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EP0775534A2 - Automatic installation for cleaning workpieces - Google Patents

Automatic installation for cleaning workpieces Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0775534A2
EP0775534A2 EP96117395A EP96117395A EP0775534A2 EP 0775534 A2 EP0775534 A2 EP 0775534A2 EP 96117395 A EP96117395 A EP 96117395A EP 96117395 A EP96117395 A EP 96117395A EP 0775534 A2 EP0775534 A2 EP 0775534A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
air
cleaning liquid
workpiece
workpieces
channel
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP96117395A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0775534B1 (en
EP0775534A3 (en
Inventor
Otfried Meyer
Karl-Heinz Wüller
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Ecoclean GmbH
Original Assignee
Duerr Ecoclean GmbH
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Duerr Ecoclean GmbH filed Critical Duerr Ecoclean GmbH
Publication of EP0775534A2 publication Critical patent/EP0775534A2/en
Publication of EP0775534A3 publication Critical patent/EP0775534A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0775534B1 publication Critical patent/EP0775534B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B08—CLEANING
    • B08B—CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
    • B08B5/00—Cleaning by methods involving the use of air flow or gas flow
    • B08B5/02—Cleaning by the force of jets, e.g. blowing-out cavities
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B08—CLEANING
    • B08B—CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
    • B08B3/00—Cleaning by methods involving the use or presence of liquid or steam
    • B08B3/02—Cleaning by the force of jets or sprays
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B08—CLEANING
    • B08B—CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
    • B08B2230/00—Other cleaning aspects applicable to all B08B range
    • B08B2230/01—Cleaning with steam

Definitions

  • Workpieces in particular those that have been processed by grinding, drilling, milling, turning, sawing, thread cutting and the like, often require thorough cleaning to remove chips, abrasive grains and the like, but also residues of processing fluids such as cutting and cooling oils or others Remove machining residues as completely as possible.
  • cleaning has hitherto been carried out almost exclusively by cleaning the workpieces with a cleaning liquid (organic solvents or aqueous cleaning liquids containing surfactants) by spraying and / or dipping and then drying them.
  • a cleaning liquid organic solvents or aqueous cleaning liquids containing surfactants
  • a primitive type of workpiece cleaning without the use of a cleaning fluid is particularly common in metalworking companies: After processing, the workpiece is blown off manually using a compressed air nozzle, with the result that chips and other machining residues are blown into the environment, which results in a very high level disturbing pollution of the workplace.
  • a cleaning system has already become known, with which dust is to be blown off the surfaces of workpieces, such as bodies to be painted.
  • This known system has a channel-like lock chamber, which at both ends can be closed by an inlet-side and an outlet-side lifting gate and in which a roller track extending over the entire length of the lock chamber is arranged, on which the objects to be cleaned are placed and with which the latter are moved through the lock chamber.
  • this known system has an air circulation system with a fan for conveying air to two annular blown air ducts which are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the duct forming the lock chamber and each of which is formed by four straight segments which lead into the interior of the lock chamber protruding channel.
  • the lock chamber is provided with an air suction duct, which is likewise designed in a ring shape and to which two mechanical air filters connected in series are arranged, from which the blower sucks the air again.
  • the workpieces to be cleaned are clocked through the lock chamber using the roller conveyor;
  • the lift gate on the inlet side is first opened, whereupon a first workpiece to be cleaned or a first batch of workpieces to be cleaned is introduced into the lock chamber and placed on the roller conveyor.
  • the lift gate on the inlet side is closed, whereupon the air circuit is put into operation and the workpiece or workpieces are passed through the first annular blown air duct and are stopped in front of the second annular blown air duct. Then the inlet-side lifting gate is opened again, the lock chamber is loaded with the next batch, the inlet-side lifting gate is closed again and the roller conveyor is clocked one step further, the first batch passing the second annular blown air duct and the second batch passing the first blown air duct etc.
  • the cleaning system resulting from DE-A-34 19 028 is in principle not suitable for many and in particular the applications mentioned at the outset, because blown air jets do not succeed, dried or oily / greasy dirt, as is often typical for machined workpieces to be sufficiently removed from such workpieces.
  • a workpiece cleaning by means of blown air jets naturally has the advantages that the workpieces do not subsequently have to be dried in a complex manner and that it is also not necessary to convey and reprocess large quantities of a cleaning liquid, as is the case with immersion and / or spray cleaning of workpieces using a cleaning liquid.
  • the invention was based on the object of using the advantages of cleaning the workpieces by means of blown air jets in an automatically operating cleaning system, in particular thus eliminating the need for expensive workpiece drying and a relatively low energy requirement, but at the same time significantly improving the cleaning effect.
  • the basic idea of the invention is to provide a relatively small amount to a blast air jet which brings about the cleaning to be added to a cleaning liquid in such a way that the blast air jet hitting a workpiece to be cleaned contains the cleaning liquid at least predominantly in droplet form, so that a significant pulse can be transmitted to the dirt to be removed with each of the droplets carried by the blown air; nevertheless, because of the small amount of the cleaning liquid added to the blown air, the workpieces are only slightly damp during cleaning, so that complex workpiece drying following cleaning is not necessary.
  • an automatically operating cleaning system for removing processing residues from workpieces which has a cleaning station to which a channel for receiving at least one workpiece to be cleaned is assigned, and with a workpiece transport device for introducing the workpieces to be cleaned into the channel and for Removal of the cleaned workpieces from the channel and with at least one blowing nozzle directed into the interior of the channel and thus onto the workpieces to be cleaned, in order to act upon the workpiece with a blowing air jet which is connected upstream of an air conveyor for supplying air to the blowing nozzle, the channel having an outlet for discharging the used blown air, the aforementioned object can be solved constructively according to the present invention in that the air conveyor is designed in such a way that it provides at least approximately 600 m 3 / h of air per blower nozzle with a pressure of at most about 0.5 bar promotes that a cleaning liquid supply device is provided for injecting approximately 3 to 15 l / h per blowing nozzle of a cleaning liquid into the blown air jet downstream of the air
  • oily and other processing residues and the like carried along with the used blown air can also be separated from the used blown air, so that it is in principle possible to use the used blown air to lead into the environment or outdoors; in addition, there are only comparatively small amounts of used cleaning fluid, which must be disposed of or reprocessed.
  • the dirt detached from the workpieces can be easily removed from the used cleaning liquid with a conventional cyclone separator, so that it is easily possible to reuse the used cleaning liquid after appropriate preparation, although the small amounts of cleaning liquid required for cleaning according to the invention are also allow economical disposal of used cleaning fluid.
  • water can be used as the cleaning liquid in a cleaning according to the invention, to which at most small amounts (up to a maximum of about 10%) of a chemical cleaning agent, in particular surfactants, are added.
  • a chemical cleaning agent in particular surfactants
  • the air conveyors required for cleaning workpieces with blown air jets lead to considerable heating the conveyed air, especially if the air used for cleaning is circulated; blowing off with hot air has an unfavorable effect on some workpieces, in particular on workpieces made of certain plastics, a disadvantage which is avoided in the cleaning according to the invention in that the cleaning liquid injected into the blown air downstream of the air conveyor has a cooling effect.
  • heating the cleaned workpieces causes the workpieces that had previously become damp during cleaning to dry off quickly.
  • the agents to be provided according to the invention can be easily retrofitted to any cleaning system working with blown air jets, and since the air conveyor should not convey the blown air to the blower nozzle under high pressure (at most approx. 0.5 bar, better still at most 0.3 bar) Energy requirements of the cleaning system are relatively low.
  • DE-31 30 560-A1 also describes a prior art (DE-29 29 376-A1) which should be improved by the invention according to DE-31 30 560-A1 and according to the water behind the air -High pressure pump is introduced into the compressed air jet, directly in a compressed air nozzle; This prior art is criticized in DE-31 30 560-A1 for a low cleaning effect, caused by the fact that the water can only absorb a little kinetic energy and the kinetic energy required to accelerate the water is extracted from the compressed air jet.
  • the cleaning liquid can be injected into the blown air jet upstream of the blower nozzle, but it may be advantageous to inject the cleaning liquid into the blown air as shortly before or even within the blower nozzle so that the small quantities of liquid added to the blown air reach the workpieces to be cleaned as far as possible in droplets , d. H. that as little cleaning liquid as possible evaporates beforehand.
  • the channel need not be a channel which is closed on its circumference, for example it could have a U-shaped cross section and be open at the top or only two in the direction of movement of the workpieces side splash protection walls running parallel to one another are formed.
  • embodiments are preferred in which the channel is closed on all sides except for an inlet and an outlet opening or a single inlet and outlet opening for the workpieces.
  • Such embodiments enable a further improvement of the cleaning system according to the invention such that the blown air is at least almost completely circulated; a corresponding embodiment is characterized by a closed blown air circuit containing the duct and the air conveyor, the blower nozzle and the liquid separating device (apart from the fact that extremely small blown air quantities can escape through the inlet and outlet opening of the duct). Since, as already mentioned, the cleaning liquid in the blown air jet should be at least predominantly in droplet form, it is unproblematic to separate the used cleaning liquid together with dirt from the blown air circulated behind the cleaning station, e.g. B. on a baffle.
  • the air conveyor is affected as little as possible by the used cleaning liquid and the dirt contained in it, it is recommended to arrange the liquid separating device downstream of the outlet of the duct and upstream of the air conveyor, and in order to also separate dirt carried along by the actual blowing air from the blowing air from the blowing air , it is recommended that a dirt separator for separating dirt removed from the workpieces from the blown air is also provided in the blown air circuit downstream of the outlet of the duct and upstream of the air conveyor, which dirt separator can be a simple mechanical filter.
  • the cleaning system according to the invention In contrast to the known cleaning system resulting from DE-A-34 19 028, it is recommended for the cleaning system according to the invention to arrange the outlet of the channel on a bottom of the latter, so as to take into account the fact that the walls of the channel act as baffle walls act for the cleaning liquid droplets carried by the blown air, ie as liquid separating elements.
  • the blown air nozzle or a plurality of blown air nozzles could be held by a robot-like handling device and moved along the workpieces to be cleaned and / or around them; However, it is simpler to design the blow nozzle so that it has an air outlet opening at least substantially enclosing the workpiece to be cleaned and the blow nozzle and workpiece are moved relative to one another transversely to this air outlet opening, in particular by the fact that the workpieces are transported through the transport device through the Blow nozzle are passed through.
  • the workpiece transport device in such a way that it has an endless conveying element which extends through the channel and which then also extends through the air outlet opening of the blowing nozzle; the channel and the workpiece transport device can thus be designed in particular as described and / or claimed in the unpublished DE-44 25 765-A1 (older patent application P 44 25 765.1) from Dürr GmbH.
  • the workpiece transport device can also have a slide-like workpiece carrier which pushes the workpieces into the channel and pulls them out again, the workpieces passing through the blowing nozzle (s).
  • the region of the transport device carrying the workpiece is permeable to air transversely to the longitudinal direction of the channel, because then the blown air can be directed from all directions onto the workpieces carried by the transport device.
  • the cleaning liquid to be injected into the blown air could be sucked into the blown air jet via a suitably designed nozzle and thereby atomized, whereby this nozzle could be designed such that it also takes over the dosing of the cleaning liquid.
  • the cleaning liquid supply device has a metering pump and / or a metering valve for metering the cleaning liquid to be injected into the blown air jet.
  • the easiest way to measure the amount of liquid to be injected into the blown air jet is with a metering pump and / or a metering valve.
  • the cleaning effect of the cleaning liquid is based predominantly on the fact that the liquid droplets transmit appreciable impulses to the workpiece surfaces to be cleaned, it is even possible to work with pure water in a cleaning according to the invention; for stubborn soiling, however, it can be expedient to use water as the cleaning liquid which contains up to approximately 3% by volume, preferably 1 to 2%, of a detergent active in washing.
  • the air conveyor is designed such that the air of the blower nozzle is at a pressure of at most about 0. 3 bar, preferably of only about 0.2 bar is supplied.
  • a pressure of at most about 0. 3 bar preferably of only about 0.2 bar is supplied.
  • the cleaning system shown as a whole in FIG. 1 has a channel 10 which is closed everywhere on its circumference - apart from openings described in the following - but is open at both ends; 1 on the left-hand end thus forms an inlet / outlet opening 12 for the workpieces to be cleaned.
  • Approximately in the middle of the channel 10 is surrounded by an annular blow nozzle 14, which also has an annular nozzle opening 16 illustrated by arrows - at this point the wall of the channel 10 has an annular slot.
  • the blow nozzle 14 does not protrude into the interior of the channel 10 and is preferably designed as described and illustrated in patent application P 44 25 765.1.
  • the nozzle opening 16 is oriented such that the blowing nozzle 14 generates an annular jet of blowing air, which is directed into the interior of the channel 10 and is slightly inclined towards the inlet / outlet opening 12.
  • the bottom of the duct 10 is formed by a suction funnel 18, while the rest of the inside cross section of the duct 10 is constant over its entire length.
  • the inlet / outlet opening 12 is associated with a workpiece transport device with which a workpiece 20 to be cleaned can be introduced through the inlet / outlet opening into the channel 10, pushed through the nozzle opening 16 and then pulled out of the channel 10 again;
  • this workpiece transport device comprises a slide rod 22 extending in the longitudinal direction of the channel 10, which can be held by means not shown and pushed back and forth in the longitudinal direction of the channel 10, and a workpiece carrier 24 held by the slide rod 22, at its two ends in each case a bulkhead 26 or 28 is attached.
  • the workpiece carrier 24 forms a vertically air-permeable support for a workpiece 20 to be cleaned, while the two bulkheads 26 and 28 are air-impermeable and - apart from the area of the suction funnel 18 - can slide sealingly along the inner wall of the channel 10.
  • the workpiece carrier 24 is designed so long that after the introduction of a workpiece 20 to be cleaned into the channel 10 in the starting position of the workpiece carrier shown in FIG. 1 for the cleaning process, the bulkhead 28 is somewhat behind, ie. H. 1 to the right of the nozzle opening 16, while the bulkhead 26 is approximately at the left end of FIG. 1 of the suction funnel 18.
  • the duct 10 together with the blowing nozzle 14 is part of an at least substantially closed blowing air circuit 30, the parts of which are to be described below:
  • a barrel-shaped separator 34 which has on its upper side an outlet opening, not shown, to which a second suction line 36 is connected.
  • the latter connects the separating device 34 to the suction side of a blown air fan 38, to the outlet of which a blown air line 40 is connected. Through this, the blown air conveyed by the fan 38 is fed to the blower nozzle 14.
  • a cleaning liquid to be used in the cleaning process is stored in a cleaning liquid tank 42; cleaning liquid is drawn off from this by means of a metering pump 44 and a suction line 46 and conveyed into a pressure line 48 which contains an adjustable metering valve 50.
  • the pressure line 48 is sealed into the blown air line 40 and ends there in a nozzle 50, with the aid of which the cleaning liquid is injected into the blown air stream shortly before the blower nozzle 14, in such a way that the latter metered the metered amount Cleaning liquid leads essentially in droplet form.
  • the injection of the cleaning liquid somewhat upstream of the annular blowing nozzle 14 has the advantage that one single nozzle 50 is sufficient and does not require several nozzles distributed over the circumference of the blowing nozzle 14.
  • the separating device 34 contains a cyclone separator 60 approximately halfway up, which can be of a construction known per se and therefore does not have to be described and illustrated in detail. It serves to separate cleaning liquid droplets and dirt, which has been removed from the cleaned workpiece, from the blown air stream sucked out of the duct 10 via the suction line 32, with the aid of Centrifugal forces which are generated in that the blown air to be cleaned forms a vortex in the cyclone separator 60, namely below an approximately funnel-shaped intermediate wall 62 of the separating device 34. Solid particle dirt 64 originating from the cleaned workpiece then sediments on the bottom of the separating device 34 while e.g. B. contaminated by cutting oils cleaning liquid 66 over the solid particle dirt 64 in the separator 34.
  • the blown air cleaned by the cyclone separator 60 enters the upper part of the separating device 34 through an opening in the center of the intermediate wall 62 and passes through replaceable filter candles 70, whereupon the blown air cleaned in this way reaches the suction line 36.
  • the contaminated cleaning liquid 66 is drawn off from the separating device 34, specifically by means of a drain line 72, which preferably contains a valve 74.
  • the drain line 72 leads to a processing device 76, only shown schematically, in which fats, oils or other similar contaminants are separated from the cleaning liquid in a manner known per se and which is also to contain a pump with which the cleaned cleaning liquid is conveyed back into the cleaning liquid tank 42 becomes.
  • the workpiece carrier 24 can also be loaded with several workpieces to be cleaned instead of with a single workpiece 20 shown in FIG. 1.
  • the fan 38 and the metering pump 44 are switched on and the workpiece carrier 24 is slowly moved from left to right as shown in FIG. 1 until all areas of the workpiece to be cleaned have passed the annular nozzle opening 16; 1, the workpiece carrier 24 is then pulled back from the right to the left into its starting position shown in FIG. 1 and then pulled out together with the cleaned workpiece from the channel 10 to the left.
  • the slide rod 22 can be replaced by a double-acting, horizontally displaceable pressure medium cylinder, which has a piston rod holding the workpiece carrier 24 and is also provided with a bulkhead 1, which after the insertion of the workpiece carrier 24 into the channel 10 closes its left end according to FIG. 1 in an airtight manner - because of the bulkhead 28, neither blown air nor dirt can escape from the right open end of the channel 10 during the cleaning process.
  • a double-acting, horizontally displaceable pressure medium cylinder which has a piston rod holding the workpiece carrier 24 and is also provided with a bulkhead 1, which after the insertion of the workpiece carrier 24 into the channel 10 closes its left end according to FIG. 1 in an airtight manner - because of the bulkhead 28, neither blown air nor dirt can escape from the right open end of the channel 10 during the cleaning process.
  • channel and the workpiece transport device could also be designed as described and / or claimed in application P 44 25 765.1.

