SE545117C2

SE545117C2 - A cleaning device comprising an oscillating conveyor and a method for cleaning a workpiece

Info

Publication number: SE545117C2
Application number: SE2150674A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Sven Gerhardts
Original assignee: Viverk Ab
Priority date: 2021-05-27
Filing date: 2021-05-27
Publication date: 2023-04-04
Also published as: SE2150674A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a cleaning device (1) for cleaning a workpiece (2). The cleaning device (1) comprises a conveyer (6) transporting the workpiece (2) from a first position (P1) to second position (P2) of the cleaning device (1), the conveyor (6) having a transport surface (7) which is perforated, a cleaning zone (3) arranged between the first position (P1) and the second position (P2) of the cleaning device (1), and liquid means arranged in the cleaning zone (3) and adapted to apply liquid onto the workpiece (2). The conveyor (6) is an oscillating conveyor. The invention also relates to a method for cleaning a workpiece (2) in a cleaning device (1).

Description

CLEANING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CLEANING A WORKPIECE Technical field The invention relates to a Cleaning device for cleaning a workpiece and a method for cleaning a workpiece in a cleaning device.

Background art The present invention relates to continuous cleaning devices or tunnel washers. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved method of washing a workpiece, such as for example a ball bearing or other suitable components, in a continuous module cleaning device in which the workpiece is moved sequentially from one module or zone to the next module orzone.

These zones can include dual use zones, because the zones are used for both washing and rinsing. Alternatively, all of the modules could be part of multi-use zones (pre-wash, main wash, and rinse).

The workpiece which is to be treated is normally transported throughout the cleaning device by means of a conveyer belt which extends in a looping manner within the cleaning device.

A problem with cleaning devices available on the market today is that the conveyor belt arranged therein will bring liquid used to treat or wash the workpiece along with the workpiece on the conveyor belt.

Another problem is that the workpiece cannot be rinsed from below the since the conveyor belt loops around two drive shafts and thus has an upper belt portion and a lower belt portion, which lower belt portion physically prevents any nozzles or the like from being placed directly below the upper belt portion of the conveyor belt to treat or wash the workpiece from below.

Summary of the invention lt is an object of the present invention to provide an improvement of cleaning devices according to prior art.

According to a first aspect, these and other objects, and/or advantages that will be apparent from the following description of embodiments, are achieved, in full or at least in part, by a cleaning device for cleaning a workpiece. The cleaning device comprises a conveyer transporting the workpiece from a first position to second position of the cleaning device, This is advantageous in that no liquid used to treat or wash the workpiece will be transported along with the workpiece by the transport surface of the cleaning device. This is achieved due to the oscillating movement of the conveyor and the perforation of the transporting surface.

Another advantage is that the conveyor will comprise of one single transport surface instead of a looping conveyor belt. This provides for the possibility of placing liquid means and/or drying means directly below the transport surface of the conveyor without the problem of intermediate components.

The cleaning device may be a tunnel washer.

The liquid means may comprise at least one liquid nozzle arranged above the transport surface of the conveyor in the cleaning zone which is adapted to apply liquid onto the workpiece from above.

The liquid means may comprise at least one liquid nozzle arranged below the transport surface of the conveyor in the cleaning zone which is adapted to apply liquid onto the workpiece from below.

The cleaning device may further comprise a drying zone arranged between the first position and the second position of the cleaning device, downstream of the cleaning zone, wherein the drying zone comprises drying means adapted to dry the workpiece.

The drying means may comprise at least one drying nozzle arranged above the transport surface of the conveyor in the drying zone which is adapted to apply heat onto the workpiece from above.

The cleaning device may further comprise at least one guide arranged on the transport surface such that the workpiece can be positioned according to a predetermined pattern along the transport surface.

This way, the movement of the workpiece can be controlled along the transport surface such that all sides of the same will be subjected to treatment in the cleaning device.

The transport surface may comprise a first portion and a second portion.

The first portion may be positioned directly beside the second portion, in a horizontal alignment, to create a small gap in the transport surface between the first portion and the second portion.

This is advantageous in that any liquid remaining on the transport surface after the cleaning zone will run off via the gap.

The second portion may be positioned above the first portion, in a vertical alignment therewith.

