OpenTechnical

OT-2026-000060457

Single cup vacuum gripper, common isolation valve, three stage ejector, vented after set-down

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Permanent URL
Classification
Robotics & Automation › End Effectors › Vacuum Grippers
Also classified in
Position and Presence Sensing, Valves and Manifolds, Vacuum Generation
Document SHA-256
64a223819f2e6ece373b42a978021e0da88d693d2c8f25253d2b7c92076e68a3

Abstract

A suction-cup vacuum gripping tool comprising one mounting flange, one suction cup, one ejector, one isolation valve, one contact detector and one vent valve. When the suction cup reaches the workpiece, the suction cup is 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 suction-cup vacuum gripping tool: one suction cup carried on a mounting flange, fed by an ejector. It is arranged for cutting part of the circuit while the rest holds vacuum, starting the cycle at the moment of contact 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]One suction cup. Each suction cup presents a sealing lip to the workpiece and is evacuated through its own connection. The suction cups are of the flat 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 three stages.

[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]One contact detector. The contact detector reports the moment a workpiece is present at the gripping face; its sensing technology is not fixed by this arrangement. The contact detector is mounted on the gripping face.

[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 cup is 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 suction cup is connected to the isolation valve outlet by a single vacuum line, so that the face is evacuated through that line.

[0012]The contact detector is mounted on the gripping face and reports the moment a workpiece is present against the gripping face.

[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; the contact detector reports to the cell controller.

3. Operating sequence and conditions

[0017]

  • After the contact detector has detected the workpiece, the vacuum supply is actuated by the cell controller.

[0018]

  • When the suction cup reaches the workpiece, the suction cup is evacuated by the ejector.

[0019]

  • After the suction cup has reached the workpiece, the isolation valve is closed by the cell controller.

[0020]

  • While the isolation valve is in the closed state, the vacuum downstream of the valve is maintained by the sealed gripping face.

[0021]

  • After the workpiece has reached the set-down position, the vacuum circuit is vented by the vent valve.

[0022]

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

[0023]The cell controller reads the contact detector (on the gripping face) and commands the isolation valve, the vent valve; no sensor drives an actuator directly.

4. Parameters and operating assumptions

[0024]Parameter values of this embodiment: form of the suction cup: flat (sets the shape of the contact area and the behaviour of the lip on a curved workpiece); material of the suction cup: polyurethane (sets the friction at the lip and the tolerance of the lip to oil and heat); stages of the ejector: three (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; placement of the contact detector: on the gripping face (sets where the presence of the workpiece is detected); 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

[0025]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, US-2022339798-A1, 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-2026-000060457, “Single cup vacuum gripper, common isolation valve, three stage ejector, vented after set-down,” published September 17, 2026 at 08:45:21 UTC, https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000060457.

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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.