EP0565702A1

EP0565702A1 - Device for modifying the surface of objects or the particle size distribution of powder products.

Info

Publication number: EP0565702A1
Application number: EP92923847A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pierre Laujon
Original assignee: ECLAT DE PROVENCE
Current assignee: ECLAT DE PROVENCE
Priority date: 1991-10-21
Filing date: 1992-10-20
Publication date: 1993-10-20
Anticipated expiration: 2012-10-20
Also published as: FR2682630B1; FR2682630A1; WO1993007992A1; ATE132413T1; CA2098820A1; DE69207378T2; DE69207378D1; ES2083201T3; EP0565702B1

Abstract

Device for modifying, dry or in an aqueous solution, the surface of objects by polishing, abrasion, burnishing, dressing or deburring, or by dry sanding, or for modifying the particle size distribution of materials in the form of flakes or grains by grinding or micronizing. The device comprises a tank (1) in which a continuous belt is mounted about rollers (7 to 10). The device is characterized in that said belt forms a pocket (6b) under the effect of the weight of a load consisting of a plurality of bodies (11) which partially occupy the volume of said pocket. Said belt is free on any guide means and can therefore attain high speeds and possibly allow deformation of the pocket depending on the objects subjected to the action of said bodies.

Description

Device for modifying the surface condition of objects or the particle size of powdery products. DESCRIPTION

The subject of the present invention is a device for modifying the surface state of objects or the particle size of powdery products.

The technical sector of the invention is that of machines for modifying the surface condition of objects by polishing, abrading, browning, deburring, deburring, sanding or for reducing the particle size of products in the form of flakes or grains by grinding or micronization.

Polishing or deburring machines for metal parts are currently known. A polishing and deburring machine, more particularly silverware, is described in patent FR.A. 2,013,786. Such a machine comprises a trough-shaped container containing the polishing elements, for example metal balls, in which a conveyor belt is mounted around transverse rollers, which belt is guided by the trough. The strip is applied in contact with the guide trough, and slides over said trough. It is understood that the cavity formed by the belt resting on the trough, can only adopt the shape of the latter, without allowing it to deform during the presence of objects to be treated of dimensions or in number greater than the nominal limit of the trough capacity. In addition, the guiding of the belt by the trough limits the linear speed of the latter, which correlatively means that such a polisher can only be suitable for burnishing silver where the speed of the belt is l 'order of forty meters / second.

The present invention aims to provide improvements to known machines, in particular for new applications.

The objective to be achieved is a machine making it possible to carry out the surface treatment of objects in silver, stainless steel, brass, copper, wood, or other similar products, or to reduce the granulometry of products in flakes or in grains. This objective is achieved by the device according to the invention for modifying the surface state of objects dry or in an aqueous solution by polishing, abrading, burnishing, deburring or deburring, or dry, sanding of objects or the particle size of products in the form of flakes or grains, by grinding or micronization, comprising a tank comprising two flat side walls and an endless band mounted in said tank and passing around rollers transverse and horizontal, mutually parallel, one of which is driving

: at least two rollers located at the upper part of the tank and at least two rollers located at its lower part, the strand of the strip bearing on said upper rollers is curved and forms an open pocket accessible from above, and whose said lower rollers are located below said pocket to guide the strip in the bottom of the tank, characterized in that said pocket is formed, under the effect of the weight of a load constituted by a plurality of bodies which occupy partially the volume delimited by said curved strand of the strip and the side walls of the tank, which strip, the side edges of which move near said side walls of the tank, is free from any guidance, so as to obtain speeds high scrolling and the possibility of a deformation of the pocket depending on the objects put into action by said bodies. Advantageously and to allow operation at high linear speeds of the strip, and due to the entrainment of the load of said bodies which, in operation, stabilize along ^" an accentuated slope, said upper rollers are located at different levels: the roller on which the strand which forms the pocket ends, in the direction of travel of the strip, being at a higher level than the other, from which the strand of said pocket leaves.

