JP2009006629A - Apparatus for sealing opening end of honeycomb structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for sealing opening ends of a honeycomb structure, in which the opening end-sealed honeycomb structure, the manufacturing time of which is shortened to reduce the manufacturing cost thereof, can be obtained. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus 10 for sealing opening ends of the honeycomb structure includes: a storage part 11 for storing slurry being a raw material for forming a sealed part alternately at one opening end and the other opening end of a cell of the honeycomb structure; a plate part 1 which is arranged on the upper surface side of the storage part 11 and has a plurality of openings 3 opened so as to make the slurry in the storage part 11 flow out; and a slurry layer formation mechanism 16 for forming a slurry layer on the upper surface of the plate part 1 by making the slurry in the storage part 11 flow toward the upper surface side, so that the slurry flows out of the openings 3 of the plate part 1. The honeycomb structure to which a perforated sheet is stuck is immersed in the slurry layer, so that the slurry is made to flow into a part of cells of the honeycomb structure and the opening ends of the cells are sealed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a plugging device for a honeycomb structure for forming a plugging portion at an opening end of a cell of the honeycomb structure.

  There is an increasing need to remove particulates and harmful substances in exhaust gas from internal combustion engines, boilers and the like from the exhaust gas in consideration of environmental impact. In particular, regulations regarding the removal of particulates (hereinafter sometimes referred to as PM) emitted from diesel engines are in a direction to be strengthened in both Europe, the United States, and Japan, and a honeycomb structure is used as a collection filter for removing PM. It has been.

  As a filter used for such a purpose, a honeycomb structure formed by partitioning into a honeycomb shape by porous partition walls, a plurality of cells serving as fluid flow paths by partition walls, and a honeycomb structure, There is a honeycomb filter using a plugged honeycomb structure including a plugging portion that alternately plugs one open end portion and the other open end portion of a plurality of cells. According to such a honeycomb filter, since the exhaust gas G1 flows into the cell from the end surface on the exhaust gas inflow side, particulates in the exhaust gas are collected in the partition when the exhaust gas G1 passes through the partition. The purified gas G2 from which the gas has been removed can be discharged from the purified gas outflow side end face.

  Then, as a method for manufacturing the plugged honeycomb structure as described above, for example, a laser using image processing by sticking an adhesive sheet or the like to one end face of the honeycomb structure (unfired ceramic dried body) A hole is made only in a portion corresponding to a cell to be plugged (plugged cell) such as a pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet by processing or the like, and a mask (ceramics) is formed on the end face of the honeycomb structure to which the mask is stuck. In the slurry), filling the plugging cells of the honeycomb structure with the slurry to form plugging portions, and performing the same process on the other end face of the honeycomb structure, followed by drying. A method for obtaining a plugged honeycomb structure by firing has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-300922

  However, when the plugging portion is formed as described above, the slurry is uniformly filled in the cells to form the plugging portion, so that the slurry has a uniform thickness in the container. The container containing the slurry had to be rotated and leveled. After leveling, the end face of the honeycomb structure is immersed in the slurry to fill the cell with the slurry, and then the honeycomb structure and the container are separated with air. Since these steps are required, it takes time to level the slurry, which causes an increase in manufacturing costs.

  If the container containing the slurry is used continuously, a little slurry remains in the container even after the slurry is filled, and if it is used as it is, defects such as plugging may be lost. There was a need to do. This also takes time and causes an increase in manufacturing cost.

  The subject of this invention is providing the plugging apparatus of the honeycomb structure which can reduce a manufacturing cost by shortening manufacturing time and can obtain a plugged honeycomb structure.

  The inventor has a reservoir portion for storing the slurry, a plate portion having a plurality of openings opened so that the slurry of the reservoir portion flows out on the upper surface side of the reservoir portion, and the slurry in the reservoir portion on the upper surface side. It has been found that the above problem can be solved by using a plugging device for a honeycomb structure including a slurry layer forming mechanism that flows and flows out from the opening of the plate portion. That is, the present invention provides the following honeycomb structure plugging device.

[1] One open end of the cell and the other open end of the honeycomb structure including a plurality of cells serving as gas flow paths formed by being partitioned into a honeycomb shape by porous partition walls And a plurality of openings that are opened so that the slurry of the reservoir flows out on the upper surface side of the reservoir, the reservoir serving as a raw material for forming the plugged portions alternately. And a plate having holes formed corresponding to the openings of some of the cells by flowing the slurry in the reservoir to the upper surface side and flowing out from the openings of the plate. Slurry layer forming machine for forming a slurry layer on the upper surface of the plate portion for immersing the stuck honeycomb structure and allowing the slurry to flow into a part of the cells of the honeycomb structure When plugged device of a honeycomb structure comprising a.

