--- publication_id: "OT-2026-000008612" title: "Four cup vacuum gripper, four zone face, common isolation valve, single stage ejector, vented after set-down" published_at: "2026-09-17T08:10:36.030441Z" canonical_url: "https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000008612" categories: - "robotics-automation/end-effectors/vacuum-grippers" - "industrial-motion-power-transmission/fluid-power/valves-and-manifolds" - "industrial-motion-power-transmission/fluid-power/vacuum-generation" - "lifting-positioning-manipulation/vacuum-lifting/vacuum-safety-systems" keywords: - "zoned vacuum tool" - "mounting flange" - "suction cup" - "ejector" - "isolation valve" - "zone branch" - "vent valve" - "common isolation" - "compressed air supply" - "release control" --- # Four cup vacuum gripper, four zone face, common isolation valve, single stage ejector, vented after set-down ## Abstract A zoned vacuum gripping tool comprising one mounting flange, four suction cups, one ejector, one isolation valve, four zone branches and one vent valve. When the suction cups reach the workpiece, the suction cups are evacuated by the ejector. After the workpiece has reached the set-down position, the vacuum circuit is vented by the vent valve. The arrangement is a proposed configuration composed from a typed library of mechanism blocks derived from published patents; it has not been constructed. ## 1. Purpose and arrangement [0001] This disclosure describes a zoned vacuum gripping tool: four suction cups carried on a mounting flange, fed by an ejector. It is arranged for handling workpieces that do not cover the whole gripping face, cutting part of the circuit while the rest holds vacuum and controlling the moment of release. One concrete embodiment is described; every connection is stated with the medium it carries, and the operating sequence is given as conditions on named operations. ## 2. Components, construction and connections [0002] **One mounting flange.** The mounting flange carries the whole assembly and presents the bolt pattern that meets the robot. [0003] **Four suction cups.** Each suction cup presents a sealing lip to the workpiece and is evacuated through its own connection. The count of four follows from the arrangement: one gripping element per zone branch. The suction cups are of the oval form. [0004] **One ejector.** The ejector draws the circuit down by passing compressed air through a nozzle; it has no moving part at the tool and consumes air for as long as it runs. The ejector has one stage. [0005] **One isolation valve.** The isolation valve sits in the line it controls; closing it cuts that line without disturbing the rest of the circuit. Isolation is common. [0006] **Four zone branches.** Each zone branch carries the vacuum of one zone of the face and no other. The count of four follows from the arrangement: one branch per zone. The distribution is divided into four zones, each fed by its own branch. [0007] **One vent valve.** The vent valve opens the circuit it is connected to towards atmosphere, which ends the grip. The circuit is vented after set-down. [0008] The suction cups are carried on the tool side of the mounting flange. [0009] The ejector is fixed to the tool side of the mounting flange. [0010] The isolation valve is placed in the line from the ejector, so that closing the valve cuts the whole circuit from the supply. [0011] The four zone branches are taken from a branch junction on the isolation valve outlet, so that each branch carries the vacuum of its own zone only. [0012] Each suction cup is connected to its own zone line, one suction cup per zone, and is evacuated through that line. [0013] The vent valve is connected to the circuit at the line downstream of the isolation valve and opens that circuit to atmosphere when it is actuated. [0014] The robot side of the mounting flange is bolted to the robot flange. [0015] The ejector is fed from the compressed air supply of the cell. [0016] The isolation valve and the vent valve are switched by the cell controller. ## 3. Operating sequence and conditions - When the suction cups reach the workpiece, the suction cups are evacuated by the ejector. - After the suction cups have reached the workpiece, the isolation valve is closed by the cell controller. - While the isolation valve is in the closed state, the vacuum downstream of the valve is maintained by the sealed gripping face. - After the workpiece has reached 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. [0022] The cell controller commands the isolation valve, the vent valve; no sensor drives an actuator directly. ## 4. Parameters and operating assumptions [0023] Parameter values of this embodiment: form of the suction cups: oval (sets the shape of the contact area and the behaviour of the lip on a curved workpiece); material of the suction cups: polyurethane (sets the friction at the lip and the tolerance of the lip to oil and heat); stages of the ejector: one (sets the flow drawn at low vacuum and the compressed air consumed while a sealed face is held); control of the isolation valve: common (sets which part of the circuit the valve cuts: one branch line on its own or the whole circuit); material of the isolation valve: steel; material of the zone branches: plastic; zones of the zone branches: four (sets how much of the face can be treated separately); timing of the vent valve: after set-down (sets whether the workpiece is released before or after it is supported by the set-down surface). ## 5. Provenance and status [0024] This document is an original combination composed from a typed library of mechanism blocks. Each block was derived from a published patent and carries typed connection points, the parameters its source states, and its own construction and operating description. The combination described here is proposed and has not been constructed. The published documents behind the blocks used in this arrangement are US-10163334-B1, US-10549431-B2, US-2016214812-A1, WO-2008134339-A4, WO-2026020244-A1; their text is not reproduced, and the description above is generated from the structure of the combination. ## 6. Correction notice [0025] This publication supersedes OT-2026-000004291, whose text described this arrangement with defects recorded in the quality register at https://opentechnical.org/qa/. The earlier publication is unchanged and remains public. Changes made to reach a consistent configuration: release element added: a vent valve after set-down (the legacy assembly had no way to let go); the same corrected configuration also replaces OT-2026-000006089.