Robot Hand Cooling Mechanism for High-Temperature Saggar Handling

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Robot hands malfunction due to the hand arm unit being heated when holding high-temperature saggars, leading to operational failures.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating a cooling mechanism within the hand arm unit to cool the hand arm unit, utilizing cooling gases or compressed air to prevent overheating and integrating a heat shielding member to reduce direct heat transfer.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the hand arm unit holds a high-temperature saggar, then the robot hand can perform heat treatment tasks, but the hand arm unit becomes heated leading to malfunction

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to hold high-temperature saggarVSAvoidrobot hand operation reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The hand arm unit is divided into thermally isolated segments with insulating barriers between the saggar contact area and the actuator mechanisms. This segmentation prevents heat transfer from the high-temperature saggar to the sensitive mechanical components, allowing the robot to handle hot objects while maintaining operational reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

A cooling mechanism acts as an intermediary between the heated hand arm unit and the environment. This intermediary system actively removes heat from the hand arm unit, preventing temperature buildup that would cause malfunction while enabling continuous operation during saggar handling tasks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If cooling mechanism is added to cool the hand arm unit, then malfunction is prevented, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverobot hand operation reliabilityVSAvoidhand arm unit structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

A pneumatic cooling system is integrated into the hand arm unit, using compressed gas flow to remove heat. This approach provides effective cooling while maintaining relatively simple system architecture compared to liquid cooling systems, as it avoids additional pumps, hoses, and fluid management components.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #29Pneumatics and hydraulics

Solution Approach 2:

The cooling mechanism is merged with the existing hand arm unit structure rather than being added as a separate external system. The cooling channels and insulating elements are integrated into the design of the hand arm unit itself, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining cooling effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

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

Prevents the hand arm unit from reaching high temperatures, thereby preventing malfunction and ensuring the robot hand's operational reliability when handling high-temperature saggars.

Implementation Method 1

a cooling mechanism for cooling the hand arm unit

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectCooling: Cooling

Data Source

PatentUS20250296240A1Robot hand and robot

Publication Date: 2025.09.25 NGK INSULATORS LTD

AI summary

A robot hand may include a hand arm unit for holding a saggar conveyed out from a heat treatment furnace and a cooling mechanism for cooling the hand arm unit. A robot may include a robot arm and the robot hand attached to the robot arm and configured to hold the saggar conveyed out from the heat treatment furnace.