Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
  • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
  • B25J9/00—Programme-controlled manipulators
  • B25J9/10—Programme-controlled manipulators characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements
  • B25J9/14—Programme-controlled manipulators characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements fluid
  • B25J9/144—Linear actuators
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
  • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
  • B25J19/00—Accessories fitted to manipulators, e.g. for monitoring, for viewing; Safety devices combined with or specially adapted for use in connection with manipulators
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
  • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
  • B25J9/00—Programme-controlled manipulators
  • B25J9/0081—Programme-controlled manipulators with master teach-in means
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
  • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
  • B25J9/00—Programme-controlled manipulators
  • B25J9/02—Programme-controlled manipulators characterised by movement of the arms, e.g. cartesian coordinate type
  • B25J9/04—Programme-controlled manipulators characterised by movement of the arms, e.g. cartesian coordinate type by rotating at least one arm, excluding the head movement itself, e.g. cylindrical coordinate type or polar coordinate type
  • B25J9/046—Revolute coordinate type
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16B—DEVICES FOR FASTENING OR SECURING CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS OR MACHINE PARTS TOGETHER, e.g. NAILS, BOLTS, CIRCLIPS, CLAMPS, CLIPS OR WEDGES; JOINTS OR JOINTING
  • F16B1/00—Devices for securing together, or preventing relative movement between, constructional elements or machine parts
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16B—DEVICES FOR FASTENING OR SECURING CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS OR MACHINE PARTS TOGETHER, e.g. NAILS, BOLTS, CIRCLIPS, CLAMPS, CLIPS OR WEDGES; JOINTS OR JOINTING
  • F16B21/00—Means for preventing relative axial movement of a pin, spigot, shaft or the like and a member surrounding it; Stud-and-socket releasable fastenings
  • F16B21/06—Releasable fastening devices with snap-action

