JP2008279544A - Suction pad - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suction pad with a simple composition and increased sucking force. <P>SOLUTION: The suction pad 10 is equipped with an expandable bellows part 12 and a core part 14 adhering to the inside of a tip of the bellows part 12 and having an air suction hole 17. On a suction side of the core part 14, a groove 16 is formed on its flat suction surface 14F. Accordingly, the tip side of the bellows part 12 is made to be a skirt part 12T spread from a constricted part 18 toward the suction surface side of the core part 14 to be a skirt-like shape. A void Z opened on the suction surface side is formed by the skirt part 12T and a side wall 14S on the suction side of the core part 14. If the core part 14 abuts to a workpiece W, air flow rate entering the groove 16 from the suction side of the core part 14 is reduced by the workpiece W. This causes suction of air from the void Z into the groove 16 and decompresses the void V. As a result, the skirt part 12T closely contacts the workpiece W. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a suction pad that has an air suction hole for sucking air and sucks an object to be conveyed by air suction from the air suction hole.

  In a factory or the like, a suction pad that is connected to an air suction source and sucks and holds a transported object is frequently used to transport the transported object (workpiece).

  It has been proposed that such a suction pad has a structure that prevents deformation such as bending of the transported object when the transported object is sucked and held (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

However, even if the suction pad prevents such deformation, it is preferable that the suction force is larger.
JP 2005-144570 A JP 2002-346932 A JP 2006-310697 A

  In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to provide a suction pad with an increased suction force with a simple configuration.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, the suction hole is formed in a suction pad that has a suction hole for sucking the sucked medium and sucks the sucked medium by sucking the sucked medium from the suction hole. A core portion that contacts the object to be conveyed on the suction side, and a gap that opens from the periphery of the core portion toward the suction side and that is open on the suction side is formed between the suction side wall of the core portion. And a groove communicating with the suction hole and the air gap is formed on the suction side of the core portion.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, when the core part comes into contact with the object to be conveyed, the air flow rate entering the groove from the suction side of the core part is reduced by the object to be conveyed. For this reason, gas (usually air) is attracted | sucked by the groove | channel from the said space | gap formed by the bottom part and the adsorption | suction side wall of a core part. Here, when a part or all of the object to be conveyed is in contact with the skirt, in the gap, the pressure is reduced by sucking the gas into the groove. Thereby, a skirt part adheres to a thing to be conveyed, and adsorption power increases.

  The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that it has a bellows part that can be expanded and contracted with respect to the suction side, the bottom part is formed on the tip side, and the core part is fixed on the inner side. .

  Thereby, the said skirt part can be formed in a bellows part, and a core part can be fixed inside a skirt part by simple structure.

  The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the groove is formed in a flat suction surface on the suction side of the core portion.

  Thereby, the object to be conveyed having a flat surface such as a glass substrate is brought into surface contact with the adsorption side of the core part, and the gas flowing into the groove is limited to the above-mentioned gap, thereby greatly improving the adsorption force. It becomes possible. In addition, since the object to be conveyed can be supported by the flat suction surface, deformation such as bending of the object to be conveyed can be suppressed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the suction hole opens at a center position of the core portion on the suction side of the core portion, and the grooves are adjacent to each other from the suction hole toward the outer peripheral side of the core portion. Are characterized by extending radially at equal angles.

  Thereby, it becomes possible to generate the suction force evenly in the suction portion with a simple groove shape.

  The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that a chamfered portion communicating with the groove is formed at a peripheral edge portion on the suction side of the core portion.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the object to be conveyed is adsorbed, the gap is depressurized, so that the hem part is in close contact with the object to be conveyed at the peripheral edge on the adsorption side of the core part. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a suction pad with a further increased suction force.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can be set as the suction pad which increased suction power with simple structure.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described and embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the second and subsequent embodiments, the same components as those already described are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

[First Embodiment]
First, the first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the suction pad 10 according to the present embodiment is provided integrally with a base (not shown) connected to the air suction line and the base, and the suction pad 10 has an axial direction V. A bellows portion 12 that can be expanded and contracted in the vertical direction in FIG. 1, that is, can be expanded and contracted on the suction side, and a core portion 14 that is fixed to the inside of the distal end portion of the bellows portion 12 are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the suction side of the core portion 14 has a shape in which a groove 16 is formed on a flat suction surface 14 </ b> F. Further, the core portion 14 is formed with a constricted portion 18 in accordance with the shape of the bellows portion 12, and is circular when viewed from the suction surface side. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the front end side of the bellows portion 12 is a flexible skirt portion 12T that spreads in a skirt shape from the constricted portion 18 of the core portion 14 toward the suction surface side. A gap Z opened on the suction surface side is formed by the skirt portion 12T and the suction side wall 14S of the core portion 14.

  An air suction hole 17 penetrating in the axial direction V of the suction pad 10 is formed at the center of the core portion 14. Further, the suction surface 14F of the core portion 14 comes into contact with a workpiece (conveyed object) W during suction.

  In this embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the groove 16 is formed so as to communicate with the air suction hole 17 and expand radially toward the outer peripheral side of the core portion. In the present embodiment, eight grooves 16 are formed in the radial direction from the center of the core portion 14 so that the angles formed by adjacent grooves are equal (45 degrees). Further, on the outer peripheral side of the core portion 14, the groove tip 16 </ b> T is opened so that the groove 16 communicates with the gap Z.

The material of the core part 14 and the bellows part 12 is not specifically limited. In order to prevent the skirt portion 12T from sticking to the workpiece W and to prevent the skirt portion 12T from sticking to the workpiece W, the material of the core portion 14 is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyacetal (POM), polyether ether. It is preferable to use a resin material such as ketone (PEEK). When the workpiece W is high temperature, PTFE excellent in heat resistance is preferable. Further, for example, a metal such as SUS can be used for preventing charging.
Further, the bellows portion 12 can be formed of a rubber material such as nitrile rubber, silicone rubber, urethane rubber, fluorine rubber, chloroprene rubber, natural rubber, or a resin material such as thermoplastic elastomer, which has elasticity and good durability and stability. .

  Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the suction pad 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, a flat plate (solar power generation plate, liquid crystal panel, plasma display panel, glass substrate, plastic substrate, etc.) having a size larger than the circle formed at the tip of the skirt 12T is adsorbed and held as a workpiece. The conveyance will be described.

  When the suction surface 14F of the core portion 14 comes into contact with the workpiece W, the air flow flowing into the groove 16 from the suction surface side is blocked by the workpiece W. For this reason, air flows into the groove 16 from the groove tip 16T opened to the gap Z. Accordingly, the pressure is reduced in the gap Z. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5, the skirt part 12T adheres to the workpiece | work W, and the suction | attraction force of the suction pad 10 increases. Further, the peripheral edge of the attracted area of the work W is deformed by the skirt 12T and the tip thereof is attracted to the work W. The inner periphery of the attracted area is the flat attracting surface of the core portion 14. Since it is supported by 14F, it can suppress that deformation, such as a bending, arises in the workpiece | work W. FIG.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the suction pad 10 having an increased suction force can be obtained with a simple configuration in which the groove tip 16T (the outer peripheral side of the core portion of the groove 16) is opened to the gap Z. Moreover, since the workpiece | work W can be supported by the flat adsorption | suction surface 14F formed in the core part 14, the deformation | transformation of the workpiece | work W can be suppressed.

  Further, the skirt portion 12T is formed by the bellows portion 12, whereby the core portion 14 can be fixed to the inside of the skirt portion 12T with a simple configuration.

  Further, on the suction side of the core portion 14, the groove 16 is formed in the flat suction surface 14 </ b> F. Thereby, the workpiece | work W which has flat surfaces, such as a glass substrate, is surface-contacted with the adsorption | suction surface 14F of the core part 14, and the adsorption | suction force is improved significantly by limiting the gas which flows in into the groove | channel 16 only to the space | gap Z. be able to.

  Further, when the radial grooves 16 are formed so that the angles formed by the adjacent grooves are equal (45 degrees) from the center of the core portion 14 in the radial direction, the grooves are formed in a simple groove shape evenly on the suction surface side. It becomes possible to generate a suction force.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the suction pad 30 according to the present embodiment includes a core portion 34 instead of the core portion 14 as compared with the first embodiment. The core portion 34 is different from the core portion 14 in the shape of the outer peripheral portion 34E on the suction surface side. A chamfered portion 36 is formed in a ring shape on the outer peripheral portion 34 </ b> E, and the eight grooves 16 are communicated with each other at the chamfered portion 36. In the present embodiment, the bottom surface 36B of the chamfered portion 36 is flush with the bottom surface 16B of the groove 16.

  In the present embodiment, in this way, the chamfered portion 36 is provided with the core portion 34 formed on the outer peripheral portion 34E. Therefore, when the workpiece W is attracted, the gap Z is depressurized, so that the skirt portion 12T comes into close contact with the workpiece W on the entire outer periphery of the core portion 34 on the attracting surface side. Accordingly, the suction force of the suction pad 30 can be further increased.

  In the above description, an example in which eight grooves 16 are formed has been described. However, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the core portion 44 having six grooves 48 has an increased adsorption force. Is fully realized. Moreover, even if it is not only radial but concentric, it is possible to generate the suction force evenly on the suction surface side of the core portion.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the embodiments. However, these embodiments are merely examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It goes without saying that the scope of rights of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

It is side surface sectional drawing of the suction pad which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a bottom view of the core part which comprises the suction pad which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a bottom perspective view of the core part which constitutes the suction pad concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a bottom perspective fragmentary sectional view of the core part which constitutes the suction pad concerning a 1st embodiment. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the state which adsorb | sucked the workpiece | work with the suction pad which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is side surface sectional drawing of the suction pad which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a bottom view of the core part which comprises the suction pad which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a bottom perspective view of the core part which constitutes the suction pad concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the state which adsorb | sucked the workpiece | work with the suction pad which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a bottom view which shows the modification of the core part which comprises the suction pad which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a bottom perspective view which shows the modification of the core part which comprises the suction pad which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 suction pad 12 bellows part 12T bottom part 14 core part 14F suction surface 14S side wall 16 groove 17 air suction hole 30 suction pad 34 core part 44 core part 48 groove Z gap W Workpiece (conveyed object)

Claims (5)

In a suction pad that has a suction hole for sucking a suction target medium and sucks the transport target object by sucking the suction target medium from the suction hole.
A core part in which the suction hole is formed and in contact with the object to be conveyed on the suction side;
A skirt that extends from the periphery of the core part toward the suction side and forms a gap opened on the suction side with the side wall on the suction side of the core part,
Is provided,
A suction pad, wherein a suction hole and a groove communicating with the gap are formed on the suction side of the core portion.   The suction pad according to claim 1, further comprising a bellows portion that can be expanded and contracted with respect to the suction side, the skirt portion is formed on a distal end side, and the core portion is fixed on the inner side.   The suction pad according to claim 2, wherein the groove is formed in a flat suction surface on the suction side of the core portion. On the suction side of the core part, the suction hole opens at the center position of the core part,
4. The suction pad according to claim 3, wherein the grooves extend radially from the suction holes toward the outer peripheral side of the core portion, with adjacent grooves forming an equal angle.   The suction pad according to claim 4, wherein a chamfered portion that communicates with the groove is formed at a peripheral edge portion on the suction side of the core portion.

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