JPH0624879U - Tool changer for industrial robots - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] Even if the robot arm is not positioned accurately, the required parallelism at the connection part is ensured, and the connection part of the electric wiring or the connection part of the control cable does not have a connection failure or is unnecessary. Provided is a tool changing device for an industrial robot, which does not cause uneven wear of a connection portion due to stable discharge. A tool changing device for an industrial robot comprising a robot side unit R attached to a robot arm A and a tool side unit U attached to a tool T, wherein the robot side unit R is a lifting mechanism. Two
And a plurality of holding mechanisms 3 driven by the lifting mechanism 2. The holding mechanism 3 enters the cavities 51 and 52 of the main body 5 of the tool-side unit U, and then the lifting mechanism 2 As a result, the holding member 32 of the holding mechanism 3 is pushed up from the standby position to the holding position in the outer peripheral direction, whereby the holding portion 33 of the holding member 32 is moved to the main body 5.
The held member 53 formed in the above is configured to be pulled up and held to the holding position.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a tool changing device for an industrial robot. More specifically, the present invention relates to a tool changing device for an industrial robot, which can easily perform position alignment when changing tools.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Conventionally, one robot has been made to perform various tasks by changing tools.

As shown in FIG. 8, this tool exchange involves unlocking the ball lock mechanism L between the robot side unit R and the tool side unit U and removing the used tool from the robot arm A. The robot arm A is positioned with respect to the tool T placed on the tool stand S with the tool side unit U facing upward, and the robot side unit R and the tool attached to the tip end of the robot arm A after this are attached. This is done by fitting the side unit U and locking by the ball lock mechanism L.

However, recently, in order to simplify the handling of electric wiring, control cables, cooling water piping, etc. when changing tools, not only the air piping but also the cooling water piping, the electric wiring and the control cable are disconnected. The so-called complete edge cutting type tool change method has been adopted. Therefore, with respect to the positioning of the robot arm A, a high degree of positioning accuracy is required.

However, at present, the positioning accuracy of the robot arm A cannot satisfy the above requirement, and includes a slight error. In order to absorb the positioning error of the robot arm A, the tool stand S is installed on the floating unit F which can be slightly moved when an unnecessary external force acts on the tool side unit U and absorb the positioning error. Has been done.

As described above, in the conventional tool exchange, the robot side unit R and the tool side unit U are connected by the robot arm A itself as described above. It is difficult to achieve accurate parallelism at the wiring and control cable connections. Therefore, for example, water leaks or air leaks occur from the connection parts of the cooling water pipes and air pipes (connection parts of water couplers and air couplers (hereinafter, fluid couplers)), and the connection parts of electric wiring and control cables. There is a problem that connection failure of the connection part and uneven wear of the connection part due to misalignment occur.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-121778 discloses an automatic tool changing device using a link mechanism. In this device, the link mechanism includes a robot side unit and a tool side unit. Since it is used only as a locking mechanism after being moved, the problem that the positioning error of the robot arm cannot be absorbed and the positioning must be performed strictly has not been solved.

[0008]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the related art. Even if the robot arm is not positioned accurately, the required parallelism at the connection portion is ensured, and the robot side unit and the tool side unit are secured. Since it can be connected to the floating unit, the floating unit can be dispensed with, and the connection of the electric wiring and the connection of the control cable will not be improperly connected, and uneven wear of the connection due to misalignment will not occur. It is intended to provide a tool changing device for an industrial robot.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The present invention is a tool changing device for an industrial robot, comprising a robot side unit attached to a robot arm and a tool side unit attached to a tool, wherein the robot side unit comprises an elevating mechanism and the elevating mechanism. The holding member is composed of a plurality of holding mechanisms driven by a mechanism, and the holding member of the holding mechanism is pushed up in the outer peripheral direction while being raised from the standby position by the lowering of the elevating mechanism to the holding position. The tool-side unit is movable, and has a cavity for entry of the holding means and a held member held by the holding member, and the lifting mechanism is moved after the holding means enters the cavity. Causes the holding member to be pushed outward from the standby position to the holding position in the outer peripheral direction, whereby the holding portion of the holding member is moved to the covered position. Pulling the support member to the holding position, and to a tool changer of the industrial robot, characterized in that the holding.

In the tool changer of the present invention, the holding mechanism is preferably a toggle link mechanism.

Further, in the tool changer of the present invention, it is preferable that positioning means is provided.

Here, the positioning means is provided on the robot side unit, and a tapered positioning pin provided on the robot side unit, a hole formed on the tool side unit into which the positioning pin is inserted. It is preferable that the first stopper member and the second stopper member provided on the tool side unit contacting the first stopper member are provided.

Further, in the tool changer of the present invention, it is preferable that a leak preventing projection is provided at a connecting portion of a member arranged in the robot side unit or the tool side unit of the fluid coupler.

