WO2015159997A1 - Separable pad-type adsorption cup - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an adsorption cup used in a vacuum system. The adsorption cup, according to the present invention, comprises: a body having a shape of which the inside is hollow; a skirt-type pad arranged below the body; and a ring-shaped clamp, which is detachably provided inside of the adsorption cup, for coupling the body and the pad, wherein the clamp is comprised so as to couple the body and the pad by the outer surface, which has a concave C-shape, wrapping around an area where the body and the pad are brought into contact, while providing adsorption in opposite upward and downward directions.

Description

Pad Separation Suction Cup

The present invention relates to a suction cup used for holding an article in a vacuum transfer system, and more particularly, to a pad separated type suction cup structure.

The vacuum transfer system refers to a system for operating the vacuum pump with compressed air to discharge the internal air of the adsorption cup in contact with the surface of the article, and to hold the article by using the negative pressure obtained at this time and to transfer the article to a predetermined position. Here, the adsorption cup is coupled to the end of the pipe member which is provided separately, and is connected to the vacuum pump via this member. The suction cup is composed of a ring-shaped connector and a skirt-type pad coupled to the lower portion of the connection portion.

The pad is usually formed of a soft material, such as rubber, urethane, and is traditionally joined and fixed to the connector in a manner by means of adhesive or insert molding. It is true that this type of adsorption cup is still useful today, but here:

After some use, a gap in the joint between the connector and the pad creates a fatal problem of introducing external air;

Problem of having to dispose of the entire adsorption cup only if the pad is damaged;

Etc.

Conventionally, so-called pressure-rings have been used to solve these problems. That is, in the state in which the upper end of the pad is coupled to the outer surface or the inner surface of the metal connector, the press-ring is forcibly fitted to the flexible pad side surface to strongly push the pad so that the connector and the pad are in close contact. It can be said that the vacuum cup disclosed in Korean Patent Nos. 932775, 1068954, 1195176 and the like belongs to the example, and it is true that an adsorption cup having such a structure is useful for preventing vacuum leakage. But here it is:

A problem that the pad may be damaged when the pressure-ring is assembled;

Separation of the press-ring and pad is virtually impossible or difficult after assembly;

Etc.

On the other hand, there has been proposed an adsorption cup that can be separated from the pad, for example, the adsorption cup disclosed in US 2012/0025053. Briefly described with reference to FIG. 1, the adsorption cup 1 disclosed herein comprises: a connector 2 and a pad 4 which are releasably assembled via an annular groove 3 and its corresponding projection 5. ; It consists of bellows 6 which are selectively assembled between the connector 2 and the pad 4.

Compared with the conventional one described above, in the case of the disclosed adsorption cup, it is natural that the 'separation' of the flexible pad is made relatively simple. But here it is:

In contrast, the 'assembly' of the pad 4 becomes quite uncomfortable;

Weak coupling state between the elements (2, 4), vacuum leakage occurs in the assembly portion;

Etc.

In fact, when gripping and transporting an article, warpage phenomenon occurs in the pad 2 in the up and down direction. In this case, gaps or gaps are formed in the assembly portion of the pad 2, so that vacuum leakage occurs at the part. Will occur. Moreover, since the connector 2 and the pad 4 are flexible materials, the pad 4 may be arbitrarily separated by the side load of the article.

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems of the prior art. It is an object of the present invention in a structure in which the connector body and the pad are detachably coupled:

Provide ease of disassembly, assembly and stability of the structure;

To solve the vacuum leakage problem that may occur in the pad assembly;

It is to provide a vacuum suction cup of a new structure.

The pad separating type suction cup of the present invention has a hollow body, a skirt pad disposed under the body, and a ring shape provided inside the suction cup to couple the pad to the body. It comprises a clamp 13.

Specifically, the adsorption cup is:

A body having a vertically penetrating passage, the body including an annular protrusion formed inwardly from a lower end thereof, and a first inclined portion extending from the protrusion toward the bottom thereof;

A skirt-like member having an internal space communicating with the passage, the pad including an upper second inclined portion facing the first inclined portion and a lower sealing portion extending from the second inclined portion to be in contact with the article surface ;

A ring member detachably provided at the protruding portion, wherein a concave 'C' shaped outer surface surrounds the protruding portion and the second inclined portion and is opposed to each other in a vertical direction to clamp the body and the pad;

It is made, including.

