JPH0583355B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for assembling articles using a robot hand, and in particular to a robot hand that has a function of adjusting the position of gripped parts in an industrial assembly robot. Relates to a method of assembling an article according to the invention.

[Prior Art] Recent robotics technology has improved its precision, and advances in control means accompanying the development of the electronic equipment field have made it possible to achieve high-precision positioning on the micron scale using robot hands. Even the work started to get done. Furthermore, the uses of robots are expanding, and various assembly robots are being put into practical use.

In such an assembly robot, for example, alignment is required to incorporate one assembly part into a predetermined position, but in most cases, alignment is a control that guides the robot hand to such a position. Rather than the problem, it is more important to control the positioning so that the parts to be assembled are held in the correct position.

Therefore, it is necessary to improve the accuracy of the position where the robot hand grips the parts. To this end, it is necessary to use a supply means for supplying parts to the robot, such as arranging the parts with high precision in a box, or using a supply means and a supply means. The conventional method is to first transport the part to a separately provided jig, then use this jig to correct the part to the correct position, and then grip it again.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, requiring highly accurate component placement in a component storage means for supplying work components to a robot, such as a supply box, requires additional costs for peripheral equipment including such a box. This results in high costs. Further, having the hand perform a re-grasping operation on the jig results in a corresponding loss of working time.

The purpose of the present invention is to focus on the conventional problems as described above, and to solve the problems, the robot hand of a robot equipped with a position adjustment function for assembling articles (components) is used to perform positioning during the assembling process. The purpose of this invention is to propose a method for assembling articles using a robot hand.

[Means for Solving the Problem] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the first
gripping the article from the first article storage position with finger members and conveying it to a predetermined installation position of the second article;
An assembling method using a robot hand for assembling the first article at the assembling position, the method comprising: a palm member that holds the finger members in an openable and closable manner for grasping; and an arm that displaceably supports the palm member. a robot hand comprising a member and a restraining means capable of restraining displacement of the palm member with respect to the arm member, a reference member for positioning the first article, and a reference member for positioning the first article; The first article is moved from the article storage position to the article storage position by the finger member of the robot, which has a drive means that can be driven between a reference position and a retracted position, and a positioning base that is rotatable in the same direction as the robot hand. During the operation of moving the robot hand from the storage position to the installation position, the drive means moves the reference member to the retracted position while maintaining the palm means in a state where displacement is permitted. positioning the first article to be held by the finger members of the main palm member by guiding it from the base to the reference position, and when the first article is positioned, the restraining means restrains the palm means. The robot hand guides the positioned first article to a predetermined installation position of the second article.

[Operation] According to the present invention, during an operation in which the robot hand is moved from the storage position of the first article to the predetermined installation position of the second article while the first article is gripped by the finger members of the palm member. The reference member is driven to the reference position by the driving means on the positioning table that rotates together with the robot hand, so that the reference member can position the first article gripped by the finger member via the palm member. Once the positioning is done, the displacement of the palm member is restrained by the restraining means,
The positioning state of the first article gripped by the finger members can be maintained as it is up to the installation position.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

1 and 2 show an example of a robot hand to which the present invention is applied.

Here, 1 is the arm member of the robot hand,
2 is a palm member. A connecting shaft 3 is fixed to the palm member 2, and the fork portion 1A of the arm member 1 and the fork portion 2A of the palm member 2 are connected via this connecting shaft 3.

Further, reference numeral 4 denotes a U-shaped spring receiving member that is supported by the connecting shaft 3 on the outside of the fork portion 2A, and between the spring receiving member 4 and the fork portion 1A of the arm member 1, each Coil springs 5 are interposed, and the spring force of these springs 5 holds the palm member 2 at an initial position approximately at the center of the arm member 1 via the spring receiving member 4.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a clamper having a clamp portion 6A that holds the connecting shaft 3 in a graspable state. In the initial state, the shaft 3 is held slidably, but the palm member 2, which will be described later, is held in a displaced position. It can be gripped by an electric signal only when

Further, the palm member 2 has a shaft support 2B that is perpendicular to the fork portion 2A, and a threaded rod 7 having left-right symmetrical threads is pivotally supported on the shaft support 2B. Reference numeral 8 designates finger members screwed into the symmetrical threaded portions of the threaded rod 7. For example, when the threaded rod 7 is rotated clockwise, both finger members 8 are brought closer to each other, and when the screw rod 7 is rotated counterclockwise, both fingers 8 are brought closer to each other. The members 8 can be moved in a direction that separates them from each other. 9 is this threaded rod 8
This is the motor that drives the.

