Flexible Cover Manipulator for Cleanroom Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manipulators used in clean environments face challenges in maintaining cleanliness, especially when work subjects are deposited on their end effectors, leading to reduced utilization and sensor sensitivity issues due to accumulated debris.
Innovation Solution
A manipulator design featuring an expandable and contractible fixing member with a flexible cover that can be easily attached and detached using fluid supply means, allowing for quick cleaning and maintenance of the end effector, while preventing foreign matter deposition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If the manipulator structure is designed to facilitate cleaning, then cleaning ease is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional movable parts
Solution Approach 1:
The end effector is segmented from the manipulator body through a detachable flexible cover. This cover can be removed and replaced independently, allowing cleaning without disassembling the entire manipulator structure. The segmentation enables maintenance of cleaning ease while avoiding increased overall structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible cover is designed as a disposable or easily replaceable component that can be discarded when soiled and recovered/replaced with a clean one. This approach simplifies the cleaning process by allowing direct replacement rather than complex disassembly and reassembly, maintaining cleaning ease without requiring complex structural modifications.
2Ease of repair
If cleaning is performed by stopping work, then cleaning thoroughness is improved, but productivity decreases due to work interruption
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible cover is pre-configured as a detachable component that can be quickly removed and replaced. This preliminary design allows cleaning to be performed by simply swapping covers rather than stopping for thorough cleaning procedures, maintaining cleaning effectiveness while minimizing work interruption and preserving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of performing time-consuming cleaning procedures that require stopping work, the system allows rapid cover replacement. This skipping of lengthy cleaning processes maintains adequate cleaning thoroughness while significantly reducing work interruption time, thereby preserving productivity and utilization rate.
3Measurement precision
If sensors are exposed for accurate detection, then measurement precision is improved, but sensor sensitivity deteriorates due to foreign matter accumulation
Solution Approach 1:
A flexible cover is placed over the end effector and sensor areas to prevent foreign matter accumulation. This thin film barrier maintains sensor sensitivity by keeping sensors clean, while the cover's flexibility allows it to conform to the end effector shape without interfering with detection accuracy, thus preserving both measurement precision and sensor reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible cover acts as an intermediary between the external environment and the sensors. It prevents direct contact between foreign matters and sensors, maintaining sensor sensitivity. The cover is designed to be transparent or non-interfering with sensor detection, allowing accurate measurement while protecting sensor reliability from degradation due to contamination.
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
Enables rapid recovery of end effector cleanliness, enhances utilization by allowing continuous operation, and maintains sensor sensitivity by preventing debris accumulation.
Implementation Method 1
first fluid supply means for supplying fluid to the first space. The manipulator is configured to fix a flexible cover for covering the end effector to the support member by supplying the fluid to the first space to increase a size of the fixing member
Data Source
AI summary
A manipulator includes an end effector, a support member that supports the end effector, and a fixing member provided to the support member and made of a tube-shaped flexible film with a space therein. In the manipulator, a fluid is supplied to the space of the fixing member to inflate the fixing member so that a flexible cover for covering the end effector is fixed to the support member. Accordingly, cleanness of the end effector is restored.