JP2013233626A - Suction device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suction device in which objects of various shapes can be surely sucked and held while reducing the number of components.SOLUTION: A base body 10 is provided with a plurality of individual lips 30 projecting from a suction face 11, and extending around a suction opening 21, wherein individual top faces 31 of the respective individual lips 30 are flush with one another. A slit 33 is formed between the individual lips 30 lying next to each other in an extending direction of the each individual lip 30. Paths P1, ... communicating with the suction opening 21 are provided between the individual lips 30 lying next to each other in a thickness direction of the each individual lip 30. The each lip 30 covers the each slit 33 from the outside of the suction opening 21. The each individual lip can be elastically deformed so as to come close to the suction face 11 by negative pressure VP in a state that the individual top face 31 is brought into contact with an object 99, and can be elastically deformed so as to close the paths P1, ... by the negative pressure VP in a state that no individual top face 31 is brought into contact with the object 99.

Description

  The present invention relates to an adsorption device.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional adsorption device. The suction device includes a base having an suction surface and a suction passage formed in the base and opening a plurality of suction ports on the suction surface.

  A plurality of lips are formed on the base. Each lip protrudes from the suction surface and extends around a suction port that opens in the center of the suction surface. Moreover, each lip is formed in the closed annular shape centering on the suction opening opened in the center of an adsorption | suction surface. In addition, each lip is flush with the individual tip surface.

  The suction ports other than the suction port that opens in the center of the suction surface are open between the lips adjacent in the thickness direction of the lips. Further, a valve plate capable of closing the suction port by a pressure difference between the suction surface side and the suction passage side is attached to each suction port.

  In this suction device, the object in the suction surface is drawn by sucking air in the suction passage so that a negative pressure is generated on the suction port side in a state where the tip surface of each lip is in contact with the plane of the object. Can be adsorbed.

  Moreover, in this adsorption | suction apparatus, when adsorb | sucking the target object whose plane is smaller than an outer lip, a clearance gap will arise between the front end surface of the outer lip, and a target object. In this case, air continues to flow into the suction port that opens near the outer lip from the gap, but the valve plate attached to the suction port closes the suction port due to a pressure difference. Negative pressure is generated on the remaining suction port side. Thus, the suction device can suck even an object whose plane is smaller than the outer lip.

JP-A-2-83180

  However, in the above conventional adsorption device, it may be difficult to reliably adsorb the object, as will be described below.

  That is, in this suction device, when sucking an object having unevenness on the surface, the tip surface of each closed lip is difficult to be adapted to the unevenness of the object. For this reason, a gap is easily generated between each lip from the inside to the outside and the object, and there may be a problem that air continues to flow into all the suction ports from the gap. If it does so, each valve plate attached to each suction port will close each suction port by a pressure difference, and it will become difficult to produce a negative pressure between a target object and an adsorption surface. As a result, it becomes difficult for the conventional suction device to reliably suck the object.

  Further, in this suction device, it is difficult to reduce the number of parts because a valve plate must be attached to each suction port.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional situation, and it is an object to be solved to provide an adsorption device capable of reliably adsorbing objects of various shapes while reducing the number of parts. It is said.

The suction device of the present invention includes a base having an suction surface and a suction passage formed in the base and opening at least one suction port in the suction surface, and the suction is performed so that a negative pressure is generated on the suction port side. An adsorption device capable of adsorbing an object on the adsorption surface by sucking air in a passage,
The base is formed with a plurality of individual lips that protrude from the suction surface, extend around the suction port, and have the individual individual tip surfaces flush with each other.
A slit is formed between the individual lips adjacent to each other in the extending direction of the individual lips,
A path communicating with the suction port is provided between the individual lips adjacent to each other in the thickness direction of the individual lips.
Each of the individual lips is provided so as to cover each of the slits from the outside of the suction port,
Each of the individual lips can be elastically deformed so as to approach the suction surface when the negative pressure is applied in a state where the individual tip surface is in contact with the object, and the individual tip surface is the object. When the negative pressure acts in a state in which the path does not contact, the path can be elastically deformed so as to close.

  In the suction device of the present invention, in the state where the individual tip surface of each individual lip is brought into contact with the object, air in the suction passage is sucked so that a negative pressure is generated on the suction port side. The object can be adsorbed.

