JP2003112136A - Washing system of recycle parts and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for washing recycle parts that conducts a washing work of recycle parts and a unit efficiently and surely, which are removed from a recovered and spent equipment. SOLUTION: The washing system of recycle parts comprises steps of reading washing history and names of material/parts by a bar code reader 11 from a bar code plate 2 which is fitted to an equipment frame unit 1 obtained by disassembling a spent copying machine, removing information of recycle from a database 17 which houses the information of recycle such as conditions of reusing the recycle parts and the default value of the recycle conditions and then determining whether or not the recycle parts or unit is washed and the washing conditions at a controller part 12, based on the information such as the washing history and the names of material/parts and the information of recycle. The final washing conditions, and the like, are remembered by a memory 16 that is built in the controller part 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system and method for cleaning recycled parts, and more particularly, to a recycled part obtained by disassembling a used electronic device before reusing the recycled part. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cleaning system and a method thereof for removing dirt on the surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in the production of electronic devices such as copying machines and facsimiles, in consideration of resource saving, new electronic devices are reused by reusing the parts of used electronic devices received from users. Is being assembled. Specifically, after disassembling a used electronic device that has been collected from the user's hand, the parts and units that can withstand reuse, such as the device frame, are used as they are in the production of new electronic devices. ing.

On the other hand, since the used electronic devices collected from the user are dirty according to the frequency of use in the past, the years of use, the number of reuses, etc., the parts / units obtained by disassembly (hereinafter, The recycled parts / units) cannot be used as they are for the production of new electronic devices, and the recycled parts / units must be washed before reuse.

For this reason, conventionally, a cleaning step is provided after the disassembling step of the recovery equipment, and, for example, a worker manually cleans the recycled parts / units by using a dry ice blast cleaning method. Here, the dry ice blast cleaning method refers to spraying finely crushed dry ice together with pressurized air from a cleaning nozzle, and jetting the dry ice (hereinafter referred to as dry ice blast).
This is a method for removing dirt that has clung to the surface of recycled parts. Workers were carrying out the cleaning work for each recycled part / unit while holding and operating the cleaning nozzle described above. .

[0005]

However, the cleaning worker is often handled by an unskilled person such as a part, and if all the cleaning work is performed manually by the worker, the cleaning work is not performed. It is not possible to expect a significant improvement in efficiency, and due to the increasing recycling momentum in recent years, there is concern that it will not be possible to sufficiently cope with this when the usage rate of recycled parts in the production of new equipment increases. is there. In addition, if a large number of personnel are put into such a cleaning operation, the recycling cost will increase, and the merit of lowering the production cost due to recycling will disappear.

On the other hand, as a method of solving such a problem, a robot arm programmed in advance operates the above-mentioned cleaning nozzle, and the robot arm causes the cleaning work of the recycled parts to be performed unattended. A method is also possible.

However, since the degree of contamination of the recycled parts removed from the used equipment varies depending on the environment in which the used equipment is used, the age of use, etc., the above-mentioned robot arm uniformly performs the same cleaning work. If the stain degree is light, the cleaning time is wasted, and if the stain degree is heavy, cleaning failure occurs.

For example, when cleaning with dry ice,
Since the dry ice blast sprayed from the cleaning nozzle always has a constant strength, if the cleaning work is performed uniformly by the robot arm, the portion of the recycled parts with weak structural strength For example, there is a possibility that the resin molding portion or the like may be damaged, and the original purpose cannot be reused for a new device.

Therefore, it has been proposed to perform a cleaning operation after detecting the degree of dirt with a sensor (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-202210), but it is relatively feasible in the case of a single component. However, in a unit (a combination of a plurality of parts), it is necessary to wash each component under different cleaning conditions due to the difference in material and the use condition. However, there are some places where details cannot be sensed by the sensor. In the case of manual cleaning, it is also necessary to reset the cleaning conditions for each part.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to efficiently and surely perform a cleaning operation of recycled parts and units detached from collected used equipment. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning system and a method for cleaning recycled parts that can be performed.

