JPS6135659B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a glass tube washing and coating device, in particular, a tubular glass tube such as a fluorescent lamp, which is held vertically with an endless chain, continuously washed and coated, and coated. The present invention relates to a device for drying.

Generally, the cleaning of glass tubes such as fluorescent lamps and the formation of coatings such as fluorescent films are automated by using a device that rotates intermittently and installing a transfer device between each process to transfer the glass tube. If the speed of each device is increased in order to increase productivity, the occurrence of defective deliveries will significantly increase, resulting in a decrease in yield and becoming an obstacle to improving productivity. In addition, since each device is operated using an intermittent drive method, acceleration and inertia increase.
Practical use of the machine becomes impossible above a certain production speed.

The present invention solves the above problems by using a continuous drive system to increase the speed of each device, and is particularly concerned with cleaning glass tubes such as fluorescent lamps, coating coatings, and improving the drying process. The present invention provides an apparatus that separates the coating process from the endless chain and performs the processing without providing a special delivery device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for washing, coating and drying glass tubes by holding them in a continuously driven endless chain and circular drum.

Still another purpose is to wash the glass tube on the circumference of an endless chain wheel and apply the coating on the circumference of the circular drum to ensure that cleaning and coating are carried out reliably and to prevent the occurrence of defects. be.

Still another purpose is to transfer the glass tubes fed in a horizontal state by an endless conveyor chain partially vertically, and directly deliver the glass tubes to a synchronized conveyor in a vertical state, thereby creating a continuous drive system. To ensure reliable delivery in a continuous drive system, and to deliver a glass tube after completion of processing in a horizontal state rather than a vertical state, and to ensure and facilitate delivery in a continuous drive system.

Still another object is to ensure and facilitate the transfer of a vertical glass tube between an endless chain and a circular drum in a continuous drive system without using a special transfer device.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a washing device that rotates in synchronization with the chain wheel of the endless chain when a glass tube held perpendicularly to a continuously driven endless chain reaches the circumference of the chain wheel of the endless chain. The glass tube is then vertically delivered to a circular drum that rotates synchronously in contact with the endless chain, and is coated by a coating device that rotates synchronously with the circular drum. The glass tube is vertically delivered to another rotating endless chain and dried on the endless chain.To explain with reference to the following, 1 is a conveyor 2 that is continuously driven by a glass tube supply device. The glass tubes are fed horizontally one by one.

The conveyor 2 has a drive shaft 3 as shown in FIG.
It is composed of endless chains 5a, 5b driven by chain wheels 4a, 4b fixed to. Said endless chain 5
a, 5b have a plurality of VH heads 9 for holding glass tubes, each consisting of a fixed plate 6 and a rotatable support piece 8 pivotally connected to the fixed plate 6 via a shaft 7. The support piece 8 has bevel pieces 10a and 10b, and further includes a glass tube 1.
1 holding piece 12a, 12b, holding piece 12
A has an active wheel 14 that contacts the fixed cam 13 and provides an opening action to the holding piece 12, and a spring 16 that provides a closing action that is attached to a spring fixing piece 15, and holds and opens the glass tube 11. Reference numeral 17 denotes an activity vehicle embedded in the support piece 8, which is slidably attached to the guide rail 18, and gradually rises as the conveyor 2 moves, and supports the horizontal support piece 8 with the axis 7 as a fulcrum.
Glass tube 11 rotated 90 degrees vertically and held horizontally by holding piece 12 and bevel piece 10
Rotate it 90 degrees to make it vertical (see the chain line in Figure 2).
19 is a continuously driven washing conveyor that carries glass tubes 11.
holding pieces 20a, 20b, and a fixed bevel 21,
A spring 22 and an activity wheel 23 provided on the holding piece 20a
has. A fixed cam rail 24 restrains the activity vehicle 23 and releases the holding pieces 20a and 20b. 25
26 is the locus of the holding pieces 20a and 20b, and 27 is the rising locus of the end of the glass tube 11 held by the holding pieces 12a and 12b of the conveyor 2. The glass tube 11 gradually rises from horizontal to vertical along a trajectory 27, and when it coincides with the trajectory of the holding pieces 20a, 20b of the pipe washing conveyor 19, it is released in advance by the fixed cam rail 24 and the movement vehicle 23. The glass tube 11 held by the holding pieces 12a and 12b of the conveyor 2 is received between the holding pieces 20a and 20b (see FIG. 4), and the cleaning conveyor 19 and the conveyor 2 are moved synchronously.
The fixed cam rail 24 and the active vehicle 23 are disengaged,
The holding pieces 20a and 20b are closed by the spring 22 to hold the glass tube 11, and the fixing bevel 21 holds and fixes the glass tube 11 in a predetermined position. Furthermore, due to the transition between the washing conveyor 19 and the transport conveyor 2,
The holding of the glass tube 11 by the holding pieces 12a and 12b is released by the moving vehicle 14 and the fixed cam 13 of the transport conveyor 2, and the transfer to the washing conveyor 19 is completed.
slides on the guide rail 18 to gradually shift the vertical support piece 8 to a horizontal position, in preparation for the supply of glass tubes 11 from the glass tube supply device 1.

