JPH03218202A - Motor working apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To widen work range without increasing the size or the weight of a mobile working truck by securing a cord reel mechanism, for feeding or rewinding a feeder cord, to a part to be secured such as wall in a work site. CONSTITUTION:The motor working apparatus comprises a mobile truck 1, a plurality of bands 2, 3, a working mechanism 4, tires 5, 6, a moving mechanism 7, a feeder cord 8, a cord reel mechanism 9, and the like. When power is fed through the feeder cord 8 to the mobile truck 1, the cord reel mechanism 9 applies predetermined tension onto the feeder cord 8 which is thereby fed out or rewound. When the mobile truck 1 moves in a work yard, the feeder cord 8 is fed out or rewound through the cord reel mechanism 9 secured to a part to be secured such as wall in the work yard and thereby the feeder cord 8 is kept in a state subjected to the predetermined tension.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Application of Industry-1- The present invention relates to an electric working device that moves to perform tasks such as transporting parts and cleaning.

(Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-268305 by Rono Jubei describes a mobile work vehicle that is powered by electricity from a room wall or the like via a power cord, and that moves to carry out tasks such as transporting parts and cleaning. In such a conventional example, a mobile work vehicle is equipped with a cord reel mechanism for winding and storing a power cord connected to an outlet on a wall of a room.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention In such mobile work vehicles, in order to expand the range of work, it is necessary to increase the length of the power cord, and accordingly, the length of the power cord has to be increased. The cord reel mechanism becomes large in size for storage.

In the conventional example, since the cord reel mechanism is mounted on the mobile work vehicle, an increase in the size of the cord reel mechanism results in an increase in the size and weight of the mobile work vehicle, which is not desirable in terms of cost.

The present invention provides an electric working device that can expand the working range without increasing the size or weight of a mobile working vehicle.

(2) Means for Solving the Problems The electric working device of the present invention includes a mobile vehicle equipped with a working mechanism and a moving mechanism, a power cord connected to the mobile vehicle, and a fixed part such as a wall of a workplace. It is characterized by comprising a cord reel mechanism that is fixedly provided, supplies power to the mobile vehicle via the power cord, and also unwinds and winds up the power cord to apply a predetermined tension to the power cord. shall be.

(E) Operation When the mobile vehicle moves within the workplace, the power cord is fed out or wound up by a cord reel mechanism fixed to a fixed part such as the wall of the workplace. A predetermined tension is maintained.

(F) Embodiment FIGS. 1 to 7 show an embodiment of the electric working device of the present invention, which will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows the entire electric working device.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a mobile vehicle, and its upper part is equipped with an articulated robot, that is, a working mechanism 4, which is composed of a plurality of arms 2 and hands 3, and its lower part is equipped with tires 5, 6 and a motor that rotates them (Fig. (not shown), and a moving mechanism 7 comprising a steering means (not shown) for steering the vehicle.

8 is a power cord connected to the moving vehicle 1; 9 is a power cord fixed to a fixed part, that is, a floor surface 10 of the workplace;
This is a cord reel mechanism that supplies power to the moving vehicle 1 via the cord reel mechanism, and also feeds out and winds up the power cord 8 in order to apply a predetermined tension to the power cord 8.

2 to 4 show the main parts of the main body of the mobile vehicle 1. As shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 11 denotes an annular rail 13 that is attached to the main body of the mobile vehicle 1 so as to surround it and has a groove portion 12 on the outside.
15 is a cord storage groove formed on the bottom surface 14 of the groove portion 12;
17 is a rotary ring rotatably supported within the groove 12 by a plurality of support rollers 16; 17 is rotatably attached to the rotary ring 15;
4, hold the power cord 8 and insert it into the cord storage groove 13.
This is a presser roller that is housed inside. Further, reference numeral 18 denotes a cord guide port provided at one location of the rotating ring 15, which has guide rollers l9 on the left and right sides, and guides the power cord 8 from the cord reel mechanism 9 into the groove portion 12. Reference numeral 20 denotes an inlet that communicates with the cord storage groove 13 of the groove portion 12 and the inside of the vehicle 1 body, and guides the power cord 8 into the vehicle 1. By the power cord 8 led into the moving vehicle 1 from the inlet 20,
Electric power is supplied to the electric devices of the moving vehicle 1, that is, the working mechanism 4 and the moving mechanism 7.

FIG. 5 shows the appearance of the cord reel mechanism 9.

