JP2003103226A - Washer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washer capable of eliminating the necessity to perform an operation for setting a washing object by making a washing robot grasp the washing object. SOLUTION: The washer comprises a washing tank 22, the washing robot 24, an arm mechanism 26 provided in the washing robot and capable of making a motion in any direction, a grasping unit 30 supported at the leading end of the arm mechanism and capable of grasping the washing object 28, and an injection nozzle unit 32 provided in the inner part of a washing tank, wherein the washing object transported to the outer part of the washing tank is taken in the inner part of the washing tank with the washing object grasped by the grasping unit, and is washed with a washing medium 36 while the position opposite to the injection nozzle unit is adjusted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to foreign matter such as cutting chips and oil attached to products, or cutting, shearing,
The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning and removing burrs and the like formed on a processed product during various processes such as melt processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, for example, various cleaning devices for removing foreign matters adhering to products and burrs formed on processed products are known. In this cleaning device, a cleaning robot 4 that can be remotely controlled is housed in a sealed cleaning tank (booth) 2, and a transfer mechanism 6 is provided.
The cleaning object 8 such as a product or processed product conveyed through the
It is fixed to a predetermined fixing device 10 in the booth 2 by hand or the like, and a cleaning process is performed in this fixed state. Specifically, the cleaning robot 4 is provided with an injection nozzle 14 at the tip of the arm mechanism 12, and the injection nozzle 14 is
The cleaning medium 16 can be sprayed onto the cleaning object 8 from any direction via the arm mechanism 12.

[0003]

By the way, in the conventional cleaning apparatus, it is necessary to set the cleaning object 8 on the fixing device 10 in the booth 2. Therefore, the setting operation takes time and the setting operation itself is troublesome. There was a problem that was. Moreover, the manufacturing cost of the fixing device 10 was separately required. Furthermore, it was necessary to secure a space for installing the fixing device 10 in the booth 2. In addition, in the conventional cleaning device, it is necessary to secure a space for housing the entire cleaning robot 4 in the booth 2. Therefore, the entire booth 2 has to be upsized, and as a result, the entire device including the booth 2 is inevitably increased. Manufacturing cost will rise. Furthermore, the inside of the booth 2 is filled with the cleaning medium 16 and dust (foreign matter and burrs) during the cleaning process, and when the cleaning robot 4 is housed in such an environment, for example, the cleaning robot 4 as a whole is waterproofed or dust-proofed. It is necessary to perform surface treatment such as treatment. As a result, not only the manufacturing cost of the entire apparatus including the cleaning robot 4 increases, but also the cleaning robot 4 needs to be frequently maintained, which also requires maintenance costs. In this case, if the cleaning robot 4 is arranged outside the booth 2 and only part of the arm mechanism 12 and the injection nozzle 14 are inserted into the booth 2, the entire cleaning robot 4 is housed in the booth 2. Since it is not necessary, the entire booth 2 can be downsized, and the cleaning robot 4 as a whole does not need to be subjected to a surface treatment. Therefore, it is possible to solve the manufacturing cost and maintenance problems. The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to eliminate the work of setting a cleaning target object by the cleaning robot gripping the cleaning target object in the cleaning tank. It is to provide a cleaning device capable of Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus that is low in cost and small in size by disposing the cleaning robot outside the cleaning tank.

[0004]

