Patent Publication Number: US-2013239693-A1

Title: Robot

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     This disclosure relates to robots, and particularly, to a robot with a protective cover for operating under harsh environments. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Robots are used in harsh environments, such as in high temperatures, high gas pressures, and corrosive environments, to do dangerous and hazardous work. Because of having limited amount of room inside the robots, some elements, for example a pressure gauge or sensor, must be fixed to an outer sidewall of a housing of the robots. However, these elements are very vulnerable for becoming potentially damaged during the operations of the robot. 
     Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views. 
         FIG. 1  shows a side view of an embodiment of a robot. 
         FIG. 2  shows an isometric view of the robot of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  shows a partial, exploded isometric view of the robot of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  shows an embodiment of a robot  100 . The robot  100  includes a mounting base  10 , an arm body  30 , a driver  40 , a pressure measuring assembly  50 , a protective cover  70 , two explosion-proof SIBAS connectors  80  and a speed control valve  90 . The arm body  30  is rotatably positioned on the mounting base  10 . The driver  40  is received in the arm body  30  for driving the arm body  30  to rotate relative to the mounting base  10 . The pressure measuring assembly  50 , the protective cover  70 , the explosion-proof SIBAS connectors  80  and the speed control valve  90  are positioned on an outer surface of the mounting base  10 . The pressure measuring assembly  50  is used for monitoring gas pressure of the inside of the mounting base  10 . The protective cover  70  shields and covers the pressure measuring assembly  50  to protect the pressure measuring assembly  50  from collisions and intrusions from the external environment. In the illustrated embodiment, the robot  100  is an explosion-proof robot, other functional components, such as a robot arm body (not shown) connected with the arm body  30 , and other sensing or protective devices are not described here. 
     The mounting base  10  is substantially a hollow cone structure for positioning the robot  100  on a floor or another surface. The mounting base  10  includes a main body  11  and an installation board  13  positioned on the main body  11 . The main body  11  includes a mounting portion  113  formed at one side of the main body  11 . The mounting portion  113  is substantially rectangular and defines an opening  1131 . The installation board  13  hermetically seals the opening  1131 . 
     The arm body  30  includes a rotating portion  31  and a connecting portion  35 . The rotating portion  31  is rotatably connected with the mounting base  10 . The connecting portion  35  is positioned at one side of the rotating portion  31  for connecting with other robot arm body or other functional components. 
     The driver  40  is positioned in the rotating portion  31  for driving the arm body  30  to rotate relative to the mounting base  10 . 
     The pressure measuring assembly  50  is mounted on the installation board  13  and exposed out of the mounting base  10 . The pressure measuring assembly  50  includes a support member  51 , a pressure gauge  53  and a silencer  55 . The support member  51  is substantially perpendicularly connected with the installation board  13  for supporting the pressure gauge  53 . The pressure gauge  53  is mounted on the support member  51 . The pressure gauge  53  communicates with the internal portion of the mounting base  10  via a pipe (not shown) for monitoring and adjusting the internal gas pressure of the mounting base  10 . The pressure gauge  53  includes a dial  531  for displaying the values of the gas pressure and an adjusting switch  533  connected with the dial  531 . The adjusting switch  533  is capable of adjusting gas pressure of the mounting base  10 . The silencer  55  is positioned on the installation board  13  adjacent to the adjusting switch  533  and the bottom of the mounting base  10  for eliminating some of the noise produced by the robot  100  during work. 
     Also referring to  FIG. 3 , the protective cover  70  is detachably positioned on the installation board  13  and covers the pressure measuring assembly  50 . In the illustrated embodiment, the protective cover  70  includes a base body  71 , a first sidewall  73 , a second sidewall  75 , a first fixing portion  77  and a second fixing portion  79 . The base body  71  is substantially an “L”-shaped board and is parallel to the installation board  13 . A circular observation window  713  is defined at the base body  71  corresponding to the dial  531  for a user to observe the readout values displayed on the dial  531 . 
     The first sidewall  73  and the second sidewall  75  perpendicularly extend from opposite ends of the base body  71 , respectively. The first sidewall  73  is formed at a narrower end of the base body  71 . The base body  71 , the first sidewall  73  and the second sidewall  75  form a receiving space (not shown) to receive the pressure measuring assembly  50 . The first fixing portion  77  perpendicularly extends from one edge of the first sidewall  73  away from the base body  71 . The second fixing portion  79  perpendicularly extends from one edge of the second sidewall  75  away from the base body  71 . The first, second fixing portions  77 ,  79  are fixedly positioned on the installation board  13  via a plurality of fasteners  771  (see  FIG. 1 ). In other embodiments, the shape of the protective cover  70  is designed according to actual application intended needs. In other embodiments, the first sidewall  73  and the second sidewall  75  can be omitted, and then the first fixing portion  77  and the second fixing portion  79  are fixed to the installation board  13 . 
     Two explosion-proof SIBAS connectors  80  are installed on the installation board  13  adjacent to the pressure measuring assembly  50  and spaced from each other. The explosion-proof SIBAS connectors  80  are made of carbon-free materials with excellent thermal conductivity, such as copper alloy, or stainless steel. Heat will be generated when the robot  100  suffers from an external hit, a plurality of impacts and explosions. The explosion-proof SIBAS connectors  80  are capable of simultaneously absorbing heat. The speed control valve  90  is mounted on the installation board  13  and positioned between the two explosion-proof SIBAS connector  80  for controlling the inflow or outflow of gas in the mounting base  10 . In other embodiments, the number of explosion-proof connectors or SIBAS connectors may be one or three or more. 
     In the robot  100 , the arm body  30  is rotatably positioned on the mounting base  10 , the driver  40  is mounted in the rotating portion  31 . The (explosion-proof) pressure measuring assembly  50 , the explosion-proof SIBAS connectors  80 , the speed control valve  90  are all assembled with the installation board  13 . Finally, the protective cover  70  is mounted on the installation board  13  and covers the (explosion-proofed) pressure measuring assembly  50 . 
     The base body  71 , the first sidewall  73  and the second sidewall  75  of the protective cover  70  form the receiving space to receive the explosion-proof pressure measuring assembly  50 . The protective cover  70  completely shields the explosion-proof pressure measuring assembly  50  from collisions and impacts generated from external environment and insulate the pressure measuring assembly  50  against any corrosive agents in the external environment where the robot  100  is operating within. Users can observe the values displayed on the dial  531  via the observation window  713  to monitor the gas pressure of the mounting base  10 . The speed control valve  90  can be adjusted from the sides of the protective cover  70 . The protective cover  70  does not hinder or prevent the convenient use of the pressure measuring assembly  50 . 
     Finally, while various embodiments have been described and illustrated, the disclosure is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various modifications can be made to the embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.