Driving mechanism for robot arm

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention relates to the drive mechanism of the robot arm, and by consolidating the drive parts of the robot arm from the tip side to the main body mounting portion, the inertial force applied to the wrist portion is reduced and the operability is improved.

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

Currently, the applicant has various plans for robots for the purpose of outboard inspection of the module body of the space station, replacement of structures, operation, installation, and removal of equipment on board, and one example thereof. Will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, 1 is the main body, and four multifunction arms 10, 11, 12, and 13 are provided at the four corners of the lower surface. The multifunctional arm 10 is connected by the connecting portions 10a, 10b, 10c and can freely rotate in three dimensions. Similarly, the multifunctional arm 11 is the connecting portion 11a, 11b, 11c, and the multifunctional arm 12 is The connecting parts 12a, 12b, 12c, and the multifunctional arm 13 are also connected by the connecting parts 13a, 13b, 13c, respectively, and the four arms 10, 11, 12, 13 can be expanded and contracted to move freely. It is a composition.

【0003】

The operating tool 2 is connected to the connecting portions 10c, 11c, 12c, 13c of the arms 10, 11, 12, and 13. A camera 3 and a light 4 are attached to the side surface of the operating tool 2, and the light 4 is turned on by a control device (not shown), the image of the camera 3 is captured, data processing is performed, and the situation is monitored and the position is confirmed. The operating tool 2 is provided with an adapter for gripping the bolt heads at the four corners to which the structure is attached, or is equipped with a screw adapter for removing the bolt and fixing the arm. A robot having such a structure has a control device, that is, a control CPU 14, and controls the drive of the motor of each connection portion of each of the multifunction arms 10 to 13 and the operation of the operation tool 2 at the tip of the arm. The main body 1 is operated by grasping a protrusion of the structure, for example, a bolt head, by using an operating tool 2 along the structure, and sequentially moving the multifunction arms 10 to 13. In such a robot, the movement of each arm is controlled by a single control CPU 14 in the main body 1. The robot is equipped with a motor that moves in three-dimensional directions at each connecting portion, and a large number of motors and actuators that drive each operating tool.

【0004】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

As mentioned above, the currently planned work robot in space has a plurality of multifunctional arms that are flexibly connected at the connecting part, and these arms can be used to travel on a structure or at the tip thereof. Various operations are carried out by grasping an object with the attached operating tool. These multifunctional arms require complicated movements by bending the connecting part, and are equipped with many precise parts such as small motors and actuators, their wiring, gears, and link mechanisms. These motors and drive parts are equipped in each joint, that is, each connection part, and in particular, there are many drive parts at the tip where the operating tool that becomes the wrist is attached, and the weight increases. The balance increases the inertial force at the tip.

【0005】

Therefore, in the present invention, the actuator that drives the robot arm and the functional parts of the drive unit are mounted as close to the arm mounting portion as possible, the weight of the tip portion is reduced, the inertial force of the arm tip portion is reduced, and the operability of the arm is improved. It was made as an object to provide a drive mechanism for a robot arm that can be used as a robot arm.

【0006】

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides the following means for solving the above-mentioned problems.

【0007】

In a robot arm consisting of a main body connecting portion connected to the robot main body and an arm assembly connected to the main body connecting portion and connecting a plurality of single arms at the arm connecting portion, a lower arm connected to the arm connecting portion. The actuator and the drive mechanism for driving the robot are mounted in an upper arm connected to the same connecting portion, the actuator is arranged on the upper end side of the upper arm, and the drive mechanism is arranged on the lower end side of the upper arm. A robot arm drive mechanism, characterized in that the actuator and the drive mechanism are connected by a rod, and the drive mechanism is connected to the arm connecting portion to drive the arm connecting portion.

【0008】

In the present invention, the actuator and the drive mechanism conventionally mounted in the arm connecting portion are mounted in the upper arm of the connecting portion, and the driving force of the actuator is transmitted to the driving mechanism at the lower end of the arm by the rod. The drive mechanism transmits the power to the arm connecting portion and rotates the lower arm connected to the arm connecting portion to a desired position. Therefore, the actuator and the drive mechanism that existed in the conventional connecting portion are attached to the upper arm, respectively, and the actuator and its drive mechanism, which are heavy parts of the robot arm, are concentrated on the shoulder portion of the arm, that is, the main body attachment portion side. Therefore, the tip of the arm becomes lighter by that amount, the inertial force at the time of operating the arm is reduced, and the maneuverability of the robot arm is improved.

