JPH0838517A - Washing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a washing apparatus cutting off the hot air from a heat treatment tank to a feed mechanism in the heat treatment process in the heat treatment tank to protect a drive mechanism and preventing the waste refuse or waterdrop scattering into respective treatment processes from penetrating into the drive mechanism to well feed an object to be treated to respective treatment tanks. CONSTITUTION:A feed mechanism 4 is installed above a hot air heating tank 6 in opposed relationship and the cover 44 covering the vertical moving feed part 28 of the feed mechanism 4 is attached. A guide hole 45 permitting the carrier 37 of the feed mechanism 4 to move up and down is formed to the cover 44. A heat barrier wall 46 cutting off the hot air leaked to the vertical moving feed part 28 from the hot air heating tank 6 to protect the vertical moving feed part 28 inside the cover 44 is formed at the lower end part of the guide hole 45.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning chemicals, fillers and the like attached to, for example, medical instruments, particularly metal instruments used in dentistry.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In dentistry, for example, when applying a medicine to a treatment area of a patient, scraping teeth, filling a temporary sealant, or attaching a crown with an adhesive, Use various stainless steel instruments such as stoppers, probes, excavators, and tweezers. And these instruments have
Since the material used for treatment adheres, it is cleaned after use to remove the adhered matter, and good hygiene is maintained.

By the way, as the above-mentioned temporary sealing agent and adhesive, cement having a strong adhesive force is generally used.
When such a material having a strong adhesive force adheres to the device, the adhered substance is removed by a dedicated washing machine.

This washing machine is capable of collectively washing used equipment to which cement or the like has been attached by treatment. It is automatically turned on by immersing the used equipment in a water tank containing tap water and then turning on the switch. Ultrasonic cleaners that perform specific cleaning are generally used.

The ultrasonic cleaner is provided with a vibrator on the outer surface of the water tank, and waves are transmitted by repeating compression and decompression in the medium liquid (tap water) according to the frequency unique to the vibrator, thereby compressing and decompressing. A cavity is formed between the molecules at the change point of and, and when this cavity collapses, impact energy is generated (cavitation effect), and this energy drops adhered substances from the instrument, but the adhesive force of cement etc. is large. For this reason, cement and the like often remain on the equipment without being completely removed by the ultrasonic cleaner alone, and it was necessary to manually scrape off the residue with a metal brush.

[0006] Therefore, the applicant of the present invention, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 4-341352 related to the invention of the applicant, an ultrasonic cleaning tank for cleaning used equipment,
As a pre-treatment step of this ultrasonic cleaning, a boiling tank for permeating water into the adhered matter, and a hot air tank for rapidly drying the equipment permeated with water to reduce the adhesion, and further cleaning as a post-treatment step for ultrasonic cleaning The equipment is equipped with a rinsing tank for rinsing the equipment and a transport mechanism for transporting the equipment, and the equipment is transported to each of the plurality of tanks to perform each of the treatments described above, so that cleaning treatment and heat treatment, etc. By providing a cleaning device in which a plurality of processing steps are combined, it is configured to eliminate the residue of deposits.

The transport mechanism for transporting the treatment tanks to the respective treatment tanks includes a vertically moving transport unit for vertically moving the storage racks containing the instruments according to the arrangement position of the respective treatment tanks, and a vertical movement holding unit for holding the storage racks. It is composed of a lateral movement conveyance unit that moves the movement conveyance unit in the lateral direction. Here, the vertical transfer unit for moving the storage rack in the vertical direction is provided with a drive side pulley and a driven side pulley driven by a motor on the moving substrate in the vertical direction, and an endless belt is wound around each pulley. A slider is fixed to the endless belt, and the slider is provided so as to be movable up and down along a guide, and the storage rack is suspended and held by the slider via a carrier, and the object to be cleaned is rotated by the forward and reverse rotation of the motor. The drive mechanism is provided so that the storage rack for storing the can be moved up and down. Further, this drive mechanism is provided with slider position detecting means for controlling the stop position of the slider for vertically moving the carrier in order to stop the storage rack mounted on the carrier at a predetermined position in each processing tank. The rotation of the motor is controlled according to the signal from the slider position detecting means.

