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AssigneeFanuc Corporation
InventorsMasaaki Uematsu, Kuniyasu Matsumoto, Hiroshi Nakagawa, Masahiro Morioka
Estimating the term…
A line laying structure for a wrist of a robot capable of enhancing durability of lines of cables/pipes for flowing electricity, air, water, etc. to an end effector attached to the wrist, and reducing a restriction of angle of rotation of a wrist axis by rotation of the other wrist axes. First, second and third wrist elements of the wrist are rotatable around fist, second and third axes, respectively. The first wrist element is fixed to a distal end of a forearm of the robot, to be rotated on a mounting base with the forearm as a unit. The lines are clamped on the mounting base by a line retainer and laid inside the forearm and clamped at a distal end of the forearm inside and outside thereof by line retainers. The lines are then clamped by line retainers provided on the second wrist element and introduced to the third wrist element. Then, the lines are clamped by the line retainer provided on the third wrist element and drawn outside thereof to be connected with the end effector. Only limited sections S1-S3 of the lines between the line retainers are subjected to bending, twisting and translation by the rotation of the wrist elements and the other sections of the lines are not influence by the rotation of the wrist elements, to enhance durability of the lines.
A line laying structure of laying lines of cables and/or pipes through an arm of a robot to an end effector to be attached to a distal end of a wrist including at least two joints each having a first member and a second member rotatable relatively to each other, said structure comprising:
A line laying structure of laying lines of cables and/or pipes through an arm of a robot supported on a mounting base rotatably around a first axis of a longitudinal axis of the arm to an end effector to be attached to a distal end of a wrist including a first wrist element fixed to a distal end of said arm, a second wrist element supported on said first wrist element rotatably around a second axis, and a third wrist element supported on said second wrist element rotatably around a third axis, said structure comprising:
A line laying structure of laying lines of cables and/or pipes through an arm of a robot fixed to a mounting base to an end effector to be attached to a distal end of a wrist including a first wrist element supported at a distal end of said arm rotatably around a first axis, a second wrist element supported on said first wrist element rotatably around a second axis, and a third wrist element supported on said second wrist element rotatably around a third axis, said structure comprising:
A laying structure for a robot comprising:
A line laying structure for a robot comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
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Accessories fitted to manipulators, e.g. for monitoring, for viewing; Safety devices combined with or specially adapted for use in connection…
Wrist joints: three-dimensional joints
Material or article handling: transmission-line guide for a shiftable handler
Robotic arm: including power cable or connector
Term end not estimated
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wrist of a robot, and in particular to laying structure of lines such as cables and pipes for supplying electric power and fluid such as air and water or discharging fluid to or from an end effector such as a hand and a tool to be attached to the wrist of the robot.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a robot to which the present invention is applied;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a wrist mechanism of the robot to which the present invention is applied;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing laying structure of lines in the wrist of the robot of in-line type;
FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of a line laying structure in a wrist mechanism of a robot according to the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, a mounting base 3 is provided at a distal end of the upper arm 2 which is mounted swingable on a rotatable body 1, and a forearm 5 is supported rotatably on the mounting base 3 around a first axis 4 such that a longitudinal axis of the forearm 5 coincides with the first axis 4. A wrist 6 is mounted on a distal end of the forearm 5 by fixing a first wrist element 12 of the wrist 6 to the distal end of the forearm 5.
Inside the forearm 5, a space for arranging lines 10 of cables/pipes for supplying electricity and fluid to an end effector to be attached to the wrist 6 is formed. The mounting base 3 has an opening 7 communicating with the inner space of the forearm 5 and a line retainer or fixture 8 for clamping the lines 10 in the vicinity of the opening 7. The forearm 5 has an opening 9 communicating with the inner space thereof at the distal end of the forearm 5, and line retainers 11 and 11′ for clamping the lines 10 inside and outside of the forearm 5 in the vicinity of the opening 9. Since the first wrist element 12 is fixed to the distal end of the forearm 5 to be united therewith, the line retainers 11 and 11′ may be provided at the first wrist element 12.