JP4898939B2 - Dry cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention adheres to various objects to be cleaned such as parts having a relatively complicated shape to which toner having an average particle diameter of about 5 μm to 10 μm used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser printer. Dry cleaning equipment and dry cleaning method that removes dust and powder using solid cleaning media without using water or solvent, especially for improving workability by continuously supplying the object to be cleaned. Is.

  Office equipment manufacturers such as copiers, facsimiles, and printers disassemble, clean, and reassemble used products and various units from users to realize a resource recycling society, and reuse them as parts. Recycling activities are actively carried out. In order to reuse the parts used in these products and various units, it is necessary to remove and clean the toner, which is fine particle powder adhering to the disassembled parts and units. Reducing the cost and environmental burden required for commercialization is a major issue.

  For example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose wet cleaning apparatuses that use water or a solvent to remove dirt such as toner adhering to the parts and units. The cleaning apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 fixes an object to be cleaned inside a cleaning rod having a large opening, and the belt is conveyed along a moving path along which a cleaning agent such as cleaning spray water is sprayed on the cleaning rod. The cleaning material is transported by transporting means such as, and the flow of the cleaning agent sprayed on or from the side of the cleaning rod in the moving path passes through the opening and the mesh of the cleaning rod and collides with the cleaning target to clean the cleaning target. Yes. Then, the object to be cleaned is continuously cleaned by continuously feeding the cleaning rod with the object to be cleaned to the conveying means.

  The cleaning apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 is a method in which a large number of particles such as gel, gel foam, glass, ceramic, and synthetic resin are fluidized by a gas flow in a cleaning tank, and then the particles are stored in the cleaning tank. A liquid such as water or silicon liquid having a specific gravity equal to that of the liquid is supplied, and the supplied liquid is dispersed in the granular fluidized bed to form a solid-liquid aggregate of an appropriate size, thereby forming a substantial flow area of the gas. To increase the gas flow velocity passing through the granular layer, thereby generating a unique three-phase flow in which the fluidized state of the granular layer is activated, and this unique three-phase flow collides with the object to be cleaned. To improve the cleaning effect.

  When such a wet cleaning device is used for cleaning parts or units to which dirt such as toner adheres, the energy consumption and environmental burden in the treatment of waste liquid containing dirt such as toner and the drying process after washing are large, There is a problem of high cost.

  In addition, when using a dry cleaning method by air blow, cleaning capability is not sufficient for toners with strong adhesion, and post-processing such as manual wiping is necessary. This is one of the bottleneck processes.

  In order to solve these problems, the dry cleaning apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3 is a spherical or dice-shaped contact member made of an elastic material such as a plurality of bodies to which dust is electrostatically attached and a soft urethane foam material. While rotating the rotating container that contains the discharge, positive and negative air ions necessary for neutralizing the charge of the object to be cleaned are discharged into the rotating container by the discharge electrode and sprayed on the object to be cleaned. The dust attached to the body is removed. The rotating container is formed of a cylindrical body, and the object to be cleaned and the contact member are introduced from an insertion portion provided at one end of the rotating cylindrical body and moved from the upstream side to the downstream side. The contacted member is separated and removed, whereby the object to be cleaned is continuously cleaned.

  In addition, the dry cleaning apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 4 does not pass particles but passes gas between the bottom plate of the cleaning tank and the bottom of the cleaning tank, which is composed of a metal net on which the object to be cleaned of the cleaning tank is placed. Place a granule made of spheres with a diameter of 5 to 10 mm, such as iron, alumina, ceramic, plastic, etc. in the gas blowout part that has an opening that can be made, and suck the air in the washing tank from the air inlet provided in the upper lid Outside air is taken in from an air inlet provided at the bottom of the washing tank, a gas flow is formed in the washing tank, the particles are jetted and collided with the object to be cleaned, and the object to be cleaned is cleaned.

  In the dry cleaning apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3, the object to be cleaned is moved when the object to be cleaned and the contact member are moved from the upstream side to the downstream side of the rotating cylindrical body in order to continuously clean the object to be cleaned. There is a problem that they are in contact with each other and are damaged, and it has been difficult to apply them to easily damaged resin products.

  In addition, the dry cleaning apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 4 is intended only for a method in which at least one object to be cleaned is put into a cleaning tank and taken out after a predetermined time, and the object to be cleaned is continuously cleaned. I couldn't.

The present invention aims to provide such disadvantages and improve, as well as cleaning efficiently cleaning object formed of various materials, dry cleaning equipment, which can be processed and added in succession To do.

The dry cleaning apparatus of the present invention is a dry cleaning apparatus that removes dust and powder adhering to an object to be cleaned with a cleaning medium that flows by a high-speed air stream, and includes a cleaning tank, a separation unit, a supply and exhaust unit, and a moving unit the cleaning tank includes a cleaning object inlet for sealing a lid to put the cleaning object on the upper surface, the entire bottom portion is formed by opening the open mouth between the cleaning object inlet and the bottom the cleaning object fixing unit is provided having a plurality of the separating means, provided in an opening portion of the washing tub, wash medium has a multi-porous member that can not be passed, the feed discharge means the separation An air supply means for introducing gas into the cleaning tank through a porous member of the means, and a suction means for discharging the gas in the cleaning tank to the outside through the porous member of the separation means, The moving means relatively moves the separation means and the air supply / exhaust means, thereby Means, characterized in that characterized in that the variable region of the separating means region and the suction means of the separating means for sucking a gas introducing gas.

  This invention removes dust and powder adhering to the object to be cleaned by a cleaning medium that flows by a high-speed air flow, and introduces a gas that flows the cleaning medium of a porous member that separates the removed dust and powder from the cleaning medium. By changing the area to suck and the area to suck the separated dust and powder, the flow is re-flighted by the gas flowing in from the area where the gas is introduced into the cleaning medium separated and stacked on the porous member Therefore, the porous member can be prevented from being clogged by the cleaning medium, and the cleaning medium can be continuously cleaned to improve the cleaning efficiency.

