Clamping and moving systems

Abstract

A clamping system includes a pneumatic arm assembly, the pneumatic arm assembly including an anchor bracket, a first pair of arms and a second pair of arms pivotally attached to opposite sides of the anchor bracket, and a connector bracket pivotally attached to the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms. Movement of the connector bracket is caused by movement of the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms. The clamping assembly is mounted on the connector bracket and includes a pair of clamping arms suitable for clamping an object. The pneumatic control assembly includes a pneumatic piston that drives the first and second pairs of arms, the connector bracket and the clamping arms to move. During movement of the connector bracket and the clamping arms, the angle of the connector bracket and the clamping arms relative to the x-y plane remains relatively constant.

Description

[0001] Related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62,648,922, filed on March 27, 2018, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0003] Plates containing a plurality of wells are known in the art and are used to hold samples of chemicals, cells, or other biological materials for observation. Typically, such plates have an aspect ratio of 3:2 and therefore contain 24 (4×6), 96 (8×12), 384 (16×24), or 1536 (32×48) wells; a typical 96-well plate is 128 mm long and 86 mm wide, and the standards for the footprint and bottom flange of a 96-well plate are described in ANSI / SBS1-2004 and ANSI / SBS3-2004, respectively.

[0004] Such multi-well plates (sometimes also referred to as microplates or microtiter plates, depending on the volume of the wells) are typically made of plastics such as polystyrene, polypropylene, or polycarbonate, or a combination of these materials, with glass incorporated into the bottom portion of the plate in some cases. In many applications, the bottom of the wells is transparent to a certain frequency of light that will be used to observe the sample. The depth, height, and total volume of the wells, as well as the shape of the wells and the shape of the bottom of the wells, vary depending on the specific use of the plate.

[0005] One area where such plates are widely used is high throughput screening, which is used for testing compounds in drug development, binding assays for antigens, etc.

[0006] Typically, in high-throughput screening and other applications, automated machines are used to move multiwell plates from one location to another, such as from a storage incubator to a microscope system to observe the contents of the wells, or vice versa. However, due to the sensitivity of the biological materials tested in microwell plates, it is desirable to minimize disturbance of the contents of such plates. Keeping these plates level while moving them is usually a minimum goal to avoid spillage of the contents. Summary of the Invention

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a clamping system, comprising:

[0008] A pneumatic arm assembly comprising:

[0009] Anchor bracket;

[0010] a first pair of arms pivotally attached to opposite sides of the anchor bracket at a pair of respective first positions, each arm of the first pair of arms being adapted to move in a respective plane substantially perpendicular to the xy plane;

[0011] a second pair of arms pivotally attached to opposite sides of the anchor bracket at a pair of respective second positions, each arm of the second pair of arms being adapted to move in a respective plane;

[0012] wherein each second position is disposed diagonally to a corresponding first position along each of the opposing sides of the anchor bracket;

[0013] a cam subassembly connected to the first pair of arms; and

[0014] a connector bracket pivotally attached to the first and second pairs of arms, wherein movement of the connector bracket is caused by movement of the first and second pairs of arms;

[0015] a clamping assembly mounted to the connector bracket, the clamping assembly including a pair of clamping arms adapted to clamp an object; and

[0016] a pneumatic control assembly including a pneumatic piston functionally associated with a cam subassembly, the pneumatic control assembly being configured such that pneumatic changes in the pneumatic piston are applied to the first pair of arms via the cam subassembly to drive movement of the first pair of arms, the second pair of arms, the connector bracket, and the clamping arm,

[0017] Wherein, during the movement of the connector holder and the clamping arm, the angle of the connector holder and the clamping arm relative to the xy plane remains constant within a threshold of 0.2 degrees.

[0018] In some embodiments, the connector bracket includes an upper wall, a rear wall substantially perpendicular to the upper wall, and two side walls extending from opposite sides of the rear wall, the side walls being substantially perpendicular to the upper wall and perpendicular to the rear wall.

[0019] In some such embodiments, an arm in a first pair of arms is pivotally attached to each of the side walls at a first bracket position, and an arm in a second pair of arms is pivotally attached to each of the side walls at a second bracket position, wherein each second bracket position is disposed diagonally to a corresponding first bracket position along each of the side walls of the connector bracket.

