JP5846375B2 - High viscosity material feeder - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a high-viscosity material supply device for supplying high-viscosity materials such as grease, adhesives, and sealants.

  For example, when applying high-viscosity materials such as grease, adhesives and sealants in the manufacturing process of various machines such as automobiles and industrial machines, a predetermined amount of high-viscosity material is discharged from the nozzle of a dispenser to 2. Description of the Related Art A coating apparatus that applies to a substrate is widely used. When supplying the high-viscosity material stored in the tank to the dispenser through the pipeline, the high-viscosity material has a very large flow resistance with respect to the pipeline, so that it is difficult to discharge by the suction pump. Therefore, an extrusion-type high-viscosity material supply device is used in which a high-viscosity material stored in a tank is pushed out by a piston or a plunger to be pushed out to a pipe line. Further, if necessary, a positive displacement pump such as a gear pump is also used to supply the dispenser.

  Thus, in the high-viscosity material supply device in which the high-viscosity material in the tank is pushed out by the piston or the plunger, when the tank becomes empty, the piston or the plunger is temporarily retracted to replenish the high-viscosity material. There must be. For this reason, at the time of replenishment with a high-viscosity material, it is necessary to stop the coating apparatus, which is inefficient.

  Therefore, for example, as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when two storage tanks are arranged in parallel or in series, and one of the storage tanks becomes empty, a high viscosity material is used using the other storage tank. Various techniques have been proposed that allow the high-viscosity material to be replenished to the storage tank without stopping the supply to the coating apparatus by continuing to supply it to the coating device and replenishing the high-viscosity material to the empty storage tank in the meantime. ing.

JP-A-9-299861 JP 2004-337767 A

  In such a high-viscosity material supply device, it is possible to supply the high-viscosity material to the coating device even during replenishment of the high-viscosity material. Of course, in the case of having two storage tanks, the high-viscosity material in each tank Therefore, it is desired that the materials can be smoothly and smoothly extruded without stagnation, the space can be saved, the structure is simple, and the equipment cost is low.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and even during the replenishment of the high viscosity material, the supply of the high viscosity material can be continued, and the high viscosity material can be successively and smoothly retained. An object of the present invention is to provide a high-viscosity material supply device that can be extruded and is excellent in space efficiency.

In order to solve the above problems, a high-viscosity material supply device according to the invention of claim 1 includes a main tank that stores the high-viscosity material, a main piston member that pressurizes the high-viscosity material in the main tank, A buffer tank that is attached to the main piston member and stores the high-viscosity material; a buffer piston member that pressurizes the high-viscosity material in the buffer tank; a communication path that communicates the main tank and the buffer tank; An on-off valve that opens and closes the communication path; a supply unit that supplies a high-viscosity material from the buffer tank; a main drive unit that drives the main piston member; and a sub-drive unit that drives the buffer piston member. It is characterized by that.
A high-viscosity material supply apparatus according to a second aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the configuration of the first aspect, the communication passage is connected to the buffer tank through the main piston member.
A high-viscosity material supply device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the high-viscosity material supply device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the on-off valve allows only the flow of the communication path from the main tank side to the buffer tank side. It is a stop valve.
A high-viscosity material supply device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the high-viscosity material supply device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the main drive means and the sub drive means are cylinder devices, and the main drive means is a cylinder. The device is connected between the main tank side and the buffer piston member side, and the cylinder device as the sub driving means is connected between the main piston member side and the buffer piston member side. It is characterized by.
A high-viscosity material supply device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the high-viscosity material supply device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the main driving means and the sub driving means are cylinder devices, and the main driving means is a cylinder. The apparatus is connected between the main tank side and the main piston member side, and the linder device as the sub driving means is connected between the main piston member side and the buffer piston member side. It is characterized by.