In order to achieve such an object, a cleaning apparatus of the present invention comprises a cleaning tank, a cleaning robot, and an arm mechanism provided in the cleaning robot and operable in any direction. And a gripping unit supported by the tip of the arm mechanism and capable of gripping the object to be cleaned, and an injection nozzle unit detachably provided inside the cleaning tank, wherein the object to be cleaned is the cleaning tank. Inside, the cleaning process is performed by the cleaning medium sprayed from the spray nozzle unit while the position facing the spray nozzle unit is adjusted while being gripped by the grip unit. In this case, a plurality of the ejection nozzle units are provided, and a load exceeding a predetermined allowable range is applied to the arm mechanism by the ejection force when the cleaning medium is sprayed from the plurality of ejection nozzle units to the object to be cleaned. They are arranged in such a positional relationship that they do not exist, and the magnitude of their ejection force is controlled. In addition, the injection nozzle unit,
It is configured to operate in any direction. The arm mechanism is configured to move, rotate, swivel, and expand and contract in any direction, and it is possible to rotate, swivel, or move a gripping unit that can grip an object to be cleaned in any direction at a desired position. Is. In addition, a cleaning tank, a cleaning robot arranged outside the cleaning tank, an arm mechanism provided in the cleaning robot and movable in an arbitrary direction, and an arm mechanism supported by the tip of the arm mechanism to clean an object to be cleaned. A gripping unit that can be gripped and an injection nozzle unit that is detachably provided inside the cleaning tank are provided, and the cleaning object conveyed to the outside of the cleaning tank is held by the gripping unit and is held by the arm mechanism. After being taken into the inside of the cleaning tank via the, the cleaning process is performed by the cleaning medium sprayed from the spray nozzle unit while adjusting the position facing the spray nozzle unit. In this case, the injection nozzle unit,
A plurality of them are provided and are arranged in such a positional relationship that a load exceeding a predetermined allowable range is not applied to the arm mechanism by the injection force when the cleaning medium is sprayed from the injection nozzle unit onto the object to be cleaned, The magnitude of the ejection force is controlled. Moreover, the said injection nozzle unit is comprised so that it can operate | move in arbitrary directions. And
The cleaning robot is configured to insert and remove a gripping unit capable of gripping an object to be cleaned and a part of an arm mechanism supporting the gripping unit into and from a cleaning tank. The arm mechanism is configured to move, rotate, swivel, and expand and contract in any direction, and it is possible to rotate, swivel, or move a gripping unit that can grip an object to be cleaned in any direction at a desired position. Is.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present embodiment is merely one embodiment of the present invention, and should not be construed as being limited thereto. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment is provided with a cleaning tank 22 and a cleaning robot 24 arranged outside the cleaning tank 22, for example.
An arm mechanism 26 provided in the cleaning robot 24 and operable in any direction, a gripping unit 30 supported by the tip of the arm mechanism 26 and capable of gripping an object to be cleaned 28, and the inside of the cleaning tank 22. And a plurality of ejection nozzle units 32 that are detachably provided. Here, the injection nozzle unit 32 is equipped with, for example, a single injection nozzle. In this configuration, the cleaning object 28 conveyed to the outside of the cleaning tank 22 via the carry-in conveyor 34 is taken into the cleaning tank 22 via the arm mechanism 26 while being held by the holding unit 30. After that, the cleaning process is performed by the cleaning medium 36 ejected from the plurality of ejection nozzle units 32 while adjusting the positions facing the plurality of ejection nozzle units 32.
Then, the object to be cleaned 28 that has been subjected to the cleaning process is blow-dried by, for example, an air blow nozzle (not particularly shown), is then drawn out of the cleaning tank 22 via the arm mechanism 26, and is transferred to the carry-out conveyor 38. Passed. As described above, in the cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment, when the cleaning target object 28 is taken into the cleaning tank 22, when the cleaning target object 28 is subjected to cleaning processing or blow drying processing, and in the cleaning tank. When the object to be cleaned 28 is drawn out of the unit 22, the gripping unit 30 of the cleaning robot 24 grips the object to be cleaned 28. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the work of setting the cleaning object 28 inside the cleaning tank 22. Similarly, it is possible to eliminate the unset work. Further, a fixing device for setting the cleaning object 28 can be dispensed with. Furthermore,
When the cleaning object 28 is taken in from the carry-in conveyor 34,
And when passing the cleaning object 28 to the carry-out conveyor 38,
That is, when the cleaning object 28 is taken in from the first predetermined position and delivered to the second predetermined position, the work is performed by the cleaning robot 2.
4 is performed, so that from the first predetermined position to the second
It becomes possible to dispense with a transfer device (conveyor or the like) for transferring to a predetermined position.

The cleaning tank (hereinafter referred to as a booth) 22 has a structure which is excellent in airtightness, and during the cleaning process, the cleaning medium 36 and foreign matters and burrs removed from the cleaning object 28 are exposed to the outside. It does not leak.