According to an embodiment, the body may be selected from being a ring member, comprising a bellows 32 extending downward from the ring member, and comprising one or more bellows coupled to the underside of the ring member. In this case, for the coupling between the ring member and the bellows or bellows, the clamp is preferably applied.

The clamp is designed such that its outer surface is in intimate contact with the surface constituted by the protrusion and the second inclined portion. Preferably the clamp is formed of a hard material relative to the body and pad, or at least relative to the pad.

In the adsorption cup of the present invention, the upper body and the lower pad are coupled by an inner clamp. Here, the clamp is easy to attach and detach, and the pad can be naturally detached from the body by free fall due to its own weight when the clamp is removed. Therefore, in the adsorption cup structure in which the body and the pad are separable, there is an effect of improving the convenience of disassembly and assembly and the stability of the adsorption cup, compared to the conventional technologies.

Meanwhile, the adsorption cup of the present invention combines the body and the pad by pressing a separate 'C' type clamp to face up and down while covering the protrusion of the body and the second inclined portion of the pad. Therefore, there is an effect that there is no fear of vacuum leakage in the contact portion and the coupling portion between the body and the pad.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a suction cup according to the prior art.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the adsorption cup according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an exploded view of FIG. 2;

4 to 6 are views showing the use of the clamp that can be applied to each of FIG.

7 is a cross-sectional view of the adsorption cup according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

8 is an exploded view of FIG. 7;

9 is a plan view taken along the line A-A of FIG.

10 is a cross-sectional view of the adsorption cup according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a cross-sectional view of the adsorption cup according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of the code]

10,30,40,50. Adsorption cup

11,31,41,51. Body 2. Pad

13. Fasteners 14. Passage

15. Protrusion 16. First Inclination

17,17a. Home 18. The Second Incline

19. Sealing section 20. Step

21.Bowling 22.Hill

23.Home 24.Recess

25. Recess 26. Mesh Filter

27. Perforation Network 28. Supporting Projection

32,42. Bellows 43. Third Inclination

S. Internal Space

The features and effects of the pad-separable adsorption cup (hereinafter, 'adsorption cup') of the present invention described or not described above are described through Examples 1 to 4 of the present invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be more obvious. In each embodiment, the same reference numerals will be used for functionally identical parts.

Example 1

2 and 3, the suction cup according to the present embodiment is indicated by the reference numeral 10. The suction cup 10 is provided with a hollow body 11, a skirt-type pad 12 disposed below the body 11, and an inside of the suction cup 10. And a ring-shaped clamp 13 for engaging the pad 12.

Specifically, the body 11 is a ring member having a passage 14 vertically penetrated at the center, and has an annular protrusion 15 formed inward from the lower end, and extends from the protrusion 15 toward the lower end. It has a first inclined portion 16 in the form. In the drawing, the body 11 includes a circular groove 17 formed at an outer circumferential surface position corresponding to the protrusion 15 so that the first inclined portion 16 has elasticity. However, this configuration is not necessary in the present invention.

The pad 12 is a skirt-type pad disposed under the body 11 and having an internal space S communicating with the passage 14. The pad 12 has an upper side facing and in contact with the first inclined portion 16. And a second inclined portion 18 and a lower sealing portion 19 extending from the second inclined portion 18 and in contact with the surface of the article. In the drawing, the upper second inclined portion 18 and the lower sealing portion 19 are distinguished by the intermediate step 20, but may be separated only by contact or non-contact with the first inclined portion 16.

The clamp 13 is a ring-shaped member having a substantially 'C' shaped outer surface with a concave cross section, and the suction cup 10 is in contact with the first inclined portion 16 and the second inclined portion 18. It is provided inside, and is configured to couple the body 11 and the pad 12 by wrapping the projecting portion 15 and the second inclined portion 18 while simultaneously pressing oppositely in the up and down directions. The clamp 13 can be easily detached from the suction cup 10 as necessary, and when removed, the pad 12 can be naturally separated while its contact face with the body 11 is released by its own weight. It is.

Preferably the clamp 13 is formed of a hard material as compared to the body 11 and the pad 12, or at least as compared to the pad 12. This feature allows the pad 12, which is relatively thin, to be formed of a soft material such as rubber, silicone, or urethane, to be securely coupled within the clamp 13, and is in contact with each other when the upper and lower elements 11 and 12 are coupled to each other. It is very effective to provide a strong compressive force between the first inclined portion 16 and the second inclined portion 18 so that vacuum leakage does not occur in the contact and the coupling portion. Incidentally, attachment and detachment of the clamp 13 itself becomes easier.

