Actuator Negative Pressure Structure for Rotating Shaft
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional actuators that perform pick-and-place operations face issues with damage to air pipes and rotation equipment due to movement and rotation loads, leading to decreased accuracy in movement and rotation control when generating negative pressure for workpiece suction.
Innovation Solution
A negative pressure-generating structure for actuators with a movable and rotatable shaft, featuring a hollow shaft with an insertion hole and communication hole, allowing air to be sucked from an inner space to generate pressure at the shaft tip without direct attachment of air pipes or rotation equipment, thereby maintaining accuracy and preventing damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an air pipe is connected to the shaft to generate negative pressure, then negative pressure can be generated at the shaft tip, but the air pipe may be damaged due to repeated movement and rotation loads
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into a rotating part (shaft with hollow interior) and a stationary part (air passage in housing). The air passage is segmented into multiple holes distributed along the shaft, allowing the shaft to rotate independently while maintaining airtight connection for negative pressure generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow interior of the shaft acts as an intermediary between the rotating shaft and the stationary air passage. Air flows through the air passage into the hollow interior, then to the tip, enabling negative pressure generation without direct connection between rotating and stationary components.
2Reliability
If rotation equipment such as a rotary joint is interposed between the shaft and air pipe, then the air pipe load is reduced, but the rotation equipment may be damaged and control accuracy decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The air passage is extracted from the rotating shaft and placed in the stationary housing. This eliminates the need for rotary joints or rotation equipment, as the air supply path is separated from the rotating component, thereby maintaining control accuracy while protecting the air pipe.
3Reliability
If air pipe and rotation equipment are attached to the shaft, then negative pressure can be generated, but decrease in accuracy of movement control and rotation control occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The air supply system is segmented into stationary components (air passage in housing) and rotating components (shaft with hollow interior). This segmentation allows the shaft to move and rotate freely without attached air pipes or rotation equipment, maintaining control accuracy while enabling negative pressure generation through the hollow interior.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration allows for precise adjustment and generation of negative pressure at the shaft tip for workpiece suction, enhancing the accuracy of movement and rotation control while avoiding damage to air pipes and rotation equipment.
Implementation Method 1
an air passage connected to the inner space, the air passage being a passage of air when air in the inner space is sucked to generate the negative pressure at the tip of the shaft
Implementation Method 2
the actuator being configured to generate a negative pressure at a tip of the shaft to suction the workpiece onto the tip
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention more suitably adjusts a pressure at a tip of a shaft in an actuator configured to generate a negative pressure at the tip of the shaft, to pick up a workpiece with the shaft. A negative pressure-generating structure to be applied to the actuator includes an insertion hole into which the shaft is inserted in a state where a space is formed between the shaft and a wall surface of the insertion hole, an inner space formed inside the negative pressure-generating structure, which communicates with a hollow part of the shaft through a communication hole formed in the shaft, and an air passage connected to the inner space, the air passage being a passage of air when air in the inner space is sucked to generate the negative pressure at the tip of the shaft.