A DEVICE FOR HANDLING DISCS, SUCH AS CDs

Abstract: A device for handling light objects, such as CDs, with one hand without the objects, being touched with the hand, said device comprising one or more suction parts configured for inspiration against a plane face of the object and a gripper configured for being seized and secured with one hand, and wherein the movable piston body is provided at the gripper which is configured for complete or partial filling and emptying of a void in order to produce - via one or more communication passages - a sub atmospheric pressure between the suction parts and the plane face of the objects upon abutment and inspiration by the device against the object.

Description: A device for handling discs, such as CDs The present invention relates to a device for handling light objects with one hand only without touching said objects with one's hand, said device comprising one or more suction parts configured for inspiration against a plane face of said object and a gripping means configured for being seized and held with one hand. Devices of this type are used to seize and handle a variety of objects, such as CDs or CD-ROMs that may suffer damage when handled directly. When handled directly, deposition of dust, saline perspiration and other kinds of pollution may occur from the surface of fingers, which is harmful to many different types of surfaces. It is a particular problem especially in connection with the handling of CDs and CD-ROMs that their removal from ordinary cassettes for storing the discs is extremely difficult due to the gripping means that secure the CDs in their central holes being released only with difficulty which means that the CDs must be twisted or broken loose from the cassette which may have the practical consequence that it is necessary to touch and optionally scratch or soil the surface of the CDs which is both extremely delicate and intolerant of precisely such scratches or soil since this may entail a poor reproduction of the tracks of the CD. Such devices are known in which the suction elements are resilient whereby a light pressure against a plane face enables them to be firmly inspired there against. It may present a problem when such suction cup is to be let go when the object is to be released and in reality it is not possible to regulate the inspiration pressure. If more separate suction cups are used, complex devices are required to ensure that they let go of the surface simultaneously. In another type of prior art suction cups, a central part of the suction cup can be withdrawn upon abutment against the surface to create the requisite sub atmospheric pressure. In these prior art devices it will be very difficult - and involve an extremely complex construction - to configure the suction cups such that they have, to a very large extent, the shape of the objects to be seized by the relevant device. Thus, FR patent application No 2750910 discloses a suction device for handling eg CDs, which suction device comprises a plurality of flexible suction cups that are connected via passages to a common ventilation opening. The ventilation opening is located such that the operator can close the opening by use of a finger. Hereby it is possible to press the suction device against the surface of a CD following which the operator closes the opening with his finger and thereby the elastic lips on the suction device will, due to its resilient abutment on the surface of the CD, form a sub atmospheric pressure that secures the CD to the suction device. However, it is a problem of such lifting devices that the CDs often have surfaces with pictures and the like printed thereon which may prevent the lips of the suction device from engaging completely sealingly with an ensuing risk that the CD is dropped after a relatively short time. It is a further problem that the prior art suction cups are to be pressed against the CD while applying a certain amount of force to inspire properly, and this is undesirable, it being most often the case that the CD is to be lifted from a drawer in a CD-player which is relatively fragile and does not readily tolerate a downward pressure. In the light of this it is the object of the invention to provide a device for handling light objects wherein the sub atmospheric pressure in the suction means can be established in a simple manner, without necessitating that that the suction cup has to be pressed against the object to be lifted, and whereby it is possible to configure the suction means in accordance with the requirements made by a given object, eg. suction cups that touch only an annular area without the device becoming unnecessarily complex and heavy. This is obtained by a device of the kind described above wherein the gripper portion is provided with a movable piston body configured for complete or partial filling and emptying of a void in order to hereby - via one or more connecting passages - provide a sub atmospheric pressure between the suction parts and the plane face of the object by abutment and inspiration of the device against the object. The piston body makes it possible in a simple manner, eg by means of a finger not used for abutment on the gripper portion, to provide a well-defined sub atmospheric pressure in the void, and via connecting passages to transmit this sub atmospheric pressure to the area between the suction elements and the plane face of the object. In reality the piston body and the void constitute a pump that imparts the sub atmospheric pressure to the suction cups, and by use of a central pump separated from the suction cups it is possible to regulate the