In the robot hand configured in this way, the shaft 3 is held by the clamp part 6A without operating the clamper 6.
In the state shown in FIG. 1 in which the robot hand is slidably held, and the finger member 8 is still holding the workpiece, that is, the component 10 to be assembled in a predetermined position with the robot hand, for example, As shown in Figure 3, a reference gauge 1 is placed on the right end of the workpiece 10.
1 are brought into contact with each other and a force is applied, the palm member 2 and the shaft 3 can be displaced to the left while compressing the spring 5 on the left side.

So, when it was displaced to a predetermined position,
By supplying an electric signal to the clamper 6, the clamp part 6
By holding the shaft 3 by A, the hand can continue to hold the workpiece 10 in this position.The following describes a series of positioning operations by the robot hand. An example of this will be explained with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, 12 is a plunger that can move the reference gauge 11 between a reference position and a retracted position, and 13 is a positioning stand on which the plunger 12 is mounted. This positioning table 13 is connected to the robot body 14.
The body 14 and the body 14 are rotatably held on a pedestal 15. 16 is a main arm with arm member 1 attached to its tip; 17 is main arm 16 and body 14;
This is the elbow that connects the two.

In this example, a component supply box 18 containing a rod-shaped work component 10 and a receiving frame member 20 having a cut groove 19 into which the work component 10 is fitted are installed at predetermined positions, and the robot is operated by the robot hand. The workpiece 10 is taken out from the parts supply box 18 and fitted into the cut groove 19 of the receiving frame member 20 at a fixed position.

Such work is performed under the control of a computer program prepared separately from this figure, but in such a case, the part 10 is taken out from the supply box 18 by the palm member 2 and finger member 8 of the robot Therefore, it is generally extremely difficult to increase the accuracy of the gripping position.

By the way, in the case of this example, the position of the cylindrical workpiece 10 in the direction perpendicular to the axis is determined by setting the interval between the finger members 8 in advance when the finger members 8 grip the part 10. If you open it with enough time, it will automatically position itself in the gripped state, so there is no problem.

However, the gripping position in the axial direction is a problem, and its accuracy is inevitably low.

In this example, when the robot is operated to take out the workpiece 10 from the supply box 18 using the finger member 8,
First, the tip of the workpiece 10 is placed on the positioning table 13.
The main arm portion 16 is moved to a position facing the surface of the upper reference gauge 11, and here the clamper 6 shown in FIG. 1 is put into a relaxed state, and the palm member 2 is made slidable.

In this way, the plunger 12 is then driven to move the reference gauge 11 to the reference position for positioning, and the gauge 11 moves the workpiece 10, the finger member 8 and the palm member 2 that are gripping the workpiece.
6 to the reference position, and then move the clamper 6 to the reference position.
The shaft 3 is gripped and held at this reference position.

Although the reference gauge 11 is retracted to its original position by the plunger 12, the operation of positioning the component 10 at the above-described position is performed by rotating the component 10 together with the main arm 16 by the body 14. This is performed during a moving operation in which the receiving frame 20 is moved above the cut groove 19 of the receiving frame 20 that is to be assembled.

Therefore, after assembling the workpiece 10 into the cut groove 19, the robot body 14 is rotated again, and the clamper 6 is loosened while the robot body 14 is going to receive the next part 10, and the palm member 2 is moved to the initial position. can be returned to.

Next, another embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In this example, the direction of the palm member can be changed. That is, the palm member 22 of this example is attached to the pivot support 2
2B and a spherical portion 22C, one arm member 21
has a clamp-shaped slotted part 21A at its tip.
A hemispherical bearing part 21B is provided on each arm member beyond this slotted part 21A.

In this way, the spherical portion 22C of the palm member 22 is gripped between both hemispherical bearing portions 21B, and the slotted portion 21A of the arm member 21 is held between the hemispherical bearing portions 21B.
is provided with a clamper 26 to obtain a clamped state, that is, a restrained state, of the spherical part 22C by the bearing part 21B, so that the outer side of the bearing part 21B and the palm member 2
A holding spring 25 is interposed between the palm member 22 and the horizontal portion 22D of the palm member 22 to maintain the initial state.

