Patent ID: 11939081
Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 0:
1. An end effector, comprising:
a first roller wheel configured to rotate in a first plane;
a second roller wheel configured to rotate in a second plane, wherein the second plane is non-parallel to the first plane; and
a third roller wheel, wherein the third roller wheel is configured to rotate in a third plane that is non-parallel to the first plane and the second plane, wherein the first roller wheel, the second roller wheel, and the third roller wheel are arranged with respect to one another such that the end effector is configured to automatically capture an object when a passive receptacle of the object contacts the first roller wheel, the second roller wheel, and the third roller wheel, wherein the end effector is further configured to selectively release the object from the first roller wheel, the second roller wheel, and the third roller wheel, and wherein the end effector is configured to automatically retain the object until the end effector is caused to selectively release the object.