Abstract:
A method and an apparatus for the manipulation of objects are provided, comprising steps of creating a low pressure zone between a plate with a gas-flowing surface and an object to be manipulated. This gas is forced to flow between the surface of the plate and the object. The low-pressure zone created between the surface and the object results in a force acting on the object and towards the plate. By moving the plate the object is moved. The method and apparatus are easy to implement and provide non-contact or contact manipulation of objects.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not applicable 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable 
       REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX 
       [0003]    Not applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0005]    This invention relates to the manipulation of objects. It relates especially to a method and an apparatus for manipulating objects. 
         [0006]    2. Discussion of Prior Art 
         [0007]    After an extensive patent search and an extensive search of other relevant literature in engineering journals and books, this inventor did not find anything applicable to this invention. There is no prior art dealing with object manipulation by employing low-pressure zones created by pressurized gas flow. 
         [0008]    It would be advantageous to have a simple, low-cost non-contact method and apparatus for manipulation of objects that could reduce or eliminate object-manipulator contact contamination (biological or other), and preserve material surfaces like surface finish or shape. It would be further advantageous to have a simple, low-cost method and apparatus for the manipulation of objects of irregular shapes that are hard to manipulate by other methods. It would be further advantageous to have a simple, low-cost method and apparatus for the manipulation of porous objects. It would be further advantageous to have a simple, low-cost method and apparatus for the manipulation of objects in automated operations that are more flexible than other methods so that the use of other object feeders/sorters can be reduced or even eliminated. 
         [0009]    3. Objects and Advantages 
         [0010]    It is one object of this invention to provide a simple, inexpensive, and non-contact method for the manipulation of objects having at least one relatively flat surface. 
         [0011]    It is another object of this invention to provide a simple and inexpensive method for the manipulation of irregularly shaped objects. 
         [0012]    It is another object of this invention to provide a simple and inexpensive apparatus for practicing the present invention. 
         [0013]    To achieve these objects of the invention, a method and an apparatus for the manipulation of objects are provided, comprising first placing the apparatus of the present invention into close proximity of the object to be manipulated, then supplying a gas flow through the nozzle of the apparatus thus creating negative pressure between the plate of the apparatus facing the object and the object and therefore creating an attractive force between the two which is strong enough to move the object when the apparatus is moved. Preferably, during the manipulation of an object when the manipulated object is an irregularly shaped object, the object is in contact with the apparatus. Preferably, during non-contact manipulation of an object, the manipulated object has at least one flat surface facing but not touching the plate of the apparatus. 
         [0014]    The present process can manipulate objects having porous or solid surfaces. In addition, the process can manipulate an object without any contact between the object and the apparatus of the present invention when the object has at least one relatively flat porous or solid surface. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, a method for the manipulation of irregularly shaped objects using low pressure between the object and the apparatus of the present invention is disclosed. In accordance with the practice of the invention, gas flow introduced by a gas-carrying member into the space between the flat surface of the plate facing the object and the object to be manipulated creates a low-pressure zone and therefore a force between the object and the surface of the plate allowing manipulation of the object. According to the embodiments of the present invention, objects with at least one relatively flat surface can be further manipulated without a physical contact with the apparatus of the present invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         [0016]    Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, which follows. Reference will be had to the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0017]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  are perspective and front views showing an apparatus with an object having at least one flat surface prepared to practice the process of the present invention; and 
           [0018]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  are perspective and front views showing an apparatus with an irregularly shaped object prepared to practice the process of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DRAWINGS—REFERENCE NUMERALS 
       [0000]    
       
         
           
               2 —plate 
               4 —object with at least one flat surface 
               5 —irregularly shaped object 
               6 —gas-carrying member 
               8 —gap 
               10 —direction of gas flow 
               12 —nozzle 
           
         
       
