Pick and place robot

Claim 1

A pick and place robot structure comprising: a fixed support structure; a rotatable turret carried by said support structure for rotation about one axis; an arm having one end portion pivotally carried by said turret for swinging movement of the arm about a second axis normal to said one axis to carry the other end portion of the arm through an arc of up to about a half circle; a working tool, such as a gripper, carried at said other end portion of said arm; first drive means to swing said arm; second drive means carried by said support structure, and operable independently of said first drive means to rotate said turret; constant orientation means associated with said turret structure at said one end portion of said arm and connected to said working tool at said other end portion of said arm to maintain the orientation of the axis of the working tool in one given orientation irrespective of movement of said arm and said turret, so that the disposition of the object being carried from a pick location to a place location by the working tool of the robot remains the same between the two locations; said first drive means is supported by said support structure and connected through said turret to effect swinging of said arm; said constant orientation means includes a linking mechanism including a first sprocket fixed against rotation to said turret in a location concentric to said second axis, a second sprocket rotatably connected to said arm at said other end portion of said arm, said second sprocket being fixedly connected to said working tool to effect rotation of said tool in accordance with rotation of said second sprocket, and toothed linking means connecting said sprockets so that as said arm is swung, said linking means walks around said first sprocket and effects rotation of said second sprocket in accordance with the degree of swing of said arm; said first and second drive means include a lower driven sprocket and an upper, parallel, co-axial, driven sprocket, respectively; said upper driven sprocket having fixed thereto an inverted cup-shaped element rotatably carried by said support structure and serving as the base of said turret and fixedly attached thereto; said lower driven sprocket being connected to shaft means extending co-axially and rotatably through said cup-shaped element into said turret, right angle drive means in said turret for transmitting motion of said shaft means to right angle shaft means fixed to said arm to effect swinging of said arm in accordance with rotation of said right angle shaft means.