JP4950329B2 - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing dust and powder adhering to an object to be cleaned using a solid cleaning medium without using water or a solvent.

  In particular, the present invention relates to a cleaning device for relatively complicated shapes such as an electronic substrate and a powder process device to which toner used in an electrophotographic apparatus (such as a copying machine or a laser printer) adheres.

  In order to realize a resource-recycling society, manufacturers of office equipment such as copiers, facsimiles, and printers disassemble, clean, and reassemble used products or units after collecting them from users and reuse them as parts, or as resin materials We are actively engaged in recycling activities. In order to reuse the parts used in these products or units, it is necessary to remove and clean the toner that is fine particle powder adhering to these units and parts. Reducing cost and environmental burden is a big issue.

  In the case of a wet cleaning method using water or a solvent, there is a problem that the energy consumption and environmental burden of the waste liquid processing including toner and the drying processing after cleaning are large and costly. On the other hand, in the case of dry cleaning methods using air blow, cleaning capability is not sufficient for toners with strong adhesion, and post-processing such as manual wiping is necessary, so cleaning is a bottleneck process in product reuse and recycling. It is one of. In addition, blast cleaning using dry ice consumes a large amount of dry ice, so the running cost is high and the environmental load is large. Although a method using a charged ball has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1), although cleaning can be performed without using water or a solvent, cleaning efficiency is not sufficient according to experiments conducted by the applicant. It was.

  In order to solve this problem, the present applicant has proposed a cleaning method using a dry cleaning medium (see Patent Document 2). According to this proposal, a dry cleaning is realized by using a developer (carrier) used in an electrophotographic process as a cleaning medium and adsorbing the toner powder adhering to the cleaning object to the cleaning medium and taking it out. . However, it has not been said that the performance to be cleaned is still sufficient for a cleaning object that requires higher cleaning quality (cleanness).

  In other words, in the case of a cleaning medium using electrostatic adsorption, if the cleaning medium becomes dirty (toner adheres), the toner adsorbing power decreases, or the toner easily reattaches to the object to be cleaned from the cleaning medium. . In order to improve the cleaning quality, it is necessary to increase the cleanliness of the cleaning medium, but the separation performance is insufficient in the centrifugal separation action (cyclone method) by the swirling airflow. Further, in order to further improve the cleaning quality, it is necessary to replace the cleaning medium on which the toner is adsorbed many times, and the cleaning efficiency is poor and a large amount of cleaning medium is required.

  An apparatus for removing dust adhering to a chargeable object using a spherical contact member made of an elastic material such as a soft urethane foam and a static eliminator is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 3). In Patent Document 3, the used contact member is repeatedly used to remove dust. However, since the contact member is circulated as it is, the cleaning quality due to the adhesion and accumulation of dust on the contact member is improved. There is concern about the decline. In addition, since a large number of parts to be cleaned are contained and stirred at the same time, if the parts to be cleaned are easily damaged, or if the parts to be cleaned are large and heavy, there is a risk of damage or damage due to collision or contact between the parts to be cleaned. is there.

  On the other hand, a barrel polishing apparatus that discharges polishing powder while ventilating a plurality of barrel polishing tanks is disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 4). In patent document 4, it is the structure which forms the net-plate-like dust discharge part in the surface facing the external air suction part, and prevents the dirt of a to-be-polished object by discharging | emitting dust with the suction force by a dust collector. If the suction power of the dust collector is increased to improve the separation performance between the abrasive powder and the dry media, the dry media will block the net-like dust discharge part, so it seems difficult to obtain sufficient separation performance. . In addition, since the object to be polished and the dry media are put in a barrel pot and stirred as they are, there is a concern that the object to be polished may be scratched or damaged as in the above patent.

