Patent ID: 9708135
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: B25J

Claim:
1. A gripper assembly comprising: (a) an actuation arm comprising an actuation arm tip; (b) a sensing arm comprising a sensing arm tip; (c) a rotary actuation arm flexure bearing operatively connected to the actuation arm; (d) an actuation arm guiding flexure operatively connected to the actuation arm bearing; (e) driving means for imparting a driving displacement along a y-axis direction to the actuation arm bearing through the actuation arm guiding flexure, the actuation arm flexure bearing being configured to convert the driving displacement in the y-axis direction into displacement of the actuation tip in an x-axis direction; (f) a rotary sensing arm flexure bearing operatively connected to the sensing arm and being configured to convert displacement of the sensing arm tip in the x-axis direction into displacement in the y-axis direction; and (g) first and second force sensor flexures operatively linked to the rotary sensing arm flexure bearing in series and being configured to detect y-axis displacement of the sensing arm tip caused both by contact of the sensing arm tip with environment and by conversion of x-axis displacement of the sensing arm tip by the rotary sensing arm flexure bearing whereby the first and second force sensor flexures can collectively detect both a grasping force F