JP2004344920A - Iron tip cleaning device for soldering iron - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely peel off and remove solder chips deposited on the iron tip of a soldering iron from the iron tip while preventing the generation of oxides. <P>SOLUTION: The iron tip cleaning device for the soldering iron has a box-shaped cleaner case 2 provided with an insertion port 10 for inserting the iron tip 1a of the soldering iron 1, an injection nozzle 3 for injecting a gas toward the iron tip 1a of the soldering iron 1, and a gas feeding device 4 for feeding a compressed gas to the injection nozzle 3. An inert gas such as a nitrogen gas is fed to the injection nozzle 3 from the gas feeding device 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a soldering iron cleaning device for removing solder dust attached to a soldering iron tip of a soldering iron by gas injection.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as this type of purifying device, there has been known a device in which compressed air is injected from an injection nozzle to a soldering iron tip of a solder iron, and the solder dust attached to the iron tip is blown off and removed by the injection of the air. .
[0003]
However, when air is injected toward the iron tip in a high temperature state, an oxide is generated by the action of oxygen in the air and adheres around the iron tip. This oxide not only significantly reduces the accuracy of the subsequent soldering, but also reduces the life of the soldering iron. Particularly, in recent years, lead-free soldering has been rapidly progressing due to environmental problems and the like, and with this, it has been necessary to set the iron tip temperature at the time of soldering higher than when using crystallized solder. The amount of oxides adhering to the iron tip also tends to increase due to air injection during the previous purification, and some measures have to be taken.
[0004]
On the other hand, when soldering, nitrogen gas is sprayed toward the soldering site and soldering is performed in this nitrogen gas atmosphere to prevent oxidation of the solder and solder the solder bridge and potato solder etc. Techniques for preventing defects are well known. However, this technique is intended to prevent the oxidation of the solder adhered to the soldering part by enclosing the soldering part in a nitrogen gas atmosphere, and to remove the solder dust adhered to the iron tip with a high-speed gas. Until now, it has not been common to apply this technique to the cleaning of iron tips, since the purpose is completely different from the case of removing by blowing away.
[0005]
However, as a result of repeated experiments, the present inventors have found that, when nitrogen gas is used for purifying the iron tip, the effect of removing solder dust is almost the same as when air is used, and the solder dust adheres to the iron tip. The inventors have found that the amount of oxide can be extremely reduced, and have accomplished the present invention.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
A technical object of the present invention is to make it possible to reliably remove and remove solder dust attached to the iron tip of a soldering iron from the iron tip while preventing generation of oxides.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To solve the above problems, according to the present invention, a box-shaped cleaner case provided with an insertion port for inserting a soldering iron tip, and a gas injecting gas toward the soldering iron tip An injection nozzle and a gas supply device for supplying a compressed gas to the injection nozzle, wherein the compressed gas supplied from the gas supply device to the injection nozzle is an inert gas. A trowel cleaning device is provided.
[0008]
In the iron tip cleaning device of the present invention having the above configuration, when the iron tip with the solder dust attached is inserted into the insertion opening of the cleaner case, an inert gas is injected from the injection nozzle toward the iron tip, and the inert gas is As a result, the solder dust is blown off and separated from the iron tip. On the other hand, the inert gas suppresses the oxidation of the solder dust and the iron tip, and prevents the oxide from adhering to the iron tip. The shortening of the life is prevented. As a result, even if the temperature of the iron tip at the time of soldering increases due to the lead-free soldering, the generation of oxides during the cleaning of the iron tip can be reliably prevented.
[0009]
In the present invention, the gas supply device has a gas separator having a plurality of hollow separation membranes, and separates nitrogen gas in air by flowing compressed air through the hollow separation membranes. It is configured to
In this case, an accumulator for accumulating the nitrogen gas generated in the gas separator may be provided, and the nitrogen gas may be supplied to the injection nozzle via the accumulator.
[0010]
In the present invention, the gas supply device may be configured to be able to selectively supply the compressed gas and the compressed inert gas.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a soldering iron cleaning device for a soldering iron according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The purifying apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is used for purifying the iron tip 1a of the soldering iron 1 and for injecting gas toward the iron tip 1a with a box-shaped cleaner case 2 into which the iron tip 1a is inserted. And a gas supply device 4 for supplying an inert compressed gas to the injection nozzle 3.
