Mss, Inc.

Caleb H Blackwell

Arthur G Doak

Felix A Hottenstein

Gregory J Thibado

A robotic end effector apparatus and method of replacing a first flexible gripper sheet of a robotic end effector apparatus for grasping an article using a suction effect is disclosed herein. The robotic end effector may include a suction tube having an open lower end, a mounting flange fixed to the suction tube adjacent the open lower end, a clamping ring slidable received around the suction tube above the mounting flange, a biasing spring biasing the clamping ring downward toward the mounting flange, and a flexible sheet having a center opening smaller than the mounting flange in a relaxed state of the flexible sheet, the flexible sheet being stretchable so that the flexible sheet can be pulled upward over the mounting flange. The flexible sheet may be clamped between the clamping ring and the mounting flange with the flexible sheet extending radially outward beyond the mounting flange.

Flexible sheet end effector for robot

A sorting apparatus is provided for sorting selected magnetically attractable articles from a stream of articles including non-selected magnetically attractable articles. The apparatus may include a conveyor for conveying the stream of articles. The conveyor may include a conveyor belt formed in an endless loop including a discharge end configured to launch the stream of articles off the conveyor. A conveyor guide may be located inside of the endless loop adjacent the discharge end. The conveyor guide may be configured to support the conveyor belt such that the conveyor belt slides on the conveyor guide along a downwardly curved path. An array of magnets may be arranged inside of the endless loop for interacting with the stream of articles as the stream of articles passes off the discharge end.

Separation of ferrous materials

A sorting apparatus is provided for sorting selected magnetically attractable articles from non-selected magnetically attractable articles in a stream of articles. A sensor generates sensor signals representative of a property associated with a selected class of magnetically attractable articles. A separator device includes an array of magnets. A controller receives sensor signals from the sensor, identifies a location within the stream of articles of a selected magnetically attractable article, and selectively activates one or more magnets of the array of magnets and thereby magnetically attracts the selected magnetically attractable article from a first trajectory into a second trajectory while allowing non-selected magnetically attractable articles to continue along the first trajectory.

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Goodlettsville, TN, United States of America

Caleb H Blackwell