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  • Cleaning By Liquid Or Steam (AREA)

Abstract

The system comprises a cleaning station which has a passage (10) receiving workpieces (20). A transporter device (24) places the workpiece inside the passage where it is cleaned and then removes the cleaned workpiece from the passage. The passage has an outlet for used air. Air is directed through nozzles onto the workpiece in the passage. An air conveyor (38) is designed so that each nozzle (14) delivers a minimum of approximately 600 m<3>/h air at a maximum pressure of approximately 0.5 bar. A cleaning liquid delivery nozzle (50) provides between approximately 3 and 15 l/h of cleaning liquid to the air stream, downstream of the air supply. A separator (34) separates the used cleaning liquid from the used air.

Description

Werkstücke, insbesondere solche, welche durch Schleifen, Bohren, Fräsen, Drehen, Sägen, Gewindeschneiden und dergleichen bearbeitet wurden, bedürfen vielfach einer gründlichen Reinigung, um Späne, Schleifkörner und dergleichen, aber auch Rückstände von Bearbeitungsflüssigkeiten, wie Schneid- und Kühlöle, oder andere Bearbeitungsrückstände möglichst vollständig zu entfernen.Workpieces, in particular those that have been processed by grinding, drilling, milling, turning, sawing, thread cutting and the like, often require thorough cleaning to remove chips, abrasive grains and the like, but also residues of processing fluids such as cutting and cooling oils or others Remove machining residues as completely as possible.

Eine solche Reinigung erfolgte bislang in der Praxis fast ausschließlich dadurch, daß die Werkstücke mit einer Reinigungsflüssigkeit (organische Lösemittel oder wässrige, Tenside enthaltende Reinigungsflüssigkeiten) durch Abspritzen und/oder Tauchen gereinigt und anschließend getrocknet werden.In practice, such cleaning has hitherto been carried out almost exclusively by cleaning the workpieces with a cleaning liquid (organic solvents or aqueous cleaning liquids containing surfactants) by spraying and / or dipping and then drying them.

