JP5862262B2 - Dry cleaning housing and dry cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dry cleaning apparatus that performs cleaning by bringing a flying cleaning medium into contact with an object to be cleaned (hereinafter also referred to as “object to be cleaned”) (including the concept of collision). The present invention relates to a dry cleaning device that can be applied to a part and can be cleaned, and is particularly suitable as a handy type, and a dry cleaning housing used in the dry cleaning device.
The present invention is used, for example, to remove flux adhered to a mask jig called a dip pallet or a carrier pallet used in a flow solder bath process, and particularly, a side surface of an object to be cleaned, a periphery of an opening, etc. It is suitable for removing flux stuck in a narrow area.

In recent years, a jig for masking a region other than a region to be soldered is frequently used in a soldering process using a flow solder tank in printed circuit board manufacturing. Such a mask jig (called a dip pallet or a carrier pallet) had to be cleaned regularly in order to reduce the accuracy of the mask by accumulating and fixing flux on the surface as it was repeatedly used. .
In general, since such cleaning is performed by immersing in a solvent, a large amount of solvent is consumed, an increase in cost cannot be avoided, and the burden on the worker is extremely large.
A method of spraying a solvent onto an object to be cleaned in an apparatus without being immersed is also known, but there is no change in that a large amount of solvent is used.

As a technique for solving this problem, a dry cleaning apparatus is known that performs cleaning by bringing a flying cleaning medium into contact with an object to be cleaned.
In Patent Documents 1 and 2, an opening is provided on a side surface of a cylindrical container, and a cleaning medium is caused to fly in a circumferential direction by a swirling air flow of a compressed air flow in the container, and a cleaning object in contact with the opening is cleaned. A cleaning method for colliding a medium is disclosed.
However, in this method, since the swirling air flow is formed by the compressed air flow, the problem that the cleaning medium leaks out of the container when the object to be cleaned is separated from the opening cannot be avoided.
In order to solve this problem, in Patent Document 1, a net member is provided at the opening to prevent leakage. However, energy when the cleaning medium collides with the object to be cleaned is reduced, or the cleaning medium is caught between the net members. Have new problems such as reduced cleaning capacity.
In Patent Document 2, an open / close lid that closes the opening is provided to prevent leakage. However, when the object to be cleaned is separated from the opening, the open / close lid needs to be quickly moved to close the opening. In addition to requiring extra attention and effort, there was a problem that it was mechanically complicated, difficult to operate, and easy to break down.

In view of such a situation, the present applicant connects the intake means to the casing, and flows into the interior from the outside of the casing through the air passage (inlet) in a state where the opening is closed with the object to be cleaned. The swirling air flow generated by the air current causes the flake-like cleaning medium to fly, and allows passage of gas and dust in the housing and prohibits the passage of the cleaning medium. A dry cleaning device has been proposed in which the cleaning medium stays in the flow forming region and the circulating flying of the cleaning medium is continued by the swirling air flow (Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-175687; hereinafter referred to as “prior application technology”).
According to this dry cleaning device, even if the object to be cleaned is separated from the opening, the air passage becomes the same level as the atmospheric pressure, the swirling air flow disappears, and the outside air is enclosed by the negative pressure due to the intake air. Since the large amount of fluid flows into the body, the cleaning medium in the housing is adsorbed by the porous means and remains in the housing, and does not leak from the opening.

In such a handy type dry cleaning device having portability or mobility, it is inevitably necessary to increase the size of the housing and the opening in order to support simultaneous cleaning of a large area while maintaining the degree of freedom of cleaning. There is.
In this case, it is desirable from the cleaning principle to increase the size in the direction of the swirling axis of the swirling air flow. That is, since the swirl diameter does not change in the size expansion direction, the flow velocity of the swirling air flow can be kept constant, and it becomes easy to make the cleaning performance uniform throughout the size expansion direction.
However, when the dry cleaning housing is simply extended in the direction of the swivel axis, a spiral airflow is generated in which the swirling air flow is directed to the separation plate located at the end of the housing in the swivel axis direction. The cleaning medium flies to the board. As a result, the number of cleaning media at a position far from the separation plate is reduced, and a deviation occurs in the number of cleaning media in the rotation axis direction of the housing. The cleaning ability is reduced at a portion where the number of cleaning media is reduced, and cleaning unevenness occurs as a whole.
The “position far from the separation plate” is the farthest position in the center of the casing in the direction of the turning axis in the double-sided suction method, and the farthest end in the opposite side to the separation plate in the single-side suction method. .

