This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-163664, filed on Jul. 26, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The embodiment discussed herein is directed to a robot and a method for manufacturing the same.
A conventional robot has been known, which includes an articulated arm and performs various operations by using an end effector of a terminal moving part of the articulated arm. For example, when a laser head or the like is used as an end effector, the robot can perform operations such as for example laser cutting and laser welding on a target object.
The operation using the laser head or the like is generally performed by controlling the articulated arm to raise a precision of a “trajectory” such as for example a straight line and a circular arc drawn by the laser.
For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-71760 discloses a feedback control technique for computing a control target value (hereinafter, “control gain”) from an error between the detected actual position and posture of a articulated arm and the targeted position and posture and correcting the position and posture of the articulated arm by using the control gain.
However, the conventional technique has a problem in that increasing a control gain, for example, to obtain a high-accuracy trajectory at a high moving speed causes a vibration of the arm and thus the precision of the trajectory may be degraded.
In other words, the conventional art does not satisfy both of the high precision of a trajectory and the speed-up of a moving speed.
A robot according to an aspect of an embodiment includes: an articulated arm; and a speed reducer that is provided in a joint of the articulated arm. The articulated arm performs a multi-axis operation. The speed reducer has rigidity for which an acquisition value obtained by acquiring a deflection amount of a predetermined representative position at the articulated arm for each dimension of a three-dimensional coordinate system is not more than a threshold corresponding to a target precision of the articulated arm.
A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Hereinafter, a robot and a method for manufacturing the same according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the embodiment disclosed below is not intended to limit the present invention.
First, the configuration of a robot according to an embodiment is explained with reference to
As illustrated in
The bottom end of the second arm part 12 is supported by the third arm part 13 and its leading end supports the first arm part 11. The bottom end of the third arm part 13 is supported by the base 14 and its leading end supports the second arm part 12. The base 14 is fixed on an installation surface such as a floor.
Herein, the first arm part 11 and the second arm part 12 are connected via a first joint 11a. The first joint 11a is provided with a first speed reducer 11aa and a first motor 11ab. The first arm part 11 rotates around the U-axis parallel to Y-axis in accordance with the drive of the first speed reducer 11aa and the first motor 11ab.
The second arm part 12 and the third arm part 13 are connected via a second joint 12a. The second joint 12a is provided with a second speed reducer 12aa and a second motor 12ab. The second arm part 12 rotates around the L-axis parallel to Y-axis in accordance with the drive of the second speed reducer 12aa and the second motor 12ab.
The third arm part 13 and the base 14 are connected via a third joint 13a. The third joint 13a is provided with a third speed reducer 13aa and a third motor 13ab. The third arm part 13 rotates around the S-axis parallel to Z-axis in accordance with the drive of the third speed reducer 13aa and the third motor 13ab.
In this case, the first speed reducer 11aa, the second speed reducer 12aa, the third speed reducer 13aa, the first motor 11ab, the second motor 12ab, and the third motor 13ab are simply illustrated in
Hereinafter, the first speed reducer 11aa, the second speed reducer 12aa, and the third speed reducer 13aa may be collectively referred to as “each speed reducer”, and the first motor 11ab, the second motor 12ab, and the third motor 13ab may be collectively referred to as “each motor”.
In this way, the robot 10 according to the embodiment includes a so-called articulated arm 15, of which arm parts are connected via joints to perform multi-axis operations. The articulated arm 15 further has joints such as a joint that rotates around the R-axis parallel to X-axis and a joint that rotates around the B-axis parallel to Y-axis. However, the present embodiment is mainly explained by using the first joint 11a, the second joint 12a, and the third joint 13a.
As illustrated in
The robot 10 according to the embodiment selects and includes the first speed reducer 11aa, the second speed reducer 12aa, and the third speed reducer 13aa that have rigidity for which an amount of deflection of each dimension of a three-dimensional coordinate system for the point P is not more than a threshold corresponding to a target precision of the articulated arm 15.
Moreover, the robot 10 according to the embodiment selects and includes the first motor 11ab, the second motor 12ab, and the third motor 13ab, which respectively correspond to the first speed reducer 11aa, the second speed reducer 12aa, and the third speed reducer 13aa that are selected.
As illustrated in
When the mounting part 110, the mounting part 120, and the mounting part 130 are provided, the amount of deflection can be easily adjusted only by selecting each speed reducer and motor without replacing each arm part. In other words, a time-consuming dedicated design can be omitted.
Hereinafter, a selection method for selecting only each speed reducer and motor is specifically explained regardless of the presence or absence of the mounting part 110, the mounting part 120, and the mounting part 130. Each arm part is described below with reference to
As illustrated in
Herein, in order to rotate the first arm part 11, the second arm part 12, and the third arm part 13, the first speed reducer 11aa provided in the first joint 11a, the second speed reducer 12aa provided in the second joint 12a, and the third speed reducer 13aa provided in the third joint 13a are conventionally selected in many cases in serious consideration of rigidity against gravitational moment.