[0012]
The cleaner case 2 includes a rectangular box-shaped metal or heat-resistant synthetic resin container 2A having an open upper surface, and a lid 2B made of a similar material detachably attached to the upper surface of the container 2A. It has. At a position near one end in the longitudinal direction of the lid 2B, an insertion hole 10 for iron tip is provided, and the iron tip 1a of the soldering iron 1 is inserted into the cleaner case 2 from this insertion opening 10.
[0013]
A bracket 11 is attached to an outer wall surface on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the container 2A. A nozzle support member 12 is provided on the bracket 11, and the jet nozzle 3 is attached to the nozzle support member 12 at the tip end. With the gas injection port 3a facing the inside of the cleaner case 2 at the position of the insertion port 10, the gas injection port 3a is attached so that the inclination angle around the horizontal axis and the direction around the vertical axis can be adjusted. A connection port 14 for connecting a gas pipe 13 is provided on a side surface of the injection nozzle 3. One end of the gas pipe 13 formed of a flexible tube such as synthetic rubber or synthetic resin is provided at the connection port 14. , Are connected via a quick connection type pipe joint 15 which can be connected in a retaining state only by inserting. The gas supply device 4 is connected to the other end of the gas pipe 13.
[0014]
At the lower end of the side surface of the container 2A, an opening 17 is provided over substantially the entire length of the container 2A. The opening 17 is used to collect the solder dust separated from the iron tip 1a into the container 2A. Tray 18 is inserted so as to be freely taken in and out. The tray 18 has a dish shape, and a front cover 19 is attached to the front surface thereof. A handle 20 is attached to the front cover 19, and the tray 18 is inserted into the container 2A from the opening 17 described above. At this time, the front cover 19 covers the entire opening 17. Further, the inner surface of the side wall of the container 2A is covered with a heat-resistant flexible plate 21 for receiving the solder dust peeled and scattered from the iron tip 1a and dropping it into the tray. The flexible plate 21 is formed of, for example, a heat-resistant synthetic resin such as ethylene tetrafluoride.
[0015]
The gas supply device 4 supplies an inert gas having no oxidizing action such as nitrogen, helium, or argon to the iron tip 1a of the soldering iron 1. In this embodiment, the gas in the compressed air is supplied by a hollow separation membrane. It is configured to separate nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas. That is, the gas supply device 4 has gas separators 25a and 25b containing a plurality of hollow separation membranes 26, and the compressed gas pressurized inside the hollow separation membranes 26 in the gas separators 25a and 25b. By flowing air, components having relatively small molecules such as oxygen, hydrogen or carbon dioxide contained in the air pass through the hollow separation membrane 26 and are discharged to the outside, and only nitrogen having large molecules is extracted and injected. The liquid is supplied to the nozzle 3.
[0016]
In the illustrated example, two gas separators 25a and 25b are provided, these gas separators 25a and 25b are connected in series, and the upstream gas separator 25a keeps the pressure of the compressed air constant. 27, a micro mist separator 28 for removing fine mist contained in compressed air, and a filter 29 for removing fine particles having a relatively large particle diameter, and the like, to the compressed air source 5. Have been. On the other hand, the downstream gas separator 25b is connected to the injection nozzle 3 via a flow meter 30 provided with a variable needle 30a for adjusting the flow rate, an accumulator 31, and a first switching valve 32, and The nitrogen gas generated in the devices 25a and 25b is temporarily stored in the accumulator 31 while maintaining the pressure, and is supplied to the injection nozzle 3 via the accumulator 31. In the figure, reference numeral 33 denotes a pressure gauge.
[0017]
However, the number of the gas separators may be one or three or more. When a plurality of gas separators are used, they can be connected in parallel. Further, the accumulator 31 may be omitted, and the nitrogen gas generated by the gas separator may be directly supplied to the injection nozzle 3.
[0018]
The pressure of the compressed air supplied from the compressed air source 5 about 5 to 10 kg / cm ² is suitable, but may be greater, for example 15 kg / cm ² may be a back and forth. When the pressure is low, a pressure intensifier may be connected to the outlet of the pressure gauge 30 to increase the pressure of the nitrogen gas to a required pressure by the pressure intensifier. The concentration of nitrogen gas obtained by the gas generator varies depending on the number of gas separators, supply air pressure, generation flow rate, and the like. For example, the number of gas separators is 2, the supply air pressure is 7 kg / cm ² , When the flow rate is 2 NL / min, the concentration of the obtained nitrogen gas is about 98%.
