Abstract: An industrial robot is provided which has a compact and of low height body operable within an operating range not exceed the height of the robot during operation, and yet is able to secure a wide operating range of the near front side of the robot. The robot has a fixed base, a rotary base mounted on the fixed base rotatably around a vertical swing axis, a first arm mounted on the rotary base rotatably around a horizontal first rotational axis, a second arm mounted on the first arm rotatably around a horizontal second rotational axis and a wrist mounted on the distal end of the second arm rotatably around a longitudinal axis thereof. The first arm is made operable to hang down in a position where the axis of the first arm is perpendicular to the installation surface of the robot and outwardly offset from the outer surface of the fixed base, the operating range of the first arm which interfere with the fixed base is made so small and the operating range of the front side of the robot is much enlarged.

Abstract: An improved supporting device for wiring of electric cables for an industrial robot is provided which is adapted to house an increased number of electric cables and pipes without making the robot body of a high vertical height or large-sized. The supporting device has plurality of circular spaces divided by axial partition walls each extending along a concentric circle with respect to the rotation axis of the rotary base. A plurality of bundles containing a plurality of electric cables and/or pipe(s) are so installed in each of the circular spaces that each one end of the bundles is secured on the interior wall of the base and then, each bundle extends halfway along a center of one of the circular spaces, and then is turned back to form an U-shaped configuration and returns along a center of opposite circular spaces of the rotary base, and each of the other end of bundles is secured on the rotary base.

Abstract: In order to synchronize the operations of at least two industrial robots which can operate independently of each other in accordance with their respective operation programs, the time is obtained which is required for one of the robots serving as the master to move from one working position to the next position at which it operates jointly with the remaining robot. The remaining robot serving as the slave is moved from the position where it exists at present to another position corresponding to said next position, thereby synchronizing the operations of all the robots. An apparatus for such synchronous control comprises a program used to compute with a specified moving speed the interpolation movement due to which each robot is moved between the adjacent working positions and a program used to compute the interpolation movement with a specified moving time. In case of the asynchronous control, the robots move independently in accordance with their respective operation programs.

Abstract: An industrial robot system comprising a plurality of robots for conducting a work in cooperation with each other. A system clock is provided in the system, and clocks are provided in the respective robots. These clocks are counted up at the same cycle time, and are set for original points of the respective robots, which are the waiting positions thereof, and the clock values of the robots located in the respective positions during the drive operation. During the drive of the system, the system clock is advanced by adding a predetermined increment value thereto, and the respective robots held under the enabling condition, start the operations by advancing the robot clocks by adding the same increment value as that of the system clock.

Abstract: An industrial robot system comprising a single working machine, and a plurality of robots arranged so as to transfer a work to and from this working machine. The operation of these robots and the working machine is controlled by a single control unit, and the operation of all the robots is controlled in a realtime manner in synchronism with the operation of the working machine, thereby ensuring the smooth operation of the overall system while obviating waiting time of each robot and the working machine without using a conventional mutual interlock system.