  Here, this adsorption device can adsorb the object reliably as follows even when, for example, an object having an uneven surface or an object that is small with respect to the adsorption surface is adsorbed.

  That is, in this suction device, slits are formed between the individual lips that are adjacent in the direction in which the individual lips extend. For this reason, the individual lips adjacent to each other in the extending direction of the individual lips can be deformed independently of each other according to the unevenness of the object. Each individual lip can be elastically deformed so as to approach the suction surface when a negative pressure is applied in a state where the individual tip surface is in contact with the object. For this reason, the individual lip with which the individual tip surface comes into contact with the convex portion of the object first elastically deforms so as to approach the suction surface due to negative pressure, so that the individual tip surface of the other individual lip becomes the concave portion of the object. It becomes easy to contact. Accordingly, in this suction device, the individual tip surface of each individual lip is easily adapted to the unevenness of the object as compared with each closed annular lip in the conventional suction device.

  Moreover, in this adsorption | suction apparatus, the path | route connected to a suction opening is provided between each individual lip adjacent in the thickness direction of each individual lip. Each individual lip is provided so as to cover each slit from the outside of the suction port. Each individual lip can be elastically deformed so as to close the path by applying a negative pressure in a state where the individual tip surface does not contact the object. For this reason, the individual tip surfaces of some individual lips cannot conform to the unevenness of the object, or the individual tip surfaces of some individual lips cannot contact the small object with respect to the suction surface. Even when a gap is generated between the object and the individual front end surface, the air flowing in from the gap flows along the path and negative pressure acts, so that the individual lip is elastically deformed to close the path. . For this reason, in this adsorption | suction apparatus, the malfunction which air continues flowing into a suction passage through the path | pass from the clearance gap does not arise easily. As a result, in this suction device, a negative pressure can be reliably generated between the object and the suction surface.

  In this way, this adsorption device can reliably adsorb an object even when an object having an uneven surface or an object that is small with respect to the adsorption surface is adsorbed.

  Further, in this suction device, each individual lip can be elastically deformed so as to close the path, so that it is not necessary to attach a valve plate to each suction port as in the prior art. As a result, this suction device can reduce the number of parts.

  Therefore, the suction device of the present invention can reliably suck objects having various shapes while reducing the number of parts.

  Each individual lip is preferably formed in a ring shape of double or more around the suction port. In this case, by bringing the suction port close to the center of the object and bringing the suction surface closer to the object, the individual tip surface of each individual lip formed in a ring shape of at least double around the suction port Since it adapts to the object around it, it is easy to secure a large area where negative pressure is generated. As a result, this adsorption device can adsorb the object more reliably.

  It is preferable that the height of each individual lip protruding from the suction surface is greater than the thickness. In this case, each individual lip is easily elastically deformed so as to approach the suction surface, and easily elastically deformed so as to close the path. As a result, in this suction device, the individual tip surface of each individual lip is more easily adapted to the unevenness of the object.

  Each individual lip is preferably made of a soft resin material. Examples of the soft resin material include various elastomer materials such as TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) such as soft nylon, soft PVC, TPO (olefin type), SBC (styrene type), rubber material such as EPDM, silicone rubber material, polyurethane, etc. System materials and the like. In this case, each individual lip is easily elastically deformed without greatly reducing the thickness, and the durability against repeated elastic deformation is easily improved. As a result, in this suction device, the individual tip surface of each individual lip is more easily adapted to the unevenness of the object. Further, for example, each individual lip can be easily formed by a manufacturing method in which a soft resin material in an uncured state or a heat-softened state is injected into a mold and cured.

  It is preferable that the base is formed with an enveloping lip that protrudes from the adsorption surface and surrounds each individual lip, and the encircling front end surface circulates around the suction port. The surrounding lip is preferably made of the same material as each individual lip, and the surrounding front end surface is preferably flush with each individual front end surface. In this case, since the surrounding lip surrounds the slit formed between the individual lips from the outside, it is difficult to cause a problem that air continues to flow from the slit from the outermost side. As a result, this suction device can generate a negative pressure more reliably between the object and the suction surface.