The cleaning device may further comprise a lifting means adapted to transport the workpiece vertically from the first portion to the second portion of the transport surface.

The cleaning zone may be arranged at the first portion of the transport surface and the drying zone is arranged at the second portion of the transport surface.

The transport surface may be perforated according to a predetermined pattern in order to control a direction of the liquid applied to the workpiece from below.

The cleaning device may further comprise a treatment zone, a cooling zone and/or a safety zone.

According to a second aspect, the objects are achieved in full, or at least in part, by a method for cleaning a workpiece in a cleaning device. The method comprises transporting the workpiece from a first position to a second position of the cleaning device by means of an oscillating conveyor, and applying liquid onto the workpiece in a cleaning zone arranged between the first position and the second position of the cleaning device. lt should be noted that the different embodiments of the device that is described above are exemplifying only. The embodiments may be combined with each other in any suitable way depending on the requirements established for the cleaning device. lt should be further noted that the different steps of the method described above may be conducted in any suitable order.

Effects and features of the second aspect of the present invention are largely analogous to those described above in connection with the first aspect the inventive concept. Embodiments mentioned in relation to the first aspect of the present invention are largely compatible with the further aspects of the invenﬁon.

Other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following detailed disclosure, from the attached claims, as well as from the drawings. lt is noted that the invention relates to all possible combinations of features.

Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly defined otherwise herein. All references to “a/an/the [element, device, component, means, step, etc.]” are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of said element, device, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise.

As used herein, the term “comprising” and variations of that term are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.

Brief description of the drawinqs The above objects, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1A illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a cleaning device according to a first aspect of the invention.

Fig. 1B illustrates a top view of the cleaning device in Fig. 1A.

Fig. 1C illustrates a cross-section of the cleaning device in Fig. 1A and Fig. 1B.

Fig. 2A illustrates a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of the cleaning device according to the first aspect of the invenﬁon.

Fig. 2B illustrates a top view of the cleaning device in Fig. 2A.

Fig. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a transport surface of the cleaning device.

Fig. 4 illustrates a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a oscillating conveyor of the cleaning device.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention Fig. 1A to 1C illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a cleaning device 1 for cleaning a workpiece 2. The cleaning device 1 is in this specific embodiment a tunnel washer which comprises a cleaning zone 3 and a drying zone 4 which are separated by a safety zone 5. An oscillating conveyer 6 is provided through the different zones and transports the workpiece 2 from a first position P1 to a second position P2 of the cleaning device 1. The conveyor 6 has a transport surface 7 which is perforated.

The cleaning zone 3 is arranged in the vicinity of the first position P1. ln the cleaning zone 3, the workpiece 2 is subjected to liquid and some sort of suitable washing detergent by means of liquid means comprising a plurality of liquid nozzles 8 arranged above the transport surface 7 within the cleaning zone 3. Further liquid nozzles 8 can be provided below the transport surface 7 of the conveyor 6 within the cleaning zone 3 to apply liquid and washing detergent onto the workpiece also from below.

Downstream of the cleaning zone 3 a safety zone 5 is arranged in order to separate the cleaning zone 3 from the drying zone The drying zone 4 is arranged downstream of the safety zone 5 in the vicinity of the second position P2. ln the drying zone 4, the workpiece 2 is subjected to heat, preferably heated air, by means of drying means comprising a plurality of drying nozzles 9 arranged above the transport surface 7 within the drying zone 4. Further drying nozzles 9 can be provided below the transport surface 7 of the conveyor 6 within the drying zone 4 to apply heat onto the workpiece also from below. As an alternative, the drying means can comprise suction means used for dry suction of the workpiece The transport surface 7 is according to this embodiment divided into a first portion 10 and a second portion 11. Here, the first portion 10 is positioned directly beside the second portion 11, in a horizontal alignment, to create a small gap 12 in the transport surface 7 between the first portion 10 and the second portion 11. ln other preferred embodiments, the transport surface 7 is continuous with no gap 12 present. The transport surface 7 is also perforated according to a predetermined pattern in order to be able to control a direction of the liquid, washer detergent and air applied to the workpiece 2 from the liquid nozzles 8 and the drying nozzles 9. A further advantage of the perforations is that they further ensures that no liquid used to treat or wash the workpiece 2 will be transported along with the workpiece 2 by the transport surface 7 of the cleaning device 1.The perforation pattern in the transport surface 7 can be varied throughout the same in order to achieve an optimal treatment of the workpiece. There can also be some portions of the transport surface 7 without perforations.