[2] The slurry layer forming mechanism is configured to be slidable on the lower surface side of the storage portion by fitting to the inner peripheral surface of the storage portion, and the slurry in the storage portion is opened to the opening of the plate portion. The plugging device for a honeycomb structure according to [1], further including a piston portion that flows out from the portion.

[3] The plugging device for a honeycomb structure according to [1] or [2], wherein the storage unit includes an inflow port through which the slurry is supplied to supply the slurry therein.

[4] The plate portion is formed in a flat plate shape, and the opening is formed as a through-hole penetrating the first surface on one side and the second surface on the opposite side. The plugging device for a honeycomb structure according to any one of the above.

  In the plugging device for a honeycomb structure of the present invention, the slurry in the reservoir is caused to flow to the upper surface side through the slurry layer forming mechanism and flows out from the opening of the plate portion, thereby forming the slurry layer on the upper surface side of the plate portion. be able to. Then, the slurry is allowed to flow into some cells of the honeycomb structure by immersing the honeycomb structure to which the sheet having holes formed corresponding to the openings of some cells is immersed in the slurry layer. A plugged portion can be formed in the cell. The slurry layer can be formed in a state where the slurry layer is leveled on the upper surface of the plate portion by the slurry layer forming mechanism. For this reason, it is not necessary to rotate the apparatus to level the slurry layer, and the manufacturing time can be shortened.

  On the other hand, in the case of Patent Document 1, since the slurry is supplied to the basket one by one (supplied from one top faucet), the amount of slurry is large immediately below the supply port, and the amount of slurry is small in the portion far from the supply port. That is, since the slurry has high viscosity, the liquid level does not naturally become uniform, and it is necessary to make the liquid level uniform (leveling) using centrifugal force. However, since the present invention has a large number of openings in the area necessary for press-fitting, even if the viscosity of the slurry is high, the slurry is supplied to the upper surface of the plate portion by the slurry layer forming mechanism, and the slurry layer having a uniform thickness Therefore, leveling is not necessary.

  The plugging device for a honeycomb structure of the present invention has a piston portion, so that a slurry layer having a uniform thickness can be continuously formed, and the thickness of the slurry layer can be finely controlled. Further, the thickness of the slurry layer can be finely controlled by the amount of movement of the piston portion.

  Furthermore, by having an inflow port, the slurry can be supplied into the reservoir before the slurry in the reservoir becomes empty, and can be continuously press-fitted. In the case of a structure that does not have an inflow port, when the slurry in the storage unit becomes empty, it is necessary to remove the piston or the plate unit and supply the slurry. The possibility of clogging is high, and the plugging device needs to be cleaned.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and changes, modifications, and improvements can be added without departing from the scope of the invention.

  FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a plugging device 10 for a honeycomb structure 31 having a plate portion 1. The plugging device 10 stores a slurry serving as a raw material for forming plugged portions 34 alternately at one open end and the other open end of the cells 33 of the honeycomb structure 31. And a plate part 1 having a plurality of openings 3 opened so that the slurry of the storage part 11 flows out on the upper surface side of the storage part 11, and the slurry in the storage part 11 is caused to flow to the upper surface side and the plate part By flowing out from one opening 3, a honeycomb structure to which a sheet 35 in which holes are formed corresponding to the openings of some cells 33 is affixed is immersed in some cells of the honeycomb structure 31. And a slurry layer forming mechanism 16 for forming a slurry layer 18 for allowing the slurry to flow into the upper surface of the plate portion 1.

  FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the plate portion 1 of the plugging device 10 of the present invention. The plate portion 1 is formed in a flat plate shape, and a plurality of openings formed as through holes penetrating one first surface and the other second surface so that the slurry of the storage portion 11 flows out. As shown later, the slurry layer forming mechanism 16 discharges slurry, which is a raw material for forming the plugging portion 34 stored in the storage portion 11, from the opening portion 3 to the upper surface side. Can do.