Said strip has a rough face to obtain the setting in motion of said bodies and their renewed contact against said objects or said products, which face has a plurality of cavities forming hollows and bumps, of a height and a section average cross between 0.5 and 3 millimeters, preferably 2 millimeters.

The upper wall of the tank has an access door to said pocket and said tank also comprises transverse deflectors located on either side of the door and which seal the spaces existing between said upper wall and the endless belt at the right of said upper rolls on which it is wound partially. The deflector which closes the space existing between said wall and the strip in line with the highest roller, comprises along its lower edge, a brush seal whose bristles are in abutment on the rough face of the strip. The space existing between said wall and the strip in line with the lowest roll, is closed by a deflector substantially tangent to the strip and overlapping thereon at the upper part of the pocket.

Said bodies which make up the load placed in said pocket are metal or glass balls, with a diameter of between 2 millimeters and 5 millimeters, preferably 4.6 millimeters, or aggregates of alumina or emery or of the shot of a caliber passing through the mesh between 2 and 15 millimeters, or else said bodies are made from alumina, emery or are metallic, adopt a prismatic shape and are of a caliber passing through the mesh between 2 and 15 millimeters.

The advantages brought by the concept of the band with free strand constituting the pocket in which is the load of body of treatment and where the objects to be treated are introduced are numerous: - simplicity of manufacture and assembly;

- Cancellation of the risks of deterioration of the objects or parts having to undergo a surface treatment due to the deformability of the strand of the strip constituting the pocket, which can vary freely in dimensions and allows without any risk the treatment of objects slightly larger than the initial useful volume;

- appreciable reduction in weight and cost compared to the machines currently on the market.

Finally, due to its simplicity and compactness, the device opens up numerous possibilities for new applications or for integration into existing equipment, such as for example conventional dishwashers.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will become apparent on reading the following description of a nonlimiting embodiment with reference to the appended drawings in which:

- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a device according to the invention, along the line I / I of Figure 2; - Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view along line II / II of the previous figure.

The device according to the invention consists of a tank 1, for example made of plastic such as polyester, comprising a bottom 1a and the upper wall of which is constituted by a cover 2 also made of polyester, which fits onto the tank body. Said cover or upper wall 2 includes an inspection door 3 ", for example made of plexiglass, articulated to said cover by a hinge h and which masks or releases an opening 2a of the cover 2. The side walls of the tank 1 are lined with two metal flanges 5. which adopt the contour of the tank and on which are mounted the means for winding and driving a conveyor belt 6.

This is made of polyvinyl chloride, the structure of which is a pleated fabric and has a rough face 6a, comprising a plurality of cavities forming hollows and bumps with a height and a medium cross section, for example between 0.5 and

3 millimeters, preferably 2 millimeters.

Said band 6 is an endless band which occupies the quasi-width of the tank and which extends from one flange 5 to another, so that its lateral edges 6c / 6d are located near said flanges 5-

Said strip 6 is mounted around several rollers transverse to the tank 1, mutually parallel and substantially horizontal. The tank 1 thus has at its upper part two rollers 7/8 located at different levels. The roller 7 is at a higher level than the other 8. The roller J is located towards the rear of the tank and is of larger diameter. It consists of a steel drive drum with an electrically integrated axial geared motor, which drum is mounted by its axis in two rectangular notches 5a-, reserved for the upper part of the flanges 5. This geared motor is connected to a control box (not shown) connected by a cable to the mains.

The roller 8 located towards the front of the tank, is made of plastic and is mounted on plain bearings around a metal axis 8a. The endless belt 6 is supported and partially wound around said rollers 6/7, so that the strand 6b which surrounds said rollers from above forms a curved pocket open and accessible from above, located opposite said opening 2a .

