MECHANICAL GRIPPER FOR TRANSPORTING STORAGE DEVICE, AUTOMATED STORAGE LIBRARY, AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING MECHANICAL GRIPPER FOR TRANSPORTING STORAGE DEVICE

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mechanical gripping mechanism for transporting and handling a storage device including a sensor serving to judge a position of opposing gripper fingers.

SOLUTION: A gripper mechanism includes a pair of opposing gripper fingers rotatably mounted to the picker frame, each of them is adapted so that a distal end engages a storage device. The gripper mechanism further includes at least one optically detectable indicator associated with the position and movement of the gripper fingers, and an optical sensor positioned to detect at least one of the optically detectable indicators. In one example, at least one optically detectable indicators are disposed in a curve and coupled to a gear associated with rotation of the gripper fingers.

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