  The plate portion 1 can be manufactured using, for example, metal, specifically, SUS or the like, but is not limited thereto. Moreover, it is preferable that the hole diameter formed in the plate part 1 is 1-5 mm, and it is preferable that an aperture ratio is 10 to 50%, More preferably, it is 30 to 50%. When the opening ratio is low, the inflow resistance to the hole (opening part 3) of the plate part 1 increases, and the distance between adjacent holes is long, so that it is difficult to form a uniform slurry layer 18. Further, in order to form a good slurry layer 18, due to individual differences in the outer diameter of the honeycomb structure 31, the area where the holes are formed is larger than the area of the end face of the honeycomb structure 31 to be plugged. It is desirable to form holes in the plate portion 1, and the area where the holes are formed is preferably about 105 to 130% in terms of the area ratio with respect to the area of the end face of the honeycomb structure 31. By arranging the holes in this way, the uniform slurry layer 18 can be easily formed, and good plugging can be performed even if there is an individual difference in the outer diameter or the like of the honeycomb structure 31.

  The storage part 11 is formed in a cylindrical shape, for example, and includes the plate part 1 in the upper part and the slurry layer forming mechanism 16 in the lower part, and can store the slurry therein. In addition, an inflow port 12 through which slurry flows is supplied to the wall surface. The inflow port 12 is provided with an open / close valve 13 that is opened when the slurry is introduced and closed when the slurry is flowed out from the plate portion 1.

  The slurry layer forming mechanism 16 causes the slurry in the storage portion 11 to flow to the upper surface side and flow out from the opening 3 of the plate portion 1 to form the slurry layer 18 on the upper surface of the plate portion 1. By immersing the honeycomb structure to which the sheet 35 in which the holes are formed corresponding to the openings of some of the cells is attached, the slurry has a function of flowing into the cells 33 corresponding to the holes. Specifically, in this embodiment, the slurry layer forming mechanism 16 is configured to be slidable by being fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the storage unit 11 on the lower surface side of the storage unit 11. A piston part for allowing the slurry to flow out from the opening 3 of the plate part 1 is provided. The slurry layer forming mechanism 16 is not limited to being configured as a piston portion. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the slurry layer forming mechanism 16 has a structure in which a slurry is allowed to flow out from the opening 3 of the plate portion 1 by applying pressure from the outside. There may be.

  A plugging process using the plugging device 10 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3 (a), a clay adjusted to an appropriate viscosity is extruded using a die having a desired cell shape, partition wall thickness, and cell density, dried, and then cut at both end surfaces to make it smooth By making the surface, the honeycomb structure 31 before plugging is manufactured. The honeycomb structure 31 includes a large number of cells 33 which are formed by being partitioned into a honeycomb shape by porous partition walls 32 and serve as gas flow paths, and are formed of, for example, cordierite.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), a sheet 35, for example, a commercially available adhesive sheet (made of polyester, thickness 0.05 mm) is pasted so as to cover the end face, and then one of the honeycomb structures 31 is placed. The end surface of the image is imaged by a CCD camera, and surface image data is acquired. Next, by binarizing the surface image data, the positions of cells to be plugged (plugged cells) and cells that need not be plugged (non-plugged cells) are specified. Further, the center coordinates of the honeycomb structure 31 are calculated from the same surface image data, and holes are formed only in the portions corresponding to the plugged cells of the sheet 35 by laser processing to form the plugged portion of the sheet 35. Use as a mask. In this state, only non-plugged cells on one end face are masked.

  On the other hand, the slurry used to form the plugging portion 34 is, for example, cordierite powder as a ceramic powder, methylcellulose as a binder, a polymer surfactant as a peptizer, and a mixture thereof. Water is added and mixed as a dispersion medium, and the slurry viscosity is adjusted to about 10 to 500 Pa · s, preferably about 200 Pa · s.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the slurry is supplied from the inlet 12 of the plugging device 10 into the reservoir 11 with the on-off valve 31 open. Next, with the on-off valve 31 closed, the piston of the slurry layer forming mechanism 16 is pushed up, so that the slurry in the reservoir 11 is discharged from the opening 3 of the plate 1 as shown in FIG. It discharges to the upper surface side of the plate part 1. Then, by discharging the slurry from the upper surface side of the plate portion 1, as shown in FIG. 5B and FIG. 5C, a uniform thickness slurry layer 18 containing no bubbles is formed on the plate portion 1. . In this way, the upper surface of the plate portion 1 is covered with the slurry. The plugging device 10 of the present invention can form the slurry layer 18 on the upper surface of the plate portion 1 by moving the piston portion of the slurry layer forming mechanism 16 relative to the storage portion 11. For this reason, there is no need to level the slurry layer by rotating the apparatus as in the prior art, and the manufacturing time can be shortened.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, the honeycomb structure 31 to which the sheet 35 in which the hole is formed corresponding to the opening of a part of the cells is attached is formed on the produced sheet-like ceramic slurry (slurry layer 18). The slurry is pressed into only the plugging cells by pressing against the upper surface of the plate portion 1 to form the plugging portions 34. Since the projections are not formed on the surface of the plate portion 1 and the surface is flat, the honeycomb structure 31 can be easily moved in a direction perpendicular to the pressing direction when continuously press-fitted. In addition, the honeycomb structure 31 can be removed. Further, the surface of the plate portion 1 can be easily cleaned with a squeegee 45 as shown in FIG. For this reason, the time required for cleaning can also be shortened as compared with the prior art. The squeegee 45 can be made of metal, for example. The metal squeegee 45 is easy to manufacture.