[0020] In some embodiments, the clip assembly is mounted to a lower surface of an upper wall of the connector bracket.

[0021] In some embodiments, the gripping assembly includes a second pneumatic assembly functionally associated with the gripping arms and adapted to move the gripping arms toward and away from each other to facilitate gripping and releasing an object.

[0022] In some embodiments, the first length of the arms in the first pair of arms is 4 cm to 10 cm, such as 4 cm to 8 cm or 4 cm to 6 cm, such as 4 cm, 4.5 cm, 5 cm, 5.5 cm, 6 cm, 6.5 cm, 7 cm, 7.5 cm, 8 cm, 8.5 cm, 9 cm, 9.5 cm, or 10 cm. In some embodiments, the second length of the arms in the second pair of arms is 4 cm to 10 cm, such as 4 cm to 8 cm or 4 cm to 6 cm, such as 4 cm, 4.5 cm, 5 cm, 5.5 cm, 6 cm, 6.5 cm, 7 cm, 7.5 cm, 8 cm, 8.5 cm, 9 cm, 9.5 cm, or 10 cm.

[0023] In some embodiments, the difference between the first length of the arms in the first pair of arms and the second length of the arms in the second pair of arms is at most 0.05 mm.

[0024] In some embodiments, pivotal movement of the first and second pairs of arms relative to the anchor stent is limited at the first end by a surface of the anchor stent.

[0025] In some embodiments, pivotal movement of the first and second pairs of arms relative to the anchor bracket is limited by a range of motion of a pneumatic plunger forming part of the pneumatic piston.

[0026] In some embodiments, each of the arms in the first and second pairs of arms includes a first end pivotally attached to the anchor bracket and a second end pivotally attached to the connector bracket distal from the first end.

[0027] In some embodiments, when the first pair of arms is pivoted from a first orientation to a second orientation relative to the anchor bracket using the full range of motion of the arms in the first pair of arms, the vertical difference between the second end of each of the arms in the first orientation and the second end of each of the arms in the second orientation is 20mm to 50mm, for example, 30mm to 40mm, for example, 20mm, 21mm, 22mm, 23mm, 24mm, 25mm, 26mm, 27mm, 28mm, 29mm, 30mm, 31mm, 32mm, 33mm, 34mm, 35mm, 36mm, 37mm, 38mm, 39mm, 40mm, 41mm, 42mm, 43mm, 44mm, 45mm, 46mm, 47mm, 48mm, 49mm or 50mm.

[0028] In some embodiments, when the first pair of arms is pivoted from a first orientation to a second orientation relative to the anchor bracket using the entire range of motion of the arms in the first pair of arms, the vertical difference between the position of the clamping end of the clamping arm when the first pair of arms is in the first orientation and the position of the clamping end of the clamping arm when the first pair of arms is in the second orientation is 20mm to 50mm, for example, 30mm to 40mm, for example, 20mm, 21mm, 22mm, 23mm, 24mm, 25mm, 26mm, 27mm, 28mm, 29mm, 30mm, 31mm, 32mm, 33mm, 34mm, 35mm, 36mm, 37mm, 38mm, 39mm, 40mm, 41mm, 42mm, 43mm, 44mm, 45mm, 46mm, 47mm, 48mm, 49mm or 50mm.

[0029] In some embodiments, the clamping system further comprises an object clamped by the clamping arm.In some embodiments, during movement of the clamping arm, an angular orientation of the object relative to the xy plane remains constant within a threshold of 0.2 degrees.

[0030] In some embodiments, the clamping system further comprises a movement system functionally associated with the pneumatic arm assembly, the movement system being adapted to perform at least one of: (a) moving the pneumatic arm assembly so as to change the position of the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms in the xy plane, and (b) pivoting the pneumatic arm assembly about the z-axis so as to change the orientation of the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms in the xy plane.

[0031] In some embodiments, the object is a multiwell plate disposed between and held by the gripping arms.

[0032] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a method for raising or lowering an object, the method comprising:

[0033] When the object is at the origin height, gripping the object with a gripping arm of the gripping system described herein; and

[0034] pivoting the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms relative to the anchor bracket so that the clamping arms and the object clamped therebetween move vertically to a target height,

[0035] Wherein, during pivoting of the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms, an angular orientation of the object with respect to the xy plane remains constant within a threshold of 0.2 degrees.

[0036] In some embodiments, the gripping system further comprises a movement system functionally associated with the pneumatic arm assembly of the gripping system, the movement system being adapted to at least one of: (a) move the pneumatic arm assembly to change the position of the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms in the xy plane, and (b) pivot the pneumatic arm assembly about a z-axis to change the orientation of the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms in the xy plane.

[0037] The method also includes moving the clamping system using the movement system while maintaining the object level.

[0038] In some embodiments, the object comprises a porous plate.

[0039] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. In case of conflict, the specification, including definitions, will control.

[0040] As used herein, the terms "comprising," "including," "having," and their grammatical variations should be considered to specify the stated features, integers, steps, or components, but do not preclude the addition of one or more additional features, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof. These terms include the terms "consisting of" and "consisting essentially of."

[0041] As used herein, the indefinite articles "a" and "an" mean "at least one" or "one or more" unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0042] As used herein, an object is considered to “remain horizontal” during movement of the object (a) if, during the movement of the object, the angle of the object relative to the horizontal does not change by more than 0.2 degrees, such as by no more than 0.1 degrees, or (b) if, during the movement, the tilt of the base surface of the object relative to the initial position of the base surface is at most 0.2 mm, such as at most 0.1 mm.

[0043] As used herein, the term xy plane refers to a base plane that is generally substantially horizontal, such as the surface of a table, a floor, etc. The base surface to which the device according to the present invention is anchored is generally defined as such a base plane. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] Some embodiments of the present invention are described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. This description, together with the accompanying drawings, will enable one skilled in the art to understand how to practice some embodiments of the present invention. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to depict structural details of the embodiments that are not necessary for a fundamental understanding of the present invention. For the sake of clarity, some objects depicted in the drawings are not drawn to scale.

[0045] In the attached figure:

[0046] Figure 1A is a perspective view of a clamping and moving system according to an embodiment of the teachings herein;

[0047] Figure 1B yes Figure 1A A partially cutaway perspective view of a clamping and moving system;

[0048] Figure 2A and Figure 2B They are Figure 1A and Figure 1B Planar side view of the clamping and moving system in two operating positions;

[0049] Figure 3 yes Figure 1A and Figure 1B A cross-sectional view of the clamping and moving system, the cross-sectional view is taken along Figure 1A taken along section line III-III in FIG; and

[0050] Figure 4A and Figure 4B They are formed Figures 1A to 3 Exploded and perspective views of the pneumatic arm subsystem as part of the system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] A clamping and moving system is provided for moving an object, such as a multiwell plate, while maintaining its levelness and providing substantially smooth movement. Thus, disturbance of the plate's contents can be minimized. The system is capable of moving the multiwell plate along a vertical (Z) axis and can be mounted on a suitable platform so that it can be moved from one position to another along both the X and Y axes.

[0052] The principles, uses and implementations of the present invention can be better understood with reference to the accompanying description and drawings. After carefully reading the description and drawings, those skilled in the art can implement the present invention without excessive effort or experimentation.

[0053] Before describing in detail at least one embodiment of the present invention, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited in its application to the structural details and the arrangement of components and / or methods set forth in the following description and / or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and / or examples. The present invention can be implemented in other embodiments and can be practiced or carried out in various ways. It should also be understood that the wording and terminology used herein are for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered as limiting.

[0054] Now refer to Figure 1A , which is a perspective view of a clamping and moving system 10 according to an embodiment taught herein, with reference to Figure 1B, which is a partially cutaway perspective view of the clamping and moving system 10, referring to Figure 2A and Figure 2B , which are respectively plan side views of the clamping and moving system 10 in two operating positions, and reference Figure 3 , which is a cross-sectional view of the clamping and moving system 10 .