pressure in a simple manner in a single or more separate suction cups . The piston body may be configured eg with a spring means that serves to automatically return the piston body for filling or emptying the void, or it may be configured without spring means which means that the piston can be moved only by a finger. The piston body can be a usual piston that cooperates with a cylinder for generating a pumping effect, or it may be eg a flexible diaphragm or bellows element that can be displaced for modifying a void situated behind the diaphragm or the bellows. Claim 2 features an embodiment in which the object seized is a CD, and the suction elements comprise one or more suction cups arranged peripherally around a central area underneath the device, wherein the suction cups are delimited by an outer diameter that does not exceed the diameter of a CD-disc, and wherein the central area has a diameter that allows the central area of a CD disc to be free from suction elements . By this configuration a device is obtained which is particularly suitable for handling CD-discs. Fingers touching the transparent surface of a CD-disc - through which the optical reading of information occurs - should be avoided in order to keep this surface clean. For CD-discs a certain pull is required to release them from the diskette they are most often stored in and secured to at the opening configured centrally in the disc. This makes particular requirements to the suction elements that must have a certain size to be able to secure the CD sufficiently reliably, and at the same time it must be ensured that the suction elements do not abut on the rim of the CD or the central area where there is an opening and also, at a certain distance from the opening, an irregularity in the disc that should not be touched by the suction elements if the inspiration is to be effective for a protracted period of time . It is possible to configure the piston body such that pressure equalisation between the sub atmospheric pressure below the suction cups and the surroundings is established by influencing the piston body, or it is an option - as featured in claim 3 - to actually provide a valve that brings about such pressure equalisation. Of course, it is convenient if the valve is situated at the gripper means where it can be operated by a finger. For instance, the valve can be configured as an opening in the piston body or the gripper means that are covered by a finger when the device is operative, or an actual spring biased valve body may be provided that is kept closed by the spring bias and opens upon influence from a finger. According to one embodiment of the invention as featured in claim 4, the valve body is spring biased for filling the void, the spring force generating - following finger- operated emptying of the void - the sub atmospheric pressure necessary to secure the object against the suction means, since it is hereby accomplished that the piston body can be let go once it has been activated for emptying of the void. In that case the spring force will maintain the sub atmospheric pressure in the void and thereby ensure the suction force between the body and the suction cups of the device. By a further embodiment of the invention as featured in claim 5, the piston body is spring biased for emptying the void, finger strength generating - after the spring- operated emptying - the requisite sub atmospheric pressure for securing the object against the suction parts, and hereby it is possible, with ones fingers, to directly maintain a suitable sub atmospheric pressure for the relevant object, and it will also be possible to omit the valve since the sub atmospheric pressure is equalised by allowing the valve body to occupy its bottom position while driven by the spring. According to claim 6, the piston body comprises a dome- shaped elastomeric body. The elastomer will in that case bring about the spring bias . The dome can arch away from the void in the un-influenced state of the elastomer with the thus air-filled space beneath the dome, and such that a part of the air in the void is pressed out upon depression of the dome. When the dome is subsequently released, the spring biasing in the elastomer will subsequently attempt to impart to the dome its original shape, and thus to establish a sub atmospheric pressure within the void that can, via the connecting passages, be transmitted to the area between the suction parts and the plane face of the object. In connection with this embodiment an actual valve function may prove to be advantageous . The dome-shaped body can also arch into the void in its unloaded position, and in this position keep the void essentially devoid of air. In that case a ring or hook attached to the dome will then allow the dome to be lifted by means of a finger with a view to creating the requisite sub atmospheric pressure within the void. A simple and readily operable device is obtained if, as featured in claim 7, the piston body is surrounded by the gripper in the form of an annular flange, whose outside is configured for abutment by fingers. In that case the flange can be secured to the outside between two fingers, eg the thumb and the middle finger, in which case the index finger is used to operate the piston body. When, as featured in claim 8, the valve is located underneath the dome-shaped elastomer body and is configured for operation by pressure through the elastomer body, it is accomplished that the valve is within reach of a finger, irrespective of where the device is seized, and furthermore the valve will be hidden which contributes to maintaining a pleasant appearance . As featured in claims 9 and 10 the suction cups themselves can conveniently have a course that extends around the central area. In that case and as featured in claim 10, the suction cup can form an annular region or, as featured in claim 9, be constituted by one or more kidney-shaped parts. Hereby a relatively large suction area is obtained compared to the total area of a CD or any other item covered by the device . In particular in connection with CD-discs it has been found to be convenient if the abutment parts of the suction cups comprise lips that each have a small linear contact with the plane face of the item upon inspiration, as will appear from claim 11. The surface pressure on the contact faces between lips and CD is hereby high, and this contributes to preventing air from being drawn in between lips and CD. The configurations of the lips of the suction cups as suggested in claims 9, 10 and 11 will of course be suitable grippers for other items than CDs and they need not necessarily be connected to a valve body as featured in claim 1. However, it is also possible to configure the suction cups of the device, whose abutment parts comprise lips that each has a wide and flexible contact face with the plane face of the object upon inspiration, as featured in claim 12. The invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sectional view through an embodiment of the device according to the invention; Figure 2 is an exploded view of the device shown in Figure 1, seen in inclined perspective from below; Figure 3 is a reproduction corresponding to Figure 2 featuring, however, an alternative embodiment seen in an inclined view from above; Figure 4 is a perspective reproduction of the device shown in sectional view in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a reproduction corresponding to Figure 4 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3; and Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view of an exemplary valve element in accordance with the invention; Figure 7 is a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of the suction area of a device in accordance with the invention; Figure 8 is a schematic view of a second alternative embodiment of the suction area on a device according to the invention. Now, Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary gripper 20 in accordance with the invention wherein there is an annular flange portion 1 having an external, essentially conical engagement face 2. In the underside 4 of the flange portion, openings are configured that match the upright pins 6 of an annular assembly element 3. Between the flange element 1 and the assembly element 3, three separate elements are secured, viz the lip parts 7 of the suction cup, a relatively rigid bottom element 8, and the piston body in the form of a dome-shaped elastomeric element 9. The pins 6 extend through openings 10 in the lip parts of the suction cup, and openings 11 and 12 in the bottom element 8 and an outwardly oriented flange element accompanying the dome-shaped element 9 , respectively. A suitable connection has been established between the pins 6 and the flange portion 1, eg by gluing, welding, or a snap fitting. The bottom part 8 has external and internal, annular, downwardly protruding flanges that engage around the lip portion 7 and the assembly element 3 located between the two lips. As will appear from Figures 3 and 4, the top face of the bottom element 8 comprises grooves 14 that form connecting passages for holes 15 that extend through the assembly element 3, the lip portions 7 and the bottom element 8. Between the bottom element 8 and the dome- shaped element 9 a void 16 is delimited that will, via the passages 14 and the openings 15, be in communication with the area below the lip parts 7. If the gripper is now positioned on eg a CD-disc in such a manner that the lips enclose the central opening of the disc; and if the dome-shaped elastic element is pressed downwards, the void 16 is emptied partially of air, and when the element 9 is released and attempts to assume its original shape, a sub atmospheric pressure will be established in the void 16. The sub atmospheric pressure is transmitted via the passages 14 and the openings 15 to the area underneath the lips 7, and thereby the gripper is sucked firmly towards the disc that can now be handled without contact with fingers, and the CD can eg be lifted out of a cassette and positioned in a CD-player. In order to remove the existing sub atmospheric pressure in the void, a valve 17 is provided in a central opening 18 in the centre face of the bottom element 8. The valve 17 is made of a relatively flexible material and has a bearing surface 19 that abuts on the underside of the bottom element 8 around the opening 18. The valve 17 has a central portion 21 that extends upwards through the opening 18, and at the top of the central potion 21 there are abutment means 22 that extend downwards towards the top face of the bottom element and that will, by resilient abutment there against, ensure that an abutment pressure is maintained between the bearing face 19 of the valve and the underside of the bottom element 8. When the valve element is exposed to pressure from above through the dome-element the abutment means 22 will yield resiliently, and the abutment pressure in the bearing face is increased and via the play between the central portion 21 and the opening 18 a sub atmospheric pressure, if any, in the void 16 can be neutralised, and an object sucked firmly against the underside of the lips 17 is released. In figures 1, 2, and 4 an embodiment is shown wherein the