US 12,109,694 B2
Industrial robot
Peter Kastler, Vienna (AT); Clemens Maier, Bludenz (AT); Thomas Morscher, Vienna (AT); Armin Pehlivan, Nüziders (AT); Christoph Zech, Moedling (AT); Leo Büchinger, Berndorf (AT); Hans Beckhoff, Verl (DE); Dirk Janssen, Verl (DE); Uwe Prüssmeier, Lemgo (DE); and Michael Pfister, Hafenlohr (DE)
Assigned to Beckhoff Automation GmbH, Verl (DE)
Filed by Beckhoff Automation GmbH, Verl (DE)
Filed on Jan. 13, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/575,549.
Application 17/575,549 is a continuation of application No. PCT/EP2020/070754, filed on Jul. 23, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 10 2019 120 131.4 (DE), filed on Jul. 25, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0134540 A1, May 5, 2022
Int. Cl. B25J 9/08 (2006.01); B25J 9/12 (2006.01); B25J 19/00 (2006.01)
CPC B25J 9/08 (2013.01) [B25J 9/126 (2013.01); B25J 19/0029 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An industrial robot comprising:
a modular robot arm having a plurality of arm modules, wherein at least one arm module comprises a housing with a first connection side and a second connection side, wherein the first connection side is configured to be controllably rotatable relative to the second connection side about an axis of rotation,
wherein an optical rotation transfer device is arranged between the first connection side and the second connection side, which has an optomechanical rotation interface with a first interface side and a second interface side which face each other and are each formed essentially rotationally symmetrically and complementarily to each other, and
wherein the first interface side is connected to a first optical waveguide and the second interface side is connected to a second optical waveguide, the first optical waveguide and the second optical waveguide each being configured for guiding and transmitting optical signals;
wherein the first interface side has an optomechanical rotary plug-in device with a first optical device and the second interface side has an optomechanical rotary mating plug-in device with a second optical device, which are set up so as to be rotatable relative to one another and are mounted mechanically relative to one another with a radial plain bearing and a plain bearing shell complementary thereto, and
wherein the optomechanical rotary plug-in device and the optomechanical rotary mating plug-in device are formed as a cylindrical hollow system, wherein a gap is formed between the first optical device and the second optical device in the axial direction of the rotation transfer device, across which gap optical signal transmission of the optical signals takes place from the first optical waveguide to the second optical waveguide and vice-versa from the second optical waveguide to the first optical waveguide.