US 4,030,615 AGranted

Manipulator for movement of articles in a controlled environment chamber, especially a high vacuum chamber

AssigneeKernforschungsanlage Julich Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung

InventorsDiether Josef Guggi, Rolf Klein

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Abstract

A manipulator for movement of articles in a controlled environment chamber, specially a high vacuum chamber, in which a bellows has one end sealingly connected to a wall of the chamber and has a cover sealingly connected to the other end with a closed sleeve in the cover and also sealingly connected to the other end of the bellows. A ball is located in about the center of the bellows and a ball cup supporting the ball is fixed to the wall of the chamber. The connection of the ball cup and the bellows to the chamber wall is advantageously by means of a flange. A manipulator rod is slidable in the ball and one of the ball and rod is rotatable. Magnetic means on the manipulator rod in the sleeve is coupled to magnet means outside the sleeve and by manipulation of the magnet means the rod can be reciprocated and rotated. The cover is provided with extensible supports connected between the cover and the flange for tilting the cover together with the sleeve and manipulator rod on the flange. Electric motors are preferably provided for actuating the extensible supports and for reciprocating the magnet in the housing and for rotating the magnet in the housing.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A manipulator for use in manipulating articles within a controlled environment chamber having a wall;

a flexible bellows, a flange sealingly connected to one end of said bellows and adapted for being sealingly connected to the chamber wall, an outer cover sealingly connected to the other end of the bellows, a ball in the bellows, a ball cup stationary on the chamber and supporting said ball, a manipulator rod slidable in the ball and having one end extending into said closed cover and the other end extending into said chamber, at least one of said ball and manipulator rod being rotatable on the axis of the said rod, a sleeve in said cover coaxial with said one end of said manipulator rod having one end sealingly connected to said other end of said bellows and the other end closed, magnetic means on said one end of said manipulator rod in said sleeve, magnet means in said cover movable therein along said sleeve and magnetically coupled to said magnetic means, first means for moving said magnet means axially along said sleeve to move said manipulator rod axially, second means for rotating said magnet means on the axis of said manipulator rod for rotating the said rod, and third means for tilting said cover and sleeve together with said manipulator rod about the geometric center of said ball.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.