will be tilted invisible within the perforated bottom of the mirror storage housing 3. As a result, the laser beam reflecting surface 4
The direction of a changes, and the direction of laser light emission is not constant.
In order to reflect the laser beam in a desired direction on the reflective surface 4a,
It is necessary to re-adjust the angle. In particular, the laser beam reflecting mirror 4 requires maintenance processing such as periodically polishing and cleaning the reflecting surface 4a, so periodically remove the mirror holder 5 and take out the mirror 4 from the mirror storage housing 3 for maintenance. After the maintenance process, the laser beam reflecting mirror 4 is attached to the mirror storage housing 3 again, the mirror holder 5 is attached from above, and the mirror holder 5 is fixed with the fixing screws 10. A problem arises in that it is difficult to avoid the orientation of the reflective surface 4a of No. 4 from being different from that before removal. In other words, there are disadvantages such as complicating maintenance work such as readjusting the positioning of the mirror 4 and making it impossible for the user to adjust the laser robot, which requires improvement. is occurring.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems in a mirror holder for a laser beam reflecting mirror of a laser robot or the like.

Further, the present invention provides a structure of a mirror holder that improves the reproducibility of mirror positioning and allows even a user of a laser robot or the like to easily maintain a laser beam reflecting mirror.

[Solution]

That is, in the present invention, the laser beam reflecting mirror attached to the mirror storage housing is always held under a constant elastic pressing force by the mirror holder through the interposition of elastic means,
This eliminates the conventional structure in which the holding force changes depending on how tightly the fixing screw that fixes the mirror polder is tightened, and thus the mirror is always held in a fixed position within the mirror storage housing. .

According to the present invention, in a holder that removably holds an optical path changing mirror provided in a laser beam path in a body of a laser robot, etc., the mirror holding base is set at a fixed position of the robot body; a mirror storage housing set and seated on a mirror holding base; a laser beam reflecting mirror detachably stored in the mirror storage housing;
A mirror holder for positioning and holding the laser beam reflection mirror between the mirror storage housing and the mirror holder is pressed against the laser beam reflection mirror under a constant elastic force to position the laser beam reflection mirror. The present invention provides a mirror holder for a laser robot, etc., which is equipped with an elastic holding force adjustment means for setting the mirror in position.

[Effect]

According to the mirror holder for a laser robot or the like having the above-mentioned configuration, the elastic holding force adjusting means always presses the mirror holder toward the mirror with a constant elastic force, so that the mirror remains in the same position before and after attaching and detaching the mirror. It is positioned and held in place within the storage housing. below,
The present invention will be described in further detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of an embodiment of a mirror holder for a laser robot or the like according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are front views showing an example of a laser robot on which the same mirror holder can be mounted. and a side sectional view.

First, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the laser robot 2
0 is formed as an industrial articulated robot, and includes a robot base 22 that is fixedly placed at the site of use, and a robot vertical axis section 24 that is erected to be able to rotate around the vertical axis with respect to the robot base 22. And this robot vertical axis section 24
A robot arm 26 is pivotally attached to the side surface of the upper part via a joint 25 so as to be able to rotate up and down, and a rotatable robot wrist 28 is provided at the tip of the robot arm 26.
and a laser beam emitting device 3o attached to the tip of the robot wrist 28. That is, the rotation of the vertical shaft portion 24 (around the θ axis), the rotation of the robot arm 2
The laser attached to the tip of the robot wrist 28 controls the vertical rotation (around the W axis) of the robot arm 26, the extension and contraction (R axis) of the robot arm 26, and the two rotations (around the T axis and β axis) of the robot wrist 28. By directing the light emitting device 3o in a desired direction in three-dimensional space, the laser beam can be emitted toward a desired position. As shown in FIG. 2, the laser beam is introduced from the top of the robot vertical shaft section 24 to the first laser beam reflecting mirror 40 via an appropriate laser beam path means from a laser light source (not shown), and is introduced into the first laser beam reflecting mirror 40 as shown in FIG. The laser beam is reflected by the first laser beam reflecting mirror 40, changes its course, and reaches the second laser beam reflecting mirror 42 provided at the joint part 25 of the robot arm 26, where it is reflected again and is later transferred to the robot arm. A third laser beam reflecting mirror 4 provided in the wrist 28 passes through a laser beam path provided in the wrist 26.
6, and here it is reflected again to the laser beam emitting device 3.
The course of the light is changed toward a condensing mirror inside the laser beam, and the beam is condensed by the condensing mirror and emitted from the laser beam emitting device 30 as a high-energy laser beam.

