Adsorption cup for vacuum systems

Abstract

The present invention relates to a suction cup used for gripping an object in a vacuum system. The suction cup of the present invention is detachably provided with a cover portion inside a lip portion which comes into contact with the surface of the object and forms an enclosed space, and causes the air inside the enclosed space to be discharged through the edge portion of the cover portion when the suction cup is exhausted, thereby causing the pressure drop point at the time of suction of the object to be widely or dispersedly formed around the edge of the object. Therefore, compared to the case where the pressure drop is concentrated at one point, the "cup phenomenon" can be maximally suppressed from occurring on the surface of the object W.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a vacuum adsorption cup, and more particularly to an adsorption cup used in conjunction with a vacuum pump to form a so-called "vacuum system". Background Technology

[0002] Generally speaking, a vacuum system refers to an object handling system, which includes: a vacuum jet pump that operates by high-speed compressed air; an adsorption cup connected to the suction port of the jet pump; and a robotic device for transporting the object adsorbed and held by the adsorption cup to a certain position.

[0003] In short, when high-speed compressed air passes through the vacuum pump and is discharged to the outside, the air inside the adsorption cup is introduced into the jet pump and discharged together with the compressed air, creating a vacuum and negative pressure inside the adsorption cup. The resulting negative pressure causes the object to be adsorbed and held at the bottom of the adsorption cup, at which point the robot operates to transport the object to the designated position.

[0004] In particular, when the article or its packaging is made of a flexible material such as plastic, a phenomenon occurs during the adsorption process where the contact portion is drawn into the central hole of the adsorption cup (hereinafter referred to as the "cup phenomenon"). The result, for example, is... Figure 1 As shown, the adsorbed portion elongates and wrinkles, resulting in protruding surface deformation. In fact, in many cases, the degree of deformation is even greater than... Figure 1 The condition shown is more severe and cannot be restored to its original state. Therefore, various solutions have been proposed to prevent this type of deformation.

[0005] Figure 2 An example of prior art is shown, namely the "vacuum adsorption pad capable of eliminating cupping phenomenon" disclosed in Utility Model Registration No. 20-0483004. The adsorption pad includes: a main body 1 having a central vent hole 2; a plurality of planar portions 3 and protrusions 4 formed radially from the vent hole 2 at the lower end of the main body 1; and an end lip 5 of the main body 1 surrounding the planar portions 3.

[0006] Furthermore, it should be noted here that when an item is adsorbed, the plastic surface makes surface contact with the flat portion 3 and the protrusion 4, generating friction, and therefore it will not be sucked into the central exhaust hole 2. However, in the structure of this patent, when the adsorption pad is vented using a vacuum pump, the pressure drop is concentrated at the end portion of the central exhaust hole 2, so the aforementioned "cup phenomenon" is inevitable.

[0007] In fact, in the aforementioned patent, even if the flat portion 3 and the protrusion 4 have a resistance effect, their effect is presumed to be extremely weak.

[0008] Prior art literature Utility Model Registration Publication No. 20-0483004 Utility Model Registration Publication No. 20-0492255 Patent Registration Publication No. 10-1674971 Patent Registration Publication No. 10-2050894 Summary of the Invention

[0009] Technical issues This invention aims to address the problems existing in the prior art. The objective of this invention is to provide an adsorption cup for a vacuum system, which, by dispersing the pressure drop point during exhaust from the adsorption cup at multiple sites, suppresses the aforementioned cupping phenomenon as much as possible. Furthermore, it provides an adsorption cup for a vacuum system that is simple in structure and can be assembled.

[0010] Technical solution The adsorption cup of the present invention includes: A main body portion having a central vent hole; an adsorption portion formed on the end side of the main body portion and whose internal space communicates with the vent hole. The adsorption section includes: It comes into contact with the surface of the object being adsorbed to form a lip that surrounds the space; A cover portion disposed in the center of the interior of the lip portion, and whose edge portion connects the enclosed space with the vent. At this time, the cover causes the pressure drop point of the object W to be vacuum adsorbed to be widely formed or dispersed in multiple sites around its edge.