[0014]

[Action]

 Since the tool changer of the present invention is configured such that the plurality of holding mechanisms hold the tool side unit while pulling up the tool side unit, even if there is some error in the positioning of the robot arm, the error will occur during the pulling operation. Is corrected autonomously by the movement of the plurality of holding mechanisms. Therefore, even if there is some error in the positioning of the arm, the tool placed on the tool stand can be held with a predetermined accuracy to connect the robot arm and the tool.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a tapered positioning pin provided on the robot side unit, a hole formed on the tool side unit into which the positioning pin is inserted, and a first positioning pin provided on the robot side unit. Since the positioning means including one stopper member and the second stopper member provided on the tool side unit that abuts on the first stopper member is provided, the mounting accuracy can be improved.

[0016] In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, since a leakage preventing protrusion is provided at a connecting portion of a member disposed in the robot side unit or the tool side unit of the fluid coupler, the fluid coupler is connected. Leakage does not occur even if it is slightly tilted, and leak prevention is completed.

[0017]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tool side unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a robot side unit at a position corresponding to FIG. is there . FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation of the present invention, showing a state in which the holding member of the holding mechanism is in the standby position. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the operation of the present invention, showing a state in which the holding member of the holding mechanism holds the held member of the tool side unit in the holding position. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of an embodiment of the fluid coupler used in the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a structural view of the main part of the embodiment. In the figure, R is a robot side unit, U is a tool side unit, 1 is a robot side unit R main body, 2 is a lifting mechanism, 3 is a holding mechanism, 4 is a positioning mechanism, 5 is a tool side unit U main body. , 6 are fluid couplers.

In one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a robot side unit R includes a main body 1 having a substantially cylindrical shape, and an elevating mechanism 2 having a drive unit built in the main body 1. And a plurality of holding mechanisms 3 driven by the lifting mechanism 2. The lifting mechanism 2 and the holding mechanism 3 constitute a holding means. In this embodiment, the number of the holding mechanisms 3 is three, and the holding mechanisms 3 are arranged on the bottom surface 1a of the main body 1 at intervals of 120 degrees about the axis of the main body 1.

The lifting mechanism 2 includes, for example, an air cylinder 21 formed inside the main body 1, a piston 22 that reciprocates in the air cylinder 21, and one end 23a connected to the pinton 22 and the other. An example is a pinton rod 23 having an end 23b protruding from the bottom surface 1a of the main body 1 and a tip member 24 connected to the other end 23b of the piston rod 23. The axis of the pinton rod 23 is arranged so as to coincide with the axis of the main body 1. The piston 22 is preferably biased downward by a spring member 25 so that the holding mechanism 3 continues to hold the tool-side unit even if the air is interrupted due to an accident or the like.

The holding mechanism 3 may be a toggle link mechanism. The drive member 31 of the toggle link mechanism has one end 31a rotatably connected to the tip member 24, and the other end 31b rotatably connected to the lower end 32b of the holding member 32 of the toggle link mechanism 30. Has been done. The upper end 32a of the holding member 32 is rotatably connected to the locking member 11 arranged outside the tip member 24 on the bottom surface 1a of the main body 1. Further, the lower end 32b of the holding member 32 is formed with a holding portion 33 protruding toward the outer peripheral direction. With such a configuration, the lower end 32b of the holding member 32 is pushed upward while being raised to the outer periphery by the driving member 31 as the lifting mechanism 2 descends, and can be moved from the standby position to the holding position. .

The tool-side unit U has as its main component a main body 5 made of a cylindrical member having the same outer diameter as the main body 1 of the robot-side unit R. A main cavity portion 51 is formed in the center of the upper surface 5a of the main body 5, and radial follower cavity portions 52, 52, 52 are formed at intervals of 120 degrees from the main cavity portion 51. . The main cavity portion 51 is sized so that the tip member 24 on the lifting mechanism side 2 can be freely raised and lowered. The sub cavity 52 is provided at a position corresponding to the holding mechanism 3.

Thus, the held members 53, 53 1, 53 are arranged outside the sub-cavities 52, 52, 52. The held member 53 is arranged at a position to be held by the holding portion 33 when the holding member 32 reaches the holding position. The shape of the inside of the lower end portion 53b of the held member 53 corresponds to the holding portion 33 of the holding member 32. That is, in the present embodiment shown in the drawing, the holding portion 33 has an inverted L-shape, so that the inside of the lower end portion 53b also has an inverted L-shape.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a positioning mechanism 4 is provided. The positioning mechanism 4 includes, for example, a conical pin 41 provided on the robot side unit R, a diamond pin 42, positioning holes 43 and 44 provided correspondingly on the tool side unit U, and a robot side unit. It is composed of a first stopper member 45 provided on the R and a second stopper member 46 corresponding to the first stopper member 45 provided on the tool side unit U. The conical pin 41 and the diamond pin 42 are preferably arranged point-symmetrically with respect to the center.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is a leakage at the joint between the second member 62 provided on the tool side unit U of the fluid coupler 6 and the first member 61 provided on the robot side unit R. A prevention protrusion 63 is provided. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the fluid coupler 6 in which the leakage prevention protrusion 63 is arranged. In FIG. 6, the left half shows the state where the valve body 64 is lowered and the flow passage is opened, and the right half shows the state where the valve body 64 is raised and the flow passage is closed. As is apparent from FIG. 7, the leakage prevention protrusion 63 digs into the valve seat 65 of the first member 61 to achieve complete leakage prevention. Therefore, there is some error in setting the parallelism between the first member 61 and the second member 62, and the fluid coupler 6 does not leak from the connecting portion even if the fluid coupler 6 is inclined and connected. The leakage prevention protrusion 63 may be arranged on the first member 61 provided on the robot side unit R.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 5, the tool exchange by the tool exchanging device configured as described above will be described.