  If the displacement of the piston part is controlled by a servo motor or the like, the slurry in the storage part 11 can be discharged onto the plate part 1, the slurry layer 18 can be formed continuously, and plugging can be performed continuously. is there. Then, after plugging several tens to several hundreds, if the valve 12 is opened and the plugging material (slurry) is replenished to the storage part 11, the plugging can be continuously performed again.

  The same process as the plugging process described above is also performed on the other end face of the honeycomb structure 31. Thereafter, the honeycomb structure 31 is dried and fired, thereby plugging one opening end and the other opening end of the cells 33 alternately as shown in FIG. A plugged honeycomb structure 31 having 34 can be manufactured.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated further in detail based on an Example, this invention is not limited to these Examples.

  As the honeycomb structure 31 used in Examples and Comparative Examples, a honeycomb structure 31 having a large number of cells 33 serving as gas flow paths formed by being partitioned in a honeycomb shape by porous partition walls 32 is prepared. did. The honeycomb structure 31 is made of cordierite, has a circular bottom shape of 140 mmφ, and a cylindrical shape of 152 mm in length, has a square cell shape, a partition wall thickness of 0.4 mm, and a cell density of 300 cells / square inch. It was a thing.

  The honeycomb structure 31 is formed by extruding a clay adjusted to an appropriate viscosity using a die having the above cell shape, partition wall thickness, and cell density, and after drying, cuts both end surfaces to form smooth surfaces. It was manufactured by. Thereafter, a commercially available adhesive sheet (made of polyester, thickness 0.05 mm) was attached to the end face, and one end face of the honeycomb structure 31 was imaged with a CCD camera to obtain surface image data. Next, by binarizing the surface image data, the positions of cells to be plugged (plugged cells) and cells that do not need to be plugged (non-plugged cells) were specified. Further, the center coordinates of the honeycomb structure 31 were calculated from the same surface image data. And the hole for only the part corresponding to the plugging cell of the adhesive sheet by laser processing was produced, and the mask for plugging part formation was produced. In this state, only non-plugged cells on one end face were masked.

  In the following examples and comparative examples, the slurry (ceramic slurry) used to form the plugging portion 34 is all cordierite powder as a ceramic powder, methylcellulose as a binder, and a polymer interface as a peptizer. Using an activator, a mixture of these was added water as a dispersion medium and mixed for 50 minutes, and the slurry viscosity was adjusted to 200 Pa · s.

(Example)
Using a machining center, a mold for producing a plugging sheet was prepared in which a through hole having a total number of holes of 4,569 was formed in a SUS plate (thickness 5 mm) with a hole diameter of φ1.45 and a pitch of 1.37 mm and φ154 mm. did. Since the honeycomb structure to be plugged had an outer diameter of φ144 mm, the area in which the holes were formed was 114% of the area of the end face of the honeycomb structure. The mold was placed on the cylinder (reservoir 11) and the plate unit 1 was used as the plugging device 10 shown in FIG. The cylinder was filled with the slurry. By pushing the piston part to a position (1 to 5 mm) at which a desired plugging depth is obtained, the slurry inside the cylinder passes through the hole of the mold (opening part 3 of the plate part 1) and passes through the adjacent hole. A sheet-like ceramic slurry (slurry layer 18) having a uniform thickness and containing no bubbles could be formed on the mold by integrating with the passed slurry.

  The honeycomb structure masked with an adhesive sheet is placed on a sheet-like ceramic slurry and pressed against the upper surface of the mold to press-fit the slurry only in the plugging cells to form plugging portions. did. When there are no protrusions on the surface of the manufactured mold when continuously press-fitting, the honeycomb structure can be moved in a direction perpendicular to the pressing direction (shear direction), so the honeycomb structure can be easily removed. did it. Also, the mold surface could be easily cleaned with a squeegee. A similar process was performed on the other end face of the honeycomb structure. Thereafter, the honeycomb structured body is dried and fired to provide a plugged honeycomb structure having plugged portions that alternately plug one open end and the other open end of many cells. Manufactured.