  Provided are a cleaning method and a cleaning apparatus for efficiently cleaning in a short time without damaging or damaging an object to be cleaned.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a cleaning device that removes deposits by flying a cleaning medium and causing it to collide with an object to be cleaned, the cleaning medium comprising a resin film piece, and the object to be cleaned and the object to be cleaned A cleaning tank for storing the medium, a cleaning medium floating diffusion means for floating the cleaning medium in the cleaning tank, and the cleaning medium floating by the cleaning medium floating diffusion means is accelerated by an air flow toward the object to be cleaned The cleaning medium accelerating means and a mesh for preventing the cleaning medium from being discharged from the cleaning tank, and when the cleaning medium collides with the mesh, the deposits attached to the cleaning medium are washed. The adhering matter is separated from the medium and discharged to the outside of the washing tank through the mesh.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning apparatus according to the first aspect, the cleaning tank further includes an intake port on the bottom surface, and the cleaning medium floating diffusion means generates an upward air flow in the cleaning tank. It has a negative pressure supply means.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the cleaning apparatus according to the first or second aspect further comprises a work holder for holding the object to be cleaned, and a work posture changing means for rotating or swinging the work holder. Features.

  According to the present invention, there is provided means for floating and diffusing the lamellar flexible cleaning medium in the cleaning tank and means for accelerating the cleaning medium floating and diffusing in the cleaning tank toward the object to be cleaned. Thus, a large amount of the cleaning medium can be accelerated to collide with the object to be cleaned, and the deposits on the object to be cleaned can be efficiently removed. In addition, since it is possible to easily supply a large amount of cleaning medium without interfering with the movement and rotational movement of the means for accelerating the cleaning medium, there are few restrictions on the arrangement, movement and rotation of the means for accelerating the cleaning medium, It is possible to arrange, move and rotate with high cleaning effect.

It is front sectional drawing of the washing | cleaning apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is side surface principal part sectional drawing of the washing | cleaning apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a partial sectional view of the bottom showing a modified embodiment of the bottom structure. It is a figure which shows an example of the well-known nozzle suitable for the washing tank of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the rotation mechanism of a cleaning medium acceleration nozzle. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that a washing | cleaning medium collides with a washing | cleaning target object. It is an effect | action figure of other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the state of taking in / out of the washing | cleaning target object. It is a figure for demonstrating a part of effect | action of a flaky cleaning medium.

Prior to the detailed description, some of the terms used in the present invention will be described.
“Dry cleaning” refers to the use of a cleaning medium that is solid at room temperature without using a liquid such as water or a solvent as the cleaning medium.
The gas indicated by the terms “air flow”, “air blow”, and “air nozzle” includes not only general air but also various gases such as inert gas such as nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide gas, and argon gas. Similarly, “compressed air” includes the case where it is replaced with another compressed gas.
The term “solid” as used in the “solid cleaning medium” refers to a material such as metal, resin, porous body, cloth, etc., which is solid, granular, rod-shaped, cylindrical, fibrous, or flaky.
“Flame-like” cleaning media are resin film pieces, cloth pieces, paper pieces, metal pieces with an area of 1 to 1000 mm ² and a thickness of about 1 to 500 μm, rectangular, circular, elliptical, triangular, polygonal, and other irregular shapes. Refers to a flaky solid.

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of a cleaning apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a main part of the cleaning apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.
In both figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a cleaning tank, 2 denotes a type 1 nozzle, 3 denotes a corner block, 4 denotes a cylindrical mesh, 5 denotes a type 1 nozzle rotating motor, 6 denotes a type 2 nozzle, and 7 denotes a type 2 Nozzle rotation motor, 8 is a type 2 nozzle movement motor, 14 is a work holder, 15 is a work horizontal rotation motor, 16 is a work swinging motor, 17 and 18 are timing belts, 19 is a transmission gear, and 20 is a transmission gear. Each swing link mechanism is shown.
The configuration of the present embodiment will be described below by dividing it into main parts.