Further, until the opening is closed, the cleaning medium is adsorbed and held on the separation plate, and from that state, the cleaning medium is peeled off from the separation plate by a high-speed air flow from the inlet and then flies. For this reason, the cleaning medium inevitably becomes difficult to fly at a position far from the separation plate.
There can be a layout in which multiple casings with independent cleaning capabilities are arranged in series in the direction of the swivel axis to achieve a “wide-area simultaneous cleaning” configuration, but each casing has a configuration for connecting to suction means. Therefore, when simply arranged in series, a configuration for connecting to the suction means is necessary between the openings of the respective housings. Therefore, it is inevitable that the connection between the openings is hindered.
In this way, with the simple connection method, there is a large gap as a non-cleaning area between the opening and the opening, so that “simultaneous cleaning of a large area” can be realized, but the cleaning surface is in the direction of the swivel axis. Becomes discontinuous.
For this reason, the housing must be shifted to clean the uncleaned parts, and the cleaning efficiency for increasing the size of the housing is low, and the cleaning quality is kept constant as a whole with a multiple cleaning method. I can't beat it.
In order to solve this problem, the negative pressure swirl method as described above is used when the size of the housing is enlarged in the swivel axis direction to form a single cleaning method (hereinafter also referred to as “one scan method”). This causes the problem of uneven cleaning based on the above principle.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a current situation. In the one-scan configuration, the present invention can deal with large-area simultaneous cleaning without causing problems such as uneven cleaning and leakage of the cleaning medium, and the degree of freedom in cleaning. The main purpose is to provide a dry cleaning housing that can maintain the temperature.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an internal structure for causing a cleaning medium to fly in a dry cleaning housing that causes a cleaning medium to fly by an air current and applies the cleaning medium to an object to be cleaned to clean the object to be cleaned. A space, an opening that abuts the object to be cleaned and causes the cleaning medium to collide with the object to be cleaned, an air passage that allows air from outside to pass through the internal space, and the internal space through the air path. An air inlet that generates a swirling airflow in the internal space by sucking the introduced air, a porous means that allows a removal object removed from the cleaning object to pass to the air inlet side, and a flow path in the air passage Masking means for arbitrarily blocking a part of the cross-sectional area of the inner space, reducing or stopping the swirling airflow in the part of the internal space corresponding to the blocked part, and collecting the cleaning medium in the part. do it And wherein the Rukoto.

The definitions of terms in this specification are as follows.
The “casing” in the present invention refers to a container-like structure provided with a space in a shape that is easy to generate a swirling air flow inside. The shape that easily generates the swirling airflow is a shape having a continuous inner wall in which the airflow flows and circulates along the inner wall of the housing, and more preferably a shape having a rotating body-shaped inner wall or an inner space. .
The “ventilation passage” is means for facilitating the flow of airflow in a certain direction, and is generally a tube shape having a smooth inner surface. However, for example, even if a plate-like flow path control plate having a smooth surface is used, a rectifying effect that facilitates the flow of gas in the direction along the surface is exhibited. And

In addition, the shape in which the airflow flows linearly is common, but the rectifying effect can be obtained even with a gentle curve that does not cause much flow path resistance. However, unless otherwise specified, the direction of the air passage means the direction of the air flow ejected at the air inlet.
In the present invention, an air passage that is an air intake port having a tube shape, one end connected to an air inlet of the inner wall of the housing, and the other end opened to the atmosphere outside the housing ". The inlet generally has a low fluid resistance, has a smooth inner surface, and a circular, rectangular or slit shape is used for the cross section of the tube.

  In the present invention, the “swirl airflow” means that the airflow accelerated by the inflow airflow from the air inlet flows while changing the direction along the inner wall of the housing, circulates back to the position of the air inlet, It is an airflow that merges with the incoming airflow. When the fluid forming the air flow is air, it is synonymous with “swirl air flow”. Generally, it is generated by flowing an air flow in a tangential direction of the inner wall in a closed space where the inner walls are continuous.

  According to the present invention, in the large-area simultaneous cleaning configuration, it is possible to correct the quantitative deviation of the cleaning medium in the swivel axis direction, and to suppress cleaning unevenness with high accuracy.

