Articulated robot

Claim 2

An articulated robot including at least two arms and having an object being controlled provided associated with one of said arms such that the position or attitude of said object being controlled is controlled, said robot being structured such that the articulation angle defined by said at least two arms can assume at least two different states for the same position or attitude of said object being controlled, said robot comprising: teaching means including operating means for teaching information which is changeable for said two states upon controlling of said object being controlled by means of at least said operating means and includes data concerning said position or attitude, and articulation angle controlling means responsive to said information taught by said teaching means for controlling said articulation angle over said two states.

Claim 3

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 1, wherein said teaching means comprises state information teaching means for teaching information representing one of said two states, and said articulation angle controlling means comprises means responsive to said state information for controlling said articulation angle to said one of said two states.

Claim 4

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 2, wherein said operating means included in said teaching means comprises entry means for entering information concerning said position or attitude in the rectangular coordinates system, and said articulation angle controlling means comprises coordinates converting means responsive to said information concerning said position or attitude taught in said rectangular coordinates system for converting said information into command information of an articulated system for said articulation angle, and driving means responsive to angle data obtained from said coordinates converting means for driving at least two articulation angles.

Claim 5

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 2 or 3, said teaching means comprises state reversing switch for reversing said state, and said state reversing switch is structured to be enabled when said state on the occasion of the previous teaching is in the predetermined state.

Claim 6

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 4, wherein said articulation angle controlling means comprises forcing means for forcing information concerning the state to follow to a state associated with the operation of said state reversing switch only if and when the information concerning said position or attitude is of said predetermined state.

Claim 7

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 1, wherein said teaching means is structured to generate teaching information in either a rectangular coordinates system or an articulated system, and said operating means comprises system selecting means for selecting said rectangular coordinates system when control is made only in one of said two states and for selecting said articulated system when control is made with respect to a change from said one to the other of said two states.

Claim 8

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 6, wherein said articulation angle controlling means comprises means for storing identifying information associated with the magnitude of said articulation angle determined by said teaching means and for determining the articulation angle being controlled in accordance with said identifying information.

Claim 9

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 7, wherein said teaching means comprises coordinates converting means for providing information of said rectangular coordinates system as said teaching information when said articulated system is selected by said system selecting means, and said articulation angle controlling means comprises second coordinates converting means for making conversion to command information of said articulated system based on said information taught in said rectangular coordinates system, and driving means responsive to angle data from said second coordinates converting means for driving at least two articulation angles.

Claim 10

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 7, wherein said teaching means comprises coordinates converting means for providing said information of said articulated system as said teaching inforamtion when said rectangular coordinates system is selected by said system selecting means.

Claim 11

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 8, wherein said articulation angle controlling means comprises interpolating means, said interpolating means making an interpolating operation based on information of said rectangular coordinates system.

Claim 12

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 6, wherein said teaching means is adapted to provide said information of said articulated system as said teaching information when said articulated system is selected by system selecting means and to provide said information of said rectangular coordinates system as said teaching information when said rectangular coordinates system is selected by said system selecting means, and said articulation angle controlling means comprises means for equiangular interpolating the portion for the information of said articulated system as taught.

Claim 13

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 1, 2 or 6, which further comprises a supporting member for pivotally supporting the base end of one of said two arms by means of a first shaft, the other of said two arms having the base end pivoted at the tip end of said first arm by means of a second shaft in parallel with said first shaft, a first and second prime movers provided to said supporting member for controlling the turning angle of said two arms, each said prime mover being provided rearward of said supporting member such that the output shaft thereof may be in parallel with said first shaft, first power transmitting means including first entraining means for transmitting power from one of said two prime movers to one of said two arms and a first speed reducing unit, and second power transmitting means including second entraining means for transmitting power from the other of said two prime movers to the other of said two arms and a second speed reducing unit.

Claim 14

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 12, wherein said first entraining means comprises a first pulley coupled to the output shaft of said one of said prime movers, a second pulley coupled to said one of said arms, and a belt entrained in an endless manner between said first and second pulleys.

Claim 15

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 12, which further comprises a third arm having the base end pivoted at the tip end of said other arm by means of a third shaft in parallel with said second shaft, and a third prime mover provided in said other arm rearward of said second shaft for controlling said third arm, said third prime mover serving as a balance weight of said other arm.

Claim 16

An articulated robot in accordance with claim 14, which further comprises third power transmitting means for transmitting power from said third prime mover to said third arm, and wherein said third power transmitting means comprises a first chain sprocket having a shaft in parallel with said second shaft, a second chain sprocket coupled to the base end of said third arm, and a chain entrained in an endless manner between said first and second chain sprockets, and a portion midway of said chain which is not engaged with said and first chain sprockets is replaced by a rigid body.

Claim 17

A robot for performing operations on an object, the robot having two articulated arms which can adopt either one of two relative positions to achieve a predetermined operational relationship with the object and comprising control means for adjusting the arms from one said relative position to the other at predetermined stages of operation.

Claim 18

A robot for performing operations on an object, the robot having two articulated arms which can adopt either one of two relative positions to achieve a predetermined operational relationship with the object and comprising control means for adjusting the arms from one said relative position to the other at predetermined stages of operation.