<Washing tank>
The cleaning tank 1 has a box shape that accommodates an object (work) W to be cleaned and a cleaning medium M (both not shown), and opens and closes the lid 1a formed on the upper portion to carry in and out the object to be cleaned W. . It is desirable that the connecting portion between the bottom surface 1b and the wall surface 1c have no right-angled corners or acute-angled corners so that the cleaning medium M can easily float by the air flow of the cleaning medium floating diffusion nozzle 2 described later. For example, when the corner block 3 as shown in FIG. 2 is provided and the connecting portion between the bottom surface 1b and the wall surface 1c is connected obtusely or smoothly, the airflow blown toward the bottom surface 1b lifts the cleaning medium along the wall surface 1c. It becomes an updraft. Therefore, the cleaning medium that has dropped onto the bottom surface of the cleaning tank can be easily floated and diffused.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the bottom surface showing a modified embodiment of the bottom surface structure.
A plurality of R grooves (cylindrical curved surface) or depressions (concave curved surface) 1d may be formed on the bottom surface 1b of the cleaning tank 1, and the air flow of the cleaning medium floating diffusion nozzle 2 may be blown toward the bottom surface 1b. Ascending airflow is generated along the R-groove or depression 1d provided on the bottom surface 1b, and the effect of floating and diffusing the cleaning medium M falling on the bottom surface 1b of the cleaning tank 1 is enhanced, and a large amount of cleaning medium collides with the object to be cleaned. And can be cleaned efficiently. As the concave curved surface, any part such as a part of a spherical surface or a part of a spheroid surface may be adopted as necessary.

<Cylindrical mesh>
In order to discharge the deposit d removed from the workpiece W from the cleaning tank 1, the exhaust port 1e is connected to a filter, a dust collector or the like (not shown). In order to prevent the cleaning medium M from being discharged from the cleaning tank 1, a cylindrical mesh 4 is provided on the cleaning tank side of the exhaust port.
The mesh 4 is a metal mesh or the like having a large number of openings of a size that allows the dust d removed from the workpiece W to pass through, but the cleaning medium M cannot pass through. Difficult ones are preferred.
When the cleaning medium M is sucked and brought into contact with the cylindrical mesh 4, the adhering matter d such as dust adhering to the cleaning medium is rubbed or knocked off and separated from the cleaning medium M, passes through the mesh 4 and is exhausted. It is discharged out of the washing tank 1 from the mouth.
<Type 1 nozzle>
This nozzle also serves to prevent clogging of the cylindrical mesh and to float and float the cleaning medium. In order to float and diffuse the cleaning medium M into the cleaning tank 1, an air blow nozzle 2 in which a large number of small holes are formed along the axial direction of the hollow cylinder is provided. When the nozzle 2 is rotated as indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 2, the cleaning medium M dropped on the cleaning tank bottom surface 1b by the air flow (shown by the arrow B) ejected from the nozzle 2 is washed into the cleaning tank bottom surface 1b and the wall surface 1c. As shown by the arrow C in FIG. Thereby, it can prevent that a washing | cleaning medium accumulates in the specific place in a washing tank, and it does not float and diffuse.
Further, the nozzle 2 is installed inside the above-described cylindrical mesh 4, and also has a function of dispersing the cleaning medium collected by being sucked by the cylindrical mesh 4 into the cleaning tank 1 again. That is, the cleaning medium M is sucked and adhered to the cylindrical mesh 4 to prevent the mesh 4 from being completely blocked.
The nozzle 2 includes nozzle position / posture changing means, and is rotated or reciprocally oscillated by being driven by the motor 5 during the cleaning operation. The compressed air is supplied to the nozzle 2 through a rotary joint (not shown).
Since the nozzle 2 can change the position (spraying position) due to movement and / or change of the posture (spraying direction) due to rotation, airflow can be applied to all locations in the cleaning tank 1, so The cleaning medium M does not stay in the place.

