Robotic hand and method for manipulating printed circuit boards
First Claim
1. A robot hand for use in individually picking up, transporting and releasing a variety of loaded circuit boards without impinging upon the circuitry, components and connectors on the boards, each board having first and second opposing edges, comprising:
- a palm having a wrist connection site for connection with a wrist of a robot;
a first pincer unit depending from the palm for engaging a first edge of a circuit board;
second and third pincer units, depending from the palm for engaging a second opposing edge of the board, said second and third pincer units lying along a predetermined reference line with which said second edge of the board is aligned by said pincer units;
means for adjusting the relative positions of said second and third pincer along said reference line so that said second and third pincer units selectively engage clear spots along said second edge of the board;
each pincer unit being adapted to pinch and hold its corresponding edge of the circuit board by means of a thumb and finger set, each set defining a pinching gap and each set being operable between a pinching state in which the gap is relatively closed and an open state in which the gap is relatively open, and the configuration of the pincer units and their pinching gaps being such as to hold a board between the units in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the palm.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Three sets of pincer units depend from a flat palm, each pincer unit having a pinching gap at its distal end for engaging a loaded circuit board by its edges and holding it in a spaced-apart relationship with the palm. Each pincer unit includes a finger having a flange at its distal end and a thumb slideably mounted on the finger so as to define a variable pinching gap. The fingers are mounted for prehensiling movement away from one another for bracketing a board to be picked up and toward one another so that the board to be picked up may be squeezed between them.
The invention includes a method for picking up a loaded circuit board which involves bracketing a board to be picked up between a set of pincer units, squeezing the board by moving the pincer units toward one another against opposing edges of the board while simultaneously pinching each edge engaged with the pincer units.
-
Citations
19 Claims
-
1. A robot hand for use in individually picking up, transporting and releasing a variety of loaded circuit boards without impinging upon the circuitry, components and connectors on the boards, each board having first and second opposing edges, comprising:
-
a palm having a wrist connection site for connection with a wrist of a robot; a first pincer unit depending from the palm for engaging a first edge of a circuit board; second and third pincer units, depending from the palm for engaging a second opposing edge of the board, said second and third pincer units lying along a predetermined reference line with which said second edge of the board is aligned by said pincer units; means for adjusting the relative positions of said second and third pincer along said reference line so that said second and third pincer units selectively engage clear spots along said second edge of the board; each pincer unit being adapted to pinch and hold its corresponding edge of the circuit board by means of a thumb and finger set, each set defining a pinching gap and each set being operable between a pinching state in which the gap is relatively closed and an open state in which the gap is relatively open, and the configuration of the pincer units and their pinching gaps being such as to hold a board between the units in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the palm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A method for individually grasping a variety of loaded circuit boards with a robot hand, each board having first and second opposing edges, comprising the steps of:
-
including within the robot hand first, second and third pincer units depending therefrom of the type having a closable pinching gap, said first pincer unit being designed to engage a first edge of a circuit board, said second and third pincer units being designed to engage a second opposing edge of the circuit board and being translatable along a predetermined reference line; positioning the robot hand with respect to the board to be grasped so that the pinching gaps of the pincer units bracket the opposing edges of the board; positioning the second and third pincer units along said reference line so that they will engage clear spots along the second edge of the board; producing prehensiling movement of at least one of the pincer units to squeeze the board between the pincer units with the bracketed edges of the board located within the pinching gaps and so that the second edge of the board is aligned with said reference line; and pinching the board at its edges by closing the pinching gaps. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
-
Specification