It is a block diagram of the dry-type cleaning apparatus of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a dry-type cleaning apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a control apparatus and various input / output means. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which removes the particle | grains adhering to to-be-cleaned body with a washing | cleaning medium. It is sectional drawing which shows the flight state of a cleaning medium. It is a block diagram of the 2nd dry cleaning apparatus. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing the composition of the 2nd dry cleaning equipment. It is a layout view of the suction port and the air supply port provided in the linear guide of the second dry cleaning apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control apparatus and various input-output means of a 2nd dry-cleaning apparatus. It is another block diagram of the 2nd dry-type washing | cleaning apparatus. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the structure of the 3rd dry cleaning apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a 3rd dry cleaning apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the other structure of the 3rd dry cleaning apparatus. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the structure of the measurement part which has a washing | cleaning medium amount measurement means. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control apparatus and various input / output means of a 3rd dry-cleaning apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the to-be-cleaned body fixing means provided in the washing tank. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the washing tank which has a cleaning medium acceleration means. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a 4th dry cleaning apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a dry cleaning apparatus according to the present invention. The dry cleaning apparatus 1 removes dust such as toner adhering to the object to be cleaned 2 with a cleaning medium that flows by a high-speed air stream, and includes a cleaning tank 3, a cleaning tank moving unit 4, and a cleaning medium flying unit 5.

  As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 2, the cleaning tank 3 includes a cleaning tank main body 6, an object fixing means 7 and a lid 8. The cleaning tank main body 6 has a cleaning object insertion port 9 through which the object to be cleaned 2 is input on the upper surface, is formed with an opening at the entire bottom, and has a guide portion 10 connected to the cleaning tank moving means 4 at the outer periphery of the upper end. . The cleaning object fixing means 7 has a plurality of openings 12 large enough to pass the cleaning medium 11 and is formed of, for example, a wire net, a plastic net, a net, or the like. 9 and the bottom.

  The cleaning tank moving means 4 has a pair of slide rails 13 and one or a plurality of slide stages 14. The slide stage 14 holds the cleaning tank 3 and is driven and controlled by the controller 15 as shown in the block diagram of FIG. For example, the stage drive means 16 having a wire drive mechanism or a linear motor is intermittently moved along the slide rail 13.

  The cleaning medium flying means 5 includes a separating means 17 for separating dust from the cleaning medium 11, a swinging means 18, and a lifting / lowering means 19, and one or a plurality of them are provided below the pair of slide rails 13 at regular intervals. It has been. The separation means 17 includes a separation member 20, a fixing plate 21, a suction pipe 22 and an air supply pipe 23. The separation member 20 has a large number of small holes and slits through which gas and dust can pass but the cleaning medium 11 cannot pass through. For example, a wire mesh, plastic mesh, mesh, net, nonwoven fabric or sponge film, punch metal plate, honeycomb plate, It has a porous member 24 such as a porous plate or a slit plate, and a holding frame 25 for holding the porous member 24, and can swing freely in a direction perpendicular to the pair of slide rails 13 on the upper surface of the fixed plate 21. Is provided. The separation member 20 is formed larger than the bottom opening of the cleaning tank 3 so as to cover the bottom opening of the cleaning tank 3 even when it is swung. The fixed plate 21 has a suction port 26 that connects the suction tube 22, and an air supply port 27 that is provided on both sides of the suction member 26 in the swing direction of the separation member 20 and connects the air supply tube 23. One end of the suction pipe 22 is connected to the air inlet 26 of the fixed plate 21, and the other end is connected to a suction device such as a blower. The air supply pipe 23 has a nozzle 28 at the tip, the nozzle 28 is connected to the air supply port 27 of the fixed plate 21, and the other end is connected to a compressed air supply device such as a compressor. The suction tube 22 and the air supply tube 23 have a suction valve 29 and an air supply valve 30 that are opened and closed by a control signal from the control device 15, respectively. The swinging means 18 is provided on the opposite side to the engaging portion of the cam 31 that engages with the separating member 20 of the separating means 17, the swinging motor 32 that rotates the cam 31, and the cam 31 of the separating member 20. It has a position restricting means 33 for positioning the separating member 20, which is composed of a compression spring, a shock absorber, or the like that applies a pressing force to the member 31 toward the cam 31. The raising / lowering means 19 includes, for example, an air cylinder, an ascending end detection sensor, and a descending end detection sensor, and raises and lowers the separating means 17 and the swinging means 18. A position sensor 34 for detecting the cleaning tank 3 on which the slide stage 14 is placed and sending it to the control device 15 is provided at the position where the cleaning medium flying means 5 is provided.

  The cleaning medium 11 used in the dry cleaning apparatus 1 is formed from a solid such as metal, ceramics, synthetic resin, sponge, cloth, etc., solid, rod-shaped, cylindrical, fibrous or flaky, What is necessary is just to select according to the characteristics, such as a material, and the particle size and adhesion strength of the dust adhering to the to-be-cleaned body 2. For example, a resin film piece, a cloth piece, a paper piece, or the like is used to remove toner powder from a synthetic resin or metal component having an average particle diameter of 5 μm to 10 μm used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. A lamellar cleaning medium 11 such as a metal flake is desirable.

  The reason for using the lamellar cleaning medium 11 in this way is that the lamellar cleaning medium 11 is easily affected by the air flow because the mass against the air resistance force is very small when the force of the air current acts in the direction where the projected area is large. Accelerate and fly at high speed. In addition, the air resistance is small in the direction in which the projected area is small, and high speed movement is maintained for a long distance when flying in that direction. For this reason, the cleaning medium 11 has a large energy, and the force acting when the cleaning medium 11 comes into contact with the object to be cleaned 2 is increased, so that the attached dust can be effectively removed and the cleaning medium 11 is repeatedly contained in the cleaning tank 3. Since the frequency of circulating and contacting the object to be cleaned 2 increases, the cleaning efficiency can be increased.