<Type 2 nozzle>
This nozzle serves both as a cleaning medium acceleration and a cleaning medium floating diffusion. In order to accelerate the cleaning medium M that has floated and diffused into the cleaning tank 1 toward the cleaning object W, a large number of nozzles 6 are arranged in the cleaning tank.
A general air blow nozzle may be used, but it is desirable to use a nozzle utilizing the Coanda effect in order to suppress air consumption due to the use of a large number of nozzles. In the case of an air nozzle using the Coanda effect, an air flow several times to several tens of times larger than the consumption flow rate can be generated, and a large amount of the cleaning medium M can be accelerated with a small air consumption amount. There are various known examples of nozzles using the Coanda effect.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a known nozzle suitable for the cleaning tank of the present invention. Among the nozzles using the Coanda effect, as shown in the figure, in the case of the nozzle 6 having the suction portion 6a and the blowing portion 6b, the cleaning medium M passes through the nozzle 6, so that the cleaning medium M is It can be accelerated efficiently and reliably. Since the cleaning medium M is accelerated efficiently, the necessary cleaning ability can be obtained even with a small amount of supplied air. If the supply air amount is the same, a higher cleaning ability than a general air blow nozzle can be obtained.

Further, in the case of the nozzle type 2, unlike the nozzle type 1, there is nothing to block between the nozzle 6 and the cleaning object W, so that the accelerated air flow and the energy of the cleaning medium M are directly applied to the cleaning object W. And high cleaning ability (removability of deposit d) is obtained.
In addition, each acceleration nozzle 6 is provided with a nozzle position / posture changing means, and by changing at least one of the nozzle position (spraying position) and the posture (spraying direction), cleaning can be performed in a shorter time with no uneven cleaning. Can finish. In FIG. 1, the nozzles 6 arranged on the bottom surface 1b and the side surface 1c of the cleaning tank are rotated or swung by a nozzle rotating motor 7, and the nozzle 6 disposed on the cleaning tank cover 1a is connected to a nozzle moving motor 8 (not shown). ) To reciprocate linearly.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the rotation mechanism of the cleaning medium acceleration nozzle. In the figure, reference numeral 9 is a nozzle rotation shaft, 10 is a rotary joint, 11 is a compressed air supply pipe, 12 is a timing pulley, and 13 is a timing belt. The compressed air is supplied to the nozzle 6 through the rotary joint 10 and the hollow nozzle rotating shaft 9.
The rotation of the motor (not shown) is transmitted to the nozzle rotating shaft 9 through the timing belt 13 and the timing pulley 12, and the nozzle 6 swings or rotates. On the other hand, the supply of the cleaning medium M is performed by floating and diffusing the cleaning medium M into the cleaning tank 1 by the cleaning medium floating diffusion nozzle 2.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to provide piping for supplying the cleaning medium, unlike a general blasting apparatus, and the movement / rotation of the cleaning medium accelerating nozzle 6 can be freely changed. As described above, in FIGS. 1 and 2, the nozzle type 1 also functions to float and diffuse the cleaning medium accumulated on the bottom surface of the cleaning tank.

<Work holding means>
In the present embodiment, five work holders 14 for holding the cleaning object W are provided. The two motors 15 and 16 attached to the cleaning tank bottom 1b rotate in a horizontal plane and swing around the major axis of each work holder.
As shown in FIG. 2, the torque of the workpiece horizontal rotation motor 15 is transmitted to the hollow shaft via the timing belt 17 to rotate the entire workpiece holder 14 in a horizontal plane. Further, the torque of the workpiece swinging motor 16 is transmitted to the coaxial shaft via the timing belt 18 and swings the workpiece as indicated by an arrow D in FIG. 1 via the gear 19 and the swing link mechanism 20. As described above, since the posture change has two or more degrees of freedom, even a cleaning object having a complicated shape can be cleaned evenly.
Since the posture of the work holder 14 can be changed in two axes, the cleaning medium M can be applied to the cleaning object W from various angles. Accordingly, there is little cleaning unevenness and cleaning can be completed in a short time.