As another countermeasure against the above-mentioned coupling force and vacuum leakage, the clamp 13 is designed such that its outer surface is in full close contact with the surface of the protrusion 15 and the second inclined portion 18. As shown in the figure, the surface includes a ball portion 21 formed roundly at the upper end of the surface of the protrusion 15 and the second inclined portion 18, wherein the outer surface of the clamp 13 corresponds to the protrusion 15. And a recess 24 corresponding to the recess 23 and the ball 22.

On the other hand, the rear heel 22 of the ball portion 21 is preferably in contact with the recess 25 formed in the lower side or the second inclined portion 18 of the protrusion 15. This configuration makes sense that the pad 12 can be firmly coupled by distributing the load transmitted from the pad 12 to the body 11 and the clamp 13.

In the above figure, the clamp 13 is a simple ring member in which air in the pad 12 internal space S can be exhausted through the passage 14 without any resistance. However, depending on the characteristics of the article to be gripped, the necessary configuration can be added to the lower opening of the clamp 13. 4 to 6 show mesh filters 26, perforated nets 27, and support projections 28, which can be applied to the clamps 13, respectively, in order to prevent adsorption marks, carton pack adsorption, and vinyl adsorption. May be suitably used.

Example 2

7 and 8, the adsorption cup according to the present embodiment is denoted by reference numeral 30. The suction cup 30 has a hollow body 31, a skirt-type pad 12 disposed below the body 31, and a suction cup 30 provided inside the body 31. And a ring-shaped clamp 13 for engaging the pad 12.

Here, the body 31 includes a ring member as described in [Example 1] and a bellows 32 extending downward from the ring member. That is, the body 31 is integrally molded with an upper ring member and a bellows 32 extending downward. In addition, specific shapes, structures, functions, and the like of the protruding portion 15, the first inclined portion 16, the pad 12, and the clamp 13 of the lower end portion constituting the body 31 are merely a bellows 32. Designed using only the lower end of the, since it is technically the same as in the above [Example 1], a description thereof will be omitted here.

As is known, the bellows 32 refers to a hollow corrugated stretch tube, which functions to mitigate the impact when the pad 12 contacts the surface of the article. However, the bellows 32 may be crushed or twisted due to the negative pressure generated inside the suction cup 30. In this case, a gap or a gap may occur between the clamp 13 and the protrusion 15. In order to prevent this, in the present embodiment, a plurality of reinforcement teeth 33 are formed in the circular groove 17a formed at the outer circumferential surface position corresponding to the protrusion 15 of the body 31.

Referring to FIG. 9, the reinforcement bar 33 is not formed in one direction or radial direction, and is formed to be as left or right as possible with respect to the center line BB, which is used in the bellows 32 including the reinforcement bar 33. It is quite advantageous in the molding process. On the other hand, the configuration of the reinforcement bar 33 can be effectively applied to other embodiments of the present invention, whether shown or not.

Example 3

10, the adsorption cup according to the present embodiment is indicated by 40. The suction cup 40 has a hollow body 41, a skirt-type pad 12 disposed below the body 41, and a suction cup 40 provided inside the body 41. And a ring-shaped clamp 13 for engaging the pad 12.

Here, the body 41 includes a ring member of the base material and a bellows 42 coupled to the lower side thereof. Preferably, the clamp 13 is applied as a coupling member between the ring member and the bellows 42 of the body 41. To this end, the ring member of the body 41 has the same configuration as that of the body 11 of [Example 1], and the bellows 42 has the upper end portion of the same shape as the second inclined portion 18 of the pad 12. Has

Specifically, the bellows 42 includes a third inclined portion 43 of the upper side facing the inclined portion 16 of the body 11, the ball portion formed in a round on the upper end of the third inclined portion 43 (21) is further included. The clamp 13 is provided inside the suction cup 40 in a state where the first inclined portion 16 and the third inclined portion 43 are in contact with each other, and thus the protrusion 15 and the third inclined portion 43 are provided. ) While simultaneously wrapping and compressing, thereby coupling the body 11 and the bellows 42. As another countermeasure against the coupling force and the vacuum leakage, the clamp 13 is designed such that its outer surface is completely in close contact with the surface constituted by the protrusion 15 and the second contact portion 43.