1 is a perspective view of a dry cleaning housing according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows the relationship between the division area of an inlet, and the mask board corresponding to this. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state of gathering of cleaning media in a housing, in which (a) illustrates a state in which the cleaning medium is biased toward the end in the pivot axis direction, and (b) illustrates a state in which the cleaning medium is collected at a portion blocked by a mask plate. FIG. It is sectional drawing of a housing | casing, (a) is a figure which shows the state where the inlet is not obstruct | occluded with the mask board, (b) is a figure which shows the state obstruct | occluded with the mask board. It is a figure which shows a washing | cleaning test result, (a) is a figure which shows a result in case an opening part is normal size (small area), (b) is an inlet in the case of a large area structure which expanded the opening part in the turning axis direction. It is a figure which shows the result when there is no blockade. FIG. 6 is a graph showing the result of FIG. 5. It is a figure which shows the washing | cleaning test result at the time of using a mask means in the large area structure which expanded the opening part in the turning axis direction. FIG. 8 is a graph showing the result of FIG. 7. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the moving direction of a mask board. It is a timing chart for explaining a 2nd embodiment. It is a top view which shows the mask board in 3rd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the mask board in 4th Embodiment. It is sectional drawing in 5th Embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure which becomes the basis of the dry cleaning apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the washing | cleaning operation | movement of the apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the use condition of the dry cleaning apparatus.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, based on FIGS. 14 to 16, the basic configuration and function of the handy type dry cleaning apparatus according to the above-mentioned prior application technology which is the basis of the present invention will be described.
Based on FIG. 14, an outline of the configuration of the handy-type dry cleaning device 2 will be described. 14A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA, and FIG. 14B is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line BB.
The dry cleaning device 2 includes a dry cleaning housing (hereinafter simply referred to as “housing”) 4 having a flying space for the cleaning medium 5 therein, and an intake means 6 for reducing the pressure inside the housing 4. .
The casing 4 is configured integrally with a cylindrical upper casing 4A as a casing main body and an inverted conical lower casing 4B. Here, the upper part and the lower part are convenient names on the drawing, and are not necessarily related to the upper and lower sides on the actual machine.

The lower housing 4B is integrally provided with an intake port 8 at the top of the cone, and functions as a suction duct.
The suction means 6 has a flexible suction hose 10 connected at one end to the suction port 8 and a suction device 12 connected to the other end of the suction hose 10. As the suction device 12, a household vacuum cleaner, a vacuum motor, a vacuum pump, or a device that indirectly generates a low pressure or a negative pressure by pumping fluid can be used as appropriate. Note that the positional relationship between the upper and lower surfaces of the member is merely a reference on the drawing.

The bottom surface of the upper housing 4A is a fitting recess 4A-1 that joins the upper end of the lower housing 4B, and the upper housing 4A and the lower housing 4B are separable. The upper surface 4A-2 of the upper housing 4A is sealed.
A porous separation plate 14 is provided as a porous means at the boundary between the bottom surface of the upper housing 4A and the lower housing 4B. The separation plate 14 is a plate-like member having holes such as punching metal. The separation plate 14 prevents the cleaning medium 5 from moving toward the lower housing 4B when sucked. In FIG. 14A, a part of the display of the separation plate 14 is omitted. The size of the cleaning medium 5 is exaggerated for easy understanding.
The porous means may be a porous shape having many pores of a size that allows air and dust (removed material removed from the object to be cleaned) to pass through without passing through the cleaning medium 5, such as a slit plate or a net. As long as the material has a smooth surface, resin or metal may be freely selected.
The porous means is arranged as a plane orthogonal to the swirling axis of the swirling air flow. Thereby, there exists an effect which prevents retention of the washing | cleaning medium 5 by an airflow flowing in the direction along a porous means.
In order to suppress the attenuation of the swirling air flow, it is desirable that the inner surface of the housing is smooth without steps and irregularities.

The porous means can be re-flighted by the cleaning medium adsorbed on the surface by being arranged on the surface along the swirling air flow.
The material of the housing 4 is not particularly limited, but is preferably made of metal such as aluminum or stainless steel in order to prevent wear due to adhesion of foreign matter or friction with the cleaning medium, but a resinous material may be used. it can.

A cylindrical channel restricting member 16 is provided as a part of the casing at the center of the upper casing 4A so that the cylindrical axis of the upper casing 4A is a common axis. The lower end is fixed to the separation plate 14.
The flow path restriction member 16 is provided for the purpose of improving the flow velocity by reducing the cross-sectional area of the swirling air flow. A ring-shaped swirling air flow moving space (cleaning medium flying space) having a smooth wall surface is formed in the upper housing 4A by the flow path restricting member 16.
Depending on the shape of the upper casing 4A, the central axis of the flow path restricting member 16 and the central axis of the upper casing 4A do not necessarily have to be common, and may be eccentric if a ring-shaped space can be secured. good.

An opening 18 is formed in a part of the side surface of the upper housing 4 </ b> A so that the cleaning medium 5 flying in the swirling air flow contacts or collides with the object to be cleaned.
The upper housing 4A has a cylindrical shape whose height is extremely small with respect to the diameter. By providing the opening 18 in a part of the side surface forming the height, the housing 4 as a whole is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the outer peripheral portion other than the opening 18 largely escapes (separates) from the cleaning target 20, and the degree of freedom of local contact with the cleaning target 20, in other words, pinpoint cleaning is enhanced. .
The opening 18 has a shape obtained by cutting the side surface of the upper housing 4A by a flat cross section parallel to the cylindrical axis, and has a rectangular shape when viewed from a direction orthogonal to the cylindrical axis.

