Patent Publication Number: US-2022228585-A1

Title: Powered pump units for vacuum cups, powered vaccum cup devices, and methods for applying a vaccum to a vaccum cup

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     Applicant claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/138,436 filed Jan. 16, 2021, and entitled “Powered Pump Units for Vacuum Cups.” The entire content of this provisional application is incorporated herein by this reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to vacuum cups, particularly vacuum cups used for lifting objects having a relatively flat, nonpermeable surface such as glass including auto glass, and countertop materials. More particularly, the invention relates to a powered pump unit for converting a manually pumped vacuum cup device to a powered vacuum cup device. The invention also relates to vacuum cup devices which have been converted to powered vacuum cup devices by the addition of a powered pump unit and to methods for applying a vacuum in a vacuum cup device. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Hand-held vacuum cups are commonly used to allow a technician to conveniently grasp and manipulate large flat sheets of material such as sheets of glass. Such vacuum cups are used in particular by auto glass technicians in the installation and removal of auto glass such as windshields for example. Hand-held vacuum cups, such as the device  100  shown for example in  FIG. 1 , commonly include cup part  101  and a base  102 . The base  102  supports a handle  103  and a vacuum pump  104  and also provides a connecting structure for the cup part  101 . The cup part  101  is formed from resilient and flexible material with a concave surface facing away from the handle to which the cup part is connected. The vacuum pump  104  in the example device  100  includes a cylinder  106  that is incorporated into the handle  103  so that the user may conveniently press a plunger  105  of the vacuum pump while grasping the handle  103 . As shown in the example of  FIG. 2 , the plunger  105  may be included in a plunger and piston assembly  200  that includes a plunger carrier  202  and a piston  204  connected to the plunger  105  through a linkage contained in the plunger carrier  202 . In the example of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the plunger and piston assembly  200  is inserted into the cylinder  106  to the position shown in  FIG. 1  and then the user may press and release the plunger  105  multiple times to reciprocate the piston  204  in the cylinder  106  and pull a vacuum on the volume defined by the concave surface of the cup part  101  against a surface (not shown in  FIG. 2 ). 
     Battery powered hand-held vacuum cups have become popular in the auto glass industry for several reasons, including their ability to maintain suction to the cup part continuously during operation, even when the user releases the vacuum cup device to perform other operations in the installation or removal of a piece of glass. This popularity is in spite of the additional cost of a battery powered vacuum cup to replace a manually operated vacuum cup the user may already have and in spite of the fact that prior battery powered vacuum cups were bulkier and somewhat more awkward to handle than manually operated vacuum cups. Despite the popularity of battery powered vacuum cups, many auto glass technicians continue to own and use manually operated vacuum cups. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the invention to provide powered pump units for use with vacuum cup devices designed for pumping with a manually operated vacuum pump. Other objects of the invention are to provide powered vacuum cup devices having a manual pump cylinder and methods for applying a vacuum to the vacuum cup of a vacuum cup device. 
     A powered pump unit according to one aspect of the present invention is operable with a vacuum cup device having manually operated vacuum pump. In particular, a powered pump unit according to this first aspect of the present invention is adapted to operate with vacuum cup device having a pump cylinder for a manually operated vacuum pump where the pump cylinder is adapted to removably receive a manually operated piston that is removeable to expose the pump cylinder. A powered pump unit according to this aspect of the invention includes a pump unit housing, a power source receiver, a vacuum pump, a pump drive, and a sealing arrangement. The pump unit housing is adapted to be at least partially received in the pump cylinder in an operating position after the piston is removed from the pump cylinder. The power source receiver, vacuum pump, and pump drive are each mounted on the pump unit housing and at least one of them is at least partially located in the pump cylinder when the pump unit housing is in the operating position. The vacuum pump has a vacuum port and a discharge port, the vacuum port being open to a first portion of the pump cylinder when the pump unit housing is in the operating position. This first portion of the pump cylinder is in fluid communication with a cup volume of the vacuum cup device. The pump drive is operatively connected to drive the vacuum pump to produce a vacuum at the vacuum port in response to power applied through a power source when the power source is operatively received in the power source receiver and activated to apply power. The sealing arrangement is adapted to form a seal with the pump cylinder when the pump unit housing is in the operating position. This seal serves to isolate the first portion of the pump cylinder from a remainder of the pump cylinder. 