Eine primitive Art der Werkstückreinigung ohne den Einsatz einer Reinigungsflüssigkeit ist insbesondere in metallverarbeitenden Betrieben gang und gäbe: Nach der Bearbeitung wird das Werkstück von Hand mittels einer Preßluftdüse abgeblasen mit der Folge, daß Späne und andere Bearbeitungsrückstände in die Umgebung geblasen werden, was zu einer höchst störenden Verunreinigung des Arbeitsplatzes führt.A primitive type of workpiece cleaning without the use of a cleaning fluid is particularly common in metalworking companies: After processing, the workpiece is blown off manually using a compressed air nozzle, with the result that chips and other machining residues are blown into the environment, which results in a very high level disturbing pollution of the workplace.

Aus der DE-A-34 19 028 ist nun schon eine Reinigungsanlage bekanntgeworden, mit der Staub von den Oberflächen von Werkstücken, wie beispielsweise zu lackierenden Karosserien, abgeblasen werden soll. Diese bekannte Anlage verfügt über eine kanalartige Schleusenkammer, welche an ihren beiden Enden durch ein einlaßseitiges und ein auslaßseitiges Hubtor verschlossen werden kann und in der eine sich über die ganze Länge der Schleusenkammer erstreckende Rollenbahn angeordnet ist, auf der die zu reinigenden Gegenstände abgelegt und mit der die letzteren durch die Schleusenkammer hindurchbewegt werden. Ferner verfügt diese bekannte Anlage über ein Luftkreislaufsystem mit einem Gebläse zum Fördern von Luft zu zwei ringförmigen Blasluftkanälen, welche in Längsrichtung des die Schleusenkammer bildenden Kanals im Abstand voneinander angeordnet sind und deren jeder von vier geraden Segmenten gebildet wird, welche in das Innere des die Schleusenkammer bildenden Kanals hineinragen. Zwischen den beiden Blasluftkanälen ist die Schleusenkammer mit einem gleichfalls ringförmig gestalteten Luftabsaugkanal versehen, dem zwei hintereinander geschaltete mechanische Luftfilter nachgeordnet sind, aus denen das Gebläse die Luft wieder ansaugt. Die zu reinigenden Werkstücke werden mit Hilfe der Rollenbahn durch die Schleusenkammer hindurchgetaktet; hierzu wird zunächst das einlaßseitige Hubtor geöffnet, worauf ein erstes zu reinigendes Werkstück bzw. eine erste Charge zu reinigender Werkstücke in die Schleusenkammer eingeführt und auf der Rollenbahn abgelegt wird. Nach Erreichen einer ersten Position vor dem ersten Blasluftkanal wird das einlaßseitige Hubtor geschlossen, worauf der Luftkreislauf in Betrieb genommen und das Werkstück bzw. die Werkstücke durch den ersten ringförmigen Blasluftkanal hindurchgeführt und vor dem zweiten ringförmigen Blasluftkanal stillgesetzt wird bzw. werden. Anschließend wird das einlaßseitige Hubtor wieder geöffnet, die Schleusenkammer mit der nächsten Charge beladen, das einlaßseitige Hubtor wieder geschlossen und die Rollenbahn um einen Schritt weitergetaktet, wobei die erste Charge den zweiten ringförmigen Blasluftkanal und die zweite Charge den ersten Blasluftkanal passiert etc. Die zu reinigenden Werkstücke müssen also einzeln oder chargenweise in die Schleusenkammer eingebracht werden, d. h. diese bekannte Reinigungsanlage kann nur diskontinuierlich arbeiten; außerdem sind verhältnismäßig aufwendige Werkstück-Handhabungsvorrichtungen erforderlich, um die zu reinigenden Werkstücke durch das geöffnete einlaßseitige Hubtor hindurch auf die Rollenbahn aufzubringen und die gereinigten Werkstücke durch das geöffnete auslaßseitige Hubtor hindurch von der Rollenbahn abzunehmen.From DE-A-34 19 028, a cleaning system has already become known, with which dust is to be blown off the surfaces of workpieces, such as bodies to be painted. This known system has a channel-like lock chamber, which at both ends can be closed by an inlet-side and an outlet-side lifting gate and in which a roller track extending over the entire length of the lock chamber is arranged, on which the objects to be cleaned are placed and with which the latter are moved through the lock chamber. Furthermore, this known system has an air circulation system with a fan for conveying air to two annular blown air ducts which are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the duct forming the lock chamber and each of which is formed by four straight segments which lead into the interior of the lock chamber protruding channel. Between the two blown air ducts, the lock chamber is provided with an air suction duct, which is likewise designed in a ring shape and to which two mechanical air filters connected in series are arranged, from which the blower sucks the air again. The workpieces to be cleaned are clocked through the lock chamber using the roller conveyor; For this purpose, the lift gate on the inlet side is first opened, whereupon a first workpiece to be cleaned or a first batch of workpieces to be cleaned is introduced into the lock chamber and placed on the roller conveyor. After reaching a first position in front of the first blown air duct, the lift gate on the inlet side is closed, whereupon the air circuit is put into operation and the workpiece or workpieces are passed through the first annular blown air duct and are stopped in front of the second annular blown air duct. Then the inlet-side lifting gate is opened again, the lock chamber is loaded with the next batch, the inlet-side lifting gate is closed again and the roller conveyor is clocked one step further, the first batch passing the second annular blown air duct and the second batch passing the first blown air duct etc. The ones to be cleaned Workpieces must therefore be introduced individually or in batches into the lock chamber, ie this known cleaning system can only work discontinuously; In addition, relatively complex workpiece handling devices are required to apply the workpieces to be cleaned through the open inlet-side lifting gate onto the roller conveyor and to remove the cleaned workpieces from the roller conveyor through the open outlet-side lifting gate.

Für viele und insbesondere die eingangs erwähnten Anwendungsfälle ist die sich aus der DE-A-34 19 028 ergebende Reinigungsanlage aber deshalb grundsätzlich nicht geeignet, weil es mit Blasluftstrahlen nicht gelingt, angetrockneten oder öligen/fettigen Schmutz, wie er für bearbeitete Werkstücke oft typisch ist, in ausreichendem Maße von solchen Werkstücken zu entfernen. Andererseits hat eine Werkstückreinigung mittels Blasluftstrahlen natürlich die Vorteile, daß die Werkstücke anschließend nicht aufwendig getrocknet werden müssen und daß es auch nicht erforderlich ist, große Mengen einer Reinigungsflüssigkeit zu fördern und immer wieder aufzubereiten, so wie dies beim Tauch- und/oder Spritzreinigen von Werkstücken mittels einer Reinigungsflüssigkeit erforderlich ist.However, the cleaning system resulting from DE-A-34 19 028 is in principle not suitable for many and in particular the applications mentioned at the outset, because blown air jets do not succeed, dried or oily / greasy dirt, as is often typical for machined workpieces to be sufficiently removed from such workpieces. On the other hand, a workpiece cleaning by means of blown air jets naturally has the advantages that the workpieces do not subsequently have to be dried in a complex manner and that it is also not necessary to convey and reprocess large quantities of a cleaning liquid, as is the case with immersion and / or spray cleaning of workpieces using a cleaning liquid.

Der Erfindung lag nun die Aufgabe zugrunde, in einer automatisch arbeitenden Reinigungsanlage die Vorteile einer Reinigung der Werkstücke mittels Blasluftstrahlen zu nutzen, insbesondere also das Entfallen einer aufwendigen Werkstücktrocknung sowie ein relativ geringer Energiebedarf, gleichzeitig aber den Reinigungseffekt deutlich zu verbessern.The invention was based on the object of using the advantages of cleaning the workpieces by means of blown air jets in an automatically operating cleaning system, in particular thus eliminating the need for expensive workpiece drying and a relatively low energy requirement, but at the same time significantly improving the cleaning effect.

Grundgedanke der Erfindung ist es nun, einem die Reinigung bewirkenden Blasluftstrahl eine verhältnismäßig geringe Menge einer Reinigungsflüssigkeit so beizufügen, daß der auf ein zu reinigendes Werkstück auftreffende Blasluftstrahl die Reinigungsflüssigkeit zumindest überwiegend in Tröpfchenform enthält, so daß sich mit jedem der von der Blasluft mitgeführten Tröpfchen ein nennenswerter Impuls auf den zu entfernenden Schmutz übertragen läßt; dennoch werden wegen der geringen Menge der der Blasluft so beigefügten Reinigungsflüssigkeit die Werkstücke bei der Reinigung aber nur etwas feucht, so daß eine auf die Reinigung folgende aufwendige Werkstücktrocknung nicht erforderlich ist.The basic idea of the invention is to provide a relatively small amount to a blast air jet which brings about the cleaning to be added to a cleaning liquid in such a way that the blast air jet hitting a workpiece to be cleaned contains the cleaning liquid at least predominantly in droplet form, so that a significant pulse can be transmitted to the dirt to be removed with each of the droplets carried by the blown air; nevertheless, because of the small amount of the cleaning liquid added to the blown air, the workpieces are only slightly damp during cleaning, so that complex workpiece drying following cleaning is not necessary.