In the high-viscosity material supply device according to the first aspect of the invention, when the high-viscosity material is stored in the main tank, the on-off valve is opened and the high-viscosity material in the main tank is pressurized by the main piston member. The material is extruded into the buffer tank through the communication path, and the high-viscosity material is supplied from the buffer tank by the supply means. When the inside of the main tank becomes empty, the high-viscosity material is continuously supplied from the buffer tank by closing the on-off valve and pressurizing the high-viscosity material in the buffer tank with the buffer piston member. During this time, the main piston member is retracted to replenish the main tank with a high viscosity material. Thereby, even during replenishment of the high viscosity material, the supply of the high viscosity material can be continued. Since the high-viscosity material in the main tank is discharged through the buffer tank, the high-viscosity material does not stay, and deterioration of the high-viscosity material over time can be prevented. Further, the space can be saved by attaching the buffer tank to the main piston member and integrating them .
According to the high-viscosity material supply apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the communication path can be shortened.
According to the high-viscosity material supply device according to the invention of claim 3, when the high-viscosity material is stored in the main tank by using the check valve as the check valve, the high-viscosity material in the main tank Is pressurized by the main piston member, the check valve is opened, the high-viscosity material is pushed into the buffer tank through the communication passage, and the high-viscosity material can be supplied from the buffer tank by the supply means. In this case, the high-viscosity material in the buffer tank is pressurized by the buffer piston member, whereby the check valve is closed and the high-viscosity material can be continuously supplied from the buffer tank. Thus, since the check valve is automatically opened and closed according to the pressurization state of the main tank and the buffer tank, the operation of the on / off valve becomes unnecessary.
According to the high-viscosity material supply device of the fourth aspect of the invention, the cylinder device that is the main drive means moves the main piston member forward and backward relative to the main tank via the cylinder device that is the sub drive means. The cylinder device as the driving means directly moves the buffer piston member forward and backward with respect to the buffer tank.
According to the high-viscosity material supply device of the fifth aspect of the invention, the cylinder device that is the main drive means directly moves the main piston member forward and backward with respect to the main tank, and the cylinder device that is the sub drive means is directly Then, the buffer piston member is moved back and forth with respect to the buffer tank.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows schematic structure of the high-viscosity material supply apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. In the high-viscosity material supply apparatus of FIG. 1, it is a figure which shows each process of the state which is supplying the high-viscosity material from a main tank through a buffer tank. In the high-viscosity material supply apparatus shown in FIG. 1, it is a figure which shows the process of replenishing a high-viscosity material to a main tank, supplying high-viscosity material from a buffer tank. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows schematic structure of the high-viscosity material supply apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The high-viscosity material supply apparatus according to the present embodiment is a liquid gasket such as grease, adhesive, FIPG (on-site formed gasket), sealant, and other high-grade materials in the manufacturing process and maintenance of machines such as automobiles and industrial machines. It can be used in a coating apparatus or the like that applies a viscous material to an object, and discharges and supplies a high-viscosity material. Here, the high-viscosity material is a liquid material having a high viscosity and a large flow resistance with respect to the pipe line and the nozzle, and has a concept including, for example, a liquid gasket such as grease, an adhesive, FIPG, and a sealing agent.

As shown in FIG. 1, the high-viscosity material supply device 1 includes a main tank 2 and a buffer tank 3 that store the high-viscosity material M, a main piston member 4 that pressurizes the high-viscosity material M in the main tank 2, and a buffer A buffer piston member 5 that pressurizes the high-viscosity material M in the tank 3 , a main air cylinder 6 (main drive means) that drives the main piston member 4, and a sub air cylinder 7 (sub drive means) that drives the buffer piston member 5. ), A main pump 17 which is a supply means for supplying the high-viscosity material M from the buffer tank 3 to a dispenser 19 (described later), and a controller for operating the main air cylinder 6, the sub air cylinder 7 and the main pump 17. 8 and.