The clamp 13, which couples the body 11 and the bellows 42, can be easily detached from the suction cup 10 as necessary, and when removed, the bellows 42 is removed from the body 11 by its own weight. ) Can be separated naturally as the contact relationship with) is released.

In addition, specific shapes, structures, functions, and the like of the protruding portion 15, the first inclined portion 16, the pad 12, and the clamp 13 of the lower end portion constituting the body 41 are merely a bellows 42. Designed using only the lower end of the, since it is technically the same as in the above [Example 1], a description thereof will be omitted here.

Example 4

11, the adsorption cup according to the present embodiment is denoted by 50. The suction cup 50 is provided with a hollow body 51, a skirt-type pad 12 disposed below the body 51, and an inside of the suction cup 50. And a ring-shaped clamp 13 for engaging the pad 12.

Here, the body 51 includes a ring member 11 as described in [Example 1] and two or more of the bellows 42 that are successively coupled to the lower side thereof. Here, the bellows 42 is structurally the same as in [Example 3]. Therefore, the clamp 13 can be effectively applied to the coupling between the bellows 42.

In addition, specific shapes, structures, functions, and the like of the protruding portion 15, the first inclined portion 16, the pad 12, and the clamp 13 of the lower end constituting the body 51 are merely end bellows ( Designed using only the lower end of 42), it is technically the same as in the above [Example 1], and thus description thereof will be omitted here.

Claims (11)

A hollow form having a vertically penetrating passageway 14 and including an annular protrusion 15 formed inwardly from a lower end portion and a first inclined portion 16 extending from the protrusion 15 toward the lower end thereof. Body 11, 31, 41 or 51; A skirt-like member having an internal space S communicating with the passage 14, the upper second inclined portion 18 facing the first inclined portion 16 and extending from the second inclined portion. A pad 12 comprising a lower sealing portion 19 in contact with an article surface; A ring member detachably provided at a portion of the protruding portion 15, wherein a concave 'C' shaped outer surface is pressed against the protrusion 15 and the second inclined portion 18 in an up and down direction, thereby compressing the body. A clamp 13 for coupling the pads 12 and 11, 31, 41 or 51; Pad separated adsorption cup comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the body (11, 31, 41 or 51) is: Being a ring member; Including a bellows (32) extending downward from the ring member; or One or more bellows (42) coupled to the underside of the ring member; Pad separated adsorption cup, characterized in that. The method of claim 2, When the bellows 42 is coupled to the lower side of the ring member: The ring member has a vertically penetrating passage 14, and includes a hollow protrusion 15 formed inwardly from a lower end, and a first inclined portion 16 extending from the protrusion toward the lower end. Body 41 or 51; The bellows (42) has a third inclined portion (43) in contact with the first inclined portion at an upper end thereof; The clamp 13 is coupled to the body 41 or 51 and the bellows 42 by pressing the outer surface is pressed up and down facing the projection 15 and the third inclined portion 43; Pad separated adsorption cup, characterized in that. The method of claim 3, When the same bellows 42 is continuously coupled below the bellows 42: The clamp 13 is coupled to the two bellows (42) by the outer surface is pressed up and down facing the projection 15 and the third inclined portion (43); Pad separated adsorption cup, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, And the clamp (13) is formed of a hard material, as compared to the body (11,31,41 or 51) and the pad (12), or at least compared to the pad (12). The method of claim 1 wherein the clamp 13 is: Simple ring members; A mesh filter 26, a perforation network 27, or a support protrusion 28 is further provided at a lower opening of the ring member; Pad separated adsorption cup, characterized in that. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The clamp (13) is a pad-type adsorption cup, characterized in that the outer surface is designed in close contact with the surface of the protrusion 15 and the second inclined portion (18) or the third inclined portion (43). The method of claim 7, wherein The surface includes a ball portion (21) rounded at the upper end of the contact portion (18), the outer surface includes a recess (24) corresponding to the ball portion 21, characterized in that the suction cup. The method of claim 8,       The rear heel 22 of the ball portion 21 is in contact with the recess 25 formed on the lower side or the second inclined portion 18 of the protruding portion 15, characterized in that the pad adsorption cup. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The body 11, 31, 41 or 51 may include a plurality of reinforcing bars 33 formed in circular grooves 17 and 17a formed at outer peripheral surface positions corresponding to the protrusions 15. . The method of claim 10, The reinforcement bar 33 is a pad separation type adsorption cup, characterized in that formed toward the left or right with respect to the center line (B-B).

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