EP-4647214-B1 - VERTICAL ARTICULATED ROBOT

Inventors

• IDA, SHINYA
• IIDA, HIROKI

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20250429

Claims (1)

1. A vertical articulated robot, comprising: a first arm (132); a wrist unit (136) that is connected to the first arm (132) and equipped with a first hand (142) and a second hand (146); a wrist axis (138) that is positioned in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the first arm (132) extends and rotates the wrist unit (136); a first hand axis (140) attached to the wrist unit (136), which is provided in a direction orthogonal to the wrist axis (138) and rotates the first hand (142); a second hand axis (144) attached to the wrist unit (136), which rotates the second hand (146) coaxially with the first hand axis (140); a wrist axis motor (148), a first hand axis motor (150), and a second hand axis motor (152), functioning as drive sources for the wrist axis (138), the first hand axis (140), and the second hand axis (144), which are housed in the first arm (132) and are arranged in parallel; a first intermediate axis (160), which is coaxially positioned with the wrist axis (138) and receives driving force from the first hand axis motor (150); a first gear (162a) attached to the first intermediate axis (160); a second gear (162b) coaxially attached to the first hand axis (140) and meshed with the first gear (162a); a second intermediate axis (164), which is coaxially positioned with the wrist axis (138) and first intermediate axis (160) and receives driving force from the second hand axis motor (152); a third gear (166a) coaxially attached to the second intermediate axis (164); and a fourth gear (166b) coaxially attached to the second hand axis (144) and meshed with the third gear (166a).

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vertical articulated robot equipped with a double hand. Conventionally, horizontally articulated robots (SCARA robots) are often used as robots for transporting substrates. An end of an arm of the horizontally articulated robot is equipped with an end effector, such as a hand, for mounting the substrate (for example, Patent Document 1). Description of the Related Art Patent Document 1 discloses a so-called double hand robot. In this double hand robot, two hands are connected in two tiers at a distal end of the arm. Each of the two hands can rotate independently around a hand rotation axis at the distal end of the arm. Patent Document 1: JP 2011 - 659 A. Documents JPH089154B2, JP5332932B2 disclose other examples of articulated robots. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, Patent Document 1 only discloses a configuration in which the double hand is adopted in the horizontally articulated robot. Moreover, since horizontally articulated robots are often limited in applications, it is common practice to design dedicated machines tailored to specific applications. Yet, designing dedicated machines limits the application scope, resulting in higher manufacturing costs compared to standard (general-purpose) vertical articulated robots. Therefore, an adoption of the double hand is being considered for the vertical articulated robot. Nonetheless, the vertical articulated robot is structured with a wrist unit at the distal end of the arm, to which the hand is attached. In the horizontally articulated robot shown in Patent Document 1, the hand is directly attached to the arm, facilitating the incorporation of a hand rotation mechanism within the arm. However, in the vertical articulated robot, rotating two hands attached to the rotating wrist unit conventionally required an installation of two hand rotation mechanisms in the wrist unit, resulting in a significant increase in weight of the wrist unit. In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a vertical articulated robot that adopts a double hand while reducing weight and improving space efficiency of the wrist unit. MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM To solve the above problems, a representative configuration of the vertical articulated robot according to the present invention includes: a first arm; a wrist unit connected to the first arm and equipped with a first hand and a second hand; a wrist axis that rotates the wrist unit in a tilting direction relative to the first arm; a first hand axis attached to the wrist unit, which rotates the first hand in a direction perpendicular to a rotational direction of the wrist unit; a second hand axis attached to the wrist unit, which rotates the second hand coaxially with the first hand axis; a wrist axis motor, a first hand axis motor, and a second hand axis motor, functioning as drive sources for the wrist axis, the first hand axis, and the second hand axis, which are housed in the first arm and are arranged respectively in parallel; a first intermediate axis, which is coaxially positioned with the wrist axis and receives driving force from the first hand axis motor; a first gear attached to the first intermediate axis; a second gear coaxially attached to the first hand axis and meshed with the first gear; a second intermediate axis, which is coaxially positioned with the wrist axis and first intermediate axis and receives driving force from the second hand axis motor; a third gear coaxially attached to the second intermediate axis; and a fourth gear coaxially attached to the second hand axis and meshed with the third gear. According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vertical articulated robot that adopts a double hand while reducing weight and improving space efficiency of the wrist unit. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of a vertical articulated robot in an embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view explaining an essential part of a holding arm (first arm) in FIG. 1.FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the holding arm (first arm) in FIG. 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiment are merely exemplary to facilitate understanding of the invention and do not limit the invention unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, in this specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals to omit redundant explanations, and elements that are not directly related to the invention are omitted from the illustrations. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of a vertical articulated