The main tank 2 includes a main tank member 9 having a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape. The main tank member 9 is positioned on a base plate 10 and is detachably attached. The capacity of the main tank 2 is arbitrary and can be set as appropriate according to usage conditions and the like. In this embodiment, as an example, a synthetic resin bag B containing a high-viscosity material contained in a container such as a so-called pail can of about 18 to 20 liters that stores a high-viscosity material for replenishment can be accommodated as it is. It is a size. The high-viscosity material M may be directly injected into the main tank 2, but as shown in FIG. 1, the high-viscosity material M is accommodated in the main tank 2 while being accommodated in the bag B, and the upper portion of the bag B is opened. You may do it. In the main tank member 9, the main piston member 4 to which the buffer tank 3 is attached and integrated is slidably and liquid-tightly inserted.

The main piston member 4 has a columnar piston portion 11 formed at the lower portion, and a substantially bottomed cylindrical buffer tank portion 12 constituting the buffer tank 3 attached to the upper portion and integrated . The piston portion 11 is slidably and liquid-tightly inserted into the main tank member 9, and the main tank chamber 2A for storing the high viscosity material M is formed.

  The buffer tank 3 includes a buffer tank portion 12 and a buffer piston member 5 that is slidable and liquid-tightly inserted into the buffer tank portion 12. The buffer piston member 5 has a bottomed cylindrical buffer piston portion 13 formed at the lower portion, and a rod portion 14 extending upward from the bottom portion of the buffer piston portion 13. A cylindrical portion of the buffer piston portion 13 is slidably and liquid-tightly inserted into the buffer tank portion 12, and a buffer tank chamber 3A for accommodating the high-viscosity material M is formed therein. The buffer tank portion 12 has a smaller diameter and a smaller axial dimension than the main tank member 9, and the buffer tank chamber 3A has a smaller capacity than the main tank chamber 2A.

  The main piston member 4 is provided with a communication passage 15 that passes through the piston portion 11 and communicates the upper portion of the main tank chamber 2A and the lower portion of the buffer tank chamber 3A. An open / close valve 16 is provided in the communication path 15. The communication passage 15 and the on-off valve 16 have a sufficiently large flow path cross-sectional area in order to allow the high viscosity material M to flow smoothly. A suction preventing member 15A is attached to the opening of the communication passage 15 into the main tank chamber 2A. The suction preventing member 15A covers the opening of the communication passage 15 with a member having a plurality of through holes of an appropriate size such as a net shape, a lattice shape, or a punching metal. This prevents the bag B from being sucked into the communication path 15 and does not hinder the flow of the high-viscosity material M.

The buffer piston member 5 is provided with a main pump 17 that is a single-acting pump. The main pump 17 includes a pump chamber 22 formed in the rod portion 14, a suction port 23 connected to the lower portion of the pump chamber 22, opened at the bottom of the buffer piston portion 13, and communicated with the upper portion of the buffer tank chamber 3 A. And a discharge port 24 connected to the top of the pump chamber 22 and extending from the side of the rod portion 14 to the outside. The suction port 23 has a sufficiently large flow path cross-sectional area in order to allow the high viscosity material M to flow smoothly. The suction port 23 is provided with a check valve 25 that allows only the flow of the high viscosity material M from the buffer tank chamber 3A side to the pump chamber 22 side. A plunger 26 driven by a drive source (not shown) such as an air cylinder is inserted into the pump chamber 22 so as to be able to advance and retract. When the plunger 26 is retracted from the pump chamber 22, the pressure in the pump chamber 22 is reduced, the check valve 25 of the suction port 23 is opened, and the high-viscosity material M is sucked into the pump chamber 22 from the buffer tank chamber 3A. When 26 enters the pump chamber 22, the inside of the pump chamber 22 is pressurized, the check valve 25 of the suction port 23 is closed, and the high viscosity material M is discharged from the discharge port 24.