As described above, within the laser robot 20, the laser beam reflecting mirrors 40 to 46 are disposed at a plurality of positions such as the joint 25, so that each of these laser beam reflecting mirrors can be used according to the present invention, which will be described in detail below. By holding the mirrors in their respective positions using the mirror holder, it is possible to relatively easily attach and detach the mirrors and position them with good reproducibility even when performing maintenance processing periodically. In addition, Figure 2,
FIG. 3 also shows various robot components that are not explained above, but it should be understood that these are elements that are not directly related to the mirror holder of the laser beam reflecting mirror of the present invention.

Next, the structure of the mirror holder according to the present invention will be explained based on FIG. 1 and in comparison with the conventional mirror holder 1 shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 1, the mirror holder 50 of a laser robot or the like according to the present invention is the same as the mirror holder 1 of FIG.
The mirror holding base 2, the mirror storage housing 3, the laser beam reflecting mirror 4, etc. are the same as the conventional ones, and the mirror storage housing 3 is Mirror holding base 2 is fixed with fixing screw 6.
There is no change in the fact that it is fixed to . Further, it is the same as in the prior art in that an adjustment screw 8 for adjusting the position of the mirror storage housing 3 with respect to the mirror holding base 2 and a fixing screw 9 for fixing the mirror storage housing 3 after adjustment by the adjustment screw 8 are provided. However, according to the present invention, the mirror holder 52
has a structure different from that of the conventional mirror holder 5. That is, the mirror holder 52 has a large diameter portion 54 and a small diameter portion 56.
The inner end surface 58a of the small diameter portion 58 presses the laser beam reflecting mirror 4 from behind to prevent the mirror 4 from colliding with the mirror storage housing 3. The structure for supporting is similar, but a plurality of through holes 60 are provided at appropriate intervals on the outer periphery of the large diameter R56, and a flanged collar 62 is loaded into the through holes 60.
A fixing screw 10 is inserted into the collar with a flange 62, and the fixing screw 10 is configured to fix the mirror holder 52 to the mirror storage holder 3, and the flange 64 of the collar with a flange 62 and the outermost surface of the mirror holder 52 are connected to each other. A corrugated washer 66 is inserted between them as an elastic member. Further, the inner end of each of the flanged collars 62 protrudes from the through hole 60 of the mirror holder 52 and comes into contact with the end surface of the mirror storage housing 3, and the inner end surface of the large diameter portion 56 of the mirror holder 52 is brought into contact with the end surface of the mirror storage housing 3. It is designed so that it can be raised by an appropriate amount of gap G from the end face. Therefore, when the fixing screw 10 is tightened to fix the mirror holder 52 to the mirror storage housing 3, even when the inner end surface 58a of the small diameter portion 58 of the mirror holder 52 comes into contact with the back of the mirror 4, the Due to the gap G, the large diameter portion 58 of the mirror holder 52 is still floating above the surface of the mirror storage housing 3. Therefore, when the mirror holder 52 is fixed to the mirror storage housing 4, the mirror holder 52 receives the elastic force of the wave washer 660 from behind and presses the laser beam reflecting mirror 4.

