Patent ID: 7004524

Claim:
A handling device including a gripping member and a support structure that supports the gripping member, wherein the gripping member includes a flexible, substantially toroidal wall member having an outer wall portion and an inner wall portion defining an axial passageway that extends through the gripping member, and a fluid that fills the volume enclosed by the wall member, and the support structure includes a drive mechanism that engages the wall member and is constructed and arranged to provide relative axial movement between the inner and outer wall portions, wherein the drive mechanism comprises an inner rotary drive mechanism that engages the inner wall portion and is constructed and arranged to provide relative axial movement between the inner wall portion and the support structure, and an outer rotary drive mechanism that engages the outer wall portion and is constructed and arranged to provide relative axial movement between the outer wall portion and the support structure, said inner and outer rotary drive mechanisms being operable to provide continuous rotation of the wall member.