Ausgehend von einer automatisch arbeitenden Reinigungsanlage zum Entfernen von Bearbeitungsrückständen von Werkstücken, welche eine Reinigungsstation aufweist, der ein Kanal für die Aufnahme wenigstens, eines zu reinigenden Werkstücks zugeordnet ist, und mit einer Werkstück-Transporteinrichtung zum Einbringen der zu reinigenden Werkstücke in den Kanal sowie zum Entfernen der gereinigten Werkstücke aus dem Kanal und mit mindestens einer in das Kanalinnere hinein und damit auf die zu reinigenden Werkstücke gerichteten Blasdüse zur Beaufschlagung des Werkstücks mit einem Blasluftstrahl, welcher ein Luftförderer zum Zuführen von Luft zu der Blasdüse vorgeschaltet ist, wobei der Kanal einen Auslaß zum Abführen der gebrauchten Blasluft aufweist, läßt sich die vorgenannte Aufgabe gemäß der vorliegenden Erfindung konstruktiv dadurch lösen, daß der Luftförderer derart ausgebildet ist, daß er je Blasdüse mindestens ungefähr 600 m3/h Luft mit einem Druck von höchstens ungefähr 0,5 bar fördert, daß eine Reinigungsflüssigkeitszufuhrvorrichtung zum Eindüsen von ungefähr 3 - 15 ltr/h je Blasdüse einer Reinigungsflüssigkeit in den Blasluftstrahl stromabwärts des Luftförderers vorgesehen ist, und daß eine Abscheidevorrichtung zum Abscheiden gebrauchter Reinigungsflüssigkeit aus der gebrauchten Blasluft vorgesehen wird.Starting from an automatically operating cleaning system for removing processing residues from workpieces, which has a cleaning station to which a channel for receiving at least one workpiece to be cleaned is assigned, and with a workpiece transport device for introducing the workpieces to be cleaned into the channel and for Removal of the cleaned workpieces from the channel and with at least one blowing nozzle directed into the interior of the channel and thus onto the workpieces to be cleaned, in order to act upon the workpiece with a blowing air jet which is connected upstream of an air conveyor for supplying air to the blowing nozzle, the channel having an outlet for discharging the used blown air, the aforementioned object can be solved constructively according to the present invention in that the air conveyor is designed in such a way that it provides at least approximately 600 m 3 / h of air per blower nozzle with a pressure of at most about 0.5 bar promotes that a cleaning liquid supply device is provided for injecting approximately 3 to 15 l / h per blowing nozzle of a cleaning liquid into the blown air jet downstream of the air conveyor, and that a separating device for separating used ones Cleaning liquid from the used blowing air is provided.

Mit denjenigen Mitteln, mit denen sich in der erfindungsgemäßen Reinigungsanlage die gebrauchte Reinigungsflüssigkeit aus der Blasluft abscheiden läßt, lassen sich auch von der gebrauchten Blasluft mitgeführte ölige sowie andere Bearbeitungsrückstände und dergleichen von der gebrauchten Blasluft abtrennen, so daß es grundsätzlich möglich ist, die gebrauchte Blasluft in die Umgebung oder ins Freie abzuleiten; außerdem fallen nur vergleichsweise geringe Mengen gebrauchter Reinigungsflüssigkeit an, welche entsorgt oder wiederaufbereitet werden müssen. Insbesondere läßt sich der von den Werkstücken abgelöste Schmutz aus der gebrauchten Reinigungsflüssigkeit mit einem gebräuchlichen Zyklonabscheider leicht entfernen, so daß es ohne weiteres möglich ist, die gebrauchte Reinigungsflüssigkeit nach einer entsprechenden Aufbereitung wieder einzusetzen, obwohl die für eine erfindungsgemäße Reinigung benötigten geringen Mengen an Reinigungsflüssigkeit auch eine wirtschaftliche Entsorgung gebrauchter Reinigungsflüssigkeit zulassen.With those means with which the used cleaning liquid can be separated from the blown air in the cleaning system according to the invention, oily and other processing residues and the like carried along with the used blown air can also be separated from the used blown air, so that it is in principle possible to use the used blown air to lead into the environment or outdoors; in addition, there are only comparatively small amounts of used cleaning fluid, which must be disposed of or reprocessed. In particular, the dirt detached from the workpieces can be easily removed from the used cleaning liquid with a conventional cyclone separator, so that it is easily possible to reuse the used cleaning liquid after appropriate preparation, although the small amounts of cleaning liquid required for cleaning according to the invention are also allow economical disposal of used cleaning fluid.

Es hat sich auch gezeigt, daß bei einer erfindungsgemäßen Reinigung mit Wasser als Reinigungsflüssigkeit gearbeitet werden kann, dem äußerstenfalls geringe Mengen (bis maximal ca. 10 %) eines chemischen Reinigungsmittels, insbesondere von Tensiden, beigemischt werden. Obwohl die erfindungsgemäße Reinigung einen sehr guten Reinigungseffekt mit sich bringt, erfolgt sie doch äußerst schonend, so daß z. B. der Lack auf einer lackierten Werkstückoberfläche unbeschädigt bleibt.It has also been found that water can be used as the cleaning liquid in a cleaning according to the invention, to which at most small amounts (up to a maximum of about 10%) of a chemical cleaning agent, in particular surfactants, are added. Although the cleaning according to the invention has a very good cleaning effect, it is carried out extremely gently, so that, for. B. the paint remains undamaged on a painted workpiece surface.

Die bei einer Werkstückreinigung mit Blasluftstrahlen erforderlichen Luftförderer führen zu einer beträchtlichen Erwärmung der geförderten Luft, vor allem dann, wenn die für die Reinigung eingesetzte Luft im Kreislauf geführt wird; ein Abblasen mit heißer Luft wirkt sich aber auf manche Werkstücke ungünstig aus, insbesondere auf Werkstücke aus gewissen Kunststoffen, ein Nachteil, der bei der erfindungsgemäßen Reinigung dadurch vermieden wird, daß die stromabwärts des Luftförderers in die Blasluft eingedüste Reinigungsflüssigkeit einen Kühleffekt mit sich bringt. Andererseits bewirkt ein Erwärmen der gereinigten Werkstücke ein rasches Abtrocknen der zuvor bei der Reinigung feucht gewordenen Werkstücke.The air conveyors required for cleaning workpieces with blown air jets lead to considerable heating the conveyed air, especially if the air used for cleaning is circulated; blowing off with hot air has an unfavorable effect on some workpieces, in particular on workpieces made of certain plastics, a disadvantage which is avoided in the cleaning according to the invention in that the cleaning liquid injected into the blown air downstream of the air conveyor has a cooling effect. On the other hand, heating the cleaned workpieces causes the workpieces that had previously become damp during cleaning to dry off quickly.

Schließlich sind die erfindungsgemäß vorzusehenden Mittel bei jeder mit Blasluftstrahlen arbeitenden Reinigungsanlage ohne weiteres nachrüstbar, und da der Luftförderer die Blasluft nicht unter hohem Druck (höchstens ca. 0,5 bar, besser noch höchstens 0,3 bar) zur Blasdüse fördern soll, ist der Energiebedarf der Reinigungsanlage relativ gering.Finally, the agents to be provided according to the invention can be easily retrofitted to any cleaning system working with blown air jets, and since the air conveyor should not convey the blown air to the blower nozzle under high pressure (at most approx. 0.5 bar, better still at most 0.3 bar) Energy requirements of the cleaning system are relatively low.

Vorstehend wurde bereits erwähnt, daß es insbesondere in der metallverarbeitenden Industrie gebräuchlich ist, Werkstücke nach deren Bearbeitung von Hand mittels einer Preßluftdüse abzublasen mit der Folge, daß Späne und andere Bearbeitungsrückstände in die Umgebung geblasen werden und dadurch der Arbeitsplatz hochgradig verunreinigt wird. Diesen Nachteil besitzt auch die auf demselben Prinzip beruhende und sich aus der DE-A-42 23 006 ergebende bekannte Reinigungsvorrichtung in Form einer preßluftgespeisten Handpistole, welche über Mittel verfügt, die es erlauben, zur Werkstückbehandlung dem Preßluftstrahl eine Flüssigkeit in beliebiger Menge, auch in sehr kleiner, genau dosierter Menge beizugeben oder Preßluft und Flüssigkeit nacheinander und in beliebiger Reihenfolge auf die Werkstücke einwirken zu lassen; wenn die Flüssigkeit dem Preßluftstrahl beigegeben wird, soll dabei die Flüssigkeit zerstäubt werden.It has already been mentioned above that it is customary, in particular in the metalworking industry, to blow off workpieces after they have been processed by hand using a compressed air nozzle, with the result that chips and other machining residues are blown into the environment and the workplace is thereby highly contaminated. This disadvantage also has the known cleaning device based on the same principle and resulting from DE-A-42 23 006 in the form of a compressed air-fed handgun, which has means which allow the compressed air jet to be treated with a liquid in any quantity, even in add a very small, precisely dosed amount or allow compressed air and liquid to act on the workpieces one after the other and in any order; if the liquid is added to the compressed air jet, the liquid should be atomized.

Nur der Vollständigkeit wegen sei noch auf die ein völlig anderes Arbeitsgebiet betreffende DE-31 30 560-A1 hingewiesen, welche sich mit der Reinigung von mit Erde verschmutzten landwirtschaftlichen Erzeugnissen unmittelbar bei deren Ernte befaßt. Nach diesem Stand der Technik werden die landwirtschaftlichen Erzeugnisse noch auf dem Feld mit Druckluft gereinigt, die mittels einer Hochdruckpumpe, nämlich einem Rotationskolbenverdichter, erzeugt wird; der von der Hochdruckpumpe angesaugten Luft wird Wasser zugegeben, um mit diesem die Hochdruckpumpe zu "schmieren" und außerdem den Druckluftstrahl mit dem Wasser zu "härten". Das Wasser wird aus einer drucklosen Leitung in einen Ansaugkanal der Luft-Hochdruckpumpe eingeleitet, also nicht etwa in den von der Hochdruckpumpe erzeugten Luftstrahl eingedüst, und da das Wasser durch die Hochdruckpumpe hindurchgeführt wird, lassen sich keine Aussagen über die Partikelgröße des im Druckluftstrahl stromabwärts der Hochdruckpumpe befindlichen Wassers machen. In der DE-31 30 560-A1 wird auch noch ein Stand der Technik beschrieben (DE-29 29 376-A1), welcher durch die Erfindung nach der DE-31 30 560-A1 verbessert werden sollte und gemäß dem Wasser hinter der Luft-Hochdruckpumpe in den Druckluftstrahl eingeleitet wird, und zwar direkt in einer Druckluftdüse; an diesem Stand der Technik wird in der DE-31 30 560-A1 ein geringer Reinigungseffekt bemängelt, hervorgerufen dadurch, daß das Wasser nur noch wenig kinetische Energie aufnehmen kann und dem Druckluftstrahl die für die Beschleunigung des Wasser erforderliche kinetische Energie entzieht.Only for the sake of completeness should reference be made to DE-31 30 560-A1, which deals with a completely different field of work and which deals with the cleaning of agricultural products contaminated with soil immediately upon harvest. According to this prior art, the agricultural products are still cleaned in the field with compressed air, which is generated by means of a high-pressure pump, namely a rotary piston compressor; Water is added to the air drawn in by the high-pressure pump in order to "lubricate" the high-pressure pump with it and also "harden" the compressed air jet with the water. The water is introduced from an unpressurized line into an intake duct of the air high-pressure pump, i.e. not injected into the air jet generated by the high-pressure pump, and since the water is passed through the high-pressure pump, no statements can be made about the particle size in the compressed air jet downstream of the Make high pressure pump water. DE-31 30 560-A1 also describes a prior art (DE-29 29 376-A1) which should be improved by the invention according to DE-31 30 560-A1 and according to the water behind the air -High pressure pump is introduced into the compressed air jet, directly in a compressed air nozzle; This prior art is criticized in DE-31 30 560-A1 for a low cleaning effect, caused by the fact that the water can only absorb a little kinetic energy and the kinetic energy required to accelerate the water is extracted from the compressed air jet.

