# US 11,077,563 B2 · Workpiece picking device

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- Number: US 11,077,563 B2
- Document ID: US11077563B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/054,128
- Filed: 2018-08-03
- Published: 2019-03-07
- Granted: 2021-08-03
- Earliest claimed: 2017-09-05
- Assignees: Fanuc Corporation
- Applicants: Fanuc Corporation
- Inventors: Kyouhei Asao; Naoki Akagawa
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11077563B2

## CPC

- B25J 15/0433: {having gripping members}
- B23Q 7/046: {Handling workpieces or tools}
- B25J 9/1635: {flexible-arm control}
- B25J 15/08: having finger members (B25J15/02, B25J15/04 take precedence)
- B65H 3/0653: {for separating substantially vertically stacked articles}
- B65H 3/48: Air blast acting on edges of, or under, articles
- B23Q 2240/00: Machine tools specially suited for a specific kind of workpiece
- B25J: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50})
- B23Q: DETAILS, COMPONENTS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR MACHINE TOOLS, e.g. ARRANGEMENTS FOR COPYING OR CONTROLLING (tools of the kind used in lathes or boring machines B23B27/00); MACHINE TOOLS IN GENERAL CHARACTERISED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTICULAR DETAILS OR COMPONENTS; COMBINATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS OF METAL-WORKING MACHINES, NOT DIRECTED TO A PARTICULAR RESULT
- B65H: HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES

## Abstract

A picking device for picking up plate-like or pillar-shaped workpieces one at a time from the top of the workpieces stacked in the vertical direction, the workpiece picking device including: a chuck including a plurality of gripping claws arranged around a topmost workpiece, the plurality of gripping claws configured to grip a side surface of the topmost workpiece, the chuck being movable in a vertical direction; and an air blowing circuit provided inside at least one of the gripping claws, including a blowing port having an opening toward a second workpiece, the air blowing circuit configured to blow air downward from the blowing port.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A workpiece picking device configured to pick up plate-shaped or pillar-shaped workpieces one at a time from a top of the workpieces stacked in a vertical direction, the workpiece picking device comprising:
a chuck including a plurality of gripping claws arranged around a topmost workpiece, the plurality of gripping claws configured to grip a side surface of the topmost workpiece, the chuck being movable in a vertical direction; and
an air blowing circuit provided inside at least one of the gripping claws, including a blowing port having an opening facing downward along a central-axis in a vertical direction and toward a second workpiece, the blowing port further having an output on a bottom surface of the gripping claw, the air blowing circuit configured to blow air from the blowing port upon an area beneath a bottom surface of the topmost workpiece and above a top surface of the second workpiece, wherein the chuck moves in an upward direction while the blowing port simultaneously blows air upon the second workpiece to press the second workpiece downwardly.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The workpiece picking device according to claim 1, wherein the air blowing circuit includes:
a pipe for delivering the air; and
an air pocket connected to a tip of the pipe, having an opening in a bottom surface of the at least one of the gripping claws, and having a cross sectional area larger than the pipe.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The workpiece picking device according to claim 1, comprising an arm that can move the chuck three dimensionally between an upper side of the stacked workpieces and an upper side of a predetermined transfer destination.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The workpiece picking device according to claim 1, wherein one end portion of the air blowing circuit, including the blowing port, inclines with respect to the vertical direction so as to be gradually displaced downward to the central-axis side; and
the blowing port is arranged such that the opening faces a flange of the second workpiece at a position where the opening is opposite to the flange in the vertical direction.