Electric gripper

An electric gripper comprising:

• a housing;
• a motor attached to the housing and having an output shaft;
• a cam rotationally driven by the shaft of the motor;
• a pair of opposing jaws mounted to the housing for sliding movement toward and away from each other;
• a linkage linking the opposing jaws so the jaws move in opposite relative motion;
• at least one cam follower secured to one of the jaws and in contact with the cam for urging the jaws away from each other;
• and
• a spring configured to impart a force to the jaws such that the jaws are biased toward each other.

A gripper comprising:

• a housing;
• a motor attached to the housing;
• a cam engaged to the motor for rotation by the motor;
• a pair of opposing jaws slidingly mounted to the housing;
• at least one cam follower secured to one of the jaws and in contact with the cam for moving the jaws toward and away from each other in response to rotation of the cam;
• a spring configured to impart a force to the jaws such that the jaws are
• biased toward each other;
• a first portion of the cam that imparts no displacement to the cam follower;
• a second portion of the cam adjacent to the first portion that displaces the cam follower to open the jaws;
• a third portion of the cam adjacent to the second portion that imparts no displacement to the cam follower;
• and
• a fourth portion of the cam adjacent to the third and first portions that allows the spring to close the jaws, the second portion comprising a greater portion of the cam than the fourth portion.

An electric gripper comprising:

• a housing;
• a motor attached to the housing and having an output shaft;
• a cam rotationally driven by the shaft of the motor;
• a pair of opposing jaws mounted to the housing for sliding movement toward and away from each other;
• a linkage linking the opposing jaws so the jaws move in opposite relative motion;
• at least one cam follower secured to one of the jaws and in contact with the cam for urging the jaws toward each other;
• and
• a spring configured to impart a force to the jaws such that the jaws are biased away from each other.