JP3374339B2 - Tube cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention simultaneously provides an outer surface and an inner surface of a tubular body such as a photosensitive drum or a fixing roller used in an electrophotographic printer or a copying machine, or a tubular body part of a precision instrument. The present invention relates to a tubular body cleaning device suitable for cleaning.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to clean a tubular body as described above, it is necessary to clean not only the outer surface but also the inner surface, and in addition to high cleanliness, it is particularly required that the outer surface is not damaged. Therefore, it is not possible to perform cleaning by applying a mechanical external force using a brush, etc.In the past, the cleaning worker carefully wipes off and cleans it with great care. Moreover, it was an inefficient task that required attention. Further, in the case of so-called batch type cleaning, not only the inner surface of the pipe is difficult to clean, but also it is difficult to give a flow rate to the cleaning liquid on the outer surface of the pipe, and a sufficient cleaning effect cannot be obtained.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, according to the present invention, it is necessary to wash not only the outer surface but also the inner surface, and in addition to high cleanliness, a tube body which is required not to scratch the outer surface is required. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tubular body cleaning device that can efficiently and automatically perform cleaning by ensuring a sufficient flow rate of the cleaning liquid.

[0004]

In order to achieve such an object, the pipe cleaning apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the example of FIG. 1 so that the pipe 2 to be cleaned is detachably inserted. A cleaning body having a pipe insertion port 3 at one end, a cleaning liquid discharge port 5 at the other end, and an inner diameter large enough to form a gap channel 19 with the outer peripheral surface of the pipe body 2. A cleaning liquid supply system that supplies the cleaning liquid from the other end of the cleaning cylinder 1 into the gap flow path 19 between the cylinder 1 and the tubular body 2,
The cleaning cylinder 1 is provided with a lid 12 that opens and closes the tubular body insertion port 3. The lid body is provided with an introduction passage 17 for introducing the cleaning liquid, which has passed through the gap passage 19, from one end of the pipe body 2 into the inside thereof.

The lid 12 and the other end of the cleaning cylinder 1 can be provided with pipe support portions 15.4 for positioning and fixing both ends of the pipe 2 inserted into the cleaning cylinder 1. .
It is preferable that the cleaning cylinder 1 is vertical, and the tubular body insertion port 3 is provided at the upper end and the cleaning liquid discharge port 5 is provided at the lower end. It is possible to provide a heating gas supply system for switching and using the cleaning liquid supply system.

Further, as shown in the example of FIG. 3, the tube body insertion port 3
At the other end of the cleaning cylinder 1 on the opposite side of the cleaning pipe 1, a pipe discharge port 3a for discharging the pipe 2 is provided, and the pipe discharge port 3a is opened and closed by a lid 12a having a cleaning liquid discharge port 5. be able to.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 4, a tank 41 containing an ultrasonic wave transmission medium liquid 40 for transmitting the ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic transducer 42 is provided, and the cleaning cylinder 1 is installed in the tank 41. You can also

[0008]

[Function] The pipe body to be cleaned is inserted into the cleaning cylinder through the pipe body insertion port, and the pipe body insertion port is closed with the lid body.
A cleaning liquid from the other end of the cleaning cylinder in the gap passage between the pipe and the pipe (the cleaning liquid may be a dedicated cleaning liquid, pure water may be mixed into the cleaning liquid, or pure water may be contained. (Including also), the cleaning liquid flows through the gap passage from the other end to the one end of the cleaning cylinder to clean the outer peripheral surface of the pipe body. Subsequently, the cleaning liquid enters the inside of the pipe through the introduction passage provided in the lid, flows in the pipe in the direction opposite to the gap flow path, and is discharged from the cleaning liquid discharge port of the cleaning cylinder. The inner peripheral surface of the tubular body is also cleaned.

If a heating gas supply system that is used by switching to the cleaning liquid supply system is provided, it is possible to dry with the heated gas flowing through the same path as when cleaning, with the cleaned tube being kept inside the cleaning cylinder.

If the side of the washing cylinder opposite to the tubular body insertion port is made a tubular body discharge port, and this tubular body discharge port can also be opened and closed by the lid, the uncleaned pipe is discharged at the same time when the cleaned tubular body is discharged. You can insert your body. By applying ultrasonic waves from the outside of the cleaning cylinder, the cleaning effect can be further improved.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A pipe cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of the cleaning section. The cleaning unit has a vertically long cleaning cylinder 1 as a main body. The cleaning cylinder 1 has an inner diameter and a length that are large enough to insert the entire tubular body 2 to be cleaned, and the upper end of the tubular body is opened to the same size as the inner diameter. Although it is the insertion port 3, a ring-shaped seat portion 4 that supports the lower end portion of the tube body 2 is provided to project upward inside the bottom portion, and the inside of the ring-shaped seat portion 4 is It communicates with the cleaning liquid discharge port 5 which is thinner than the insertion port 3. The cleaning liquid discharge port 5 is continuous with the discharge pipe line 6.
A cleaning liquid supply port 7 is provided at the lower end of the peripheral wall of the cleaning cylinder 1 so as to face the outer peripheral surface of the ring-shaped seat portion 4, and the cleaning liquid supply port 7 is continuous with the supply pipe line 8.

