Robot gripper mechanism and method for sampling nuclear fuel pellets
US4830565A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 1, 1986 |
| Grant date | May 16, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 1, 2006 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S294/907
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A gripper mechanism for sampling nuclear fuel pellets at a predetermined depth in a stack of pellets includes a housing and gripping fingers movably mounted to the housing. The fingers are preferably three relatively thin, arcuate-shaped, blade-like fingers angularly displaced from one another for grasping the pellet at spaced locations about its circumference. The fingers have lower facing surfaces which are brought adjacent to one another for engaging and grasping a pellet when the fingers are moved toward their closed position and retracted remote from one another for disengaging and releasing the pellet when the fingers are moved toward their opened position. Guide members interconnecting the housing with a movable support structure, together with coil springs received about the guide members and extending between the housing and support structure, resiliently and yieldably mount the housing and fingers for movement toward the stack of pellets along a generally linear path ahead of the support structure as the support structure is moved toward the stack. Concurrently the yieldable mounting permits the housing to rock slightly about an axis extending transverse to the linear pat…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.