Patent Application
20070241578
Further details of the invention will become more evident from the following description made in reference to the enclosed indicative and not binding drawings, in which:
As shown, the finger gripper basically comprises a supporting body 111, a pneumatic control piston 112, a compression disk 113 and an expandable gripper element 114.
The supporting body 111 has a proximal end 111′ and a distal part 111″ and forms internally a chamber 115, which at the proximal part is closed by a wall 116, whereas at the distal part it is open. In the proximal part, the supporting body 111 may have connection or fitting 118 provided with nuts 117 to connect the finger gripper to any type of support or manipulator—not shown.
The control piston 112 is equipped with at least one peripheral seal 112′ and it is housed and moves in said chamber 115, protrudes from the distal part 111″ of the supporting body 111, said piston 112 is guided along a fixed central rod 119, one end of which is fixed to the wall 116 of the supporting body, whereas its opposite end extends beyond the piston.
The compression disk 113, which can be flat as shown in the drawings or conical, is connected to the other end of the fixed rod 119 by means, for example, of a threaded shank 113′.
The expandable gripper element 114 is basically tubular and made of a flexible material, such as rubber, polyurethane, silicon or similar. It is initially configured with a convex barrel-shaped wall and suitable for its expansion towards the external. The external surface of said gripper element 114 can be continuous, that is, uniform or it can be shaped or corrugated.
It is, however, mounted between the compression disk 113 and the facing end of the control piston 112, around the connecting area of the fixed rod 119 with the compression disk 113.
The control piston 112 is movable in the chamber, along the fixed rod 119 together with the compression disk 113, between a retracted, inactive position, and a forward, active position.
When it is the inactive position, the piston 112 is moved towards the proximal wall 116 of the supporting body 111, at a distance from the compression disk 113, and the flexible gripper element 114 is relaxed and in the contracted condition as shown in
The control piston 112 is, and normally remains in the retracted, inactive position, due to the innate flexibility of the gripper element 114 and/or with the help of a possible return spring—not shown. The control piston 112 is on the other hand moved into the active position by a fluid under pressure, usually air, fed to the chamber 115 through a feed hole provided in a radial position in the supporting body 111 or, as shown in the drawings, through a conduit 122 provided, longitudinally, in the proximal wall 116 and in a radial position, in the piston itself.
When contracted, the gripper element can be inserted into the cavity of an object or container to be handled. Then, by feeling a fluid under pressure into the chamber 115, the piston moves towards the compression disk 113 which remains idle and which may even rest on a plane. In this way, the forward movement of the piston causes the gripper element 114 to expand so as to fit tightly in the cavity in which it has been inserted in order to be able to reliably handle any hollow object or container.
Furthermore, the gripper finger, besides gripping and handling objects and containers by being applied to the inside of a cavity, it can also be used, in combination with at least another similar gripper finger or complementary jig, to engage and handle objects and bodies by being applied externally even when they are on or adjacent to a plane, given that the compression disk can also rest on or be positioned up against such plane and that the gripper element remains in contact also when it is compressed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| BS 2006 A 000083 | Apr 2006 | IT | national |
