US3759560A - Conveying apparatus having vacuum type holding means - Google Patents

Conveying apparatus having vacuum type holding means Download PDF

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Publication number
US3759560A
US3759560A US00170593A US3759560DA US3759560A US 3759560 A US3759560 A US 3759560A US 00170593 A US00170593 A US 00170593A US 3759560D A US3759560D A US 3759560DA US 3759560 A US3759560 A US 3759560A
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United States
Prior art keywords
cylinder
valve
piston
teeth
control element
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US00170593A
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English (en)
Inventor
M Yoda
S Ishida
H Ashizawa
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Hitachi Ltd
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Hitachi Ltd
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Publication date
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B66—HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING
    • B66C—CRANES; LOAD-ENGAGING ELEMENTS OR DEVICES FOR CRANES, CAPSTANS, WINCHES, OR TACKLES
    • B66C1/00—Load-engaging elements or devices attached to lifting or lowering gear of cranes or adapted for connection therewith for transmitting lifting forces to articles or groups of articles
    • B66C1/02—Load-engaging elements or devices attached to lifting or lowering gear of cranes or adapted for connection therewith for transmitting lifting forces to articles or groups of articles by suction means
    • B66C1/0212—Circular shape
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B66—HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING
    • B66C—CRANES; LOAD-ENGAGING ELEMENTS OR DEVICES FOR CRANES, CAPSTANS, WINCHES, OR TACKLES
    • B66C1/00—Load-engaging elements or devices attached to lifting or lowering gear of cranes or adapted for connection therewith for transmitting lifting forces to articles or groups of articles
    • B66C1/02—Load-engaging elements or devices attached to lifting or lowering gear of cranes or adapted for connection therewith for transmitting lifting forces to articles or groups of articles by suction means
    • B66C1/0231—Special lip configurations
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B66—HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING
    • B66C—CRANES; LOAD-ENGAGING ELEMENTS OR DEVICES FOR CRANES, CAPSTANS, WINCHES, OR TACKLES
    • B66C1/00—Load-engaging elements or devices attached to lifting or lowering gear of cranes or adapted for connection therewith for transmitting lifting forces to articles or groups of articles
    • B66C1/02—Load-engaging elements or devices attached to lifting or lowering gear of cranes or adapted for connection therewith for transmitting lifting forces to articles or groups of articles by suction means
    • B66C1/0293—Single lifting units; Only one suction cup

