Abstract: A method for measuring the three-dimensional position of an object to be captured. A laser measuring unit is provided having an image recognition camera confronting the object, first and second laser light emitting sources respectively irradiating from a slant direction a lateral slit light onto the object relative to a vertical axis of a vision coordinate system and irradiating a vertical slit light onto the object relative to a lateral axis of the vision coordinate system, one slit image on the vertical axis of the object and one slit image on the lateral axis of the object and one of the slit images on the vertical and lateral axes formed before and after the laser measuring unit is moved a predetermined amount in a direction of a camera optical axis relative to the object are taken into the camera, and the three-dimensional position is calculated from the relationship between the predetermined moving distance amount and the deviation of the slit images on the vision coordinates of the coordinate system.

Abstract: Robots for industrial use having an arm mechanism of a horizontal multiple articulated type.The load movement mechanism and the arm expansion mechanism, which are provided within the robot arms in advance with respect to the change condition through the catching of the gravity force changes by the force sensor from a case where the weight is moved, placed to a case where nothing is grasped, are properly operated, so that the mutual dynamic interferences of the respective driving portions of the robot may not be caused or may be made minimum, and may be made simple in shape by the comparatively simple control apparatus, with an effect that the superior robot which is capable of stable operations may be realized.

Abstract: A photoelectric position encoder using diffraction imagery has a laser light source emitting parallel, coherent light. As least one light sensing device senses the light amount received from the light source and provides an output signal corresponding thereto. A transfer slit plate having periodic slits is disposed between the light source and the light sensing device. The light sensing device thus senses the variation in the received light amount caused by the movement of the transfer slit plate. The light sensing device also senses brightness and darkness fringes of a diffraction image caused by the periodic slits of the transfer plate. Circuitry is coupled to the light sensing device and issues a position signal corresponding to the position of the transfer slit plate.

Abstract: Disclosed is an industrial robot of the type wherein the robot arm is directly driven by a motor. A position encoder generates a signal representative of the actual position of the arm and a manually controlled position entry switch is operable during a teaching mode. When the arm is manually moved to a desired position, a memory controller responds to the operation of the position entry device by storing the actual position signal in a memory as a target position signal, and reads the stored signal during a playback mode. A servo-control system responds to the actual position signal from the encoder and the target position signal from the memory by controlling the motor so that the actual position of the arm approaches the desired position during the playback mode. The output of the servo-control system is decreased during the teaching mode to render the arm manually movable to the desired position and is increased during the playback mode.

Abstract: A position detecting apparatus provided with a lighting unit 13 for lighting an object 14 to be detected, an image-formation unit 15 for imaging the object 14, a detecting unit 16 comprising a plurality of photoelectric converters disposed on the image-formation plane to detect brightness of the image and disposed two-dimensionally, a scanning unit 17 for allowing the relative position of the image to the photoelectric converters to move one-dimensionally in the image-formation plane, a selecting unit 19 for selecting the plurality of detected signals of the detecting unit, and a decision means 18 for deciding the one- and two-dimensional positions of the center, corner and edge of the object by means of the detected signal of the detecting unit, a selected signal of the selecting unit and a scanning signal of the scanning unit, so that the images formed are moved slantwise with respect to the plurality of photoelectric converters disposed two-dimensionally and the selecting unit selects the detected signals