Apparatus and method for holding a flexible product in a flat and secure position
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorRonald Joseph Becker
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for retaining a product, preferably such as a flexible product in a flat and secure position on a generally planar surface. More specifically, the apparatus consists of a self-contained multi-zone vacuum chuck fixture which is adapted to enable the selectively controlled securing and holding of flexible products possessing various sizes and configurations on a flat work surface. The apparatus may be transparent so as to be also utilized as a light table.
Claims9
An apparatus for retaining a product in a flat and secure position on selective surface areas of a planar surface through the intermediary of a selectively applicable vacuum and for concurrently forming a light table;
- comprising:
- (a) a vacuum chuck having an apertured plate of a light-permeable transparent material forming said planar product-supporting surface;
- (b) a second plate consisting of said transparent material having a plurality of discrete channels formed therein sealingly fastened to said apertured plate such that said channels communicate each with respectively a specific said surface area of said apertured plate;
- and
- (c) a plurality of fluid flow connectors which communicate with a source of vacuum extending from a rear surface of said channeled plate, said fluid flow connectors each communicating with respectively one of said plurality of channels so as to facilitate the imparting of a vacuum to selective of said channels communicating with selective of said surface areas responsive to a vacuum being applied to one of said fluid flow connectors associated with said channel, and wherein the application of a backlight to said apparatus facilitates utilization thereof as the light table.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.