--- publication_id: "OT-2026-000004369" title: "Bellows cup vacuum gripper, three zone face, six outlet manifold, pump fed, contact triggered" published_at: "2026-09-16T07:19:07.900592Z" canonical_url: "https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000004369" categories: - "robotics-automation/end-effectors/vacuum-grippers" - "lifting-positioning-manipulation/vacuum-lifting/sealing-and-suction-pads" - "sensors-controls-machine-vision/position-and-presence-sensing/inductive-sensors" - "industrial-motion-power-transmission/fluid-power/valves-and-manifolds" keywords: - "bellows cup" - "contact detector" - "manifold" - "vacuum pump" - "tool-change interface" - "vent valve" - "zone branch" - "release timing" - "end of arm tooling" - "plastic" --- # Bellows cup vacuum gripper, three zone face, six outlet manifold, pump fed, contact triggered ## Abstract An end effector for vacuum end-of-arm tooling with compliant bellows cups is described. The tool comprises a tool-change interface (10), a bellows cup (12), a vacuum pump (14), a manifold (16), a zone branch (18), and a contact detector (20), a vent valve (22). The arrangement addresses controlling the moment the workpiece is let go, where releasing before the workpiece is supported drops it, and releasing late drags it across the set-down surface as the tool lifts away. The description covers which valve opens the circuit, the position the workpiece must reach first, and what the tool does between those two moments. Every connection is stated with the medium it carries, and the operating sequence is given as conditions on named operations. ## 1. Technical Field [0001] This disclosure relates to vacuum end-of-arm tooling with compliant bellows cups. It concerns the arrangement of a gripping interface, the supply that feeds it, the distribution and control between them, and the sequence in which those parts act on a workpiece. FIG. 1 shows the arrangement as a block diagram with the reference numerals used throughout this description. ## 2. Technical Context [0002] The arrangement addresses controlling the moment the workpiece is let go. The difficulty is that releasing before the workpiece is supported drops it, and releasing late drags it across the set-down surface as the tool lifts away. A tool that does not address it is still usable on a narrow range of workpieces, and the cost appears as cycle time, dropped parts or air consumption rather than as an outright failure. What follows covers which valve opens the circuit, the position the workpiece must reach first, and what the tool does between those two moments. ## 3. System Overview [0003] The tool comprises the tool-change interface (10), the bellows cup (12), the vacuum pump (14), the manifold (16), the zone branch (18), the contact detector (20), the vent valve (22). FIG. 1 shows how these blocks are connected and which medium each connection carries. The blocks are not interchangeable by name: a connection is made only where one block offers a medium that another needs, and each connection below is stated together with the medium it carries. [0004] FIG. 2 shows elevation of the gripping face on its mounting. [0005] FIG. 3 shows signal path between the controlled elements and the cell controller. - The tool-side plate of the tool-change interface is bolted to the robot flange (10). - Each bellows cup is connected to the vacuum pump by a vacuum line that runs into the bellows body (12). - Each bellows cup is mounted on the tool-change interface (12). - The pump motor is supplied from the electrical supply of the cell (14). - The manifold inlet is connected to the vacuum pump, which supplies every outlet of the manifold (16). - Each zone branch is taken from the vacuum pump, so that the branch carries the vacuum of its own zone only (18). - The detector watches the bellows cups and reports when a workpiece is present at that face (20). - The vent valve is connected to the circuit at the vacuum pump and opens that circuit to atmosphere when it is actuated (22). - The vent valve is switched by the contact detector (22). ## 4. Components [0015] **Tool-Change Interface (10).** The tool-change interface (10) is provided once in this arrangement. The interface splits the tool into a robot side and a tool side, so the tool can be exchanged without dismantling it. The interface is locked pneumatic. [0016] **Bellows Cup (12).** The bellows cup (12) is provided once in this arrangement. Each cup is folded so that it shortens under vacuum and takes up a height difference between the face and the workpiece. Each cup carries 1 folds. The cups are made of plastic. [0017] **Vacuum Pump (14).** The vacuum pump (14) is provided once in this arrangement. The pump draws the circuit down mechanically and adds its own mass to the moving assembly. The pump is driven by a electric motor. [0018] **Manifold (16).** The manifold (16) is provided once in this arrangement. The manifold receives the vacuum and distributes it to the outlets that feed the face. The manifold has 6 outlets. [0019] **Zone Branch (18).** The tool carries 1 zone branches. Each branch feeds one zone of the face, so the zones can be treated separately. The zone branch (18) is configured with material plastic. The face is divided into 3 zones. [0020] **Contact Detector (20).** The contact detector (20) is provided once in this arrangement. The detector watches the face and reports the moment a workpiece is present against it. The detector is placed on the frame. [0021] **Vent Valve (22).