[0011]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention according to claim 1 stores a material / name of the recycled part and a cleaning history in the recycled part. In addition to the provision of one storage unit, the cleaning apparatus is provided with the cleaning history reading unit and a control unit that controls the cleaning condition based on the reading result of the reading unit.

In such a configuration, the cleaning history reading means of the cleaning apparatus reads the stored contents of the storage means for storing the material / name of the recycled parts / unit and the cleaning history, and the control means controls the stored contents based on the stored contents. The washing conditions are set automatically.

The invention described in claim 2 is the same as claim 1
In the invention described in (1), the cleaning history stored in the storage means includes at least the past cleaning conditions and the number of times of cleaning (the number of times of reuse).

In such a configuration, the control means automatically sets the previous cleaning condition based on at least the past cleaning condition and the number of times of cleaning (the number of reuses).

The invention according to claim 3 is the same as claim 1
Alternatively, in the invention described in Item 2, the cleaning device includes a second recording unit that stores the cleaning result of the recycled parts as a new cleaning history, and a writing that writes the storage content of the second storage unit to a predetermined recording medium. It is characterized by having means.

In such a structure, the latest cleaning history recorded in the recording means is written in a predetermined recording medium by the writing means, and the recording medium is attached to the cleaning completed product.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the invention of the first, second or third aspect, the cleaning device is
It is characterized by comprising display means for displaying the stored information of the first and second storage means.

In such a structure, the stored contents of the storage means are displayed on the display means to set the reference condition for the operator to reclean the remaining stains.

The invention described in claim 5 is the same as claim 1.
The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is characterized in that the cleaning device includes a connecting means for connecting to a database in which recycling information such as reuse conditions for each product / part is stored.

In such a configuration, the control means determines the cleaning conditions based on the recycling information such as the reuse conditions for each product / part in the database, the type / name of the recycled parts / unit and the cleaning history stored in the storage means. Set automatically.

The invention according to claim 6 is the same as claim 1.
The invention according to any one of items 1 to 5 is characterized in that the cleaning device sprays granular dry ice to remove dirt from the recycled parts.

In such a structure, the control means controls the flow rate of dry ice, pressurized air pressure, presence / absence of use of a surfactant,
Set whether to use an antistatic agent.

Further, the invention according to claim 7 is a cleaning method in a cleaning system for removing dirt from recycled parts obtained by disassembling a used electronic device before reusing the recycled parts. That is, first, the first step of reading the cleaning history and material / part name of the recycled part from the storage means provided in the recycled part, and then the reuse condition and cleaning condition of the recycled part. A second step of connecting to a database in which recycling information such as default values is stored and extracting corresponding recycling information, and then information such as cleaning history and material / part name read in the first step. , A third step for determining whether or not cleaning is possible and cleaning conditions based on the recycling information from the database retrieved in the second step. And-up, then, the cleaning operation is started,
The fourth step to confirm the removal of dirt after cleaning, and then
In the fourth step, when it is confirmed that the dirt is removed, the fifth step of terminating the cleaning and recording the final cleaning conditions and the like is provided.

[0024]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. [Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a recycling system cleaning system according to the present invention, showing an embodiment of a recycling system cleaning system obtained by disassembling a used electronic device. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the concept of the control system of this embodiment.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is an apparatus frame unit obtained by disassembling a used copying machine, 2 is a bar code plate attached to the apparatus frame unit 1, and 3 is a robot for cleaning the apparatus frame unit 1. arm,
4 is a cleaning nozzle operated by the robot arm 3,
Reference numeral 5 is a compressor that creates pressurized air to be jetted from the cleaning nozzle 4, 6 is a blasting device that forms dry ice blast by dispersing granular dry ice in the pressurized air, and 7 is dry ice blasting from the blasting device 6 to the cleaning nozzle 4. It is a hose that sends in.