Definitions

  • a lifting apparatus including a cylinder having at its lower end a flexible holding pad adapted to be placed on the surface of a body to be conveyed, a piston airtightly received in the cylinder, and a piston rod secured to the piston and extending through the upper end of the cylinder, the projecting end portion of the piston rod being adapted to be used for the purpose of hanging the apparatus, characterized by a bottom plate arranged at a position displaced inwardly toward the cylinder from a plane including the peripheral edge of the holding pad, a valve provided in the piston for controlling the communication between said cylinder and the holding pad, and depressing means confronting to said bottom plate and adapted to control said valve, whereby said valve is automatically controlled each time-
  • Such a known vacuum holder type lifting apparatus includes such a type in which a vacuum pump is provided for evacuating a holding pad which is placed against a body to be conveyed, as well as a pumpless type in which the weight of a body to be conveyed is utilized for producing a relative movement between a cylinder and a piston air-tightly engaged in the cylinder so as to produce a vacuum therein which vacuum is utilized to evacuate the holding pad.
  • the pumpless type which does not require any power source for driving the vacuum has widely been used as a portable type due to its convenience in use.
  • the apparatus is lowered until the body sits on the floor. Thereafter, the valve is manually opened and the apparatus is lifted. Since the vacuum in the holding pad is released in this position, the body can be released from the pad.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum holder type lifting apparatus which can hold and release a body to be conveyed irrespective of the elevation of the body without requiring any manual operation.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum holder type lifting apparatus which can be positively and automatically operated irrespective of the surface condition of a body to be conveyed.
  • the present invention provides a vacuum holder type lifting apparatus comprising a cylinder having at its lower end a flexible holding pad adapted to be placed against the surface of a body to be conveyed, a piston air-tightly received in the cylinder, a piston rod secured to the piston and extending through the upper portion of said cylinder, and an eye portion provided at the projecting end of the piston rod to be engaged by a crane and the like to lift the apparatus, characterized by a bottom plate having a vent hole and disposed at a position displaced inwardly toward the cylinder from a plane including the peripheral edge of said holding pad, a valve provided in said piston for controlling the communication between the cylinder and the holding pad, and a depressing portion confronting to said bottom plate for controlling said valve.
  • said valve is opened or closed when the depressing portion is displaced through the engagement with the bottom plate and thereafter returned to its original position by being released from the bottom plate, and closed or opened when the depressing portion is subsequently displaced through the engagement with the bottom plate and thereafter returned to its original position by being released from the bottom plate.
  • the valve can be positively controlled irrespective of the surface condition of a body to be conveyed.
  • FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the valve used in the apparatus embodying the present invention
  • FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the valve
  • FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing a first and a second saw tooth control elements
  • FIG. 6 is an expanded view of a cam in the saw tooth control element
  • FIGS. 7a-7 f are diagrammatic views showing the sequence of the control of the valve.
  • FIG. 1 shows a typical example of a pumpless vacuum holder type lifting apparatus embodying the present invention and comprising a cylinder 1, a piston 2 received in the cylinder 1, a piston rod 3, a hoist fitting 4 secured to the upper end of the piston rod 3, and a holding pad 5 secured to the lower end of the cylinder 1.
  • the cylinder 1 includes an upper cylinder unit 1a and a lower cylinder unit 1b which are secured together at their opposed flanges 6 and 7 by means of bolts 8 and nuts 9.
  • the upper cylinder unit la includes an upper wall 10 having at its center a bearing part 11 for passing said piston rod 3 therethrough.
  • a bearing 12 is secured to the bearing part 11 and guides the piston rod 3 for vertical movement.
  • the bearing 12 is held in position by means of a holding plate 14 secured to the upper wall 10 by means of bolts 13.
  • the lower cylinder unit lb receives said piston '2 which is secured to the piston rod 3.
  • a diaphragm 15 is secured at its one edge to the upper surface of the piston 2 by means of a plate 16 and clamping bolts 17 and at the other end between the flanges 6 and 7 of the upper and lower cylinder units la and 1b, respectively.
  • the diaphragm 15 may be a cylindrical one comprising a Tetron clothing coated by rubber material. Said other end of the diaphragm 15 is provided with a bead 18 so that the diaphragm 15 is securely held in the bead 18 for the purpose of air-tightly separating the cylinder units la and lb.
  • the holding pad is secured to the lower part of the cylinder 1.