[0019]
The first switching valve 32 is a two-port solenoid valve of a type that opens and closes a flow path with an electromagnetic operating part 32a and a return spring 32b, and is electrically connected to the electromagnetic operating part 32a when the soldering iron 1 is cleaned. 1, the nitrogen gas from the gas supply device 4 is supplied to the injection nozzle 3, and when the cleaning of the soldering iron 1 is completed, the electromagnetic operation part 32a is turned off and the force of the return spring 32b is applied. It returns to the state of FIG. 1 and shuts off nitrogen gas. The on / off operation of the first switching valve 32 may be performed by operating a switch provided at an appropriate position of the purification device. However, a sensor for detecting the solder iron 1 is provided in the cleaner case 2, It may be automatically turned on by a detection signal from this sensor. Alternatively, when the soldering operation is automatically performed by a robot, the control circuit may control the first switching valve 32 to be turned on / off in conjunction with the cleaning operation of the iron tip 1a. it can.
[0020]
Further, the gas supply device 4 can directly supply the compressed air from the compressed air source 5 to the injection nozzle 3 instead of the nitrogen gas. That is, the compressed air source 5 and the gas pipe 13 are connected by a pipe 36 via a second switching valve 35 having the same configuration as the first switching valve 32, and these switching valves 32 and 35 are selectively connected. By performing the on / off control, the nitrogen gas and the compressed air can be selectively supplied to the injection nozzle 3.
[0021]
In the iron tip cleaning device having the above-described configuration, when the iron tip 1a to which the solder dust is attached is inserted into the iron tip insertion opening 10 of the cleaner case 2, the first switching valve 32 is turned on, and the gas supply device 4 injects the injection nozzle. 3 is supplied with nitrogen gas, and the nitrogen gas is sprayed toward the iron tip 1a, whereby the solder dust is blown off and separated from the iron tip 1a. The separated solder dust falls into the tray 18 and is collected.
[0022]
On the other hand, the nitrogen gas injected into the iron tip 1a suppresses the oxidization of the solder dust and the iron tip 1a, and prevents the oxide from adhering to the iron tip 1a. For this reason, a decrease in the accuracy of the subsequent soldering, a decrease in the life of the solder iron 1, and the like are prevented. As a result, even if the temperature of the iron tip at the time of soldering increases due to the lead-free soldering, the generation of oxides during the cleaning of the iron tip can be reliably prevented.
[0023]
If it is necessary to heat the nitrogen gas, a heater may be connected to an appropriate position of the gas supply device 4, for example, a position on the inlet side or the outlet side of the first switching valve 32.
In the above embodiment, the gas supply device 4 is configured to separate the nitrogen gas in the compressed air by the hollow separation membrane 26. In this case, there is no need to prepare a gas cylinder, Depending on the case, the gas supply device 4 may be configured to directly supply inert gas such as nitrogen gas from the gas cylinder to the injection nozzle.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, by injecting the inert gas into the iron tip of the soldering iron, the solder dust adhered to the iron ironing tip is surely peeled off from the iron tip while preventing generation of oxide. Can be removed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of a trowel cleaning device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cleaner case.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Soldering iron 1a Iron tip 2 Cleaner case 3 Injection nozzle 3a Injection port 4 Gas supply device 10 Iron tip insertion port 25 Gas separator 26 Hollow separation membrane 31 Accumulator

Claims (4)

A box-shaped cleaner case having an insertion opening for inserting a soldering iron tip, an injection nozzle for injecting gas toward the iron tip of the soldering iron, and supplying a compressed gas to the injection nozzle. And a compressed gas supplied to the injection nozzle from the gas supply device is an inert gas. The gas supply device has a gas separator having a plurality of hollow separation membranes, and is configured to separate and supply nitrogen gas in air by flowing compressed air through the hollow separation membranes. The iron purifier according to claim 1, wherein: The said gas supply apparatus has an accumulator for accumulating nitrogen gas generated in the gas separator, and is configured to supply nitrogen gas to the injection nozzle via the accumulator. 3. The iron tip cleaning device according to 2. The iron tip cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the gas supply device is capable of selectively supplying the inert compressed gas and the compressed air.

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