lips are configured with narrow linear abutment faces 23. Hereby it is ensured, even in case of a weak sub atmospheric pressure, that the surface pressure between the abutment faces on the lips and on the CD becomes fairly high. This has been found to be advantageous in that it ensures attachment of a CD against the lips, even in case certain inevitable irregularities are present in its surface, eg due to the applied advertisement or information print on the top face of the CD. In the figure, lips 7 with a V-shaped section are shown wherein the tip of the V forms the abutment line. The pointed ends of the lips 17 mean that to some extent the material is capable of following the irregularities in the surface formed by the printing matter by the pressure on the CD. Figures 3 and 5 disclose an exemplary embodiment of the suction cups with usual wide abutment faces . They will be suitable if the object seized is not completely planar, the resilient lips still being capable of following the surface of the object. The embodiments shown in Figures 1 through 5 are configured with two concentric lips 7 that abut on the surface of the CD. However, the present invention can also be configured in another way, as is outlined eg in Figures 7 and 8 that show the configuration of the abutment faces in two alternative embodiments of the invention. Thus, Figure 7 shows that the suction areas can be delimited by a plurality of annular, circular abutment faces 23a. According to a not shown, alternative embodiment the circular abutment faces can be replaced by other annular, convex shapes, such as elliptic abutment faces . Now Figure 8 illustrates a further alternative embodiment, wherein a plurality of kidney-shaped suction areas delimited by the abutment faces 23b are configured instead.

Claims: C l a i m s 1. A device for handling light objects, such as CDs, with one hand only without touching the objects with one's hand, said device comprising one or more suction parts configured for inspiration against a plane face of the object, and a gripper configured for being seized and secured with one hand only, characterised in that a movable piston body is arranged at the gripper for complete or partial filling of a void for providing, via one or more connecting passages, a sub atmospheric pressure between the suction parts and the plane face of the object upon abutment and inspiration against the object . 2. A device according to claim 1, characterised in that the object seized is a CD, and that the suction parts comprise one or more suction cups arranged peripherally around a central area below the device, wherein the suction cups are delimited by an outer diameter that does not exceed the diameter of a CD-disc, and wherein the central area has a diameter that allows the central area of a CD-disc to be free of the suction parts. 3. A device according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that, also at the gripper, a service means is provided for a valve for establishing a connecting passage between the environment and the area between the suction parts and the plane face of the object for equalising the sub atmospheric pressure for releasing the object. 4. A device according to claim 1 or 2 , characterised in that the piston body is spring-biased for filling of the void, the spring-bias producing - following finger- operated emptying of the void - the requisite sub atmospheric pressure for securing the object against the suction parts . 5. A device according to claim 1 or 2 , characterised in that the piston body is spring biased for emptying the void, finger strength producing - following the spring- biased emptying - the requisite sub atmospheric pressure for securing the object against the suction parts. 6. A device according to claim 4 or 5 , characterised in that the piston body comprises a flexible, dome-shaped elastomer body. 7. A device according to claim 6, characterised in that the valve body is surrounded by the gripper in the form of an annular flange whose outside is configured for finger-abutment . 8. A device according to claims 3 and 6, characterised in that the valve is configured underneath the dome-shaped elastomer body, and configured for being operated upon influence of pressure through the elastomer body. 9. A device, optionally according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the suction parts comprise two or more suction cups, each of which has a substantially kidney-shaped suction area delimited by an annular lip configured with a convex course relative to the suction area of the suction cup at the part of the annular lip that faces away from the central area, and a concave course at the part of the annular lip that faces towards the central area . 10. A device optionally according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the suction parts comprise an annular suction cup, said suction cup being delimited by two separate annular lips, and wherein the two annular lips extend around the central area. 11. A device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the abutment portions of the suction cups comprise lips that each have a narrow linear contact with the plane face of the object by inspiration. 12. A device according to claim 1 or 2 , characterised in tat the abutment parts of the suction cups comprise lips that each have a wide and flexibly resilient contact face with the plane face of the object by inspiration.

Inventors: LARSEN TOMMY, LARSEN, TOMMY
Applicants: LARSEN TOMMY, TOMMY LARSEN A S, LARSEN, TOMMY, TOMMY LARSEN A/S
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B25B11
IPC codes: B25B11, G11B23