Material or article handling – Vertically swinging load support – Grab
Patent
1982-06-04
1985-07-23
Siemens, Terrance L.
Material or article handling
Vertically swinging load support
Grab
414736, 414741, 901 17, 901 31, 901 37, 901 39, 294 88, B25J 1500
Patent
active
045306362
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a device for operating a hand of an industrial robot. More particularly, it relates to a device for operating a hand of an industrial robot whose grasping force can be controlled stepwisely.
BACKGROUND ART
As a device for operating a hand of an industrial robot, there has heretofore been used one in which, as illustrated in FIG. 1, an air cylinder is driven by a fixed pneumatic pressure so as to generate the grasping force of the hand.
In the device for operating the hand of the industrial robot as shown in FIG. 1, a finger-driving mechanism 1 is so constructed as to open or close the finger portions 11 and 12 in accordance with the movement of the piston 31 of the air cylinder 3. Accordingly, the force with which the finger portions 11 and 12 grasp an article to be gripped 2 is determined by the thrust F of the air cylinder 3. This thrust F is given by the following expression:
Here, S donotes the pressure-receiving area of the piston, P the pneumatic pressure in the cylinder, and .eta. the efficiency.
Accordingly, the thrust F is uniquely determined by the feed pressure of the air so that the grasping force of the hand becomes constant. Therefore, in the device for operating the hand of the industrial robot as shown in FIG. 1, the article to be gripped 2 is gripped with a constant grasping force which is determined by the feed pressure of the air P. This leads to a problem in which the grasping force cannot be switched in accordance with the state of the article to be gripped, and in some cases the article to be gripped is broken.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a device for operating a hand of an industrial robot in which the grasping force can be controlled in accordance with the state of the object to be gripped, in view of the problem of the prior art described above and on the basis of the concept of a passage which includes a pressure-reducing valve and which branches from a fluid supply passage for a fluid pressure cylinder so as to switch fluid feed by a solenoid valve.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a device for operating a hand of an industrial robot, comprising fluid pressure cylinders as a driving mechanism of the hand of the industrial robot, branch passages including pressure-reducing valves being provided in a fluid supply passage to said fluid pressure cylinder, the supply of fluid being switched by solenoid valves, the switching of said solenoid valves being carried out in accordance with the grasping force which has been selected in a teaching mode of said industrial robot, whereby the grasping force of said hand is adapted so that it can be controlled stepwisely.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a driving mechanism for the hand of an industrial robot of a prior-art;
FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of the drive flow of a device for operating a hand of an industrial robot in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates an external view of the hand of the industrial robot of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 illustrates the arrangement of the interior of the hand of FIG. 3; and
FIG. 5 illustrates a control-flow diagram of an industrial robot having the hand of FIG. 2.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
A device for operating a hand of an industrial robot in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. In FIG. 2, the control flow of a hand 4 according to the present invention is illustrated. An external view of the hand 4 is illustrated in FIG. 3, and the interior mechanism of the hand 4 is shown in FIG. 4. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the hand 4 has two sets of finger mechanisms 41 and 42 which are, respectively, driven forward and backward and rightward and leftward. The finger mechanisms 41 and 42 are, respectively, driven by air cylinders 43 and 44. When the piston of the air cylinder 43 is driven in the direction of the arrow as indicated in F
REFERENCES:
patent: 2642307 (1953-06-01), Olson
patent: 3171549 (1965-03-01), Orloff
patent: 3410431 (1968-11-01), Vik
patent: 3851769 (1974-12-01), Noguchi et al.
Inaba Hajimu
Nihei Ryo
Sakakibara Shinsuke
Fujitsu Fanuc Limited
Siemens Terrance L.
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