[0008]

However, in the cleaning device having a plurality of tanks, the transport mechanism may be provided above the heat treatment tank in order to save space. Hot air or heated steam from the heat treatment tank adjacent to the transfer mechanism may be blown into the transfer mechanism during the heat treatment of the object to be cleaned. At this time, if the components that make up the transport mechanism are exposed to a high temperature atmosphere, the components may be damaged. In particular, the slider detecting means, which is a sensor component for detecting the position of the slider, is generally made of a resin material and may be deformed by this high temperature atmosphere, which may impair the slider position detecting function. Further, during each processing step, there is a possibility that dust or water droplets made of deposits or the like separated from the device by each processing may scatter and enter the drive mechanism, polluting the inside of the drive mechanism and causing a trouble in the transfer step.

The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and in the heat treatment step in the heat treatment tank, the hot air from the heat treatment tank to the transfer mechanism is shut off to protect the drive mechanism and It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device that can prevent dust and water droplets scattered during a processing step from entering a drive mechanism and can satisfactorily convey an object to be cleaned to each processing tank.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention comprises a plurality of tanks for accommodating articles to be cleaned in order to perform a predetermined treatment including at least a heat treatment tank, and the treatment tanks to be cleaned. In a cleaning device provided with a transport mechanism for transporting an object, the transport mechanism is provided above and above the heat treatment tank, and a cover for covering a drive mechanism of the transport mechanism is provided,
A guide hole is formed in the cover so that the carrier of the transfer mechanism can move up and down, and heat shield that protects the drive mechanism inside the cover by cutting hot air leaking from the heat treatment tank to the drive mechanism side. A wall is provided at the lower end of the guide hole.

Further, the heat treatment tank has a hot air supply mechanism for supplying hot air into the tank, and the hot air supply mechanism applies hot air to the object to be cleaned so as to heat the object to be cleaned. It consists of a heating tank.

Further, the heat treatment tank is provided with an openable / closable door that covers an opening for accommodating the carrier of the carrier, and the carrier of the opening is provided with the carrier even when the door is closed. A cutout portion through which the frame can be inserted is provided, and the heat shield wall of the cover is offset from the opening hole of the cutout portion.

[0013]

In the heat treatment process in the heat treatment tank, the cover that covers the drive mechanism of the transport mechanism prevents dust and water droplets from splashing into the drive mechanism and is formed under the guide hole of the cover. The heat shield wall cut off the hot air leaking from the heat treatment tank to the drive mechanism side to protect the drive mechanism inside the cover.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a cleaning device for dental care will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention. The cleaning device 1 hangs and transports a storage rack 3 formed of a lattice net that collectively stores used tools 2 (objects to be cleaned) to which adhered substances such as cement, drugs, and blood adhere to due to treatment. A mechanism 4 is provided, and a boiling tank 5 for boiling the device 2 and a hot-air heating tank 6 for heating the device 2 with hot air are provided.
A plurality of treatment tanks 5, 6, 7 and 8 each including an ultrasonic cleaning tank 7 for ultrasonically cleaning the device 2 and a shower tank 8 for rinsing the device 2 are provided. Then, the used instrument 2 is transferred to the processing tanks 5, 6, by the transport mechanism 4.
Sequentially transported to 7 and 8.

The boiling tank 5 carries out the first treatment step. The water supplied into the tank is heated by the heater 9, the water is boiled by the heater 9, and the appliance 2 is housed in the tank. Boil the device 2. At this time, the attached substances on the device 2 are dissolved by boiling, and moisture penetrates into the attached substances to facilitate inclusion of the moisture.

The hot-air heating tank 6 performs the second treatment step, and has a hot-air supply mechanism 10 for supplying hot air into the tank. The hot-air supply mechanism 10 applies hot air to the equipment 2 to heat the equipment 2 To heat. At this time, the deposit containing water in the pretreatment step is rapidly dried by heating with hot air, and the adhesive force is reduced.

The ultrasonic cleaning tank 7 is for carrying out the third treatment step. It supplies water into the tank and, if necessary, puts in detergent, heats this water by the heater 11, and heats this heater. 11
The water is heated by the ultrasonic wave, the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic transducer 12 installed in the tank are transmitted into the warm water detergent solution, the tool 2 is housed in the tank, and the tool 2 is ultrasonically cleaned. is there.
At this time, the adhered matter whose adhesiveness is lowered in the pretreatment step is ultrasonically cleaned and removed from the device 2.

The shower tank 8 is provided with a shower water supply mechanism 13 for supplying shower water for rinsing to the equipment 2 to rinse the equipment 2, and adheres to the equipment 2 ultrasonically cleaned by the ultrasonic cleaning tank 7. Rinse the detergent solution with shower water,
This is to prevent the detergent solution from remaining on the device 2. At this time, the residue of the deposits, the chemicals and the like removed in the pretreatment process are almost completely removed by the shower water.