  In addition, since the air resistance of the flake-like cleaning medium 11 varies greatly depending on the posture, it does not only move along the airflow but also moves in a complicated manner such as suddenly changing its direction. Furthermore, a turbulent flow is generated by the opening 12 of the cleaning object fixing means 7 and the cleaning object 2 by the action of the high-speed air flow. The lamellar cleaning medium 11 that is more susceptible to air resistance than the mass has a high followability to turbulent airflow and performs a complicated motion, and rotates and rotates by turbulent vortices. For this reason, since the lamellar cleaning medium 11 repeatedly contacts the body to be cleaned 2, the cleaning efficiency of the body 2 to be cleaned having a relatively complicated shape can be increased.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the laminar cleaning medium 11 collides with the object to be cleaned 2 from the end, the contact force is concentrated on the edge of the cleaning medium 11, so that the dust is small although the mass is small. The force required to remove Further, since the force is released by bending when the contact force with respect to the object to be cleaned 2 is increased, it is possible to apply an excessive force to the object 2 to be cleaned, unlike a general blast shot material or an abrasive for barrel processing. There is no need to damage the object 2 to be cleaned. Further, when the flaky cleaning medium 11 collides with the object 2 to be cleaned, the viscous resistance received from the air acts greatly to become an inelastic collision and hardly rebounds. The toner particles move while contacting a large area of the object to be cleaned 2 due to the collision, and a force parallel to the contact surface is applied to the toner particles adhering to the object to be cleaned 2 by a scraping action or a rubbing action due to the contact, The toner particles can be separated from the object to be cleaned 2 with a small force to increase the cleaning efficiency.

  Further, the lamellar cleaning medium 11 can easily separate particles such as dust attached due to deformation or vibration when it collides with the separating member 20, and the particles such as dust reattach to the object to be cleaned 2. Can be prevented.

  Thus, since the lamellar cleaning medium 11 can efficiently remove dust such as toner particles adhering to the object 2 to be cleaned, the amount used is very small, and environmental load and running cost can be reduced.

  An operation of removing the dust such as toner particles adhering to the object to be cleaned 2 by causing the flake-shaped cleaning medium 11 to fly and circulate in the cleaning tank 3 will be described.

  In the separation means 17 of the cleaning medium flying means 5, the laminar cleaning medium 11 is stacked in advance, and the separation means 17 and the swinging means 18 are lowered to the lower end set in advance by the elevating means 19. In this state, the object to be cleaned 2 is fixed to the object to be cleaned fixing means 7 of the cleaning tank 3 on the side of the slide tank 13 where the object is to be cleaned, and the inlet 9 of the object to be cleaned of the cleaning tank 3 is sealed with the lid 8. The cleaning tank 3 holding the object to be cleaned 2 is sequentially placed on the slide stage 14 and moved sequentially by the stage driving means 16. When the slide stage 14 mounted with the cleaning tank 3 reaches the position of the cleaning medium flying means 5 and the position sensor 34 detects the cleaning tank 3 mounted on the slide stage 14, the control device 15 causes the slide stage by the stage driving means 16. 14 is stopped, and the separating means 17 and the swinging means 18 are raised by the elevating means 19 at a predetermined timing. When the separating means 17 and the swinging means 18 reach the rising end and the separating member 20 of the separating means 17 comes into contact with the cleaning tank body 6 at a predetermined pressure, the control device 15 opens the suction valve 29 and the air supply valve 30. The suction pipe 22 sucks the air in the cleaning tank 3, and the compressed air is ejected from the nozzle 28 of the air supply pipe 23 into the cleaning tank 3 to generate a high-speed air flow in the cleaning tank 3, which is stacked on the separation member 20. The cleaning medium 11 is agitated and stirred, and at the same time, the swinging motor 32 of the swinging means 18 is driven to swing the separating means 17. When the cleaning medium 11 is made to fly, the high-speed air flow is at least 10 m / s or more, more preferably 50 m / s or more, and the cleaning medium 11 is made to fly at a speed of 5 m / s, more preferably 10 m / s. good.

  As shown in the behavior diagram (a) of the cleaning medium 11 in FIG. 5, the flying cleaning medium 11 flies through the opening 12 of the cleaning object fixing means 7 and collides with the cleaning object 2 to be cleaned. 2 separates powders such as toner particles adhering to 2. The powder separated from the cleaning medium 11 collides with the separation member 20 due to an air flow generated by suction through the suction pipe 22, and the separated powder is sucked through the separation member 20 and adhered to the cleaning medium 11. The body is separated from the cleaning medium 11 and sucked through the separating member 20 and removed. In addition, the cleaning medium 11 from which the powder has been separated is cleaned by an air flow and is deposited near the position corresponding to the suction port 26 to which the suction pipe 22 of the separation member 20 is connected. In this state, the accumulated cleaning medium 11 clogs the separation member 20 to reduce the suction force, and the speed of the airflow that causes the cleaning medium 11 to fly decreases. Therefore, the separation member 20 is moved in the horizontal direction by the swinging means 18, and as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the air supply pipe 23 is connected with the nozzle 28 of the air supply pipe 23 at the position where the cleaning medium 11 is deposited. It moves to the vicinity of the position corresponding to the mouth 27, and the accumulated cleaning medium 11 is caused to fly with compressed air ejected from the nozzle 28. The movement of the separation member 20 in the horizontal direction is reciprocated on both sides around the position corresponding to the suction port 26 by the oscillating means 18 so that the cleaning medium 11 deposited on the separation member 20 is surely ejected. Prevent clogging. In this way, the air flow in the cleaning tank 3 can be maintained at a high speed at all times, and the toner particles and the like adhering to the object to be cleaned 2 can be stably removed by the flying cleaning medium 11.