  • the pad 5 is made of a flexible but strong material such as natural or synthetic rubber and so formed that it can engage with the lower peripheral edge of the cylinder 1.
  • a bottom plate 19 is provided for securing the holding pad 5 to the cylinder 1.
  • the bottom plate 19 has an air port 20 formed at an appropriate portion and is adapted to engage with the lower surface of the piston 2 so as to limit the lower stroke end thereof.
  • the holding pad 5 is secured between the bottom plate 19 and the lower edge of the cylinder 1 by means of screws 21.
  • the holding pad 5 can be secured to the cylinder 1 by any known means other than the bottom plate 19.
  • the holding pad 5 may be fitted to the inner or outer periphery of the lower part of the cylinder 1 and secured thereto by means of a band or a ring tightened by screws.
  • the air port 20 formed in the bottom plate 19 serves to pass the air taken into the cylinder when the piston 2 is moved upwardly in the cylinder under a no load condition.
  • a filter 22 is secured to the bottom plate 19 by screws 23.
  • a dial gauge type vacuum indicator 24 is secured to the side wall of the lower cylinder unit 1b for monitoring the pressure in the lower cylinder unit 1b.
  • the piston 2 is provided with an opening 25 for making communication between the upper and lower cylinder units 1a and 1b. In the opening 25, a valve 26 is air-tightly mounted for the purpose which will be described later in detail.
  • the valve 26 is provided with a depressing portion 27 which is adapted to be placed against the bottom plate and senses a fact that the piston 2 abuts the bottom plate 19.
  • valve 26 is shown by an elevational view in FIG. 2. The detail of the valve 26 will now be described taking reference to FIGS. 2 through 4.
  • the reference numeral 28 shows a cylindrical casing of the valve 26 which has on its inner surface spiral grooves 29 and 30 and at its central portion an inwardly projecting annular wall 32 which provides a valve seat 31.
  • the projecting wall 32 is provided at its central portion with an opening 33 for providing an air passage.
  • a first cylindrical body 35 having a valve closing compression spring 34 is mounted on the upper part of the cylindrical casing 28 by a spiral groove 36 formed on the outer surface of the body 35 and the co-operating spiral groove 29 formed on the casing 28.
  • the cylindrical body 35 is provided with a plurality of air ports 37 for communicating the exterior and the interior of the cylindrical casing 28 together.
  • the cylindrical casing 28 receives at its lower part a second cylindrical body 49 having a plurality of air ports 48 and secured to the cylindrical casing 28 by a spiral groove 50 en gaging with the spiral groove 30 in the casing.
  • the second cylindrical body 49 is provided at its center portion with an axial hole 52 having ribs 52a and adapted to guide the second saw teeth element 51 co-operating with the first saw teeth element 47.
  • the second cylindrical body 49 is provided at its lower outer periphery with a flange 53 extending radially outwardly from the cylindrical casing 28.
  • the flange 53 has a plu rality of holes 54 for inserting screws to mount the valve 26 at the opening 25 of the piston 2 as shown in FIG. 1.
  • a packing 55 is disposed between the lower edge of the cylindrical casing 28 and the body 49 so as to ensure an air-tight seal therebetween.
  • the valve rod 56 having the second saw teeth control element 51 is further provided at its lower end with a spring seat 58 secured by means of a screw 59 for supporting compression springs 57 constantly biasing the valve rod 56 downwardly.
  • the head of the screw 59 serves as the aforementioned depressing portion 27 of the valve 26.
  • the upper end of each compression spring 57 seats on one of shoulder portions 60 formed in the air passages 48, and the lower end thereof engages with a recess 61 formed on the upper surface of the valve seat 58.
  • the first control element 47 has a pair of cams 66a and 66b each comprising a first tooth 63 having a surface 62 of predetermined inclination angle and a second tooth 65 having a surface 64 of an inclination angle substantially the same as the angle of the surface 62.
  • Slits 67a and 67b are formed between the cams 66a and 66b for co-operating with the ribs 52a on the hole 52 of the second cylindrical body 49.
  • the second control element 51 comprises a pair of cams a and 70b each having a tooth (69) having a surface 68 of an inclination angle corresponding to the angle of the surface 62 or 64. Slits 71a and 71b are formed between the cams 70a and 70b for co-operating with the ribs 520.
  • the angular width 0 of the tooth 63 in the cam 66a or 66b may be for example the angular width 6 of the second tooth 65 may be for example 45 and the angular width 0 of the slit 67 may be 45.
  • the angular width 0 of the tooth 69 may be for example 50 and the width of the slit 71 may be the same as the width 6
  • the angular width 0, shows a flat area between the tooth 69 and the slit 71.
  • valve 26 The operation of the valve 26 will now be described in connection with the operation of the lifting apparatus shown in FIG. 1.