<Washing medium>
Various solid shapes and materials can be used as long as they can fly by an air current, but for the reasons described above, it is particularly preferable to use a lamellar cleaning medium.
Next, the operation of the apparatus will be described in the order of steps.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing how the cleaning medium collides with the object to be cleaned.
<Floating diffusion and accelerated collision of cleaning media>
1: When compressed air is supplied to the nozzle 6 and the nozzle 2 directed to the cleaning tank bottom surface 1b, the cleaning medium M that has fallen on the bottom surface 1b of the cleaning tank rises along the cleaning tank bottom surface 1b and the wall surface 1c. It floats and diffuses.
2: When compressed air is supplied to the nozzle 6 directed to the cleaning object W, the cleaning medium M floating in the cleaning tank 1 is accelerated and collides with the cleaning object W at high speed. (See the figure)
3: Since the position and posture (spraying direction) of the nozzle 6 are changed by swinging or reciprocating the nozzle 6, the entire surface of the cleaning object W can be cleaned evenly. Further, by changing the position or posture (spraying position, direction) of the nozzle 6, both the floating diffusion function of the cleaning medium M and the acceleration collision function can be exhibited by one nozzle.
4: Further, by performing horizontal rotation and swinging of the work holding means 14, the positional relationship between the accelerating nozzle 6 and the object to be cleaned W changes, and the cleaning medium M is brought into contact with and collided with the entire surface of the object to be cleaned W evenly. be able to.

<Cleaning by contact with cleaning media>
5: When the cleaning medium M contacts or collides with the cleaning object W at high speed, the adhering substance d adhering to the cleaning object W is knocked down. The dust d that has been knocked down rides on the flow of airflow toward the exhaust port 1 e, passes through the cylindrical mesh 4, and is discharged from the cleaning tank 1.
6: Further, due to contact or collision between the cleaning object W and the cleaning medium M, part of the dust d adhering to the cleaning object W adheres to the cleaning medium M. The cleaning medium M is sucked to the cylindrical mesh 4 along the flow of airflow toward the exhaust port 1e.

<Removal of dust adhering to the cleaning medium>
7: The cleaning medium M sucked on the cylindrical mesh 4 contacts and collides with the mesh portion. The deposit d adhering to the cleaning medium M is separated from the cleaning medium M and discharged from the cleaning tank 1.
In addition, you may make it include the static elimination means (for example, ionizer which produces | generates ionized air) as a component in the vicinity of the mesh 4. FIG. The electrostatic attractive force between the cleaning medium M and the dust d is weakened, and the dust d is more easily separated.
8: The cleaning medium M attached to the mesh 4 by the suction action from the exhaust port 1 e is diffused again into the cleaning tank 1 by the rotation of the cleaning medium floating diffusion nozzle 2.
By repeating the operations 1 to 8 described above, the adhering substance d can be effectively removed from the cleaning object W while circulating the cleaning medium M in the cleaning tank 1.

Steps 1 and 2 may be performed alternately or at the same time. When alternately performed, since the compressed air is not used simultaneously for the floating diffusion of the cleaning medium M and the acceleration of the cleaning medium M, sufficient floating diffusion effect of the cleaning medium M and the cleaning are performed even when the compressed air supply capability is limited. The acceleration effect of the medium M is obtained.
In addition, when the compressed air supply capability is sufficient, by performing the floating diffusion of the cleaning medium M and the acceleration of the cleaning medium M at the same time, the cleaning medium M can be easily supplied in a short time by supplying a large amount of cleaning medium. Unevenness can also be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the workpiece posture changes in two axes (two degrees of freedom) of horizontal rotation and swinging, and further, the oscillating and reciprocating motion of the acceleration nozzle 6 is applied. The cleaning medium M can be collided and contacted from the direction. Therefore, even if the component has a complicated shape, cleaning unevenness is small and cleaning can be performed in a short time. In addition to this, one degree of freedom may be added to slowly move the work up and down. Such movement is also treated as a change in the work posture here.
Further, even dust that has a relatively strong adhesive force and is difficult to remove by air blow alone can be separated from the object to be cleaned by contacting and colliding with the cleaning medium M flying at high speed. In particular, when the flaky cleaning medium M is used, high cleaning quality and cleaning efficiency can be obtained for the reasons described later, and an excellent effect that the cleaning target W is not damaged is exhibited.
Further, the dust d adhering to the cleaning medium M is effectively removed by the cylindrical mesh 4, and the cleanliness of the cleaning medium M is always maintained. Therefore, the dust d adhering to the cleaning medium M is the object to be cleaned. High cleaning quality can be obtained without re-adhering to W.