[0011] Preferably, the lip portion includes: Multiple guide protrusions are formed radially on the inner wall centered on the cover, for guiding the internal air of the enclosing space to the edge of the cover.

[0012] The cover is detachably attached to the lip.

[0013] In this case, the lip portion includes: Multiple spokes are formed in a cross shape or radial pattern around the central cover mounting hole and extend to the guide protrusion. A channel formed between adjacent spokes that connects the enclosing space with the vent.

[0014] On the other hand, the guide protrusion includes: A stop portion formed at its radially oriented central side corner, for accommodating the edge portion of the mounted cover.

[0015] Invention Effects In the adsorption cup structure of the present invention, the pressure drop point during vacuum adsorption of the object is widely distributed or dispersed at multiple sites around the edge of the cover. Therefore, it has the special effect of maximally suppressing the aforementioned "cup phenomenon," which originates from a single point concentrated in the center. Furthermore, since the cover is detachable with a lip portion, it has a simple structure and is easy to assemble. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating the surface deformation caused by the so-called "cup phenomenon".

[0017] Figure 2 A three-dimensional view showing the structure of an existing adsorption cup.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a perspective view of the adsorption cup according to the present invention.

[0019] Figure 4 for Figure 3 The exploded diagram.

[0020] Figure 5 for Figure 3 A sectional view.

[0021] Figure 6 For illustrative purposes Figure 3 A diagram illustrating its function.

[0022] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures 10: Adsorption Cup 11: Main body 12: Exhaust port 13: Adsorption section 14: Connector 15: Lip area 16: cover 17: Guide protrusion 18: Spokes 19: Mounting holes 20: Channel 21: Fastening protrusion 22: Stop section 'B': Dashed line 'd': gap 'P': Jet pump 'S': Enclosing space 'W': Object Detailed Implementation

[0023] The features and effects of the above-described or undescribed "adsorption cup for vacuum systems" (hereinafter referred to as "adsorption cup") of the present invention will become clearer from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 3 In the accompanying drawings and subsequent figures, the adsorption cup according to the invention is indicated by reference numeral '10'.

[0024] Reference Figures 3 to 5 The adsorption cup 10 according to the present invention is based on a conventional adsorption cup structure, comprising: a main body 11 having a central vent 12; and an adsorption portion 13 formed on the end side of the main body 11 and having an internal space communicating with the vent 12. The adsorption cup 10 is connected to a separately provided jet pump (see...). Figure 6 The reference numeral 'P' in the attached drawings together constitute the vacuum system. Reference numeral 14 indicates a through-type fitting inserted into and fixed to the main body 11.

[0025] In this invention, the adsorption part 13 includes: a lip part 15 that contacts the surface of the object to be adsorbed and forms an internal enclosing space S; and a cover part 16 disposed in the center of the interior of the lip part 15 and communicating the enclosing space S with the vent hole 12 through its edge portion. In this embodiment, the object is presented as an article or the packaging of an article is made of a flexible material such as plastic.

[0026] In a conventional structure, the enclosing space S is directly connected to the lower end of the exhaust port 12. Therefore, when the jet pump operates and exhausts gas from the enclosing space S, a pressure drop is concentrated at the lower end of the exhaust port 12. This results in... Figure 1 The so-called "cup phenomenon" is shown.

[0027] Therefore, in this embodiment, an airtight cover 16 is provided inside the lip portion 15, at the position corresponding to the front end of the vent hole 12, and the enclosing space S is connected to the vent hole 12 through its edge portion; thereby, when the object W is vacuum-adsorbed, the pressure drop point is widely formed or dispersed at multiple sites around the edge of the cover 16; thus, the "cup phenomenon" mentioned above on the surface of the object is suppressed to the greatest extent. Of course, the cover 16 should be designed so that its edge is not sealed.

[0028] In this embodiment, the lip portion 15 includes a plurality of guide protrusions 17 formed on the inner sidewall of the lip portion 15 and arranged radially around the cover portion 16, guiding the air in the space S to the edge of the cover portion 16. This structure not only enables the airflow around the space S to be more rapid and smooth when exhausting, but is also quite advantageous in dispersing the pressure drop point at multiple points over a wide range.