Definitions

• This invention relates to industrial robots and more particularly to a novel method and apparatus for disconnecting the drive means of a robot actuator to allow movement of the various movable components of the actuator without the need to operate or move the drive means.
• One particular type of industrial robot used in the prior art generally consists of a support unit, a base unit mounted on the support unit and rotatable about a vertical axis, a lower arm assembly mounted on the rotatable base unit for pivotal movement about a first horizontal axis, an upper arm member mounted on the upper end of the lower arm member for pivotal movement about a second horizontal axis, and a tool supporting member universally connected to the free end of the upper arm member through a wrist assembly. Movement of the members with respect to each other generally is accomplished by drive means which may be powered by fluid under pressure, electric motors, air under pressure or other means.
• One method of programming the movements required of such a robot requires deactivating the drive means and moving the operative members of the robot by hand through a sequence of desired movements.
• Sensors located on the various axes of the robot provide position information to a control system during the programming movements. Such position information transmitted to the control system of the robot formulates the operating program for the robot.
• Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved means for disconnecting the drive means of industrial robots for programming purposes which is effective in maintaining proper alignment of the components and supplying acurate position data to the control system both when the drive means is connected and when the drive means is disconnected.
• a further object of the present invention is to provide an improved means for disconnecting the drive means of industrial robots which is simple in design, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and highly effective in performance.
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of an industrial robot system utilizing the present invention
• Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the robot shown in Figure 1, having portions thereof broken away;
• FIG 3 is an enlarged side, elevational view of a fluid cylinder assembly utilized in the robot shown in Figures 1 and 2, embodying the present invention.
• Figure 4 is an enlarged, vertical cross-sectional view of a portion of the assembly shown in Figure 3.
• an industrial robot system for performing work functions on a workpiece which generally consists of a robot actuator 10, a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure 11 and a unit 12 for controlling the motions of the robot actuator.
• the robot actuator consists of a stationary support unit 13, a base unit 14 mounted on the support unit and adapted to rotate about a vertical axis, a pair of lower sets of the arm members 15 and 16 mounted at their lower ends to base unit 14 for pivotal movement about a pair of lower horizontal axes, an upper arm member 17 mounted on the upper ends of arm sets 15 and 16 for pivotal movement about a pair of upper horizontal axes, and a wrist assembly 18 mounted on a free end of the upper arm member.
• the movements of lower arm members 15 and 16, upper arm members 17 and wrist assembly 18 are actuated by a set of fluid cylinder assemblies which are operatively connected to the lower arm members, the upper arm member and the wrist assembly through various linkages.
• a fluid cylinder assembly 19 having a cylinder 20 pivotally connected to base member 14 as at 21, and a piston rod 22 pivotally connected to a lever 23 pivotally connected to the base member as at 24.
• Motion of lever 23 is transmitted to the wrist assembly for positioning a working tool mounted on the wrist assembly by means of a link 25, a crank 26 pivotally connected to lower arm member 16 as at 27 and a control rod 28 operatively connecting crank 26 and a component of the wrist assembly.
• Power unit 11 is of a conventional, commercially available type, including an oil reservoir, motor, pump, filter and appropriate controls.
• the power unit supplies fluid under pressure to the robot actuator through a valve and manifold assembly 29.
• Control unit 12 includes a microprocessor computer which functions in the conventional manner in comparing the actual positions of the working tool with the program positions, determining the position errors and correspondingly generating command signals to selected valves controlling the fluid cylinders for correcting the errors.
• the positions of the components of the robot actuator are sensed by linear potentiometers 30 mounted directly on the fluid cylinder assemblies.
• the working tool mounted on the wrist assembly is physically moved through a sequence of desired motions.
• the various potentiometers of the robot actuator generate a sequence of position signals which function to program the computer.
• piston rod 21 includes a rod section 31 connected to the head portion of the piston rod and extending through an axially disposed opening in the end wall of the cylinder, and a rod section 32.
• Rod section 31 is provided with an axially disposed bore 33 and an annular, protruding portion 34 providing an upper beveled surface 35 and a lower beveled surface 36.
• Rod section 32 is provided with a guide portion 37 which is received within axial bore 33.
• Guide portion 37 is axially displaceable relative to rod section 31 and functions to maintain rod head section 32 and rod section 31 in axial alignment.
• a carrier member 38 Threadedly mounted on the lower end of rod section 32 is a carrier member 38 having an annular, beveled surface 39 upon which annular beveled surface 35 of protrusion 34 may be seated, and a plurality of openings 40 which are disposed at acute angles relative to the axis of piston rod 21. Disposed in openings 40 is a set of detents 41 which are displaceable inwardly and outwardly. Each of such detents has a cylindrical surface 42 engageable with annular beveled surface 36 of rod section 31, when displaced inwardly, and an end surface 43 which may be engaged by annular beveled surface 35 of rod section 31.
• retainer member 44 Mounted on carrier member 38 is a retainer member 44 having an annular, beveled surface 45 engaging the outer ends of detents 41. Beveled surface 41 of the retainer member is yieldingly biased against detents 41 to urge them in their extended positions by means of a coil spring 46 interposed between a bottom surface of carrier member 38 and retainer member 44.
• rod section 31 will be locked to rod section 32 so that when fluid under pressure is supplied to opposite ends of cylinder 20, the rod sections will move together in extending and retracting to transmit motion through a connecting element 47 to a component of the actuator.
• the component of the fluid cylinder to be disconnected is physically moved to cause rod 21 to retract and cause retainer member 44 to engage a compression pad 48 mounted in the end wall of the cylinder.
• rod section 32 When the programming procedure has been completed and it is desired to reconnect the component to the fluid cylinder to operate the robot actuator, rod section 32 merely is retracted toward the cylinder until annular beveled surface 35 of protrusion 34 engages end surfaces 43 of the detents. As retraction continues, beveled surface 35 will cam detents 41 into their retracted positions to permit protrusion 34 to ride past the detents into the position as shown in Figure 4. Under such conditions, annular beveled surface 35 of protrusion 34 will be seated on annular beveled surface 39 of retainer member 38 and detents 41 will be caused to extend so that their cylindrical surfaces 42 will engage annular beveled surface 36 of protrusion 34, in locking relation. A positive seating of protrusion 34 on detents 41 is assured by a spring washer 49.
• linear potentiometer 30 is provided with a main body portion 50 rigidly secured to cylinder 20 by means of a pair of brackets 51 and 52, and a slide element 53 rigidly secured to rod section 32 by means of a bracket 54 secured to rod section 32 by means of a retaining nut 55. It will be appreciated that as rod section 32 is extended or retracted, whether connected to rod section 31 or not, slide element 53 will be displaced correspondingly to sense the position of the component to which the fluid assembly is operatively connected, for sensing the position of the component during either programming of the computer or operating the actuator.
• disconnection of the rod of the fluid cylinder can be accomplished either by retracting the rod by supplying fluid under pressure to the rod end of the cylinder or by physically moving the retainer member down into contact with the compression pad.
• the linkage operated by the fluid cylinder can be designed so that during normal operation of the robot actuator, the rod of the fluid cylinder will not be retracted sufficiently to cause it to engage the compression pad and inadvertently cause disconnection.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Robotics (AREA)
• Manipulator (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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ID=25316501

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

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Family Cites Families (6)

• 1987
  • 1987-04-03 JP JP50235987A patent/JPH01500096A/ja active Pending
  • 1987-04-03 EP EP19870903030 patent/EP0262214A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1987-04-03 WO PCT/US1987/000745 patent/WO1987006313A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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