     A powered pump unit according to this first aspect of the invention may be used to replace the manually operated piston for which the vacuum cup device is adapted. This replacement converts the vacuum cup device to a powered device. This conversion ability allows a user to convert the manually operated vacuum cup devices they already own to powered devices without changing the essential configuration of the device. Thus the user need not purchase a complete powered vacuum cup device. Furthermore, since the user is already practiced at manipulating the vacuum cup device in its pre-conversion configuration, there is no need for the user to adapt to an entirely different vacuum cup device that may have a different configuration. 
     Another aspect of the present invention comprises a powered vacuum cup device that has been converted using a powered pump unit according to the first aspect of the invention. A vacuum cup device according to this second aspect of the invention includes a device body that defines the pump cylinder for a manually operated vacuum pump as described above. Beyond the device body, a vacuum cup device according to this aspect of the invention includes a pump unit housing, power source receiver, vacuum pump, pump drive, and sealing arrangement as described above in connection with a powered pump unit according to the first aspect of the invention. Vacuum cup devices according to this second aspect of the present invention allow manufacturers to offer both powered and manually operated vacuum cup devices using the same design for the cup, cup base, handle, and vacuum pump cylinder. This saves both on tooling costs and also allows users to select their desired configuration, powered or manually operated, in a common overall device configuration with which they may already be familiar. 
     A third aspect of the present invention encompasses methods for applying a vacuum to a vacuum cup of a vacuum cup device. The vacuum cup device here has a configuration as described above in connection with the first aspect of the invention. The vacuum cup device further includes a pump unit housing, power source receiver, vacuum pump, pump drive, and sealing arrangement as described above in connection with a powered pump unit according to the first aspect of the invention. Methods according to this third aspect of the invention include, with the manually operated piston removed from the pump cylinder, inserting the powered pump unit housing at least partially into the pump cylinder to an operating position for the powered pump unit. Methods according to this third aspect of the invention further include operating the pump drive to drive the vacuum pump to produce a vacuum at the vacuum port and applied to the cup volume of the vacuum cup from the pump cylinder. 
     These and other advantages and features of the invention and various aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of representative embodiments, considered along with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a prior art manually operated vacuum cup device that may receive a powered pump unit according to embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view of a prior art plunger/piston assembly for use in the manually operated vacuum cup device shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric view of a powered pump unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is an isometric view of a powered vacuum cup device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a partial section view along line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 4  showing the pump cylinder with the powered pump unit of  FIG. 3  inserted to an operating position. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic side elevation view of the powered pump unit of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 7  is an isometric view of the powered pump unit of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 8  is an exploded isometric view of the powered pump unit shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is an isometric view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 7  from a different perspective. 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded isometric view from the perspective of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a circuit diagram of a powered pump unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a circuit diagram of a powered pump unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 13-16  are a series of isometric views showing a powered pump unit according to an embodiment of the invention being inserted to an operating position in the pump cylinder of a prior art vacuum cup device. 
         FIGS. 17-22  are a series of isometric views showing a powered pump unit as shown in  FIGS. 13-16  being operated to manually draw a vacuum on the vacuum cup of the prior art vacuum device shown in those figures. 
         FIGS. 23-26  are a series of isometric views showing the powered pump unit according to an embodiment of the invention being inserted to an operating position in the pump cylinder of a prior vacuum cup device. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF REPRESENTATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
     A powered pump unit  300  according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 3  is adapted to use with a vacuum cup device such as the example device  100  shown in  FIG. 1  having a pump cylinder  106  for a manually operated vacuum pump with a piston  204  that is removeable from the pump cylinder  106 . The illustrated powered pump unit  300  includes a pump unit housing  302  and a sealing arrangement  307  both shown in the view of  FIG. 3 , and a power source receiver  600 , a vacuum pump  604 , a pump drive  602  all shown in the schematic view of  FIG. 6 . 