Fig. 2A to 2B illustrate another exemplary embodiment of a cleaning device 1 for cleaning a workpiece 2. ln this specific embodiment, the second portion 11 is positioned above the first portion 10, in a vertical alignment therewith. Also, the cleaning device 1 has a lifting means (not shown) adapted to transport the workpiece 2 vertically from the first portion 10 to the second portion 11 of the transport surface 7. The cleaning zone 3 is arranged at the first portion 10 of the transport surface 7 below the drying zone 4 which is arranged at the second portion 11 of the transport surface Fig. 3 i||ustrates another exemplary embodiment of the transport surface 7. ln this embodiment, a p|ura|ity of guides or guide rails 13 are arranged on or at the transport surface 7 such that the workpiece 2 can be positioned according to a predetermined pattern along the transport surface 7. This way, the movement of the workpiece 2 can be controlled along the transport surface 7 such that all sides of the workpiece 2 is subjected to treatment in the cleaning device Several different types of perforation patterns in the transport surface 7 is naturally possible. The transport surface 7 can have different types of perforation patterns throughout the cleaning device 1. The perforation pattern can be constituted by inclined perforations or perforations in any other suitable shape or form. Other shape examples of the perforations can be circular, oval or square. lt is naturally also possible to have the entire transport surface 7 or portions thereof with no perforations at all.

The oscillating conveyor 6 is illustrated in Fig. 4 according to one exemplary embodiment and will now be described in greater detail.

The oscillating conveyor 6 preferably has a support, which is installed for example next to the cleaning device 1, which subsequently outputs processed workpieces 2 carried away by means of the oscillating conveyor 6. On top the oscillating conveyor 6 has a transport surface 7, which is arranged to carry the workpieces 2, usually with the aid of a chute, and is mounted on the support to be displaced to and fro between a first extreme position and a second extreme position. Inside of the oscillating conveyor 6 there is a driving means, which is arranged on the support to displace the transport surface 7 to and fro relatively slowly to a first extreme position and relatively quickly to a second extreme position in order thereby to achieve movement of workpieces 2 in a certain direction, which corresponds to the displacement direction of the transport surface 7 from the second extreme position to the first extreme position.

The driving means preferably comprises a crank mechanism, which includes a crank, which is rotatable about an axis of rotation and bears a crank pin at some distance from and in parallel with the axis of rotation. The axis of rotation is defined preferably by the axis of a large gear wheel, for which the outer contour is i||ustrated by a dotted circle and which is engaged with a small sprocket that is i||ustrated by a solid circle surrounded by an outer dotted one. The outer circle is intended to illustrate the overall size of a compact AC motor, which is arranged inside of the oscillating conveyor 6 and, just like the axis of rotation, is lying down in relation to the transport surface 7. According to the invention, the driving means has a crank pin, which, as can be seen, is arranged directly on the gear wheel. Also included in the drive means is a connecting rod, which has a first end, that is connected to the crank pin and is pivoting about it, and a second end, that is associated with a first pivot pin on a rocker and is pivoting about it about a pivot axis in parallel with the axis of rotation. The rocker is pivotally mounted on a pendulum pin in parallel with the axis of rotation and bears the first pivot pin on a first rocker arm, and the addition thereto bears a second pivot pin on a second rocker arm. The second pivot pin is pivotally connected with the transport surface 7 for the desired displacement thereof to and fro in a manner described in detail hereinafter. ln accordance with the invention the crank pin, the first pivot pin and the pendulum pin together define a triangle, in which, when the crank is rotating, the length of the side between crank pin and pendulum pin, and thus the angles of the triangle, varies. ln this respect, the pendulum pin in relation to the axis of rotation is placed such that, when the crank is rotating, the angle at the corner of the pendulum pin varies within an either obtuse or acute angular range, resulting in the desired displacement of the transport surface 7 with different speeds to and fro. Furthermore, in accordance to the invention the position of the pendulum pin in relation to the axis of rotation can be set to different positions described below, whereby the displacement speed of the transport surface 7 can be varied because the second oscillation pin thus can be made to occupy many different positions.