An air inlet 22 is formed on a side surface of the upper housing 4A, and an inlet 24 as a swirling air flow generating means and an air passage is connected to the air inlet 22 from the outside of the upper housing 4A. It is integrally fixed to the upper housing 4A.
The inlet 24 is set substantially parallel to the separation plate 14, and the ventilation direction thereof is inclined with respect to the radial direction of the upper housing 4 </ b> A, and the extension line at the center of the ventilation path is positioned so as to reach the opening 18. Yes.
The inlet 24 has a width extending in the height direction of the upper housing 4A. One inlet 24 having a diameter or width smaller than the height of the upper housing 4A may be arranged, or a plurality of single inlets may be arranged in the height direction.
As shown in FIG. 14, when the opening 18 is in contact with the object to be cleaned 20 and is closed, the inside of the housing 4 becomes a closed space, and outside air flows from the inlet 24 at a high speed. 5 is accelerated toward the opening 18 and a swirling airflow 30 as a swirling airflow is generated.
The swirling air flow generated when the closed space is formed has an effect of blowing away the cleaning medium adsorbed on the separation plate 14 and re-flighting.

When the opening 18 is opened, the opening 18 has an area large enough to set the internal pressure at the air inlet 22 to atmospheric pressure or the vicinity thereof. Further, the air inlet 22 is also arranged at a position where the atmospheric pressure or the vicinity thereof tends to be reached when the opening 18 is opened.
By providing such a configuration, while the dry cleaning device 2 is not applied to the object to be cleaned, the air inlet 22 approaches the atmospheric pressure, so that the differential pressure with the outside decreases, and the airflow that flows in as a result. Is dramatically reduced. On the other hand, since the airflow flowing in from the opening 18 increases, the cleaning medium 5 can be prevented from leaking out of the housing 4.
In addition, when the opening 18 is opened, the total amount of airflow flowing in is 2 to 3 times as compared with when the opening 18 is closed, so that the lamellar cleaning medium is adsorbed on the porous means. , Do not leak out of the case without flying again. This is called a cleaning medium adsorption effect when the opening is opened.

Although the cleaning medium 5 is a collection of flaky cleaning pieces, it is also used herein as a single flaky cleaning piece.
The flaky cleaning medium is a thin piece having an area of 1 mm ² or more and 200 mm ² or less. The material of the cleaning medium is a film made of a durable material such as polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, acrylic, or cellulose resin, and the thickness is 0.02 mm to 1.0 mm.
However, depending on the object to be cleaned, it may be effective to change the thickness, size and material of the cleaning medium, and the use of these cleaning media is also included in the scope of the present invention. It shall not be caught.
The cleaning media is not limited to resin, but it is thin, lightweight, and easy to fly even with thin pieces such as paper and cloth, or with minerals such as mica, ceramics, glass, and metal foil. Can be used.

The ring-shaped internal space 26 of the upper housing 4 </ b> A is a space that has a function of causing the cleaning medium 5 to fly by the swirling air flow so as to come into contact with the cleaning target 20 facing the opening 18.
The internal space 34 of the flow path restriction member 16 is a space where the swirling air flow does not act.

A cleaning operation (hereinafter referred to as a cleaning operation) by the dry cleaning apparatus 2 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 15, the thickness of the member is omitted, and the internal space 34 as a static space is indicated by hatching for easy understanding.
FIG. 15B shows a state where the opening 18 is separated from the object 20 to be cleaned and the opening 18 is opened to perform intake, and FIG. 15A shows the state where the opening 18 is applied to the object 20 to be cleaned. Indicates a blocked state.
Prior to the cleaning operation, the cleaning medium 5 is supplied into the housing 4. The cleaning medium 5 supplied into the housing 4 is sucked by the separation plate 14 and held in the housing 4 as shown in the lower diagram of FIG.
Since the inside of the housing 4 is in a negative pressure state due to intake air, air outside the housing flows into the housing 4 through the inlet 24, but the flow in the inlet 24 at this time is small in both flow velocity and flow rate. The swirling air flow 30 generated in the housing 4 does not reach the strength for causing the cleaning medium 5 to fly.