Reference numerals 28 and 29 are a first cleaning device and a second cleaning device, respectively, which clean the inner surface of the glass tube 11. The first washing device 28 performs rough washing, and the second washing device 29 performs final washing, but since both devices have the same mechanism, the first washing device 28 will be described in detail. The first washing device 28 is a washing device for the glass tube 11, which rotates in synchronization with the movement of the washing conveyor 19, and supplies washing water to the glass tube 11 of the washing conveyor 19 for washing. Washing device 2
8, and FIG. 5 is the cross section A-O in FIG. 6.
- indicates A′. An annular cleaning tank 32 and positioning plates 33a and 33b for the glass tube 11 are attached to a shaft 30 via a holding piece 31. Positioning plate 3
3a, 33b are oppositely provided with backing plates 34a, 34b.
is provided to center the glass tube 11. While the glass tube is held between the positioning plates 33a, 33b and the backing plates 34a, 34b for centering, the glass tube 11 is held between the tube end holding plates 35a, 35b from above and below. The tube end holding plates 35a, 35b move up and down on the guide shafts 38a, 38b as the activity wheels 36a, 36b slide along the fixed rails 37a, 37b. At this time, the holding pieces 22a, 22b may be opened by the fixed cam 39 to free the glass tube 11 from the holding pieces 22a, 22b. The annular cleaning tank 32 has a plurality of nozzles 40 arranged at equal intervals at positions corresponding to the glass tubes 11 held on the cleaning conveyor 19. It consists of The valve 42 has an opening/closing lever 43 connected to a movable piece 45 attached to an air cylinder 44 via a shaft 46.
When pushed forward, it is rotated and opened via the threaded portion 47, and the cleaning water in the cleaning tank 32 is discharged into the glass tube 11, thereby cleaning the glass tube 11 facing the nozzle 40 while moving.

When it is detected that the glass tube 11 is not held by the holding pieces 20a and 20b of the cleaning conveyor 19, the air cylinder 44 is actuated to move the movable piece 45 to the shaft 46.
This prevents the opening/closing lever 43 from coming into contact with the movable piece 45 and opening the valve 42. Washing device 28
The opening/closing lever 43 is still rotated, and the opening/closing lever 43 is connected to the fixed cam 4.
8, the opening/closing lever is rotated and the valve 42 is closed via the threaded portion 47, completing the cleaning.

The valve 42 is pressed against the nozzle 40 by a compression spring 49 to prevent cleaning water from leaking from the nozzle 40 and prepare for the next cleaning operation. After the valve 40 is closed and the cleaning operation is completed, the tube end holding plates 35a and 35b are moved up and down by the operation of the fixed rails 37a and 37b and removed from the tube ends. On the other hand, the holding pieces 20a and 20b again hold and transport the glass tube 11 by operating the fixed cam 39.

A water distribution pipe 51 is connected at one end to the washing tank 32 and to the tank 50 at the other end through the annular groove 52 of the annular washing tank 32, and supplies washing water warmed as necessary in the tank 50 to the washing tank 32. . Water pipe 5
1 is disposed within the cleaning tank 32 via the annular groove 52, so the rotation of the cleaning tank 32 is not restricted in any way. A receiver 53 receives the cleaning water jetted from the nozzle 40 and washed the inner surface of the glass tube 11, and collects it in the tank 50 through a drain pipe 54 through filtration with a filter. 55 is a worm wheel, 56
The shaft 30 is continuously rotated by a worm. 57
In the drying process, the glass tube 1 is washed by bypassing the washing conveyor 19 using the chain wheel 58 and the guide rail 59.
Dry 1 thoroughly.

Details of the detour section are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.
The guide rail 59 guides the rollers 61 of the endless chain 60 forming the washing conveyor 19 to make a U-turn. The vertical direction is controlled by supporting the activity vehicle 65 embedded in the glass tube holder 64 using a support plate 63 provided on the support shaft 62 of the guide rail 59. Further, a cooling step 66 is provided as necessary,
The glass tube 11 is cooled before application. glass tube 11
The drying and cooling steps 57 and 66 after washing are the 12th
As shown in Fig. 13, hot air/cold air supply section 6
A slit-like nozzle 68 having a
After cleaning, the glass tube 11 is dried with hot air, and then cooled with cold air.

