JPH02204243A - Substance suction device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely suck a substance in simple structure by connecting an air intake tube that communicates with a sucker composed of an elastic member, with an opening/closing valve, and by providing a controller that opens and closes the opening/closing valve by detecting deformation of the sucker when pressed on the substance to be adsorbed. CONSTITUTION:By means of a controller 17, one edge of an air intake tube is opened in the air with an opening/closing valve 12 opened, while a sucker 10 starts to descend by a vertical moving system 13 until it adheres to sheet material S. The sucker 10 descends further until it is pushed by the substance S and is deformed flat, and when it reaches a predetermined state of deformation, the edge of an actuator 16 touches the substance S, and a signal is sent from a switch 15 to the controller 17, which closes the opening/closing valve 12 and stops the actuation of the vertical moving system 13 temporarily. The sucker 10 is then lifted up by the system 13, and, by means of the elasticity of the sucker 10 trying to be restored, the inside of the air intake tube 11 becomes the state of negative pressure, and the substance S is thus attracted by the sucker. When the substances S is dropped from the sucker 10, the controller 17 releases the opening/closing valve 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an object suction device that uses a suction cup to suction an object to be suctioned, such as a sheet-like object, for conveyance, for example.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a method is known in which a sheet-like object is sucked by a suction cup connected to a suction pump in order to take out sheet-like objects one by one from a storage section and convey them.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a conventional object suction device, in which a suction cup 1 located above a sheet-like object S has an umbrella shape, and a ventilation hole 1a is provided in the center. is connected at one end. Further, the % suction tube 2 is supported by a vertical movement mechanism 3, and the suction cup 1 is movable in the vertical direction. On the other hand, a pressure gauge 4, an "rrt magnetic valve 5, and a suction pump 6 are connected in sequence to the other end of the intake pipe 2, and these pressure gauges 4, solenoid valve 5, and suction pump 6 receive a control gl signal. The control unit 7 is connected via a line.The solenoid valve 5 is a gas flow path that switches between directly connecting the intake/ff-2 to the suction pump 6 side or opening it to the outside, that is, the atmosphere. It is used as a means of changing.

First, the suction pump 6 is started based on a control signal output from the control section 7, the solenoid valve 5 is closed, and the suction pump 6 is directly connected to the intake pipe 2.

At this time, when the suction cup 1 is lowered by the vertical movement mechanism 3 and brought into close contact with the sheet-like object S, the sheet-like object S is attracted to the suction cup 1 by the suction force of the suction pump 6, and the inside of the intake pipe 2 becomes in a negative pressure state. . Since the pressure value in this negative pressure state is output from the pressure gauge 4 to the control section 7, the control section 7 controls the operation of the suction pump 6 so that this pressure value is constant. Then, the sheet-like object S attracted by the suction cup L is lifted upward by the vertical movement mechanism 3 and conveyed to a predetermined position.

When removing the sheet-like object S from the suction cup l at a predetermined position, the solenoid valve 5 is opened by a control signal from the control unit 7, the suction pipe 2 is switched to the open state from the suction pump 6 side, and one end of the suction pipe 2 is opened. Open to atmosphere. Then, intake pipe 2
Since the pressure returns from the negative pressure state to atmospheric pressure, the suction force to the sheet-like object S is lost, and the sheet-like object S falls from the suction cup 1.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, in the conventional object suction device as described above,
Units such as a pressure gauge 4, an electromagnetic valve 5, and a suction pump 6 are required, which poses a problem in that the device itself becomes large and expensive. Furthermore, unless the suction pressure of the suction pump 6 is accurately controlled, there is a risk that the sheet-like objects S may not be suctioned or that two sheets will be suctioned one on top of the other. Therefore, there are many error factors related to suction pressure control, such as variations in the performance of the suction pump 6, drive ``e'', differences in source frequency, and errors in the pressure gauge 4, which are major operational drawbacks.

An object of the present invention is to have a simple configuration.

To provide an object suction device capable of suctioning an object to be suctioned with a constant suction pressure and ensuring reliable suction.

[F stage for solving the problem] In order to achieve the above object, in the object suction device according to the present invention, an intake pipe communicating with a suction cup made of a 91-carbon material is connected to an on-off valve, and the suction cup is connected to an on-off valve. The present invention is characterized by comprising a control means for opening and closing the opening/closing valve by detecting a deformed state of the suction cup when pressed from above an object to be attracted.

[Operation] In the object suction device having the above configuration, the suction cup is lowered from above the object to be suctioned with the opening/closing valve open, and when the suction cup is pressed into close contact with the suction cup, the suction cup made of an elastic member is deformed. When the control means detects that the suction cup has reached a predetermined deformed state, the on-off valve is closed to seal the inside of the suction cup, and then the suction cup is pulled up. At this time, since the suction cup is made of an elastic member, it tries to return to its original shape, so that the suction cup becomes in a negative pressure state and attracts the object to be sucked.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained in detail based on the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of an object suction device according to the present invention, in which an umbrella-shaped suction cup 10 made of an elastic member is arranged above a sheet-like object S, and a One end of an intake pipe 11 is connected to the first ventilation hole 10a provided with a ventilation hole 10a, and an on-off valve 12 is attached to the other end of the intake pipe 11. The intake pipe 11 is supported by a downward movement mechanism 13, and a switch 15 is attached to the vertical movement mechanism 13 via an arm 14. A rod-shaped actuator 16 for detecting position is connected. And the on-off valve 12. Vertical movement mechanism 13.
And the switch 15 is connected to the control section 17 via a control signal line.
is connected.