When the cleaning medium 5 is supplied and held in the housing 4, as shown in FIG. 15A, the opening 18 is put in a closed state by hitting the surface of the cleaning object 20 to be cleaned.
When the opening 18 is closed, intake from the opening 18 stops, so the negative pressure in the housing 4 increases at a stretch, and the amount of air sucked through the inlet 24 and the flow velocity increase and are rectified in the inlet 24. A high-speed air flow is blown out into the housing 4 from the inlet outlet (air inlet 22).
The blown air flow causes the cleaning medium 5 held on the separation plate 14 to fly toward the surface of the cleaning object 20 facing the opening 18.
The air flow becomes a swirling air flow 30 and flows in an annular shape along the inner wall of the housing 4, and a part of the air flow is sucked by the suction means 6 through the hole of the separation plate 14.
Thus, when the swirling air flow 30 that has flown in the annular shape inside the housing 4 returns to the outlet portion of the inlet 24, the air flow entering from the inlet 24 is accelerated while joining the swirling air flow 30. In this way, a stable swirling air flow 30 is formed in the housing 4.

The cleaning medium 5 swirls within the housing 4 by this swirling air flow and repeatedly collides with the surface of the cleaning object 20. Due to the impact caused by the collision, the dirt is separated from the surface of the cleaning object 20 in the form of fine particles or powder.
The separated dirt is discharged to the outside of the housing 4 by the suction means 6 through the hole of the separation plate 14.
The swirling air flow 30 formed in the housing 4 has a swirling axis orthogonal to the surface of the separation plate 14, and the swirling air flow 30 becomes an air flow parallel to the surface of the separation plate 14.
Therefore, the swirling air flow 30 is sprayed from the lateral direction onto the cleaning medium 5 sucked on the surface of the separation plate and enters between the cleaning medium 5 and the separation plate 14, and the cleaning medium 5 sucked on the separation plate 14. Is peeled off from the separation plate 14 and re-flys.
Further, since the opening 18 is blocked and the negative pressure in the upper housing 4A increases and becomes close to the negative pressure in the lower housing 4B, the force for sucking the cleaning medium 5 against the surface of the separation plate 14 is also reduced. As a result, the cleaning medium 5 can fly more easily.
Since the swirling air flow 30 is accelerated in a certain direction, a high-speed air flow is easily generated, and a high-speed flight movement of the cleaning medium 5 is also facilitated. The cleaning medium 5 that swivels at high speed is difficult to be sucked by the separation plate 14, and the dirt attached to the cleaning medium 5 is easily separated from the cleaning medium 5 by centrifugal force.

FIG. 16 shows a practical example of cleaning by the dry cleaning device 2 described above.
The object to be cleaned is a dip pallet used in the above-described flow solder bath process, and is denoted by reference numeral 100.
In the dip pallet 100, mask openings 101, 102, 103 are opened, and the flux FL is deposited and solidified around the holes of the mask openings. This accumulated and solidified flux FL is dirt to be removed.
As shown in FIG. 16, the base part (inlet 8 part) of the lower casing 4B is grasped with the hand HD, and the opening 18 of the casing 4 is pressed against the part to be cleaned in the intake state.
Before the opening 18 is pressed against the part to be cleaned, the inside of the housing 4 is sucked and the cleaning medium 5 is sucked by the separation plate 14, so that the opening 18 faces downward, but the housing The cleaning medium 5 does not leak from the inside to the outside.
Of course, after the opening 18 is pressed against the site to be cleaned, the inside of the housing becomes airtight, and the cleaning medium does not leak out.

When the opening 18 is pressed against the portion to be cleaned, the inflow airflow by the inlet 24 increases rapidly, a strong swirling airflow 30 is generated in the housing 4, and the cleaning medium 5 sucked by the separation plate 14 is caused to fly, The flux FL is removed by colliding with the flux FL adhered and solidified on the site to be cleaned of the dip pallet 100.
As described above, the cleaning operator can hold the base of the lower housing 4B in the hand HD, move it with respect to the dip pallet 100, sequentially move the portion to be cleaned, and remove all the adhered and solidified flux FL. it can.
In the state of FIG. 16, the peripheral portion of the mask opening 101 of the dip pallet 100 is cleaned, and the peripheral portions of the mask openings 102 and 103 are in the process of cleaning.
Even if the opening 18 is moved away from the portion to be cleaned when the opening is moved with respect to the portion to be cleaned, the cleaning medium 5 does not leak out of the housing due to the above-described cleaning medium adsorption effect, so the number of cleaning media is maintained. In addition, the cleaning performance is not deteriorated due to the decrease in the amount of the cleaning medium.