Die Reinigungsflüssigkeit kann stromaufwärts der Blasdüse in den Blasluftstrahl eingedüst werden, es kann jedoch vorteilhaft sein, die Reinigungsflüssigkeit möglichst kurz vor oder sogar innerhalb der Blasdüse in die Blasluft einzudüsen, damit die der Blasluft beigefügten geringen Flüssigkeitsmengen möglichst weitgehend in Tröpfchenform auf die zu reinigenden Werkstücke gelangt, d. h. daß möglichst wenig Reinigungsflüssigkeit zuvor verdampft.The cleaning liquid can be injected into the blown air jet upstream of the blower nozzle, but it may be advantageous to inject the cleaning liquid into the blown air as shortly before or even within the blower nozzle so that the small quantities of liquid added to the blown air reach the workpieces to be cleaned as far as possible in droplets , d. H. that as little cleaning liquid as possible evaporates beforehand.

Da bei der Erfindung nicht mit organischen oder anderen die Umwelt beeinträchtigenden Flüssigkeiten gearbeitet werden muß, muß der Kanal kein an seinem Umfang geschlossener Kanal sein, er könnte also beispielsweise einen U-förmigen Querschnitt haben und oben offen sein oder nur von zwei in Bewegungsrichtung der Werkstücke parallel zueinander verlaufenden seitlichen Spritzschutzwänden gebildet werden. Bevorzugt werden aber Ausführungsformen, bei denen der Kanal bis auf eine Einlaß- und eine Auslaßöffnung bzw. eine einzige Einlaß- und Auslaßöffnung für die Werkstücke allseitig geschlossen ist. Solche Ausführungsformen ermöglichen eine weitere Verbesserung der erfindungsgemäßen Reinigungsanlage dergestalt, daß die Blasluft zumindest nahezu vollständig im Kreislauf geführt wird; eine entsprechende Ausführungsform zeichnet sich durch einen den Kanal sowie den Luftförderer, die Blasdüse und die Flüssigkeitsabscheidevorrichtung beinhaltenden geschlossenen Blasluftkreislauf aus (sieht man einmal davon ab, daß äußerst geringe Blasluftmengen über die Einlaß- und Auslaßöffnung des Kanals entweichen können). Da, wie bereits erwähnt, die Reinigungsflüssigkeit im Blasluftstrahl zumindest ganz überwiegend in Tröpfchenform vorliegen soll, ist es unproblematisch, aus der im Kreislauf geführten Blasluft hinter der Reinigungsstation die gebrauchte Reinigungsflüssigkeit samt Schmutz abzuscheiden, z. B. an einer Prallwand. Eventuell kann es sich empfehlen, den Feuchtigkeitsgehalt der im Kreislauf geführten Blasluft dadurch zu vermindern, daß der im Kreislauf geführten Blasluft laufend oder periodisch (und sei es nur im Zuge der Beschickung und Entladung der Kammer mit bzw. von Werkstücken) ein geringer Teil entzogen und durch Umgebungsluft ersetzt wird oder daß der Blasluftkreislauf einen Kondensator für Reinigungsflüssigkeitsdampf enthält (dieser Kondensator kann gegebenenfalls auch von "kalten" Wänden des Blasluft-Kreislaufsystems gebildet werden).Since in the invention there is no need to work with organic or other environmentally harmful liquids, the channel need not be a channel which is closed on its circumference, for example it could have a U-shaped cross section and be open at the top or only two in the direction of movement of the workpieces side splash protection walls running parallel to one another are formed. However, embodiments are preferred in which the channel is closed on all sides except for an inlet and an outlet opening or a single inlet and outlet opening for the workpieces. Such embodiments enable a further improvement of the cleaning system according to the invention such that the blown air is at least almost completely circulated; a corresponding embodiment is characterized by a closed blown air circuit containing the duct and the air conveyor, the blower nozzle and the liquid separating device (apart from the fact that extremely small blown air quantities can escape through the inlet and outlet opening of the duct). Since, as already mentioned, the cleaning liquid in the blown air jet should be at least predominantly in droplet form, it is unproblematic to separate the used cleaning liquid together with dirt from the blown air circulated behind the cleaning station, e.g. B. on a baffle. Perhaps It may be advisable to reduce the moisture content of the blown air in the circuit by withdrawing a small part of the blown air in the circuit continuously or periodically (and only if it is loading and unloading the chamber with or from workpieces) Ambient air is replaced or that the blown air circuit contains a condenser for cleaning liquid vapor (this condenser may also be formed by "cold" walls of the blown air circuit system).

Damit der Luftförderer durch die gebrauchte Reinigungsflüssigkeit und den in dieser enthaltenen Schmutz möglichst wenig beeinträchtigt wird, wird empfohlen, die Flüssigkeitsabscheidevorrichtung stromabwärts des Auslasses des Kanals und stromaufwärts des Luftförderers anzuordnen, und um auch von der eigentlichen Blasluft mitgeführten Schmutz vor dem Luftförderer aus der Blasluft abzuscheiden, wird empfohlen, im Blasluftkreislauf stromabwärts des Auslasses des Kanals und stromaufwärts des Luftförderers auch eine Schmutzabscheidevorrichtung zum Abscheiden von von den Werkstücken entferntem Schmutz aus der Blasluft vorzusehen, wobei es sich bei dieser Schmutzabscheidevorrichtung um ein einfaches mechanisches Filter handeln kann.So that the air conveyor is affected as little as possible by the used cleaning liquid and the dirt contained in it, it is recommended to arrange the liquid separating device downstream of the outlet of the duct and upstream of the air conveyor, and in order to also separate dirt carried along by the actual blowing air from the blowing air from the blowing air , it is recommended that a dirt separator for separating dirt removed from the workpieces from the blown air is also provided in the blown air circuit downstream of the outlet of the duct and upstream of the air conveyor, which dirt separator can be a simple mechanical filter.

Anders als bei der sich aus der DE-A-34 19 028 ergebenden bekannten Reinigungsanlage wird für die erfindungsgemäße Reinigungsanlage empfohlen, den Auslaß des Kanals an einem Boden des letzteren anzuordnen, um so dem Umstand Rechnung zu tragen, daß die Wände des Kanals als Prallwände für die von der Blasluft mitgeführten Reinigungsflüssigkeitströpfchen wirken, d. h. als Flüssigkeitsabscheideelemente.In contrast to the known cleaning system resulting from DE-A-34 19 028, it is recommended for the cleaning system according to the invention to arrange the outlet of the channel on a bottom of the latter, so as to take into account the fact that the walls of the channel act as baffle walls act for the cleaning liquid droplets carried by the blown air, ie as liquid separating elements.

Die Blasluftdüse bzw. mehrere Blasluftdüsen könnten von einem roboterähnlichen Handhabungsgerät gehalten und längs der zu reinigenden Werkstücke und/oder um diese herum bewegt werden; einfacher ist es jedoch, die Blasdüse so zu gestalten, daß sie eine das zu reinigende Werkstück zumindest im wesentlichen umschließende Luftaustrittsöffnung hat und Blasdüse und Werkstück relativ zueinander quer zu dieser Luftaustrittsöffnung bewegt werden, und zwar insbesondere dadurch, daß die Werkstücke durch die Transporteinrichtung durch die Blasdüse hindurchgeführt werden. Aus diesem Grund kann es zweckmäßig sein, die Werkstück-Transporteinrichtung so auszubilden, daß sie ein sich durch den Kanal hindurcherstreckendes Endlosförderelement besitzt, welches sich dann auch durch die Luftaustrittsöffnung der Blasdüse hindurcherstreckt; der Kanal und die Werkstück-Transporteinrichtung können also insbesondere so ausgebildet sein, wie dies in der nicht veröffentlichten DE-44 25 765-A1 (ältere Patentanmeldung P 44 25 765.1) der Firma Dürr GmbH beschrieben und/oder beansprucht wurde. Alternativ kann die Werkstück-Transporteinrichtung aber auch einen schieberartigen Werkstückträger haben, welcher die Werkstücke in den Kanal einschiebt und wieder herauszieht, wobei die Werkstücke die Blasdüse(n) passiert. In jedem Fall ist es besonders vorteilhaft, wenn der das Werkstück tragende Bereich der Transporteinrichtung quer zur Kanallängsrichtung luftdurchlässig ist, denn dann kann die Blasluft aus allen Richtungen auf die von der Transporteinrichtung getragenen Werkstücke gerichtet werden.The blown air nozzle or a plurality of blown air nozzles could be held by a robot-like handling device and moved along the workpieces to be cleaned and / or around them; However, it is simpler to design the blow nozzle so that it has an air outlet opening at least substantially enclosing the workpiece to be cleaned and the blow nozzle and workpiece are moved relative to one another transversely to this air outlet opening, in particular by the fact that the workpieces are transported through the transport device through the Blow nozzle are passed through. For this reason, it may be expedient to design the workpiece transport device in such a way that it has an endless conveying element which extends through the channel and which then also extends through the air outlet opening of the blowing nozzle; the channel and the workpiece transport device can thus be designed in particular as described and / or claimed in the unpublished DE-44 25 765-A1 (older patent application P 44 25 765.1) from Dürr GmbH. Alternatively, the workpiece transport device can also have a slide-like workpiece carrier which pushes the workpieces into the channel and pulls them out again, the workpieces passing through the blowing nozzle (s). In any case, it is particularly advantageous if the region of the transport device carrying the workpiece is permeable to air transversely to the longitudinal direction of the channel, because then the blown air can be directed from all directions onto the workpieces carried by the transport device.