As described above, when the cleaning apparatus and the cleaning medium shown in the present embodiment are used, a large amount of the cleaning medium is accelerated to collide with the object to be cleaned, and it is difficult to remove the object only with a relatively complicated object or air blow. Even dust with strong adhesion can be cleaned with high quality and efficiency.
Further, as compared with a method in which a blast material is supplied using a tube or the like as in a general blast gun, a large amount of cleaning medium can be easily supplied without hindering movement and rotational movement of the nozzle. That is, there are few restrictions on the arrangement, movement, and rotation of the nozzles, and the arrangement, movement, and rotation with a high cleaning effect are possible.
In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the nozzles rotate or move has been described. However, it is also possible to switch and use more nozzles to have the same effect as the rotation or movement of the nozzles.

FIG. 7 is an operation diagram of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the state of taking in and out the object to be cleaned.
In both figures, reference numeral 101 is a cleaning tank, 102 is a cleaning medium diffusion nozzle, 103 and 104 are meshes, 105 is a nozzle rotating shaft, 106 is a cleaning medium acceleration nozzle, and 114 is a work holder.
In this embodiment, a so-called fluidized bed principle is used as a floating stirring means for the cleaning medium. The structure of this embodiment will be described below.

<Washing tank>
The cleaning tank 101 has a cylindrical shape that accommodates the object W to be cleaned and the cleaning medium M, and the cleaning object W is taken in and out by a structure divided into an upper cleaning tank 101a and a lower cleaning tank 101b (see FIG. 8). .
<Mesh>
In order to keep the cleaning medium M in the cleaning tank 101, meshes 103 and 104 through which the cleaning medium M cannot pass are arranged in the upper cleaning tank 101a and the lower cleaning tank 101b of the cleaning tank 101.

<Cleaning medium floating diffusion means>
The upper surface of the upper cleaning tank 101a is an exhaust port 101c and is connected to negative pressure supply means such as a dust collector (not shown). The removed deposit d passes through the mesh 103 on the upper surface of the cleaning tank and is discharged from the cleaning tank 101.
On the other hand, the mesh 104 on the lower surface of the cleaning tank is connected to the air inlet 101d. When the pressure in the cleaning tank 101 becomes negative, an airflow flows from the outside of the cleaning tank, and an upward airflow is generated in the cleaning tank. The cleaning medium M that has settled on the lower surface of the cleaning tank floats and circulates in an updraft, and a state in which a large number of cleaning media float and fluctuate in the cleaning tank can be easily created, thereby creating a so-called fluidized bed state. That is, in this embodiment, the cleaning medium floating diffusion means is not constituted by a specific nozzle, but is constituted by a negative pressure supply means connected to the outside and an intake port 101d with the meshes 103 and 104 interposed therebetween. Has been. Therefore, the airflow corresponding to the ejection of the nozzle 6 in the previous embodiment is an airflow flowing from the intake port 101d.
When the cleaning medium M reaches the upper surface mesh 103 by the rising airflow, the dust d adhering to the cleaning medium M is wiped off and passes through the mesh 103 due to the collision with the mesh 103. It is blocked and cannot rise any further, and sticks to the mesh 103 and does not move. In this state, the cleaning medium M hinders the air flow, and the cleaning medium M adhered to the mesh 103 is blown off by the ejection of air from the cleaning medium diffusion nozzle 102. The cleaning medium diffusion nozzle 102 has a substantially linear outlet, and rotates by the nozzle rotating shaft 105 so that the surface of the mesh 103 is always blown uniformly to prevent the cleaning medium M from being deposited.