It is a perspective view of the robot hand with which the adsorption device of an example was adopted. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the tip side of the grip portion of the robot hand according to the suction device of the example. It is the front view seen from the arrow A direction of FIG. 2 regarding the adsorption | suction apparatus of an Example. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the CC cross section of FIG. 3 regarding the adsorption | suction apparatus of an Example. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3 according to the suction device of the example. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4 according to the adsorption device of the example. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4 according to the adsorption device of the example. It is a front view similar to FIG. 3 regarding the adsorption | suction apparatus of an Example. FIGS. 9A and 9B are partial enlarged views showing a region surrounded by an alternate long and short dash line quadrangle Q <b> 1 in FIG. 8. FIGS. 9A and 9B are partial enlarged views showing a region surrounded by an alternate long and short dash line quadrangle Q2 in FIG. FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the DD cross section of FIG. 8 according to the adsorption device of the example. FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 11 according to the suction device of the example. It is a front view similar to FIG. It is a front view similar to FIG.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Example)
The suction device 1 of the embodiment is employed in a robot hand 100 as shown in FIG. The robot hand 100 includes a hand main body 101 and a plurality of gripping portions 110 protruding from the hand main body 101. Each gripping part 110 has a first phalanx 111, a joint part 113, and a second phalange 112 from the tip side.

  Each of the first phalanx 111 and the second phalanx 112 has a substantially cylindrical shape. The tip side of the first phalanx 111 is hemispherically rounded. The root side of the second phalanx 112 is fixed to the hand body 101. As shown in FIG. 2, the first phalanx 111 is provided with an outer skin 111 </ b> A that covers the surface thereof in a sheet form. Since the outer skin 111A is in direct contact with the object to be gripped by the robot hand 100, it is made of a soft resin material such as a silicone rubber sheet.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the joint portion 113 connects the distal end side of the second phalange 112 and the root side of the first phalange 111. The joint portion 113 incorporates an actuator (not shown). By operating this actuator, the relative angle of the first phalanx 111 with respect to the second phalanx 112 changes with the joint portion 113 as a bending point. Thereby, the tip of the first phalanx 111 can be displaced in an arbitrary direction.

  In such a robot hand 100, the tip of each first phalanx 111 is displaced toward the grasped object while a grasped object (not shown) is positioned between the first phalanges 111 of each grasping unit 110. Thus, each first phalanx 111 comes into contact with the grasped object via the outer skin 111A. Thus, the robot hand 100 can grip the object to be gripped.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the robot hand 100 includes the suction device 1 at the tip of each first phalanx 111. Note that the position of the adsorption device 1 in this embodiment is merely an example of a specific aspect of the present invention. For example, the suction device 1 may be provided on the cylindrical surface of the first phalanx 111.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the adsorption device 1 includes a thin disk-shaped substrate 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the base 10 is affixed to the outer skin 111 </ b> A on the distal end side of the first phalanx 111. The base 10 has a suction surface 11 that is a circular plane on the surface facing away from the outer skin 111A.

  Moreover, the adsorption | suction apparatus 1 is provided with the suction passage 20 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the suction passage 20 has a single suction port 21 at the center of the suction surface 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the suction passage 20 extends through the base body 10 in the direction opposite to the suction port 21, and passes through the first phalange 111, the joint 113, and the second phalange 112. It passes through and is connected to a vacuum suction unit 90 provided on the robot body 101 side.

  The vacuum suction unit 90 includes a vacuum tank (not shown) in which the vacuum pressure is maintained, and a control valve (not shown) disposed between the vacuum tank and the suction passage 20. When the control valve is activated to connect the suction passage 20 and the vacuum tank, the air in the suction passage 20 is sucked and negative pressure is generated on the suction port 21 side.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the base 10 is formed with a plurality of individual lips 30. Each individual lip 30 protrudes from the suction surface 11 in a lip shape. As shown in FIG. 3, each individual lip 30 draws a substantially ¼ arc centered on the suction port 21 when viewed from the direction facing the suction surface 11.

  As shown in FIG. 3, for example, the four individual lips 30 </ b> A, 30 </ b> B, 30 </ b> C, and 30 </ b> D are formed in an annular shape around the suction port 21 by surrounding the suction port 21 equally apart from the suction port 21. The four individual lips 30E, 30F, 30G, and 30H are also formed in an annular shape around the suction port 21 by surrounding the suction port 21 at an equal distance from the suction port 21. Thus, in this embodiment, each individual lip 30 is formed in a ten-fold annular shape around the suction port 21.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the distal end surface of each individual lip 30 that faces away from the suction surface 11 is an individual distal end surface 31. The individual individual tip surfaces 31 are flush with each other. Each individual lip 30 has a height H1 protruding from the suction surface 11 greater than the thickness T1. In order for the individual lip 30 to be easily elastically deformed, the height H1 is more preferably about 2 to several times the thickness T1. Moreover, it is preferable that the space | interval W1 of each individual front end surfaces 31 adjacent in the thickness direction of each individual lip 30, ie, the radial direction of the circle centering on the suction port 21, is smaller than height H1.

  As shown in FIG. 3, slits 33 are formed between the individual lips 30 adjacent to each other in the extending direction of the individual lips 30, that is, in the circumferential direction of a circle centered on the suction port 21. For example, in the individual lips 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D formed in an annular shape, between the adjacent individual lips 30A, 30B, between the adjacent individual lips 30B, 30C, between the adjacent individual lips 30C, 30D A total of four slits 33 are formed between the adjacent individual lips 30D and 30A. The slit 33 is cut out with a narrow width from the individual tip surface 31 to the suction surface 11.

  Each individual lip 30 has the above-described cross-sectional shape, and the slit 33 is formed between adjacent ones, so that the individual lip 30 approaches the suction surface 11 as will be described later with reference to FIGS. The individual tip surfaces 31 are easily elastically deformed so as to be displaced in the thickness direction of the individual lips 30.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a surrounding lip 39 is formed on the base 10. The surrounding lip 39 protrudes in a lip shape from the outermost side of the suction surface 11. The surrounding lip 39 draws a circle centered on the suction port 21 when viewed from the direction facing the suction surface 11, and surrounds each individual lip 30.

  The front end surface of the surrounding lip 39 facing away from the suction surface 11 is a surrounding front end surface 38. The surrounding front end surface 38 circulates around the suction port 21 without interruption. Although illustration is omitted, the surrounding front end surface 38 is flush with each individual front end surface 31. Further, the sectional shape of the surrounding lip 39 is the same as the sectional shape of each individual lip 30 shown in FIG. 4 in this embodiment. The distance between each outermost individual tip surface 31 in the thickness direction of each individual lip 30 and the surrounding tip surface 38 is also the same as the interval W1.

  Each individual lip 30 and the surrounding lip 39 are made of the same soft resin material. Specific examples of the soft resin material are as described above. In this embodiment, the base 10 is also made of the same soft resin material as the individual lips 30 and the surrounding lips 39. For this reason, for example, the base 10, the individual lips 30 and the surrounding lip 39 can be easily integrally formed by a manufacturing method in which a soft resin material in a flowable state is poured into a mold and then cured and demolded.

  Between the individual lips 30 adjacent in the thickness direction of the individual lips 30, paths P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, and P9 that are air passages are provided. Further, a path P <b> 10 that is a passage for air is also provided between the surrounding lip 39 adjacent in the thickness direction of each individual lip 30 and each of the outermost individual lips 30. Each of the paths P1 to P10 draws a concentric circle with the suction port 21 as the center.

  As shown in FIG. 5 by the broken line arrows, the paths P <b> 1 to P <b> 10 communicate with the suction port 21 via the slits 33.

  As shown in FIG. 3, each individual lip 30 is provided so as to cover each slit 33 from the outside of the suction port 21. For example, the individual lip 30 </ b> F covers the slit 33 formed between the individual lips 30 </ b> A and 30 </ b> B adjacent in the extending direction of the individual lips 30 from the outside of the suction port 21. The other slits 33 are similarly covered. The lips 30 adjacent to each other in the radial direction of the circle centered on the suction port 21 are arranged with a 45 ° rotation about the suction port 21 so that the slits 33 are staggered. Specifically, each 1/4 arc formed by the individual lips 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D is rotated by 45 ° with respect to each 1/4 arc formed by the individual lips 30E, 30F, 30G, 30H. Yes. The surrounding lip 39 covers the outermost slits 33 from the outside of the suction port 21.

