Patent ID: 9573280
Date: 2017-02-21
CPC Classifications: B25J,B65G

Claim:
1. A surface area vacuum gripper for suctioning and manipulating workpieces, said gripper comprising a housing having a vacuum chamber that can be subjected to a vacuum, a suction surface and suction openings on said suction surface facing the workpiece, a valve body, in particular a valve ball, a vane element, or a membrane valve of a flow control valve is disposed in the suction openings, said suction openings having a cross-section, wherein a flexible lining is allocated to said suction surface, which is applied to the workpiece, wherein a replaceable film is inserted between the suction surface of the housing and the flexible lining such that the film forms a part of the flow control valve, the valve insert, or a regulating valve, and the film has flow openings corresponding spatially to the suction openings, wherein the cross-section area of the flow openings is smaller than the cross-section area of the suction openings, and wherein the overall flow resistance for an air flow through a suction opening and the corresponding flow opening is determined by the flow cross-section of the flow opening in the film.