In the case of this example, a bush 10 having a through hole 9 is fitted and fixed to the tip (bottom end in the figure) of the tubular body 2. The portion of the bush 10 beyond the brim is the tubular body 2.
The lower end of the tubular body 4 is positioned and fixed in the washing cylinder 1 by projecting from the lower end of the tube body and inserting the projecting portion into the ring-shaped seat portion 4 so as to be insertable and removable. A step portion 4 a is formed inside the ring-shaped seat portion 4 to receive the tip of the bush 10, and a gasket 11 for sealing is provided at the upper end of the ring-shaped seat portion 4.

The tube insertion opening 3 of the cleaning cylinder 1 is opened and closed by a lid 12 which is vertically moved up and down by a loader (not shown). A portion of the outer peripheral surface of the lid body 12 below the collar 13 projects into the cleaning cylinder 1 from the pipe insertion port 3, and a gasket 14 attached to the collar 13 is pressed against the upper end of the cleaning cylinder 1. A seal is made between the periphery of the tubular body insertion port 3 and. A ring-shaped projection 15 having an outer diameter that fits inside the upper end of the tube 2 is integrally provided at the center of the lower surface of the lid 12. The ring-shaped protrusion 15 is a tubular body holding portion for detachably holding the tubular body 2 on the lid body 12, and the held tubular body 2
When is inserted into the cleaning cylinder 1 as the lid 12 descends, it also serves as a pipe body support portion for positioning and fixing the upper end portion of the pipe body 2. Further, the lid 12 is provided with through holes 16 penetrating both sides of the outer peripheral surface thereof. The through hole 16 communicates with the inside of the ring-shaped protrusion 15 to form an introduction path 17 for introducing the cleaning liquid into the pipe body 2. A gasket 18 for sealing the upper end of the tubular body 2 is attached to a step formed on the outer periphery of the base end of the ring-shaped protrusion 15.

To clean the tube body 2, the ring-shaped projection 15 of the lid body 12 is fitted inside the upper end of the tube body 2 and the lid body 12 is held by the loader while the tube body 2 is held. The pipe body 2 is lowered to insert the pipe body 2 into the washing cylinder 1, and the pipe body insertion port 3 is closed by the lid 12. Then, a part of the bush 10 at the lower end of the pipe body 2 is fitted into the ring-shaped seat portion 4 so that the lower end portion of the pipe body 2 is positioned and fixed in the cleaning cylinder 1, and the ring-shaped protrusion 15 is already fitted. The upper end of the tubular body 2 is also positioned and fixed in the cleaning cylinder 1. A gap flow path 19 is formed on the entire circumference between the outer peripheral surface of the tubular body 2 and the inner peripheral surface of the cleaning cylinder 1 and has a length slightly exceeding the length of the tubular body 2 on both upper and lower sides.

Therefore, when the cleaning liquid supplied from the supply pipe line 8 is made to flow from the cleaning liquid supply port 7 into the gap flow passage 19, the cleaning liquid is washed in the gap flow passage 19 while cleaning the outer peripheral surface of the pipe body 2. And then enters the pipe body 2 through the introduction passage 17 and descends while cleaning the inner peripheral surface of the pipe body 2 and through the through hole 9 of the bush 10 to discharge from the cleaning liquid discharge port 5 to the discharge pipe passage 6. To be done. Therefore, by simply supplying the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply port 7, the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the tubular body 2 can be cleaned simultaneously and uniformly over the entire length. The flow rate of the cleaning liquid can be consistently and sufficiently secured from the time of flowing into the cleaning cylinder 1 to the time of discharging from the cleaning liquid outlet 5.

After cleaning in this way, the vacuum gas is removed from the cleaning liquid discharge port 5 while supplying the heating gas (for example, heated air) from the cleaning liquid supply port 7 while keeping the tube 2 as it is. The outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the pipe body 2 can be efficiently dried in a short time by the heating gas flowing in the same path as when cleaning. If a heater is provided on the outer circumference of the cleaning cylinder 1 and cleaning is performed while heating with this heater, the cleaning effect is enhanced. Further, if vacuum degassing is performed through the discharge pipe line 6 while heating with this heater, it is possible to dry the pipe body 2 without the need for supplying heating gas.

FIG. 2 shows a cleaning liquid supply system for simultaneously supplying an exclusive cleaning liquid to a plurality of cleaning cylinders 1 through a supply pipe 8.
A cleaning liquid processing system for processing the cleaned liquid from the plurality of cleaning cylinders 1 discharged through the discharge pipe line 6, and heating for supplying heating gas to the plurality of cleaning cylinders 8 simultaneously through the same supply pipe line 8. The gas supply system is also shown.

In FIG. 2, tap water passes through the water softener 20, the activated carbon tank 21, the reverse osmosis tank 22 and the ion exchange tank 23 to become pure water, which is stored in the pure water tank 14. The pure water stored therein is drawn out by the supply pump 25 and supplied to each cleaning cylinder 1 via the three-way valves 26 and 27. Further, the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid tank 28 is drawn out by the supply pump 29 and is supplied to the three-way valve 27.
And is supplied to each washing cylinder 1 via. In the case of the example of this figure, it is possible to select cleaning with only a dedicated cleaning liquid, cleaning with pure water thereafter, and cleaning with pure water only.

