Patent Grant
10456928
The present invention relates to a vacuum gripper unit used for gripping an object using a negative pressure created by high-speed compressed air.
As well known in the art, a typical vacuum gripper system includes a hollow main body, a pad coupled to a lower portion of the main body so as to communicate therewith, and a vacuum pump connected to a side or upper side of the main body by a hose. When high-speed compressed air passes through the vacuum pump while the pad is in contact with an object, air present in the pad is pulled through the stream of the compressed air into the vacuum pump via the main body and the hose, and is discharged to the outside of the vacuum pump together with the compressed air. Herein, a negative pressure is thus created in the pad and this negative pressure acts to suck and grip the object. Thereafter, the gripped object is transported to a desired location by an automation system or the like.
Such a gripper system is currently used effectively, but is problematic in design, wiring, and the like. Accordingly, a vacuum gripper device having a relatively compact structure by mounting a vacuum pump inside a main body has been proposed. It is noted that Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2009-0131617 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,540,309 disclosed vacuum devices regarding said vacuum gripper device.
Referring to
As in the typical vacuum gripper system described above, when high-speed compressed air passes through the vacuum pump 4 while the suction pad 3 is in contact with an object P, air present in the suction pad 3 is pulled through the stream of the compressed air into the vacuum pump 4 via the main body 2, and is discharged to the outside of the vacuum pump 4 together with the compressed air. Herein, a negative pressure is thus created in the suction pad 3 and this negative pressure acts to suck and grip the object P. Meanwhile, the release valve 6 remains closed by a portion of the supplied compressed air continuously pushing the release valve 6, so that the vacuum inside the vacuum pump 4 can be maintained.
For example, when supply of the compressed air is stopped after transport of the object P, the release valve 6 is caused to be opened by the pressure of a spring acting thereon. Then, external air is permitted to flow into the main body 2 and accordingly the vacuum and the negative pressure in the device are released. The vacuum gripper device 1 is removed from the object P and then prepared for a next gripping process.
As described above, the vacuum gripper device 1 in the related art is designed to mount the suction pad 3, the vacuum pump 4, the release valve 6, and the like in the main body 2. Thus, it can be said that the vacuum gripper system can be designed and implemented compact in comparison with the conventional art. However, there are the following problems:
First, each of the elements 3, 4, and 6 constituting the vacuum gripper device 1 must be engaged to the ‘T’ type or ‘+’ type main body 2 in respective directions, leading to inconvenience of assembling and disassembling thereof and low productivity;
Second, particularly the vacuum pump 4 is directly mounted in the main body 2 without provision of an additional mounting space, so that the pressure of supplied compressed air is directly delivered to both the main body 2 and the suction pad 3, leading to low grip reliability;
Third, an arrangement imbalance between the elements 3 and 6 based on the main body 2 affects a grip state defined by the suction pad 3;
Fourth, depending on the site, it may be necessary to select, change, and apply the elements for swiftness of vacuum creation or vacuum release, but there is no preparation for this, leading to limitations in use;
and the like.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and an objective of the present invention is to provide a compact type gripper device including a vacuum pump, particularly a vacuum gripper unit which enables easy assembly and disassembly of each element, improves a vacuum response speed and grip reliability by means of compressed air, and satisfies an arrangement balance between the elements. Another objective of the present invention is to provide a vacuum gripper unit having excellent applicability by allowing a user to select a mounting element depending on the needs of the site.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum gripper unit includes:
a vertical main body having a common vacuum chamber defined therein;
first and second mounting containers that are cylindrical members horizontally arranged on left and right sides of the main body to be parallel to each other, and provide an additional mounting space to the main body, the first and second mounting cylinders having a generally ‘H’ type when seen from outside, including the main body that connects centers thereof to each other, the first and second mounting cylinders having passages respectively provided at first sides thereof that face each other and communicating with the common vacuum chamber; and
a suction pad connected to a lower portion of the main body so as to communicate with the common vacuum chamber,
wherein
the first mounting container has the vacuum pump inserted and mounted therein and operating to allow exhaust of air from the common vacuum chamber so as to create a vacuum therein upon supply and discharge of compressed air, and
the second mounting container selectively has the vacuum pump inserted and mounted therein or a release valve inserted and mounted therein, the release valve being opened to allow the air to flow into the common vacuum chamber when the vacuum pump stops operating.
It is preferable that the second mounting container has the vacuum pump inserted and mounted therein, wherein a distributing passage is formed at a side of the main body to provide communication between the first and second mounting containers without bypassing the common vacuum chamber, such that the compressed air applied to one of the mounting containers is supplied to both the two mounting containers and the vacuum pumps.