  • the piston 2 When the lifting apparatus is placed on a body 100 to be conveyed, the piston 2 is lowered due to its own weight as shown in the drawing. In this position, the depressing portion 27 of the valve 26 engages with the bottom plate 19. Since the portion 27 is depressed upwardly, the valve rod 56 is moved in the opening 52 of the second cylindrical body 49 up wardly against the action of the compression spring 57. Thus, the tooth 69 of the second saw tooth control element 51 engages with the tooth 65 of the first saw teeth control element 47 as shown in FIG. 7b so as to push the latter upwardly as shown in FIG. 7c.
  • the valve body 38 is also slightly moved upwardly through the valve rod 39. With this upward movement, the first saw teeth control element 47 moves slightly apart from the tooth 69, and the tooth 65 on the element 47 engages with the slanted surface 52b of the rib 52a.
  • the hoist fitting 4 on the piston rod 3 is lifted for example by a crane, the piston 2 is moved upwardly in the cylinder 1.
  • the depressing portion 27 is released from the bottom plate 19 and caused to move downwardly by the compression spring 57.
  • the second saw teeth control element 51 is also moved downwardly when the depressing portion 27 is lowered.
  • the tooth 65 of the first saw teeth control element 47 slides along the surface 52b of the rib 52a as shown in FIG. 7d and thereafter downwardly along the ribs 52a at its slits 67a into the opening 52.
  • FIG. 7f the valve member 43 on the valve body 38 is placed in sealing contact with the valve seat 31 so as to close the opening 33.
  • the compression spring 34 serves at this moment to lower the first saw teeth control element 47.
  • the piston 2 moves further upwardly in the cylinder 1 after the valve is closed, the inside of the cylinder unit lb is evacuated.
  • the space between the holding pad 5 and the body 100 is also evacuated so that the body 100 is securely held by the holding pad 5.
  • valve 26 is opened as shown in FIG. 3. Therefore, when the apparatus is lifted, the air in the upper cylinder unit 1a is allowed to flow through the valve 26 into the lower cylinder unit lb as shown by the arrow in the drawing. Thus, the inside of the holding pad 5 is not evacuated and the apparatus releases the body 100.
  • first saw teeth control element 47 is integrally formed with the valve rod 39 and the valve body 33 is pivotally mounted so that it can pivot with respect to the spring seat 43, however, it should of course be noted that the first saw teeth control element 47 may be so mounted that it can pivot with respect to the valve rod 39.
  • a vacuum holder type lifting apparatus comprising a substantially longitudinally disposed cylinder provided at the lower end thereof with a flexible holding pad co-operating with the plane of a body to be conveyed, a piston air-tightly received in the cylinder and operated to move up-and-down, and a piston rod connected at the lower end thereof with said piston and provided at the upper end thereof with a hoist fitting, said upper end of said piston rod projecting from the upper portion of said cylinder so as to be guided, characterized in that the vacuum holder type lifting apparatus includes a bottom plate disposed slightly inwardly of the cylinder from a plane defined by the peripheral edge of the holding pad, said bottom plate being provided with a vent hole, and a change-over valve provided in the piston for selectively connecting upper and lower spaces formed in said cylinder and partitioned by said piston with each other, and that the change-over valve includes a valve seat, a valve body opposed to said valve seat and supported rotatably, means for biasing said valve body toward a valve closing direction, a
  • a vacuum holder type lifting apparatus characterized in that the first saw tooth control element of the change-over valve comprises slits guided selectively to ribs formed on a hole of a cylindrical body arranged beneath the valve seat opposed to said valve body, and the pair of teeth include first and second teeth formed adjacent to said slits and having inclined planes with substantially the same angle of inclination, and that the second saw tooth control element comprises slits guided to the ribs formed on said hole, and teeth formed adjacent to said slits and having inclined planes with the substantially same angle of inclination of that of the first and second teeth, said teeth being opposed to said first and second teeth.
  • a vacuum holder type lifting apparatus characterized in that the depressing portion provided at the lower portion of the second saw tooth control element is always depressed downwardly from the change-over valve body by a compression spring.
  • a vacuum holder type lifting apparatus characterized in that the change-over valve includes a cylindrical casing having the valve seat provided at the central portion thereof with an opening, said casing having the upper and lower inner peripheral faces thereof provided with internal threads, first cylindrical body provided at the outer periphery thereof with external threads engaging with the upper internal with the lower internal threads of the cylindrical casing, said second cylindrical body being provided at the central portion thereof with vent holes, an opening and ribs adapted to guide the first and second saw tooth control elements for up-and-down movement.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Load-Engaging Elements For Cranes (AREA)
  • Manipulator (AREA)
US00170593A 1970-08-12 1971-08-10 Conveying apparatus having vacuum type holding means Expired - Lifetime US3759560A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP45070071A JPS4944149B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1970-08-12 1970-08-12

