Suction Gripper Central Channel Convex Surface Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing suction grippers are susceptible to contamination and require a negative pressure source, making them difficult to clean and inefficient for transporting food items.
Innovation Solution
A suction gripper using a compressed air source with a central channel and convex surface design that generates negative pressure without a vacuum pump, featuring a grid or webs to prevent blockages and allow for easy cleaning, suitable for transporting food items and elastic objects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a negative pressure source or vacuum pump is used in the suction gripper, then negative pressure can be generated for lifting objects, but the device becomes susceptible to contamination and requires complex connections
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the negative pressure source (vacuum pump) from the system. Instead of using a vacuum pump that requires connections and creates contamination risks, the patent uses a simple compressed air source that blows air through the suction opening to generate negative pressure temporarily during the lifting cycle, eliminating the need for permanent vacuum connections and reducing contamination susceptibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces compressed air as an intermediary substance to generate negative pressure. The compressed air acts as a mediator that temporarily creates the necessary pressure differential without requiring a permanent vacuum system. The compressed air is supplied through a simple connection, passes through the suction opening, and creates negative pressure only when needed, eliminating the need for complex vacuum pump connections.
2Ease of operation
If a vacuum source is connected to the suction gripper, then lifting function is achieved, but the inner surfaces become difficult to clean and maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the vacuum source and its associated complex internal structures from the suction gripper. By using a simple compressed air source that blows air through the suction opening rather than creating a permanent vacuum, the design eliminates difficult-to-access internal vacuum channels and components, making the entire device much easier to clean and maintain while reducing contamination risks.
3Reliability
If a grid or webs are added to the suction opening, then blockages are prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies a grid or webs only at the suction opening where blockages are most likely to occur, rather than throughout the entire device. This localized approach provides effective blockage prevention for food particles and debris while adding minimal structural complexity. The grid or webs are simple elements that can be easily integrated into the suction opening without complicating the overall device design.
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
The solution provides a contamination-free and efficient method for transporting food items and elastic objects by generating negative pressure without a vacuum source, allowing for easy cleaning and precise portioning and handling of food items.
Implementation Method 1
a suction opening (18) in which negative pressure is generated with a drive which consists of a compressed air source
Implementation Method 2
The convex surface preferably extends rotationally symmetrically around the longitudinal axis of the central channel and particularly preferably has a curvature that is parabolic to the radius of the longitudinal central axis of the central channel, the slope of which increases in the direction of the longitudinal central axis of the central channel
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention provides a suction gripper whose drive means consists of a compressed air source, or which is configured so that a connectable drive means can consist of a compressed air source. The suction gripper according to the invention has a central channel (2) in a housing (13), which is preferably arranged along the longitudinal center axis of the housing. The central channel (2) has a first opening (5) that is spanned by a convex surface (4) around the central channel (2). The central channel has its smallest cross-section adjacent to the convex surface (4) and widens from this smallest cross-section towards its second opening (6), which is opposite the first opening (5).