Patent ID: 7921858

Claim:
Apparatus for transporting an object from one workstation to another, or for manipulating an object within a workstation, where the object or workstations may be contaminated with unwanted dirt or dust particles, said apparatus comprising: (a) a movable transfer arm having an end effector composed of an array of nano-scale projections, where each projection provides one or more distal contact ends, the density of contact ends is such as to grip a surface of the object with an intermolecular force sufficient to hold the object for movement, and the relative sizes of the object and particles are such that the object makes contact with severalfold times of the number of contact ends than contacts such particles, (b) a cleaning surface disposed within the area of movement of the transfer arm, said surface having a surface energy interaction with particles carried on said end effector as great or greater than the surface energy interaction between particles and effector, and (c) a control unit operatively connected to said arm and programmed to: (i) place said end effector in contact with such an object at one workstation thereby to grip the object, (ii) move the arm and gripped object within the workstation or to another workstation; (iii) manipulate said end effector to release the gripped object, and (iv) bring said end effector into contact with the cleaning surface one or more times, to transfer unwanted dust particles on the gripping surface to the cleaning surface.