Self-contained pick-and-place apparatus
First Claim
1. An apparatus for respectively engaging and releasing an elongate group of stacked articles, said apparatus comprising:
- an elongate pivot shaft defining a longitudinal axis;
a pair of elongated article grippers for engaging said articles;
pivot arms coupled with said article grippers and mounted to said pivot shaft for pivotal motion about said longitudinal axis for thereby moving at least one of said article grippers for engaging said elongate group of stacked articles;
a first biasing portion for biasing said pivot arms to pivot in a direction for moving at least one of said article grippers;
a cam supported by said pivot shaft for movement parallel to said longitudinal axis between a gripper open position and a gripper closed position;
a cam follower mounted to said pivot arms and responsive to axial movement of said cam for overcoming said first biasing portion and for pivoting at least one of said pivot arms in a direction for moving said article grippers to an open position when said cam is in said gripper open position and for permitting said first biasing portion to move said pivot arms in a direction for moving at least one of said article grippers to a closed position when said cam is in said gripper closed position, and a first actuator supported by said pivot shaft for moving said cam between said gripper open position and said gripper closed position.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A self-contained pick-and-place apparatus for respectively engaging and releasing an elongate group of stacked articles such as an elongate stack of nested can ends comprises an elongate pivot shaft defining a longitudinal axis, a pair of elongated gripping members for surroundingly engaging the articles, and pivot arms coupled with the gripping members and mounted to the pivot shaft for bidirectional pivotal motion about the longitudinal axis for thereby moving the gripping members respectively toward and away from each other. The pivot arms are biased to pivot in a direction for moving the gripping members toward each other. One or more cams are supported by the pivot shaft for movement between a pivot arm open position and a pivot arm closed position. Cam followers are mounted to the pivot arms and follow the cams for overcoming the biasing force and pivoting the pivot arms in a direction for moving the gripping members away from each other when the cams are in the pivot arm open position and for permitting the biasing of the pivot arms in a direction for moving the gripping members toward each other when the cams are in the pivot arm closed position. An actuator is supported by the pivot shaft for moving the cams between the pivot arm open position and the pivot arm closed position.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. An apparatus for respectively engaging and releasing an elongate group of stacked articles, said apparatus comprising:
- an elongate pivot shaft defining a longitudinal axis;
a pair of elongated article grippers for engaging said articles;
pivot arms coupled with said article grippers and mounted to said pivot shaft for pivotal motion about said longitudinal axis for thereby moving at least one of said article grippers for engaging said elongate group of stacked articles;
a first biasing portion for biasing said pivot arms to pivot in a direction for moving at least one of said article grippers;
a cam supported by said pivot shaft for movement parallel to said longitudinal axis between a gripper open position and a gripper closed position;
a cam follower mounted to said pivot arms and responsive to axial movement of said cam for overcoming said first biasing portion and for pivoting at least one of said pivot arms in a direction for moving said article grippers to an open position when said cam is in said gripper open position and for permitting said first biasing portion to move said pivot arms in a direction for moving at least one of said article grippers to a closed position when said cam is in said gripper closed position, and a first actuator supported by said pivot shaft for moving said cam between said gripper open position and said gripper closed position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
- an elongate pivot shaft defining a longitudinal axis;
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18. An apparatus for engaging, lifting, placing and releasing an elongated group of stacked articles, said apparatus comprising:
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a frame; a lifter assembly attached to said frame; an elongated pivot shaft being suspended from said lifter assembly and defining a longitudinal axis; a cam assembly coupled to said pivot shaft, a cam shaft of said cam assembly being axially displaceable generally parallel to said longitudinal axis; a gripper assembly attached to and suspended from said elongated pivot shaft, said gripper assembly including a pair of elongated article grippers, said cam shaft being coupled to said gripper assembly for moving said grippers to engage and release a group of stacked articles; and whereby said lifter assembly lifts and lowers said elongated pivot shaft relative to said frame for lifting and placing said gripper assembly. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An apparatus for engaging, lifting, placing and releasing an elongated group of stacked articles, said apparatus comprising:
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a frame; a lifter assembly attached to said frame; an elongated pivot shaft being suspended from said lifter assembly and defining a longitudinal axis; a gripper assembly operatively attached to said elongated pivot shaft for engaging and releasing a group of stacked articles; pivot arms operatively attached to said elongated pivot shaft, said pivot arms being pivotable relative to said pivot shaft about said longitudinal axis; a pair of oppositely positioned article grippers attached to said pivot arms, said grippers generally extending parallel to said longitudinal axis of said pivot shaft a dimension sufficient to contact an outside surface of a corresponding elongated group of articles, said grippers being movable on said pivot arms between a gripper closed position and a gripper open position for engaging and releasing a stacked group of articles, respectively; a first biasing portion operatively attached to said pivot arms for biasing said pivot arms to move said article grippers into a normally gripper closed position; a cam assembly partially suspended from said lifter assembly and partially carried on said pivot arms; a gripper actuator attached to said cam assembly for selectively operating said cam assembly, whereby said gripper actuator operates said cam assembly to pivot said pivot arms about said pivot shaft for closing and opening said article grippers to engage and release said stacked group of articles, respectively; and whereby said lifter assembly lifts and lowers said elongated pivot shaft relative to said frame for lifting and placing said gripper assembly.
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24. An apparatus for engaging, lifting, placing and releasing an elongated group of stacked articles, said apparatus including a frame, a lifter assembly attached to said frame, said lifter assembly comprising:
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a fixed portion attached to said frame; a slidable portion coupled with said fixed portion for facilitating movement of said slidable portion relative to said fixed portion generally perpendicular to said longitudinal axis; a crank cam member attached to said slidable portion; a lifter actuator attached to said crank arm member for moving said slidable portion between a gripper lifting position and a gripper placing position; an elongated pivot shaft being suspended from said lifter assembly and defining a longitudinal axis; a gripper assembly operatively attached to said elongated pivot shaft for engaging and releasing a group of stacked articles; and whereby said lifter assembly lifts and lowers said elongated pivot shaft relative to said frame for lifting and placing said gripper assembly.
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Specification