Said strip 6 is guided in the bottom of the tank 1 around two other plastic rollers 9/10, mounted like said roller 8 around two metal axes 9a / 10a. The roll 9 is located below the roll 8, the roll 10 below the roll 7. so that the strand of the strip 6 coming from the roll 8 and ending at the roll 7. passes below the pocket 6b and is parallel to the front, rear and bottom walls of the tank 1, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The strand of the strip which forms the pocket 6b issuing from the roller 8 and terminating in the drive roller 7. is free from any guidance, which allows on the one hand to obtain a range of linear strip speed, which can vary between 40 meters / second and 70 meters / second and even more, depending on the work and applications of the device and, on the other hand, a certain deformability allowing it to accept parts of dimensions slightly larger than the nominal dimensions, without damaging them .

Said pocket 6b is formed under the effect of the weight of a load constituted by a plurality of bodies 11 which partially occupies the volume delimited by said curved strand 6b and said flanges 5 Which double said said side walls of the tank 1.

Depending on the applications of said device, said bodies are either metal or glass beads with a diameter of between 2 and 5 millimeters, or aggregates of alumina, emery or iron shot of a passing caliber. with a mesh of between 2 and 15 millimeters, or bodies of prismatic shape, metallic or made from alumina or emery with a mesh of 2 to 15 millimeters.

For example, and for a device with a tank width of 300 millimeters, silverware will be treated with a body load 11 of a weight which can vary between 40 and 50 kilos of metal balls, with a diameter of 4.6 millimeters. For the treatment of stainless steel and for a tank of the same width as above, the weight is reduced in the range of 30 to 40 kilos of balls of 4.6 millimeters in diameter.

Depending on the work to be carried out, deburring, sanding, deburring, grinding, micronization, polishing or burnishing, the body bag suitable for the treatment to be subjected to the objects will be loaded: dry, for sanding or grinding for example, in the middle aqueous with a cleaning product, for browning silver or stainless steel for example. When stopped, the body load 11 comes to a stop in an inclined position towards the drive roller, the upper part of the load being substantially in a plane 12 schematically represented in FIG. 1 and forming an angle of the order 15 ° with the horizontal. At 40 meters / second, in the application of the silver burnishing machine, the upper part of the load stabilizes substantially in a plane 13 schematically represented in said figure, forming an angle with the horizontal, from the 25 ° order.

The angle of the upper level of the body load is of the order of 40 ° with respect to the horizontal, in the case of burnishing of the stainless steel and for a tape running speed of 70 meters / second .

To avoid any projection of the bodies 11 during the operation of the device, the tank 1 comprises on either side of the door 3 and the opening 2a, two deflectors 15/16 extending between the two flanges 5. parallel to the front and rear transverse edges of said door and said opening, and which close off spaces 17/18 existing between the upper wall 2 of the tank and the strip 6 in line with the rollers 7/8. The deflector 1 which closes the space 17 existing between the upper wall of the tank constituted by the cover 2 and the face 6a of the endless belt, wound around the drive motor roller 7 _" has along its lower edge a brush seal 19, the bristles of which rest on the rough face 6a of the strip 6. The deflector 16 which closes the space 18 existing between the upper wall of the tank constituted by the cover 2 and the face 6a of the strip endless 6, wrapped around the roller 8, is substantially tangent, by its edge 16a, to said strip and comes to overlap the latter at the upper part of the pocket 6b.

Said deflectors 15/16 are fixed to the flanges 5 by means of angle brackets 19 • The flange assembly 5 / rollers 7. 8, 9. 0 / strip 6 / deflectors 15,16, is mounted in the tank and is wedged in this by means of shims 20.

Of course the device could be the subject of any other assembly without flange 5 - This would be the case for example, where the rollers 7 "8, 9. 0 would be directly mounted on fittings linked to the side walls of the tank 1 In such a construction, the edges of the strip would be close to the side walls of the tank 1.

As shown in the drawing, the tank 1 has four adjustable legs 21 for adjusting its horizontability, located at the corners of the tank bottom, which comprises in one embodiment a drain orifice 22, of the burnishing solution, which is equipped a tap 23.

In another embodiment where the device is applied to the grinding of products or to the sanding of objects, for example, the tank has at its bottom a hatch 24 for discharging products from the grinding or micronization or dust sanding.

