Patent ID: 7559265
Filing Date: 2009-07-14
Classification: B23B,B25J,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A robot arm coupling device including a locking device that has an arm side attachment which is mounted on a robot arm, a tool side attachment on which tools are attached, a cam member which is mounted on the arm side attachment and has a plurality of locking inclined grooves formed around the axis line of the outer circumference surface thereof, an actuation member which shifts the cam member between the locking position and the unlocking position, a ball support member which is arranged on the outer circumference surface side of the cam member and shiftably supports locking balls correspondingly arranged in the locking inclined grooves in a direction perpendicular to the shifting direction of the cam member, a ball receiving member which is mounted on the tool side attachment and has a plurality of engaging inclined grooves with which the locking balls which slide on the locking inclined grooves of the cam member shifted to the locking position are engaged, and further comprising: unlocking balls which are arranged between the locking balls and shiftably supported by the ball support member in a direction perpendicular to the shifting direction of the cam member; a plurality of thrusting inclined grooves which are formed on the outer circumference surface of the cam member between the locking inclined grooves, and incline in a direction opposite to the inclination direction of the locking inclined grooves; and a plurality of separating inclined grooves which are formed on the ball receiving member between the engaging inclined grooves, and incline in a direction opposite to the inclination direction of the engaging inclined grooves, wherein, while when the cam member is shifted from the unlocking position to the locking position, the locking balls which slide on the locking inclined grooves to be shifted to the outside along the radius direction are engaged with the engaging inclined grooves so as to mutually couple the arm side attachment and the tool side attachment, and when the cam member is shifted from the locking position to the unlocking position, the engagement of the locking balls engaged with the engaging inclined grooves can be released, and the unlocking balls which slide on the thrusting inclined grooves to be shifted to the outside along the radius direction are made to slide on the separating inclined grooves so as to enable to thrust the tool side attachment from the arm side attachment.