Step 1: The robot arm A moves to the tool stand, and returns the used tool T to the tool stand.

Step 2: Air is supplied from an air supply source (not shown) to the air cylinder 21 of the robot side unit R, and the piston 22 moves up. As a result, the holding member 32 of the holding mechanism 3 stands by from the holding position (see FIG. 5). Move to the position (see Figure 4). Therefore, the engagement between the robot side unit R and the tool side unit U is released, and the used tool T is separated from the robot arm A.

Step 3: The robot arm A moves to the position of the replacement tool T to be newly mounted.

Step 4: The robot side unit R is lowered until the tip member 24 enters the main cavity portion 51 to a predetermined depth.

Step 5: Thereafter, an air switching valve (not shown) is switched, air is supplied in the opposite direction into the air cylinder 21, and the piston 22 descends.

Step 6: Along with that, the holding member 32 is pushed upward in the outer peripheral direction by the drive member 31 connected to the tip member 24.

Step 7: When the holding member 32 is pushed outward to some extent, the tip of the holding portion 33 comes into contact with the inside of the lower end 53 b of the held member 53.

Step 8: Since the holding member 32 continues to rise, the tool-side unit U is pulled up accordingly. That is, the tool T is pulled up from the tool stand.

Step 9: The tool side unit U is autonomously positioned by the cooperation of the three holding members 32, 32, 32 during the pulling up, and at the time when the holding member 32 reaches the holding position, , It is held at a predetermined position and a predetermined connection is made. This completes the tool exchange. In the preferred embodiment in which the positioning mechanism 4 is provided, the conical pin 41 and the diamond pin 42 are fitted and inserted into the holes 43 and 44 during the pulling operation, and the first stopper member 45 and the second stopper are provided. Positioning is made even more accurate because of the abutment with the member 46.

[0036]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, in the present invention, the holding means provided on the robot side unit pulls up the tool side unit and adjusts the position during the pulling up to hold the tool side unit at a predetermined position and make a predetermined connection. Therefore, it is not necessary to strictly position the robot arm when changing tools. Therefore, the time required for the teaching work of the robot can be significantly reduced. Also, since unnecessary pressing force does not act on the tool side unit when changing tools, the floating unit is also unnecessary and the cost of the tool changer can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tool side unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the robot side unit at a position corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation of the present invention, showing a state in which the holding member of the holding mechanism is in the standby position.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the operation of the present invention, showing a state in which the holding member of the holding mechanism holds the held member of the tool side unit in the holding position.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of an embodiment of a fluid coupler used in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a structural diagram of a main part of the fluid coupler.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a conventional tool changing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Main unit of robot side unit 2 Lifting mechanism 3 Holding mechanism 4 Positioning mechanism 5 Main unit of tool side unit 6 Fluid coupler R Robot side unit U Tool side unit A Robot arm T tool

Claims (5)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A tool changing device for an industrial robot comprising a robot side unit attached to a robot arm and a tool side unit attached to a tool, wherein the robot side unit comprises an elevating mechanism and the elevating mechanism. A holding unit composed of a plurality of holding mechanisms driven by a mechanism, and the holding member of the holding mechanism moves to the holding position by being pushed out in the outer peripheral direction while rising from the standby position due to the lowering of the elevating mechanism. It is possible that the tool-side unit is an entrance cavity of the holding means,
And a held member held by the holding member, after the holding means has entered the cavity, the lifting member is pushed out to the holding position in the outer circumferential direction while rising from the standby position by the holding member, Thereby, the holding portion of the holding member pulls up the held member to the holding position,
A tool changing device for an industrial robot, which is characterized by holding it. 2. The tool changing device for an industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein the holding mechanism is a toggle link mechanism. 3. The tool changing device for an industrial robot according to claim 1, further comprising a positioning means. 4. The positioning means comprises tapered positioning pins provided in the robot side unit, holes formed in the tool side unit into which the positioning pins are fitted, and a first stopper provided in the robot side unit. 4. The tool changing device for an industrial robot according to claim 3, comprising a member and a second stopper member provided on the tool side unit that abuts against the first stopper member. 5. The tool change of an industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein a leakage preventing protrusion is provided at a connecting portion of a member arranged in the robot side unit or the tool side unit of the fluid coupler. apparatus.