[0055] As shown, the gripping and moving system 10 includes a pneumatic arm subassembly 20 connected to and controlling the movement of a gripping subassembly 30 , and adapted to grip and move a multiwell plate 40 .

[0056] Also refer to Figure 4A and Figure 4B A pneumatic arm subassembly 20 is depicted, with the figures being an exploded view and a perspective view, respectively, of the pneumatic arm subassembly 20 .

[0057] The pneumatic arm subassembly 20 includes an L-shaped anchor bracket 200 including a generally horizontal portion 202 having an upper surface 203 and a generally vertical leg 204. The L-shaped anchor bracket 200 is adapted to be anchored to a base platform (not explicitly shown). A pair of generally vertical supports 206 extend downwardly from the generally horizontal portion 202 generally parallel to the leg 204, which may also be anchored to the base platform. Each of the supports 206 includes an outwardly facing surface 208 and an inwardly facing surface 210, which may be positioned relative to the base platform. Figure 4A Also shown in .

[0058] In the first position, the first pair of arms 212 is rotatably attached to each of the outward-facing surfaces 208 of the support 206. The first end 213a of the arm 212 is connected to the opposite end of the shaft 214 extending through the vertical support 206 and is adapted to rotate by the shaft. In the second position, the second pair of arms 218 is rotatably attached to each of the outward-facing surfaces 208 of the support 206. The first end 219a of the arm 218 is connected to the opposite end of the shaft 220 extending through the vertical support 206 and is adapted to rotate by the shaft. The arms 212 and 218 are pivotable relative to the axes of the shafts 214 and 220, respectively. As described in more detail below, the lengths of the arms 212 and 218 are substantially the same. The arms 212 and 218 are configured to move in a plane substantially perpendicular to the xy plane (e.g., the base surface of the system).

[0059] The cam subassembly 222 includes a strip 224 and a rectangular frame portion 226 open on its bottom side. The strip 224 is fixedly attached to the shaft 220, and the frame portion 226 is mounted on the end of the strip 224 away from the shaft 220. A hole 228 is formed on the upper side of the rectangular frame portion 226 for connecting to the pneumatic control subassembly, as described below.

[0060] The connector bracket 230 includes a horizontal planar portion 232, a rear wall 234 perpendicular to the horizontal planar portion 232, and a pair of side legs 236 perpendicular to both the horizontal wall 232 and the rear wall 234. The second end 213b of the arm 212 and the second end 219b of the arm 218 are connected to the side legs 236 of the connector bracket via a connector 240 such that rotational movement of one of the pair of arms (arm 212 or 218) causes corresponding movement of the other paired arm (i.e., arm 218 or 212) and the connector bracket 230.

[0061] Arms 212 and 218 are of the same length but are not completely parallel to each other. In other words, the first location where arm 212 connects to support member 206 and the second location where arm 218 connects to support member 206 are at different vertical heights and different horizontal positions (positions along the X-axis), such that the first and second locations are diagonally opposite each other. Similarly, the first location where arm 212 connects to side leg 236 and the second location where arm 218 connects to side leg 236 are at different vertical heights and different horizontal positions (positions along the X-axis of the connector bracket), such that the first and second locations are diagonally opposite each other.

[0062] It should be noted that when connected to the arms 212 and 218, the connector bracket 230 has no degrees of freedom relative to the arms 212 and 218 and cannot rotate, tilt, or skew relative to any axis along which it is connected to the arms 212 and 218. As such, the horizontal planar portion 232 of the connector bracket 230 is always parallel to the horizontal portion 202, and rotational motion of the arms 212 and 218 about the respective axes of the shafts 214 and 220 is at least partially converted into vertical motion of the connector bracket 230 (i.e., a component of motion along the z-axis), while the orientation of the connector bracket 230 relative to the XY plane or relative to a base surface parallel thereto (e.g., a floor) remains unchanged.