Reference numeral 8 is a conveyor device for feeding the device frame unit 1 into the working range of the robot arm 3, 9 is a turntable which is controlled to rotate during cleaning and assists the cleaning work of the robot arm 3, and 10 is a turntable. A pallet is mounted with cleaning parts and moves on the conveyor device 8, 11 is a bar code reader for reading the bar code on the bar code plate, and 12 is a controller equipped with a microcomputer for controlling the cleaning system.

Reference numeral 13 is a display unit for displaying the cleaning conditions, 14 is an operation unit for inputting the cleaning conditions, 15 is a bar code printer for printing the cleaning conditions on a label paper, and 16 is a cleaning unit built in the controller unit 12. The reference numeral 17 designates a database storing recycle information such as reuse conditions of recycled parts and default values of cleaning conditions.

The above-mentioned robot arm 3 is capable of expanding and contracting its arm by multiple joints and turning about 90 ° in a horizontal plane. The robot arm 3 has a substantially fan shape while appropriately changing the direction of the above-mentioned washing nozzle 4. The cleaning work of the apparatus frame unit 1 is performed within the working range. The operation of the robot arm 3 is controlled by a controller 12 equipped with a microcomputer.
The operation of the robot arm 3 corresponding to the shape information of the apparatus frame unit 1 is taught in advance. Further, the controller 12 synchronizes with the operation of the robot arm 3 and the blast device 6 and the compressor 5 described above.
It also controls the operation of.

The above-mentioned robot arm 3 is installed in a cleaning chamber (not shown) which is isolated from the surroundings, and carbon dioxide gas vaporized during the cleaning operation and the removed dirt are scattered into the surrounding atmosphere. In addition to preventing this, safety is ensured when the above-described robot arm 3 is in operation. The device frame unit 1 to be cleaned is automatically taken in and out of the cleaning booth by the above-mentioned conveyor device 8, and at the time of cleaning work, it stops on the turntable 9 installed in the working range of the robot arm 3. To do.

The turntable 9 is controlled by the controller 12 of the robot arm 3 and assists the cleaning work of the robot arm 3 by rotating the apparatus frame unit 1 during the cleaning work. As a result, even if the work range of the robot arm 3 itself is small, the device frame unit 1 can be operated by one robot arm 3.
Each side of the can be washed thoroughly.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the cleaning flow in the cleaning system. In the cleaning system of this embodiment, first, the operator places the device frame unit 1 to be cleaned on the conveyor device 8 and causes the controller 12 to operate. When a work start command is issued, the apparatus frame unit 1 is carried into the cleaning chamber and stopped at a predetermined position on the turntable 9, and the cleaning work is started in this state.

At this time, the barcode plate 2 is in the form when the apparatus frame unit 1 is being washed (a state where replacement parts and the like have been removed), and the barcode reader 11 causes the robot arm 3 to move.
Is placed at a position where it can be read by the above operation, and is mounted on the pallet 10 at a predetermined position.

In the cleaning work, first, the controller 12 operates the robot arm 3 to bring the bar code reader 11 close to the bar code plate 2 to read the bar code (step S1).

Next, the controller 12 displays the information (cleaning history, material / part name) read by the barcode on the display unit 13 (step S2). Here, when the amount of cleaning information becomes large, a code corresponding to a predetermined cleaning condition is stored in a bar code, read by the bar code reader 11, converted by the controller 12, and then displayed on the display unit 13. You may display it. Here, the cleaning history is composed of the previous cleaning conditions or all cleaning conditions up to the previous cleaning, and when displayed on the display unit, the cleaning location and the cleaning conditions can be confirmed one-on-one.

Further, the controller 12 retrieves the corresponding recycling information by connecting to the database 17 (step S3). The controller 12 and the database 17 managed by an external computer are connected by a network cable, and the recycling information stored in the database 17 includes cleaning conditions for each part, the cleaning conditions and the limit number of reuses, etc. It is composed of.

