Robot Hand Gripping Unit for Stable Article Transfer

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing article transfer devices face instability in gripping articles, leading to partial drops during transfer, especially due to varying article types.

Innovation Solution

An article transfer device with a robot hand and control unit that performs a specific opening-closing operation and rotational movement of the gripping unit to securely grip articles by temporarily collecting and reorienting them within the article region.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the robot hand directly grips articles from the article region, then the transfer operation can be performed, but the gripping stability is insufficient and articles may partially drop during transfer

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvegripping stabilityVSAvoidtransfer efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The gripping unit performs a preliminary temporary closing operation before the final gripping action. The control unit controls the gripping unit to temporarily close and then open at the position in the article region, which preliminarily collects and positions the articles. This preliminary action ensures stable gripping during transfer while maintaining efficiency through automated control.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If the gripping unit performs opening-closing operation at least once in the article region, then article gripping stability is improved, but the operation time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvegripping stabilityVSAvoidoperation cycle time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The control unit controls the gripping unit to perform periodic opening-closing operations at the position in the article region. The gripping unit temporarily closes and opens one or more times before the final gripping action. This periodic action pattern ensures stable article collection and positioning while the control unit optimizes the timing to minimize operation cycle time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

3Reliability

If the gripping unit rotates by a predetermined angle during temporary closing and reclosing, then article collection from different directions is achieved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvearticle collection stabilityVSAvoidgripping unit control complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The gripping unit is configured to rotate by a predetermined first angle around an axis along the insertion direction during temporary closing and reclosing operations. This dynamic rotation capability allows the gripping unit to collect articles from different directions and orientations. The control unit manages this rotation dynamically to achieve stable article collection while coordinating with the opening-closing operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3769918B1Article transfer device
Publication Date: 2024.09.11 ISHIDA CO LTD
  • EP3769918B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3769918B1 patent drawingFigure 2(a)~2(b)
  • EP3769918B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An article transfer device includes: a robot hand transferring an article gripped by a gripping unit; and a control unit controlling operation of the robot hand so as to insert the gripping unit into an article region where the article is disposed, grip the article, and transfer the gripped article to a transfer destination. The control unit controls the operation of the robot hand such that the gripping unit is closed and a predetermined amount of the article is gripped after opening-closing operation for opening the gripping unit after temporarily closing the gripping unit is executed at least once.