The cleaning robot 24 includes a gripping unit 30.
Then, only a part (tip portion) of the arm mechanism 26 supporting the gripping unit 30 can be inserted into and removed from the booth 22. In this case, the part of the booth 22 exposed to the atmosphere is only the gripping unit 30 and a part (the tip part) of the arm mechanism 26, and therefore, only those parts can be subjected to surface treatment such as waterproofing and dustproofing. Good. As a result, since it is not necessary to perform the surface treatment on the entire cleaning robot 24, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the entire apparatus including the cleaning robot 24. Further, since the number of maintenance points of the cleaning robot 24 is reduced, not only the maintenance becomes easy, but also the maintenance cost can be reduced. Furthermore, the cleaning robot 24
Are arranged outside the booth 22, and only a part (tip part) of the gripping unit 30 and the arm mechanism 26 is inserted into and removed from the booth 22.
It is not necessary to secure a space for accommodating the entire cleaning robot 24 inside 2. As a result, the entire booth 22 can be downsized, and the entire apparatus including the booth 22 can be downsized and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. The gripping unit 30 is capable of gripping the cleaning target object 28 with an optimum gripping force according to the type and material of the cleaning target object 28, so that the cleaning target object 28 can be used for cleaning processing without being damaged or damaged. Can be offered. in this case,
As described above, since it is not necessary to fix the cleaning object 28 inside the booth 22, it is possible to eliminate the fixing device for fixing the cleaning object 28. Further, since it is not necessary to secure a space for separately providing the fixing device, it is possible to reduce the size of the entire booth 22. The arm mechanism 26 is configured to be movable, rotatable, swivelable, and expandable / contractible in any direction, and can rotate, swivel, or move the gripping unit 30 that grips the cleaning object 28 in any direction at a desired position. Is possible.

Further, the cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment is provided with a plurality of jet nozzle units 32, and the plurality of jet nozzle units 32 spray the cleaning medium 36 from the jet nozzle units 32 onto the object 28 to be cleaned. The arm mechanism 26 is arranged in such a positional relationship that a load exceeding a predetermined allowable range is not applied by the ejection force of
The magnitude of the ejection force is controlled.

Here, the reason for providing a plurality of injection nozzle units 32 will be described. For example, as shown in FIG.
In the cleaning device in which one spray nozzle unit 32 is fixed to the inner wall of the booth 22, the cleaning medium 36 sprayed from the spray nozzle unit 32 is on one side of the cleaning target object 28 gripped by the gripping unit 30 during its operation. It is only sprayed on. At this time, a load is applied to the object to be cleaned 28 in the direction of arrow F in the figure, but at the same time, this load acts as a moment force on the arm mechanism 26 via the grip unit 30. The moment force is
Load x distance (distance from fulcrum to point where load acts)
3 and the fulcrum is the supporting portion 24a (see FIG. 1) of the cleaning robot 24 that supports the arm mechanism 26, the distance is from the supporting portion 24a to the tip of the arm mechanism 26 (grasping). (Including unit 30)
Up to r. In the apparatus of FIG. 3, the arm mechanism 26 grips the cleaning object 28 carried outside the booth 22 and takes it into the booth 22, and further swivels and rotates the cleaning object 28 in the booth 22 in an arbitrary direction. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a certain length r. Also,
In order to reliably remove foreign matters and burrs from the cleaning object 28, it is necessary to increase the ejection force when the cleaning medium 36 is ejected from the ejection nozzle 32 to some extent. In this case, if the length r of the arm mechanism 26 is long, the moment force becomes large, and if the injection force becomes high at the same time, a larger moment force is generated. As a result, a large moment force in the direction of arrow F always acts on the arm mechanism 26 during operation of the cleaning device. In order to configure the arm mechanism 26 to withstand a large moment force, the arm mechanism 2
It is necessary to increase the rigidity of No. 6 or to increase the size of the arm mechanism 26, but in any case, the size of the entire apparatus including the arm mechanism 26 increases and the manufacturing cost increases.

Therefore, in order to prevent the occurrence of such a problem, in the present embodiment, a plurality of injection nozzle units 32 are provided.
Will be provided. In this case, as an example of the positional relationship and the ejection force of the plurality of ejection nozzle units 32, as shown in FIG. 1, two sets (four) of ejection nozzle units 32 are arranged to face each other, and the ejection forces of the respective ejection nozzle units 32 are arranged. A configuration is conceivable in which the size of each is controlled to be the same. In this case, since the cleaning medium 36 sprayed from each spray nozzle unit 32 concentrates on the central portion of the booth 22 with the same spraying force, if the cleaning object 28 is positioned at this portion and the cleaning processing is performed, the arm mechanism is moved. There is no load that presses 26 in one direction. That is, the arm mechanism 26 is maintained in a state of being supported in a well-balanced manner in the central portion of the booth 22 by the cleaning medium 36 ejected from each ejection nozzle unit 32, so that the rigidity of the arm mechanism 26 is increased or the arm mechanism 26 is not supported. There is no need to increase the size. That is, the arm mechanism 26 having a low rigidity and a small size can sufficiently withstand the cleaning process, and the cleaning robot 24 including the arm mechanism 26 can be downsized and the cost of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