21 is a fixed base fixed to the floor 10; 22 is a pivot shaft formed on the fixed base 21; 23 is a knoll housing provided swingably around the pivot shaft 22;
4 is a cord reel rotatably provided in the reel housing 23; 25 is a cord outlet having a plurality of guide rollers 26 and formed on the end face of the reel housing 23;

The power cord 8 wound around the cord loop 24 is guided to the outside through the cord outlet 25 and connected to the mobile vehicle 1.

FIG. 6 shows the internal structure of the cord reel mechanism 9.

27 is a shaft that rotatably supports the cord reel 24 at one end via a bearing 28; 29 is a cover 3 fixed to the other end of the shaft 27 with a nut 30;
1 is a gear fixed to the shaft 27 adjacent to the cord reel 24; 32 and 33 are the cord reel 24 and the gear 3, respectively;
A clutch plate 34 is provided between the cover 29 and the gear 31, and is a spring that presses the gear 31 toward the cord reel 24 and causes the clutch plates 32 and 33 to slide against each other. 35 is a motor that rotates the cord reel 24 via a gear 36 that meshes with the gear 31;
37 is a brake device having a brake plate 38 attached to the output shaft of the motor 35.

Further, FIG. 7 shows tension detection means built into the cord reel mechanism 9. As shown in FIG.

39. 39 are two guide rollers disposed between the cord outlet 25 and the cord reel 24; 40 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 41, and is rotated with a constant spring force in the direction of arrow A by a spring 42; {=j is applied, and a lever 1-13 provided at one end of the guide rollers 39, 39 at an intermediate position pushes down the power cord 8, and 44 is opened/closed by the movement of the other end of the lever 10. and power cord 8
This is a detection switch that detects the tension of the

The operation of this embodiment will be explained below.

The cord reel mechanism 9 is installed on a floor surface 10 at approximately the center of the working range. For example, when the mobile vehicle 1 is used as a cooking robot that takes out food ingredients from a refrigerator, transports them into the heating chamber of a microwave oven, and then transports the cooked food to the counter after heating in the microwave oven is completed. It is installed approximately in the center of the work area where the refrigerator, microwave oven, counter, etc. are located.

The mobile vehicle 1 then moves around the work area and performs the work.

During this work, when the mobile vehicle moves away from the cord reel mechanism 9, the power cord 8 is pulled by the mobile vehicle 1. At this time, the lever 40 of the tension detection means moves in the opposite direction of arrow 8, opens the detection switch 44, turns off the motor 35, and the brake device 37 fixes the output shaft of the motor 35, so that the gear 36
, 31 do not rotate. However, since the gear 31 is pressed toward the cord reel 24 by the spring 34 and the clutch plates 32 and 33 slide, the bearing 2
The cord reel 24 supported through the cord reel 24 rotates as the power cord 8 is pulled by the mobile vehicle 1, lets out the power cord 8 to a required length, and maintains the tension of the power cord 8 at a predetermined value. The tension when the clutch plates 32 and 33 start to slide depends on the degree of tightening of the nut 30.
It can be adjusted by the pressing force of 4.

Conversely, when the mobile vehicle 1 moves in a direction approaching the cord reel mechanism 9, the power cord 8 becomes slack as the mobile vehicle 1 moves. At this time, the lever 40 of the tension detection means moves in the direction of arrow A to close the detection switch 44, turning on the motor 35 and rotating its output shaft.

Since the gear 31 is pressed toward the cord reel 24 by the spring 34, the rotational force applied is applied to the gears 36, 3.
1. The power is transmitted to the cord reel 24 via the clutch plates 33 and 32, and the cord reel 24 rotates so as to wind the power cord 8 to a required length.

When the motor is rotating 35 times, the tension in the power cord 8 is low, so the clutch plates 33, 32 do not slip. When the power cord 8 is wound up and its tension reaches a predetermined value, the lever 40 of the tension detection means moves in the opposite direction of arrow A to open the detection switch 44 and turn off the motor 35.

Due to this operation, the tension in the power cord 8 changes from the value when the power cord 8 becomes slack and the detection switch 44 is closed to the value when the clutch plates 32 and 33 begin to slide against each other with the detection switch 44 open and the motor 35 off. Between the values of
Automatically maintained.