Here, the elastic force of the wave washer 66 exerts a constant spring elastic force due to the existence of the gap G, regardless of the degree of tightening of the fixing screw lO, so that the mirror holder 52
has the function of always maintaining the holding force that holds the mirror 4 in a supporting manner between it and the perforated bottom of the mirror storage housing 4 at a constant level. In this way, if the pressing force against the mirror 4 by the mirror holder 52 is always constant, the laser beam reflecting mirror 4 can be removed for maintenance purposes, and after maintenance processing, it can be installed again in the mirror storage housing 3 and the mirror holder 52 can be attached. Even if the mirror 4 is held by the mirror holder 52 before and after attachment and detachment, the holding force exerted by the mirror holder 52 is stably maintained at a constant level. It can be set. For this reason, even if the laser beam reflecting mirror 4 is periodically attached and detached from the mirror holder 50 and maintenance processing such as polishing the reflective surface 4a is performed, it is difficult to attach it to the mirror holder 50 again after the maintenance processing. The position can be set with high precision to achieve the desired laser beam reflection effect without requiring angle adjustment work.

Although the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 uses the wave-shaped washer 66 as a means for exerting elastic holding force, the above-mentioned wave-shaped washer 6 can be used as the spring that constitutes the main element of the elastic force adjusting means.
For example, a coil spring may be inserted between the flange 64 of the collar 62 with a 7-flange and a countersunk hole for a spring seat formed concentrically around the through hole 60 on the outer periphery of the mirror holder 52. It is also possible to realize the elastic holding force adjusting means even if the device is attached. Further, instead of the wave-shaped washer 66, a structure may be adopted in which a plurality of ordinary commercially available spring washers are stacked one on top of the other.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As can be understood through the description of the embodiments above, according to the present invention, when a laser beam reflecting mirror is installed in the body of a laser robot or a laser processing machine, the mirror holder is equipped with an elastic holding force adjusting means. Even if the laser beam reflecting mirror is removed from the mirror holder at the time of mirror maintenance, when it is reinstalled into the same holder, the positioning adjusted within the holder will be reproduced as is. Since the mirror can be installed in the same state, there is no need to carry out complicated angle adjustment work after maintenance of the mirror, and therefore maintenance management of the laser beam reflecting mirror in a laser robot or laser processing machine can be further simplified. Furthermore, since the reproducibility is good, users of laser robots can independently carry out maintenance work on a regular basis, and it is also possible to improve the operating efficiency of laser robots and laser processing machines.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of an embodiment of a mirror holder for a laser robot or the like according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of a laser robot on which the mirror holder can be mounted, and FIG. is a side sectional view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 1 showing the structure of a conventional mirror holder for a laser robot or the like. 1, 50...Mirror holder, 2...Mirror holding base, 3...Mirror storage housing, 4...Laser beam reflecting mirror 4a...Reflecting surface, 7...Fixing screw, 8・
...adjustment screw, 9...fixing screw, 10...fixing screw, 52...mirror holder 62...collar with flange 66...corrugated washer. 1 β Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A holder that removably holds an optical path changing mirror installed in a laser beam path in a body of a laser robot, etc., comprising: a mirror holding base set at a fixed position on the robot body; a mirror storage housing set and seated on the mirror holding base; a laser beam reflection mirror detachably stored in the mirror storage housing; and positioning the laser beam reflection mirror between the mirror storage housing; The mirror holder is configured to include a mirror holder for holding, and an elastic holding force adjusting means for pressing the mirror holder against the laser beam reflecting mirror under a constant elastic force and setting the laser beam reflecting mirror in a fixed position. A mirror holder for laser robots, etc., which is characterized by: 2. The elastic holding force adjustment means has one end in contact with the mirror storage housing, the other end has a flange for a spring seat, and a spring holder attached to the mirror holder, and the spring holder and the mirror holder. 2. The mirror holder for a laser robot or the like according to claim 1, further comprising a spring inserted between the mirror holder and the mirror holder. 3. The spring holder consists of a plurality of flanged collars that are inserted into a plurality of holes on the outer periphery of the mirror holder and are pressed against the mirror storage housing by bolts and screws, and the spring is attached to the flanged collar. 3. A mirror holder for a laser robot or the like according to claim 2, comprising at least one corrugated washer mounted thereon.