The controller 12 uses the barcode information of the barcode plate 2 (cleaning history and material / part name).
Based on the recycling information in the database 17, whether or not to wash and the washing conditions are determined (step S4). Here, the cleaning condition is the same as the previous cleaning condition, but the database 17
Depending on the recycling information, the settings will be changed to conditions that have a greater cleaning effect.

Further, the controller 12 is the compressor 4
Also, the blasting device 5 is operated to inject the dry ice blast from the cleaning nozzle 4, and the operation of the robot arm 3 is controlled according to a pre-teached procedure to move the cleaning nozzle 4 along the surface of the device frame unit 1. While doing so, the cleaning work of the apparatus frame unit 1 proceeds (step S5).

In addition, the turntable 9 rotates during the cleaning work, and the robot arm 3 is sandwiched by the conveyor device 8.
Device frame unit 1 facing away from the fixed position
Cleaning work is also performed on the side surface of the. After this, when the general cleaning work is completed, the injection of dry ice blast is stopped, and the robot arm 3 holding the cleaning nozzle 4 returns to the reference position before the start of the work.

Next, it is conveyed to a stain removal confirmation step (not shown). In the dirt removal confirmation step after cleaning, the detection of dirt removal is performed by the detection sensor and the operator (step S6).

Next, if the stain removal OK is not confirmed in step S6 (contamination NG), the cleaning operation is performed again (step S7). When the operator inputs an approximate position on the pallet of the dirt NG portion from the operation unit 14, the cleaning condition at the corresponding position is displayed on the display unit 13.
Further, a cleaning condition having a large cleaning effect with respect to the displayed cleaning condition is displayed on the display unit 13 together with the relative cleaning level, and the operator selects and inputs a predetermined cleaning condition from the operation unit 14. . The cleaning condition and the relative cleaning level are stored in advance in the database 17 for each part to be cleaned. When the input is confirmed, the controller 12 controls the cleaning operation in step S5 again. On the other hand, if it is confirmed in step S6 that the dirt is removed, the device frame unit 1 is carried out of the cleaning booth by the conveyor device 8 (step S6).
8).

When the cleaning work is completed, the controller 12
The final cleaning condition of each cleaning part is stored in the memory 16 and is output to the bar code label by the bar code printer 15. (Step S9)

Finally, the bar code of the bar code plate 2 of the apparatus frame unit 1 carried out of the washing booth is removed, the bar code label output in step S9 is attached and assembled, and the bar code plate is shipped to the booth or assembly factory. It

Next, specific examples of cleaning conditions for each material to be cleaned in this embodiment will be shown. The default values of the cleaning conditions of the cleaning device in this embodiment are shown in Table 1 below.

[0044]

[Table 1]

When the selection of the cleaning condition can be automatically recognized by the automatic recognition device or the like in step 6 of this embodiment, the cleaning condition corresponding to the recognition level of the recognition device is stored in the database 17 in advance. Alternatively, it may be automatically set.

[Embodiment 2] In Embodiment 1 described above, an embodiment in which dry ice cleaning is performed has been described, but needless to say, it can be applied to ultrasonic cleaning and manual cleaning. For example, in ultrasonic cleaning, cleaning time / ultrasonic level / whether or not a surfactant is used may be recorded as a cleaning history. Even in manual cleaning, the cleaning means (spatula, rag, brush, etc.) / Type of surfactant and presence / absence of use may be recorded as a cleaning history.

[0047]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the recycle part is provided with the first storage means for storing the material / name of the recycle part and the cleaning history, and the recycle part is provided with the cleaning device. , A cleaning history reading means,
Since the cleaning history reading means is provided with the control means for controlling the cleaning condition based on the reading result of the reading means, the stored contents of the storage means for storing the recycled parts / unit type / name and the cleaning history are read and stored. By automatically setting the cleaning conditions by the control means based on the contents, it is possible to set the cleaning conditions in the places where the sensor cannot detect dirt, and the cleaning work of the composite parts made of multiple materials etc. can be done efficiently and reliably. Can be

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
Based on at least the past cleaning conditions and the number of times of cleaning (the number of times of reuse), the control means can automatically and efficiently set the cleaning conditions of the previous cleaning condition or higher cleaning conditions to ensure efficient and reliable cleaning work.