[0063] In some embodiments, such as the embodiment shown, the arms 212 and 218 are connected to the connector bracket 230 via a shoulder pin 237 that is fixed relative to the connector bracket 230 and pivotable relative to the arms 212 and 218. In some such embodiments, a bearing is provided around at least a portion of the shoulder pin 237 to support such pivotal movement between the pin 237 and the arms 212 and 218. However, it should be understood that other forms of connection are within the scope of the present invention and will be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0064] A pneumatic control subassembly 240 is mounted to the upper surface 203 of the anchor bracket 200. A pneumatic piston 242 of the subassembly 240 extends through a hole 244 in the horizontal portion 202 of the anchor bracket 200 and through the upper side of the rectangular frame portion 226 of the cam assembly 222 and is used to pneumatically control the shaft 220 to drive the rotational movement of the arm pairs 212 and 218 as described herein.

[0065] The clamping subassembly 30 is mounted on the bottom side of the horizontal planar portion 232 of the connector bracket 230. Specifically, the clamping subassembly includes a second pneumatic control assembly 250 mounted on the planar portion 232. Clamping arms 254 extend from both sides of the second pneumatic control assembly 250, the clamping arms including a substantially planar horizontal region 255 and the clamping arms terminating in flat clamping ends 256. The clamping ends 256 are generally parallel to each other and generally perpendicular to a base surface (such as a floor). The second pneumatic control assembly 250 is adapted to move the clamping arms 254 so that the distance between the arms changes without changing the rotational orientation of the arms so that throughout the movement of the clamping arms 254, the horizontal region 255 remains generally parallel to the base surface or the ground and the clamping ends 256 remain parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground. The clamping arm can be used to clamp any object, such as Figures 1A to 2B The multiwell plate 300 shown in FIG.

[0066] In use, the pneumatic control subassembly 240 pneumatically causes movement of the pneumatic transmission subassembly 222. Specifically, a pneumatic piston 242 attached to the frame portion 226 drives pneumatic movement of the frame portion 226, which in turn causes corresponding pneumatic movement of the strip 224 and the shaft 220 fixedly attached to the strip. As described above, because the arms 212 and 218 are fixedly connected to the side legs 236 of the connector bracket 230, movement of the shaft 220 causes corresponding movement of the arms 218, the connector bracket 230, and the arms 212. Due to the fixed connection between the connector bracket 230 and the clamping subassembly 30, the movement of the arms 212 and 218 causes the clamping arms 254 to be raised and lowered. However, because the connector bracket 230 has no degrees of freedom relative to the arms 212 and 218 and always moves with the arms and remains horizontal, and because the clamp arm has no vertical or rotational degrees of freedom relative to the connector bracket 230, any movement of the arms 212 and 218 results in movement of the clamp arm 254 without changing the orientation of the clamp end 256 relative to the horizontal plane. Therefore, during movement of the arms 212 and 218 and corresponding movement of the arm 256, any object clamped by the clamp end 256 maintains its three-dimensional orientation relative to the xy plane during movement, e.g., the object remains parallel to the horizontal plane and does not tilt or shift.

[0067] The range of motion of arms 212 and 218 is mechanically limited. Specifically, downward motion is limited by the characteristics of pneumatic piston 242, and specifically, by the length of the plunger (not shown) of pneumatic piston 242. Figure 1A As clearly shown in FIG, upward movement is limited by the junction of arm 218 with horizontal top 202 of anchor bracket 200. Thus, the angular range of motion of the arm depends on the length of the pneumatic piston, with longer pistons allowing a greater angular range of motion. However, the radius of the arc of motion of arms 212 and 218, as well as the length of such arc, depends on the length of arms 212 and 218.

[0068] It should be understood that when an object is held in a particular orientation in the clamping arm 254, the object remains level relative to the particular orientation throughout the movement of the arm 254. In order to maintain the angular arrangement of the object at 0-0.2 degrees from the particular orientation, the lengths of the arms 212 and 218 must be equal or differ by a length within a threshold of 0-0.05 mm, such as 0-0.02 mm, during the movement of the clamping arm 254.

[0069] The smoothness of the movement of arms 212 and 218 , and therefore the smoothness of the vertical movement of clamping arm 254 , depends on the characteristics of pneumatic piston 242 , so the smoother the movement of the pneumatic piston, the smoother the movement of arms 212 , 218 and 254 .

