A vacuum device for a material handling system includes a vacuum device body and a sealing element. The vacuum device body has a vacuum passageway in which a vacuum is generated in response to activation of a pressurized air supply that forces pressurized air through a venturi device. The sealing element moves to a sealing position to substantially seal the vacuum passageway when the air supply is activated, and is urged toward the sealing position via pressurized air that is diverted from an inlet of the vacuum device to the sealing element. The sealing element moves to substantially vent the vacuum passageway when the air supply is deactivated. The vacuum passageway may be in fluid communication with a vacuum cup, which seals against the object when the sealing element is at the sealing position and the vacuum generating device generates at least a partial vacuum in the vacuum passageway.

A vacuum device for a material handling system includes a vacuum device body and a sealing element. The vacuum device body has a vacuum passageway in which a vacuum is generated in response to activation of a pressurized air supply that forces pressurized air through a venturi device. The sealing element moves to a sealing position to substantially seal the vacuum passageway when the air supply is activated, and is urged toward the sealing position via pressurized air that is diverted from an inlet of the vacuum device to the sealing element. The sealing element moves to substantially vent the vacuum passageway when the air supply is deactivated. The vacuum passageway may be in fluid communication with a vacuum cup, which seals against the object when the sealing element is at the sealing position and the vacuum generating device generates at least a partial vacuum in the vacuum passageway.

A pressure-controlling device (10) includes a pump (21), a connection pipe (30), a first valve (41), and a second valve (42). The pump (21) has an inlet port (211) and an outlet port (212). The connection pipe (30) has a first end in communication with the outlet port (212), and a second end in communication with the inlet port (211) and that has a first space (31) that contains the first end, a second space (32) that contains the second end, and a third space (33) that is located between the first space (31) and the second space (32).

An ejector includes a nozzle, a needle and a body. The nozzle reduces a pressure of a fluid and discharges the fluid as an injected fluid from a fluid injection port. The body includes a fluid suction port and a pressure increasing portion. The fluid suction port draws, as a suction fluid, a fluid from an outside of the body by using a suction force generated by the injected fluid. The pressure increasing portion increases a pressure of a mixture of the injected fluid and the suction fluid. The nozzle includes a throat portion and a nozzle-side tapered portion. The throat portion reduces a passage cross-sectional area of the fluid passage to be smallest in the fluid passage at the throat portion. The nozzle-side tapered portion expands the passage cross-sectional area of the fluid passage toward the downstream side in the flow direction of the fluid. In an axial cross section, an injection-flow spread angle formed on the downstream side in the flow direction of the fluid between a central axis and a tangent line of an injection-flow center line at the fluid injection port is 0° or greater.

An ejector includes an ejector body having an internal passage and a negative-pressure generating mechanism including a nozzle unit and a diffuser unit that generates a negative pressure by using compressed air ejected by the nozzle unit. The ejector body has a first attachment surface to which a valve body of a switching valve is attached and a second attachment surface to which a base body of the manifold base is attached. The first attachment surface has a first inflow port for supplying compressed air to the negative-pressure generating mechanism by being connected to a first output port of the switching valve, and this port communicates with the nozzle unit. The second attachment surface has a negative-pressure supply port for outputting a negative pressure to the outside by being connected to a negative-pressure inflow port of the manifold base, and this port communicates with the diffuser unit.

A vacuum breaking device for a vacuum generator, includes a main housing, wherein the main body is provided with an air supply port, a vacuum interface chamber and a vacuum generating chamber. An intake passage is arranged inside the main housing, a pilot valve controlled by an electromagnetic pilot valve assembly is arranged between the intake passage and the air supply port. The pilot valve includes a pilot valve body, a pilot valve core and a pilot valve spring. A throttle pipe is arranged axially inside the main housing. A pneumatic on-off valve is arranged between the vacuum interface chamber and the vacuum generating chamber and outside the throttle pipe. The pneumatic on-off valve includes a slide core and a slide core spring, and a control chamber mated with an end surface of the slide core is arranged inside the main housing.

A vacuum breaking device for a vacuum generator, includes a main housing, wherein the main body is provided with an air supply port, a vacuum interface chamber and a vacuum generating chamber. An intake passage is arranged inside the main housing, a pilot valve controlled by an electromagnetic pilot valve assembly is arranged between the intake passage and the air supply port. The pilot valve includes a pilot valve body, a pilot valve core and a pilot valve spring. A throttle pipe is arranged axially inside the main housing. A pneumatic on-off valve is arranged between the vacuum interface chamber and the vacuum generating chamber and outside the throttle pipe. The pneumatic on-off valve includes a slide core and a slide core spring, and a control chamber mated with an end surface of the slide core is arranged inside the main housing.

This air control device for mounter is to solve a problem of realizing an air control device for a mounter capable of providing a secured holding state by a nozzle without damaging a part by adjusting, during vacuum suction, an amount of air to be drawn suitably for the part and the nozzle. This air control device for mounter is configured such that a nozzle n detachably attached to a head module HM of a mounter is connected to a negative pressure region, and a part is suctioned at a distal end of the nozzle n. The head module HM is mounted with a variable throttle mechanism 4, and by using the variable throttle mechanism 4, an amount of air to be drawn into the negative pressure region from the nozzle is adjustable.

This air control device for mounter is to solve a problem of realizing an air control device for a mounter capable of providing a secured holding state by a nozzle without damaging a part by adjusting, during vacuum suction, an amount of air to be drawn suitably for the part and the nozzle. This air control device for mounter is configured such that a nozzle n detachably attached to a head module HM of a mounter is connected to a negative pressure region, and a part is suctioned at a distal end of the nozzle n. The head module HM is mounted with a variable throttle mechanism 4, and by using the variable throttle mechanism 4, an amount of air to be drawn into the negative pressure region from the nozzle is adjustable.

When an ejector having a variable nozzle and a variable throttle mechanism are integrated together as an ejector module, a nozzle-side central axis CL1 and a decompression-side driving mechanism have a twisted positional relationship, if the nozzle-side central axis CL1 is defined as a central axis of a nozzle-side driving mechanism in a displacement direction in which the nozzle-side driving mechanism of the ejector having the variable nozzle displaces a needle valve, and the decompression-side central axis CL2 is defined as a central axis of a decompression-side driving mechanism in a displacement direction in which the decompression-side driving mechanism of the variable throttle mechanism displaces a throttle valve. When viewed from the central axis direction of one of the nozzle-side central axis CL1 and the decompression-side central axis CL2, a driving portion corresponding to the one central axis is disposed to overlap with the other central axis.