  After this process is continued for a certain period of time until the object to be cleaned 2 is sufficiently cleaned, the control device 15 closes the air supply valve 30 to stop the jet of compressed air from the nozzle 28 of the air supply pipe 23, and the swinging means The swinging of the separating member 20 by 18 is stopped. When the ejection of the compressed air to the cleaning tank 3 and the swinging of the separation member 20 are stopped, the cleaning medium 11 flying in the cleaning tank 3 and the cleaning medium 11 adhering to the object 2 to be cleaned are separated from the separation means 17. Suction is deposited at the position of the separating member 20 corresponding to the suction port 26. After the suction by the suction pipe 22 for a predetermined time, the control device 15 closes the suction valve 29 and lowers the separating means 17 and the swinging means 18 by the lifting means 19 and drives the stage driving means 16 when reaching the descending end. Then, the slide stage 14 on which the cleaning tank 3 is placed is advanced, and when the slide stage 14 on which the cleaning tank 3 on which the object 2 to be processed next is fixed has reached the position of the cleaning medium flying means 5, the slide stage The movement is stopped at 14 and the above process is repeated.

  In this way, the object to be cleaned 2 can be continuously cleaned, and the cleaning efficiency can be improved. Further, since the compressed air is blown into the cleaning tank 3 and the air in the cleaning tank 3 is sucked only when the slide stage 14 on which the cleaning tank 3 is placed is at the position of the cleaning medium flying means 5, excess compressed air or It is not necessary to use an extra suction force, and energy can be saved.

  In the above description, in order to prevent the separation member 20 from being clogged by the cleaning medium 11, the case where the separation member 20 of the separation means 17 is reciprocated has been described. However, the separation member 20 is fixed and the suction pipe 22 and the air supply pipe 23 are fixed. The fixed plate 21 connected with the reciprocating member may be reciprocated to switch between a region where the air in the cleaning tank 3 of the separation member 20 is sucked and a region where compressed air is ejected.

  Further, in the above description, in order to prevent the separation member 20 from being clogged by the cleaning medium 11, the separation member 20, the suction plate 22, and the fixing plate 21 connected to the air supply tube 23 are reciprocated to suck the air in the separation member 20. In the above description, the region where the air is discharged and the region where the compressed air is ejected are described. However, the region where the cleaning tank 3 is intermittently moved to suck the air of the separation member 20 and the region where the compressed air is ejected are switched. Also good.

  As shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 6, the second dry cleaning apparatus 1 a that intermittently moves the cleaning tank 3 and switches between the region for sucking the air of the separation member 20 and the region for ejecting compressed air includes a plurality of units. Linear guide 35 for mounting the cleaning tank 3a, a plurality of suction pipes 22 and air supply pipes 23 connected to the linear guide 35, and a cleaning tank moving means for pressing and moving the cleaning tank 3a mounted on the linear guide 35 36.

  The cleaning tank main body 6 of the cleaning tank 3a has a lid 8 for sealing the body to be cleaned 9 and a body insertion port 9 to be cleaned, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. The bottom is provided with a porous member 24 having a large number of small holes and slits through which gas or dust can pass but the cleaning medium 11 cannot pass through. The entire lower end of the side wall is made of, for example, nitrile rubber or vinylidene fluoride rubber. Sealed with a sealing member 37 made of rubber or synthetic resin. A cleaning object fixing means 7 having a plurality of openings 12 large enough to pass the cleaning medium 11 is provided between the cleaning object inlet 9 and the porous member 24 of the cleaning tank body 6. .

  The linear guide 35 has a guide surface composed of a flat surface for guiding the movement of the cleaning tank 3a on the top surface, and as shown in FIG. A plurality of combinations of the suction port 26 to be connected and the air supply port 27 provided in the vicinity of the direction in which the cleaning tank 3a moves with respect to the suction port 26 are arranged at an interval narrower than the width of the cleaning tank 3a in the moving direction. ing. As shown in FIG. 8A, the suction port 26 and the air supply port 27 are formed in a slit shape perpendicular to the moving direction of the cleaning tank 3a, or as shown in FIG. The suction ports 26 are formed in a circular shape, and the air supply ports 27 are formed in an arc shape, and are arranged in a staggered manner with respect to the traveling direction of the cleaning tank 3a. A position sensor 34 for detecting the cleaning tank 3a is provided at each position where the combination of the suction port 26 and the air supply port 27 is provided. One end of the suction pipe 22 is connected to the air inlet 26 of the linear guide 35, and the other end is connected to a suction device such as a blower. The air supply pipe 23 has a nozzle 28 at the tip, the nozzle 28 is connected to the air supply port 27 of the linear guide 35, and the other end is connected to a compressed air supply device such as a compressor. As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 9, the suction pipe 22 and the air supply pipe 23 have a suction valve 29 and an air supply valve 30 that are opened and closed by a control signal from the control device 15a.

  The washing tank moving means 36 is constituted by a belt conveyor mechanism having a washing tank drive belt 39 provided with a washing tank fixing claw 38 and a washing tank pressing roller 40 for pressing the washing tank 3a against the linear guide 35. As shown, it is driven by belt drive means 41 having a belt drive motor that operates in accordance with a belt drive control signal from the control device 15a.

  An operation for removing the dust such as toner particles adhering to the object to be cleaned 2 by causing the dry cleaning apparatus 1a to circulate and circulate the flaky cleaning medium 11 in the cleaning tank 3 will be described.