<Cleaning medium acceleration nozzle>
In order to accelerate the cleaning medium M that has floated and diffused into the cleaning tank toward the cleaning object W, a large number of cleaning medium acceleration nozzles 106 are arranged in the cleaning tank.
<Work holding means>
The work holder 114 for holding the cleaning object W is suspended from the upper part of the cleaning tank and can be rotated in a horizontal plane.
The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

If the mass and size of the cleaning medium M and the rising air flow generated by the dust collector are appropriately set, it is possible to create a state in which the cleaning medium M floats and drifts in the cleaning tank 101.
The operation principle of cleaning is the same as in the previous embodiment. The cleaning medium acceleration nozzle 106 may be swung or reciprocated similarly to the previous embodiment, or may be configured to clean the entire surface of the cleaning object W by switching a number of nozzles.
In addition, when the cleaning medium M is sucked and stuck to the mesh 103 on the upper surface of the cleaning tank due to the high air velocity, a rotatable cleaning medium diffusion nozzle 102 is installed above the upper mesh 103, and the mesh 103 You may comprise so that an air blow may be sprayed toward.
After cleaning, when the air blow and the suction of the dust collector are stopped, the cleaning medium falls downward due to gravity. Thereafter, the cleaning tank is separated into upper and lower portions as shown in FIG.

Here, the lamellar cleaning medium will be described in detail.
Various cleaning media can be used as the cleaning medium M in the cleaning devices disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, resin beads, various blast projection materials, sponge balls and the like. Actually, the material and weight of the cleaning medium M depend on the characteristics (shape, material, etc.) of the cleaning object W and the characteristics (particle size and strength of adhesion) of the dust d adhering to the cleaning object W. The size, shape, and shape are selected to determine the required air velocity in the cleaning tank.
However, the flaky cleaning medium M is particularly suitable for creating a state in which the cleaning medium M is floated and diffused in the cleaning tank as shown in the above embodiment. For example, if a resin film piece of several mm square is used, the air resistance against gravity is large, so that the falling speed is low, and a state where a large amount of the cleaning medium M floats and diffuses in the cleaning tank can be easily created.

In addition, the present inventors tried various cleaning media M on a cleaning target part (component of electrophotographic apparatus: resin and metal) W to which toner powder (average particle size 5 to 10 μm) d is attached. As a result, in the cleaning apparatus disclosed in the present invention, when a flaky medium was used as the cleaning medium M, the cleaning performance was remarkably higher than other cleaning media. The reason is as follows.
1: Interaction with airflow (→ High-speed flight, length of flight time, complicated movement)
a) Since the flaky cleaning medium has a larger projected area than the mass, it is easily accelerated by the air current and flies at a high speed.
b) The lamellar cleaning medium has a low air resistance in the direction in which the projected area is small, and high speed movement is maintained for a long distance when flying in that direction.
* The higher the speed of the cleaning medium, the higher the energy of the cleaning medium, and the greater the force acting when it comes into contact with the object to be cleaned, the higher the cleaning quality.
* The higher the cleaning medium speed, the higher the cleaning efficiency because the cleaning medium circulates repeatedly in the cleaning tank and the frequency of contact with the object to be cleaned increases.
c) Since the air resistance of the flaky cleaning medium varies greatly depending on the posture, it moves not only along the airflow but also moves in a complicated manner such as suddenly changing its direction. Also suitable.
d) Since the lamellar cleaning medium has a large projected area compared to the mass, the dwell time is long even after colliding with the object to be cleaned, and it can repeat the collision with the object to be cleaned again on the rising airflow.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a part of the operation of the flaky cleaning medium.
2: Behavior during contact / collision (edge action, sliding contact, deflection action)
e) When the collision occurs from the end of the flaky cleaning medium M, the contact force concentrates on the edge, so that a force necessary for removing dust and the like can be obtained even though the mass is small.
Further, in the case of the lamellar cleaning medium M, since the bending force is released when the contact force increases, the object to be cleaned W is more powerful than necessary, unlike general blast shot materials and barrel polishing media materials. Will not hurt.
f) When the flake is bent at the time of contact / collision, the viscous resistance received from the air acts greatly, resulting in an inelastic collision. In other words, rebound is unlikely to occur at the time of a collision, and in the case of an oblique collision, a sliding contact is made, so that a large area can be contacted by a single collision, and cleaning efficiency is high.
In contrast, general shot materials and elastic sponges tend to rebound at the time of collision, and the contact efficiency in a single collision is lower than that of a lamellar cleaning medium.
g) It is easy to apply a force parallel to the contact surface to the adhered particles d by a scraping action or a rubbing action by sliding contact at the time of contact / collision. In general, it is known that the adhered particles can be separated with a smaller force when a force is applied to the adhering particles d in a direction parallel to the adhering surface than when a force is applied in a direction perpendicular to the adhering surface.
h) When the flaky cleaning medium is attracted to and collides with the separating means, the dust d adhering to the cleaning medium M is easily separated by being greatly deformed and vibrated. Therefore, the cleanliness of the cleaning medium M is maintained, and the reattachment to the non-cleaning target can be suppressed, so that the cleaning quality is high.

