초록 ▼

A gripper grasps irregular and deformable work pieces so as to lift and hold packaged, processed, or raw, and manipulate the work pieces for the purpose of material handling, assembly, packaging, and other robotic and automated manipulative functions. A vacuum is induced at multiple points through a

A gripper grasps irregular and deformable work pieces so as to lift and hold packaged, processed, or raw, and manipulate the work pieces for the purpose of material handling, assembly, packaging, and other robotic and automated manipulative functions. A vacuum is induced at multiple points through a flexible gripping hood to provide lifting force to, and facilitate rapid movement of, work pieces. An array of lighting devices and a double ring array of segmented mirrors provide uniform illumination to ensure accurate positioning of the gripping hood with respect to the work piece to be manipulated.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A gripper having a flexible gripping hood that includes a base and a plurality of channels, wherein the base is formed about a first central orifice and has a predetermined circumference surrounded by a flexible lip that extends around the circumference of the base and extends downwardly to a cir

1. A gripper having a flexible gripping hood that includes a base and a plurality of channels, wherein the base is formed about a first central orifice and has a predetermined circumference surrounded by a flexible lip that extends around the circumference of the base and extends downwardly to a circumferential rim, the plurality of channels passing radially outwardly from the first central orifice and down the lip to a predetermined distance from the rim, the lip and rim being adaptable to conform to a work-piece when a pressure differential between the hood and the work-piece is created;wherein a lip base is mounted to the base of the hood and has a second central orifice; andwherein a vacuum line passes through the first and second central orifices;the gripper further comprising a plurality of channel fingers each having a proximal and a distal end, each finger being affixed to the gripping hood by mounting in a respective one of the channels;whereby upon application, a vacuum force is initially applied through the first orifice, causing portions of the work-piece to move toward the first orifice, after which the vacuum force is directed along the fingers, thereby enabling suction gripping at a plurality of points proximate the rim of the gripping hood and causing the hood to deform about, and conform to, a surface of a work-piece. 2. The gripper of claim 1 wherein the hood extends downwardly to a circumferential rim according to a generally cosine-shaped curve that produces a predetermined deformation profile. 3. The gripper of claim 1 wherein each of the channels is separated from adjacent channels by a protuberance. 4. The gripper of claim 1 wherein the fingers are integrally molded into the hood channels. 5. The gripper of claim 1 further comprising a bottom plate connected to the lip base and floating inside the circumference of the hood. 6. The gripper of claim 1 further comprising an obstacle formed into the lip base to prevent loose portions of the work-piece from filling the first orifice. 7. A vacuum gripping apparatus comprising a gripper according to claim 1, a robotic arm having a tool center point to which the gripper is connected, and at least one vacuum hose in communication with the proximal ends of the fingers through the first and second orifices and connected to a vacuum source and adapted to provide a suction force inside the gripping hood proximate the first central orifice and to provide a suction force through the vacuum hose to the distal ends of the fingers, thereby enabling suction gripping at a plurality of points proximate the rim of the gripping hood. 8. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising a real-time computerized controller for the robotic arm that incorporates feedback to position the gripper adjacent the work-piece to be gripped. 9. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising a swivel adaptor mounted between the robotic arm and the gripper to enable rotation of the gripper about a predetermined axis without rotation of the vacuum hose. 10. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising a sensor to monitor the vacuum force and to respond if the holding force falls below a predetermined level. 11. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising a valve to control the level of vacuum force in the vacuum hose. 12. The apparatus of claim 7 and suited to grasp and release irregular objects, the gripper hood being a unitary flexible gripping hood that includes the base formed about a first central orifice and having a circumference of a predetermined shape surrounded by the lip that extends around the circumference of the base and extends downwardly to a circumferential rim according to a generally cosine-shaped curve that produces a predetermined deformation profile, the plurality of channels being formed into the hood, the lip being sufficiently flexible that the lip and rim are adaptable to conform to an irregularly shaped work-piece when a pressure differential between the hood and the work-piece is created, each of the channels being separated from adjacent channels by a protuberance;the plurality of channel fingers being flexible hollow tubular vacuum channel fingers;the robotic arm controllable by a real-time computerized controller incorporating tactile and visual feedback to position the gripper adjacent the work-piece to be gripped;the at least one vacuum hose having a first and a second end, the first end in communication with the proximal ends of the fingers through the first and second orifices, the second end connected to the vacuum source, whereby upon initial application of a suction the majority of the vacuum force is applied through the first orifice, causing the portions of the work-piece to move toward the first orifice, whereupon the vacuum force is directed through the fingers;the apparatus further comprising an electronically operated high speed and high vacuum flow valve to control the level of suction in the vacuum hose;an optical system to provide robotic arm position information, the optical system comprising: a plurality of light emitting diodes to illuminate the work-piece;a plurality of segmented rings of mirrors that reflect light from the light emitting diodes to provide homogeneous illumination of the work-piece;a camera having an objective lens for recording predetermined image information of the work-piece;memory to store images captured by the camera;wherein the light emitting diodes illuminate the work-piece through the mirrors to permit the camera to take an image of the work-piece, following which geometric features of the irregular work-piece are extracted from the image and compared to a predefined geometrical model having similar features and a predetermined gripping offset position, whereby the robotic arm is oriented generally to align the gripper with respect to the predetermined offset position; anda sensor to signal to the controller that a safe holding force has been achieved by the suction force and furthermore to monitor the holding force and to respond if the holding force falls below a predetermined level. 13. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising an optical system comprising: a light source to illuminate the work-piece;at least one segmented ring of mirrors to reflect light from the light source and to illuminate the work-piece; anda camera having an objective lens for recording predetermined image information of the work-piece. 14. The apparatus of claim 13 in which the mirrors form a static array of concentric mirrors. 15. The apparatus of claim 13 in which the light is reflected by the mirrors to strike the work-piece at a steep angle to avoid reflections and maximize contrast. 16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the light source illuminates the work-piece to permit the camera to take an image of the work-piece, following which geometric features of the work-piece are extracted from the image and compared to a predefined geometrical model having similar features and a predetermined gripping offset position, whereby the robotic arm is oriented generally to align the gripper with respect to the predetermined offset position.