Abstract
A suction-cup vacuum gripping tool comprising one mounting flange, two suction cups, one plant vacuum connection, one manifold and one blow-off valve. When the suction cups reach the workpiece, the suction cups are evacuated by the plant vacuum connection. Before the workpiece reaches the set-down position, the workpiece is blown off by the blow-off valve while the workpiece is above the receiving surface. 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 suction-cup vacuum gripping tool: two suction cups carried on a mounting flange, fed by a plant vacuum connection. It is arranged for clearing the face at 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]Two suction cups. Each suction cup presents a sealing lip to the workpiece and is evacuated through its own connection. The count of two follows from the arrangement: one gripping element per manifold outlet. The suction cups are of the oval form.
[0004]One plant vacuum connection. The plant vacuum connection takes vacuum from the plant line, so the tool carries no generator of its own.
[0005]One manifold. The manifold receives the vacuum at one inlet and distributes it to its outlets. The manifold has two outlets.
[0006]One blow-off valve. The blow-off valve drives compressed air back through the circuit to the face, which clears the face instead of waiting for the circuit to refill. The blow-off is a sustained blast. The blow-off pulse is given before set-down.
[0007]The suction cups are carried on the tool side of the mounting flange.
[0008]The manifold is fixed to the tool side of the mounting flange.
[0009]The manifold inlet is connected to the plant vacuum connection, which supplies every outlet of the manifold.
[0010]Each manifold outlet feeds one suction cup by its own vacuum line, so that the two outlets feed two suction cups.
[0011]The blow-off valve is connected to the circuit at the plant vacuum connection, so that compressed air can be driven back through the circuit to the face.
[0012]The robot side of the mounting flange is bolted to the robot flange.
[0013]The blow-off valve is fed from the compressed air supply of the cell.
[0014]The blow-off valve is switched by the cell controller.
3. Operating sequence and conditions
[0015]
- When the suction cups reach the workpiece, the suction cups are evacuated by the plant vacuum connection.
[0016]
- Before the workpiece reaches the set-down position, the workpiece is blown off by the blow-off valve while the workpiece is above the receiving surface.
[0017]
- The workpiece is held until the blow-off valve has opened the circuit.
[0018]The cell controller commands the blow-off valve; no sensor drives an actuator directly.
4. Parameters and operating assumptions
[0019]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); outlets of the manifold: two (sets how many lines can be fed from one inlet); duration of the blow-off valve: a sustained blast (sets how quickly the face clears and how much air each release costs); timing of the blow-off valve: before set-down (sets whether the pulse assists a drop release or clears the face after set-down).
[0020]The workpiece is released while it is still above the receiving surface and falls the remaining distance onto it. This sequence is for a workpiece and a receiving surface that tolerate that drop, for example a part released into a container or onto a conveyor; the drop height is set by the application and is not fixed here.
[0021]The blow-off is a sustained blast: the valve stays open for the whole release so that the face is cleared of dust and the workpiece is pushed positively away.
[0022]The tool carries no valve between the plant line and the face, so the plant vacuum is applied to the face whenever the plant line is live; release relies on the release element alone.
5. Provenance and status
[0023]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-10259123-B2, US-10549431-B2, US-2016214812-A1, US-8006968-B2, US-8132312-B2; their text is not reproduced, and the description above is generated from the structure of the combination.
6. Correction notice
[0024]This publication supersedes OT-2026-000005680, 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.