Therefore, an amount of deflection at the point P is mainly analyzed for a Z-direction component of
However, because the first joint 11a, the second joint 12a, and the third joint 13a actually have different-direction rotating axes, it is preferable that each speed reducer is selected in consideration of rigidity against a shake of the rotating axis when a moment is added from a direction indicated by the rotating axis in addition to the Z direction.
Therefore, it is assumed that the selection method of each speed reducer and motor of the robot 10 according to the embodiment acquires and analyzes deflection amounts at the point P with respect to three directional components of three dimensions in addition to the Z direction component.
Each speed reducer is selected to have rigidity for which each of the acquired three directional-component deflection amounts is not more than a threshold corresponding to the target precision of the articulated arm 15.
The rigidity particularly includes “moment rigidity” that is rigidity against a shake of each rotating axis of the first joint 11a, the second joint 12a, and the third joint 13a and “torsional rigidity” that is rigidity against a torsion of a rotation direction centering on each rotating axis.
When a load-side inertia moment is defined as “load inertia” and a motor-side inertia moment is defined as “motor inertia”, it is assumed that each motor is selected, which has substantially the same motor inertia as load inertia when each selected speed reducer is included as a load.
As illustrated in
Similarly, because the second joint 12a rotates the second arm part 12 toward X-axis when being viewed from the reference posture, it may be said that the L-axis that is a rotating axis for the rotation is largely concerned with deflection for the X direction of the articulated arm 15.
Similarly, because the third joint 13a rotates the third arm part 13 toward Y-axis when being viewed from the reference posture, it may be said that the S-axis that is a rotating axis for the rotation is largely concerned with deflection for the Y direction of the articulated arm 15.
A relation between the rotating axes and XYZ directions influences a target precision of an angle of deflection to be described below. This point is described below with reference to
Hereinafter, the selection method of each speed reducer and motor of the robot 10 according to the embodiment will be further explained in detail with reference to
As already illustrated in
As illustrated in
For example, in
In other words, each speed reducer is selected on the basis of whether a speed reducer has rigidity by which a deflection angle at the point P is kept in a tolerance of a deflection angle determined by the upper-limit threshold “a” and the upper-limit threshold “b”.
In other words, the tolerance may be referred to as a “target precision”. Hereinafter, that a deflection angle of the point P is kept in a tolerance (that is to say, a deflection angle is not more than the upper-limit thresholds “a” and “b”) may be described as “a target precision is satisfied”.
Next,
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The determination of whether a target precision can be satisfied may not depend on a specific method. Therefore, the determination may use a simulation method or may use an actual measurement value determination method.
Next,
For example,
In this case, when each selected speed reducer is included as a load, each motor is selected of which the inertia ratio is close to “1:1” as much as possible, that is to say, the motor inertia is substantially the same as load inertia.
In this way, because an influence caused by an inertia is removed by making motor inertia and load inertia have substantially the same value and the movement of a motor side can be finely interlocked with the movement of a load side, the controllability and responsiveness of the articulated arm 15 can be improved. In other words, a moving speed of the articulated arm 15 can be speeded up.
Next, a selection sequence of each speed reducer and motor will be explained with reference to
First, as illustrated in
Then, The first motor 11ab is selected in accordance with the selected first speed reducer 11aa. As already described with reference to
At this time, loads of the first motor 11ab are the end effector E and the first arm part 11, which are surrounded by a dotted rectangle 101 of
Then, the verification of effectiveness is performed on the first speed reducer 11aa and the first motor 11ab that are selected. Herein, an example of the verification of effectiveness will be explained with reference to
In order to make an explanation understandable,
As a prerequisite of explanation that uses
It is assumed that a deflection angle at the point P acquired by using the first candidate is P1. Similarly, it is assumed that a deflection angle using the second candidate is P2 and a deflection angle using the third candidate is P3. It is assumed that the deflection angles are already acquired by a simulation, an actual measurement, or the like. Moreover, a predetermined reference position of the deflection angle is the intersection point of XYZ axes.
As illustrated in
Herein, as illustrated in
On the other hand, because the deflection angle P2 of the second candidate and the deflection angle P3 of the third candidate are within the target precision, any of the second and third candidates can be the final selection target.