     The pump unit housing  302  is adapted to be at least partially received in the pump cylinder  106  in an operating position after the manually operated piston  204  is removed from the pump cylinder (by removing the plunger and piston assembly  200  in the example of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ). By “pump cylinder” here and in the claims, it is meant the part of the prior art device in which the piston reciprocates and also any continuation of the cylinder such as the structure that contains the plunger carrier  202  in the example of  FIG. 2 . The sequence of  FIGS. 13-16  shows a powered pump unit  300 A in accordance with the present invention being inserted into the pump cylinder  106  of the example manually operated vacuum cup device  100 .  FIGS. 23-26  show a sequence in which the powered pump unit  300 A in accordance with the present invention is inserted into an operating position in a pump cylinder  106 A of an alternate manually operated vacuum cup device  100 A. 
     The power source receiver  600  shown schematically in  FIG. 6  is located on the pump unit housing  302  and may comprise simply a volume in the pump unit housing  302  for receiving a power source such as one or more batteries  601 . The power source receiver  600  may also include a battery carrier device  801  shown in the exploded views of  FIGS. 8 and 10 , adapted to hold a power source comprising a battery arrangement including more than one battery  601  (three batteries  601  in these examples). The arrangement of batteries  601  is mounted on/in the power source receiver  600  with leads of the battery arrangement operatively connected to, or connectable to, electrical contacts of the power source receiver. The example of  FIG. 6  includes an electrical contact arrangement  609  which is also shown in the exploded views of  FIGS. 8 and 10 . The batteries  601  may include rechargeable batteries and the powered pump unit  300  may also include a battery charging circuit  1201  having a battery charging port  1202  as shown in  FIG. 12 . Such a battery charging port  1202  may comprise a micro USB or USB-C receiver connector for example, or any other type of connector which may be used to connect to a power source suitable for driving the battery recharging circuit to recharge the rechargeable battery. The remainder of the circuit shown in  FIG. 12  includes the pump drive  602 , batteries  601 , and a switch  303  for selectively closing the circuit to operate the pump drive  602 . Where the powered pump unit  300  uses non-rechargeable batteries  601  the electrical circuit may simply include the pump drive  602 , one or more batteries  601 , and switch  303  as shown in  FIG. 11 . 
     The vacuum pump  604  shown schematically in  FIG. 6  is also mounted on the pump unit housing  302  and includes a vacuum port  605  and a discharge port  608 . The vacuum port  605  is located so as to be open to a first portion of the pump cylinder  106  when the pump unit housing  302  is in the operating position. This first portion of the pump cylinder comprises a portion in fluid communication with a cup volume of the vacuum cup device  100  and in the example of  FIG. 5  comprises the volume of pump cylinder  106  below (in the orientation of the figure) an O-ring sealing element  308  when the powered pump unit  304  is in the operating position shown in  FIG. 5 . The vacuum pump  604  may comprise any suitable device that may be driven by a suitable motor or drive to produce a vacuum to be applied to the vacuum cup of the device. The vacuum pump  604  may be a rotary vane-type pump for example, or any other suitable rotating or reciprocating vacuum pump. 
     The pump drive  602  shown schematically in  FIG. 6  is also mounted on the pump unit housing  302  and operatively connected to drive the vacuum pump  604 . When a suitable power is applied to the pump drive  602  through a power source operatively received in the power source receiver  600 , the pump drive  602  drives the vacuum pump  604  to produce a vacuum at vacuum port  605 . For example, the pump drive  602  may comprise a rotating DC motor. In this example, the operative connection to the vacuum pump  604  may be a connection, either direct or through suitable gearing, between a shaft (not shown) of the pump drive  602  and a shaft (not shown) of the vacuum pump  604 . The power in this illustrated example is in the form or an electrical current applied from a battery or batteries  601 . 