  First, the lamellar cleaning medium 11 is charged into the cleaning tank 3a with the lid 8 of the cleaning tank 3a being opened by a charging unit provided on the upstream side of the cleaning tank moving means 36 in the moving direction of the cleaning tank 3a. The cleaning medium 11 passes through the cleaning object fixing means 7 having a plurality of openings 12 and is held on the porous member 24. Next, the object to be cleaned 2 is put into the cleaning tank 3a and fixed to the object to be cleaned fixing means 7, the lid 8 is closed, and the object to be cleaned inlet 9 of the cleaning tank 3a is sealed. The cleaning tank 3a is placed on the linear guide 35 and continuously fed into the dry cleaning apparatus 1a. Each cleaning tank 3a put into the dry cleaning apparatus 1a is sent at constant intervals in a certain direction while being guided by the linear guide 35 by the friction of the cleaning tank drive belt 39 of the cleaning tank moving means 36 and the cleaning tank fixing pawl 38. It is done. When the position sensor 34 detects that the sent cleaning tank 3a has reached the position where the combination of the suction port 26 and the air supply port 27 is provided, the control device 15a opens the suction valve 29 and the air supply valve 30. Then, the air in the cleaning tank 3a is sucked by the suction pipe 22, and the compressed air is jetted from the nozzle 28 of the air supply pipe 23 into the cleaning tank 3a to generate a high-speed air flow in the cleaning tank 3a. The cleaning medium 11 held on 24 is caused to fly. The flying cleaning medium 11 flies through the opening 12 of the cleaning object fixing means 7 and collides with the cleaning object 2 to separate powder such as toner particles adhering to the cleaning object 2. The powder separated from the cleaning medium 11 collides with the porous member 24 by an air flow generated by suction through the suction pipe 22, and the separated powder is sucked through the porous member 24 and adheres to the cleaning medium 11. The powder is separated from the cleaning medium 11 and sucked through the porous member 24 and removed. In addition, the cleaning medium 11 from which the powder has been separated is cleaned by an air flow and is deposited near the position corresponding to the suction port 26 of the porous member 24. When the cleaning tank 3a is sent in this state, the cleaning medium 11 deposited on the porous member 24 also moves due to friction with the porous member 24 and re-flies by the compressed air ejected from the air supply port 27 to be covered. The object to be cleaned 2 is cleaned by colliding with the object to be cleaned 2.

  As shown in FIG. 8 (a), the air supply port 27 and the suction port 26 for causing the cleaning medium 11 to fly in the cleaning tank 3a are formed in a slit shape and arranged alternately, thereby cleaning the medium. 11 is gathered in the vicinity of the suction port 26 in a slit shape, and the collected cleaning medium 11 is caused to fly into the cleaning tank 3a by compressed air ejected from the slit-shaped air supply port 27, thereby moving the cleaning medium 11 The entire object 2 to be cleaned can be made to collide with the object 2 to be cleaned, and a wide area of the object 2 to be cleaned can be cleaned to enhance the cleaning effect.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the suction port 26 is formed in a circular shape, the air supply port 27 is formed in an arc shape, and arranged in a staggered manner with respect to the traveling direction of the cleaning tank 3a, The cleaning medium 11 can be made to fly obliquely downward with respect to the body 2 to be cleaned in the cleaning tank 3a, and the cleaning medium 11 can easily collide with the side surface of the body 2 to be cleaned. Can be caused to collide alternately from both the left and right sides, and the cleaning effect on the entire surface of the object to be cleaned 2 having a three-dimensional thickness can be enhanced. Further, since at least one set of the suction port 26 and the air supply port 27 is arranged at an interval so as to be always in contact with the inside of the cleaning tank 3a, the cleaning tank 3a is located at any position of the linear guide 35. An air flow can be generated in the inside, and the cleaning medium 11 can be caused to fly continuously, so that the cleaning effect can be further enhanced.

  In addition, since the cleaning tank 3a into which the object to be cleaned 2 and the cleaning medium 11 are put in this manner is continuously moved by the cleaning tank moving means 36, the object to be cleaned 2 can be continuously cleaned.

  Further, it is preferable that a part of the plurality of air supply ports 27 provided in the linear guide 35 is formed at a predetermined angle with respect to the linear guide 35 and the nozzle 28 provided at the distal end portion of the air supply tube 23 is connected. For example, as shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 10, a plurality of air supply ports 27 provided in the linear guide 35 are arranged at an angle of 45 ° with respect to the moving direction of the cleaning tank 3a and 90 °. An air supply port 27b that forms an angle and an air supply port 27c that forms an angle of 135 degrees are appropriately arranged, and a nozzle 28 provided at the tip of the air supply tube 23 is connected to each of the air supply ports 27a to 27c, thereby linear guides. For each position of the cleaning tank 3a moved at 35, airflows in different directions are ejected into the cleaning tank 3a. In this way, the cleaning medium 11 accelerated by the air flowing in from the angles of 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 135 degrees to the object to be cleaned 2 in the cleaning tank 3a for each position of the cleaning tank 3a moved by the linear guide 35. And the dirt of the object to be cleaned 2 facing these angles can be removed. Therefore, even the three-dimensional object to be cleaned 2 can be cleaned without unevenness.

