Handling: hand and hoist-line implements – Grapple – Load shifting
Patent
1990-10-26
1992-12-22
Marmor, Charles A.
Handling: hand and hoist-line implements
Grapple
Load shifting
294902, 294 991, B25J 1512
Patent
active
051729504
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a gripping device having a basic body and gripping elements and more particularly, to a gripping device that can be made simply and is particularly suited for small objects.
Gripping devices of this general type are employed, for example, in robot technology and are described in numerous publications. An object to be gripped is mechanically clamped between two gripping elements and then, for example, held or transported to another position. Gripping elements for gripping microscopically small objects require greater fine-mechanical precision.
In addition to mechanical gripping elements, electromagnetic elements are often used. The object is held by magnetic forces which, by way of illustration, are produced with an electromagnetic coil. Although gripping devices of this type are able to operate without mechanical elements, they can only be used with magnetizable objects.
Mechanical gripping devices have gripping elements, which either must be movable (clamping jaws) or hinged (gripping fingers), and require a mechanical or electromechanical drive device. Such gripping devices are also subject to mechanical wear and tear.
Furthermore, because mechanical gripping elements require lubrication, they can, therefore, only be utilized to a limited degree under sterile or vacuum conditions.
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin (Vol. 25, No. 8, 1983, p. 4443), shows a gripping device which has a bimetal gripping arm. Upon suitable changes in temperature, this gripping arm bends in the direction of a stationary gripping arm and thereby clamps the object to be gripped between both gripping arms.
All the described gripping arms have limitations when it comes to gripping microscopic objects, as the fine-mechanical processes required for manufacturing the arms grow more and more complicated with increasing miniaturization and entail high costs.
An object of the present invention is to provide a simple gripping device that can be made without complicated fine-mechanical processes and is suited for gripping microscopically small objects (.mu.m range).
The aforesaid object has been achieved in accordance with the present invention by a gripping device in which the basic body consists of one or several semiconductor chips, and tongues are each composed of thin layers which are made with the aid of precipitation of vapor deposition processes. For changing the temperature, the tongues are equipped with layer-shaped heating elements applied onto or between the layers of the tongues.
It should be clearly understood that the gripping device can be fabricated in different sizes. As it does not require mechanical drive devices, the gripping device of the present invention is especially suited for miniaturization. Thus, it meets the demands of ever smaller handling systems, which are increasing with the growth of microtechnoloqy. Whereas the known gripping devices have limitations set by fine-mechanical manufacturing procedures, the gripping devices according to the present invention can be conducted in dimensions of several hundred micrometers with known microstructure technology methods.
The elements for heating the tongues are electric resistances and arranged between or on the layers of the tongues. The basic material for the basic body of the gripping device can be silicon wafers which have found wide application in microelectronics.
In order to be able to move the tongues at the lowest possible heat level, the tongues are made of a combination of materials having thermal expansion coefficients as different as possible. With the use of a silicon compound (e.g. silicon nitrite or silicon dioxide), microstructure methods have found application in the fabrication of particularly small-dimensioned gripping devices.
In order to be able to put the gripping elements in a predeterminable position and in order to avoid the ambient temperature from influencing the position of the gripping elements, one especially favorable arrangement attaches sensor elements to the
REFERENCES:
patent: 4610475 (1986-09-01), Heiserman
patent: 4666198 (1987-05-01), Heiserman
patent: 4765139 (1988-08-01), Wood
"International Symposium on Industrial Robots" (vol. 1, 1978, pp. 406-410).
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 25, No. 8, Jan. 1983, pp. 4443-4444 imetal Wire Gripper, C. A. Gaston & D. L. Wilson.
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der angewandten Forschung
Kramer Dean J.
Marmor Charles A.
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