A side-loading robotic arm for use with rear or mid-body mounted refuse containers. The robotic arm is configured for disposition forward of a container, but may be disposed behind or otherwise oriented relative to the container. The robotic arm includes a tipping arm pivotingly attached to and carried by a carriage body disposed on lateral rails. The tipping arm has a generally right-angle configuration. A lifting arm is pivotingly attached to the tipping arm distal from the carriage body. A pair of gripper arms is disposed on the lifting arm distal from the tipping arm. The right-angle configuration of the tipping arm facilitates pivoting and inversion of bins to be emptied into the refuse containers. The fixed shape of the tipping arm eliminates a mechanical movement operation of the prior art and minimizes potential mechanical interference with other parts of the robotic arm.

A workpiece holding device includes a plurality of holding claws configured to hold a workpiece, and holding cylinders as claw opening/closing members configured to displace the holding claws in a direction closer to or away from a first workpiece. The holding cylinders are provided for the holding claws, respectively. Therefore, the plurality of holding claws can be opened/closed individually. The holding cylinders are held on a support disk as a holding member in a movable manner. That is, by moving the holding cylinders to arbitrary positions on the support disk, the holding cylinders are positioned fixedly.

An improved gripper mechanism for a palletizer apparatus is configured to receive articles from an associated infeed conveyor in any one of a plurality of orientations of the gripper mechanism relative to the infeed conveyor, thus desirably reducing the cycle time required for each of the articles to be handled and positioned by the gripper mechanism. In the preferred embodiment, the gripper mechanism is configured to receive articles through any one of the four sides of the mechanism, thereby desirably reducing the cycle time required for returning the gripper mechanism to a position and orientation for receiving the next successive article from the infeed conveyor.

A side-loading robotic arm for use with rear or mid-body mounted refuse containers. The robotic arm is configured for disposition forward of a container, but may be disposed behind or otherwise oriented relative to the container. The robotic arm includes a tipping arm pivotingly attached to and carried by a carriage body disposed on lateral rails. The tipping arm has a generally right-angle configuration. A lifting arm is pivotingly attached to the tipping arm distal from the carriage body. A pair of gripper arms is disposed on the lifting arm distal from the tipping arm. The right-angle configuration of the tipping arm facilitates pivoting and inversion of bins to be emptied into the refuse containers. The fixed shape of the tipping arm eliminates a mechanical movement operation of the prior art and minimizes potential mechanical interference with other parts of the robotic arm.

A handling system for handling ground-engaging wear parts used on earth working equipment includes handling tools to remove and handle wear parts from equipment and/or to install new wear parts. The tools can include a torque or other tool to engage and/or disengage a lock retained by the wear member. The handling system allows an operator maintain a distance from heavy parts being removed or installed, reducing the risk of injury.

A gripper device is configured to pick up a pliable food product having a tail-like part from a pick-up area and releasing it at a releasing area, where a support is provided. A pair of jaws is mounted to the support for movement of distal ends thereof towards each other defining a closing position of the pair of jaws and away from each other defining an open position of the pair of jaws. A tail bender device is attached to the support and adjacent to one end of the pair of jaws. The tail bender device is moveable in relation to the pair of jaws and is configured to bend the tail-like part while transferring the food product from the pick-up area until releasing it at the releasing area.

Provided are a system, method(s), and apparatus for automatically harvesting mushrooms from a mushroom bed. The system, in one implementation, may be referred to herein as an automated harvester, having at least an apparatus/frame/body/structure for supporting and positioning the harvester on a mushroom bed, a vision system for scanning and identifying mushrooms in the mushroom bed, a picking system for harvesting the mushrooms from the bed, and a control system for directing the picking system according to data acquired by the vision system. Various other components, sub-systems, and connected systems may also be integrated into or coupled to the automated harvester.

A workpiece gripping device includes a base body and a pair of finger units configured to grip a workpiece. A first finger unit of the pair of finger units includes a scoop member configured to reciprocate in the direction of the arrow Z relative to the base body and rotate on a plane perpendicular to the direction of the arrow Z. A second finger unit of the pair of finger units includes a pressing member configured to reciprocate in the direction of the arrow X and rotate on a plane perpendicular to the direction of the arrow Z.

A soft robot hand includes a palm, a first fabric-reinforced textile actuator coupled to the palm, and a second fabric-reinforced textile actuator coupled to the palm. The first actuator is moveable relative to the palm between a collapsed position and an inflated position to approximate a joint in a first human finger. The second actuator is spaced apart from the first actuator. The second actuator is moveable relative to the palm between a collapsed position and an inflated position to approximate a joint in a second human finger.

Disclosed are various embodiments or a robotic gripper. A mechanical gripper is affixed to an end effector of the robotic arm. A mount is also affixed to the mechanical gripper. An air nozzle may be affixed to the mount. The air nozzle can include an egress directed towards the mechanical gripper.