Toy apparatus including robotic arm
AssigneeMattel, Inc.
InventorsKeith A. Hippely, Madhusudan Joshi, Larry R. Wood
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Toy apparatus in a playset including a robotic arm module for handling toy vehicles advanced along a path past a plurality of stations including a pickup station, an immersion station, and an exit station. The robotic arm module has gripper members actuatable for picking up the toy vehicle at the pickup station, then dipping the toy vehicle into a liquid and then depositing the toy vehicle at an exit station. The robotic arm apparatus is in the form of a parallelogram linkage which enables twisting action of the gripper members as well as up and down and sideways movement.
Claims14
Toy apparatus including a robotic arm for handling toy members, comprising:
- a housing;
- a track positioned on the housing for defining a predetermined path past a plurality of stations including a pickup station, an immersion station, and an exit station, and
- a robotic arm positioned on said housing, said robotic arm having a first elongated member having a major axis and including actuatable gripper members pivotally coupled to the distal end and a control member at the proximal end;
- a first pivot including a first universal joint supporting first elongated member to be pivotable on a first axis for vertical movement and rotatable about its major axis;
- and a second pivot supporting said first elongated member to be pivotable on a second axis for movement in a horizontal plane,
- whereby said gripper members can be controlled to pick up a toy member at the pickup station and dip the toy member at the immersion station, and deposit the toy member at the exit station.
Robotic arm apparatus for handling toy members, comprising:
- a frame;
- a first arm member having actuatable gripper members disposed at the distal end and a control member disposed at the proximal end thereof;
- a first universal joint pivotally securing said first arm member to said frame;
- a second arm member extending parallel to said first arm member and having first and second ends;
- a second universal joint connecting said first end to said frame;
- a third universal joint connecting said second end to said distal end of said first arm member, whereby a twisting movement may be imparted to the gripper members thereby twisting the toy member at the option of an operator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.