     Referring still particularly to  FIG. 6 , the sealing arrangement shown generally at  307  (and comprising O-ring  308  in this embodiment) is adapted to form a seal with the pump cylinder  106  when the pump unit housing  302  is in the operating position. This seal serves to isolate the first portion of the pump cylinder  106  from a remainder of the pump cylinder so that the vacuum generated by the vacuum pump  604  can be applied to the vacuum cup volume. 
     A powered vacuum cup device  401  according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 4  includes a device body  402  defining the pump cylinder  106  for a manually operated vacuum pump. Device body  402  also includes a base  102  and a handle  103  in the example of  FIG. 4 . In addition to the device body  402 , vacuum cup device includes a powered pump unit  300  as shown in  FIG. 3 , having pump unit housing  302 , a power source receiver  600 , a vacuum pump  604 , a pump drive  602 , and a sealing arrangement  307  as described above in connection with  FIGS. 3 and 6  and as described elsewhere herein. 
     The sealing arrangement  307  for powered pump unit  300  may comprise any suitable peripheral sealing device located or mounted on an external surface of the pump unit housing  302 . Such a sealing element may include an O-ring  308  for example held in a suitable O-ring groove of the pump unit housing  302 . It is also possible that the pump unit housing  302  could be configured with a peripheral area of very close tolerance to the cylinder  106  sufficient to provide an effective seal. 
     Referring particularly to  FIGS. 3 and 5 , the pump unit housing  302  may include an insertion component  305  and an extension component  306 . The insertion component  305  is adapted to reside within the pump cylinder  106  when the pump unit housing  302  is in the operating position while the extension component  306  is adapted to extend outside of the pump cylinder  106  when the pump unit housing  302  is in the operating position. Such an operating position is shown for example in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . It should be appreciated that although the figures show insertion component  305  in  FIG. 5  extending well in to the pump cylinder  106  (essentially to the bottom of the cylinder  106  adjacent to the vacuum cup  101  shown in  FIG. 1 ), it is within the scope of the present invention that the insertion component  305  may not extend sufficiently so that the sealing arrangement  307  forms a seal in the part of the prior art structure where the prior art manually operated piston was intended to reciprocate. Rather, the insertion component of pump unit housing  302  may extend only into the upper part of pump cylinder  106  that, in the illustrated example, provides a housing for the plunger carrier portion of a prior art piston/plunger assembly (plunger carrier  202  in  FIG. 2 ). In this case the seal produced according to the invention may be made in the upper part of cylinder  106  which essentially comprises a plunger housing that, in the illustration of  FIG. 5 , is a continuation of the pump cylinder  106 . As noted above, the plunger housing may be considered part of the prior art pump cylinder as the designation “pump cylinder” is used in this disclosure and the accompanying claims. 
     It should be noted from  FIGS. 5 and 6  that when the pump unit housing  302  is received in the illustrated operating position in the pump cylinder  106 , components of the powered pump unit  300  may reside in the volume defined by the pump cylinder  106 . Although such an arrangement is convenient to produce a more compact powered vacuum cup from a prior art manually operated vacuum cup device, other implementations of the invention may include one or more of the pump drive  602 , vacuum pump  604 , and battery arrangement  601  located outside of the pump cylinder  106  when the pump unit housing  302  is received in the operating position within the pump cylinder  106 . Implementations of a powered pump unit according to the present invention preferably position at least one of the vacuum pump  604 , pump drive  602 , and power source receiver  600  at least partially located/received in the prior art pump cylinder when the pump unit housing is received in the operating position within the pump cylinder. 
     The example powered pump unit  300  includes an electrical switch mounted on the extension component  306  of the pump unit housing  302 . The electrical switch  303  (see  FIGS. 11 and 12 ) may be activated through a switch button  304  and includes a switch position which closes a circuit to the pump drive  602  when the power source such as a battery arrangement  601  is operatively received in the power source receiver  600 . 