  A rod 27 is connected to the tip of the plunger 26, and the rod 27 passes through the valve body of the check valve 25 and is inserted into the buffer tank chamber 3 </ b> A through the suction port 23. An enlarged shovel 28 is attached to the tip of the rod 27. The shovel 28 attached to the tip of the rod 27 moves forward and backward in conjunction with the forward and backward movement of the plunger 26, thereby scraping the high-viscosity material M in the buffer tank chamber 3 </ b> A into the suction port 23 of the main pump 17. It comes to include. Thereby, the high-viscosity material M can be smoothly sucked into the pump chamber 22 from the buffer tank chamber 3A. A pipe 18 is connected to the discharge port 24 of the main pump 17, and the pipe 18 is connected to a dispenser 19 of the coating apparatus. The discharge port 24 or the pipe line 18 may be appropriately provided with valve means such as an on-off valve and a check valve.

  An upper plate 20 extending in the horizontal direction is disposed above the main tank 2 and the buffer tank 3, and the tip of the rod portion 14 of the buffer piston member 5 is connected to the upper plate 20. Further, a cylinder portion 6A of the main air cylinder 6 is connected to the upper plate 20, and a distal end portion of the operating rod 6B of the main air cylinder 6 is connected to the base plate 10. The upper plate 20 is connected to the cylinder portion 7A of the sub air cylinder 7 and the tip of the operating rod 7B of the sub air cylinder 7 is connected to the buffer tank portion 12 integrated with the main piston member 4. Yes. A controller 8 is mounted on the upper plate 20.

  The main air cylinder 6 and the sub air cylinder 7 are double-acting air cylinder devices that can extend and contract the operating rods 6B and 7B by supplying compressed air from an air source (not shown). . The main piston member 4 moves forward and backward relative to the main tank 9 member by extending and contracting the operating rod 6B of the main air cylinder 6 in a state where the expansion / contraction position of the operating rod 7B of the sub air cylinder 7 is fixed. For this reason, the output of the sub air cylinder 7 is set to a size capable of holding at least the operating rod 7B with respect to the output of the main air cylinder 6. Further, the buffer tank portion 12 integrated with the main piston member 4 moves forward and backward with respect to the buffer piston portion 13 of the buffer piston member 5 by expanding and contracting the operating rod 7B of the sub air cylinder 7.

The controller 8 supplies and discharges compressed air to control the operation of the main air cylinder 6 and the sub air cylinder 7 which are double-acting air cylinder devices, and operates the drive source of the main pump 17 to operate the main pump 17. To control the operation. Furthermore, the controller 8 controls the opening and closing of the communication passage 15 by operating the on-off valve 16. The on-off valve 16 may be manually opened and closed.

Then, with the operation of high-viscosity material supply device 1 configured as described above will be described mainly with reference to FIGS.
Referring to FIG. 2A, the high-viscosity material M is stored in the main tank chamber 2A of the main tank 2, and the operating rod 7B of the sub air cylinder 7 is held in the fully extended state. open. In this state, by shortening the operating rod 6B of the main air cylinder 6 with a suitable force, pressurizing the high-viscosity material M in the main tank compartment 2 A to promote main piston member 4 through the sub air cylinder 7. At this time, the relative position between the buffer tank portion 12 and the buffer piston portion 13 is held by the sub air cylinder 7 holding the operating rod 7B at the maximum extension position. Thereby, the high-viscosity material M in the main tank chamber 2A is pushed out into the buffer tank chamber 3A through the communication path 15 and fills the buffer tank chamber 3A.

Further, by the operation of the main pump 17, the high-viscosity material M in the buffer tank chamber 3 </ b> A is sucked, discharged from the discharge port 24, and supplied to the dispenser 19 of the coating apparatus via the pipe line 18. And the high-viscosity material M is extruded from the nozzle 21 (refer FIG. 1) of the dispenser 19, and is apply | coated to a target object (not shown). At this time, high-viscosity material M extruded from the main tank chamber 2A are sequentially flows smoothly toward the bottom of the buffer tank chamber 3 A to the upper, never staying in the middle. FIG. 2B shows a state where about half of the high-viscosity material M in the main tank 2 has been consumed.