The vacuum gripper unit according to the present invention is a compact type vacuum gripper device including the vacuum pump. Particularly, two mounting containers are provided on the outside of the vertical main body to provide an additional mounting space to the main body, the containers being arranged vertically to be parallel to each other, thus having a generally ‘H’ type when seen from outside, including the main body that connects the centers thereof to each other. Thus, the present invention has the following effects.
1) The vacuum pump and the release valve are easy to assemble and disassemble,
2) The additional mounting space for the vacuum pump is provided to the main body, so that the compressed air does not directly apply pressure or impact to the main body, thus achieving an improvement in grip reliability,
3) It is possible to satisfy an arrangement balance between left and right elements of the main body and thus to achieve grip stability of the pad,
and the like.
4) On the other hand, one of the mounting containers must have the vacuum pump mounted therein, while a remaining one has the release valve or the vacuum pump mounted therein according to the embodiment, so that it is possible to effectively cope with the ‘swiftness of release’ or ‘swiftness of vacuum’ which is operationally required.
The features and operation effects of a vacuum gripper unit including a vacuum pump (hereinafter referred to as a “vacuum gripper unit”) according to the present invention, which have been described or are not described herein, will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. In
Referring to
Specifically, the first and second mounting containers 12a and 12b are arranged horizontally to be parallel to each other such that centers thereof are connected to each other by the main body 11, thus having a generally ‘H’ type when seen from outside, including the main body. The first and second mounting containers include passages 15 respectively provided at first sides thereof that face each other and communicating with the common vacuum chamber 14 in the main body 11. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the first mounting container 12a has a vacuum pump 16 mounted therein, and the second mounting container 12b has a release valve 20 mounted therein.
Herein, the mounted vacuum pump 16 is a pipe type vacuum pump in which first and opposite second ends thereof are an inlet 17 and an outlet 18 for compressed air, respectively, and a side wall thereof has a through hole 19 formed therein so as to communicate with the vacuum chamber 14. The release valve 20 is a valve configured such that a piston 22 supported against a spring 21 is moved between an opened position and a closed position of the valve depending on the presence or absence of the pressure of compressed air, thus controlling inflow of air into the vacuum chamber 14. However, those skilled in the art will note that there is nothing special about the vacuum pump 16 and the release valve 20 themselves constituting and acting in this manner in the present invention or in the present embodiment.
Furthermore, in each embodiment of the present invention, the release valve 20 is designed to have a structure in which the piston 22 is caused to be moved in a first direction by the pressure of compressed air supply acting thereon to open the valve, whereas when compressed air supply is stopped, the piston is caused to be moved in an opposite second direction by the pressure of the spring 21 acting thereon to close the valve. Alternatively, as in a release valve 6 shown in
The vacuum pump 16 may be mounted in the first mounting container 12a in such a manner that the inlet 17 is inserted through a front insertion hole 23 of the first mounting container 12a into a rear air supply hole 24 so as to communicate therewith. Similarly, the release valve 20 may be mounted in the second mounting container 12b in such a manner that an end portion of the piston 22 is inserted through a front insertion hole 23 of the second mounting container 12b so as to open and close a rear air supply hole 24.
Furthermore, the first mounting container 12a and the second mounting container 12b are provided with finishing materials 25 and 26 inserted into front sides thereof, such that the vacuum pump 16 and the release valve 20 mounted in the containers are retainably supported and prevented from being separated therefrom. Herein, a generally ‘C’-shaped web 27 is provided for rigid coupling of each of the finishing materials 25 and 26. The web 27 is elastically inserted into a groove 28 formed on an outer surface of each container at a side thereof where the front insertion hole 23 is formed, and portions thereof pass through a hole 29 formed in the groove 28 so as to be caught by a step 30 formed on an outer surface of each of the finishing materials 25 and 26.
Thus, upon disassembly, webs 27 are removed from sides of the containers where the front insertion holes 23 are formed such that the finishing materials 25 and 26, the vacuum pump 16, and the release valve 20 are separated from each other. It is preferable that the finishing material 25 of the first mounting container 12a includes a recess 41 formed therein such that the outlet 18 of the vacuum pump 16 is inserted into the recess, while the finishing material 26 of the second mounting container 12b includes a recess 42 formed therein such that the release valve 20 is inserted into the recess. It is more preferable that the finishing material 25 of the first mounting container 12a is a hollow silencer.
The suction pad 13 is connected to the lower portion of the main body 11 so as to communicate with the vacuum chamber 14, and a lower edge thereof comes into contact with the surface of an object P to be gripped. Specifically explained, the suction pad 13 includes a bellows-type lip holder 31 coupled to a lower end portion of the main body 11, and a skirt-like lip 32 coupled to a lower portion of the lip holder 31 in an integrated manner or in a removable manner, and coming into contact with the surface of the object P. Reference numeral 33 denotes a ring-shaped clamp for compressing a contact portion between the lip holder 31 and the lip 32 that are provided in a removable manner. By using this clamp 33, the suction pad 13 may further include at least one middle bellows placed between the lip holder 31 and the lip 32 and having upper and lower ends coupled to the lip holder 31 and the lip 32, respectively.
