A programmed controlled industry robot for the treatment of work pieces having movable parts (24) to be moved prior to treatment comprises a support arm (15) swivelable three dimensionally and a swivel head (17) affixed at the free end of the support arm (15). The swivel head (17) carries a tool and has a plurality of axes and being rotatable around the axes. The axes of the swivel head (17) are loaded with considerably smaller forces than the swivel axes of the support arm (15). A support member (25) moveable with the support arm (15) grips one of the moveable parts (24) of the work piece and moves the work piece into an open position. The support member (25) serves for the lifting of the moveable part (24) of the work piece and is attached to the support arm (15) in such a manner that the forces acting on the support member (25) do not load any of the axes of rotation of the swivel head (17).

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The invention relates to a program-controlled industry robot for the 
treatment of work pieces such as for color coating automotive bodies. 
BACKGROUND ART 
In handling devices which are generally termed industry robots and 
automatically controlled according to a motion program, it may be 
necessary to provide a tool supported on a three dimensionally pivotable 
swivel head. As the case may be, an extensible supporting arm has rotatory 
parts which can be rotated by servo motors (or actuator motors) around 
three axes at mutual angles from 45 degrees through 360 degrees (or more). 
In order that the swivel head parts can be rotated rapidly, they are 
supported with small mass and with as low a friction as possible. Their 
axes are relatively weak and only designed for very small bending forces. 
This can especially be the case if no contact occurs between tool and the 
work piece to be machined (or processed). Thus, no unforseeable forces 
appear, as for instance, in irradiation or sand blasting installations, 
lacquering installations and the like. 
The hinge axes at the partitioning points of the support arm, which are 
usually vertically bendable and at its root horizontally pivotable, can be 
loaded with considerably greater forces due to the greater masses and the 
lever length of the arm sections. 
In the automotive industry where such handling devices are utilized as 
lacquering robots, the swivel head carries a tool such as a lacquer 
spraying device. Further, the doors as well as motor hoods and trunk lids 
have to be opened prior to the lacquering or painting of the blank 
automobile body in order to obtain a satisfactory covering of the edge. 
In already extensively automated lacquering or painting stations, 
relatively simple handling devices are specially provided and used to grip 
the doors and hoods to be opened and bring them into the desired position, 
in which they are maintained by further means during the subsequent 
lacquering (or painting) process. The considerable mechanical expense for 
this auxiliary activity is undesirable. 
Already known from the DE-OS 32 44 053 (German document open for 
inspection) is a robot serving for the automatic color coating of 
automobile bodies of a type in which the gripping member is a door gripper 
for the opening and closing of the vehicle doors before and after the 
lacquering or painting process. The horizontal swinging of the doors does 
not require great forces. Since, however, the door gripper of the known 
robot is affixed to an actuating part provided also for the rotating of 
the lacquer spraying device, it could not be used for the lifting of the 
relatively heavy vehicle hoods because the rotating axis of the activating 
part could be damaged by the weight of the hood. Therefore, just as 
before, the above mentioned auxiliary robots are necessary. 
The invention is based on the problems described. An industry robot, which 
besides its function proper of lacquering or other kind of treatment of 
work pieces, is in a position to lift automatically and without 
considerable additional mechanical expense, relatively heavy work pieces 
parts such as in particular the hoods of automobile bodies. 
This problem is solved by the subject invention industry robot.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The complete industry robot in FIG. 1 is designated by 10. It consists of a 
base 11, a stand 12 which can be rotated on the base around its axis by a 
certain angle, a transverse 13 hinged at the upper end of the stand 12 
which can swing around a horizontal axis 14 by an adjustable element (not 
shown) between the stand and transverse. A support arm 15 hinged to the 
front end of the transverse 13 which can be swiveled around a horizontal 
axis 16 by an adjustable element by a certain angle, and a swivel head, 
generally indicated at 17, at the free end of the support arm 15. The base 
11 can be displaced with respect to its support area parallel to the 
dash-dotted line by means of a transport device (not shown) in a direction 
of the automobile body being moved perpendicularly to the plane of the 
drawing in order to be able to follow the body movement along a certain 
distance during the work process. 
The swivel head 17 exhibits, as known in itself, three parts of which the 
first one, a part 19, rotatable by 360 degrees about a first axis 28, with 
the front end of the arm 15, carries a second part 20 which in relation to 
the first part 19 is again rotatable by 360 degrees about a second axis 
30. The second part 20, as in the third part 21, a tool holder shaft is 
rotatable by 360 degrees about a third axis 32, on which the tool--in the 
present case a lacquer spraying device--is mounted. The shafts connecting 
the parts 19, 20 and 21 with each other are lying in each case at an angle 
of 45 degrees to each other. The parts are driven by servomotors. This 
permits the lacquer or paint spraying device 22 to assume any desired 
direction. 
It is understood that a programmable control device is assigned to the 
illustrated part of the industry robot 10 which is designed in a known 
manner. 
In order to bring the then closed doors 23 and hoods 24 on the automobile 
body 18 entering the lacquering (painting) station into a position 
required for the lacquering or painting, a hook 25 is attached on the 
front end of the support arm 15 ahead of the point of intersection of the 
first part 19 of the swivel head 17. The hook 25 is used for the gripping 
at suitable pieces of the doors 23 and hoods 24 in a convenient position 
and direction and in such a way that it does not lie in the path of action 
of the tool--in the described lacquering or painting device within the 
spray jet. This arrangement of the hook 25 utilizes on the one hand the 
controllable mobility of the stand 12, transverse 13 and the support arm 
15 and as the case may be the base 11 of the industry robot 10. On the 
other hand, the forces occurring during the opening processes act only on 
the relatively stable universal joint shafts on the axes 14 and 16, but 
not on the shaft between the support arm 15 and the swivel arm 17, which 
can only be loaded with small bending forces, and between the individual 
parts of the swivel head. 
The front end part 27 of the support arm 15, rotatable around the 
longitudinal axis of the swivel head 17, on the front end of the arm 15 on 
which the hook is attached rigidly as illustrated, is preferably supported 
telescopically slideably in support arm 15. The end part 27 can 
furthermore be rotatable around its longitudinal axis independently of the 
swivel head 17. Also, the hook 25 can be rotated around this axis.