INDUSTRIAL ROBOT

Abstract: Industrial robot comprising a base (1), a pedestal (2) sup­ porting a robot arm (3) and being rotatably mounted on the base (1) by means of a bearing (4), a gear unit, mounted practically without backlash on the pedestal (2), and a mo­ tor, mounted on the pedestal (2) and being connected to the drive shaft of said gear unit. According to the invention the output shaft (6) of the gear unit is arranged with its axis of rotation approximately coinciding with the axis of rotation of the bearing (4), and the output shaft (6) is connected to the base (1) by means of a tangentially rigid but otherwise flexible shaft coupling, preferably in the form of a plate coupling (8).

Description: The invention relates to an industrial robot according to the precharacterising part of Claim 1. An industrial robot of this kind is disclosed in GB-A-2 735 230. An industrial robot normally consists of a base and a rotatable pedestal which is mounted on the base and which, in turn, supports the robot arm. Increasingly higher demands are placed on the speed of action and the precision of positioning of such a robot. Since, in addition, it is also required that the robot should be capable of handling extremely heavy loads, special solutions have to be worked out to achieve a backlash-free mounting of, for example, the pedestal to the robot base, as well as a power transmission, also without backlash, between the drive motor for the pedestal and the latter's drive shaft. Otherwise problems would arise, even with position transducers arranged at suitable locations, when the robot arm with a high acceleration and a high deceleration is moved from one position to another. To achieve a satisfactory mounting of the pedestal on the base, it is known to use a bearing and to mount on the pedestal a gear unit which is almost free of backlash, the drive shaft of the gear unit being coupled to the drive motor secured to the pedestal. It is very difficult to bring about complete coincidence between the centre of the output shaft of the gear unit and the centre of the bearing. A difference of up to one or a few millimetres must be counted on. Furthermore, it is not easy to cause the direction of the axis of rotation of the output shaft to become completely parallel to the direction of the axis of rotation of the bearing. There will often be a minor angular deviation between these axes. To keep these deviations small, high precision demands have to be placed on the manufacture of the components involved. The invention aims at designing an industrial robot which allows to decrease the precision demands on the manufacturing while at the same time the backlash in the power transmission is avoided and the operational precision of the robot is relatively insensitive to the above-mentioned angular deviations. To achieve this aim the invention suggests an industrial robot according to the introductory part of Claim 1, which is characterized by the features of the characterizing part of Claim 1. Further developments of the invention are characterized by the features of the additional claims. According to the invention the backlash in the power transmission is avoided while at the same time, due to the flexibility in other degrees of freedom, it is not necessary to place unreasonably high demands on the alignment of the pedestal and its drive equipment. The coupling suitably consists of a plate in the form of a hat-shaped membrane, with its brim being fixed to the base and its centre of the crown being fixed to the output shaft of the gear unit. The crown of the hat increases the elasticity of the coupling while at the same time the coupling remains rigid in the direction of rotation. To further increase the flexibility of the coupling, one or more folds can be arranged in the brim, which folds run around the crown. The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing - by way of example - in Figure 1 a side view of a robot according to the invention, Figure 2 a partially broken-away view of the base and the lower part of the pedestal of the robot according to Figure 1, Figure 3 and 4 an embodiment of the actual membrane coupling. The robot in Figure 1 comprises a base 1 with a pedestal 2 resting on the base 1 and supporting the robot arm 3. Figure 2 shows the lower part of the pedestal 2 rotatably mounted on the base 1 by means of the bearing 4. A motor 5 drives a gear unit mounted in the pedestal 2 but concealed in Figure 2. The gear unit has an output shaft 6 which is fixed by means of bolts 7 to a hat-shaped plate coupling 8. The plate coupling 8, in turn, is connected around its outer edge to the base 1 by means of bolts 9, which at the same time fix the outer rim of the bearing 4. The shaft 6 is hollow thus allowing the passage of cables and hoses through the shaft and an opening in the centre of the plate coupling 8 for the supply of electricity and compressed air to the robot. Figures 3 and 4 show the actual plate coupling 8 with its brim 10 and crown 11. A fold 12 is provided in the brim 10. The robot operates such, that upon rotation of the pedestal 2, the motor 5 and the gear unit accompany the pedestal 2 on its movement around the output shaft 6 of the gear unit, the shaft remaining stationary together with the base 1 to which the shaft 6 is fixed by means of the plate coupling 8. The plate coupling 8 may be given other membrane-like shapes without a crown but with several circular folds, etc.

Claims: Industrial robot comprising a base (1), a pedestal (2) supporting a robot arm (3) and being rotatable mounted on the base (1) by means of a bearing (4), a gear unit, mounted practically without backlash on the pedestal (2), and a motor, mounted on the pedestal (2) and being connected to the drive shaft of said gear unit, characterized in that the output shaft (6) of the gear unit is arranged with its axis of rotation approximately coinciding with the axis of rotation of the bearing (4), and that the output shaft (6) is connected to the base (1) by means of a torsionally rigid but otherwise flexible plate coupling (8) which is flexible in such a way that it is capable of compensating for possible deviations in the longitudinal, lateral and angular relative position between said output shaft (6) of the gear unit and said axis of rotation of the bearing (4). Industrial robot according to claim 1, characterized in that the plate coupling is provided with several folds (12). Industrial robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the plate coupling (8) is designed as a round hat-shaped membrane with its brim (10) fixed to the base (1) and its crown (11) fixed with its central portion to the output shaft (6) of the gear unit. Industrial robot according to claim 3, characterized in that one or several folds (12), running around the crown of the hat, are provided in the brim (10) of the hat-shaped membrane. Industrial robot according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said output shaft (6) is hollow and that said flexible plate coupling (8) is provided with a central hole adapted to accommodate supply cables and/or supply hoses extending through said shaft (6) and said flexible plate coupling (8).

Inventors: ANDERSSON, AKE, OESTERBERG, AKE, Österberg, Ake
Applicants: ASEA BROWN BOVERI AB
Application year: 1988
Main classification: B25J9
IPC codes: B25J9, B25J17