  Although FIG. 10 shows the case where the air supply ports 27a and 27c are inclined with respect to the moving direction of the cleaning tank 3a, a part of the air supply port 7 may be formed to be inclined in an arbitrary direction. In addition, various nozzles 28 having different airflow ejection directions may be connected to the air supply port 7 to change the ejection direction and ejection pattern of the airflow flowing into the cleaning tank 3a. As the cleaning medium 11 accelerated by the air flow having different ejection directions and ejection patterns hits the object to be cleaned 2, the cleaning range of the object to be cleaned 2 is interpolated and the entire object to be cleaned 2 is reliably cleaned. be able to.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, in front of the cleaning tank outlet provided on the downstream side in the direction of moving the cleaning tank 3a of the cleaning tank moving means 36, only the suction port 26 is provided in the linear guide 35 and the suction pipe is provided. 22 may be connected. Thus, by providing only the suction port 26 in front of the cleaning tank outlet of the linear guide 35, the cleaning tank 3a is sucked into the cleaning tank 3a before the cleaning tank 3a is discharged from the linear guide 35, and then the cleaning medium 11 is ejected. Since the cleaning medium 11 is fixed on the porous member 24 to prevent the cleaning medium 11 from scattering, the cleaning medium 11 attached to the object to be cleaned 2 is separated from the object to be cleaned 2 by the air flow generated by the suction and reattached. You can avoid it. Further, the operator may open the lid 8 of the cleaning tank 3a while the inside of the cleaning tank 3a is being sucked, and spray an air flow onto the body 2 to be cleaned with an air gun or the like from above. As described above, the cleaning medium 11 blown off from the object to be cleaned 2 by the air flow by an air gun or the like is sucked and fixed on the porous member 24 and is not scattered, so that the cleaning medium 11 is more reliably attached to the object to be cleaned 2. Can be separated from

  The dry cleaning apparatus 1a has been described with respect to the case where the object to be cleaned 2 is cleaned by continuously moving the plurality of cleaning tanks 3a along the linear guide 35. FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. As shown, a plurality of cleaning tanks 3 a are provided along the same circumference of the rotary table 42, and a slit-like suction port 26 that connects the suction pipe 22 and the air supply pipe 23 to the table driving means 43 that rotates the rotary table 42. A plurality of combinations of the air supply ports 27 may be provided along the same circumference as the cleaning tank 3 a provided on the rotary table 42, except for the input portion 44 of the cleaning target 2.

  In this rotary table type dry cleaning apparatus 1b, a sufficient amount of the cleaning medium 11 and the object to be cleaned 2 are input to the cleaning tank 3a by the input unit 44, and the rotating table 42 is intermittently rotated at a constant feed angle to perform each cleaning. The tank 3a is moved to the position where the suction port 26 and the air supply port 27 of the table driving means 43 are moved and stopped, the suction valve 29 and the air supply valve 30 are opened, and the air in the cleaning tank 3a is opened by the suction pipe 22. The table drive means 43 feeds air to at least the suction port 26 while the compressed air is spouted from the nozzle 28 of the air supply pipe 23 into the cleaning tank 3a to generate a high-speed air flow in the cleaning tank 3a. It is reciprocally rotated with an amplitude corresponding to the interval of the mouth 27. In this way, it is possible to generate a high-speed air flow in the cleaning tank 3a and continuously fly the cleaning medium 11 deposited on the porous member 24 of the cleaning tank 3a. When the cleaning tank 3a makes one rotation and reaches the input section 44, the object to be cleaned 2 in the cleaning tank 3a is taken out and the cleaning operation is repeated.

  By rotating the cleaning tank 3a on the same circumference in this way, a relatively long cleaning tank moving path can be secured in a small space, and the object to be cleaned 2 can be continuously cleaned, and at one place input The cleaning medium 11 and the object to be cleaned 2 can be put in and taken out by the unit 44, and the burden on the operator can be reduced.

  When the object to be cleaned 2 is cleaned by continuously using the cleaning medium 11 in the dry cleaning apparatus 1b, the cleaning medium 11 is worn and sucked and discharged, or attached to the object to be cleaned 2 and cleaned. The amount of the cleaning medium is reduced by being discharged out of the tank 3a. For this reason, it is necessary to replenish the cleaning medium 11 periodically. Therefore, as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 13, the cleaning medium input unit 45, the measurement unit 46, and the discharge are disposed upstream of the input unit 44 of the cleaning tank moving path of the cleaning tank 3 a by the rotary table 42 in the rotation direction of the rotary table 42. A cleaning medium automatic charging device 48 is connected to the cleaning medium input unit 45, and a cleaning medium amount measuring means 49 is provided in the measurement unit 46 as shown in the partial sectional view of FIG. 14.

  The cleaning medium automatic charging device 48 includes a hopper 50 that temporarily stores the cleaning medium 11, a supply screw 51, and a cleaning medium supply motor 52 that drives the supply screw 51. As shown in FIG. 14, an opening 53 is formed at a position corresponding to the measuring unit 46 of the table driving unit 43, and the opening 54 has, for example, a weight sensor as the cleaning medium amount measuring unit 49. As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 15, the cleaning medium amount measuring means 49 is a control device that controls the operations of the table driving motor 54, the cleaning medium supply motor 52, the suction valve 29, and the air supply valve 30 of the table driving means 43. 15c.

  In the dry cleaning apparatus 1b having the cleaning medium automatic input device 48 and the cleaning medium amount measuring means 49, a predetermined amount of the cleaning medium 11 is input from the cleaning medium automatic input device 48 to the cleaning tank 3a in the cleaning medium input unit 45. When the cleaning tank 3a moves to the input section 44, the object to be cleaned 2 is input and the rotary table 42 is intermittently rotated at a constant feed angle to clean and clean the object to be cleaned 2 input to each cleaning tank 3a. When the tank 3a rotates once and reaches the discharge part 46, the body 2 to be cleaned is taken out from the cleaning tank 3a. When the cleaning tank 3a moves to the measuring unit 47, the cleaning medium amount measuring means 49 measures the weight of the cleaning tank 3a and sends it to the control device 15b. The control device 15b calculates the residual amount of the cleaning medium 11 remaining in the cleaning tank 3a from the weight of each cleaning tank 3a registered in advance and the measured value from the cleaning medium amount measuring means 49, and calculates the calculated cleaning medium. 11 and the number of rotations of the table driving means 43 are stored in the storage device. Then, the control device 15b compares the remaining amount of the cleaning medium 11 with a preset threshold value indicating the amount of the cleaning medium 11, and when the cleaning tank 3a in which the remaining amount of the cleaning medium 11 is equal to or less than the threshold value is found, When the tank 3a moves to the position of the cleaning medium charging unit 45, the cleaning medium automatic charging device 48 is driven to replenish the cleaning medium 11 into the cleaning tank 3a. At this time, the driving of the cleaning medium automatic charging device 48 is controlled so that the remaining amount of the cleaning medium 11 becomes a predetermined reference value. Thus, by replenishing the cleaning medium 11 and stabilizing the amount of the cleaning medium in each cleaning tank 3a, it is possible to stabilize the cleaning quality and reduce the burden on the operator. .

