Workpiece manipulator

Abstract

Abstract A manipulator corresponding to the human hand is generally attached to the end of an arm of an industrial robot or remote control apparatus. The improved manipulator herein includes two spaced-apart, rotatable sprockets and a chain which is connected in the form of an endless loop and stretched between the sockets to form two parallel linear segments which move in mutually opposing directions when the chain is rotated. Two fingers for gripping a workpiece are arranged to move in a direction which is parallel to the linear segments by means of guide members, one finger being coupled to one of the linear segments of the chain and the other finger being coupled to the other linear segment. A cylinder is provided for accommodating a piston having piston rods secured to either side thereof. The other ends of the piston rods pass hermetically through both side walls of the cylinder and are secured in blocks located outside the cylinder, the blocks forming the walls of the manipulator. The cylinder is coupled to one of the linear portions of the chain. Introducing a fluid such as compressed air into the cylinder from one side thereof and permitting the fluid to escape from the other side thereof causes the cylinder to be driven along the piston rods, whereby the chain which is coupled to the cylinder is rotated so as to move the fingers together or separate them from each other, allowing a workpiece to be gripped or released. Since the two linear portions of the chain move by equivalent absolute amounts in mutually opposing directions, the fingers can always be made to come together at the exact gripping center of the device through a very simple construction.

Inventors

• 👤 Shigemi Inagaki
• 👤 Ryo Nihei

Bibliographic Details