Carrying unit

• US 20060138793A1
• Filed: 12/27/2005
• Published: 06/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koganei Corporation
• Original Assignee: Koganei Corporation
• Inventors: Kaneko, Yukio, Tanae, Toshikazu
• Granted Patent: US 7,597,370 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 294/64.300
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/91 incorporating pneumatic, e.g. suction, grippers

Abstract

This invention provides a carrying unit capable of changing the holding force of a carried object, suppressing the deformation amount of a carried object held by suction and dropping the carried object quickly at a predetermined place. A carrying unit has a workpiece holding face opposing a carried object and a carrying head equipped with a concave portion having an air guide face gently continued from a bottom face to a work holding face. A cylindrical nozzle which forms a slit for discharging air between the carrying head and the bottom face in order to discharge positive pressure air toward the air guide face from that slit is mounted on the carrying head such that it projects from the bottom face. A central portion of the cylindrical nozzle serves as a vertical nozzle comprised of a vertical hole which is open substantially in a vertical direction with respect to the carried object for supplying positive pressure or negative pressure air to the carried object and a flat portion perpendicular to the vertical hole.

Claims

1. A carrying unit comprising:

a carrying head in which a workpiece holding face opposing a carried object and a concave portion dented to the side of a rear end with respect to the work holding face is formed and which carries the carried object in a holding condition;

a cylindrical nozzle attached to the carrying head such that it projects from the bottom face of the concave portion so as to form a ring-like air discharging slit between the bottom face and the cylindrical nozzle, and to discharge positive pressure air from the ring-like slit; and

a vertical nozzle having a vertical hole opens substantially in the vertical direction with respect to the carried object in order to supply positive or negative pressure air to the carried object, and having a flat portion at right angle to the vertical hole.

2. The carrying unit according to claim 1 wherein the concave portion has an air guide face continued gently from the bottom face to the workpiece holding face, and the slit discharges positive pressure air toward the air guide face.

3. The carrying unit according to claim 1, wherein the vertical hole is formed in central portion of the cylindrical nozzle acting as the vertical nozzle.

4. The carrying unit according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the carrying heads are provided on a holder plate and a plurality of the vertical nozzles are provided on the holder plate.

5. The carrying unit according to claim 1, wherein, with the carrying head disposed above the carried object such that the work holding face opposes the carried object, the carried object is carried in conditions that it is held via airflow between the work holding face and the carried object and airflow between the flat portion and the carried object, by discharging positive pressure air from the slit to suck the carried object toward the work holding face thereafter discharging positive pressure air from the vertical hole.

6. The carrying unit according to claim 1, wherein, with the carrying head disposed above the carried object such that the work holding face opposes the carried object, the carried object is carried in conditions that it is held via airflow between the flat portion and the carried object, by discharging positive pressure air from the slit to suck the carried object toward the work holding face and thereafter supplying positive pressure air to the vertical hole while stopping the discharge of the positive pressure air from the slit.

7. The carrying unit according to claim 1, wherein, with the carrying head disposed above the carried object such that the work holding face opposes the carried object, the carried object is carried in conditions that it is held by the work holding face by suction, by discharging positive pressure air form the slit to suck the carried object toward the work holding face and thereafter supplying negative pressure to the vertical hole while stopping the discharge of the positive pressure air from the slit.

8. The carrying unit according to claim 1, wherein, after the carried object is carried by the carrying head, the carried object is dropped by stopping supply of positive pressure air from the slit while discharging positive pressure air from the vertical hole.

9. The carrying unit according to claim 2, wherein, with the carrying head disposed above the carried object such that the work holding face opposes the carried object, the carried object is carried in conditions that it is held via airflow between the work holding face and the carried object and airflow between the flat portion and the carried object, by discharging positive pressure air from the slit to suck the carried object toward the work holding face thereafter discharging positive pressure air from the vertical hole.

10. The carrying unit according to claim 2, wherein, with the carrying head disposed above the carried object such that the work holding face opposes the carried object, the carried object is carried in conditions that it is held via airflow between the flat portion and the carried object, by discharging positive pressure air from the slit to suck the carried object toward the work holding face and thereafter supplying positive pressure air to the vertical hole while stopping the discharge of the positive pressure air from the slit.

11. The carrying unit according to claim 2, wherein, with the carrying head disposed above the carried object such that the work holding face opposes the carried object, the carried object is carried in conditions that it is held by the work holding face by suction, by discharging positive pressure air form the slit to suck the carried object toward the work holding face and thereafter supplying negative pressure to the vertical hole while stopping the discharge of the positive pressure air from the slit.

12. The carrying unit according to claim 2, wherein, after the carried object is carried by the carrying head, the carried object is dropped by stopping supply of positive pressure air from the slit while discharging positive pressure air from the vertical hole.