At this time, in the cord reel mechanism 9, the reel housing 23 is pulled by the tension generated in the power cord 8 and automatically rotates around the pivot shaft 22.
The cord outlet 25 is dynamically directed toward the moving vehicle 1 in accordance with the movement of the moving vehicle 1. The rotation of the reel housing 23 about the pivot axis 22 is configured such that the tension in the power cord 8 occurs at a lower value than when the detection switch 44 is opened and the motor 35 is turned off.

On the other hand, in the moving vehicle 1, the positional relationship with the cord reel mechanism 9 changes as the vehicle 1 moves. In this configuration, when the moving vehicle 1 moves and the direction in which the cord reel mechanism 9 is viewed from the moving vehicle changes, the tension of the power cord 8 rotates the rotary ring 5 in the groove 12 and the cord guide port 8 faces the cord reel mechanism 9. Furthermore, during this rotation, the pressing roller 17 presses the power cord 8 into the cord housing groove 13 to place it in the housing position. Therefore, even if the moving vehicle 1 moves and its positional relationship with the cord reel mechanism 9 changes, and the direction from which the moving vehicle 1 looks toward the cord reel mechanism 9 changes, the power cord 8 is connected to the main body of the moving vehicle 1. It does not get tangled and interfere with movement or work. In this embodiment, the cord storage groove 13 is designed to accommodate the power cord 8 whose length corresponds to one revolution of the rotating ring 15, so that it can accommodate the movement of the mobile vehicle 1 until the rotating ring 15 makes one revolution. However, if the mobile vehicle 1 moves rapidly and it is desired to accommodate the movement of the mobile vehicle 1 up to several rotations of the rotary ring 15, the cord storage groove 13 may be made wider.

FIG. 8 shows a mobile vehicle 1 according to another embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, in the moving vehicle 1, the cord storage groove 13
, the pressing roller 17 is omitted, and the power cord 8 from the cord reel mechanism 9 is directly fixed to one location of a rotary ring 15 rotatably provided in the groove 12 of the annular rail 11, and the power cord 8 is not curled at the fixed portion. It is connected to a cord 45, and the power cord 45 is guided into the main body of the mobile vehicle 1.

The other configurations of the mobile vehicle 1 and the configuration of the cord reel mechanism 9 are the same as in the previous embodiment.

With this configuration, the rotating ring 15 can rotate by the extendable length of the curl cord 45, and when the moving vehicle 1 moves and the direction from which the moving vehicle 1 looks into the cord reel mechanism 9 changes, the power cord 8 The rotation ring 15 rotates due to the tension, so that the fixed point of the power cord 8 faces the cord reel mechanism 9. Therefore, even if the moving vehicle 1 moves and the direction from which the moving vehicle 1 looks toward the cord reel mechanism 9 changes,
There is little risk that the power cord 8 will get tangled with the main body of the moving vehicle 1 or be bent. As in the previous embodiment, power is supplied to the working mechanism 4, the moving mechanism 7, etc. by the curl cord 45 guided into the main body of the moving vehicle 1. Although the working mechanism 4 and the moving mechanism 7 are not shown in FIG. 8, it goes without saying that the moving vehicle 1 is equipped with them as in the previous embodiment.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, the cord reel mechanism that feeds power to the moving vehicle and also feeds out and winds up the power cord to apply a predetermined tension to the power cord is not attached to the moving vehicle. Since it is fixed to a fixed part such as the wall of the workplace, even if the power cord becomes longer and the cord reel mechanism becomes larger as the work area becomes wider, the moving vehicle will not become larger or heavier. Therefore, it is possible to provide an electric working device that has a wide working range, is small in size, and is lightweight.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 7 show an embodiment of the electric working device of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire electric working device, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the entire electric working device.
The figure is a sectional view of the main part of the main body of the mobile vehicle, Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views of the annular rail at different positions, Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the cord reel mechanism, and Figure 6 is the cord reel mechanism. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the cord reel mechanism, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the tension detection means incorporated inside the cord reel mechanism. Further, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a moving vehicle of an electric working device according to another embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Moving vehicle, 4... Working mechanism, 7... Moving mechanism, 8... Power cord, 9... Cord reel mechanism, 1
0...Floor surface.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A mobile vehicle equipped with a working mechanism and a moving mechanism; a power cord connected to the mobile vehicle; 1. An electric working device comprising: a cord reel mechanism that feeds power to the power supply cord, and unwinds and winds up the power cord in order to apply a predetermined tension to the power cord.