Multi-object grasping gripper with an internal storage bin

Multi-Object Sequential Gripping and Stacking Gripper with Polymer Storage

This technology is a multi-object gripping gripper featuring a storage unit composed of multiple polymer belts and bristle elements. By combining finger members, link members, slider members, and a tendon-driven mechanism, it performs flexible multi-object gripping and sequential storage operations.

Conventional multi-object gripping grippers have limited utility in environments where object arrangement is inconsistent due to their fixed gripper structure, and they lack the capability for simultaneous multi-object gripping and storage of unaligned items.

This technology proposes a method that integrates a drive unit—consisting of finger members, finger connecting members, sliders, and links—with an internal storage unit containing polymer belts and bristle elements. It controls the gripper's rotational and translational motion using gripping and transmission tendons, allowing it to grip individual objects and stack them sequentially into the internal storage. This significantly improves operational efficiency in fields requiring continuous processing of multiple objects, such as logistics sorting, agricultural harvesting, and waste sorting, thereby maximizing productivity in automated lines.

‍

‍

Key Features:

• Multiple gripper units that grasp individual objects and transport them to the storage unit via the drive unit's operation
• A storage unit containing multiple polymer sections that receive and sequentially stack objects grasped by the gripper units
• A single drive unit that simultaneously triggers the gripping action of the gripper units and the transport of objects to the storage unit
• A structure where objects are moved between multiple polymer sections and stored through the operation of the drive unit

‍

This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's project for developing collaborative assistive robot arms using foldable hybrid-driven soft robot technology, and the Ministry of Science and ICT's Human-Centered Soft Robot Technology Research Center.