Importance

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Abstract

An improved end effector for use with a robot includes a pair of carriages. Each carriage supports a pair of fingers and at least one actuator. Each actuator is interconnected with the associated pair of fingers to counter-rotate the fingers. One or both of the carriages is movable toward the other carriage to engage trays on a conveyor system with the fingers. The robot moves the end effector between the conveyor system and shipping containers for shipping the trays. Because the pairs of fingers counter-rotate, the friction forces between each finger and the tray is offset by the friction forces between the other finger in the pair and the tray. The improved end effector thereby maintains trays substantially in the desired stacking orientation within the shipping container. Preferably, an actuator is provided for each finger. A change-out mechanism may also be provided to facilitate replacing the fingers.

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First Claim