OpenTechnical

OT-2026-000050626

Foam pad vacuum gripper, single stage ejector, vented before set-down

Published
Permanent URL
Classification
Robotics & Automation › End Effectors › Vacuum Grippers
Also classified in
Vacuum Generation, Vacuum Safety Systems, Sealing and Suction Pads
Document SHA-256
56012e609603767befde627606b35a450fed0e13ae6cd97cec3d9199e2808ccd

Abstract

A foam-pad vacuum gripping tool comprising one mounting flange, one foam pad, one ejector and one vent valve. When the foam pad reaches the workpiece, the foam pad is evacuated by the ejector. Before the workpiece reaches the set-down position, the vacuum circuit is vented by the vent 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 foam-pad vacuum gripping tool: one foam pad carried on a mounting flange, fed by an ejector. It is arranged for controlling the moment of release and holding a workpiece that a rigid lip cannot seal against. 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]One foam pad. The foam pad presents a compliant face to the workpiece; the holding force is spread over the contact area rather than concentrated at a lip. The pad is of open cell foam.

[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 vent valve. The vent valve opens the circuit it is connected to towards atmosphere, which ends the grip. The circuit is vented before set-down.

[0006]The foam pad is carried on the tool side of the mounting flange.

[0007]The ejector is fixed to the tool side of the mounting flange.

[0008]The foam pad is connected to the ejector outlet by a single vacuum line, so that the face is evacuated through that line.

[0009]The vent valve is connected to the circuit at the ejector outlet and opens that circuit to atmosphere when it is actuated.

[0010]The robot side of the mounting flange is bolted to the robot flange.

[0011]The ejector is fed from the compressed air supply of the cell.

[0012]The vent valve is switched by the cell controller.

3. Operating sequence and conditions

[0013]

  • When the foam pad reaches the workpiece, the foam pad is evacuated by the ejector.

[0014]

  • Before the workpiece reaches the set-down position, the vacuum circuit is vented by the vent valve while the workpiece is above the receiving surface.

[0015]

  • The workpiece is held until the vent valve has opened the circuit.

[0016]The cell controller commands the vent valve; no sensor drives an actuator directly.

4. Parameters and operating assumptions

[0017]Parameter values of this embodiment: material of the foam pad: sponge (sets the compliance of the sealing face); porosity of the foam pad: open cell (sets whether air passes through the pad body or only through openings cut through it); stages of the ejector: one (sets the flow drawn at low vacuum and the compressed air consumed while a sealed face is held); timing of the vent valve: before set-down (sets whether the workpiece is released before or after it is supported by the set-down surface).

[0018]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.

[0019]The open-cell foam passes air through its whole face, so an uncovered part of the face draws air through the pad itself; the supply is sized for that continuous flow and the pad relies on flow restriction through the foam, not on a seal, to hold vacuum behind a covered area.

5. Provenance and status

[0020]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 EP-4385681-B1, US-10549431-B2, WO-2008134339-A4; their text is not reproduced, and the description above is generated from the structure of the combination.

Publication information

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Citation

OpenTechnical Publication OT-2026-000050626, “Foam pad vacuum gripper, single stage ejector, vented before set-down,” published September 17, 2026 at 08:36:14 UTC, https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000050626.

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Published through OpenTechnical, which means it has been made publicly available here. It is not a statement that the design has been built, tested or independently validated. Content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. See the publication policy.