  In the above description, the case where a weighted sensor is used as the cleaning medium amount measuring means 49 has been described. However, a photoelectric sensor or the like is provided in each cleaning tank 3a to measure the amount of cleaning medium deposited and the number of flying cleaning media, thereby remaining the cleaning medium 11. You may make it obtain quantity.

  In the above description, the case where the cleaning medium 11 is replenished from the cleaning medium automatic charging device 48 according to the remaining amount of the cleaning medium 11 has been described. However, every time the cleaning tank 3a circulates a certain number of times, that is, the number of times the cleaning medium 11 is used. Accordingly, a certain amount of the cleaning medium 11 may be replenished from the cleaning medium automatic charging device 48.

  The case where the cleaning tanks 3, 3 a included in the dry cleaning apparatuses 1, 1 a, 1 b are formed by a wire mesh or the like having a plurality of openings 12 large enough to pass the cleaning medium 11 as the object fixing means 7 will be described. However, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 16, the cleaning object fixture 55a that is rotatably provided on the opposite side surfaces of the cleaning tank body 6 of the cleaning tanks 3 and 3a and holds the cleaning object 2 in between. , 55b, a rotating means 56 such as a friction wheel that rotates by relative movement between the cleaning tank 3 and the cleaning medium flying means 5, or relative movement between the cleaning tank 3a and the linear guide 35 or the table driving means 43, and rotating means 56. When the cleaning object fixing means 7 is constituted by the rotation transmitting means 57 such as a bevel gear group that transmits the rotation of the cleaning object fixing tool 55 a to the rotating shaft of the cleaning object fixing tool 55 a and the cleaning medium 11 is caused to fly in the cleaning tank 3. Cleaning medium flying hand 5 when the separation means 17 is rocked, or when the cleaning tank 3a is moved along the linear guide 35 or the table driving means 43 while the cleaning medium 11 is flying in the cleaning tank 3a. The entire surface of the body to be cleaned 2 can be cleaned at a higher speed by rotating the body to be cleaned 2 along with the swinging movement of 17 and the movement of the cleaning tank 3a.

  In the above description, the to-be-cleaned fixture 55a is rotated by the rotating means 56 that rotates by the relative movement between the cleaning tank 3 and the cleaning medium flying means 5 or the relative movement between the cleaning tank 3a and the linear guide 35 or the table driving means 43. Although the case has been described, the rotating shaft of the cleaning object fixing tool 55a may be rotated by a rotation driving device such as a driving motor.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 17, it is preferable to provide cleaning medium acceleration means 58 for accelerating the cleaning medium 11 flying into the cleaning tanks 3 and 3a in the cleaning tanks 3 and 3a. As the cleaning medium accelerating means 58, for example, a cleaning medium accelerating propeller 60 connected to a motor 59 driven by a battery, an air jet nozzle connected to a compressed air generating device, or the like is used. Then, the cleaning medium accelerating means 58 is disposed at a position opposite to the air supply port 27 for blowing the air flow into the cleaning tank 3a with respect to the object to be cleaned 2. In this way, the cleaning medium acceleration means 58 is provided at a position opposite to the air supply port 27 for blowing the airflow into the cleaning tank 3a with respect to the object to be cleaned 2, so that the cleaning medium 11 accelerated by the airflow blown from the air supply port 27 is provided. The cleaning medium 11 accelerated by the airflow from the cleaning medium acceleration means 58 can be made to collide with the object to be cleaned 2 to remove dirt, and the entire surface of the object to be cleaned 2 can be cleaned evenly.

  In the above description, the cleaning medium accelerating means 58 is provided at a position opposite to the air supply port 27 for blowing the airflow into the cleaning tank 3a with respect to the object to be cleaned 2. However, the cleaning medium acceleration means 50 is provided in the air supply port 27. By further accelerating the cleaning medium 11 by accelerating the airflow flowing in from the air, it is possible to quickly remove strong dirt on the object to be cleaned 2.

  Further, by using a cleaning medium acceleration propeller 60 connected to a motor 59 driven by a battery, for example, as the cleaning medium acceleration means 58, the movement of the cleaning tank 3a can be smoothly performed without being hindered by the power supply wiring. .

  Next, another dry cleaning apparatus will be described. As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 18A, the dry cleaning apparatus 1c includes a cleaning tank 3b, a slide guide 61, a suction pipe 22, an air supply pipe 23, and a cleaning tank driving means 62 connected to the slide guide 61. Have

  The cleaning tank 3b is formed in a cylindrical shape having a certain length, and the entire outer peripheral surface other than both end portions 63 is a porous member 24 having a large number of small holes and slits through which gas and dust can pass but the cleaning medium 11 cannot pass through. A bag-like object-to-be-cleaned fixing means 7 that is covered and has a plurality of openings large enough to pass the cleaning medium 11 is provided. Both ends 63 of the cleaning tank 3b have lids 64 that can be opened and closed, and the lid 64 has a connecting portion 65 formed by a groove, a protrusion, or the like that engages with the cleaning tank driving means 62.