【0009】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a robot arm drive mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a configuration diagram of a conventional arm drive mechanism, and (b) is a configuration diagram of the arm drive mechanism of the present invention. In the figure, the multifunctional arm 10 shown in FIG. 4 will be announced and described, but since the other multifunctional arms 11, 12, and 13 have the same structure, these explanations will be omitted.

【0010】

In FIG. 3A, the conventional multifunctional arm 10 is connected to an actuator 20 and an actuator 20 including a motor or the like for driving the connecting portion 10a attached to the main body 1 to drive the connecting portion 10c. The drive unit 21 is built in. Further, the connecting portion 10b on the way also has an actuator 22 for driving the actuator 22 and a driving portion 23 connected to the actuator 22, and the connecting portion 10c at the tip also has an actuator 24 and a driving unit 25 built-in. Has been done.

【0011】

In the above-mentioned conventional multi-function arm structure, an actuator 24 and a drive unit 25 for driving the connecting portion 10c are built in the tip of the arm, and an operating tool 2 is attached to the operating tool 2. Various tools and adapters are attached, and the motors that drive them are also built into the actuator 2, which increases the weight of the tip. When such a multifunctional arm 10 moves, the weight of the tip portion is large, so that the inertial force becomes large, which imposes a burden on quick operation and accurate position control.

【0012】

In the present invention of FIG. (B), the actuator 20 and the drive unit 22 are built in the connecting portion 10a with the main body 1 as in the conventional case, and there is no change from the conventional one. It is moved to the upper arm, which is attached to the base of the arm of the connecting portion 10a, and the driving portion 23 is also moved from the inside of the connecting portion 10b to the inside of the upper arm. The actuator 22 and the drive unit 23 are connected by a rod 30, the drive unit 23 transmits a driving force from the actuator 22 by the rod 30, and the drive unit 23 drives the joint portion of the connection unit 10b from the arm side. Therefore, the actuator 22 and the drive unit 23 in the connecting portion 10b move to the arm side above the actuator 22 and the heavy parts are concentrated on the main body side of the arm, so that the connecting portion 10b is lighter by that much.

【0013】

Similarly, the actuator 24 and the drive unit 25 in the connecting portion 10c also move from the inside of the connecting portion 10c to the arm above it, the actuator 24 moves to the mounting portion of the intermediate connecting portion 10b, and the drive unit 25 also moves to the arm side. The drive unit 25 receives a driving force from the upper actuator 24 by the rod 31 to drive the joint mechanism of the connecting unit 10c. Therefore, the actuator 24 and the drive unit 25 in the connecting portion 10c at the tip of the arm move to the arm side at the upper portion thereof, heavy parts are concentrated from the tip portion to the upper portion, and the connecting portion 10c at the tip becomes lighter by that much.

【0014】

FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the connecting portion and the arm driving portion on the main body side. In the figure, the actuator 20 and the drive unit 21 are built in the connecting portion 10a connected to the main body 1 side, and the actuator 20 moves the tip of the arm connected to the connecting portion 10a in the direction described later._XΘ that moves the actuator 20 (A) that drives the drive unit 21 (A) and the tip of the arm as described later._YIt is equipped with an actuator 21 (B) that drives the drive unit 21 (B). The connecting portion 10a connects the arm to the main body 1 side, and the tip of this arm is set to θ._X, θ_YIt is driven by the drive units 21 (A) and 21 (B), and the connecting portion 10b at the tip of the arm can be moved to an arbitrary position. In addition, θ_X, θ_YIn the three-dimensional coordinates of X, Y, Z, for example, the moving angle of the tip in the XY coordinate plane is θ_XThe movement of the tip in the YZ coordinate plane is θ_YIt is displayed as.