On the other hand, the cleaned liquid discharged from the cleaning cylinder 1 for cleaning the pipe body 2 is collected in the cleaned liquid tank 32 via the three-way valves 30 and 31. The recovered cleaning liquid is returned to the cleaning liquid tank 28 by the recovery pump 34. Also, the pure water used for cleaning is the three-way valve 30.3.
1 and then drained through the three-way valve 33, or sent to a pure water regenerator (not shown) for regeneration.

When the pipe 2 which has been washed is dried, the clean air is heated by the heater 35 and the three-way valves 27, 28 are heated.
While supplying each cleaning cylinder 1 via the vacuum pump 36
The vacuum inside of the cleaning cylinder 1 is deaerated by.

FIG. 3 shows another structure of the cleaning section. In the case of this figure, the lower end of the cleaning cylinder 1 is also opened as a pipe discharge port 3a having the same size as the inner diameter, and the cleaned pipe 2 is discharged from this pipe discharge port 3a. A bottom cover 12a is separately prepared to open and close the pipe discharge port 3a, and a ring-shaped seat 4 similar to that shown in FIG. 1 is provided on the bottom cover 12a.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the cleaning cylinder 1 having the internal structure as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3 is installed in the tank 41 containing the ultrasonic transmission medium liquid 40, and the ultrasonic transducer 42 in the tank 41 By applying ultrasonic waves to the cleaning cylinder 1 via the ultrasonic transmission medium liquid 40, the cleaning effect by ultrasonic waves is also added.

Although the cleaning cylinder 1 is installed vertically in the examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the tubular body 2 may be installed horizontally or obliquely.
The outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface can be similarly cleaned.

[0025]

The present invention has the following effects. It is necessary to clean not only the outer surface but also the inner surface, and in addition to having high cleanliness, it is possible to automatically and effectively clean a pipe body which is required to not particularly damage the outer surface. By simply inserting the pipe into the washing cylinder and supplying the washing liquid, both the inside and outside of the pipe can be washed efficiently and uniformly,
Moreover, since a sufficient flow rate of the cleaning liquid can be secured, the cleaning effect is good. Since it has a simple structure, it can be provided at low cost. It is possible to efficiently dry the tubular body, which has been cleaned, in a short time with the heating gas flowing through the same path as in the cleaning, while keeping the tubular body in the cleaning cylinder.

As in the case of claim 5, if the side of the washing cylinder opposite to the tubular body insertion port is made a tubular body ejection port, and this tubular body ejection port can also be opened and closed by the lid body, the tube that has been cleaned Since the unwashed pipe can be inserted at the same time when the body is discharged, the workability is good and the time required for the entire washing can be shortened.

When ultrasonic waves are applied from the outside of the cleaning cylinder as in the sixth aspect, the cleaning effect can be further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a cleaning unit of a tubular body cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall system diagram of the same device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing another structure of the cleaning unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 washing cylinder 2 tubes 3 Tube insertion port 3a Pipe outlet 4 Ring-shaped seat (tube support) 5 Cleaning liquid outlet 6 discharge pipeline 7 Cleaning liquid supply port 8 supply lines 9 through holes 10 bush 12.12a Lid 11.14.18 Gasket 15 Ring-shaped protrusion (tube support) 16 through holes 17 Introductory route 19 Gap channel

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pipe body insertion port for detachably inserting a pipe body to be cleaned is provided at one end, and a cleaning liquid discharge port is provided at the other end, and a gap is formed between the pipe body and an outer peripheral surface of the pipe body. A cleaning cylinder having an inner diameter large enough to form a flow path, a cleaning liquid supply system for supplying a cleaning liquid into the gap flow path from the other end of the cleaning cylinder, and a lid for opening and closing the tubular body insertion port. And a body, and the lid body is provided with an introduction path for introducing the cleaning liquid, which has passed through the gap flow path, from one end of the pipe body into the inside thereof. 2. A lid body and a tubular body supporting portion for positioning and fixing both end portions of the tubular body inserted in the washing cylinder are provided on the lid and the other end portion of the washing cylinder. 1. The tubular body cleaning device according to 1. 3. The pipe cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning cylinder is vertical, and a pipe insertion port is provided at the upper end and a cleaning liquid discharge port is provided at the lower end. 4. The pipe cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a heating gas supply system which is used by switching to a cleaning liquid supply system. 5. A pipe discharge port for discharging the pipe is provided at the other end of the cleaning cylinder opposite to the pipe insertion port, and the pipe discharge port is opened and closed by a lid having a cleaning liquid discharge port. The tubular body cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the tubular body cleaning device is free. 6. A tank containing an ultrasonic wave transmission medium liquid for transmitting ultrasonic waves from an ultrasonic transducer, and a cleaning cylinder is installed in the tank. Four
Or the tubular body washing device according to any one of 5 above.