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0026]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  are illustrations of an apparatus suitable for the practice of the present invention for the manipulation of objects having at least one flat surface. The apparatus comprises a gas-carrying member  6  with a nozzle  12  attached to a plate  2 . To manipulate an object with at least one flat surface  4 , plate  2  is placed in close proximity to object  4  thus creating a gap  8 . Then, a gas is supplied in the direction of the gas flow  10  through gas-carrying member  6  and nozzle  12 . Gas flow between plate  2  and object  4  creates a low-pressure zone in gap  8  causing an attractive force between plate  2  and object  4 . By moving plate  2 , object  4  is pulled even though it is not in contact with plate  2 . Gap  8  between plate  2  and object  4  remains during object manipulation allowing non-contact manipulation of object  4  by the apparatus of the present invention. At the end of the manipulation, object  4  is released from the apparatus by sufficiently reducing or switching off the gas supply to gas-carrying member  6 . 
         [0027]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  are illustrations of an apparatus suitable for the practice of the present invention including an irregularly shaped object  5 . To manipulate an irregularly shaped object  5 , plate  2  is placed in contact with object  5 . Then, a gas is supplied in the direction of the gas flow  10  through gas-carrying member  6  and nozzle  12 . Gas flow between plate  2  and object  5  creates negative pressure between them causing a force between plate  2  and object  5 . By moving plate  2 , object  5  also moves with the plate. At the end of the manipulation, object  5  is released from the apparatus by sufficiently reducing or switching off the gas supply to gas-carrying member  6 . 
         [0028]    By adjusting one or more process conditions of the present invention, such as the gas flow, the plate surface type, shape and area, nozzle shape and dimensions the process can be optimized for maximum attraction force between the plate and the object. It is relatively easy for one skilled in the art to provide manual or automatic control of the gas flow by changing the inner diameter of the gas-carrying member, the size and type of nozzle, the gas pressure, and/or the plate surface size, surface finish and/or flatness. 
         [0029]    This inventor has completed several runs in accordance with the process of the present invention. The following examples present detailed descriptions of two embodiments of the present process. These detailed descriptions fall within the scope of, and serve to exemplify, the more generally described process set forth above. The examples are presented for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended as a restriction on the scope of the invention. 
       EXAMPLE 1 
       [0030]    This example describes non-contact manipulation of objects having at least one flat surface. The apparatus of  FIG. 1A  is connected to shop air via a filter lubricator regulator (FRL) unit, a pneumatic on/off valve, and a pneumatic hose. The regulator is adjusted to a desired air pressure. Plate  2  with dimensions of about 6″×6″×0.5″, made of aluminum and having a flat bottom surface, is used. According to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the apparatus is placed at the top of and in close proximity to the object to be manipulated. This inventor used a number of cylindrical aluminum and steel objects of various weights and sizes. Then, by switching on the pneumatic valve, air pressures from about 30 PSI to about 100 PSI are applied through the about 0.25-inch inner diameter gas-carrying member of the apparatus. By varying the air pressure from about 40 PSI to about 80 PSI one can lift with the apparatus cylindrical objects from about 180 grams to about 1200 grams without contacting the apparatus. The gap size between the plate surface and the flat surface of the manipulated objects is from about 0.01 inch to about 0.15 inch. 
         [0031]    Another set of runs is performed to maximize the force between the bottom surface of the plate and manipulated objects. Incrementally, the bottom surface of the plate was modified in such a way to create a concave surface of various concavity angles. The angles of concavity from about 0 degrees to about 9 degrees in increments of one degree are investigated. To create these concave surfaces, the aluminum plate of previous runs is secured in a lathe and a shallow cone at an angle of about 1 degree with respect to the original flat bottom surface is cut out from the flat bottom surface. The cone vertex is in the center of the plate and the center of the nozzle. Then, this plate is used to lift objects of various weights at various pressures. The process with a modified plate up to about a 9-degree cone cutoff is investigated. The maximum force is obtained for about 3 degrees angle of concavity. In this case, by varying the air pressure from about 40 PSI to about 80 PSI the apparatus is able to lift cylindrical objects from about 230 grams to about 1400 grams without contacting the apparatus. This is an increase in lifting capacity of the apparatus of about 20%. 
         [0032]    A set of runs is performed to investigate the effect of the surface finish of the bottom surface of plate  2  on the force between this surface and object  4 . Apparatus operations with the aluminum plate used previously having poor surface finish, machined surface, and having a manually polished surface are compared. The manually polished surface exhibits the highest force. 
         [0033]    To prove the ability of the disclosed method and apparatus to manipulate porous objects, an 8.5″×4.5″ piece of Vector Electronic Company punchboard with 0.042 inch diameter holes arranged in a grid with a hole-density of 10 holes per inch is successfully lifted. 
       EXAMPLE 2 
       [0034]    This example describes the manipulation of irregularly shaped objects in contact with the apparatus of this invention. The apparatus of  FIG. 2A  is connected to shop air via a filter lubricator regulator (FRL) unit, a pneumatic on/off valve, and a pneumatic hose. The regulator is adjusted to a desired air pressure. Plate  2 , with dimensions of about 6″×6″×0.5″, made of aluminum and having a flat bottom surface, is used. According to  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the apparatus is placed on the top of the object to be manipulated. This inventor used a number of irregularly shaped objects of various shapes, weights, and sizes. Then, by switching on the pneumatic valve, air pressures of about 30 PSI to about 100 PSI are applied through the about 0.25-inch inner diameter gas-carrying member of the apparatus. The force created between the bottom surface of plate  2  and object  5  due to the gas flow between them allows lifting object  5  by lifting the apparatus. In addition, irregularly shaped objects from about 100 grams to about 200 grams can be tilted from about 4 degrees to about 11 degrees using air pressures from about 40 PSI to about 80 PSI during manipulation. 
         [0035]    When a concave surface having a concavity angle of about 3 degrees is used for the bottom surface of plate  2 , the force between the bottom surface of plate  2  and object  5  is increased. During manipulation, irregularly shaped objects from about 100 grams to about 200 grams can be tilted from about 10 degrees to about 35 degrees using air pressures from about 40 PSI to about 80 PSI. 
       CONCLUSIONS, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE 
       [0036]    According to one embodiment of this invention, I have provided a simple method and apparatus for contactless manipulation of objects having at least one flat porous or solid surface undisclosed in the prior art. Gas flow is used to create an attraction force between the apparatus and the object to be manipulated, as well as to provide and maintain a gap between them. 
         [0037]    According to another embodiment of this invention, I have provided a simple contact method and apparatus for manipulating objects. 
         [0038]    The above embodiments of the current invention have additional advantages in that
       a) they can manipulate a wide variety of objects without the need for complicated apparati or retooling;   b) they can manipulate objects having at least one relatively flat surface without making a contact with the apparatus of the present invention; and   c) they can manipulate objects having porous surfaces.       
 
         [0042]    Although the description above contains much specificity, this should not be construed as limiting the scope of any embodiment, but as exemplifications of the presently preferred embodiments thereof. Many other ramifications and variations are possible within the teachings of the various embodiments. For example, one skilled in the art could use a cylindrical plastic plate as plate  2  of the present invention, could provide a continuous flow control valve instead of an on/off valve as disclosed, could rotate the apparatus to pull the object in a desired direction, or one could add structural members to restrict any sliding motion of the object. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, and not by the examples given.