[0070] exist Figure 2A and Figure 2B In the illustrated embodiment, the clamping arms 254 hold the multiwell plate 300 such that the bottom surface 302 of the multiwell plate is generally parallel to a base surface 310 (such as a table or floor). Figure 2A In the position shown, arms 212 and 218 are tilted upwardly away from base surface 310 such that plate 300 is raised a first distance D1 above base surface 310. Figure 2B In the position shown, the arms 212 and 218 are tilted toward the base surface 310 so that the plate 300 is placed directly on the base surface 310. Thus, the downward movement of the arms 212 and 218 (at Figure 2A The location shown and Figure 2B ) results in a corresponding downward movement of the plate 300 while constantly maintaining the lower surface 302 of the plate substantially parallel to the base surface.

[0071] In some embodiments, when the object to be moved is, for example, Figures 1A to 2BIn the embodiment of the multiwell plate shown in FIG, the length of arms 212 and 218 is 4 cm to 10 cm, such as 4 cm to 8 cm or 4 cm to 6 cm, for example 4 cm, 4.5 cm, 5 cm, 5.5 cm, 6 cm, 6.5 cm, 7 cm, 7.5 cm, 8 cm, 8.5 cm, 9 cm, 9.5 cm or 10 cm. In some such embodiments, the height when the plate is held in the lowest position of the arms (e.g., Figure 2B ) and the height when the plate is held in the highest position of the arm (e.g. as Figure 2A 41mm, 42mm, 43mm, 44mm, 45mm, 46mm, 47mm, 48mm, 49mm or 50mm.

[0072] In certain embodiments, clamping and mobile system 10 can be installed on a mobile assembly (not clearly shown), which can make clamping and mobile system 10 move along X, Y and Z axis, and / or can make clamping and mobile system 10 pivot so that clamping arm 254 can point to different directions at different times. This mobile assembly will promote for object to be lifted from a first position, move the object to a second position and place the object in the second position, while during the whole motion of the object, make the object remain horizontal and / or make the object remain with respect to the use of the three-dimensionally oriented clamping and mobile system 10 of the xy plane. For example, clamping and mobile system 10 can lift multiwell plate 40 from a storage incubator, move multiwell plate 40 to a microscope system by the motion of the mobile assembly, and multiwell plate 40 is placed on the microscope system, while during its motion, the base surface of the multiwell plate is kept horizontal. Therefore, the destruction of multiwell plate 40 contents due to the motion of the multiwell plate can be minimized.

[0073] It should be understood that certain features of the present invention described in the context of separate embodiments for the sake of clarity may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the present invention described in the context of a single embodiment for the sake of brevity may also be provided individually or in any suitable subcombination or as appropriate in any other described embodiment of the present invention. Certain features described in the context of various embodiments are not considered essential features of those embodiments unless the embodiment is inoperable without those elements.

[0074] Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments of the present invention, it is obvious that many replacements, modifications and variations are obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the present invention is intended to include all such replacements, modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[0075] Citation or identification of any reference in this application shall not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention.

[0076] The section headings are used herein to facilitate understanding of the specification and are not to be construed as necessarily limiting.