Further, FIG. 9 shows the state in which the glass tube 11 is held by the detour of the cleaning conveyor 19.
It is shown by cross section CC in the figure. glass tube 1
1 are each held by a glass tube holder 64,
In addition, the activity vehicle 6 embedded in the glass tube holder 64
By supporting the glass tube 5 on the support stand 69 and further supporting the roller 61 on the guide rail group 70,
1 is kept constant.

The second washing device 29 has exactly the same function as the first washing device 28 shown in FIG. 71
This phosphor coating device has substantially the same construction as the first cleaning device 28 shown in FIG. 5, and is shown in FIG. 10 as a cross section D--O'--D in FIG. 1. The glass tube 11 moved by the washing conveyor 19 is moved by the chain wheel 72a,
72b, the circular drum 74 rotates in synchronization with the washing conveyor 19, and the trajectory matches the mounting interval of the holding pieces 76 of the glass tube holder 75, which is attached to the circular drum 74 which rotates in synchronization with the washing conveyor 19. The glass tube holder 75 of the drum 74 receives the glass tube. That is, the glass tube holder 75 of the circular drum 74 whose holding piece 76 was previously opened by the cam rail 77 while the two loci coincided with each other is moved by the movement wheel 78 of the holding piece 76 being released from the cam rail 77. Hold the glass tube 11. On the other hand, the holding piece 2 of the glass tube holder 64 of the cleaning conveyor 19
0, when the activity wheel 65 contacts the cam rail 79, it opens and releases the restraint on the glass tube 11, and the glass holder 75 of the circular drum 74 is moved on the chain wheel 72b.
I changed the trajectory from the previous one and prepared to clean the new glass tube again.

80 is a supply pipe that supplies the phosphor suspension in the tank 81 to the coating tank 82, and when excess is supplied to the coating tank 82, it is stored in a fixed saucer 84 via an overflow pipe 83 and transferred via a pipe 85. and return it to the tank 81 again. 86 is a saucer and glass tube 11
An excess amount of the phosphor suspension applied through a nozzle 87 is collected and returned to the tank 81 through a pipe 88.
89 is a pipe that pumps the phosphor suspension from a mixing chamber or the like to the tank 81.

90a and 90b are guide fixed rails and the activity vehicle 91
The tube end holding pieces 92a and 92b are moved up and down via the springs 93a and 93b to hold the glass tube 1.
Hold 1. When applying the phosphor suspension to the glass tube 11, in order to prevent the suspension ejected from the nozzle 87 from scattering onto the outer surface of the glass tube 11 and to ensure that the suspension is sufficiently coated to the end of the tube, 87 into the glass tube 11 as shown in FIG.
Since it is necessary to apply the liquid by opening the valve 94 after inserting the phosphor suspension by about 3 mm, the glass tube 11 is moved up and down using the guide fixed rails 90a and 90b. The glass tube 11 is pushed up by operating the tube end holding piece 92b, inserted into the nozzle 87 to a predetermined position via the upper tube end holding piece 92a, and the valve 94 is opened to perform coating. The coating operation including the valve 94 is no different from the cleaning operation, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

After closing the valve 94, the glass tube 11 that has been coated is transferred between the chain wheels 72c and 72d, and between the cleaning conveyor 19 and the circular drum 74 between the chain wheels 72a and 72b. The glass tube 1 is placed on a drying conveyor 95 that rotates in synchronization with the drying conveyor 74.
Pass 1. 96 is a drying process, drying process 57
Similarly, hot air or the like is blown using the drying apparatus shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. 58c to 58h are chain wheels, and 59c to 59f are guide rails that respectively detour the drying conveyor 95. Reference numeral 97 denotes an unloading conveyor, which is driven by chain wheels 100a and 100b having endless chains 98a and 98b fixed to a drive shaft 99.
The drying conveyor 95 receives the drying conveyor 95, holds it horizontally, and transfers it to the next process.
This is done in exactly the same way as the 4th transfer.
In the figure, it may be considered that the conveyor 2 and the washing conveyor 19 are reversed. After the drying conveyor 95 delivers the glass tube 11 to the carry-out conveyor 97, it prepares to receive the coated glass tube 11 again.

