Abstract: A double hand applicable to an industrial robot comprises two hand units (2, 3) comprising at least two pairs, one each, of fingers (2-1 and 2-2, 3-1 and 3-2) and plate members (2-3, 3-3) of a pressing unit (4) disposed in parallel along the center axis of the fingers. The hand units (2, 3) are connected through a pressing mechanism (4) to constitute a double hand in a manner that the respective gripping center axis of the two hand units are in alignment, the respective plate members (2-3, 3-3) of the pressing unit are disposed opposite to each other and the opening sides of the respective pairs of fingers of the two hand units are directed in opposite directions to each other.

Abstract: A double-hand unit adapted to be secured to the wrist part of an industrial robot and to be used for gripping shaft works or the like is disclosed. The double-hand unit comprises two hand units (2, 3) comprising at least two pairs of fingers (2-1, 2-2 and 3-1, 3-2), respectively, and being disposed in a back-to-back relationship with the respective opening sides of the fingers directed in opposite directions with each other. The driving mechanisms for operating the associated fingers of the hand units (2, 3) are disposed one over the other along a plane including the fingers.

Abstract: A robot control method and apparatus of the type in which robot operations are taught in advance and the robot is subsequently actuated in accordance with the robot instruction data so taught. Areas in which the robot is forbidden to enter are established and the resulting information is stored in a memory. During the teaching of the robot operations the robot instruction data is created by moving the robot without regard to the forbidden areas. Thereafter, the robot instruction data so created is modified using the forbidden area information, the robot being controlled on the basis of the data so modified.

Abstract: A robot hand of an industrial robot used as a manipulating device of a bar-like workpiece having a pair of gripping members attached to a base member and arranged so as to be slid toward and away from one another so that an appropriate distance between the pair of gripping members is established depending on the difference of lengths of workpieces to be gripped by the gripping members of the robot hand.

Abstract: A numerical control method and apparatus for controlling the movement of a movable member by setting entry forbidden areas which the movable member is forbidden to enter. Entry forbidden information relating to the boundaries of the entry forbidden areas is created and stored in memory, the current position of the movable member is monitored, the entry forbidden information is used to determine whether the current position of the movable member has entered a forbidden area, and the movement of the movable member is halted when the current position thereof has entered an entry forbidden area.

Abstract: An industrial robot, mountable on a machine tool for carrying a workpiece to a spindle of the machine tool, and having an arm, one end of which is equipped with a wrist having a gripping device for gripping a workpiece. The robot further includes a main body having first and second rods with perpendicular spanning plates movably mounted on the machine tool rotatably connected to the second rod, first driving means provided on the main body for moving the arm axially of the spindle on the machine tool, and second driving means for allowing movement axially of the spindle for rotating the arm in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the spindle, with the other end of the arm serving as the center of rotation about the first rod.

Abstract: A hand (34) of an industrial robot for gripping a workpiece (14) and the like comprising: a hand base plate member (36) connected to a wrist portion (32); a plurality of pairs of opening and closing gripping fingers (38a and 38b, 38d) arranged on the palm face (36a) of the hand base plate member (36), and; an actuator (48 or 48') being arranged for each pair of the opening and closing fingers (38a and 38b, 38c and 38d) to actuate the fingers. The hand (34) is capable of securely and stably holding a workpiece having a heavy weight and/or an angular shape, or other complicated shape.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of sensing an overload abnormality in a robot control apparatus for controlling a robot on the basis of instructive data. A motor for driving the robot has the upper and lower limits of its drive current or of its driving power set in advance. Then, when the robot is operating in the playback mode, the value of the drive current or power is monitored, and an operation is performed to check whether the value of the motor drive current or power is within the range of the set limit values, enabling an overload abnormality to be sensed. In accordance with the inventive method an instruction for checking the motor drive current or power is inserted beforehand at a proper location in the instructive data. When said instruction is read, a discrimination operation is performed to determine whether the drive current or power is within the range of the limit values.

Abstract: A numerical control apparatus for a machine tool (4) comprises a transmitting circuit (43) for transmitting each block of machining information to an abnormal operation monitoring apparatus (6), which comprises a receiving circuit (61) for receiving each of said blocks of machining information and a decoding circuit (63) for decoding the content of said received blocks of machining information, thereby, as the machining proceeds by each one block, data indicating the content of said block and a signal indicating the termination of execution of the machining operation defined in said block are supplied from said numerical control apparatus (4) to said abnormal operation monitoring apparatus (6) and said content of each block of machining information is decoded in said abnormal operation monitoring apparatus (6).

Abstract: An industrial robot having a robot hand attached to a robot arm, a rotary motion unit supporting therein the robot arm, a vertical motion unit on which the rotary motion unit is disposed, and a vertical hollow structure extending through the vertical and rotary motion units and defining therein a vertically extending wiring and piping space.