Since the cleaning medium 5 is gradually destroyed by the impact caused by the collision with the cleaning site during repeated use, and is collected by the suction device 12 together with the flux (dirt) removed from the dip pallet 100 at the cleaning site, the dry cleaning device When the is used for a long time, the amount of the cleaning medium held in the housing is reduced.
In such a case, a new cleaning medium group is supplied into the housing 4.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same part as the said basic structure is suitably shown with the same code | symbol. Further, since the cleaning operation and the flying principle of the cleaning medium are the same as the basic configuration described above, and the usage as a dry cleaning device is also the same, the overall configuration as a dry cleaning device is omitted.
The dry cleaning casing 40 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the basic configuration is elongated in the direction of the pivot axis (here, approximately four times) and sucked from both sides in the pivot axis direction.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the dry cleaning housing 40 includes a long-sized housing body 42, intake ports 8 formed integrally at both ends in the pivot axis direction of the housing body 42, and the housing body 42. Separation plates 44 arranged at the connection portion with the intake port 8 at both ends of the swivel axis direction, and a cylindrical flow path restricting member 52 arranged along the swivel axis direction inside the housing body 42 and defining the swivel axis. And an inlet 50 that is integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the housing main body 42 and communicates with the internal space of the housing main body 42, and mask means 54 that arbitrarily closes a part of the inlet 50. The flow path restriction member 52 has a porous structure like the separation plate 44.
In the structure of the dry cleaning device, a separation hose (not shown) of the suction hose 10 is connected to each intake port 8.

The casing main body 42 is configured by connecting four unit casings corresponding to the upper casing of the basic configuration described above, and the separation plates 44 are disposed only at both ends in the pivot axis direction as described above. Therefore, the space between the one separation plate 44 and the other separation plate 44, in other words, the internal space of the housing body 42 is a substantially undivided space.
In the present embodiment, the casing main body 42 is configured by connecting a plurality of unit casings, but may be configured as an integrated object.
As the housing body 42 is increased in size, the area of the opening 18 and the inlet 50 is also increased in the direction of the pivot axis.
The inlet 50 is divided into four regions 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d in the direction of the turning axis corresponding to the unit housings.
The mask means 54 includes mask plates 56a, 56b, 56c, and 56d that are large enough to close the regions 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d, and reciprocates (slides) these mask plates on a plane to form one of the inlets 50. And mask plate driving means 58a, 58b, 58c and 58d for opening and closing the part.
The mask plate 56 is not particularly limited as long as it can withstand the suction pressure of the inlet portion, and a resin plate or a metal thin plate is usually used for weight reduction.
The mask moving means 58 is not particularly limited as long as it can perform a uniaxial operation, and usually a pneumatic or electrically driven cylinder or solenoid is used for miniaturization.

When all of the mask plates are open, that is, when the inlet 50 is fully open, as shown in FIG. 3A, the swirl air is supplied to the separation plates 44 arranged at both ends in the swivel axis direction of the housing body 42. Since a spiral airflow is generated toward the flow, the cleaning medium 5 flies from a position far from the separation plate 44, in this case, from the central portion in the swivel axis direction to the separation plate 44.
As the distance from the separation plate 44 increases, the number of cleaning media 5 decreases. That is, in the swivel axis direction, there is a quantitative deviation that the cleaning medium 5 increases in the regions at both ends and decreases in the central portion.
If the state continues, the cleaning ability decreases in proportion to the number of cleaning media, and cleaning unevenness occurs in the central portion when observed over the entire area. When the number of cleaning media decreases, as shown in FIG. 4A, the number of times that the cleaning media 5 is accelerated by the inflow airflow and the swirling airflow 30 from the inlet 50 and collides with the object 20 to be cleaned decreases. Will decline.

As shown in FIGS. 3 (b) and 4 (b), the location where the mask plate is closed is in a state close to a stopped state because the swirling air flow is decelerated. However, it does not stop completely due to the influence of the swirling air flow other than the portion where the mask plate is closed, inertial force, etc., and the swirling air flow is weakened.
Further, since suction from the central portion is performed through the porous flow path restriction member 52, the inflow air is locally reduced and the suction pressure is increased at the portion where the mask plate is closed. Therefore, on both sides of the place where the mask plate is closed, an air flow (spiral air flow) is generated toward the side, and the cleaning medium is collected.
When the mask plate is opened after the cleaning medium is collected, the swirling air flow 30 is resumed in a state where the cleaning medium is abundant at that portion, and the cleaning performance is increased.
In the present embodiment, the cleaning medium concentration principle by blocking a part of the inlet 50 is utilized to reduce the cleaning unevenness by relaxing the quantitative deviation of the cleaning medium in the rotation axis direction.

