JPS6222498Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a cleaning device for a conveying chain used in a chain conveyor or the like in an automobile assembly line.

[Conventional technology]

In general, chain conveyors used in automobile assembly lines, etc., have the problem that oil 2 adhering to the conveying chain 1 adheres to conveyed objects such as automobiles, leading to a decline in quality, as shown in Figure 1. be. In particular, the oil 2 adhering to the outer surface of the link plate of the conveyance chain is not particularly necessary for chain lubrication, and it is desirable to remove it as much as possible. Conventionally, in order to prevent quality deterioration due to oil stains, the oil has been manually wiped off periodically with a cloth 3, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. However, it has been difficult to constantly perform such manual cleaning work while the line is in operation.
Therefore, there was a problem in that chain cleaning was not reliable, and cleaning costs tended to increase due to increased labor costs.

In contrast to the above-mentioned manual chain cleaning work, devices are known in which the conveying chain is automatically cleaned using a rotating brush during operation (for example, U.S. Pat. , Publication No. 56-29295, etc.).

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, in the automatic chain cleaning devices disclosed in the above-mentioned publications, the rotating brush is provided on the tension path of the conveying chain, and when vibration etc. occur in the conveying chain, the relative relationship between the conveying chain and the rotating brush is removed. There is a problem in that the positional relationship becomes unstable and cleaning of oil stains and the like may not be reliable. In addition, if the rotating brush is strongly pressed against the conveying chain, it will cause disturbance to the chain conveyance, so it cannot be pressed too strongly, and as a result, there is a problem that it may not be possible to easily remove oil etc. stuck to the link plate. There is also.

Further, in the structure shown in US Pat. No. 3,229,808, a separate drive source (separate motor) is provided for the rotating brush, which increases the cost of the device and also requires a control system. In this regard, in the structure shown in Publication No. 56-29295, the rotating brush is driven from the conveying chain itself and does not require a separate drive source, but the drive is taken from the chain tensioning part. Therefore, there remains the problem that if vibration or the like occurs in the chain, the drive transmission becomes unstable, and as a result, the rotating brush may not rotate as intended.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention automatically and more powerfully removes oil etc. adhering to the conveying chain 1, and also removes it without causing any disturbance to the conveying chain. The purpose is to ensure that this is done at all times.

[Means for solving problems]

The automatic chain cleaning device of the present invention that meets this purpose is provided with a rotating brush whose brush surface contacts the outer surface of the link plate of the conveying chain at a position where the conveying chain engages with the chain sprocket, and the rotary brush is attached to the conveying chain. The rotating brush is biased toward the outer surface of the link plate, and the drive section of the conveying chain is used as the drive source for the rotating brush.

[Effect]

In such a device, since the rotating brush is urged toward the outer surface of the link plate of the conveying chain, the brush surface is strongly pressed against the outer surface of the link plate, and caked oil and the like can be easily removed. The rotating brush is installed at a position where the conveying chain engages with the chain sprocket, so even if the above-mentioned biasing force is applied, the chain can maintain its position on a predetermined orbit by engagement with the sprocket. This allows for no disturbance during chain transport. In addition, since the rotating brush is driven by the drive part of the conveying chain, vibrations of the conveying chain are completely irrelevant to this drive force transmission path, and the rotating brush is always stably rotated while the conveying chain is in operation. be done. Therefore, while the conveyor chain is in operation, the chain is constantly and powerfully cleaned, and dirt such as oil is sufficiently removed.
It becomes possible to perform inexpensive automatic chain cleaning without using a new drive source.

〔Example〕

Preferred embodiments of the automatic chain cleaning device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

4 and 5 show an automatic chain cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 4 is a conveyance chain, which runs in two chains. The conveyance chain 4 is driven by a motor 5 via a reduction gear 6, a chain sprocket 7, a chain 8, a chain sprocket 9, a drive shaft 10, and a chain sprocket 11. A rotating brush 27 having approximately the same outer diameter as the sprocket 11 is provided on the outer side of the chain sprocket 11 coaxially with the drive shaft 10, and the brush surface thereof engages with the chain sprocket 11. It is arranged so as to come into contact with the link plate surface of the conveyance chain 4. This rotating brush 27 has a bearing 28 on the drive shaft 10.
A cylindrical shaft 29 is rotatably fitted loosely through the
The shaft 29 is fitted to be slidable in the axial direction and rotated together with the shaft 29. A chain sprocket 30 is attached to the shaft 29, and a spring 31 is attached between the chain sprocket 30 and the brush 27.
9, and the rotating brush 27 is biased against the outer surface of the link plate of the conveyance chain 4.