[0029] Although the cover 16 may be integrally formed with the lip 15, in this embodiment it is configured to be detachably installed.

[0030] Specifically, the lip portion 15 includes: Multiple spokes 18, arranged in a cross or radial pattern around the central mounting hole 19 of the cover 16, extend to the guide protrusion 17; and Channel 20 is formed between adjacent spokes 18, connecting the enclosing space S → edge of cover 16 → vent 12.

[0031] Reference numeral 21 indicates a fastening protrusion that protrudes from the aforementioned disc-shaped cover portion 16 and is inserted into the mounting hole 19 for fixation.

[0032] On the other hand, the guide protrusion 17 includes a stop 22 formed on a radially oriented central side corner portion for accommodating the edge portion of the mounted cover 16. Therefore, the cover 16 can always maintain a constant gap d corresponding to the height of the stop 22 relative to the inner surface of the lip portion 15, ultimately benefiting that the edge portion of the cover 16 will not be closed.

[0033] Reference Figure 6 The adsorption cup 10 of the present invention and the vacuum jet pump P together constitute a vacuum system, and the lip portion 15 contacts the surface of the object W and forms an enclosing space S inside.

[0034] In this state, when the high-speed supplied compressed air passes through the jet pump P (see arrow ①), the air inside the enclosing space S passes sequentially through the enclosing space S → edge of the cover 16 → channel 20 → exhaust port 12, and is introduced into the interior of the jet pump P (see arrow ②), and discharged to the outside along with the compressed air (see arrow ③). During this exhaust process, a vacuum and negative pressure are generated in the enclosing space S, and the object W is attracted and held by the negative pressure generated.

[0035] In this system, the object W being held will be transported to a designated location or position by a separate robotic device.

[0036] Simultaneously refer to Figure 3 During the aforementioned exhaust process, the internal air of the enclosing space S enters the exhaust port 12 through the edge of the cover 16, particularly between adjacent guide protrusions 17 (see arrow ④). That is, in the adsorption cup 10 of the present invention, the pressure drop points that generate the adsorption force on the object W are dispersed at multiple sites around the edge of the cover 16.

[0037] Therefore, compared to the situation where the pressure drop is concentrated at one site, it can suppress the above-mentioned "cup phenomenon" on the surface of object W to the greatest extent.

[0038] on the other hand, Figure 5The dashed line B indicates that the surface of the cover 16 can be configured as a gently concave shape. This concave shape provides ample space for the object W to slightly extend its surface when it is adsorbed, while also generating a small amount of adsorption force on the surface portion of the cover 16, except for the edge portion. This is the significance of the structure.

Claims

1. An adsorption cup comprising a main body (11) having a central vent hole (12) and an adsorption portion (13) formed on the end side of the main body (11) and having an internal space communicating with the vent hole (12), a vacuum adsorption cup. Its features are, The adsorption section (13) includes: A lip portion (15) that contacts the surface of the adsorbed object (W) and forms an enclosing space (S); a cover portion (16) disposed in the center of the interior of the lip portion (15) and communicating the enclosing space (S) with the exhaust port (12) through its edge portion. The lip portion (15) includes: Multiple guide protrusions (17) are formed radially on the inner wall around the cover (16) to guide the internal air of the enclosing space (S) to the edge side of the cover (16). The cover (16): The pressure drop point of the object (W) during vacuum adsorption is widely formed around its edge or dispersed in multiple sites, and is installed in a detachable manner on the lip (15). At this time, the lip portion (15) includes: Multiple spokes (18) are formed in a cross shape or radially around the central cover (16) mounting hole (19) and extend to the guide protrusion (17); and a channel (20) is formed between adjacent spokes (18) for communicating the enclosing space (S) with the vent (12).

2. The adsorption cup according to claim 1, characterized in that, The guide protrusion (17) includes a stop (22) formed at its radial central side corner for accommodating the edge portion of the installed cover (16).

3. The adsorption cup according to claim 1, characterized in that, The surface of the cover (16) is configured as a slowly concave shape.

Images