Here, when an operation start signal is input to the control unit 17 from an input terminal device (not shown), the control unit 17 sends a control signal to the on-off valve 12, and opens the on-off valve 12 to one end of the intake pipe 11. released into the atmosphere. At the same time, vertical movement #Jl
! The suction cup 10 starts to descend due to the mechanism 13, and as shown in FIG. :In close contact. The suction cup IO continues to descend even after the dense RF, is pressed against the sheet-like object S, and deforms into a flat state. When the suction 5i10 reaches a predetermined deformed state due to the pressing force, the actuator 16
Since the tip of the switch 15 comes into contact with the sheet-like object S, the switch 15
sends a switching signal to the control section 17. Control part 1
7 receives the switching signal and closes the on-off valve 12, and also temporarily stops the operation of the vertical movement mechanism 13. Then, when the suction cup 10 is pulled up by the lower movement mechanism 13, the inside of the intake pipe 11 becomes a negative pressure state due to the elastic force of the suction cup 10 trying to restore itself, so that the sheet-like object S is sucked into the suction cup 10. . When the sheet-like object S is conveyed to a predetermined position by the suction cup 10, the control unit 17 opens the on-off valve 12 to return the inside of the intake pipe 11 from a negative pressure state to atmospheric pressure,
A sheet-like object S is dropped from a suction cup lO.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration diagram of the second embodiment, in which the sheet-like object S
A suction cup 2 in the shape of a flattened plate made of an elastic member arranged in the F direction of
0, an exhaust valve 21 and an intake valve 22 are provided, respectively. The valve body 21a of the exhaust valve 21 is located outside the suction cup 20, and is biased toward the upper outer wall surface of the suction cup 20 by a spring 21b provided inside the suction cup 20, while the valve body 22a of the intake valve 22 is It is located inside the suction cup 20 and is biased toward the upper inner wall surface of the suction cup 20 by a spring 22b provided on the outside of the suction cup 20, and normally the valve body 21a
, 22a are closed in close contact with the outer and inner wall surfaces of the suction cup 20, respectively.
h It is in a state where it is. In addition, the spring 2 of the intake valve 22
2b is a spring having a larger elastic force than the spring 21b of the exhaust valve 21, and the valve body 22a is urged toward the wall of the suction cup 20 with a stronger force than the valve body 2La. Note that a vertical movement mechanism 23 is attached to the suction cup 20 as in the first embodiment.

First, the suction cup 20 is lowered F by the vertical movator 4R23, and is pressed against the sheet-like object S to deform it. When the suction a20 starts to deform, the air in the suction a20 tries to push up the exhaust valve 21, so the spring 21b is compressed, the exhaust valve 21 opens, and exhaust is performed.

Here, when the suction cup 20 is slightly raised by the vertical movement mechanism 23, the interior of the suction cup 20 becomes a negative pressure state, so that the suction cup 20 attracts the sheet-like object S. Furthermore, since the intake valve 22 is more strongly biased than the exhaust valve 21 at this time, the intake valve 22 will not open even in a negative pressure state. When transported, the intake valve 2
The second valve body 22a is pressed from the outside. Then, the intake valve spring 22b is compressed by this pressing force, so the intake valve 22 opens, air flows in, the inside of the suction cup 20 returns from a negative pressure state to atmospheric pressure, and the sheet-like object S falls from the suction cup 20.

It should be noted that in this second embodiment as well, the switch 15, actuator 16, control section 17, etc. can be provided in the same way as in the first embodiment, so that they can be operated automatically.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the object suction device according to the present invention does not require a suction pump, a solenoid valve, a pressure gauge, etc., and the device can be simplified and lowered in price. In addition, since the object to be attracted is attracted only by the negative pressure generated by the specified deformation of the suction cup, error factors such as variations in suction pump performance, changes in power supply voltage and frequency, and errors in pressure gauges are eliminated. It is possible to always attract and transport with stable suction force.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Drawings 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the object suction device according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of its operation, and FIG. This is a configuration diagram of an embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a conventional example. Reference numeral io, 20 is a suction cup, 10a is a vent, 11 is an intake pipe, 12 is an on-off valve, 13.23 is a vertical movement mechanism, 15 is a switch, and 16 is an actuator. 17 is a control section, 21 is an exhaust valve, and 22 is an intake valve. Patent applicant: Canon Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A control means that connects an intake pipe communicating with a suction cup made of an elastic member to an on-off valve, and opens and closes the on-off valve by detecting a deformed state of the suction cup when the suction cup is pressed from above an object to be sucked. An object suction device characterized by comprising: