Patent ID: 8556315

Claim:
A vacuum gripper assembly for gripping an object, the vacuum gripper assembly comprising: a gripper finger comprising a flat plate; a vacuum pad; a supporting system for supporting the vacuum pad in relation to the gripper finger such that the vacuum pad can move linearly in three dimensions in relation to the gripper finger; a stabilization structure adapted to bias the at least one vacuum pad to a generally flat orientation in relation to the flat plate of the gripper finger when the vacuum gripper assembly is not gripping the object and wherein the stabilization structure is configured to bias the vacuum pad to be in contact with the object being gripped; and a hose connecting a vacuum source to the vacuum pad and wherein the stabilization structure is configured to provide enough force to stabilize the vacuum pad against any forces imparted to the vacuum pad by a position of the hose when the vacuum gripper assembly is not gripping an object.