  The slide guide 50 includes a semi-cylindrical guide groove 66 and a semi-cylindrical cover 67 that covers a part or front of the guide groove 66. As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 13B, the guide groove 66 is provided with grooved suction ports 26 and air supply ports 27 that are curved at predetermined positions. A seal member 68 is provided on the inner surface of the cover 67 at the position where the suction port 26 and the air supply port 27 are provided and seals both end portions 63 of the cleaning tank 3b. The suction pipe 22 having the suction valve 29 has one end connected to the air inlet 26 of the slide guide 50 and the other end connected to a suction device such as a blower. The air supply pipe 23 having the air supply valve 30 has a nozzle 28 at the tip, the nozzle 28 is connected to the air supply port 27 of the slide guide 50, and the other end is connected to a compressed air supply device such as a compressor. ing.

  The cleaning tank driving means 62 includes, for example, a cleaning tank feeding means 69 constituted by an air cylinder, a feed motor and a feed screw mechanism, a rotation motor provided at the tip of the cleaning tank feeding means 69, a rotation motor, and a cleaning tank 3b. The cleaning tank rotating means 70 has a rotation transmitting part that is connected to the connecting part 65 of the lid 64 and transmits the rotation to the cleaning tank 3b.

  When the object to be cleaned 2 is cleaned by the dry cleaning apparatus 1c, the cover 64 of the cleaning tank 3b is opened outside the slide guide 61, and the object to be cleaned 2 and the cleaning medium 11 are put into the cleaning tank 3b. The body 2 is fixed to the bag-like body fixing means 7 to be cleaned. In this state, the lid 64 of the cleaning tank 3b is closed, and the cleaning tank 3b is inserted into the insertion port of the slide guide 61 as shown in FIG. Next, the cleaning tank driving means 62 is connected to the connecting portion 65 of the lid 64 of the cleaning tank 3b, and the cleaning tank 3b is advanced to a predetermined position where the suction port 26 and the air supply port 27 of the slide guide 50 are provided. When the tank 3b is advanced to a predetermined position, the advance of the cleaning tank 3b is stopped and the cleaning tank 3b is rotated. When the cleaning tank 3b rotates, the suction valve 29 and the air supply valve 30 are opened, the air in the cleaning tank 3b is sucked by the suction pipe 22, and the compressed air is ejected from the nozzle 28 of the air supply pipe 23 into the cleaning tank 3b. Thus, a high-speed air flow is generated in the cleaning tank 3b, and the cleaning medium 11 is caused to fly and collide with the target object 2 to clean the target object 2. When the object to be cleaned 2 is being cleaned, the cleaning medium 11 flies while rotating in synchronization with the rotation of the cleaning tank 3b, so that the object can be reliably made to collide with the entire surface of the object to be cleaned 2. 2 can be cleaned evenly. When the cleaning process is performed for a predetermined time, the suction valve 29 and the air supply valve 30 are closed to stop the rotation of the cleaning tank 3b, the cleaning tank 3b is sent to the discharge port of the slide guide 61, and the next cleaning tank 3b is inserted. Perform a cleaning process. By flowing the cleaning medium 11 while rotating the cleaning tank 3b in this way, the entire surface of the object to be cleaned 2 can be cleaned evenly while preventing the porous member 24 from being clogged.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1; Dry cleaning apparatus, 2; To-be-cleaned object, 3; Cleaning tank, 4; Cleaning tank moving means,
5; cleaning medium flying means, 6; cleaning tank body, 7; cleaning object fixing means, 8; lid,
9; object to be cleaned inlet; 10; guide part; 11; cleaning medium; 12; opening;
13; slide rail, 14; slide stage, 15; control device,
16; stage drive means, 17; separation means, 18; swing means, 19; elevating means,
20; Separation member, 21; Fixing plate, 22; Suction tube, 23; Air supply tube, 24; Porous member,
25; holding frame, 26; suction port, 27; air supply port, 28; nozzle, 29; suction valve,
30; Air supply valve; 31; Cam; 32; Oscillating motor; 33; Position restricting means;
34; position sensor, 35; linear guide, 36; cleaning tank moving means,
37; sealing member, 38; claw for fixing the washing tank, 39; washing tank drive belt,
40; cleaning tank pressing roller; 41; belt driving means; 42; rotary table;
43; Table driving means, 44; Input section, 45; Cleaning medium input section, 46; Measuring section,
47; discharge part, 48; cleaning medium automatic charging device, 49; cleaning medium amount measuring means,
50; Hopper, 51; Feed screw, 52; Cleaning medium feed motor,
53; opening, 54; table drive motor, 55;
56; rotating means; 57; rotation transmitting means; 58; cleaning medium accelerating means; 59; motor;
60; cleaning medium accelerating propeller; 61; slide guide; 62; cleaning tank driving means;
63; both ends of the cleaning tank, 64; lid, 65; connecting portion, 66; guide groove, 67; cover,
68; seal member, 69; cleaning tank feeding means, 70; cleaning tank rotating means.

Japanese Patent No. 2791862 JP 2002-28581 A Japanese Patent No. 3288462 JP 2003-190247 A

Claims (1)

In dry cleaning equipment that removes dust and powder adhering to the object to be cleaned with a cleaning medium that flows by high-speed airflow,
Having a washing tank, separation means, air supply / exhaust means and moving means,
The cleaning tank includes a cleaning object inlet for sealing a lid to put the cleaning object on the upper surface, the entire bottom portion is formed by opening the open mouth between the cleaning object inlet and the bottom To be cleaned fixing means having a plurality of
It said separating means is disposed in the opening of the cleaning tank, washing medium has a multi-porous member that can not be passed,
The air supply / exhaust means includes an air supply means for introducing a gas into the cleaning tank via the porous member of the separation means, and a suction for discharging the gas in the cleaning tank to the outside via the porous member of the separation means. Means,
The moving means moves the separation means and the air supply / exhaust means relative to each other so that the area of the separation means where the air supply means introduces the gas and the area of the separation means where the suction means sucks the gas are variable. A dry cleaning apparatus .

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