As illustrated in
More specifically, as already described in the explanations using
For example, because the deflection for the Z direction can be resolved if the deflection angle is at least less than the upper-limit threshold “b” for the first joint 11a that includes the U-axis as illustrated in
On the other hand, when the deflection for the Z direction depends on the compositive influence that includes other factors such as the L-axis and the S-axis in addition to the U-axis, it is preferable that the third candidate indicating the deflection angle P3 closer to the predetermined reference position is selected as illustrated in
In this way, the high precision of a trajectory of the articulated arm 15 can be achieved by verifying the effectiveness of the selected the first speed reducer 11aa and the first motor 11ab.
It is obvious that the verification method can be applied to the case where “the second speed reducer 12aa and the second motor 12ab” or “the third speed reducer 13aa and the third motor 13ab” are selected in addition to the case where the first speed reducer 11aa and the first motor 11ab are selected. Furthermore, the verification method can be applied to comprehensive verification when all speed reducers and motors are together selected.
It is again explained with reference to
Among them, the second speed reducer 12aa is selected prior to the second motor 12ab. As already described with reference to
Then, the second motor 12ab is selected in accordance with the selected the second speed reducer 12aa. As already described with reference to
At this time, loads of the second motor 12ab are the end effector E, the first arm part 11, the first joint 11a, and the second arm part 12, which are surrounded by a dotted rectangle 102 of
Then, the verification of the effectiveness is performed on the selected the second speed reducer 12aa and the second motor 12ab similarly to the case of the first speed reducer 11aa and the first motor 11ab (see
Similarly, the verification of the effectiveness is also performed on the third speed reducer 13aa and the third motor 13ab of the third joint 13a. As illustrated in
The selection of the third speed reducer 13aa is performed by selecting a speed reducer that has the torsional rigidity for the Y direction and the moment rigidity for the Z direction that satisfy the target precision (see
Then, the third motor 13ab is selected in accordance with the selected third speed reducer 13aa. The selection of the third motor 13ab is also performed by selecting a motor that has substantially the same motor inertia as load inertia (see
At this time, loads of the third motor 13ab are the end effector E, the first arm part 11, the first joint 11a, the second arm part 12, the second joint 12a, and the third arm part 13, which are surrounded by a dotted rectangle 103 of
Then, the verification of the effectiveness is also performed on the selected the third speed reducer 13aa and the third motor 13ab similarly to the case of the first speed reducer 11aa and the first motor 11ab (see
Herein, it has been explained that the speed reducer and motor are selected for each joint and effectiveness is verified in each case. However, the embodiment is not limited to this method. For example, speed reducers and motors may be all selected in sequence from the leading end of the articulated arm 15, and then the comprehensive verification of effectiveness may be finally performed.
Meanwhile, it has been explained till now that compatibility of the high precision of a trajectory of the articulated arm 15 and the speed-up of a moving speed is achieved by appropriately selecting the speed reducer and motor mainly provided in each joint. Furthermore, the weight of each arm part may be reduced.
The lightweighting of each arm part can also result in the lightweighting of each speed reducer and motor and can easily result in the reduction of load inertia.
Herein, an offset of each arm part related to lightweighting of each arm part is explained with reference to
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
At this time, as illustrated in
As described above, the robot according to the embodiment includes an articulated arm and a speed reducer provided in each joint of the articulated arm. The speed reducer has rigidity for which an acquisition value obtained by acquiring a deflection amount of a predetermined representative position at the articulated arm for each dimension of a three-dimensional coordinate system is not more than a threshold corresponding to a target precision of the articulated arm. Moreover, the robot according to the embodiment further includes a motor provided in each joint. When the speed reducer is included as a load, the motor has substantially the same motor inertia as load inertia.
Therefore, according to the robot according to the embodiment can satisfy both of the high precision of a trajectory and the speed-up of a moving speed.
Another aspect of the embodiment is further described. It has been explained in the embodiment that each motor has substantially the same motor inertia as load inertia when each selected speed reducer is selected as a load. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this. In other words, when a speed reducer is not included, each motor may be selected in such a manner that the motor has substantially the same motor inertia as load inertia in which a speed reducer is not included as a load.
In the embodiment described above, it has been explained as an example that two directions are used as a reference direction. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, if directions of a rotating axis of each joint of the articulated arm are three directions, three directions may be used as a reference direction. Therefore, the configuration of the articulated arm is not limited to that of the embodiment described above.
It has been explained in the embodiment that a deflection amount of a predetermined representative position at the articulated arm is analyzed for each dimension of a three-dimensional coordinate system. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, a deflection amount may be analyzed for many dimensions more than three dimensions.
In the embodiment described above, it has been explained as an example that a rectangular coordinate system is used as a coordinate system. However, if multidirectional components can be analyzed, the present embodiment is not limited to this.
It has been explained in the embodiment that a deflection amount is expressed by a deflection angle that is a displacement angle away from a predetermined reference position. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, a deflection amount may be based on a distance or the like away from a predetermined reference position.
Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2011-163664 | Jul 2011 | JP | national |