For the burnishing of silverware or stainless steel objects for example, the use of the device is as follows: - the tank 1 is leveled by acting on the legs 21;

- Introducing the load of balls 11, about 25 to 35 kilos;

- pour the cleaning product, powder or liquid;

- the tank is filled with water, around 20 liters for a tank volume of 60 liters. - Then, through the opening 2a, the objects to be treated are introduced into the pocket 6b.

The programming of the processing time depends on the state of the objects. The browning time is generally 15 minutes but can vary between 5 and 30 minutes. The machine can be equipped with an alarm delivering an end of cycle signal, light or sound.

Of course, without departing from the scope of the invention, the parties which have just been described by way of example, may be replaced by a person skilled in the art by equivalent parts fulfilling the same function.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Device for modifying the surface state of objects dry or in an aqueous solution by polishing, abrading, browning, deburring or deburring, or dry, sanding objects or the particle size of products in the form of flakes or grains, by grinding or micronization, comprising a tank (1) comprising two flat side walls (5) and an endless band (6) mounted in said tank and passing around rollers (7, 8, 9 »10) transverse and horizontal, mutually parallel, one of which is motor: at least two rollers (7/8) located at the upper part of the tank and at least two rollers (9/10) located at its lower part, whose strand ( 6b) of the strip bearing on said upper rollers (7/8) is curved and forms an open pocket accessible from above, and of which said lower rollers (9/10) are situated below said pocket (6b) to guide the strip in the bottom of the tank (1), of which said pocket (6b) is formed e, under the effect of the weight of a load constituted by a plurality of bodies (11) which partially occupy the volume delimited by said curved strand (6b) of the strip and said side walls (5) of the tank (1) , whose lateral edges (6c / 6d) of the strip (6) move close to said side walls (5) of the tank, characterized in that said strip (6) is free from any guidance, so as to obtain high running speeds and the possibility of a deformation of the pocket (6b) as a function of the objects put into action by said bodies (11).

2. Device according to claim 1, in which said upper rollers (7/8) are situated at different levels and in which the face (6a) of the strip (6) on which the load of said bodies (11) is placed is rough, to obtain the setting in motion of said bodies and their renewed contact against said objects or said products, characterized in that said face (6a) comprises a plurality of cavities forming hollows and bumps, of a height and of a average cross section between 0.5 and 3 millimeters, preferably 2 millimeters.

3. Device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, the upper wall (2) of the tank (1) comprises a door (3) for access to said pocket (6b), characterized in that said tank comprises further transverse deflectors (15/16) located on the side and other of said door (3) and which seal the spaces (17/18) existing between said upper wall (2) and the endless strip (6) in line with said upper rollers (7/8) on which it s 'partially wound.

4. Device according to claim 3 »characterized in that the deflector (15) which closes the space (17) existing between said wall (2) and the strip (6) in line with the highest roller (7), comprises along its lower edge, a brush seal (19) whose bristles are supported on the rough face (6a) of the strip (6).

5- Device according to claim 3. characterized in that the space (18) existing between said wall (2) and the strip (6) in line with the roller (8) the lowest, is closed by a deflector (16) substantially tangent to the strip (6) and overlapping thereon at the upper part of the pocket (6b).

6. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the tank (1) has at its lower part a hatch (24) for evacuating products from grinding, sanding or micronization.

7- Arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said bodies (11) which make up the load placed in said pocket (6b) are metal or glass balls, with a diameter between 2 millimeters and 5 millimeters, preferably 4.6 millimeters.

8. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the said bodies (11) which make up the load placed in said pocket (6b), are aggregates of alumina or emery or shot '' a caliber passing to the mesh between 2 and 15 millimeters.

9- Device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said bodies (11) which make up the load placed in said pocket (6b), are made from alumina, emery or are metallic and adopt a prismatic shape and are of a caliber passing through the mesh between 2 and 15 millimeters.