  When the high-viscosity material M in the main tank chamber 2A decreases and the main tank chamber 2A is empty as shown in FIG. 2C, the operating rod 6B of the main air cylinder 6 is stopped, The on-off valve 16 is closed and the operation rod 7B of the sub air cylinder 7 is started to be shortened. As a result, the buffer tank portion 12 integrated with the main piston member 4 is raised, and the high viscosity material M in the buffer tank chamber 3A is pressurized by the buffer piston portion 13. As a result, the high viscosity material M in the buffer tank chamber 3 </ b> A can be continuously supplied to the main pump 17.

While the high-viscosity material M in the buffer tank chamber 3A is being supplied to the main pump 17 in this way, the operating rod 6B of the main air cylinder 6 is extended as shown in FIG. The piston member 4 is lifted together with the sub air cylinder 7 and the buffer piston member 5 and is separated from the main tank member 9. Then, the main tank member 9 is removed from the base plate 10, and the high viscosity material M is replenished and attached to the base plate 10 as shown in FIG. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3C, the main piston member 4 is inserted into the main tank member 9 by shortening the operating rod 6 </ b> B of the main air cylinder 6. Further, the operating rod 6B of the main air cylinder 6 is shortened to pressurize the high-viscosity material M in the main tank chamber 2A by the main piston member 4, and the on-off valve 16 is opened to pass the high-viscosity material M through the communication passage 15. Supply to the buffer tank chamber 3A. Then, while pressurizing the inside of the buffer tank chamber 3A with the high-viscosity material M flowing from the main tank chamber 2A, the operating rod 7B of the sub air cylinder 7 is extended to obtain the initial state shown in FIG.

In this way, the high-viscosity material M can be replenished to the main tank chamber 2A and the buffer tank chamber 3A without stopping the supply of the high-viscosity material M. By arranging the main tank 2 and the buffer tank 3 in series, the high-viscosity material M is extruded from the main tank chamber 2A, and then sequentially pushed from the lower portion to the upper portion of the buffer tank chamber 3A, so that the main pump 17 Therefore, the first-in first-out operation can be performed without causing the high-viscosity material M to stay, and deterioration over time due to the long-term staying of the high-viscosity material M can be prevented.

Space saving can be achieved by integrating the main tank 2 and the buffer tank 3. Further, while short enough the communication passage 15 which communicates the main tank chamber 2 A and the buffer tank chamber 3A, it is possible to sufficiently increase the flow area, the pressure loss and flow of the flow path of the high-viscosity material M Resistance can be reduced and the high-viscosity material M can be discharged efficiently. Thus, it is possible to reduce the load of the main air cylinder 6 and the sub-air cylinder 7, allowing energy saving and miniaturization. Furthermore, since the main air cylinder 6 and the sub air cylinder 7 are both connected to the upper plate 20 side by the cylinder portions 6A, 7A , piping for supplying compressed air from the controller 8 provided on the upper plate 20 is provided. Can be easily performed.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In the following description, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts with respect to the first embodiment, and only different parts will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the high-viscosity material supply device 30 according to the present embodiment, the main air cylinder 6 is connected to the base plate 10 on the cylinder portion 6 </ b> A side, and the distal end portion of the operating rod 6 </ b> B is connected to the main piston member by the bracket 31. 4 is directly connected to a buffer tank unit 12 integrated with the unit 4. Further, the sub air cylinder 7 is connected to the main piston member 4 at the cylinder portion 7A side, and the tip end portion of the operating rod 7B is connected to the rod portion 14 of the buffer piston member 5 by a bracket 32. The controller 8 is not shown.

  As a result, the main piston member 4 is directly driven by the expansion and contraction of the operating rod 6B of the main air cylinder 6 to move forward and backward with respect to the main tank member 9. Further, the buffer piston member 5 is moved forward and backward with respect to the buffer tank portion 12 by expansion and contraction of the operating rod 7B of the sub air cylinder 7. Thereby, there can exist an effect similar to the said 1st Embodiment. In such a case, the main air cylinder 6 and the sub air cylinder 7 independently perform the forward / backward movement of the main piston member 4 with respect to the main tank member 9 and the forward / backward movement of the buffer piston member 5 with respect to the buffer tank portion 12. Can do.