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US3759560A true US3759560A (en) 1973-09-18

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Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3970341A (en) * 1973-12-05 1976-07-20 Vacu-Lift Machinenbau Gmbh Vacuum lifting unit including a suction cup
US4187052A (en) * 1974-08-17 1980-02-05 Hergeth KG. Maschinenfabrik und Apparatebau Method of opening bales
USD271586S (en) 1981-04-30 1983-11-29 Myotoku Ltd. Combined vacuum pump and control valve therefor
USD271587S (en) 1981-04-30 1983-11-29 Myotoku Ltd. Combined vacuum pump and control valve therefor
US5388879A (en) * 1992-02-04 1995-02-14 House Food Industrial Co., Ltd. Suction type robot hand
US6457759B1 (en) * 1999-10-13 2002-10-01 Nec Corporation Adsorption pen improved in operability
US20100066108A1 (en) * 2008-09-05 2010-03-18 Heinrich Ostendarp Vacuum lifting tool
US20110036673A1 (en) * 2009-08-12 2011-02-17 Hiroshi Kasuga Load weighting control apparatus
EP2392832A3 (de) * 2010-06-01 2013-03-06 Zack GmbH Saughalterung
US9399297B2 (en) * 2013-05-24 2016-07-26 Vtec Co., Ltd. Pad-separable suction cup
US10030690B2 (en) * 2014-08-28 2018-07-24 Xiamen Nailless Technology Co., Ltd. High-negative-pressure composite hard suction cup

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3431010A (en) * 1966-11-04 1969-03-04 Vacu Lift Maschbau Vacuum lifting device,preferably for flat objects

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3431010A (en) * 1966-11-04 1969-03-04 Vacu Lift Maschbau Vacuum lifting device,preferably for flat objects

Cited By (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3970341A (en) * 1973-12-05 1976-07-20 Vacu-Lift Machinenbau Gmbh Vacuum lifting unit including a suction cup
US4187052A (en) * 1974-08-17 1980-02-05 Hergeth KG. Maschinenfabrik und Apparatebau Method of opening bales
USD271586S (en) 1981-04-30 1983-11-29 Myotoku Ltd. Combined vacuum pump and control valve therefor
USD271587S (en) 1981-04-30 1983-11-29 Myotoku Ltd. Combined vacuum pump and control valve therefor
US5388879A (en) * 1992-02-04 1995-02-14 House Food Industrial Co., Ltd. Suction type robot hand
US6457759B1 (en) * 1999-10-13 2002-10-01 Nec Corporation Adsorption pen improved in operability
US20100066108A1 (en) * 2008-09-05 2010-03-18 Heinrich Ostendarp Vacuum lifting tool
US8500181B2 (en) * 2008-09-05 2013-08-06 Bohle Ag Vacuum lifting tool
US20110036673A1 (en) * 2009-08-12 2011-02-17 Hiroshi Kasuga Load weighting control apparatus
US7938467B2 (en) * 2009-08-12 2011-05-10 Hiroshi Kasuga Load weighting control apparatus
EP2392832A3 (de) * 2010-06-01 2013-03-06 Zack GmbH Saughalterung
US9399297B2 (en) * 2013-05-24 2016-07-26 Vtec Co., Ltd. Pad-separable suction cup
US10030690B2 (en) * 2014-08-28 2018-07-24 Xiamen Nailless Technology Co., Ltd. High-negative-pressure composite hard suction cup

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS4944149B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1974-11-26

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