Self-adapting flexible vacuum suction clamp with wavy sealing structure

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of self-adapting flexible vacuum suction clamps with wavy sealing structure, including main body pedestal, buffer layer, multiple vacuum chuck and wavy elastic sealing ring.The lower end surface of the main body pedestal is equipped with a layer of buffer layer, multiple vacuum chuck is installed in buffer layer surface and presents annular array arrangement, the wavy elastic sealing ring is set in the contact adsorption surface of each vacuum chuck.The structure is combined with workpiece by wavy sealing ring and the area of sticking, and forms flexible contact interface with buffer layer, effectively improve vacuum sealing performance, reduce clamping stress, with good workpiece adaptability and adsorption stability, especially suitable for the brittle workpiece clamping operation of the existence thickness tolerance or surface deformation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to a vacuum adsorption fixture, specifically an adaptive flexible vacuum adsorption fixture with a corrugated sealing structure. Background Technology

[0002] Vacuum adsorption fixtures are commonly used clamping tools in industrial automation manufacturing processes, and are widely used in the handling, positioning, and fixing of brittle or lightweight workpieces such as flat glass, ceramic substrates, silicon wafers, and thin film materials. Existing vacuum adsorption fixtures generally adopt a rigid base structure, with suction cups and sealing components mostly being planar contact rubber rings. The adsorption area is fixed, the spacing of the suction cups cannot be adjusted, and the vacuum pressure is generally a preset value, lacking real-time response capability.

[0003] The following technical problems exist in the practical use of this type of fixture:

[0004] On the one hand, due to the structural characteristics of the planar sealing ring, its contact area with the workpiece is small. Especially when the workpiece has slight warping, uneven thickness, or high surface roughness, local air leakage is very likely to occur, resulting in short vacuum holding time and poor adsorption stability. In severe cases, it may cause the workpiece to slip or fail to be transported.

[0005] On the other hand, due to the use of a rigid clamping structure, the stress applied to the workpiece by the clamp during the adsorption process is concentrated at the contact edge, which is especially prone to causing quality defects such as chipping and cracking for brittle materials such as glass and ceramics.

[0006] Meanwhile, most current vacuum adsorption systems adopt open-loop control, which cannot automatically adjust the adsorption intensity for workpieces with different dimensional tolerances or deformations, resulting in poor adaptability. When tooling changes frequently, manual intervention is required, leading to low efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0007] To address the aforementioned issues, this invention provides an adaptive flexible vacuum adsorption fixture with a wave-shaped sealing structure. This flexible vacuum adsorption fixture structure offers excellent sealing performance, alleviates clamping stress, and possesses adaptive vacuum adjustment capabilities, thereby enhancing the fixture's adaptability to workpieces of different shapes and improving production stability.

[0008] This utility model is achieved through the following technical solution: an adaptive flexible vacuum adsorption fixture with a corrugated sealing structure, comprising:

[0009] The main body base has a buffer layer on its lower end surface;

[0010] Multiple vacuum suction cups are installed on the surface of the buffer layer of the main body base, and the multiple vacuum suction cups are arranged in a ring array;

[0011] A wavy elastic sealing ring is provided on the contact adsorption surface of each of the vacuum suction cups.

[0012] As a preferred technical solution, the wavy elastic sealing ring is made of silicone, and its cross-section has a wavy structure with a crest spacing of 2mm and a wave height of 1mm, and has a compression deformation of ±0.3mm.

[0013] As a preferred technical solution, the center distance between adjacent vacuum suction cups is 20mm.

[0014] As a preferred technical solution, the main base is made of aluminum alloy, and the buffer layer is a polyurethane buffer layer.

[0015] As a preferred technical solution, the thickness of the polyurethane buffer layer is 2mm and the Shore hardness is 50A.

[0016] As a preferred technical solution, the corrugated sealing ring and the polyurethane buffer layer together form a flexible contact interface, which is used to relieve clamping stress and improve the adsorption stability of the workpiece.

[0017] As a preferred technical solution, the diameter of the vacuum suction cup is Φ15mm, and the number of suction cups is 12, arranged in concentric circles.

[0018] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: By employing a silicone elastic sealing ring with a wavy cross-section, the geometric design of its crest spacing and wave height allows the sealing ring to form multi-level contact surfaces under compression. Combined with the flexible support of the polyurethane buffer layer, this significantly increases the contact area with the workpiece surface. Actual measurements show an increase in sealing contact area of ​​approximately 40%, and a reduction in edge leakage rate from 30% in traditional structures to 9%, effectively extending the edge vacuum retention time and improving overall adsorption stability.

[0019] This invention achieves uniform pressure distribution in the vertical direction by setting a low-hardness (Shore 50A) polyurethane buffer layer on the surface of a rigid aluminum alloy substrate, thus avoiding localized stress concentration. Experiments show that this structure can control the unit pressure to 0.2 N / mm². 2 Within this range, the chipping rate of glass or ceramic workpieces has been reduced from 8% to 0.8%, effectively improving the clamping safety and yield of brittle workpieces. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a front structural diagram of the present invention;

[0023] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0024] 1. Main base; 2. Polyurethane buffer layer; 3. Vacuum suction cup; 4. Wave-shaped elastic sealing ring. Detailed Implementation

[0025] All features disclosed in this specification, or steps in all methods or processes disclosed herein, may be combined in any way, except for mutually exclusive features and / or steps.

[0026] Any feature disclosed in this specification (including any appended claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by other equivalent or similar features, unless specifically stated otherwise. That is, unless specifically stated otherwise, each feature is merely one example of a series of equivalent or similar features.

[0027] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, this utility model discloses an adaptive flexible vacuum adsorption fixture with a wave-shaped sealing structure. Its overall structure includes a main base 1, a buffer layer disposed at the lower end of the base, multiple vacuum suction cups 3 arranged on the surface of the buffer layer, and a wave-shaped elastic sealing ring 4 located on the adsorption contact surface of each vacuum suction cup 3. This structure, while ensuring vacuum sealing performance, effectively improves the fixture's adaptability to workpieces with large deformations or warping. Furthermore, through reasonable material and structural design, it reduces stress concentration on the workpiece during the adsorption process, thereby significantly reducing the risk of damage to brittle workpieces during clamping.

[0028] The main base 1 is made of aluminum alloy, preferably aluminum alloy sheet that has undergone T6 heat treatment, so that it can maintain high structural strength and dimensional stability while having good lightweight and corrosion resistance. As an integral support structure, the base has a buffer layer on its lower end face to improve the flexible contact between the clamp and the workpiece surface during the adsorption process, and prevent indentation, chipping or surface damage caused by local rigid contact.

[0029] The buffer layer is preferably made of polyurethane material with a thickness of 2mm and a Shore hardness of 50A. This ensures that it possesses both good elastic buffering performance and stable deformation and rebound behavior under suction negative pressure, forming a uniform clamping load distribution and effectively avoiding the clamping stress concentration problem present in traditional rigid suction cups. The buffer layer is fixed to the lower surface of the aluminum alloy base by gluing or hot pressing, covering the entire suction cup array area and ensuring that the entire suction surface has consistent flexible response characteristics.

[0030] Multiple vacuum suction cups 3 mounted on the surface of the buffer layer are standard adsorption units used to temporarily fix the workpiece by negative pressure adsorption. These vacuum suction cups 3 are preferably small suction cups with a diameter of Φ15mm, which facilitates dense distribution and ensures that each suction cup has sufficient adsorption force.

[0031] In this specific embodiment, a total of 12 suction cups are arranged in a concentric circle to ensure that the adhesion force is evenly distributed on the workpiece surface, thereby improving the stability and safety of large-area adhesion. The center distance between adjacent suction cups is set to 20mm, and the spacing tolerance is controlled within ±0.1mm to meet the fixture requirements for automated positioning and installation and coverage of multiple workpiece sizes.

[0032] To further improve the stability of vacuum sealing, each vacuum suction cup 3 is provided with a wave-shaped elastic sealing ring 4 on its adsorption surface. The sealing ring is made of silicone material, preferably with a Shore hardness of 60A, which has good elasticity and compressive deformation resistance, and is suitable for repeated compression and deformation recovery processes.

[0033] The sealing ring has a wavy cross-section with specific parameters of 2mm crest spacing and 1mm wave height. This structure can form multiple contact points or contact surfaces during the adsorption process, enhancing the adhesion to the workpiece surface. Even if the workpiece has certain warping or thickness errors, it can still achieve effective sealing coverage.

[0034] In practical applications, when the vacuum adsorption system is activated, multiple vacuum suction cups 3 provide negative pressure through a vacuum source, driving the corrugated sealing ring to undergo elastic compression. The crest structure then unfolds, forming a flexible bonding interface. This interface, supported by the polyurethane buffer layer 2, produces limited and controllable deformation, thereby enabling the fixture to adapt to workpiece deformation within a range of ±0.3mm.

[0035] During the adsorption process, the vacuum suction cup 3 forms a closed cavity with the workpiece surface through the sealing ring, thereby establishing a stable negative pressure adsorption state. Due to the redundancy of the multi-point contact structure, even if a slight leak occurs in some areas, the remaining sealing points can still maintain the overall negative pressure, significantly improving the reliability of the fixture.

[0036] In addition, the wavy sealing ring and the buffer layer form a flexible composite clamping interface, which not only improves the overall sealing and fitting effect, but also effectively disperses the local clamping force during the adsorption process, forming a more uniform pressure distribution and preventing damage to the surface of brittle or sensitive workpieces.

[0037] Through the above structural design, the adsorption fixture in this embodiment can significantly reduce the risk of adsorption failure caused by uneven contact or unstable vacuum in actual operation. It is particularly suitable for efficient adsorption and clamping of workpieces with large dimensional tolerances, easy deformation or high surface quality requirements in automated production lines.

[0038] While maintaining structural strength and vacuum adsorption capacity, this clamping structure achieves superior sealing effect, clamping flexibility, and adaptability through the combination of a corrugated sealing ring, a buffer layer, and an array of suction cups. It represents a significant improvement over existing technologies and has promising prospects for industrial application.

[0039] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this utility model, but the protection scope of this utility model is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions conceived without inventive effort should be included within the protection scope of this utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of this utility model should be determined by the scope defined in the claims.

Claims

1. An adaptive flexible vacuum suction gripper having a wavy seal structure, characterized by, include: The main body base (1) has a buffer layer on its lower end surface; Multiple vacuum suction cups (3) are installed on the buffer layer surface of the main body base (1), and the multiple vacuum suction cups (3) are arranged in a ring array; A wave-shaped elastic sealing ring (4) is provided on the contact adsorption surface of each of the vacuum suction cups (3).

2. The self-adapting flexible vacuum suction clamp with wave-shaped sealing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wave-shaped elastic sealing ring (4) is made of silicone. Its cross-section has a wave-shaped structure with a peak spacing of 2mm and a peak height of 1mm, and has a compression deformation of ±0.3mm.

3. The self-adapting flexible vacuum suction clamp with wave-shaped sealing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The center distance between adjacent vacuum suction cups (3) is 20mm.

4. The self-adapting flexible vacuum suction clamp with wave-shaped sealing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main base (1) is made of aluminum alloy, and the buffer layer is a polyurethane buffer layer (2).

5. The adaptive flexible vacuum adsorption fixture with a corrugated sealing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The polyurethane buffer layer (2) has a thickness of 2 mm and a Shore hardness of 50 A.

6. The self-adapting flexible vacuum suction clamp with wave-shaped sealing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The corrugated sealing ring and the polyurethane buffer layer (2) together form a flexible contact interface, which is used to relieve clamping stress and improve the adsorption stability of the workpiece.

7. The self-adapting flexible vacuum suction clamp with wave-shaped sealing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The diameter of the vacuum suction cup (3) is Φ15mm, and there are 12 suction cups arranged in concentric circles.

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