  In the first and second embodiments, instead of the main and sub air cylinders 6 and 7, the main piston member 4 is moved forward and backward with respect to the main tank member 9 using other actuators such as a hydraulic cylinder and an electric motor. The buffer piston member 5 may be moved back and forth with respect to the buffer tank portion 12. In the first and second embodiments, a single-acting plunger pump is used as the main pump 17, but the main pump 17 may be another type of pump. Alternatively, the main pump 17 may be omitted, and the high-viscosity material M may be directly supplied to the dispenser 19 by pressurization of the main piston member 4 or the buffer piston member 5. In this case, the discharge port 24 serves as supply means for supplying the high viscosity material M from the buffer tank 3.

  As the on-off valve 16, a check valve that allows the flow of the high-viscosity material M from the main tank chamber 2A side to the buffer tank chamber 3A side of the communication passage 15 may be used. Thereby, when the high-viscosity material M is stored in the main tank 2, the high-viscosity material M in the main tank 2 is pressurized by the main piston member 4, whereby the check valve (open / close valve 16). The high-viscosity material M can be extruded into the buffer tank 3 through the communication passage 15 and supplied to the main pump 17 through the buffer tank 3 (see FIGS. 2A and 2B). When the main tank 2 becomes empty, the high-viscosity material M in the buffer tank 3 is pressurized by the buffer piston member 5, whereby the check valve (open / close valve 16) is closed and the high-viscosity material M is continued. It can be supplied from the buffer tank chamber 3A to the main pump 17 (see FIG. 2C, FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B). Thus, since the check valve (open / close valve 16) is automatically opened and closed by the pressurization state of the main tank 2 and the buffer tank 3, the control by the controller 8 and the manual opening / closing operation of the open / close valve 16 are unnecessary. Become.

Further, the communication path 15 that connects the main tank chamber 2A and the buffer tank chamber 3A can be arranged outside the main tank 2 and the buffer tank 3, for example, one end connected to the lower part of the side wall of the main tank member 9. It is also possible to use a flexible conduit such as a hose whose other end is connected to the lower part of the side wall of the buffer tank portion 12. However, in this case, it may be difficult to ensure a sufficiently large flow path area equivalent to the communication path 15 provided in the main piston member 4 by a flexible pipe line such as a hose.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... High viscosity material supply apparatus, 2 ... Main tank, 3 ... Buffer tank, 4 ... Main piston member, 5 ... Buffer piston member, 6 ... Main air cylinder (main drive means), 7 ... Sub air cylinder (sub drive means) 15 ... Communication passage, 16 ... Open / close valve, 17 ... Main pump (supply means), M ... High viscosity material

Claims (5)

A main tank for storing the high-viscosity material; a main piston member for pressurizing the high-viscosity material in the main tank; a buffer tank attached to the main piston member for storing the high-viscosity material; A buffer piston member that pressurizes the high-viscosity material, a communication path that communicates the main tank and the buffer tank, an on-off valve that opens and closes the communication path, and a supply unit that supplies the high-viscosity material from the buffer tank; A high-viscosity material supply device, comprising: main drive means for driving the main piston member; and sub drive means for driving the buffer piston member.   The high-viscosity material supply device according to claim 1, wherein the communication path passes through the main piston member and is connected to the buffer tank.   3. The high-viscosity material supply device according to claim 1, wherein the on-off valve is a check valve that allows only the flow of the communication path from the main tank side to the buffer tank side. 4.   The main drive means and the sub drive means are cylinder devices, and the cylinder device as the main drive means is connected between the main tank side and the buffer piston member side, and is a cylinder as the sub drive means. 4. The high-viscosity material supply device according to claim 1, wherein the device is connected between the main piston member side and the buffer piston member side.   The main drive means and the sub drive means are cylinder devices, and the cylinder device as the main drive means is connected between the main tank side and the main piston member side, and is a cylinder as the sub drive means. 4. The high-viscosity material supply device according to claim 1, wherein the device is connected between the main piston member side and the buffer piston member side.

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