In the robot hand configured in this manner, the workpiece 10 is displaced in a predetermined direction and at a predetermined elevation/depression angle with the clamper 26 in a relaxed state while the workpiece 10 is gripped by the finger members 8. When such positioning is obtained, the clamper 26 can be operated to keep the palm member 22 and the front in a clamped state. After the finger member 8 is operated by the motor 9 and the workpiece 10 is assembled at a predetermined assembly position, the clamper 26 is loosened again and the spring 2
The palm member 22 can be returned to the initial state by the spring force of 5.

In addition, in the above explanation, in the examples of FIGS. 1 to 4, the position of the component 10 can be adjusted only in one direction, and furthermore, in the example of FIG. 5, displacement adjustment in three-dimensional directions is possible. However, the application of the present invention is not limited to these cases, and various combinations or deformations of such forms enable not only displacement in a two-dimensional plane, but also displacement perpendicular to this plane. It is also possible to adjust the position in the direction.

Furthermore, in the example shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, only a spring is provided on one side, and in the initial state, the palm member is biased in one direction by the spring force of this spring. In order to maintain the position and adjust the position, it is also possible to apply force from the direction opposite to the direction in which the bias is made.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the first article is gripped from the first article storage position by the finger members and conveyed to the predetermined installation position of the second article. , an assembling method using a robot hand for assembling the first article into the assembling position, the palm member holding the finger member so as to be freely openable and closable for gripping, and supporting the palm member so as to be freely displaceable. a robot hand comprising an arm member and a restraining means capable of restraining displacement of the palm member relative to the arm member; a reference member for positioning the first article; and a reference member for positioning the first article; The finger member of the robot has a driving means that can be driven between a reference position and a retracted position, and a positioning base that is rotatable in the same direction as the robot hand. During the operation of gripping an article and moving the robot hand from the storage position to the installation position, the reference member is retracted by the drive means during the operation while maintaining the palm means in a state where displacement is permitted. positioning the first article to be held by the finger members of the palm member by guiding it from the position to the reference position, and when the first article is positioned, the restraining means restrains the palm means. Since the positioned first article is guided to a predetermined installation position of the second article by the robot hand, the first part (component) is held by the finger member. By displacing the palm member with
It is possible to have a robot hand perform highly accurate component positioning with a simple device without requiring any special consideration to increase the accuracy of component supply positions.

Further, positioning is performed by relating the positioning device on the positioning table, which rotates together with the robot hand, with the first article (component) held by the finger members of the palm means of the robot hand at a reference position for positioning. Therefore, the series of positioning operations described above can be performed while the arm member is moving the article, eliminating the need to change parts or wasting time just for positioning. Therefore, it is also possible to perform the work without stopping the hand part.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view showing an example of the configuration of a robot band for implementing the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial side view showing an example of the configuration of a robot hand applied to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of a robot hand to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which positioning is performed using the reference gauge, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view showing the structure of another example of the robot hand according to the present invention. 1, 21... Arm member, 2, 22... Palm member,
6A... Clamp part, 8... Finger member, 9... Motor, 10... Work part, 11... Reference gauge,
12...Blungier, 13...Positioning stand, 14
... Torso, 16... Main arm.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Grip a first article from the first article storage position with finger members, transport it to a predetermined installation position of a second article, and place the first article at the installation position. A method of assembling using a robot hand, which includes: a palm member that holds the finger members in an openable and closable manner for grasping; an arm member that supports the palm member so as to be freely displaceable; a robot hand comprising a restraining means capable of restraining displacement of a member; a reference member for positioning the first article; and a drive for driving the reference member to a reference position for positioning and a retracted position. gripping the first article from the article storage position by the finger member of the robot, which has a positioning base that is rotatable in the same direction as the robot hand, and moves the robot hand to the storage position. During the operation of moving the reference member from the retracted position to the built-in position, the reference member is guided from the retracted position to the reference position by the drive means during the operation while maintaining the palm member in a state where displacement is permitted. positioning the first article gripped by the finger members of the first article;
When the article is positioned, the palm means is restrained by the restraining means, and the positioned first article is guided to a predetermined installation position of the second article by the robot hand. A method for assembling articles using a robot hand.