Various methods are conceivable for controlling the quantity deviation of the cleaning medium by blocking a part of the inlet 50. For example, at the start of use, the inlet 50 is fully opened to obtain a predetermined swirling air flow. In consideration of “bias characteristics” based on the type and size of the cleaning medium grasped in advance, one or a plurality of specific areas of the inlet 50 are closed or opened based on this, and then put into the housing. Correct the deviation of the proper amount of cleaning medium in the direction of the swivel axis.
This deviation correction control is performed based on the opening / closing timing and opening / closing location pattern of the mask plate, which are obtained in advance through experiments. This deviation correction control is performed at the initial stage of cleaning, and thereafter, the inlet 50 is fully opened and cleaning is performed.
When deviation occurs over time, deviation correction control can be performed during operation so as to grasp the characteristics in advance and eliminate the deviation.
In this embodiment, although the structure which automates deviation correction was illustrated, it is good also as a structure to which an operator moves a mask board manually.
In this case, the casing main body 42 may be made of a transparent member and operated while observing the uneven distribution of the cleaning medium.
In addition, since the movement of the cleaning medium to the portion blocked by the mask plate occurs due to a relative difference in suction pressure, the mask plate does not necessarily need to completely block the corresponding region of the inlet. The effect also occurs by blocking a part.

FIG. 5 shows a photographic image showing the experimental result of visualizing the cleaning ability. In this photograph, the pressure-sensitive paper affixed to the resin plate is washed for 10 seconds, a dent caused by the collision of the washing medium is generated on the pressure-sensitive paper, and the image is read by a scanner.
The darker the area of the image, the higher the density of the dents, indicating that the cleaning ability is high because of a large amount of the cleaning medium colliding.
FIG. 5A shows a cleaning result (small area) using the dry cleaning housing according to the prior application technique, and FIG. 5B shows the dry cleaning housing according to the present embodiment using mask means. The washing results (large area) carried out without using are shown.
As is apparent from FIG. 5B, it can be seen that when the area is simply increased, the cleaning ability of the central portion is lowered. FIG. 6 is a graph of the image of FIG. 5. The solid line (a) corresponds to FIG. 5 (a), and the broken line (b) corresponds to FIG. 5 (b).
FIG. 7 shows a cleaning test result when the mask means is operated in the large area configuration.
As is apparent from FIG. 7, when the mask means is operated, cleaning unevenness can be eliminated over the entire pivot axis direction even if the area is increased. FIG. 8 is a graph of the image of FIG.

In this embodiment, the moving direction (sliding direction) of the mask plate is the horizontal direction along the opening surface of the inlet 50. However, as shown in FIG. It may be configured to open and close.
However, since an output that overcomes the suction pressure from the inlet is required, the moving direction is preferably horizontal unless there is a problem such as interference.
In FIG. 9, only the mask plate 56a is displayed, and other mask plates and mask plate driving means are omitted.

FIG. 10 shows a second embodiment. Note that the same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and unless otherwise specified, description of the configuration and functions already described is omitted, and only the main part will be described (the same applies to other embodiments below).
There is an appropriate amount of the cleaning medium accommodated in the housing corresponding to the cleaning area (area of the opening).
The present invention corrects the deviation of the proper amount in the direction of the pivot axis and suppresses uneven cleaning. However, if the above-described “cleaning medium aggregation principle by blocking a part of the inlet 50” is used, the cleaning medium It can also be set as the usage type which wash | cleans the whole by moving a group to a turning axis direction for every predetermined time.
As shown in FIG. 10, first, the mask plate driving means 58a (mask plate driving means 1) is actuated to open the mask plate 56a. When a predetermined time has elapsed, the mask plate 56a is closed, and then the mask plate driving means 58b (mask mask). The plate driving means 2) is operated to open the mask plate 56b. In this way, the mask plates are opened in order.
In this way, the whole can be cleaned with a cleaning medium amount smaller than the appropriate amount.

FIG. 11 shows a third embodiment.
In each of the above embodiments, a plurality of mask plates and a corresponding number of mask plate driving means are provided, and each mask plate is configured to open and close independently. However, in this embodiment, a portion to be blocked is determined in advance. The mask plate 62 having the opening pattern is driven by one mask plate driving means (not shown).
As the mask plate 62 moves in the direction intersecting the direction of the turning axis (in this case, the direction orthogonal thereto), the portion to be blocked changes in the direction of the turning axis. In this embodiment, a sequential opening / closing type opening pattern corresponding to the second embodiment is used, but an opening pattern corresponding to a deviation characteristic caused by the material and size of the cleaning medium may be used.
In this embodiment, since there is one mask plate driving means, there is an advantage that the configuration and drive control can be simplified.

FIG. 12 shows a fourth embodiment.
In each of the above embodiments, the mask plate is configured to move in the direction intersecting the turning axis direction. However, the present embodiment is characterized in that the mask plate is moved in the turning axis direction.
The mask plate 64 has a mask main body portion 64 that covers each region of the inlet 50 and a connection portion 64b for connection to a mask plate driving means (not shown).
Even if it does in this way, the same effect as each above-mentioned embodiment can be acquired. In the present embodiment, one mask plate 64 is driven by one mask plate driving means. However, in order to reduce the movement distance of the mask plate 64 and speed up the response of the deviation correction control, A mask plate driving means may be provided on both sides, and a mask plate 64 may be provided corresponding to each, and each may be configured to open and close two inlet regions.