  The suction device 1 according to the embodiment having such a configuration sucks the object 99 as described below. For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the object 99 may have irregularities on the surface thereof. Moreover, the target object 99 may be small with respect to the adsorption | suction surface 11, for example, as shown in FIGS. In the following, the case where the suction device 1 sucks the object 99 from below will be described, but the same applies to the case where the suction device 1 sucks the object 99 from above.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, the robot hand 100 is moved so that the suction device 1 provided at the tip of the first phalanx 111 faces the object 99 from below.

  Here, the individual lips 30 adjacent to each other in the extending direction of the individual lips 30 are less likely to be constrained to each other due to the formation of the slits 33. Can be transformed.

  For this reason, as shown in FIG. 6, when the suction surface 11 of the suction device 1 is approached toward the object 99, the individual lip 30 in which the individual tip surface 31 comes into contact with the convex portion of the object 99 first is Elastically deforms so as to approach the suction surface 11. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the individual tip surfaces 31 of the other individual lips 30 easily come into contact with the recesses of the object 99.

  Next, the vacuum suction unit 90 is operated in a state where several individual tip surfaces 31 are in contact with the object 99. Then, the air in the suction passage 20 is sucked, and the air in the paths P1 to P10 is also sucked through the slits 33. Thereby, a negative pressure VP is generated at the suction port 21 and P1 to P10.

  At this time, a path between the individual lips 30 where the individual tip surface 31 abuts on the object 99, for example, paths P4 to P7 shown in FIG. Since the inflow of the air stops, the negative pressure VP increases. Then, since the object 99 is attracted to the suction surface 11 by the negative pressure VP acting, the individual lip 30 in which the individual tip surface 31 is in contact with the object 99 is pushed by the object 99 to be attracted to the suction surface 11. Further elastic deformation to approach As a result, the individual tip surfaces 31 of the other individual lips 30 are more likely to come into contact with the recesses of the object 99. The degree of unevenness (height) of the object that can be attracted is determined by the height H1 protruding from the attracting surface 11 of each lip 30, the thickness T1 of each lip 30, and the radius of the circle centered on the suction port 21. It is determined by the interval W1 between the individual tip surfaces 31 adjacent in the direction. For this reason, the height H1, the thickness T1, and the interval W1 are adjusted in accordance with the degree of unevenness of the object 99 to be attracted. At this time, the relationship between the height H1, the thickness T1, and the interval W1 is maintained as described above.

  The surrounding lip 39 having the same configuration as that of the individual lip 30 except that the slit 33 is not provided is also pushed by the object 99 and approaches the suction surface 11 when the negative pressure VP acts as in the case of the individual lip 30. Easily elastically deformed.

As a result, in this suction device 1, compared to the closed annular lips in the conventional suction device 1, the individual tip surface 31 of each individual lip 30 and the surrounding tip surface 38 of the surrounding lip 39 are targeted. Easy to adjust to the unevenness of the object 99.

  Further, in the suction device 1, as shown in FIG. 8, when the object 99 smaller than the suction surface 11 is sucked, a part of the individual tip surfaces 31 are not in contact with the target 99. As a specific example, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 9A, a part of the individual tip surface 31 of each individual lip 30C, 30D is in a state of being separated from the object 99, or FIG. As shown in an enlarged view, a part of the individual tip surface 31 of the individual lip 30G may be in a state of being separated from the object 99.

  For example, in the case shown in FIG. 9A, a space surrounded by the individual lips 30 </ b> C and 30 </ b> D, the individual lips 30 located inside them, and the object 99 is formed. In particular, in the part E1 and E2 of the space, air flows in toward the suction port 21 via the path P7, and therefore, as shown in FIG. 9B, the individual lips 30C and 30D A suction force F1 acts. As a result, the individual distal end surfaces 31 of the individual lips 30C and 30D are attracted to the individual lips 30 located inside thereof and come into contact with the individual lips 30. As a result, the inflow of air to the path P7 is stopped.