【0015】

Further, the arm connected to the connecting portion 10a is provided with an actuator 22 for driving the connecting portion 10b at the tip thereof on the connecting portion 10a side and a driving portion 23 on the tip side, respectively, and a rod 30 is provided between the two. The driving force of the actuator 22 is transmitted to the driving unit 23. The actuator 22 moves the tip of the arm connected to the connecting portion 10b in the XY plane in the same manner as described above._XΘ that moves the actuator 22 (A) that drives the drive unit 23 (A) and the tip of the arm in the YZ plane._YIt is equipped with an actuator 22 (B) that drives the drive unit 23 (B).

【0016】

The connecting portion 10b is θ attached to the upper arm thereof._X, θ_YDue to the drive units 23 (A) and 23 (B), θ_XDirection, θ_YIt is arbitrarily rotationally driven in the direction, and the connecting portion 10c connected to the tip thereof can be moved to an arbitrary position. Also, θ_X, θ_YThe drive of the drive units 23 (A) and 23 (B) is connected by the rods 30 (A) and 30 (B) from the actuators 22 (A) and 22 (B) attached to the upper part of the arm, and the drive force is transmitted. Will be done.

【0017】

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a drive mechanism of the connecting portion of the arm tip portion, and is a driving portion of the connecting portion 10c of the tip portion. In the figure, the actuator 24 and the drive unit 25, which have been conventionally mounted on the connecting portion 10, are attached to the upper arm side, respectively, and the connecting portion 10c has only the joint portion and the drive portion is eliminated. The connecting portion 10c is θ on the arm side as in the side shown in FIG._XMove the operating tool 2 at the tip with the drive unit 25 (A), and θ_YEach drive unit moves. These θ_X, θ_YThe drive units 25 (A) and 25 (B) have a configuration in which driving force is applied by the rods 31 (A) and 31 (B) by the actuators 24 (A) and 24 (B), respectively.

【0018】

According to the embodiment described above, the actuator 22 for driving the intermediate connecting portion 10b of the multifunctional arm 10 and the driving portion 23 are moved from the inside of the connecting portion 10b to the upper arm thereof, and the actuator 24 of the connecting portion 10c at the tip thereof. And the drive unit 25 are moved from the inside of the connecting unit 10c to the arm above it, and the drive component is mounted on the arm. Therefore, the heavy component at the tip of the multifunctional arm is the shoulder of the arm, that is, the main body 1. It is concentrated to the side, the tip part becomes lighter, the inertial force during movement becomes smaller, and the maneuverability becomes better.

【0019】

[Effect of the invention]

The drive mechanism of the robot arm of the present invention is a robot arm including a main body connecting portion connected to the robot main body and an arm assembly connected to the main body connecting portion and connecting a plurality of single arms at the arm connecting portion. The actuator and the drive mechanism for driving the lower arm connected to the arm connecting portion are mounted in the upper arm connected to the connecting portion, the actuator is moved to the upper end side of the upper arm, and the driving mechanism is moved to the upper portion. It is characterized in that it is arranged on the lower end side of the arm, and the actuator and the drive mechanism are connected by a rod, and the drive mechanism is connected to the arm connecting portion to drive the arm connecting portion.

【0020】

By such a drive mechanism, the actuator and the drive mechanism that existed in the conventional connecting portion are attached to the upper arm, respectively, and the actuator and its drive mechanism, which are heavy parts of the robot arm, are attached to the shoulder part of the arm, that is, the main body. It is concentrated on the mounting part side, the tip part of the arm becomes lighter by that amount, the inertial force at the time of arm operation is reduced, and the maneuverability of the robot arm is improved.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

A drive mechanism for a robot arm according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, (a) is an overall configuration diagram of a conventional arm drive mechanism, and (b) is a configuration diagram of the present invention.

[Figure 2]

It is a block diagram of the main body side connection part of the robot arm which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and the drive mechanism of an arm.

[Fig. 3]

It is a block diagram of the connecting part on the tip end side of the robot arm which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and the drive mechanism of an arm.

[Fig. 4]

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the working robot in a space station.

[Explanation of symbols]

10,11,12,13 Multi-function arm 10a, 10b, 10c connection 20,20 (A), 20 (B) actuator 21,25 Drive unit 21 (A), 23 (A), 25 (A) θ_XDrive part 21 (B), 23 (B), 25 (B) θ_YDrive part 22,22 (A), 22 (B) Actuator 24,24 (A), 24 (B) actuator 30,31 rod 30 (A), 30 (B), 31 (A), 31 (B) rods