Apparatus for automatically fastening chemical coupler

An apparatus for automatically fastening a chemical coupler to a connector of an automatic clean quick coupler (ACQC) system, the apparatus comprising:

• a main body;
• a multi-degree of freedom (DOF) robot arm supported by the main body, wherein the multi-DOF robot arm comprises:
• a first transfer unit configured to move the multi-DOF robot arm in a first direction;
• a second transfer unit configured to move the multi-DOF robot arm in a second direction transverse to the first direction;
• and
• a third transfer unit configured to move the multi-DOF robot arm in a third direction transverse to the first and second directions;
• a gripper connected to the multi-DOF robot arm, the gripper configured to grip the chemical coupler;
• a vision sensor on the multi-DOF robot arm;
• and
• a controller connected to the gripper, the multi-DOF robot arm, and the vision sensor, wherein the controller uses information about an environment surrounding the multi-DOF robot arm, acquired by the vision sensor, to control an operation of the multi-DOF robot arm and an operation of the gripper.

An apparatus for automatically fastening a chemical coupler to a connector of an automatic clean quick coupler (ACQC) system, the apparatus comprising:

• a main body located adjacent the ACQC system;
• a multi-degree of freedom (DOF) robot arm supported by the main body;
• a gripper connected to the multi-DOF robot arm via a conforming mechanism, the gripper configured to grip the chemical coupler, wherein the conforming mechanism comprises at least one damper and at least one elastic member that are configured to mitigate force and torque applied to the conforming mechanism;
• a vision sensor on the multi-DOF robot arm;
• and
• a controller connected to the gripper, the multi-DOF robot arm, and the vision sensor, wherein the controller uses information regarding an environment surrounding the multi-DOF robot arm, acquired by the vision sensor, to control an operation of the multi-DOF robot arm and an operation of the gripper.