  For example, in the case shown in FIG. 10A, a space surrounded by the individual lip 30G, the individual lips 30B and 30C located inside the lip 30G, and the object 99 is formed. In particular, since air flows in toward the suction port 21 via the path P8 in the portions E3 and E4 of the space, as shown in FIG. 10B, the suction force F2 is applied to the individual lip 30G. Works. Thereby, the individual front end surface 31 of the individual lip 30G is attracted to the individual lips 30B and 30C located inside thereof, and comes into contact with the individual lips 30B and 30C. As a result, the inflow of air to the path P8 stops.

  In such a case, since the outer individual lip 30 and the inner individual lip 30 have the same original height H1, the outer individual lip 30 is brought into the suction port 21 by the suction force (for example, F1, F2). Even if it falls to the side, it seems that the height of the individual lip 30 on the outside is not sufficient and the air inlet cannot be sufficiently blocked. However, actually, as shown in FIG. 11, when the negative pressure VP acts, the object 99 is attracted to and approaches the suction surface 11 while crushing the individual lip 30 between the suction surface 11 and the object 99. . For this reason, the height H1 of the outer individual lip 30 becomes higher than the distance between the suction surface 11 and the object 99, and as shown in FIG. Can be sufficiently blocked. Here, it is considered that there is a case where the suction surface 11 and the object 99 are close to each other due to the suction force, and the outside individual lip 30 may fall down, so that the air inlet cannot be completely blocked. Even in such a case, since the air inlet can be made sufficiently small, the negative pressure VP can be reliably generated between the object 99 and the suction surface 11.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the individual tip surfaces 31 of some individual lips 30 cannot be adapted to the unevenness of the object 99, or some individual lips are attached to the object 99 smaller than the suction surface 11. In some cases, the 30 individual tip surfaces 31 cannot come into contact with each other, and a gap is generated between the object 99 and the individual tip surface 31. For example, FIG. 11 shows a state in which the individual tip surface 31 of the individual lip 30 positioned outside the path P8 cannot contact the object 99. In this case, as shown by a broken line arrow in FIG. 11, air flows into the path P8 from the gap.

  Even in this case, the air flowing in from the gap flows along the path P8 and, as shown in FIG. 12, the negative pressure VP acts, so that the individual lip 30 is elastically deformed along the small object 99. To close the path P8.

  The surrounding lip 39 having the same configuration as that of the individual lip 30 except that the slit 33 is not provided can be elastically deformed so as to close the path P10 when the negative pressure VP acts as in the case of the individual lip 30.

  Due to such elastic deformation of each individual lip 30 and surrounding lip 39, in this suction device 1, the paths P <b> 1 to P <b> 1 from the gap between the object 99 and the individual tip surface 31 and the gap between the object 99 and the surrounding tip surface 38. It is difficult to cause a problem that air continues to flow into the suction passage 20 via P10. As a result, in the suction device 1, the negative pressure VP can be reliably generated between the object 99 and the suction surface 11.

  In this way, the suction device 1 can reliably suck the object 99 even when the object 99 having an uneven surface or the small object 99 with respect to the suction surface 11 is sucked.

  Moreover, in this suction device 1, each individual lip 30 can be elastically deformed so as to close the paths P1 to P9. Similarly, the surrounding lip 39 can be elastically deformed so as to close the path P10. For this reason, in this adsorption | suction apparatus 1, it is not necessary to attach a valve plate to a suction opening like the said prior art. As a result, the suction device 1 can reduce the number of parts.

  Therefore, the suction device 1 according to the embodiment can reliably suck the objects 99 having various shapes while reducing the number of parts.

  In the suction device 1, each individual lip 30 and the surrounding lip 39 are formed in a ten-fold annular shape around the suction port 21. For this reason, by bringing the suction surface 21 close to the object 99 while the suction port 21 is opposed to the vicinity of the center of the object 99, the individual tip surface 31 of each individual lip 30 and the surrounding tip surface 38 of the surrounding lip 39 are formed. Since it adapts to the object 99 around the suction port 21, it is easy to ensure a large region where the negative pressure VP is generated. Further, since the surrounding lip 39 surrounds the slit 33 formed between the individual lips 30 from the outside, it is difficult to cause a problem that air continues to flow from the outermost slit 33. As a result, the suction device 1 can more reliably generate the negative pressure VP between the object 99 and the suction surface 11, so that the object 99 can be more reliably adsorbed.

