Vacuum Crane Pick-Up Device with Adjustable Tolerance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vacuum crane games struggle to pick up flat, smooth, and thin objects due to the limitations of traditional mechanical claws, and there is a need to offer a wider variety of prizes while maintaining game difficulty and profitability.
Innovation Solution
A vacuum pick-up device with a disk and radially extending projections that can adjust tolerance to capture cup-shaped targets, allowing for varying win percentages and prize values without altering the game setup.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a vacuum device is used to pick up flat, smooth, and thin objects, then the variety of prizes that can be offered is improved, but the difficulty of controlling the vacuum suction force increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum head is divided into multiple independent vacuum ports arranged in a circular pattern, allowing selective activation of individual ports. This segmentation enables the system to handle different prize types and sizes by activating only the necessary ports, reducing overall control complexity while maintaining versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum suction force is made dynamically adjustable through a variable orifice plate that can change the size of the vacuum ports during operation. This dynamic adjustment allows the same vacuum head to adapt to different prize characteristics (flat, smooth, thin objects) without requiring multiple fixed vacuum heads, thereby improving prize variety while controlling complexity.
2Ease of operation
If the vacuum head is positioned away from the crane mechanism, then the maneuverability of the crane is improved, but the length of the hose connecting the vacuum pump increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum system is segmented into a separate vacuum pump unit and a mobile vacuum head, allowing the pump to be positioned remotely while the head follows the crane. This segmentation enables the crane to maneuver freely without hose constraints while maintaining effective vacuum operation through the extended hose connection.
3Device complexity
If a mechanical claw is used to pick up prizes, then the structure is simple, but the variety of prizes that can be picked up is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical claw system is replaced with a vacuum-based pick-up mechanism. This substitution eliminates the need for complex mechanical gripping structures while enabling the pickup of diverse prize types including flat, smooth, and thin objects that cannot be grasped by mechanical means. The vacuum system achieves superior prize variety with simpler overall structure.
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 the capture of cup-shaped prizes with adjustable difficulty, providing flexibility in prize offerings and maintaining game balance by allowing more expensive prizes with tight tolerances and lesser prizes with higher winning chances.
Implementation Method 1
a suction force that is provided by a vacuum pump coupled to the vacuum head by a hose
Data Source
AI summary
An arcade game pick-up device for use with hollow cylindrical targets that can be picked-up by applying a suction force to the bottom of the target, the pick-up device having a suction means and a control for reducing the tolerance between an impeding structure and the upper wall of the target to control the win percentage.