OpenTechnical

OT-2026-000101590

Two bellows cup vacuum gripper, two zone face, pump fed, pulsed blow-off after set-down

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Classification
Robotics & Automation › End Effectors › Vacuum Grippers
Also classified in
Valves and Manifolds, Vacuum Generation, Vacuum Safety Systems
Document SHA-256
69728cc73e833a23e52f5b32e46d1479cb6b937bb4fff762c6f67bf07db00ced

Abstract

A zoned vacuum gripping tool comprising one mounting flange, two bellows cups, one vacuum pump, two zone branches and one blow-off valve. When the bellows cups reach the workpiece, the bellows cups are evacuated by the vacuum pump. After the workpiece has reached the set-down position, the workpiece is blown off by the blow-off 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: two bellows cups carried on a mounting flange, fed by a vacuum pump. It is arranged for handling workpieces that do not cover the whole gripping face, clearing the face at release and taking up height differences at the face. 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 bellows cups. Each bellows cup is folded so that it shortens under vacuum and takes up a height difference between the face and the workpiece. The count of two follows from the arrangement: one gripping element per zone branch. Each bellows cup has two folds.

[0004]One vacuum pump. The pump draws the circuit down mechanically and adds its own mass to the moving assembly.

[0005]Two zone branches. Each zone branch carries the vacuum of one zone of the face and no other. The count of two follows from the arrangement: one branch per zone. The distribution is divided into two zones, each fed by its own branch.

[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 short pulse. The blow-off pulse is given after set-down.

[0007]The bellows cups are carried on the tool side of the mounting flange.

[0008]The vacuum pump is fixed to the tool side of the mounting flange.

[0009]The two zone branches are taken from a branch junction on the pump inlet line, so that each branch carries the vacuum of its own zone only.

[0010]Each bellows cup is connected to its own zone line, one bellows cup per zone, and is evacuated through that line.

[0011]The blow-off valve is connected to the circuit at the pump inlet line, 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 pump motor is supplied from the electrical supply of the cell.

[0014]The blow-off valve is fed from the compressed air supply of the cell.

[0015]The blow-off valve is switched by the cell controller.

3. Operating sequence and conditions

[0016]

  • When the bellows cups reach the workpiece, the bellows cups are evacuated by the vacuum pump.

[0017]

  • After the workpiece has reached the set-down position, the workpiece is blown off by the blow-off valve.

[0018]

  • The workpiece is held until the blow-off valve has opened the circuit.

[0019]The cell controller commands the blow-off valve; no sensor drives an actuator directly.

4. Parameters and operating assumptions

[0020]Parameter values of this embodiment: folds of the bellows cups: two (sets the travel taken up between the face and the workpiece, and the lateral stiffness of the cup under load); material of the bellows cups: plastic (sets the friction at the lip and the resistance of the folds to fatigue); drive medium of the vacuum pump: electric (sets the supply the pump motor needs from the cell); material of the zone branches: plastic; zones of the zone branches: two (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: after set-down (sets whether the pulse assists a drop release or clears the face after set-down).

[0021]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.

5. Provenance and status

[0022]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-4489564-B1, US-10549431-B2, US-11427405-B1, US-8132312-B2, WO-2026020244-A1; 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-2026-000101590, “Two bellows cup vacuum gripper, two zone face, pump fed, pulsed blow-off after set-down,” published September 17, 2026 at 09:13:02 UTC, https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000101590.

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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.