  In addition, each individual lip 30 has a height H1 protruding from the suction surface 11 larger than the thickness T1, and thus is easily elastically deformed so as to approach the suction surface 11 and easily elastically deformed so as to close the path. ing. As a result, in this suction device 1, the individual tip surfaces 31 of the individual lips 30 are more easily adapted to the unevenness of the object 99.

  Further, since each individual lip 30 is made of a soft resin material, it is easy to be elastically deformed without greatly reducing the thickness, and it is easy to improve durability against repeated elastic deformation. As a result, in this suction device 1, the individual tip surfaces 31 of the individual lips 30 are more easily adapted to the unevenness of the object 99.

  While the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be appropriately modified and applied without departing from the spirit thereof.

  For example, in the embodiment, four individual lips 30, for example, individual lips 30 </ b> A, 30 </ b> B, 30 </ b> C, and 30 </ b> D are formed in an annular shape around the suction port 21 by surrounding the suction port 21 equally apart from the suction port 21. However, it is not limited to this configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, eight individual lips 230, for example, individual lips 230 </ b> A, 230 </ b> B, 230 </ b> C, 230 </ b> D, 230 </ b> E, 230 </ b> F, 230 </ b> G, 230 </ b> H are equally spaced from the suction port 21 and surround the suction port 21. It may be formed in an annular shape around the suction port 21. In the suction device of the present invention, it is sufficient that at least one slit is formed between the individual lips formed in an annular shape.

  As shown in FIG. 14, a plurality of other suction ports 221 may be provided in addition to the central suction port 21. At this time, the suction port 221 may be provided so as to open in the vicinity of the slit 33. In this case, the negative pressure VP can be reliably generated even in a path away from the central suction port 21, for example, the path P10.

  In addition, the cross-sectional shape of the individual lip may be a tapered shape that tapers toward the individual tip surface or a stepped shape. Moreover, the connection part of an individual lip | rip and a base | substrate may be R shape. The same applies to the surrounding lip.

  Further, each individual lip may draw an ellipse or a polygon around the suction port. A plurality of groups of individual lips formed in an annular shape around each of the plurality of suction ports may be gathered together.

  The present invention is applicable to industrial machines such as a gripping device and a robot hand.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Adsorption apparatus 11 ... Adsorption surface 10 ... Base | substrate 21 ... Suction port 20 ... Suction passage 99 ... Object 31 ... Individual tip surface 30 (30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, 30E, 30F, 30G, 30H) ... Individual lip 33 ... Slit P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, P9, P10 ... Pass VP ... Negative pressure H1 ... Individual lip height T1 ... Individual lip thickness 39 ... Surrounding lip 38 ... Surrounding tip surface

Claims (5)

A base having an adsorption surface and a suction passage formed in the base and opening at least one suction port on the suction surface, and sucking air in the suction passage so that a negative pressure is generated on the suction port side. An adsorption device capable of adsorbing an object on the adsorption surface,
The base is formed with a plurality of individual lips that protrude from the suction surface, extend around the suction port, and have the individual individual tip surfaces flush with each other.
A slit is formed between the individual lips adjacent to each other in the extending direction of the individual lips,
A path communicating with the suction port is provided between the individual lips adjacent to each other in the thickness direction of the individual lips.
Each of the individual lips is provided so as to cover each of the slits from the outside of the suction port,
Each of the individual lips can be elastically deformed so as to approach the suction surface when the negative pressure is applied in a state where the individual tip surface is in contact with the object, and the individual tip surface is the object. The suction device can be elastically deformed so as to close the path when the negative pressure is applied in a state where it does not come into contact with the suction path.   The suction device according to claim 1, wherein each of the individual lips is formed in a double or more annular shape around the suction port.   The suction device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the individual lips has a height protruding from the suction surface larger than a thickness.   The suction device according to claim 1, wherein each individual lip is made of a soft resin material. The base body is formed with an enveloping lip that protrudes from the adsorption surface and surrounds each individual lip, and an encircling front end surface circulates around the suction port,
The suction device according to claim 4, wherein the surrounding lip is made of the same material as each of the individual lips, and the surrounding front end surface is flush with the individual front end surface.

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