In the cleaning apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the boiling tank 5 is arranged below, the hot-air heating tank 6 which is a heat treatment tank is arranged above, and the partition wall 14 is placed between them to be stacked one above the other. The storage rack 3 is inserted into each of the processing layers 5 and 6 through the opening 15 formed in the partition wall 14 and the opening 16 formed in the upper wall of the hot air heating tank 6 in each processing layer 5, 6. The opening 15 for the boiling tank 5 is provided so as to be housed in the processing tanks 5 and 6.
The opening 16 for the hot-air heating tank 6 is closed by doors 17 and 18 that are automatically opened and closed by a motor (not shown) even when the housing racks 3 are housed in the processing tanks 5 and 6, respectively. A part of the openings 15 and 16 of the carrier mechanism 4 side is notched, and notches 19 and 20 through which the frame of the carrier of the carrier mechanism 4 described later can be inserted are provided.

Next to it, the ultrasonic cleaning tank 7 is arranged below and the shower tank 8 is arranged above the partition wall 21.
A structure in which they are stacked one above the other with a space between them is adopted, and an opening 22 formed in the partition wall 21 and an opening 23 formed in the upper wall of the hot air heating tank 6 are provided in each processing layer 7, 8. The storage rack 3 is provided so as to be housed in each of the processing tanks 7 and 8 through the above, and the processing tanks 7 and 8 are provided in the opening 22 for the ultrasonic cleaning tank 7 and the opening 23 for the shower tank 8. Even when the accommodation rack 3 is accommodated therein, the conveyance mechanism 4 side of each opening 22, 23 is partially cut away so that the accommodation rack 3 can be closed by the doors 24, 25 that are automatically opened and closed by a motor (not shown). Mechanism 4
A cutout portion 19 through which a carrier frame described later can be inserted.
20 are provided.

The transport mechanism 4 includes a vertically moving transport unit (driving mechanism) 28 for vertically moving the storage rack 3 accommodating the device 2 in accordance with the processing tanks 5, 6, 7, and 8 in which the storage rack 3 is arranged. And a horizontal movement conveyance section 29 for moving the vertical movement conveyance section 28 holding the storage rack 3 in the horizontal direction.

The vertically moving transport unit 28 includes a driving side pulley 31 and a driven side pulley 32 which are driven by a motor 30 and a moving substrate 33.
Is provided in the vertical direction, and an endless belt 34 is provided between the pulleys 31 and 32, and the slider is attached to the endless belt 34.
35 is fixed, the slider 35 is provided so as to be vertically movable along the guide 36, and a carrier 37 in which a round bar member is formed by bending is attached to the slider 35. Then, the storage rack 3 accommodating the instruments 2 is hung and held on the carrier 37, and is transported to each processing tank.

At the time of moving and transporting the storage rack 3,
When the carrier 37 opens the doors 17, 18, 24 and 25, the openings 15 and 1
The frame 38 of the carrier 37 is provided so as to be vertically movable at 6, 22, 23, and is provided so as to be located in the notches 19, 20, 26, 27 provided in the openings 15, 16, 22, 23, respectively. Therefore, even if the doors 17, 18, 24, 25 can be opened and closed, and the storage racks 3 are stored in the processing tanks 5, 6, 7, 8, respectively, the doors 17, 18, 24, It can be closed by 25.

In this case, a hot air heating tank 6 will be described as an example in particular with reference to FIG. 8. When the door 18 of the hot air heating tank 6 is opened, the carrier 37 is provided so as to be vertically movable at the opening 16.
Since the frame 38 of the carrier 37 is provided so as to be located in the notch 20 provided in the opening 16, the door 18 can be opened and closed, and the accommodation rack 3 can be accommodated in the hot air heating tank 6. Even if there is, it can be closed by the door 18.

Further, the vertically moving transport unit 28 detects the position of the slider 35 and uses the carrier 37 to process the processing tanks 5, 6, 7,
The storage rack 3 transported to 8 is treated in each of the treatment tanks 5, 6, 7, 8
Position detecting means for stopping at a predetermined position inside
39 are provided. The slider position detecting means 39 is composed of, for example, a plurality of photoelectric sensors 40 provided on the moving substrate 33 side of the vertically moving transport unit 28 and a light blocking plate 41 provided on the slider 35 side. The photoelectric sensor 40 is provided at the position of the light blocking plate 41 of the slider 35, which corresponds to the optimum position when the storage rack 3 storing the device 2 performs the processing in each of the processing tanks 5, 6, 7, and 8. When the slider 35 reaches this photoelectric sensor position, the light blocking plate 41 provided on the slider 35
However, the light of the photoelectric sensor 40 is blocked, the photoelectric sensor 40 transmits a signal to a control unit (not shown), and the rotation control of the motor 30 is performed according to this signal.