The above is considered to be the reason why the lamellar cleaning medium M is high in cleaning quality and cleaning efficiency even for a relatively complex shaped part W. As a further advantage of the lamellar cleaning medium M,
i) Since the cleaning medium M is made into a thin piece, the amount of the material used as the cleaning medium M is very small, and the environmental load and running cost of the cleaning process can be reduced.
These are epoch-making features not found in conventional blast shot materials and barrel polishing media materials. The cleaning apparatus disclosed in the present invention is particularly suitable for suspending and diffusing a lamellar cleaning medium in a cleaning tank and accelerating it toward an object to be cleaned.

In the above embodiment, dry toner (average particle size of about 5 to 10 μm) used in electrophotographic apparatuses such as copying machines and laser printers is assumed as the removal target dust d. The present invention is not limited, and the present invention can also be applied to general powder and dust deposit cleaning devices, coating film removal devices, and the like. In this case, it goes without saying that the type of the cleaning medium and the flow velocity of the airflow are appropriately selected according to the properties of the object to be cleaned and the deposits.
For example, when the object to be cleaned is easily damaged, if a thin material such as a resin film and a thin material is used as the cleaning medium, the thin piece flexes flexibly so that the object to be cleaned is not damaged. In addition, when a strong removal force such as removal of a coating film is necessary, a strong removal action can be obtained by using a metal flake.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,101 Cleaning tank 2,102 Type 1 nozzle 4 Cylindrical mesh 6, 106 Type 2 nozzle 14, 114 Work holder M Cleaning medium W Object to be cleaned d Deposits such as dust

JP-A-6-182305 JP 2003-122123 A Japanese Patent No. 3288462 Japanese Patent No. 2643103

Claims (3)

A cleaning device that removes deposits by flying a cleaning medium and causing it to collide with an object to be cleaned, wherein the cleaning medium is made of a resin film piece, and a cleaning tank that stores the object to be cleaned and the cleaning medium; Cleaning medium floating diffusion means for floating the cleaning medium in the cleaning tank, cleaning medium acceleration means for accelerating the cleaning medium floated by the cleaning medium floating diffusion means toward the object to be cleaned by an air flow, and the cleaning medium And a mesh that prevents the cleaning medium from being discharged from the cleaning tank, and when the cleaning medium collides with the mesh, the deposit attached to the cleaning medium is separated from the cleaning medium, and the deposit is A cleaning device, wherein the cleaning device is discharged to the outside of the cleaning tank through the mesh. The cleaning device according to claim 1,
A cleaning apparatus comprising an intake port on a bottom surface of the cleaning tank, wherein the cleaning medium floating diffusion means has a negative pressure supply means for generating an upward air flow in the cleaning tank. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A cleaning apparatus, comprising: a work holder for holding the object to be cleaned; and a work posture changing means for rotating or swinging the work holder.

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