Abstract: An industrial robot, having a manipulative robot hand for mounted on a vertically movable portion thereof moved by a vertical drive, provided with a load reducing pneumatic cylinder for applying a constant upward force to the vertically movable portion during the vertical movement of the portion and an air storage tank or tanks directly connected to the pneumatic cylinder for continuously supplying air under a desired fixed pressure. The upward force contributes to reducing a load applied to the vertical drive. The air storage tank or tanks contributes to ensuring mechanical rigidity of the industrial robot.

Abstract: An industrial robot having a hollow arm rotatable in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of a spindle of a machine tool, a wrist mechanism attached for rotation at one end of the arm, the wrist mechanism having a rotary shaft, and a gripper connected to the rotary shaft of the wrist mechanism for being rotated thereby. There are provided first and second air cylinders colinearly disposed within the arm, the first cylinder being fixed and the second cylinder being movable longitudinally of the arm. A piston rod interconnects the first and second air cylinders, the piston rod having a first piston at one end received in the first cylinder and a second piston at the other end received in the second cylinder. The piston rod is moved longitudinally of the arm by introducing air selectively into the first and second air cylinders. A pulley is affixed to the first cylinder, and a tension member such as a wire or belt is connected between the rotary shaft of the wrist mechanism and the pulley.

Abstract: Disclosed is an industrial robot having a function for controlling a current of a motor for driving, which comprises a circuit (41) for summing a plurality of input signals to which input signals of speed command, speed feedback, current command and current feedback are supplied, a switching circuit (23) for selectively switching the input of speed command to the inputs of current command and current feedback by a switching command signal and an operational amplifier (38) to which the switched signal is supplied. In this industrial robot, the position control is switched over to the current control by a switching command signal from a robot control device (22), and by the position control, an article to be held is shifted to a predetermined position and by the current control, driving electric motors (Mr, M.theta.

Abstract: In a transmission system employing a plurality of parallel lines for transmitting serial digital signals, means are provided in each line for detecting and disconnecting any line on which transmission is interrupted comprising a converter for producing two signals of opposite polarity, a receiver for reconverting the signals connected to the converter by a pair of transmission lines, an exclusive OR gate connected to the pair of transmission lines for providing an output when normal signals of opposite polarity are present, and a switch comprising an AND gate converted to the receiver and to the exclusive OR gate which disconnects the receiver when no output is received from the exclusive OR gate. The received signals from each line are combined through a common OR gate.

Abstract: A wrist mechanism in an industrial robot comprises a wrist, a rotary type actuator which is rotatable in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions, a first positioning board which can define arbitrary angular stopping positions, sensing devices, and a second positioning board which is arranged facing the first positioning board, wherein the sensing devices detect the angular position of the wrist, which is driven by the rotary type actuator, the rotary type actuator is stopped by signals produced by the sensing devices, and the second positioning board with tapered receptacles is pressed to the first positioning board with tapered pins, whereby the positioning of the wrist mechanism is carried out.

Abstract: A wrist mechanism for an industrial robot having a robot casing, robot arms capable of extending from and contracting to the robot casing, a robot hand for gripping a workpiece, and a wrist arranged between the robot arms and the robot hand, comprises: two reduction gears with a high reduction ratio connected respectively to each of two high speed rotational driving motors, the two reduction gears cooperating with one another for generating two individual reduced rotational outputs, and; two transmitting mechanisms, connectable to the hand, for transmitting respectively the two reduced rotational outputs to the hand, thereby causing respectively rotational motion and swinging motion of the hand.

Abstract: A gripping device on an industrial robot is provided with a plurality of light-emitting members for generating a plurality of light beams that intersect at predetermined angles, and with a plurality of light-receiving elements for receiving the light beams. When the gripping device moves relative to an object that is to be gripped, the object intercepts the light beams, on the basis of which the position of the object relative to the gripping device is detected. This permits even an object which is not precisely located at a predetermined position to be gripped accurately by the gripping device following detection of the object position.

Abstract: A system for controlling a plurality of microprocessors, comprising a common memory which can be selectively switched to exclusive buses which are connected to the plurality of microprocessors, respectively, and a priority control circuit which determines the priority of the microprocessors. According to the system of the present invention, it has a common memory that is selectively connected to the buses, data is transmitted without affecting the operation of the microprocessors on the receiving side, data transfer between the microprocessors having different cycle times is carried out at speeds that are adapted to the cycle times of the individual microprocessors, and the degree of the exclusive use of the bus by the microprocessor is prevented from being reduced when the direct memory access transfer is carried out. Consequently, a system for controlling a plurality of microprocessors having an improved performance is obtained in accordance with the present invention.

Abstract: A robot hand provided for an industrial robot used in association with a machine tool for carrying out a manipulating operation of attaching a workpiece to and detaching a workpiece from a workpiece chucking means of the machine tool, said robot hand being characterized by including means for removing chips and other foreign materials attached to the workpiece holding means during the manipulating operation.

Abstract: An industrial robot with a safeguard mechanism for mechanically preventing occurence of any uncontrolled movement of a movable part of the industrial robot, the safeguard mechanism having mechanical engagement means which provides a disengageable mechanical lock between the movable part of the industrial robot and the stationary part of the industrial robot or another stationary member different from the industrial robot.