Patent ID: 7673914

Claim:
A suction device comprising: a suction cup positionable on a surface of an object to be handled; a pump comprising a cylinder mounted to the suction cup and in communication with the suction cup and a plunger received in the cylinder, the pump being operable to cause the suction cup to induce suction force acting on the surface of the object, the plunger comprising: an alert device mounted to an outer end of the plunger, a hollow barrel forming an opposite inner end of the plunger and received in the cylinder, the barrel receiving therein a rod and a first resilient element, the rod having a first end slidably extending through the inner end of the barrel and a washer seat fixed to the inner end of the barrel and fixed to a carrier that carries a rubber block and an opposite second end serving as the outer end of the plunger and carrying the alert device, the first resilient element being retained between the inner end of the barrel and the second end of the rod, and an actuation bar movably extending through the barrel and having a distal end normally engageable with a sensor of the alert device and an opposite proximate end extending through the inner end of the barrel and a second resilient element that is received in a step-like through hole defined in the washer seat and coupled with a clip ring engageable with the carrier and then movably fit into a hole defined in the carrier; and the alert device comprising an indicator, a warning light, and an audio alert, which are exposed for generation of warnings and a power source that supplies power to the alert device, wherein when the suction force induced by the suction cup is reduced by a predetermined level, the actuation bar is moved to actuate the sensor thereby activating the warning light and the audio alert to generate the warnings.