Gripping Device Having a Switching Module

Abstract

The invention relates to a gripping device comprising carriages or pivot arms, which carry gripping elements, wherein the carriages or pivot arms are mounted and guided in a base body—between an opening and a closing position—and are drivable by means of at least one cylinder-piston unit. According to the invention, a switching module is mounted on the base body. The switching module comprises at least one pressure medium connection and at least one electrical connection, the electrical connection comprising both load and control lines. At least one electrically controllable valve, which is switching a pressure means, and at least one electronic controller for implementing external and internal control signals are arranged in the control module, wherein the internal control signals originate from at least one sensor which detects at least one physical characteristic variable of the carriage(s) and/or the cylinder-piston unit at least in or on the base body. The present invention relates to a gripping device that can be adapted to at least one machine control system with a minimum interconnection and programming effort.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.