** The vent valve (22) is provided once in this arrangement. The vent valve opens the circuit to atmosphere, which is what ends the grip. The circuit is vented before set-down. ## 5. Operation [0022] The operating sequence is given as conditions on named operations. Each condition names the event it depends on and the operation it governs, so the order of events is explicit rather than implied by the order of the sentences. FIG. 2 shows the gripping face referred to in these steps. The tool is presented to the workpiece square to the face, and the numbered operations below are what the arrangement does from that point. - When the bellows cups seal the workpiece, the bellows cups are evacuated by the vacuum pump. - After the contact detector has detected the workpiece, the vacuum supply is actuated. - Before the workpiece reaches the set-down position, the vacuum circuit is vented by the vent valve. - The workpiece is held until the vent valve has opened the circuit. [0027] An operation whose condition is not met does not run. A condition that is stated with UNLESS holds except while its event is true, and one stated with UNTIL ends the operation at the moment its event becomes true. With the workpiece released, the tool returns to the pick position and the cycle repeats. ## 6. Example Embodiments [0028] In one embodiment the gripping face carries 1 bellows cups on a common mounting, fed as shown in FIG. 1, and the tool is presented to the workpiece square to the face. In a second embodiment the same face is arranged in two rows so that a long workpiece is supported at both ends, with the connections of FIG. 1 unchanged. In a third embodiment the face is built at half the pitch and the number of bellows cups is doubled for the same envelope, which suits a workpiece that is lighter but less rigid. ## 7. Alternative Configurations [0029] The gripping face may instead use a folded bellows cup, which takes up height differences at the cost of lateral stiffness. The gripping face may instead use an array of discrete cups, which concentrates the holding force at the lips and needs a sealing surface. A gripping face of this kind may also be replaced by fingers closing on the workpiece, which removes the air circuit entirely and requires access to two opposed surfaces of the workpiece. The pump may be replaced by an ejector, which removes the moving part at the tool and spends compressed air while it runs, or by a connection to a plant vacuum line. An isolation valve may be added in the line to each zone, which allows one part of the face to be cut from the circuit while the rest holds its vacuum. The vent may be supplemented by a blow-off pulse, which clears the face rather than waiting for it to refill. ## 8. Parameter Variations [0030] Each parameter below is stated with what it changes in the arrangement. The locking of the tool-change interface is pneumatic in the arrangement described; varying it changes what has to be present at the interface for the tool to stay attached. The folds of the bellows cup is 1 in the arrangement described; varying it changes the travel taken up at the face and the lateral stiffness under load. The material of the bellows cup is plastic in the arrangement described; varying it changes the friction at the lip and the resistance of the fold to fatigue. The outlets of the manifold is 6 in the arrangement described; varying it changes how many connections can be fed from one inlet without dividing the face. The zones of the zone branch is 3 in the arrangement described; varying it changes how much of the face can be isolated at once and how small a workpiece the tool can still hold. The placement of the contact detector is on the frame in the arrangement described; varying it changes whether contact is reported for the face as a whole or for one part of it. The timing of the vent valve is before set-down in the arrangement described; varying it changes whether the workpiece is released before or after it is supported. ## 9. Additional Implementations [0031] A pressure sensor may be tapped into the circuit so that the state of the grip is observable, and the motion that follows the grip may be made conditional on the level it reports. A separating element may be added so that a workpiece which follows the face upwards after release is pushed off positively. The arrangement may be duplicated on one mounting so that two workpieces are handled in one cycle, with the distribution fed from a common inlet and each face controlled on its own. ## 10. Provenance and method [0032] This document is an original combination composed from a typed library of mechanism blocks. Each block was derived from the published patent literature and carries typed connection points, the parameters its source states, and its own construction and operating description. The combination described here is proposed rather than taken from any one source, and it is not asserted to have been constructed. The published documents behind the blocks used in this arrangement are EP-4489564-B1, US-11427405-B1, US-11858125-B2, US-2022339798-A1, US-8006968-B2, WO-2008134339-A4, WO-2026020244-A1. Their text is not reproduced here; the description above is generated from the structure of the combination. ## 11. Figures ![FIG. 1](figures/fig-001.svg) Block diagram of the tool, with the medium carried by each connection. ![FIG. 2](figures/fig-002.svg) Elevation of the gripping face on its mounting. ![FIG. 3](figures/fig-003.svg) Signal path between the controlled elements and the cell controller.