Further, the vertical movement conveyance section 28 is provided with a stopping member 43 integrally with a pulley holder 42 which rotatably supports a driven pulley 32 provided on the lower side of the moving board 33. The restraining member 43 contacts the descending slider 35 and stops the slider 35. The slider 35 that is vertically moved by the endless belt 34 has a load applied to the slider 35 at the lower end portion of the guide 36. The overrun of the slider 35 caused by the delay of the reaction time until the motor 30 stops and the slider 35 actually stops by the signal of the slider position detecting means is prevented.

A cover 44 for covering the drive system of these sliders 35 and the slider position detecting means 39 in the vertically moving conveying section 28 to prevent invasion of dust and water droplets scattered during the processing step.
A guide hole 45 is formed on the front surface of the cover 44 so that the carrier 37 of the vertically moving transfer unit 28 can move up and down. Thus, the carrier 37 of the vertically moving transport unit 28 is
It is provided so as to be movable in the guide hole 45 of the cover 44 with the vertical movement of 35.

In this embodiment, a hot air heating tank 6 as a heat treatment tank is provided in the upper part, and a boiling tank 5 is provided in the lower part, which has a laminated structure. It is provided below the transport mechanism 4 so as to face it. At this time, instrument 2
During the heating hot air treatment operation of No. 20, the hot air emitted from the hot air supply mechanism 10 of the heating hot air tank 6 close to the transport mechanism 4 is formed in the opening 16 of the hot air heating tank 6 on the transport mechanism 4 side by the notch 20. There is a case where it leaks out and is blown into the transport mechanism 4 side.

At this time, the guide hole 45 formed in the cover 44 of the vertically moving conveyance section 28 has a structure in which the front surface side is open to the internal mechanism, and hot air enters the cover 44 through the guide hole 45. If the internal components are exposed to a high temperature atmosphere, the drive system of the slider 35 and the slider position detecting means 39 may be damaged or deformed by heat. However, in the cleaning device 1 of the present invention, the heat shield wall that covers the lower end portion of the guide hole 45.
46 are provided.

The heat shield wall 46 cuts hot air leaking from the notch 20 provided on the side of the transport mechanism 4 of the opening 16 while the door 18 is closed during the heating hot air treatment by the heating hot air tank 6. Hot air is prevented from blowing into the guide hole 45 of the vertically moving and transporting unit 28, and the drive system of the slider 35 and the slider position detecting means 39 are prevented from being damaged or deformed by heat.

In addition, due to the structure of the heated hot air tank 6,
Since hot air leaks from the notch 20, when the frame 38 of the carrier 37 of the vertically moving transport unit 28 is attached to the slider 35, it is attached to the slider 35 by the attaching plate 48 via the spacer 47, preferably the carrier 37. Frame 38
Is set away from the transport mechanism 4, and the heat shield wall 46 formed in the guide hole 45 of the cover 44 is formed at a position submerged from the surface of the cover so that the hot air leaking from the notch 20 directly reaches the lower end of the cover. The heat shield wall 46 of the cover 44 is offset from the opening of the notch 20 so as not to hit the portion.

The lateral transfer section 29 is generally constructed in substantially the same manner as the vertical transfer section 28 described above, and includes a drive side pulley 50 and a driven side pulley 51 driven by a motor 49 in a lateral direction on a machine base 52. An endless belt 53 is provided between the pulleys 50 and 51.
The endless belt 53 is installed around the
28 movable substrates 33 are fixed, and the movable substrates 33 are provided so as to be movable in the left-right direction along the guides 54.

By doing so, the transfer mechanism 4 can be moved in the vertical and horizontal directions by the above-mentioned vertical transfer section 28 and horizontal transfer section 29, and the storage rack 3 is placed on the carrier 34 and each processing tank is placed. It is to be transported and stored in 5, 6, 7, and 8.

