End effector for transferring articles

A vacuum chamber capable of being mounted on a robot arm, the vacuum chamber comprising:

• a base having a peripheral edge and a first bore, the first bore capable of being coupled to a vacuum source;
• a pair of first side walls mounted on the base, near the peripheral edge, each of the first side wails having a strip-like surface, the first side walls mounted on the base so as to be substantially perpendicular thereto;
• a first strip of sealing material mounted on the strip-like surface of one of the first side walls;
• a second strip of sealing material mounted on the strip-like surface of the other of the first side walls;
• a pair of second side walls mounted on the base, near the peripheral edge, the second side walls mounted on the base so as to be substantially perpendicular thereto;
• a first blade for being inserted into a container holding a plurality of flattened articles and having a grooved surface, the first blade mounted on one of the second side walls;
• and
• a second blade for being inserted into a container holding a plurality of flattened articles and having a grooved surface, the second blade mounted on the other of the second side walls.

An industrial robot comprising:

• a robot arm;
• and
• an end effector mounted on the robot arm, the end effector including;
• a body defining a vacuum chamber, the vacuum chamber having a port capable of being coupled to a vacuum source, the vacuum chamber further having;
• an opening positioned in spaced relation relative to the port and having a peripheral edge;
• a first strip of sealing material mounted along a portion of the peripheral edge of the opening;
• and
• a first blade for being inserted into a container holding a plurality of flattened articles and having a grooved surface, the first blade mounted along the peripheral edge of the opening adjacent to the strip of sealing material, and along a second portion of the peripheral edge of the opening;
• wherein the end effector is capable of holding a plurality of stacked, substantially flat articles when the port is coupled to the vacuum source and a vacuum is being applied through the port.