Further, in addition to the structure in which the plurality of jet nozzle units 32 face each other as described above, the following structure can be considered. For example, 2 with different injection directions
When the cleaning medium 36 is sprayed onto the cleaning object 28 from the jet nozzle unit 32 of the book, a force (that is, a resultant force) in which the loads from these two directions are combined acts on the arm mechanism 26. In this case, if the cleaning medium 36 is sprayed on the object to be cleaned 28 from the direction in which this resultant force is canceled, the arm mechanism 2
The load that presses 6 in one direction does not occur, and the arm mechanism 26 can be maintained in a well-balanced state supported by the cleaning medium 36 ejected from three directions. That is, the plurality of injection nozzle units 32 may be arranged in such a positional relationship that the arm mechanism 26 is not subjected to a load exceeding a predetermined allowable range during the cleaning process, and the arrangement is not particularly limited. . In addition, even when the positional relationship among the plurality of injection nozzle units 32 is appropriately determined,
Instead, by individually adjusting the ejection force when the cleaning medium 36 is sprayed from the ejection nozzle units 32 onto the cleaning object 28, it is possible to reduce the load that presses the arm mechanism 26 in one direction. Therefore, the arm mechanism 26 can be maintained in a well-balanced state by the cleaning medium 36.

Further, in order to increase the ejection force when the cleaning medium 36 is sprayed onto the object to be cleaned 28, a method may be considered in which the object to be cleaned 28 is made to approach a specific injection nozzle unit 32 via the arm mechanism 26. At the time of arm mechanism 2
It is also assumed that the support state (balance) of 6 is broken. In consideration of such a situation, it is preferable that each injection nozzle unit 32 is configured to be operable in any direction. For example, each of the ejection nozzle units 32 may be configured to be operable in a direction of moving toward or away from the cleaning object 28. In this case, each injection nozzle unit 32
When the cleaning medium 36 is brought close to the cleaning object 28, the ejection force when the cleaning medium 36 is sprayed on the cleaning object 28 can be increased, while the ejection nozzle units 32 can be separated from the cleaning object 28. If so, the jetting force can be weakened. According to such a configuration, the jetting nozzle units 32 are relatively or selectively approached or separated from each other, so that the cleaning medium 36 is simultaneously applied to the cleaning target object 28 while achieving the support state (balance) of the arm mechanism 26. It is possible to finely adjust the ejection force when spraying. In addition,
It is also effective to configure each injection nozzle unit 32 so that it can be inclined not only in the approaching or separating direction but also in an oblique direction, and can be rotated and swung in that state.

Furthermore, in the above-described cleaning process, if there is a foreign substance or a burr in the portion gripped by the gripping unit 30 (the portion hidden by the gripping unit 30), the cleaning object 28 is temporarily removed from the booth 22. The process of pulling out to the booth 22, re-holding the gripped part, and then inserting it again into the booth 22 is common, but this is a problem in terms of efficiency of the cleaning process. In order to solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 1, a temporary stand 40 may be arranged in the booth 22. In this case, if the object to be cleaned 28 is temporarily placed on the temporary placing table 40, the object to be cleaned 28 can be exchanged in the booth 22, so that the efficiency of the cleaning process can be improved. The types of the injection nozzles provided in the injection nozzle unit 32 include, for example, a direct injection nozzle that linearly ejects the cleaning medium and a fan-shaped nozzle that radially ejects the cleaning medium, depending on the purpose and application of the cleaning process. You can choose. By selecting the type of the jet nozzle of the jet nozzle unit 32 in this manner, the cleaning target 2
The cleaning quality of No. 8 can be ensured, and the entire surface can be cleaned on the lower surface and the hole can be cleaned on the upper surface for different purposes at the same time depending on the nozzle shape, leading to a reduction in cleaning time.
The number of ejection nozzles provided in the ejection nozzle unit 32 is not limited, and may be arbitrarily selected. As the cleaning medium 36, for example, water, cleaning liquid, air, sand or the like can be applied, but the cleaning medium 36 is not limited to this, and includes media that can be used as the cleaning medium 36 at present and in the future. . In particular, viscous substances such as oil attached to the object to be cleaned 28 are often cleaned using the cleaning medium 36 at high temperature (about 45 to 60 ° C.). Even in this case, the cleaning robot 24 is disposed outside the booth 22 as described above, and only the gripping unit 30 and a part of the arm mechanism 26 are booted.
By configuring to be inserted and removed, it is possible to realize an optimal cleaning device for cleaning treatment in a high temperature environment.