As described above, in the cleaning apparatus 1 of the present invention, the objects to be cleaned 2 are sequentially accommodated and at least the heat treatment tank 6 is provided.
In a cleaning device 1 including a plurality of tanks 5, 6, 7, 8 for carrying out a predetermined process including the above, and a transfer mechanism 4 for transferring the object to be cleaned 2 to each of the processing tanks 5, 6, 7, 8 The mechanism 4 is provided above the heat treatment tank 6 so as to face it, a cover 44 is provided to cover the drive mechanism 28 of the transport mechanism 4, and a guide hole 45 is formed in the cover 44 so that the carrier 37 of the transport mechanism 4 can move vertically. Then, the heat shield wall 46 that protects the drive mechanism 28 inside the cover 44 by cutting the hot air leaking from the heat treatment tank 6 to the drive mechanism side 28 is provided with a guide hole.
Since it is provided at the lower end of 45, even when the heat treatment tank 6 and the drive mechanism 28 of the transport mechanism 4 are arranged close to each other, the hot air leaking from the heat treatment tank 6 to the drive mechanism 28 side is cut. By doing so, it is possible to prevent hot air from entering the drive mechanism 28.

Further, the heat treatment tank 6 has a hot air supply mechanism 10 for supplying hot air into the tank, and the hot air supply mechanism 10 applies hot air to the object 2 to be cleaned so that the object 2 to be cleaned can be heated by the hot air. In the cleaning device having the heating means for forcibly generating hot air as described above, the hot air is supplied from the hot air supply mechanism 10 to the drive mechanism 28 to cut the hot air. It is possible to prevent hot air from entering the drive mechanism 28.

Further, the heat treatment tank 6 is provided with an openable / closable door 18 for covering the opening 16 for accommodating the carrier 37 of the transfer mechanism 4, and the carrier 16 of the opening 16 has the carrier 18 even when the door 18 is closed. Since the notch 20 through which the frame 37 can be inserted is provided and the heat shield wall 46 of the cover 44 is provided to be offset from the opening hole of the notch 20, it leaks upward from the notch 20 of the heat treatment tank 6. The hot air flows upward without directly hitting the cover, and the temperature rise of the cover 44 can be suppressed.

In this embodiment, the hot air heating layer 6 has been described as an example of the heat treatment tank, but the present invention is not limited to this and the boiling tank 5 is used.
A heat treatment means using a uniform heater or a flame may be used. Further, in the cleaning apparatus 1 of the present invention, the processing tanks 5, 6, 7, 8 are shown as being stacked, but the processing tanks 5, 6, 7, 8 are arranged side by side. May be set freely, and the number or types of treatment tanks may be appropriately selected.

As described above, in the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, in the heat treatment step in the heat treatment tank, the hot air from the heat treatment tank to the transfer mechanism is shut off to protect the drive mechanism and each treatment step. It is possible to prevent dust and water droplets scattered inside from entering the drive mechanism and satisfactorily convey the object to be cleaned to each processing tank.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a drive mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a drive mechanism in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of each processing tank in one embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above.

FIG. 5 is a view of each processing tank in one embodiment of the present invention viewed from above.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a cover is mounted according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a cover according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cleaning device 2 Equipment (object to be cleaned) 4 Transfer mechanism 6 Hot air heating tank (heat treatment tank) 10 Hot air supply mechanism 16 Opening 18 Door 20 Notch 28 Vertical movement transfer unit (drive mechanism) 37 Carrier 38 Frame 44 Cover 45 Guide hole 46 Heat shield wall

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning apparatus comprising: a plurality of tanks for sequentially containing articles to be cleaned and performing at least a predetermined processing including a heat treatment tank; and a transfer mechanism for transferring the objects to be cleaned to each of these processing tanks. The transfer mechanism is provided above the heat treatment tank so as to face the cover, and a cover is provided to cover the drive mechanism of the transfer mechanism. The cover has a guide hole through which the carrier of the transfer mechanism can move up and down. A cleaning device, wherein a heat shield wall for protecting the drive mechanism inside the cover by cutting hot air leaking from the heat treatment tank to the drive mechanism side is provided at a lower end portion of the guide hole. 2. The heat treatment tank has a hot air supply mechanism for supplying hot air into the tank, and the hot air supply mechanism applies hot air to the object to be cleaned so as to heat the object to be cleaned. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, which comprises a heating tank. 3. A door that can be opened and closed is provided in the heat treatment tank to cover an opening of the transfer mechanism that accommodates the carrier.
A cutout is provided on the transport mechanism side of the opening so that the frame of the carrier can be inserted even when the door is closed, and the heat shield wall of the cover is offset from the opening of the cutout. The cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein