JPH11114972A - Method for cleaning polyurethane mold and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automated mold cleaning method capable of certainly obtaining a uniform polyurethane molded product and an apparatus therefor. SOLUTION: A planar brush 25 is brought into contact with the upper surface of a mold 1 to be reciprocatingly moved in the length direction of the mold 1 to clean the surface of the mold 1 and subsequently drawn up to replace the mold 1. The planar brush 25 forms a pair and one planar brush is washed within a washing tank while the mold is cleaned by using the other planar brush and, after the mold 1 is cleaned, both brushes forming a pair are drawn up and revolved to be replaced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for cleaning a molding die, and more particularly, to a method for cleaning a molding die in a process of producing a polyurethane molded product used in an electrophotographic apparatus. Although there is a rough finishing step, a polishing step, a finishing step, and the like, which is used in any of them, it is particularly effectively used in the polishing step. For example, after casting and curing a polyurethane material in a mold, the casting mold is divided into two parts, a cured polyurethane molded product (eg, a blade) is taken out, and a casting surface of the mold is taken out. It is necessary to apply a new release agent to remove unreacted substances, release agent, decomposition products, blow-outs, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "residues") of polyurethane adhered to the surface, and to cast the next product. .

The above-mentioned rough finishing step aims at removing relatively easily removed residues adhered to a mold, and the partially adhered residues are removed by a polishing step. Abrasive material (for example, a flat brush) is scraped off by strongly rubbing. The present invention is effectively used for this polishing step. Further, fine dust, polishing liquid and the like generated by the polishing are completely removed by the finish wiping means.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in the production of polyurethane blades, it has been difficult to take measures such as the complexity of the shape of the molding die and the prevention of abrasion with the device for cleaning the molding die. After removal, the residue was removed manually with a brush, a clean cloth, or the like, and wiped.

[0004]

However, the manual wiping operation as described above requires a great number of man-hours and has a problem in the safety of the operation due to handling a heavy mold. There are problems such as variations in the wiping finish due to individual differences and procedures, causing the next product to become dirty, and the next product adhering to the mold making it difficult to take out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a method and an apparatus for cleaning a molding die capable of reliably obtaining an automated and uniform polyurethane molded product.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a cleaning method according to the present invention comprises a flat brush on a top surface of a polyurethane molding die placed at a predetermined position with a cleaning surface facing upward. And then reciprocatingly slide in the longitudinal direction of the molding die to clean the surface of the molding die, and then pull up the flat brush to replace the molding die. While the flat brushes form a pair, while cleaning the mold with one flat brush,
After cleaning other flat brushes in a cleaning tank and cleaning the mold, the paired flat brushes are pulled up and swung to replace them.

By mounting the polyurethane mold on a horizontal worktable (predetermined position) with the cleaning surface facing upward,
It is easy to clean the molding die by lowering and contacting a flat brush described later. By moving the flat brush back and forth, the residue attached to the mold is removed by the flat brush. The flat brush can be moved up and down, descends during cleaning, rises after cleaning is completed, and facilitates replacement of the cleaned cleaning die with the next cleaning die.

The above-mentioned flat brushes form a pair, and while cleaning the mold surface with one flat brush, the other flat brush is cleaned in a cleaning tank, so that the used flat brush is always cleaned. Things can be used. That is, one of the pair of flat brushes is brought into contact with the mold, the other is brought into contact with the upper surface of the cleaning tank, and the reciprocating sliding is performed at the same time, thereby cleaning the mold and cleaning the flat brush at the same time. After finishing the polishing, they are pulled up and turned to replace them. The replacement can be easily performed by turning the brush holder connecting the pair of flat brushes 180 ° about the center thereof (described later in detail). In this manner, a cleaned brush can be used as the flat brush for polishing the molding die.

The cleaning device according to a second aspect of the present invention includes reciprocating means for reciprocating the cleaning head in the length direction of the molding die, and elevating means for vertically moving the reciprocating means and the cleaning head integrally. A cleaning device for a polyurethane molding die, wherein the cleaning head is rotatably mounted at an upper portion to a vibration plate of the reciprocating means, and a shaft rotation mounted at a predetermined position of the rotation shaft. Means, a brush holder horizontally attached to a lower end of the turning shaft, and a pair of flat brushes suspended from both ends of the brush holder so as to be able to move up and down, and the brush holder is provided with the one flat surface. A mold is attached below the brush so that the cleaning tank is located below the other flat brush.

In this cleaning device, the cleaning head is reciprocated in the length direction of the molding die by reciprocating means, so that a flat brush, which will be described later, slides reciprocally while abutting against the die surface. The residue adhering to is removed. At the same time, another pair of flat brushes described later is washed by being reciprocated on a washing wire mesh on the upper surface of the washing tank. By providing the reciprocating means and the elevating means for elevating and lowering the cleaning head integrally, the molding die after the cleaning operation can be easily transferred to the next step, and the molding die to be subsequently cleaned Facilitate the acceptance of Further, the used flat brush and the cleaned flat brush can be easily exchanged by swirling when raised.

The swivel shaft of the cleaning head has its upper part rotatably mounted on the vibrating plate to reciprocate the flat brush mounted on its lower part. Since the shaft turning means is attached to a predetermined position of the turning shaft, when the brush holder is raised, the turning shaft can be rotated by 180 ° to replace the pair of flat brushes.

A pair of flat brushes are hung up and down on both ends of the brush holder. That is, the brush support rod can freely slide up and down between the brush holder and the brush support rod supporting the flat brush via a brush bearing or the like. Since the upper end of the brush support rod is connected by the support rod connector, the brush support rod does not fall down when it is lifted. If the brush holder is lowered when replacing the flat brush, the flat brush stops at each height according to each height, even if the height of the mold and the cleaning tank are different (to the mold etc.). After contact, the brush support rod projects upward).

Since the brush holder has a central portion attached to a lower portion of the turning shaft, when the pair of flat brushes is raised to a height at which the pair of flat brushes can be lifted together, the turning shaft is turned so that the used flat brush and the cleaned flat brush are cleaned. Can be replaced with a flat brush. Since the brush holder is mounted so that the mold is located below one of the planar brushes and the cleaning tank is located below the other planar brush, when the brush holder is lowered, one of the planar brushes is On the upper surface of the mold, the other flat brush is placed on the washing tank. By reciprocating the brush holder, cleaning of the molding die and cleaning of the flat brush are performed simultaneously.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning apparatus, wherein the elevating means includes an elevating motor mounted on an upper portion of a main frame, an elevating plate having reciprocating means and a cleaning head mounted on a lower part, A lifting rod for connecting the lifting plate to the lifting plate via a crank mechanism.

By raising and lowering the lifting plate supporting the reciprocating means and the cleaning head via a crank mechanism, the flat brush can be easily raised and lowered, and the mold can be easily replaced. Facilitates replacement of flat brushes.

The cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein the reciprocating means is slidably attached to a lower portion of the elevating plate in a longitudinal direction of the molding die;
A vibration motor attached to a predetermined position of the elevating plate; and a vibration rod connecting the vibration motor and the vibration plate via a crank mechanism.

The vibrating plate is slidably mounted on the elevating plate in the longitudinal direction of the molding die, and is reciprocated by a vibrating motor via a crank mechanism to reciprocate a cleaning head mounted on a lower portion thereof. .

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a method and an apparatus for cleaning a polyurethane mold according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The polyurethane molded product of the present example is a polyurethane blade, a strip-shaped sheet formed by casting and curing thermosetting polyurethane in a molding die, and is supported by metal fittings, and is used as a component for an electrophotographic apparatus.
For example, it is used as a cleaning blade for scraping off the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum, a charging blade for charging the toner, and the like.

Although the structure of the molding die is not shown, the two dies having shallow rectangular recesses on the inner side are combined into a single die with a flat box-shaped cavity (shape corresponding to the blade shape). , Strip-shaped), cast uncured urethane into the cavity, heat and cure,
The divided blade is taken out. In the process of splitting the mold, insert a wedge into the mold joint, divide it, take out the molded blade, and use the mold for cleaning with the cavity face up and left and right open It is transported to the workbench. Before polishing and removing the residue adhering to the mold by the cleaning method of the present invention, a residue that is easily removed in a rough finishing step (not shown) is removed.
Further, after the process of the present invention, it is preferable to finish with a soft textile product and a wiping liquid using a finishing wiping device.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the entire apparatus according to the present embodiment (the cleaning tank 60 is omitted). FIG. 2 is a right side view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 (part of the reciprocating means). Is omitted). The outline of the cleaning device according to the present invention is as follows: a cleaning head 2 for directly polishing a mold 1;
Reciprocating means 3 for reciprocating the mold in the longitudinal direction of the mold 1
And a lifting / lowering means 4 for integrally moving the reciprocating means 3 and the cleaning head 2 up and down, and a cleaning tank 60 (FIG. 2).

As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning head 2 has a revolving shaft 24 rotatably suspended at its upper part on a vibrating plate 33 of the reciprocating means 3, and a shaft attached to a predetermined position of the revolving shaft 24. The turning means 5, a brush holder 23 horizontally attached to the lower end of the turning shaft 24, and a pair of flat brushes 25, 25 'suspended on both ends of the brush holder 23 in a vertically movable manner (see FIG. 2).
And As shown in FIG. 2, the brush holder 23 includes a cleaning tank 60 (see FIG. 2) in which the mold 1 is supported below the one flat brush 25, and is supported by a support (not shown) below the other flat brush 25 '. It is attached so that it is located. In addition, two sets of the brush holders 23 are attached in order to process a pair of molds simultaneously.

The mold 1 is placed on a work table 92 placed horizontally with the cavity surface facing upward, and the brush 26, which is a direct abrasive of the flat brush 25, is brought into contact with the upper surface of the mold 1. The brush 26 of this embodiment has pig hair of about 15 mm in length densely planted, and the length of the brush part is 290 mm. The upper part of one flat brush 25 is supported by two brush support rods 21, and the upper ends thereof are connected by a support rod connector 27 to be integrated. Two brush support rods 21
Thereby, the direction of the flat brush 25 is stabilized during the reciprocating movement. The upper portion of the brush support rod 21 is suspended from the brush holder 23 via a brush bearing 22 so as to be able to move up and down. That is, when the brush holder 23 rises, the brush support rod 21 is locked by the support rod connector 27 and lifted without falling off. When the brush holder 23 descends, the flat brushes 25, 25 'stop at a position in contact with the mold 1 or a cleaning tank 60 described later. The brush holder 23 can be further lowered to a predetermined position by the brush bearing 22 even though the brush support rod 21 stops. Thereby, even if there is a difference between the height of the mold 1 and the height of the cleaning tank 60, they can contact each other. Subsequently, by moving the cleaning head 2 back and forth by the moving means 3, the residue attached to the mold 1 can be removed and the residue attached to the brush 26 can be washed (details will be described later).

The washing tank 60 is positioned below one of the pair of flat brushes 25 and 25 ', and is divided into a first tank 52 and a second tank 53, as shown in FIG. It is a water tank, and a wire net 51 is attached to the upper part thereof. The cleaning liquid is supplied in the direction of arrow y, and the used cleaning liquid is discharged in the direction of arrow z. As a result, the used flat brush 25 ′ is brought into contact with the upper surface of the wire mesh 51 and reciprocates to remove the residues washed off. While cleaning the mold 1 with another flat brush 25, the used flat brush 25 'becomes a clean and cleaned flat brush 25'.

When the polishing of one mold 1 is completed, when the rotating shaft 24 (brush holder 23) is raised by the elevating means 4, the pair of flat brushes 25 and 25 'are lifted at the same time and each mold is respectively lifted. 1 or away from the cleaning tank 60. When both of them are sufficiently raised, the turning shaft 24 is turned by 180 ° by the shaft turning means 5 described later in detail.
By turning, the used flat brush 25 and the cleaned flat brush 25 'can be exchanged. When the polished mold 1 and the polished mold 1 are exchanged during this ascent, the swivel shaft 24 (brush holder 23) is lowered, and the mold 1 is provided with the cleaned flat brush 25 '. The used flat brush 25 comes into contact with 60.

The shaft turning means 5 is, as shown in FIG.
A turning rack 36 that moves in the horizontal direction by a brush turning cylinder 34 attached to a vibration plate 33 of the reciprocating moving means 3 described later, and a turning pinion 35 attached to the turning shaft 24 corresponding to the turning rack 36.
And The turning rack 36 is provided with a turning pinion 35 at each end thereof so that the two turning shafts 24 can be turned at the same time. That is, the two pairs of the plane brushes 25, 25 'can be simultaneously replaced. Since the opened molds 1 are usually processed as a set, it is preferable to grind them at the same time, and it is preferable to operate two sets of the cleaning heads 2 at the same time.

The reciprocating means 3 includes a roller table 50 and a vibration motor 31 mounted on the elevating plate 43 of the elevating means 4, a vibration plate 33 mounted on the roller table 50, a vibration plate 33 and the vibration motor 31.
And a vibration rod 32 connecting the cleaning head 2 and the cleaning head 2 via a crank mechanism 61 to reciprocate the cleaning head 2 in the longitudinal direction of the mold 1. The roller table 50 includes a fixing portion 39 fixed to the elevating plate 43 and a sliding portion 38 slidably attached to a lower portion of the fixing portion 39.
A vibration plate 33 is attached to 8 (see FIG. 2).
The vibration motor 31 is connected to a vibration plate 33 via a vibration rod 32.
, The vibration motor 31 is rotated to reciprocate the vibration plate 33 in the length direction of the mold 1. As an example, vibration stroke = about 55 mm, frequency =
The polishing time was about 4 seconds at 180 times / min.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lifting means 4 has a lifting plate 43, a lifting motor 41, and a lifting rod 42 connecting the lifting motor 41 and the lifting plate 43 via a crank mechanism 93. The lifting plate 43 is mounted on a main frame 90 erected at its ends (four corners).
It is supported so as to be able to move up and down. Lifting motor 41
Is an upper end plate 9 attached to the upper end of the main frame 90.
1 is attached to the upper surface. The elevating motor 43 is rotated to elevate and lower the elevating plate 43. When the elevating plate 43 is raised, the mold 1 is replaced. When the elevating plate 43 is lowered, the mold 1 is cleaned and the flat brush 25 is cleaned. The lifting stroke by this device was about 10 mm, the descent time was about 0.8 seconds, and the rise time was about 0.9 seconds.

Although the apparatus of the present invention has been mainly described above and its movement has been described in a fragmentary manner, the overall movement will be described with reference to FIG. The flat brush 25 is brought into contact with the polyurethane molding die 1 placed on the worktable 92 with the cleaning surface facing upward, and is slid back and forth in the length direction (arrow x) of the molding die 1. After the surface of the molding die 1 is cleaned, the cleaning brush 2, the reciprocating means 3 and the like are integrally pulled up by the lifting / lowering means 4, and the rotating shaft 24 is moved by the shaft rotating means 5 to the arrow R (FIG. 180 in the direction of 2)
Rotate to replace the used flat brush 25 and the cleaned flat brush 25 '. During this time, the polished mold 1 and the unpolished mold 1 'thereunder are exchanged. Since the flat brushes 25 and 25 'make a pair, the mold 1 is cleaned by one of the flat brushes 25 when the flat brushes 25 and 25' are lowered, and the other flat brush 25 'is simultaneously cleaned by the cleaning tank 60.

[0029]

As is apparent from the above description,
According to the method of cleaning a polyurethane molding die of the present invention, the polishing operation, which has been conventionally performed manually, is mechanized and automated. The problem of work safety due to the handling of the work is solved. Further, the treatment is performed efficiently in a short time, which is effective for automation of the process.

A cleaning device according to a second aspect is a device suitable for implementing the cleaning method according to the first aspect. In particular, by providing a pair of flat brushes, the mold can be polished and the flat brushes can be simultaneously washed, and the mold can be polished by the uniformly washed flat brushes.

In the cleaning device according to the third aspect, the reciprocating means and the cleaning head are integrally moved up and down by the elevating means mounted on the upper portion of the main frame, and it is extremely easy to replace the flat brush and the mold. Becomes

The cleaning device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention includes the reciprocating means, whereby the flat brush on the mold or the flat brush on the cleaning tank can be efficiently reciprocated to uniformly clean the molding die. , Can evenly clean the flat brush.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an entire apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Mold 2: Cleaning head 3: Reciprocating means 4: Elevating means 5: Shaft rotating means 24: Rotating shaft 25: Flat brush 33: Vibration plate 43: Elevating plate 60: Cleaning tank 90: Main frame

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method in which a flat brush is brought into contact with an upper surface of a polyurethane molding die placed at a predetermined position with a cleaning surface facing upward and reciprocated in the longitudinal direction of the molding die to form the molding. A method of cleaning a polyurethane molding die, in which after cleaning the surface of a mold, pulling up the planar brush and replacing the molding die, the planar brushes form a pair, and the mold is cleaned by one planar brush. While the other flat brushes are cleaned in a cleaning tank and the mold is cleaned, the paired flat brushes are simultaneously pulled up and swung to replace them. Cleaning method. 2. A polyurethane molding die cleaning apparatus, comprising: a reciprocating means for reciprocating a cleaning head in a length direction of a molding die; and elevating means for integrally moving the reciprocating means and the cleaning head up and down. Wherein the cleaning head has an upper portion rotatably mounted on a vibration plate of the reciprocating means, a rotating shaft mounted on a predetermined position of the rotating shaft, and a lower end of the rotating shaft. A brush holder horizontally mounted on the portion, and a pair of flat brushes suspended from both ends of the brush holder so as to be able to move up and down, wherein the brush holder has a molding die below the one flat brush. A cleaning device for a polyurethane molding die, wherein a cleaning tank is mounted below the other flat brush. 3. A lifting mechanism comprising: a lifting motor mounted on an upper portion of a main frame; a lifting plate having reciprocating means and a cleaning head mounted on a lower portion; and a crank mechanism including the lifting plate and the lifting motor. The cleaning device for a polyurethane molding die according to claim 2, further comprising an elevating rod connected via an opening. 4. A vibrating plate, wherein said reciprocating means is slidably mounted on a lower portion of said elevating plate in a longitudinal direction of said molding die, and a vibrating motor mounted on a predetermined position of said elevating plate. The cleaning device for a polyurethane molding die according to claim 2, further comprising a vibration rod connecting the vibration motor and the vibration plate via a crank mechanism. 5.