The chain sprocket 30 is drivingly connected to a chain sprocket 32 provided at an opposing position via a chain 33, and the chain sprocket 32 is attached to a rotatably supported shaft 34. A gear 35 is attached to the shaft 34, and the gear 35 is the gear 3 attached to the drive shaft 10.
6 is engaged. Note that these rotating brushes 27 and their drive system may also be provided on the link plate side of the conveyance chain 4 on the opposite side to the position shown in FIG. 5, if necessary.

In the embodiment apparatus having such a configuration, the conveying chain 4 is cleaned by the rotating brush 27 while being engaged with the chain sprocket 11, so that the chain 4 does not shake and the brush 27 is in stable contact with the conveying chain 4. It is cleaned while maintaining its positional relationship. Also,
Since the rotating brush 27 is urged toward the chain 4 by the spring 31, the brush surface of the brush 27 is pressed against the link plate surface of the conveying chain 4 with strong and appropriate pressing pressure, and the cleaning function of the brush 27 is improved. will be further strengthened. Therefore, oil and the like stuck to the link plate surface can be easily and reliably removed.

Further, since the rotation of this rotary brush 27 is linked to the rotation of the drive shaft 10 of the conveyance chain 4, there is no need for a dedicated drive source. Cleaned regularly. Since the drive force transmission system to the rotating brush 27 is independent of the transmission system from the chain sprocket 11 to the conveyance chain 4 and the orbit of the conveyance chain 4 itself, the vibration of the chain 4 is The rotating brush 27 is not affected by vibrations or the like, and is reliably driven at a desired rotational speed.

Furthermore, if an appropriate speed increase ratio is provided between the rotational speeds of the drive shaft 10 and the rotating brush 27, the cleaning effect of the rotating brush 27 can be further enhanced. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the brush 27 is rotationally driven via the gears 35 and 36, the rotation direction of the brush 27 and the rotation direction of the conveyance chain 4 are opposite directions, and the brush 27 is rotated in the opposite direction.
The relative speed between the brush 27 and the conveying chain 4 is increased, and the cleaning performance of the brush 27 is further improved.

In addition, in the above example, when the traveling speed of the conveyance chain 4 is 3 m/min, the optimal circumferential speed of the rotating brush that can sufficiently clean the oil attached to the chain 4 is as follows.
It was 11 to 20 m/min.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, when using the automatic chain cleaning device of the present invention, the link plate surface of the conveying chain is cleaned by the rotating brush at the chain sprocket position, and the rotating brush is urged against the link plate surface of the conveying chain. At the same time, the driving force for the rotation is taken from the drive source of the conveyance chain, so it can be done automatically without the need for human intervention, inexpensively without the need for a dedicated drive source, and reliably and powerfully at all times while the conveyance chain is in operation. This provides the effect that chain cleaning can be performed stably.

Also, since there is no need to use a new drive source,
It is possible to perform inexpensive chain cleaning with a large energy-saving effect, and the rotary brush can be rotated with reliable drive force transmission only when necessary while the conveyance chain is running, making it an efficient automatic chain cleaning. can be done.

Furthermore, if the rotating direction of the rotating brush is made opposite to the running direction of the conveyance chain by interposing a gear in the drive system, the relative speed between the circumferential speed of the rotating brush and the running speed of the conveyance chain can be increased. This enables more effective chain cleaning.

Furthermore, if the rotational speed of the rotating brush is appropriately increased by the drive system, chain cleaning can be performed with a greater cleaning effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the oil-stained state of the conveyance chain, Fig. 2 is a side view showing a conventional manual method of cleaning the conveyance chain, and Fig. 3 is a side view showing the conventional manual method of cleaning the conveyance chain. FIG. 4 is a plan view of an automatic chain cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged front view of the device shown in FIG. 4. 4... Conveyance chain, 10... Drive shaft, 11,3
0, 32... Chain sprocket, 27... Rotating brush, 29... Cylindrical shaft, 31... Spring, 33...
...Chain, 34...shaft, 35, 36...gear.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A rotating brush whose brush surface contacts the outer surface of the link plate of the conveying chain is provided at a position where the conveying chain engages with the chain sprocket, and the rotating brush is biased toward the outer surface of the link plate of the conveying chain, An automatic chain cleaning device characterized in that a drive section of the conveyance chain is used as a drive source for the rotating brush.