During use of the cleaning device 1, the workpiece 2 is placed at the first position P1 of the cleaning device, either manually or automatically. The workpiece 2 is thereafter moved forward, towards the second position P2, by means of the osci||ating conveyor 6 in small steps, through the different zones present in the cleaning device 1 in question. As, stated above, the cleaning device 1 according to the present invention can comprise several different types of zones, such as one or several cleaning zones 3, safety zones 5, drying zones 4, but also further treatment zones and/or cooling zones. When the workpiece 2 has arrived at the second position P2 it can be removed from the cleaning device 1, either manually or automatically.

The skilled person realizes that a number of modifications of the embodiments described herein are possible without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A cleaning device (1) for cleaning a workpiece (2), comprising: a conveyer (6) transporting the workpiece (2) from a first position (P1) to second position (P2) of the cleaning device (1 ), the conveyor (6) having a transport surface (7) which is perforated according to a predetermined pattern in order to control a direction of the liquid applied to the workpiece (2) from below, a cleaning zone (3) arranged between the first position (P1) and the second position (P2) of the cleaning device (1 ), and liquid means arranged in the cleaning zone (3) and adapted to apply liquid onto the workpiece (2), wherein the conveyor (6) is an oscillating conveyor which is arranged to displace the transport surface (7) to and fro relatively slowly to a first extreme position and relatively quickly to a second extreme position in order thereby to achieve movement of the workpiece (2) in a certain direction.

2. The cleaning device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device (1) is a tunnel washer.

3. The cleaning device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the liquid means comprises at least one liquid nozzle (8) arranged above the transport surface (7) of the conveyor (6) in the cleaning zone (3) and adapted to apply liquid onto the workpiece (2) from above.

4. The cleaning device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the liquid means comprises at least one liquid nozzle (8) arranged below the transport surface (7) of the conveyor (6) in the cleaning zone (3) and adapted to apply liquid onto the workpiece (2) from below.

5. The cleaning device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a drying zone (4) arranged between the first position (P1) and the second position (P2) of the cleaning device (1),downstream of the Cleaning zone (3), wherein the drying zone (4) comprises drying means adapted to dry the workpiece (2).

6. The cleaning device (1) according to claim 5, wherein the drying means (4) comprises at least one drying nozzle (8) arranged above the transport surface (7) of the conveyor (6) in the drying zone (4) and adapted to apply heat onto the workpiece (2) from above.

7. The cleaning device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising at least one guide (13) arranged on the transport surface (7) such that the workpiece (2) can be positioned according to a predetermined pattern along the transport surface (7).

8. The cleaning device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the transport surface (7) comprises a first portion (10) and a second portion (11).

9. The cleaning device (1) according to 8, wherein the first portion (10) is positioned directly beside the second portion (11), in a horizontal alignment, to create a small gap (12) in the transport surface (7) between the first portion (10) and the second portion (11).

10. The cleaning device (1) according to 8, wherein the second portion (11) is positioned above the first portion (10), in a vertical alignment therewith.

11. The cleaning device (1) according to 10, further comprising a lifting means adapted to transport the workpiece (2) vertically from the first portion (10) to the second portion (1 1) of the transport surface (7).

12. The cleaning device (1) according to any one of the claims 8 to 11, wherein the cleaning zone (3) is arranged at the first portion (10) of the transport surface (7) and the drying zone (4) is arranged at the second portion (11) of the transport surface (7).

13. The Cleaning device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a treatment zone, a cooling zone and/or a safety zone (5).

14. A method for cleaning a workpiece (2) in a cleaning device (1), comprising transporting the workpiece (2) from a first position (P1) to a second position (P2) of the cleaning device (1) by means of an osci||ating conveyor (6), wherein the conveyor (6) has a transport surface (7) which is perforated according to a predetermined pattern in order to control a direction of the liquid applied to the workpiece (2) from below, and wherein the conveyor (6) is arranged to displace the transport surface (7) to and fro relatively slowly to a first extreme position and relatively quickly to a second extreme position in order thereby to achieve movement of the workpiece (2) in a certain direction, and applying liquid onto the workpiece (2) in a cleaning zone (3) arranged between the first position (P1) and the second position (P2) of the cleaning device (1).