Die in die Blasluft einzudüsende Reinigungsflüssigkeit könnte über eine entsprechend gestaltete Düse in den Blasluftstrahl hineingesaugt und dabei verdüst werden, wobei diese Düse so ausgebildet werden könnte, daß sie auch die Dosierung der Reinigungsflüssigkeit übernimmt. Funktionssicherer und deshalb zu bevorzugen sind aber Ausführungsformen, bei denen die Reinigungsflüssigkeitszufuhrvorrichtung über eine Dosierpumpe und/oder ein Dosierventil zum Dosieren der in den Blasluftstrahl einzudüsenden Reinigungsflüssigkeit verfügt.The cleaning liquid to be injected into the blown air could be sucked into the blown air jet via a suitably designed nozzle and thereby atomized, whereby this nozzle could be designed such that it also takes over the dosing of the cleaning liquid. Functionally more reliable and therefore However, embodiments are preferred in which the cleaning liquid supply device has a metering pump and / or a metering valve for metering the cleaning liquid to be injected into the blown air jet.

Die Bemessung der in den Blasluftstrahl einzudüsenden Flüssigkeitsmenge läßt sich am einfachsten mit einer Dosierpumpe und/oder einem Dosierventil erzielen.The easiest way to measure the amount of liquid to be injected into the blown air jet is with a metering pump and / or a metering valve.

Da, wie vorstehend beschrieben, der Reinigungseffekt der Reinigungsflüssigkeit ganz überwiegend darauf beruht, daß die Flüssigkeitströpfchen nennenswerte Impulse auf die zu reinigenden Werkstückflächen übertragen, kann bei einer erfindungsgemäßen Reinigung sogar mit reinem Wasser gearbeitet werden; für hartnäckige Verschmutzungen kann es aber zweckmäßig sein, als Reinigungsflüssigkeit Wasser zu verwenden, welches bis ungefähr 3 Vol.%, vorzugsweise 1 bis 2 % eines waschaktiven Reinigungsmittels enthält.Since, as described above, the cleaning effect of the cleaning liquid is based predominantly on the fact that the liquid droplets transmit appreciable impulses to the workpiece surfaces to be cleaned, it is even possible to work with pure water in a cleaning according to the invention; for stubborn soiling, however, it can be expedient to use water as the cleaning liquid which contains up to approximately 3% by volume, preferably 1 to 2%, of a detergent active in washing.

Das Eindüsen geringer Mengen einer Reinigungsflüssigkeit in den Blasluftstrahl ermöglicht es, die Blasluft der Blasdüse mit einem verhältnismäßig geringen Überdruck zuzuführen, so daß bei bevorzugten Ausführungsformen der erfindungsgemäßen Reinigungsanlage der Luftförderer derart ausgebildet ist, daß die Luft der Blasdüse mit einem Druck von höchstens ungefähr 0,3 bar, vorzugsweise von nur ungefähr 0,2 bar zugeführt wird. Es hat sich aber gezeigt, daß selbst mit einem Druck von nur ca. 0,1 bar noch ordentliche Reinigungseffekte erzielbar sind.The injection of small amounts of a cleaning liquid into the blown air jet makes it possible to supply the blown air to the blower nozzle with a relatively low overpressure, so that in preferred embodiments of the cleaning system according to the invention the air conveyor is designed such that the air of the blower nozzle is at a pressure of at most about 0. 3 bar, preferably of only about 0.2 bar is supplied. However, it has been shown that even with a pressure of only about 0.1 bar, proper cleaning effects can still be achieved.

Weitere Merkmale, Vorteile und Einzelheiten der Erfindung ergeben sich aus den beigefügten Ansprüchen und/oder aus der nachfolgenden Beschreibung sowie der beigefügten zeichnerischen Darstellung einer besonders vorteilhaften Ausführungsform der erfindungsgemäßen Reinigungsanlage; in der Zeichnung zeigen:

Fig. 1
eine schematische Darstellung der Reinigungsanlage, und
Fig. 2
den in Fig. 1 mit "A" gekennzeichneten Ausschnitt im Detail und größerem Maßstab.
Further features, advantages and details of the invention will become apparent from the appended claims and / or from the following description and the accompanying drawings Representation of a particularly advantageous embodiment of the cleaning system according to the invention; show in the drawing:
Fig. 1
a schematic representation of the cleaning system, and
Fig. 2
the section marked "A" in Fig. 1 in detail and on a larger scale.

Die in Fig. 1 als Ganzes dargestellte Reinigungsanlage besitzt einen Kanal 10, welcher an seinem Umfang - sieht man einmal von im folgenden noch beschriebenen Öffnungen ab - überall geschlossen, an seinen beiden Stirnseiten jedoch offen ist; die gemäß Fig. 1 linke Stirnseite bildet so eine Einlaß-/Auslaßöffnung 12 für die zu reinigenden Werkstücke. Ungefähr in seiner Mitte wird der Kanal 10 von einer ringförmigen Blasdüse 14 umfaßt, welche eine durch Pfeile veranschaulichte, gleichfalls ringförmige Düsenöffnung 16 besitzt - an dieser Stelle hat die Wand des Kanals 10 einen ringförmigen Schlitz. Die Blasdüse 14 ragt also nicht in das Innere des Kanals 10 hinein und ist vorzugsweise so ausgebildet, wie dies in der Patentanmeldung P 44 25 765.1 beschrieben und dargestellt wurde. Wie in Fig. 1 durch die Pfeile angedeutet wurde, ist die Düsenöffnung 16 so orientiert, daß die Blasdüse 14 einen ringförmigen Blasluftstrahl erzeugt, welcher in das Innere des Kanals 10 hinein gerichtet und etwas in Richtung auf die Einlaß-/Auslaßöffnung 12 geneigt ist.The cleaning system shown as a whole in FIG. 1 has a channel 10 which is closed everywhere on its circumference - apart from openings described in the following - but is open at both ends; 1 on the left-hand end thus forms an inlet / outlet opening 12 for the workpieces to be cleaned. Approximately in the middle of the channel 10 is surrounded by an annular blow nozzle 14, which also has an annular nozzle opening 16 illustrated by arrows - at this point the wall of the channel 10 has an annular slot. The blow nozzle 14 does not protrude into the interior of the channel 10 and is preferably designed as described and illustrated in patent application P 44 25 765.1. As indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1, the nozzle opening 16 is oriented such that the blowing nozzle 14 generates an annular jet of blowing air, which is directed into the interior of the channel 10 and is slightly inclined towards the inlet / outlet opening 12.

Gemäß Fig. 1 links von der Blasdüse 14 wird der Boden des Kanals 10 von einem Absaugtrichter 18 gebildet, während im übrigen der Innenquerschnitt des Kanals 10 über dessen ganze Länge konstant ist.1 to the left of the blowing nozzle 14, the bottom of the duct 10 is formed by a suction funnel 18, while the rest of the inside cross section of the duct 10 is constant over its entire length.

Der Einlaß-/Auslaßöffnung 12 ist eine Werkstück-Transporteinrichtung zugeordnet, mit der sich ein zu reinigendes Werkstück 20 durch die Einlaß-/Auslaßöffnung hindurch in den Kanal 10 einbringen, durch die Düsenöffnung 16 hindurchschieben und dann wieder aus dem Kanal 10 herausziehen läßt; diese Werkstück-Transporteinrichtung umfaßt eine sich in Längsrichtung des Kanals 10 erstreckende Schieberstange 22, welche durch nicht dargestellte Mittel gehalten und in Längsrichtung des Kanals 10 hin- und hergeschoben werden kann, sowie einen von der Schieberstange 22 gehaltenen Werkstückträger 24, an dessen beiden Enden jeweils ein Schott 26 bzw. 28 befestigt ist. Der Werkstückträger 24 bildet eine in vertikaler Richtung luftdurchlässig gestaltete Auflage für ein zu reinigendes Werkstück 20, während die beiden Schotten 26 und 28 luftundurchlässig sind und - sieht man einmal vom Bereich des Absaugtrichters 18 ab - abdichtend an der Innenwand des Kanals 10 entlanggleiten können. Erfindungsgemäß ist der Werkstückträger 24 so lang gestaltet, daß nach dem Einbringen eines zu reinigenden Werkstücks 20 in den Kanal 10 in der in Fig. 1 dargestellten Ausgangsstellung des Werkstückträgers für den Reinigungsvorgang das Schott 28 etwas hinter, d. h. gemäß Fig. 1 rechts von der Düsenöffnung 16 liegt, während sich das Schott 26 ungefähr an dem gemäß Fig. 1 linken Ende des Absaugtrichters 18 befindet.The inlet / outlet opening 12 is associated with a workpiece transport device with which a workpiece 20 to be cleaned can be introduced through the inlet / outlet opening into the channel 10, pushed through the nozzle opening 16 and then pulled out of the channel 10 again; this workpiece transport device comprises a slide rod 22 extending in the longitudinal direction of the channel 10, which can be held by means not shown and pushed back and forth in the longitudinal direction of the channel 10, and a workpiece carrier 24 held by the slide rod 22, at its two ends in each case a bulkhead 26 or 28 is attached. The workpiece carrier 24 forms a vertically air-permeable support for a workpiece 20 to be cleaned, while the two bulkheads 26 and 28 are air-impermeable and - apart from the area of the suction funnel 18 - can slide sealingly along the inner wall of the channel 10. According to the invention, the workpiece carrier 24 is designed so long that after the introduction of a workpiece 20 to be cleaned into the channel 10 in the starting position of the workpiece carrier shown in FIG. 1 for the cleaning process, the bulkhead 28 is somewhat behind, ie. H. 1 to the right of the nozzle opening 16, while the bulkhead 26 is approximately at the left end of FIG. 1 of the suction funnel 18.

Der Kanal 10 samt Blasdüse 14 ist Bestandteil eines zumindest im wesentlichen geschlossenen Blasluft-Kreislaufes 30, dessen Teile im folgenden beschrieben werden sollen:The duct 10 together with the blowing nozzle 14 is part of an at least substantially closed blowing air circuit 30, the parts of which are to be described below:

Am Boden des Absaugtrichters 18 befindet sich eine nicht näher dargestellte Auslaßöffnung, an welche eine erste Absaugleitung 32 angeschlossen ist; diese führt zu einer tonnenförmigen Abscheidevorrichtung 34, die an ihrer Oberseite eine nicht näher dargestellte Auslaßöffnung besitzt, an welche eine zweite Absaugleitung 36 angeschlossen ist. Letztere verbindet die Abscheidevorrichtung 34 mit der Saugseite eines Blasluftventilators 38, an dessen Auslaß eine Blasluftleitung 40 angeschlossen ist. Durch diese wird die vom Ventilator 38 geförderte Blasluft der Blasdüse 14 zugeführt.At the bottom of the suction funnel 18 there is an outlet opening, not shown, to which a first suction line 32 is connected; this leads to a barrel-shaped separator 34, which has on its upper side an outlet opening, not shown, to which a second suction line 36 is connected. The latter connects the separating device 34 to the suction side of a blown air fan 38, to the outlet of which a blown air line 40 is connected. Through this, the blown air conveyed by the fan 38 is fed to the blower nozzle 14.

Eine im Reinigungsprozeß einzusetzende Reinigungsflüssigkeit wird in einem Reinigungsflüssigkeitstank 42 bevorratet; aus diesem wird mittels einer Dosierpumpe 44 und einer Saugleitung 46 Reinigungsflüssigkeit abgesaugt und in eine Druckleitung 48 gefördert, welche ein einstellbares Dosierventil 50 enthält. Wie die Fig. 2 zeigt, ist die Druckleitung 48 abgedichtet in die Blasluftleitung 40 hineingeführt und endet dort in einer Düse 50, mit deren Hilfe die Reinigungsflüssigkeit kurz vor der Blasdüse 14 in den Blasluftstrom eingedüst wird, und zwar so, daß der letztere die zudosierte Reinigungsflüssigkeit im wesentlichen in Tröpfchenform mit sich führt. Das Eindüsen der Reinigungsflüssigkeit etwas stromaufwärts der ringförmigen Blasdüse 14 hat den Vorteil, daß man mit einer einzigen Düse 50 auskommt und nicht mehrere, über den Umfang der Blasdüse 14 verteilt angeordnete Düsen benötigt.A cleaning liquid to be used in the cleaning process is stored in a cleaning liquid tank 42; cleaning liquid is drawn off from this by means of a metering pump 44 and a suction line 46 and conveyed into a pressure line 48 which contains an adjustable metering valve 50. As shown in FIG. 2, the pressure line 48 is sealed into the blown air line 40 and ends there in a nozzle 50, with the aid of which the cleaning liquid is injected into the blown air stream shortly before the blower nozzle 14, in such a way that the latter metered the metered amount Cleaning liquid leads essentially in droplet form. The injection of the cleaning liquid somewhat upstream of the annular blowing nozzle 14 has the advantage that one single nozzle 50 is sufficient and does not require several nozzles distributed over the circumference of the blowing nozzle 14.

Die Abscheidevorrichtung 34 enthält ungefähr in halber Höhe einen Zyklonabscheider 60, der von an sich bekannter Konstruktion sein kann und deshalb nicht im einzelnen beschrieben und zeichnerisch dargestellt werden muß. Er dient dazu, aus dem durch den Ventilator 38 über die Absaugleitung 32 aus dem Kanal 10 abgesaugten Blasluftstrom Reinigungsflüssigkeitströpfchen und Schmutz, welcher von dem gereinigten Werkstück entfernt wurde, abzuscheiden, und zwar mit Hilfe von Zentrifugalkräften, die dadurch erzeugt werden, daß die zu reinigende Blasluft im Zyklonabscheider 60 einen Wirbel bildet, und zwar unterhalb einer ungefähr trichterförmigen Zwischenwand 62 der Abscheidevorrichtung 34. Von dem gereinigten Werkstück stammender Feststoffpartikel-Schmutz 64 sedimentiert dann am Boden der Abscheidevorrichtung 34, während sich z. B. durch Schneidöle verschmutzte Reinigungsflüssigkeit 66 über dem Feststoffpartikel-Schmutz 64 in der Abscheidevorrichtung 34 absetzt. Die durch den Zyklonabscheider 60 gereinigte Blasluft tritt durch eine Öffnung im Zentrum der Zwischenwand 62 in den oberen Teil der Abscheidevorrichtung 34 ein und passiert dort auswechselbar angebrachte Filterkerzen 70, worauf die so weiter gereinigte Blasluft in die Absaugleitung 36 gelangt.The separating device 34 contains a cyclone separator 60 approximately halfway up, which can be of a construction known per se and therefore does not have to be described and illustrated in detail. It serves to separate cleaning liquid droplets and dirt, which has been removed from the cleaned workpiece, from the blown air stream sucked out of the duct 10 via the suction line 32, with the aid of Centrifugal forces which are generated in that the blown air to be cleaned forms a vortex in the cyclone separator 60, namely below an approximately funnel-shaped intermediate wall 62 of the separating device 34. Solid particle dirt 64 originating from the cleaned workpiece then sediments on the bottom of the separating device 34 while e.g. B. contaminated by cutting oils cleaning liquid 66 over the solid particle dirt 64 in the separator 34. The blown air cleaned by the cyclone separator 60 enters the upper part of the separating device 34 through an opening in the center of the intermediate wall 62 and passes through replaceable filter candles 70, whereupon the blown air cleaned in this way reaches the suction line 36.

Etwas oberhalb des sedimentierten Feststoffpartikel-Schmutzes 64 wird die verschmutzte Reinigungsflüssigkeit 66 aus der Abscheidevorrichtung 34 abgezogen, und zwar mittels einer Ablaßleitung 72, welche vorzugsweise ein Ventil 74 enthält. Die Ablaßleitung 72 führt zu einer nur schematisch dargestellten Aufbereitungsvorrichtung 76, in der in an sich bekannter Weise Fette, Öle oder andere ähnliche Verschmutzungen von der Reinigungsflüssigkeit abgetrennt werden und die auch eine Pumpe enthalten soll, mit der die gereinigte Reinigungsflüssigkeit zurück in den Reinigungsflüssigkeitstank 42 gefördert wird.Slightly above the sedimented solid particle dirt 64, the contaminated cleaning liquid 66 is drawn off from the separating device 34, specifically by means of a drain line 72, which preferably contains a valve 74. The drain line 72 leads to a processing device 76, only shown schematically, in which fats, oils or other similar contaminants are separated from the cleaning liquid in a manner known per se and which is also to contain a pump with which the cleaned cleaning liquid is conveyed back into the cleaning liquid tank 42 becomes.

Natürlich kann der Werkstückträger 24 statt mit einem einzigen, in Fig. 1 dargestellten Werkstück 20 auch mit mehreren, zu reinigenden Werkstücken beladen werden.Of course, the workpiece carrier 24 can also be loaded with several workpieces to be cleaned instead of with a single workpiece 20 shown in FIG. 1.

Nachdem der Werkstückträger 24 mit dem zu reinigenden Werkstück in den Kanal 10 eingeführt wurde und seine in Fig. 1 dargestellte Ausgangsstellung eingenommen hat, werden der Ventilator 38 und die Dosierpumpe 44 eingeschaltet und der Werkstückträger 24 langsam gemäß Fig. 1 von links nach rechts bewegt, bis alle Bereiche des zu reinigenden Werkstücks die ringförmige Düsenöffnung 16 passiert haben; hierauf wird der Werkstückträger 24 gemäß Fig. 1 von rechts nach links in seine in Fig. 1 dargestellte Ausgangsstellung zurückgezogen und dann samt dem gereinigten Werkstück aus dem Kanal 10 nach links herausgezogen.After the workpiece carrier 24 with the workpiece to be cleaned has been introduced into the channel 10 and its in FIG. 1 has assumed the starting position shown, the fan 38 and the metering pump 44 are switched on and the workpiece carrier 24 is slowly moved from left to right as shown in FIG. 1 until all areas of the workpiece to be cleaned have passed the annular nozzle opening 16; 1, the workpiece carrier 24 is then pulled back from the right to the left into its starting position shown in FIG. 1 and then pulled out together with the cleaned workpiece from the channel 10 to the left.

Damit trotz des Absaugtrichters 18 Blasluft und Schmutz nicht aus dem Inneren des Kanals 10 austreten können, kann die Schieberstange 22 durch einen doppelt wirkenden und in horizontaler Richtung verschiebbaren Druckmittelzylinder ersetzt werden, welcher über eine den Werkstückträger 24 haltende Kolbenstange verfügt und außerdem mit einem Schott versehen ist, welches nach dem Einschieben des Werkstückträgers 24 in den Kanal 10 dessen gemäß Fig. 1 linkes Ende luftdicht verschließt - wegen des Schotts 28 kann während des Reinigungsvorgangs weder Blasluft, noch Schmutz aus dem rechten offenen Ende des Kanals 10 austreten.So that, despite the suction funnel 18, blown air and dirt cannot escape from the interior of the channel 10, the slide rod 22 can be replaced by a double-acting, horizontally displaceable pressure medium cylinder, which has a piston rod holding the workpiece carrier 24 and is also provided with a bulkhead 1, which after the insertion of the workpiece carrier 24 into the channel 10 closes its left end according to FIG. 1 in an airtight manner - because of the bulkhead 28, neither blown air nor dirt can escape from the right open end of the channel 10 during the cleaning process.