The structure of the suction pad 13 shown in the present embodiment is a structure in which the respective elements 31, 32, and 33 are coupled to each other in a removable manner, which is not different from that disclosed in Korean Patent No. 1303740. As shown in the drawings, the suction pad 13 includes a filter element 43 inserted and seated in an inner diameter of the lip holder 31 such that dust or foreign substances present on the surface of the object P are filtered out. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific configuration of the suction pad 13 described above.
Meanwhile, the vacuum gripper unit 10a further includes means for providing optimal connection to an automated transport system. As such means, the main body 11 includes a screw groove 34 centrally formed on an upper surface thereof, and at least one securing depression 35 or at least one protrusion formed outwardly of the upper surface of the main body such that multiple securing depressions or multiple protrusions are formed at positions opposite to each other. For example, as shown in
Referring to
This negative pressure created in the suction pad acts to suck and grip the object (see P of
In this case, referring to
A vacuum gripper unit 10b according to the present embodiment is based on the vacuum gripper unit 10a according to the first embodiment. In other words, the vacuum gripper unit 10b includes:
a vertical main body 11 providing a common vacuum chamber 14 defined therein;
first and second mounting containers 12a and 12b that are cylindrical members integrally formed on left and right sides of the main body 11, respectively, and arranged horizontally to be parallel to each other, the first and second mounting containers providing an additional mounting space to the main body 11, the first and second mounting containers having a generally ‘H’ type when seen from outside, including the main body 11 that connects centers thereof to each other, the first and second mounting containers having passages 15 respectively provided at first sides thereof that face each other and communicating with the common vacuum chamber 14; and
a suction pad 13 connected to a lower portion of the main body 11 so as to communicate with the vacuum chamber 14.
Referring to
Herein, the construction in which the vacuum pump 16 is mounted in the second mounting container 12b and the operation thereof remain the same as the construction in which the vacuum pump 16 is mounted in the first mounting container 12a and the operation thereof, so an additional description thereof will be omitted. Characteristically, high-speed compressed air is simultaneously supplied to rear air supply holes 24 of the first mounting container 12a and the second mounting container 12b to pass through respective vacuum pumps 16, resulting in two vacuum pumps 16 allowing exhaust of air from the common vacuum chamber 14 and from the suction pad 13 (see arrow {circle around (7)}). Thus, the vacuum gripper unit 10a can be said to be advantageous in terms of swiftness of vacuum creation.
The problem of releasing the vacuum can be effectively solved by supplying compressed air to the release port 38 (see arrow {circle around (6)} in
A vacuum gripper unit 10c according to the present embodiment is based on the vacuum gripper unit 10b according to the second embodiment. In other words, the vacuum gripper unit 10c includes:
a vertical main body 11 providing a common vacuum chamber 14 defined therein;
first and second mounting containers 12a and 12b that are cylindrical members integrally formed on left and right sides of the main body 11, respectively, and arranged horizontally to be parallel to each other, the first and second mounting containers providing an additional mounting space to the main body 11, the first and second mounting containers having a generally ‘H’ type when seen from outside, including the main body 11 that connects centers thereof to each other, the first and second mounting containers having passages 15 respectively provided at first sides thereof that face each other and communicating with the common vacuum chamber 14; and
a suction pad 13 connected to a lower portion of the main body 11 so as to communicate with the vacuum chamber 14,
wherein
each of the first and second mounting containers has a vacuum pump inserted and mounted therein and operating to allow exhaust of air from the common vacuum chamber so as to create a vacuum therein upon supply and discharge of compressed air.
Referring to
In fact, it can be said that such a design is advantageous over a design of the vacuum gripper unit 10b in terms of energy efficiency and wiring. The operation in which two vacuum pumps 16 allow exhaust of air from the common vacuum chamber 14 and from the suction pad 13 (see arrow {circle around (7)}) is the same as that of the vacuum gripper unit 10b according to the second embodiment. Furthermore, the problem of releasing the vacuum can be solved by supplying compressed air to a release port 38 (see arrow {circle around (6)} in
The figure shows a state in which a rear end portion of the second mounting container 12b is completely closed and is unopenable. However, this state does not have a significant operational difference as compared to the case where a connector 40 shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2016-0030778 | Mar 2016 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2017/001246 | 2/6/2017 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2017/159986 | 9/21/2017 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20190054635 A1 | Feb 2019 | US |
