Fanuc Corporation

Moriaki Oonishi

Kuniyasu Matsumoto

Wataru Amemiya

Kousuke Imasaka

In a linear expansion mechanism, high rigidity is secured in all directions of orthogonal axes without any constraint on installation posture. The linear expansion mechanism includes: a block train made up of a plurality of blocks coupled along a coupling direction; a housing for containing the block train; a mechanism configured to deliver and draw the block train along the coupling direction; and a fixing mechanism configured to fix a relative position of a leading end position of the block train delivered from the housing relative to an entrance/exit position Pe located on the housing at which the block train enters and exits the housing with respect to directions orthogonal to the coupling direction of the block train.

Linear expansion mechanism

A linear expansion mechanism includes: a plurality of linear-motion mechanisms assembled in series; a block train including a plurality of blocks coupled to each other in a row, a block at a leading end being connected to a linear-motion mechanism at a leading end; and a housing part that houses the block train. The housing part has a pair of arc-shaped rails and that being separately arranged on opposite sides of the block train, and a pair of projection bodies to be engaged with the pair of arc-shaped rails are provided on opposite side faces of each of the blocks.

A robot apparatus includes a base, a strut unit, and a linear expansion mechanismrotatably supported on the strut unit. The linear expansion mechanism includes: a plurality of cylindrical bodies assembled in series to each other; a block train including a plurality of blocks coupled to each other in a row, the block at the leading end being connected to the cylindrical body at the leading end; and a housing part that houses the block train along an arc-shaped trajectory, the housing part being arranged below the cylindrical body at the trailing end and above the strut unit.

Growing community of inventors

Yamanashi, Japan

Moriaki Oonishi