According to the third aspect of the present invention,
By writing the latest cleaning history recorded in the recording means to a predetermined recording medium by the writing means and attaching the recording medium to the cleaning completed product, the cleaning work can be performed efficiently and reliably at the time of cleaning for the next reuse. can do.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention,
By displaying the stored contents of the storage means on the display means, the worker can efficiently and surely perform the cleaning work at the time of recleaning by setting the reference condition when the worker recleans the dirt residue. .

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention,
Based on the recycling information such as the reuse conditions for each product / part in the database, the recycled parts / unit type / name and the cleaning history stored in the storage means, the control means automatically sets the cleaning conditions to identify the parts to be cleaned. The cleaning work can be performed efficiently and reliably.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention,
By setting the flow rate of dry ice, the pressurized air pressure, the presence / absence of the use of the surfactant, and the presence / absence of the use of the antistatic agent by the control means, the cleaning work can be efficiently and reliably performed.

Further, according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the first step of reading the cleaning history and the material / part name of the recycled parts, and the default value of the reuse condition and the cleaning condition of the recycled parts. 2nd step to retrieve recycling information, 3rd step to decide whether or not to wash and cleaning conditions based on information such as cleaning history and material / part name, and recycling information, and check for stain removal after cleaning The 4th step to do and dirt removal OK
If the confirmation is made, the fifth step of recording the final cleaning conditions and the like is provided, so that the cleaning operation at the time of recleaning can be efficiently and reliably performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a cleaning system for recycled parts according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the concept of a control system of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a cleaning flow in the cleaning system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Equipment frame unit 2 bar code plate 3 robot arm 4 cleaning nozzle 5 compressor 6 Blasting device 7 hose 8 Conveyor device 9 turntable 10 pallets 11 Bar Code Reader 12 Controller 13 Display 14 Operation part 15 Bar code printer 16 memory 17 Database

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. The recycle part is provided with a first storage means for storing the material / name of the recycle part and the cleaning history, and the cleaning device is provided with the cleaning history reading means and the reading result of the reading means. And a control means for controlling the cleaning condition based on the cleaning system. 2. The cleaning system for recycled parts according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning history stored in the storage unit includes at least the cleaning conditions in the past and the number of times of cleaning (the number of times of reuse). 3. The cleaning device comprises a second recording means for storing the cleaning result of the recycled parts as a new cleaning history, and a writing means for writing the stored contents of the second storage means in a predetermined recording medium. The cleaning system for recycled parts according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. 4. The cleaning system for recycled parts according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device includes display means for displaying stored information in the first and second storage means. . 5. The recycling device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device includes a connecting means for connecting to a database in which recycling information such as reuse conditions for each product / part is stored. Parts cleaning system. 6. The recycling part cleaning system according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device sprays granular dry ice to remove dirt from the recycled parts. 7. A cleaning method in a cleaning system for removing dirt from a recycled component obtained by disassembling a used electronic device before the recycled component is reused. The first step of reading the cleaning history and the material / part name of the recycled parts from the storage means provided, and next, the recycling information such as the reuse condition of the recycled parts and the default value of the cleaning conditions is stored. Connect to the database and retrieve the corresponding recycling information.
Step, and based on the information such as the cleaning history and the material / part name read in the first step, and the recycling information from the database retrieved in the second step, whether or not the cleaning is possible. The third step of determining the cleaning conditions, the fourth step of starting the cleaning operation and confirming the stain removal after cleaning, and the confirmation of the stain removal OK in the fourth step. And a fifth step of recording the final cleaning conditions and the like when the cleaning is finished, the cleaning method in the recycling system cleaning system.