     In the illustrated example powered pump unit  300 , the insertion component  305  may comprise a cylindrical housing. As shown perhaps best in  FIG. 6 , a closure element  504  may be mounted at an end of the insertion component  305  opposite to the extension component  306  and the sealing arrangement  307  may include the O-ring  308  mounted on the closure element  504 . In the example powered pump unit  300 , closure element  504  is secured through a set screw  802  shown best in the exploded views of  FIGS. 8 and 10  together with cooperating threaded openings  803  and  804  in the insertion component  305  and closure element  504 , respectively. The vacuum pump  604  may be spaced apart from the closure element  504  to form and exhaust space  610  within the pump unit housing  302 . In such an arrangement the vacuum port  605  may be open to the first portion of the pump cylinder  106  through a spacer tube  606  extending from the vacuum pump  604  and through an opening  607  in the closure element  504  aligned with the spacer tube  606 . Also, the example vacuum pump  604  shown in  FIGS. 6, 8, and 10  includes a peripheral seal  612  acting between vacuum pump  604  and the inner surface of pump unit housing  302  to seal off the exhaust space  610  from the remainder of the pump unit housing  302 . One or more housing exhaust ports  502  may be provided in the pump unit housing  302  to allow a discharge from vacuum pump  604  to escape the exhaust area  610 . 
     A powered pump unit  300  and  300 A in accordance with the present invention may be used with substantially any prior art vacuum cup device having a pump cylinder for a manually operated vacuum pump. Although all of the illustrated example prior art vacuum cup devices ( 100  and  100 A) have a pump cylinder extending essentially perpendicular to the plane formed by the vacuum cup outer edge, the invention is not limited to such prior art devices. Rather, the pump cylinder of the manually operated vacuum cup device may be oriented at any angle to the plane formed by the vacuum cup outer edge. For example, the pump cylinder of the manually operated vacuum cup device may be oriented perpendicular to the pump cylinder orientation shown in the illustrated examples. 
     The illustrated powered pump unit  300  is secured in the operating position in cylinder  106  by the friction of the contact between sealing arrangement  307  and the wall defining the cylinder. No further securing element or connecter may be necessary. However, this friction preferably still allows the powered pump unit  300  to be manually pumped as shown in  FIGS. 17-22  to pull a vacuum on the associated vacuum cup through a one-way valve (not shown) in a fluid path between the cylinder  106  and vacuum cup volume, that is, the volume under the vacuum cup. In this manual operation, which may be helpful if the power source/battery  601  becomes depleted, includes moving the powered pump unit  300 A from the fully inserted position shown in  FIG. 17  as shown in  FIGS. 18 and 19 . This movement draws a vacuum in the volume of the cylinder  106  below the closure element  504  ( FIGS. 5 and 6 ). From the position in  FIG. 19 , a return stroke shown in  FIGS. 20-22  returns the powered pump unit  300 A to the fully inserted position for another vacuum stroke as in  FIGS. 18 and 19  if needed. 
     As used herein, whether in the above description or the following claims, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, that is, to mean including but not limited to. Also, the terms “about,” “substantially,” and like terms used herein when referring to a dimension or characteristic of a component indicate that the described dimension/characteristic is not a strict boundary or parameter and does not exclude variations therefrom that are functionally similar. At a minimum, such references that include a numerical parameter would include variations that, using mathematical and industrial principles accepted in the art (e.g., rounding, measurement or other systematic errors, manufacturing tolerances, etc.), would not vary the least significant digit. 
     Any use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the following claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another, or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed. Rather, unless specifically stated otherwise, such ordinal terms are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term). 
     The term “each” may be used in the following claims for convenience in describing characteristics or features of multiple elements, and any such use of the term “each” is in the inclusive sense unless specifically stated otherwise. For example, if a claim defines two or more elements as “each” having a characteristic or feature, the use of the term “each” is not intended to exclude from the claim scope a situation having a third one of the elements which does not have the defined characteristic or feature. 
     The above-described preferred embodiments are intended to illustrate the principles of the invention, but not to limit the scope of the invention. Various other embodiments and modifications to these preferred embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in some instances, one or more features disclosed in connection with one embodiment can be used alone or in combination with one or more features of one or more other embodiments. More generally, the various features described herein may be used in any working combination.