Claims

1. A clamping system comprising: Pneumatic arm assembly, including: Anchor bracket; a first pair of arms pivotally attached to opposite sides of the anchor bracket at a pair of respective first positions, each arm of the first pair of arms being adapted to move in a respective plane substantially perpendicular to the xy plane; a second pair of arms pivotally attached to opposite sides of the anchor bracket at a pair of respective second positions, each arm of the second pair of arms being adapted to move in the respective plane; a cam subassembly connected to the first pair of arms; and a connector bracket pivotally attached to the first and second pairs of arms, wherein movement of the connector bracket is caused by movement of the first and second pairs of arms; a clamping assembly mounted to the connector bracket, the clamping assembly comprising a pair of clamping arms adapted to clamp an object; and a pneumatic control assembly including a pneumatic piston functionally associated with the cam subassembly, the pneumatic control assembly being configured such that pneumatic changes in the pneumatic piston are applied to the first pair of arms via the cam subassembly to drive movement of the first pair of arms, the second pair of arms, the connector bracket, and the clamping arm, wherein each of the second positions is closer to the connector bracket than the first position along the same side of the anchor bracket; and wherein during the movement of the connector bracket and the clamping arm, the angle of the connector bracket and the clamping arm relative to the xy plane remains constant within a threshold of 0.2 degrees; The connector bracket includes an upper wall, a rear wall perpendicular to the upper wall, and two side walls extending from opposite sides of the rear wall, the side walls being perpendicular to the upper wall and perpendicular to the rear wall; wherein, at a first bracket position, an arm of the first pair of arms is pivotally attached to each of the side walls, and at a second bracket position, an arm of the second pair of arms is pivotally attached to each of the side walls, wherein each first bracket position is closer to the anchor bracket than a second bracket position along the same side wall of the connector bracket; The clamping assembly is mounted to a lower surface of the upper wall of the connector bracket; the clamping assembly includes a second pneumatic control assembly, the second pneumatic control assembly being functionally associated with the clamping arms and adapted to move the clamping arms toward and away from each other to facilitate clamping and releasing an object; each of the arms of the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms includes a first end pivotally attached to the anchor bracket and a second end pivotally attached to the connector bracket distal from the first end; wherein when the first pair of arms are pivoted relative to the anchor bracket from a first orientation to a second orientation using a full range of motion of the arms of the first pair of arms, a vertical difference between the second end of each of the arms in the first orientation and the second end of each of the arms in the second orientation is 20 mm to 50 mm; wherein when the first pair of arms is pivoted relative to the anchor bracket from a first orientation to a second orientation using the full range of motion of the arms of the first pair of arms, a vertical difference between a position of the clamping ends of the clamping arms when the first pair of arms is in the first orientation and a position of the clamping ends of the clamping arms when the first pair of arms is in the second orientation is 20 mm to 50 mm; The clamping system further includes a movement system functionally associated with the pneumatic arm assembly, the movement system being adapted to at least one of: (a) move the pneumatic arm assembly so as to change the position of the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms in the xy plane, and (b) pivot the pneumatic arm assembly about a z-axis so as to change the orientation of the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms in the xy plane; and At least one of the following is true, (a) the first length of the arms in the first pair of arms is 4 cm to 10 cm; (b) the second length of the arms in the second pair of arms is 4 cm to 10 cm; (c) the difference between the first length of the arms in the first pair of arms and the second length of the arms in the second pair of arms is at most 0.05 mm.

2. The clamping system of claim 1, wherein pivotal movement of the first and second pairs of arms relative to the anchor bracket is limited at the first end by a surface of the anchor bracket.

3. The clamping system of claim 1 , wherein pivotal movement of the first and second pairs of arms relative to the anchor bracket is limited by a range of motion of a pneumatic plunger forming part of the pneumatic piston.

4. The clamping system of claim 2, wherein pivotal movement of the first and second pairs of arms relative to the anchor bracket is limited by a range of motion of a pneumatic plunger forming part of the pneumatic piston.

5. The clamping system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an object clamped by the clamping arm; in, The object is a porous plate disposed between and held by the clamping arms.

6. The clamping system according to claim 5, wherein: During movement of the gripper arm, an angular orientation of the object gripped by the gripper arm relative to the xy plane remains constant within a threshold of 0.2 degrees.

7. A method for raising or lowering an object, the method comprising: When the object is at the origin height, the object is clamped by the clamping arm of the clamping system according to any one of claims 1 to 4; as well as pivoting the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms relative to the anchor bracket so that the clamping arms and the object clamped therebetween move vertically to a target height, wherein the object comprises a porous plate, and wherein during the pivoting of the first and second pairs of arms, an angular orientation of the object with respect to an xy plane remains constant within a threshold of 0.2 degrees.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The gripping system further includes a movement system functionally associated with the pneumatic arm assembly of the gripping system, the movement system being adapted to at least one of: (a) move the pneumatic arm assembly to change the position of the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms in the xy plane, and (b) pivot the pneumatic arm assembly about the z-axis to change the orientation of the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms in the xy plane, The method also includes moving the clamping system using the movement system while keeping the object level.

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