Manipulator for charging devices

Abstract

A carrier that is adjustably interconnected with its base by means of parallelogram articulation including spherical bearings. The framework interconnecting the support with its base, includes two generally horizontal arms laterally spaced apart and interconnected at their forward ends with the support by spherical bearings and at their rear end to a hinge plate about spaced vertical pivots. The hinge plate is mounted for vertical swinging movement about a horizontal axis on and relative to the base. Another parallelogram linkage, this one arranged in a vertical plane, is provided by a fluid pressure cylinder disposed below the horizontal arms and serving as a tilting cylinder, which is connected by spherical bearings at its forward and rear ends to the carrier and to the base, respectively. A fluid pressure cylinder serving as a lifting cylinder pivotally interconnects the base and the lower part of the hinge plate. A swivel cylinder for swinging the parallelogram linkage in a horizontal direction, is disposed in the space between the horizontal arms and pivotally interconnects one of those arms with the hinge plate and is disposed at an acute angle to both of the horizontal arms. This swivel cylinder is of the double acting type so that when both chambers of the cylinder communicate with each other via the pressure medium tank and thus are not under pressure, the cylinder acts as a shock absorber to absorb lateral forces imposed from either direction.