Wie bereits erwähnt, könnten der Kanal und die Werkstück-Transporteinrichtung aber auch so ausgebildet sein, wie dies in der Anmeldung P 44 25 765.1 beschrieben und/oder beansprucht wurde.As already mentioned, the channel and the workpiece transport device could also be designed as described and / or claimed in application P 44 25 765.1.

Claims (19)

Automatisch arbeitende Reinigungsanlage zum Entfernen von Bearbeitungsrückständen von Werkstücken, mit einer Reinigungsstation, welcher ein Kanal für die Aufnahme wenigstens eines zu reinigenden Werkstücks zugeordnet ist, und mit einer Werkstück-Transporteinrichtung zum Einbringen der zu reinigenden Werkstücke in den Kanal sowie zum Entfernen der gereinigten Werkstücke aus dem Kanal sowie mit mindestens einer in das Kanalinnere hinein und damit auf die zu reinigenden Werkstücke gerichteten Blasdüse zur Beaufschlagung des Werkstücks mit einem Blasluftstrahl, welcher ein Luftförderer zum Zuführen von Luft zu der Blasdüse vorgeschaltet ist, wobei der Kanal einen Auslaß zum Abführen der gebrauchten Blasluft aufweist, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Luftförderer (38) derart ausgebildet ist, daß er je Blasdüse (14) mindestens ungefähr 600 m3/h Luft mit einem Druck von höchstens ungefähr 0,5 bar fördert, daß eine Reinigungsflüssigkeitszufuhrvorrichtung (50) zum Eindüsen von ungefähr 3 bis 15 ltr/h je Blasdüse einer Reinigungsflüssigkeit in den Blasluftstrahl stromabwärts des Luftförderers (38) vorgesehen ist, und daß eine Abscheidevorrichtung (34) zum Abscheiden gebrauchter Reinigungsflüssigkeit aus der gebrauchten Blasluft vorgesehen ist.Automatically operating cleaning system for removing machining residues from workpieces, with a cleaning station which is assigned a channel for receiving at least one workpiece to be cleaned, and with a workpiece transport device for introducing the workpieces to be cleaned into the channel and for removing the cleaned workpieces the duct as well as with at least one blowing nozzle directed into the interior of the duct and thus onto the workpieces to be cleaned in order to act upon the workpiece with a blowing air jet which is preceded by an air conveyor for supplying air to the blowing nozzle, the duct having an outlet for discharging the used blowing air characterized in that the air conveyor (38) is designed such that it delivers at least approximately 600 m 3 / h of air at a pressure of at most approximately 0.5 bar per blowing nozzle (14) that a cleaning liquid supply device (50) to the egg nd nozzles of about 3 to 15 l / h per blowing nozzle of a cleaning liquid is provided in the blown air jet downstream of the air conveyor (38), and that a separating device (34) is provided for separating used cleaning liquid from the used blown air. Anlage nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Kanal (10) bis auf eine Einlaß- und Auslaßöffnung (12) für die Werkstücke allseitig geschlossen ist.System according to claim 1, characterized in that the channel (10) is closed on all sides except for an inlet and outlet opening (12) for the workpieces. Anlage nach Anspruch 2, gekennzeichnet durch einen den Kanal (10) sowie den Luftförderer (38), die Blasdüse (14) und die Flüssigkeitsabscheidevorrichtung (60) beinhaltenden geschlossenen Blasluftkreislauf (30).System according to claim 2, characterized by a closed blown air circuit (30) containing the duct (10) and the air conveyor (38), the blower nozzle (14) and the liquid separation device (60). Anlage nach Anspruch 3, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Flüssigkeitsabscheidevorrichtung (60) stromabwärts des Auslasses (18) des Kanals (10) und stromaufwärts des Luftförderers (38) angeordnet ist.Installation according to claim 3, characterized in that the liquid separating device (60) is arranged downstream of the outlet (18) of the channel (10) and upstream of the air conveyor (38). Anlage nach Anspruch 3 oder 4, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Blasluftkreislauf (30) stromabwärts des Auslasses (18) des Kanals (10) und stromaufwärts des Luftförderers (38) eine Schmutzabscheidevorrichtung (70) zum Abscheiden von von den Werkstücken entferntem Schmutz aus der Blasluft enthält.System according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the blown air circuit (30) downstream of the outlet (18) of the duct (10) and upstream of the air conveyor (38) has a dirt separating device (70) for separating dirt removed from the workpieces from the blown air contains. Anlage nach Anspruch 5, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Schmutzabscheidevorrichtung (70) ein mechanisches Filter aufweist.System according to claim 5, characterized in that the dirt separating device (70) has a mechanical filter. Anlage nach Anspruch 5 oder 6, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Schmutzabscheidevorrichtung (34) auch die Flüssigkeitsabscheidevorrichtung (60) bildet.Installation according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the dirt separating device (34) also forms the liquid separating device (60). Anlage nach den Ansprüchen 6 und 7, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Schmutzabscheidevorrichtung (34) einen Behälter mit einem unteren Sammelbereich für gebrauchte Reinigungsflüssigkeit (66) und Schmutz (64) aufweist, daß das Filter (70) in dem Behälter oberhalb des Sammelbereichs angeordnet ist, und daß ein Behältereinlaß für das Blasluft-Reinigungsflüssigkeit-Gemisch zwischen Sammelbereich und Filter und ein Behälterauslaß für Blasluft auf der vom Sammelbereich abgewandten Seite des Filters angeordnet ist.Installation according to claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the dirt separating device (34) has a container with a lower collecting area for used cleaning liquid (66) and dirt (64), that the filter (70) is arranged in the container above the collecting area , and that a container inlet for the blown air-cleaning liquid mixture between the collecting area and filter and a container outlet for Blown air is arranged on the side of the filter facing away from the collecting area. Anlage nach einem oder mehreren der vorstehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Auslaß (18) des Kanals (10) an einem Boden des letzteren angeordnet ist.Installation according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outlet (18) of the channel (10) is arranged on a bottom of the latter. Anlage nach einem oder mehreren der vorstehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Blasdüse (14) eine das zu reinigende Werkstück zumindest im wesentlichen umschließende Luftaustrittsöffnung (16) hat sowie Blasdüse und Werkstück relativ zueinander quer zu dieser Luftaustrittsöffnung bewegbar sind.System according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the blowing nozzle (14) has an air outlet opening (16) which at least substantially surrounds the workpiece to be cleaned, and the blowing nozzle and workpiece are movable relative to one another transversely to this air outlet opening. Anlage nach einem oder mehreren der vorstehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Werkstück-Transporteinrichtung ein sich durch den Kanal hindurcherstreckendes Endlosförderelement aufweist.System according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the workpiece transport device has an endless conveyor element which extends through the channel. Anlage nach den Ansprüchen 10 oder 11, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß sich die Transporteinrichtung (24) durch die Luftaustrittsöffnung (16) der Blasdüse (14) hindurcherstreckt.System according to claims 10 or 11, characterized in that the transport device (24) extends through the air outlet opening (16) of the blowing nozzle (14). Anlage nach Anspruch 11 oder 12, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der das Werkstück tragende Bereich (24) der Transporteinrichtung (22, 24) quer zur Kanallängsrichtung luftdurchlässig ist.System according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the area (24) of the transport device (22, 24) carrying the workpiece is permeable to air transversely to the longitudinal direction of the channel. Anlage nach einem oder mehreren der vorstehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Reinigungsflüssigkeitszufuhrvorrichtung eine Dosierpumpe (44) zum Dosieren der in den Blasluftstrahl einzudüsenden Reinigungsflüssigkeit aufweist.System according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cleaning liquid supply device has a metering pump (44) for metering of the cleaning liquid to be injected into the blown air jet. Anlage nach einem oder mehreren der vorstehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Reinigungsflüssigkeit Wasser ist, welches bis ungefähr 3 Vol.%, vorzugsweise 1 bis 2 % eines waschaktiven Reinigungsmittels enthält.Installation according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cleaning liquid is water which contains up to approximately 3% by volume, preferably 1 to 2%, of a detergent active in washing. Anlage nach einem oder mehreren der vorstehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Reinigungsflüssigkeitszufuhrvorrichtung derart ausgebildet ist, daß der auf das Werkstück auftreffende Blasluftstrahl die Reinigungsflüssigkeit zumindest überwiegend in Tröpfchenform enthält.System according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cleaning liquid supply device is designed in such a way that the blowing air jet impinging on the workpiece contains the cleaning liquid at least predominantly in droplet form. Anlage nach einem oder mehreren der vorstehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Luftförderer (38) derart ausgebildet ist, daß die Luft der Blasdüse mit einem Druck von höchstens ungefähr 0,3 bar, vorzugsweise von ungefähr 0,2 bar zugeführt wird.System according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the air conveyor (38) is designed in such a way that the air is fed to the blowing nozzle at a pressure of at most approximately 0.3 bar, preferably of approximately 0.2 bar. Anlage nach einem oder mehreren der vorstehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß ein Reinigungsflüssigkeitskreislaufsystem mit einer Aufbereitungsvorrichtung (76) für gebrauchte Reinigungsflüssigkeit vorgesehen ist.Installation according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that a cleaning liquid circulation system with a treatment device (76) for used cleaning liquid is provided. Anlage nach einem oder mehreren der vorstehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Luftförderer (38) ein Ventilator ist.System according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the air conveyor (38) is a fan.
EP96117395A 1995-11-25 1996-10-30 Automatic installation for cleaning workpieces Expired - Lifetime EP0775534B1 (en)

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DE19544074A DE19544074C2 (en) 1995-11-25 1995-11-25 Automatically working cleaning system for workpieces
DE19544074 1995-11-25

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US5730163A (en) 1998-03-24
DE19544074A1 (en) 1997-05-28
EP0775534B1 (en) 2001-01-10
DE59606306D1 (en) 2001-02-15
DE19544074C2 (en) 1999-01-14
ES2153068T3 (en) 2001-02-16
EP0775534A3 (en) 1998-06-24

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