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US 10,647,004 B2Granted
Air-bladder enhanced with gecko-adhesive for grasping applications
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
InventorsElliot W. Hawkes, David L. Christensen, Mark R. Cutkosky, Srinivasan Arul Suresh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides a shear gripper device using fibrillar, gecko-inspired adhesives that have the characteristics of being non-tacky in its default state and requiring no normal force to grip a surface. The adhesion is turned “on” by the applied shear load, and “off as the shear load is removed. The shear adhesive gripper is able to grasp large, deformable or delicate objects using a delicate touch.
Claims12
A shear gripper device, comprising:
- (a) a first gripper and an opposing second gripper, wherein the first and second gripper are spaced from each other to allow the positioning of an object in between the first and second gripper;
- (b) a mechanism to manipulate the relative position between the first gripper and the second gripper relative to the object,
- wherein both the first and second gripper comprise:
- (i) an inflated backing structure with a layer-facing surface, wherein the inflated backing structure has the capability to deform to the shape of the object, and wherein the inflated backing structure is a pre-loaded inflated bladder, wherein the pre-loaded inflated bladder is pre-loaded prior to engagement with the object;
- and
- (ii) a layer of directional dry adhesives having a backing-facing surface and an object-facing surface, wherein the object-facing surface distinguishes a plurality of stalks, wherein the backing-facing surface rests on the layer-facing surface of the backing structure, and wherein the layer of directional dry adhesives of the first gripper opposes and faces the layer of directional dry adhesives of the second gripper,
- wherein when the mechanism causes the first and second gripper to close in onto the object, the compliance of the first and second gripper is designed to conform the first and the second gripper to the surface of the object, whereby each of the layers of directional dry adhesives sits in between their backing structures and the object,
- wherein the compliance of the plurality of stalks of the first and second gripper allow them to deform when in contact with the object, and
- wherein the shear forces applied by the plurality of stalks of the first and second gripper onto the surface of the object causes the shear gripper device to support the weight of the object while the object is being manipulated.
6 more elements
A shear gripper device, comprising:
- (a) a first gripper and an opposing second gripper, wherein the first and second gripper are spaced from each other to allow the positioning of an object in between the first and second gripper;
- (b) a mechanism to manipulate the relative position between the first gripper and the second gripper relative to the object,
- wherein both the first and second gripper comprise:
- (i) an inflated backing structure with a layer-facing surface, wherein the inflated backing structure has the capability to deform to the shape of the object, and wherein the inflated backing structure is a pneumatically pre-loaded inflated backing structure;
- and
- (ii) a layer of directional dry adhesives having a backing-facing surface and an object-facing surface, wherein the object-facing surface distinguishes a plurality of stalks, wherein the backing-facing surface rests on the layer-facing surface of the backing structure, and wherein the layer of directional dry adhesives of the first gripper opposes and faces the layer of directional dry adhesives of the second gripper,
- wherein when the mechanism causes the first and second gripper to close in onto the object, the compliance of the first and second gripper is designed to conform the first and the second gripper to the surface of the object, whereby each of the layers of directional dry adhesives sits in between their backing structures and the object,
- wherein the compliance of the plurality of stalks of the first and second gripper allow them to deform when in contact with the object, and
- wherein the shear forces applied by the plurality of stalks of the first and second gripper onto the surface of the object causes the shear gripper device to support the weight of the object while the object is being manipulated.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.