FIG. 13 shows a fifth embodiment.
This embodiment is characterized in that the deviation correction is automatically performed by detecting the number of cleaning media in the housing.
The housing main body 42 is provided with an optical sensor 66 as a cleaning medium detection unit that detects a cleaning medium in the internal space.
A plurality of optical sensors 66 are arranged in the direction of the pivot axis so that the cleaning medium in the swivel region (internal space) corresponding to the partition region of the inlet 50 can be detected for each partition region. When the cleaning medium 5 passes through the detection surface of the optical sensor 66, the optical sensor 66 is turned on or off, and the passage of the cleaning medium 5 is detected.
Based on the detection signal from the optical sensor 66, the control unit 68 counts the number of cleaning media passed per unit time.
Where the count number is small, the amount of the cleaning medium is small. When it is determined that the count number is small, the mask plate driving means is operated to close the inlet area, and the amount of the cleaning medium is adjusted. An appropriate count number is obtained in advance by experiments and stored in the memory of the control means 68.
With this automatic detection configuration, the deviation of the cleaning medium can be accurately grasped, and the occurrence of cleaning unevenness can be suppressed with high accuracy.
The cleaning medium detection means is not limited to a non-contact type optical sensor, and a contact type mechanical sensor may be used.
Further, the optical sensor 66 may be either a reflection type or a transmission type provided with a light emitting part and a light receiving part between the housing body 42 and the flow path restriction member 52.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Dry cleaning apparatus 5 Cleaning medium 8 Intake port 12 Suction means 18 Opening part 20 Cleaning object 40 Dry cleaning housing | casing 44 Separation plate as a porous means 50 Ventilation path 54 Mask means 56, 62, 64 Mask board 58 Mask board drive means 66 Optical Sensor as Cleaning Medium Detection Means

JP-A-4-83567 JP 60-188123 A

Claims (10)

In a dry cleaning housing that causes a cleaning medium to fly by an air current and applies the cleaning medium to an object to be cleaned to clean the object to be cleaned.
An internal space for flying the cleaning medium;
An opening that contacts the object to be cleaned and causes the cleaning medium to collide with the object to be cleaned;
A ventilation path for passing air from outside to the internal space;
An air inlet that generates a swirling airflow in the internal space by sucking air introduced into the internal space through the air passage;
Porous means for passing the removed object removed from the object to be cleaned to the inlet side;
A part of the cross-sectional area of the flow path in the air passage is arbitrarily blocked to reduce or stop the swirling airflow in the part of the internal space corresponding to the blocked part, and collect the cleaning medium in the part Mask means;
A dry cleaning casing characterized by comprising: The dry cleaning housing according to claim 1,
The mask means has a mask plate that closes a part of the cross-sectional area of the flow path in the ventilation path, and a mask plate driving means that drives the mask plate, and a part of the cross-sectional area of the flow path in the ventilation path A dry cleaning casing that adjusts the bias of the cleaning medium in the internal space by opening and closing the door. The dry cleaning housing according to claim 2,
The dry cleaning housing characterized in that the mask plate driving means slides the mask plate along the opening surface of the air passage. The dry cleaning casing according to claim 2 or 3,
A dry cleaning casing, wherein a plurality of the mask means are arranged in the direction of the pivot axis of the air passage, and an arbitrary part of the air passage in the direction of the pivot axis can be opened and closed. The dry cleaning casing according to claim 2 or 3,
The dry cleaning housing characterized in that the mask plate driving means moves the mask plate in the direction of the pivot axis. The dry cleaning casing according to claim 2 or 3,
The dry cleaning casing according to claim 1, wherein the mask plate driving means moves the mask plate in a direction intersecting with a turning axis direction. The dry cleaning housing according to claim 6,
The mask plate has an opening pattern in which a portion to be closed in advance is determined, and the portion to be closed changes in a turning axis direction as it moves. The dry cleaning casing according to claim 2 or 3,
A dry cleaning casing having cleaning medium detection means for detecting the cleaning medium in the internal space, wherein a portion of the cleaning medium detection means determined to have a small amount of cleaning medium is closed with the mask plate . In the dry cleaning housing according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A dry cleaning casing characterized in that the air passage is divided into a plurality of sections in the direction of the turning axis and is closed in units of divided areas.   A dry cleaning apparatus comprising the dry cleaning casing according to claim 1, a suction unit connected to the air inlet, and the cleaning medium.

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