US 12,246,928 B2Granted

Fluid-operated gripping apparatus and method for holding a workpiece in a working orientation

AssigneeCorning Incorporated

InventorAlejandro Aguilar

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Abstract

A fluid-operated gripping apparatus for holding a workpiece having a curved sidewall in a working orientation, and associated methods for gripping and holding a workpiece, are provided. Three fluid-operated actuators, each including an actuator rod and a moveable piston arranged within a cylinder, are equally spaced around a perimeter of a workpiece and receive fluid from a single pressurized fluid source. A fluid (e.g., hydraulic or pneumatic) circuit causes the actuators to extend during a closing stroke of the gripping apparatus according to the force equalization principle. Each actuator includes an end effector pivotally coupled with an actuator rod and configured to contact a surface of the workpiece at exactly two points. A backstop configured to contact an end face of the workpiece is coupled with a rotational joint.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A gripping apparatus for holding a workpiece in a working orientation, the gripping apparatus comprising:

fluid-operated first, second, and third actuators that are equally spaced about a perimeter of the workpiece and supported on a structural mounting ring, wherein each actuator comprises an actuator rod coupled with a moveable piston arranged to move within a cylinder having an extend chamber and a retract chamber, and wherein the fluid-operated first, second, and third actuators are configured to be coupled to a single pressurized fluid source;
a fluid circuit, comprising the first, second, and third actuators coupled in parallel to the pressurized fluid source, and configured to:
(i) supply a pressurized fluid to the extend chamber of each actuator during a closing stroke of the gripping apparatus, (ii) inhibit backflow of the pressurized fluid from the extend chamber of each actuator toward the pressurized fluid source, (iii) maintain a same fluid pressure within the extend chamber of each actuator while the workpiece is held by the gripping apparatus, (iv) release the pressurized fluid from the extend chamber of each actuator during an opening stroke of the gripping apparatus, and (v) supply the pressurized fluid to the retract chamber of each actuator during the opening stroke of the gripping apparatus;
first, second, and third end effectors pivotally coupled with the actuator rods of the first, second, and third actuators, respectively, wherein each end effector is configured to contact a surface of the workpiece at exactly two points;
and
a backstop configured to contact a first end face of the workpiece, wherein the backstop is coupled to a three-degree-of-freedom rotational backstop joint.

3 more elements

A method for gripping and holding a workpiece in a working orientation utilizing a gripping apparatus comprising fluid-operated first, second, and third actuators that are equally spaced about a perimeter of the workpiece and supported on a structural mounting ring, first, second, and third end effectors coupled with actuator rods of the first, second, and third actuators, respectively, and a backstop configured to contact a first end face of the workpiece, wherein the backstop is coupled to a three-degree-of-freedom rotational backstop joint and each actuator comprises (i) a cylinder having an extend chamber and a retract chamber and (ii) a moveable piston arranged to move within the cylinder, each moveable piston coupled with a corresponding actuator rod of the first, second, and third actuators, the method comprising:

supplying a pressurized fluid from a single pressurized fluid source to the extend chamber of each of the first, second, and third actuators during a closing stroke of the gripping apparatus, the first, second, and third actuators being coupled in parallel to the pressurized fluid source, while inhibiting backflow of the pressurized fluid from each extend chamber toward the pressurized fluid source, to cause (i) the first end effector to contact a surface of the workpiece only at a first pair of points, (ii) the second end effector to contact the surface of the workpiece only at a second pair of points, and (iii) the third end effector to contact the surface of the workpiece only at a third pair of points;
maintaining a same pressure of the pressurized fluid within the extend chamber of each actuator while the workpiece is held by the gripping apparatus;
releasing the pressurized fluid from the extend chamber of each actuator during an opening stroke of the gripping apparatus;
and
supplying the pressurized fluid to the retract chamber of each actuator during the opening stroke of the gripping apparatus.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/417,260Filed 5 Dec 2019 · us provisional application
Priority: 4 Jan 2019
Published: US 2022/0063931 A13 Mar 2022
Granted: 11 Mar 2025
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

B65G 47/90
Feeding, transfer, or discharging devices of particular kinds or types: devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials
B25B 1/22
Vices: arrangements for turning or tilting vices
B25B 5/163
Details, e.g. jaws, jaw attachments: jaws or jaw attachments
B23B 31/101
Characterised by the retaining or gripping devices or their immediate operating means: chucks with separately-acting jaws movable radially