Vacuum holder connecting to work by channel includes work support collared by flexible rubber or plastics seal adapting snugly to work contours on contact.

摘要

The sucker (3) has a work support (21) and a seal (23) to move flexibly between vacuum channel and work and to adopt work shape once fitted to the surface. The seal wraps round the support pin (21) like a collar and can move round an axis with the support being joined to this by ball or cardan joint in response to servomotors. Seal and support are enclosed in a housing sleeve (20) to be extended and retracted into the sleeve by adjuster motors etc as fitted releasably to the column (16). The seal should expand in calyx shape on extending from the housing (20) and is made up of a number of overlapping blades or alternatively concertina-ed. The column (16) is extended off a motor (12) assisted by a sensor (25) reporting extension travel.