(Comparative example (conventional example))
In the vicinity of the center of the disk-like storage container, an appropriate amount (30 g to 120 g) of the slurry was supplied so that a desired plugging depth was obtained. A disk-like storage container is set on a spinner, and centrifugal force is used to rotate the slurry so that the slurry has a uniform thickness on the inner bottom surface of the disk-like storage container (10 to 100 rpm). Sealing material leveling). Next, the masked honeycomb structure and a disk-like storage container are set in a press-fitting device and pressed against the inner bottom surface of the storage container, so that the slurry is press-fitted only into the plugging cells. A sealing part was formed. Thereafter, air was introduced into the bottom of the orches to release the honeycomb structure and the orches.

  A similar process was performed on the other end face of the honeycomb structure. When the storage container was continuously used, a small amount of the slurry remained, and when it was used as it was, the storage container was washed with a sponge or the like in order to cause defects such as omission of plugging. Thereafter, the honeycomb structured body is dried and fired to provide a plugged honeycomb structure having plugged portions that alternately plug one open end and the other open end of many cells. Manufactured.

  About said comparative example and Example, plugging material leveling time, washing | cleaning time, the mold release method, and the plugging part formation condition were evaluated. The results are shown in Table 1.

(Evaluation)
In the manufacturing method of the comparative example, it took 15 seconds for one substrate to level the plugging material, and the working time for both surfaces of 10 substrates was 300 seconds. On the other hand, in the example, leveling can be performed in a short time of 5 seconds per side of one base, and the working time per side of 10 bases is 100 seconds, which is shorter than the manufacturing method of the comparative example. Further, in the comparative example, the cleaning time was 10 seconds on one side and the working time per 10 sides was 200 seconds. In contrast, in the example, the cleaning time was 5 seconds per substrate. The working time per 10-sided surface was 100 seconds, which was shortened compared to the comparative example.

  The plugging device and plugging method for a honeycomb structure according to the present invention are suitably used as means for producing a plugged honeycomb structure used as a carrier for a catalyst device or a filter such as a DPF.

It is sectional drawing which shows the plugging apparatus of the honeycomb structure of this invention. It is a top view which shows the plate part of the plugging apparatus of the honeycomb structure of this invention. (A) is a perspective view of a honeycomb structure, and (b) is a perspective view of a honeycomb structure with an end face covered with a sheet. It is explanatory drawing explaining a plugging process. It is explanatory drawing explaining the plugging process following FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the plugging process following FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the plugging process following FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the honeycomb structure in which the plugging part was formed. It is sectional drawing which shows other embodiment of the plugging apparatus of the honeycomb structure of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1: plate part, 3: opening part, 10: plugging device, 11: storage part, 12: inlet, 13: on-off valve, 16: slurry layer forming mechanism, 18: slurry layer, 31: honeycomb structure, 32: partition wall, 33: cell, 34: plugged portion, 35: sheet, 45: squeegee.

Claims (4)

In the honeycomb structure having a plurality of cells serving as gas flow paths formed by being divided into a honeycomb shape by porous partition walls, the cells are alternately arranged at one open end and the other open end. A reservoir for storing slurry as a raw material for forming a plugged portion;
On the upper surface side of the storage part, a plate part having a plurality of openings opened so that the slurry of the storage part flows out, and
The honeycomb to which a sheet in which holes are formed corresponding to the openings of some of the cells is pasted by causing the slurry in the storage portion to flow to the upper surface side and outflowing from the openings of the plate portion A slurry layer forming mechanism for forming a slurry layer on the upper surface of the plate portion for immersing the structure and allowing the slurry to flow into the cells of a part of the honeycomb structure;
A honeycomb structure plugging device comprising:   The slurry layer forming mechanism is configured to be slidably fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the storage section on the lower surface side of the storage section, and the slurry in the storage section flows out from the opening of the plate section. The plugging device for a honeycomb structure according to claim 1, further comprising a piston portion to be operated.   The plugging device for a honeycomb structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the storage section has an inflow port through which the slurry flows to supply the slurry therein.   The said plate part is formed in flat form, The said opening part is formed as a through-hole which penetrates one 1st surface and the 2nd surface of the other side, The any one of Claims 1-3 A honeycomb structure plugging device according to claim 1.

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