Control system of multi-joint arm robot apparatus

Claim 1

In a control system for a multi-joint arm robot apparatus including a multi-joint arm having a plurality of unit arms coupled in tandem with each other through joints, said multi-joint arm having first motor means for controlling a joint angle of each of said joints, and first detecting means for detecting the joint angle of each of said joints in accordance with the rotation angle of said first motor means; and a movable support for supporting a proximal portion of said multi-joint arm, said movable support having second motor means for moving said movable support so as to move said multi-joint arm, and second detecting means for detecting the rotation angle of said second motor means; said control system comprising: first distance measuring means for measuring the distance to a front obstacle with respect to a leading unit arm of said multi-joint arm, and second distance measuring means for measuring distances to obstacles in a plurality of side directions; and controlling means responsive to distance data from said first and second distance measuring means, for permitting said multi-joint arm to move to an advancable direction when there is no contact with the obstacle, and for moving said movable support by a unit distance to move a leading end of said multi-joint arm in the advancable direction, and controlling the joint angle of each of said joints.