[0014]

According to the present invention, since the object to be cleaned is grasped by the grasping unit provided in the cleaning robot, it is possible to eliminate the work of setting the object to be cleaned. Further, according to the present invention, the cleaning robot is arranged outside the cleaning tank, and a part of the arm mechanism including the gripping unit that grips the object to be cleaned can be inserted into and removed from the cleaning tank. A cleaning device can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the booth shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state of a cleaning process in the case where one jet nozzle is used in the cleaning apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an external view of a conventional cleaning device.

5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a cleaning robot arranged in a booth of the cleaning apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

22: Cleaning tank 24: Cleaning robot 26: Arm mechanism 28: Object to be washed 30: Gripping unit 32: Jet nozzle unit 36: Cleaning medium

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Naokazu Kariya             2-6-5 Minamisuna, Koto-ku, Tokyo             Inside the corporation F term (reference) 3B116 AA46 AB14 AB42 AB54 BB02                       BB42 BB43 CD43                 3B201 AA46 AB14 AB42 AB54 BB02                       BB42 BB43 BB92 CD43                 4F035 AA01 BC02 CB01 CB16

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning tank, a cleaning robot, an arm mechanism provided in the cleaning robot, capable of operating in an arbitrary direction, and a gripping unit supported by a tip of the arm mechanism and capable of gripping an object to be cleaned. And a cleaning nozzle that is detachably provided inside the cleaning tank, and the object to be cleaned is in the cleaning tank, and a position facing the injection nozzle unit in the state of being gripped by the gripping unit is A cleaning device in which a cleaning process is performed by a cleaning medium sprayed from a spray nozzle unit while being adjusted. 2. A plurality of injection nozzle units are provided, and a load exceeding a predetermined allowable range is applied to the arm mechanism by the injection force when the cleaning medium is sprayed onto the object to be cleaned from the plurality of injection nozzle units. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is arranged in such a positional relationship that it does not exist, and the magnitude of the ejection force thereof is controlled. 3. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spray nozzle unit is configured to be operable in any direction. 4. The arm mechanism is configured to move, rotate, swivel, and expand and contract in any direction, and a gripping unit capable of gripping an object to be cleaned can rotate, swivel in any direction at a desired position, The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cleaning device can be moved. 5. A cleaning tank, a cleaning robot arranged outside the cleaning tank, an arm mechanism provided in the cleaning robot and movable in an arbitrary direction, and a cleaning robot supported at the tip of the arm mechanism. It is equipped with a gripping unit that can grip an object and a spray nozzle unit that is detachably installed inside the cleaning tank. The cleaning object that has been transported to the outside of the cleaning tank is in a state of being gripped by the gripping unit. After being taken into the inside of the cleaning tank via the arm mechanism by the, the cleaning process is performed by the cleaning medium sprayed from the spray nozzle unit while adjusting the position facing the spray nozzle unit. apparatus. 6. A plurality of injection nozzle units are provided, and a load exceeding the predetermined allowable range is not applied to the arm mechanism by the injection force when the cleaning medium is sprayed from the injection nozzle units onto the object to be cleaned. The cleaning device according to claim 5, wherein the cleaning device is arranged in various positional relationships, and the magnitude of its ejection force is controlled. 7. The cleaning device according to claim 5, wherein the injection nozzle unit is configured to be operable in any direction. 8. The cleaning robot is configured such that a gripping unit capable of gripping an object to be cleaned and only a part of an arm mechanism supporting the gripping unit are inserted into and removed from a cleaning tank. The cleaning device according to any one of claims 5 to 7. 9. The arm mechanism is configured to move, rotate, swivel, and expand and contract in any direction, and a gripping unit capable of gripping an object to be cleaned can rotate, swivel in any direction at a desired position, The cleaning device according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the cleaning device can be moved.