OPENTECHNICAL PUBLICATION OT-2026-000013991 Four cup vacuum gripper, four zone face, per zone isolation, plant vacuum fed, pulsed blow-off before set-down, on a tool changer Published: 2026-09-17T08:13:30.489074Z Permanent URL: https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000013991 Categories: Robotics & Automation > End Effectors > Vacuum Grippers ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ABSTRACT A zoned vacuum gripping tool comprising one tool-change interface, four suction cups, one plant vacuum connection, four isolation valves, four zone branches 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 zoned vacuum gripping tool: four suction cups carried on a tool-change interface, fed by a plant vacuum connection. It is arranged for handling workpieces that do not cover the whole gripping face, cutting part of the circuit while the rest holds vacuum, clearing the face at release and exchanging the tool without rewiring the cell. 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 tool-change interface. The tool-change interface splits the tool into a robot side and a tool side, so the tool can be exchanged without dismantling it. The tool-change interface has a mechanical lock. [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 plant vacuum connection. The plant vacuum connection takes vacuum from the plant line, so the tool carries no generator of its own. [0005] Four isolation valves. Each isolation valve sits in the line it controls; closing it cuts that line without disturbing the rest of the circuit. The count of four follows from the arrangement: one valve per zone branch. Isolation is per zone. [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 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 short pulse. The blow-off pulse is given before set-down. [0008] The suction cups are carried on the tool side of the tool-change interface. [0009] The four zone branches are taken from a branch junction on the plant vacuum connection, so that each branch carries the vacuum of its own zone only. [0010] One isolation valve is placed in each zone branch, so that closing that valve cuts its zone from the circuit and leaves the other zones under vacuum. [0011] Each suction cup is connected to its own zone line, one suction cup per zone, and is evacuated through that line. [0012] 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. [0013] The robot side of the tool-change interface is bolted to the robot flange. [0014] The blow-off valve is fed from the compressed air supply of the cell. [0015] The isolation valves and the blow-off valve are switched by the cell controller. 3. Operating sequence and conditions [0016] - When the suction cups reach the workpiece, the suction cups are evacuated by the plant vacuum connection. [0017] - When a zone is not covered by the workpiece, the isolation valve of that zone is closed by the cell controller. [0018] - While the isolation valve of that zone is in the open state, the vacuum of a covered zone is maintained by the plant vacuum connection. [0019] - 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. [0020] - The workpiece is held until the blow-off valve has opened the circuit. [0021] The cell controller commands the blow-off valve, the isolation valves; no sensor drives an actuator directly. 4. Parameters and operating assumptions [0022] Parameter values of this embodiment: locking of the tool-change interface: mechanical (sets what has to be present at the interface for the tool to stay attached); 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); control of the isolation valves: per zone (sets which part of the circuit the valve cuts: one branch line on its own or the whole circuit); material of the isolation valves: steel; material of the zone branches: plastic; zones of the zone branches: four (sets how much of the face can be treated separately); duration of the blow-off valve: a short pulse (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). [0023] Which zones the workpiece covers is known to the controller from the workpiece programme; the arrangement provides the valve per zone and the controller decides which valves to close. [0024] 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. [0025] The blow-off is a short pulse: the valve opens for a fraction of a second, long enough to break the seal and clear the face, and closes again. [0026] A zone whose isolation valve is closed is cut from the common line and does not vent or blow off until its valve opens. [0027] 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. [0028] The lock is engaged by a manually operated lever on the interface; no supply crosses the interface for the lock, and tool exchange needs an operator at the tool. 5. Provenance and status [0029] 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-10259123-B2, US-11858125-B2, US-2016214812-A1, US-8132312-B2, WO-2026020244-A1; their text is not reproduced, and the description above is generated from the structure of the combination. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ OpenTechnical publication OT-2026-000013991 Published 2026-09-17T08:13:30.489074Z https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000013991