To explain the tube cleaning and coating method of the present invention, the glass tubes 11 fed horizontally one by one from the glass tube supply device 1 are moved by the engagement between the active wheel 14 of the continuously driven conveyor 2 and the fixed cam 13. The glass tube 11 is received in a horizontal state by the holding piece 12 of the support piece 8 which has been opened in advance, and the holding piece 12 is closed by the spring 16 to hold the glass tube 11, and fixed in a predetermined position by the fixing bevel 10. When the movement vehicle 17 of the support piece 8 reaches the guide rail 18, the activity vehicle 17 slides on the guide rail 18 as the transport conveyor 2 moves. As a result, the support piece 8 holding the glass tube 11 gradually rises, and the glass tube 1
1 is converted from a horizontal state to a vertical state along a rising trajectory 27 at the end.

On the other hand, the washing conveyor 19 is continuously conveying in synchronization with the transport conveyor 2, and the holding pieces 20a and 20b of the glass tube 11 move along a trajectory 26, and before they match the rising trajectory 27 of the end of the glass tube. The fixed cam rail 24 is kept sufficiently open via the activity vehicle 23, and the glass tube 11 of the conveyor 2 is moved while receiving the glass tube 11 at a position where the trajectories 27 and 26 coincide. Transfer conveyor 2 and washing conveyor 1
9, the holding pieces 20a, 20b release the spring 22.
The closed glass tube 11 is held vertically by the screws, and its position is corrected by the fixing bevels 21. When the glass tube 11 is held by the holding pieces 20a and 20b,
The holding pieces 12a and 12b of the conveyor 2 are opened by the fixed cam 13 and the active wheel 14, and the glass tube 11
The delivery to the washing conveyor 19 is completed.

Next, the glass tube 11 held vertically on the cleaning conveyor 19 rotates continuously until it reaches the first cleaning device 28 . The first washing device 28 driven by the worm 56 and the worm wheel 55 is connected to the washing conveyor 1.
9, the transported glass tube 11 is pressed against the V-groove portion of the positioning plate 33 provided on the shaft 30 for centering by the backing plate 34, and then by the tube end holding plate 35a, 35b to ensure centering accuracy. As the cleaning conveyor 19 and the first cleaning device 28 rotate, the cleaning tank 32 also rotates, and the opening/closing lever 43 of the valve 42 of the nozzle 40 corresponding to the glass tube 11 comes into contact with the movable piece 45 moved by the air cylinder 44, and the valve is closed. The shaft 41 is rotated, the valve 42 is lowered, and cleaning water is jetted out from the nozzle 40 to clean the inner surface of the glass tube 11.

The cleaning was performed while the glass tube 11 was moving around a part of the circumference of the first cleaning device 28, and when the glass tube 11 reached a predetermined position, it was fixed to the shaft 30 of the main body via a bearing so as not to rotate. The opening/closing lever 43 contacts the fixed cam 48 and rotates the valve shaft 41 to open the valve 4.
2 is raised and pressed against the nozzle 40 by the spring 49 to stop jetting out the cleaning water and prepare for the next cleaning of the glass tube 11. The glass tube 11 that has been washed is released from the tube end holding plate 35, separated from the nozzle 40, and continues to be transported by the washing conveyor 19.

In the second washing device 29, the inner surface of the glass tube 11 is finished washed in exactly the same manner as in the first washing device 28, and is further moved on the washing conveyor 19, and then dried in a drying step 57.
The glass tube 11 is then moved to a cooling step 66 to cool the glass tube 11 heated for drying to a temperature suitable for applying the phosphor suspension. Ru. The glass tube 11 that has undergone the cooling step 66 reaches the coating device 71.

The coating device 71 rotates in synchronization with the washing conveyor 19, and between the chain wheels 72a and 72b, the holding piece 20 of the glass tube holder 64 of the washing conveyor 19 and the holding piece of the glass tube holder 75 of the coating device 71 are connected. The glass tube 11 is received and received by alternately opening and closing the respective holding pieces 20 and 76 using the cam rails 79 and 77. The centering position of the glass tube 11 held by the glass tube holder 75 is controlled by the tube end holding pieces 92a and 92b using the same principle as the first cleaning device, and the phosphor suspension is removed by opening and closing the valve 94. is ejected from the nozzle 87 to form a coating on the inner surface of the glass tube 11.

The glass tube 11 that has completed the coating work on a part of the circumference of the coating device 71 is separated from the nozzle 87, and the drying conveyor 95, which rotates in synchronization with the coating device 71, matches its movement trajectory between the chain wheels 72c and 72d. During this process, the glass tube 11 is transferred from the glass tube holder 75 of the coating device 71 to the drying conveyor 95 in exactly the same manner as the transfer between the washing conveyor 19 and the coating device 71.
hand it over to The drying conveyor 95 is mainly used in the drying process 9
6 is formed, and the phosphor coating is dried. The glass tube 11 after the drying of the phosphor coating is moved to the chain wheel 58
The glass tubes 11 are transferred between the chain wheels 58h and 72c to the discharge conveyor 97 in a vertical state in the reverse order of the transfer from the transport conveyor 2 to the washing conveyor 19, and the glass tubes 11 are It is converted horizontally on the carry-out conveyor 97 and sent to the next process. Note that if drying after cleaning the glass tube is not required, the drying step 57 can be omitted, and if cooling is not required, the cooling step 96 can be omitted.

As described above, the present invention conveys glass tubes from a glass tube supply device by a conveyor, vertically delivers them to a washing conveyor, washes the glass tubes on the circumference of the chain wheel of the washing conveyor, and then The washing conveyor and the circular drum are placed adjacent to each other, a glass tube is delivered to the circular drum, a coating such as a phosphor is applied to a part of the circumference of the circular drum, and the circular drum and the drying conveyor are placed adjacent to each other. The glass tubes are transferred directly and continuously from each glass tube holder to the holder, and the coating is dried on the drying conveyor. Therefore, the transfer of glass tubes between the cleaning and coating processes requires a special transfer device. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of defects in the delivery process and improve the yield.Furthermore, since the coating process is performed on a circular drum independent of the conveyor, there is no possibility of damage to the glass tube holder due to scattering of the coating liquid etc. The range of dirt can be limited to the area provided on the circular drum, and since each conveyor, cleaning device, and coating device are moved by continuous drive, the driving torque of each device can be significantly reduced, and Unlike the intermittent drive system, there is no vibration during operation, and maintenance is easy and the service life can be improved.Also, there is little vibration even at high speeds, and the glass tube can be cleaned and coated on the circumference of the chain wheel and circular drum. Therefore, it is easy to center the glass tube and nozzle, and cleaning and coating can be performed reliably, reducing the occurrence of defects. Also, since it is continuously driven, cleaning and coating can be performed while rotating the glass tube and nozzle in synchronization. ,
In addition to allowing sufficient cleaning time, it is easier to set the application time compared to intermittent drive, which requires a predetermined application time, and in which multiple nozzles are driven intermittently in synchronization with a conveyor. Therefore, it is possible to speed up production, and furthermore, the washing device can be provided around the circumference of a plurality of chain wheels, and it is possible to use several types of washing water, increasing the washing effect. Since the washing conveyor and drying conveyor are separated by the coating device, the length of each conveyor can be shortened to easily absorb the elongation of the endless chain forming the conveyor. By changing the reciprocating interval of the detour, the device can be maintained even more easily.

Note that the present invention is not limited to cleaning glass tubes for fluorescent lamps and applying phosphors, but can also be applied to cleaning glass tubes of other tubes and applying phosphors or light-diffusing coatings. Of course, it can be implemented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a layout diagram of an apparatus for explaining the glass tube washing and coating method according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the main part of the conveyor, FIG. 3 is a side view of the main part, and FIG. The figure is an enlarged plan view of the main part of a device for vertically transferring glass tubes held horizontally on a conveyor to a washing conveyor.
A cross-sectional view of the washing device, FIG. 6 is a top view of the same, and FIG. 7 is a top view of the bypass portion of the washing conveyor and drying conveyor.
Figure 8 is the BB' cross section in Figure 7, Figure 9 is
Cross section C-C' of washing conveyor and drying conveyor,
A diagram showing E-E', and Figure 10 is a cross-section D of the coating device.
-O'-D', FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view of the coating nozzle section, and FIGS. 12 and 13 are a front view and a side sectional view of the drying and cooling device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An endless conveying chain having a mechanism for holding a glass tube in a horizontal state and gradually shifting the glass tube from a horizontal state to a vertical state while moving by continuous rotation; an endless chain that is received in a vertical position, held vertically and moved by a continuous drive; and an endless chain that is arranged on the circumference of one or more chain wheels so as to wash the glass tube during the movement of the endless chain. a washing device that continuously rotates in synchronization with a part of the endless chain;
a circular drum that receives cleaned glass tubes from the conveyor; a coating device that rotates continuously in synchronization with the circular drum to apply a coating to the cleaned glass tubes; and a coating device that rotates continuously in synchronization with the circular drum to coat the cleaned glass tubes. A cleaning coating device for a fluorescent lamp, comprising a drying device comprising a drying endless chain different from the endless chain, which receives and dries the subsequent glass tube from the circular drum.