Electrical connectors – With relatively guided members and intermediate pliable... – Relatively movable about axis
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-19
2002-10-22
Ta, Tho D. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With relatively guided members and intermediate pliable...
Relatively movable about axis
Reexamination Certificate
active
06468096
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a rotary bearing device, an joint device, a wiring device for joint mechanism and a robot, and is preferably applicable, for example, to a gressorial robot.
BACKGROUND ART
There has been developed a small gressorial robot which has a form like that of man or an animal and can walk with two or four walking leg members. Such a wiring device as shown in
FIGS. 7 and 8
, for example, is adopted in an joint mechanism of a leg member of such a kind of gressorial robot.
That is a conventional joint mechanism
51
shown in
FIGS. 8 and 9
comprises a leg member
53
which is coupled with a leg attaching member
52
so that the leg member
53
is rotatable around two perpendicularly intersecting rotating shafts
54
and
55
disposed at a center of an joint. In this joint mechanism, the two rotating shafts
54
and
55
are rotatably attached to the leg attaching member
52
and the leg member
53
by way of a pair of radial bearings
56
and
57
respectively which are ball bearings or the like, and partial gears
58
and
59
are formed integrally with outer circumferences of intermediate portions of the rotating shafts
54
and
55
. A shaft fitting member
60
formed integrally with a tooth-lack portion which is a portion of an outer circumference of the partial gear
59
on a side of the leg member
53
is detachably fitted over a tip
54
a
of the rotating shaft
54
on a side of the leg attaching member
52
in an axial direction, and the shaft fitting member
60
and the tip
54
a
are detachably coupled at their centers with a screw
61
which runs in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction. The leg member
53
can be rotatingly driven relative to the leg attaching member
52
around the two rotating shafts
54
and
55
within a definite angle by rotatingly driving the partial gears
58
and
59
of the two rotating shafts
54
and
55
independently with a driving gear
63
of an actuator
62
such as a geared motor or the like attached to the leg attaching member
52
and the leg member
53
respectively (see FIG.
11
).
At a stage to electrically connect a pair of control circuits (not shown) which are built in the leg attaching member
52
and the leg member
53
respectively with a cable
64
used as a wiring material, a wiring device for the joint mechanism
51
shown in
FIG. 8
allows the cable
64
to be laid so that it is exposed outside the joint mechanism
51
by detachably connecting a pair of connectors
65
and
66
which are preliminarily connected to both ends of the cable
64
to the pair of control circuits.
On the other hand, a wiring device for the joint mechanism
51
shown in
FIGS. 9 through 11
uses hollow shafts as the two rotating shafts
54
and
55
, and allows the cable
64
to be inserted through and along center slots
67
and
68
of the rotating shafts
54
and
55
. Since the cable
64
is inserted through the center slots
67
and
68
of the rotating shafts
54
and
55
in this case, the screw
61
cannot run through the center of the rotating shaft
54
to attach the shaft fitting member
60
to the tip
54
a
of the rotating shaft
54
and it is necessary to tighten the shaft fitting member
60
to both sides of the rotating shaft
54
using a pair of screws
61
.
The wiring device shown in
FIG. 8
allows an angle sensor
68
or the like to be attached coaxially with a playing end
54
b
of the rotating shaft
54
(and the rotating shaft
55
) to configure the joint mechanism
51
as a whole compact since the cable
64
is not inserted through the rotating shafts
54
and
55
, whereas the cable
64
which is exposed outside the joint mechanism
51
degrades an aesthetic appearance. The cable
64
must have a large margin in its length in order to reserve a large movable range for the leg member
53
and therefore poses a problem that the cable
64
is liable to twist around another part during a movement of the leg member
53
and is easily broken.
Furthermore, the wiring device shown in
FIGS. 9 through 11
does not allow the cable
64
to be exposed outside the joint mechanism
51
since the cable
64
is inserted through and along the center slots
67
and
68
of the rotating shafts
54
and
55
, whereas the wiring device makes it impossible to attach the angle sensor or the like coaxially to the end
54
b of the rotating shaft
54
(and the rotating shaft
55
). Since the connectors
65
and
66
have an outside diameter which is generally larger than that of the cable
64
, the connectors
65
and
66
cannot pass through the center slots
67
and
68
when a small joint mechanism
51
must use the rotating shafts
54
and
55
which have so small a diameter as not to permit forming the center slots
67
and
68
larger than the outside diameter of the connectors
65
and
66
, whereby the wiring device cannot use the cable
64
which has the pair of connectors
65
and
66
preliminarily connected to both ends as shown in FIG.
7
and requires soldering either of the connectors
65
and
66
to the end of the cable
64
or soldering the ends of the cable
64
directly to the control circuits after passing only the cable
64
through and along the center slots
67
and
68
, thereby remarkably complicating a wiring work. Moreover, since both the ends of the cable
64
which is laid in and along the center slots
67
and
68
are fixed with the connectors
65
,
66
, etc. and a rotation of the cable
64
is limited in the center slots
67
and
68
, the wiring device poses a problem that the cable
64
is liable to be injured and its service life is shortened due to rubbing and twisting in the center slots
67
and
68
during rotations of the rotating shafts
54
and
55
.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been achieved in view of the points described above to propose a rotary bearing device, a joint device, a wiring device for joint mechanism and a robot which are configured to facilitate wiring, improve aesthetic appearances and prolong a service life of a wiring material.
In order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides a rotary bearing device consisting of at least a rotating shaft and a bearing for holding the rotary shaft, wherein a concave groove is formed in a portion of an outer circumference of the rotating shaft along an axial direction of the rotating shaft.
As a result, the rotary bearing device allows a wiring material to be laid in the concave groove formed in the portion of the outer circumference of the rotating shaft along the axial direction, thereby making it possible to easily lay even a wiring material which has connectors connected to both ends in and along the concave groove of the rotating shaft without exposing the wiring material outside the joint mechanism. Since the rotary bearing device allows even the material which has the connectors connected to both the ends to be easily laid in and along the concave groove of the rotating shaft without being exposed outside the joint mechanism, the rotary bearing device can have an improved aesthetic appearance and prevent the wiring material from being twisted or rubbed, thereby remarkably prolonging a service life of a cable.
Furthermore, the present invention provides an joint device using a rotating shaft and a bearing for holding the rotating shaft, wherein a concave groove is formed in a portion of an outer circumference of the rotating shaft along an axial direction of the rotating shaft.
As a result, the joint device allows a wiring material to be laid in the concave groove formed in the portion of the outer circumference of the rotating shaft along the axial direction, thereby making it possible to easily lay even a wiring material which has connectors connected to both ends in and along the concave groove of the rotating shaft without exposing any wiring material outside the joint mechanism. Since the joint mechanism allows even the wiring material which has connectors connected to both ends to be easily laid in and along the concave groove of the rotating
Frommer William S.
Frommer & Lawrence & Haug LLP
Harvey James R.
Ryan Matthew K.
Sony Corporation
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