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US 11,077,564 B1Granted
Toroidal suction grippers
AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.
InventorsFelipe De Arruda Camargo Polido, William Clay Flannigan, Harrison Young
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for toroidal suction grippers. In one embodiment, an example device may include a first annular elastic membrane configured to form an orifice having a toroid geometry, and a first vacuum suction device disposed in the first annular elastic membrane. The first annular elastic membrane may be configured to be actuated to grasp an object.
Claims19
A robotic picking assembly comprising:
- a robotic arm;
- a picking assembly coupled to the robotic arm and configured to pick up and release objects, the picking assembly comprising:
- an elastic membrane having a toroidal orifice at a distal end, wherein a geometry of the toroidal orifice changes responsive to pressure, the elastic membrane comprising an internal cavity filled with fluid;
- an actuator configured to linearly actuate the elastic membrane;
- an actuation component coupled to the actuator and disposed about an outer surface of the elastic membrane, wherein the actuation component moves with the actuator, and wherein the actuation component is configured to provide the fluid to the internal cavity of the elastic membrane;
- and
- a vacuum suction device disposed in the toroidal orifice, the vacuum suction device configured to provide positive air pressure and negative air pressure.
4 more elements
A device comprising:
- a first annular elastic membrane configured to form an orifice having a toroid geometry;
- and
- a first vacuum suction device disposed in the first annular elastic membrane;
- wherein the first annular elastic membrane is configured to be actuated to grasp an object, and wherein the first vacuum suction device is configured to be actuated to cause an outer surface of the first annular elastic membrane to be pulled into a channel formed by the first annular elastic membrane.
1 more element
A robotic picking system comprising:
- an annular elastic membrane configured to form a toroidal orifice;
- a vacuum suction device disposed in the annular elastic membrane;
- and
- an actuator configured to actuate the annular elastic membrane from a first position to a second position, the actuator comprising an actuator component disposed about an outer surface of the first annular elastic membrane.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.