Handling: hand and hoist-line implements – Grapple – Slideable jaws
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-15
2001-02-13
Kramer, Dean J. (Department: 3652)
Handling: hand and hoist-line implements
Grapple
Slideable jaws
C294S082230
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186570
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a gripping device having gripping elements on gripper jaws, a drive being assigned to the gripper jaws to move them.
Gripping devices of this type of diverse form and design are known. Reference is made, for example, to FR-A-2 635 481 in which two gripper jaws run axially parallel to each other and are supported against channel walls via bearings. In this case, the drive is performed by a toothed rack, toothed wheels and a pressure-actuated toothed piston which are all assigned to the gripper jaws. The overall size of a gripping device of this type is large, the drive is complicated.
EP 0 293 153 A1 discloses a parallel gripper in which the gripping elements are likewise arranged in an axially parallel manner. In this case too, the gripping elements are supported against the channel walls via bearings. The gripping elements are moved via a toggle lever drive.
DE 94 20 108 U1 shows a parallel gripper having two gripper jaws which can be moved in an axially parallel manner by a drive. A multiplicity of drive options are indicated, some of which are very complicated.
Furthermore, a gripping device of the above-mentioned type is shown in DE 39 41 800 A1 in which, in turn, the gripper jaws are moved in an axially parallel manner by means of drivers guided in slotted links.
The present invention is based on the object of developing a gripping device of the above-mentioned type; the overall size of which can be substantially reduced and the drive of which is improved.
The achievement of this object has resulted in two gripper jaws being arranged such that they can be moved parallel to each other in, preferably, one channel of a housing.
This means that the guiding of the two gripper jaws is able to stress approximately the entire length of the channel, which has the consequence of the jaw guides being subjected to substantially lower bearing forces during the actual gripping procedure.
In order for the gripper jaws to have as little guide friction as possible, said jaws run on bearings, preferably on rolling bodies. One row of rolling bodies is situated in each case between the outside of each gripper jaw and the corresponding channel wall. Two rows of rolling bodies which are situated one above another are arranged on the inside of the two gripper jaws. This arrangement has the advantage of being absolutely precise geometrically, largely irrespective of how precisely the individual parts used therein are machined.
A respective driving pin, on which a respective driving roller runs, protrudes out of the gripper jaws into a slotted-link slot. The slotted-link slot is situated in a slide which is connected fixedly via a pin to a piston as part of the drive. The piston moves back and forth preferably between two pressurizable chambers and in doing so carries the slide with it via the pin in one or other direction. Since the median of the slotted-link slot limbs, which are arranged in a V-shape, lies in the axis of movement of the gripper jaws but said axis of movement for its part runs perpendicularly to the piston movement, when the piston is displaced the gripper jaws execute a synchronous, opposed movement.
The gripping device according to the invention is convincing not just because of its simplicity which is expressed by the small number of necessary individual parts and which permits the device to be produced with extremely small external dimensions, but also because of its great mechanical efficiency which it exhibits because of the use of rolling-body guides on all the highly stressed, moveable parts.
A change to the vertical angle which the slotted-link slot limbs form makes it possible to construct gripping devices which achieve different gripping-force maxima with the same pressurization.
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patent: 5224747 (1993-07-01), Tsuchiya et al.
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patent: 5595413 (1997-01-01), McGeachy et al.
patent: 5871250 (1999-02-01), Sawdon
patent: 5967581 (1999-10-01), Bertini
Trenner Albrecht T.
Wullschleger Christian
Bachman & LaPointe P.C.
Kramer Dean J.
Montech AG
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