JP6960084B2 - Cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cleaning device.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-4834 proposes an invention relating to an apparatus for manufacturing electrode terminals. Here, it is proposed that an air injection device as a foreign matter removing device injects air in a direction inclined with respect to the depth direction of the annular groove provided in the electrode terminal.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-134333 exemplifies an exploded perspective view of the electrode terminals of a square battery.

JP-A-2017-4834 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-134333

By the way, it has not been established how to inject air as a foreign matter removing means to an object to be cleaned having a protruding portion to be cleaned. Here, we propose a cleaning device for efficiently removing foreign matter from a cleaning object having a protruding cleaning target portion.

The cleaning device proposed here includes a jig, a nozzle, a reflector, and a dust collector.
The jig is a member that holds a cleaning object having a protruding cleaning target portion.
The nozzle is arranged so that a part of the discharged gas hits the cleaning target portion with respect to the cleaning target held by the jig, and the target position of the discharged gas deviates from the center of the cleaning target portion. There is.
The reflector faces the nozzle with the object to be cleaned held by the jig sandwiched between them.
The dust collector is provided with a suction port on the same side as the side where the nozzle is arranged with respect to the object to be cleaned held by the jig, and toward the side opposite to the side where the nozzle is deviated from the center of the part to be cleaned. There is.
According to such a cleaning device, the air discharged from the nozzle can also remove dust and foreign matter adhering to the back side of the protruding cleaning target portion of the cleaning target object with respect to the nozzle.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the cleaning device 10. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the cleaning device 10. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the cleaning device 10. FIG. 4 is a front view of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12. FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing how the airflow wraps around the back side of the protrusion 40b along the protrusion 40b due to the Coanda effect.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the cleaning device proposed here will be described. The embodiments described herein are, of course, not intended to specifically limit the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein, unless otherwise specified. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Each drawing is schematically drawn and does not necessarily reflect the real thing. In addition, each drawing shows only one example, and does not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In addition, members and parts that perform the same action are appropriately designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted. The directions of up, down, left, right, front, and back are represented by arrows U, D, L, R, F, and Rr in the figure, respectively.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the cleaning device 10. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the cleaning device 10. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the cleaning device 10.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, a battery lid assembly is schematically shown as a cleaning object 40 to be cleaned. In the battery lid assembly 40, components such as electrode terminals are sequentially attached to the lid 40a which is mounted on the jig 11 attached to the conveying line 60 and conveyed.

Although not shown here, jigs 11 for holding the battery lid assembly as the cleaning object 40 are intermittently arranged on the transport line 60 at predetermined intervals. Assembling robots are arranged at predetermined intervals along the transport line 60. An assembly area for each part is set in the area where each robot is placed. Jigs 11 are sequentially sent to the assembly area of each component along the transport line 60. First, the lid 40a is attached to the jig 11. Then, in the assembling area of each component, predetermined components are sequentially attached to the lid 40a.

For example, each component such as a gasket on the positive electrode side, an internal terminal, an insulator, and an external terminal is attached to the lid 40a in a predetermined order, and then each component such as a gasket on the negative electrode side, an internal terminal, an insulator, and an external terminal. Are installed in order. In the process of attaching each component, caulking, welding, etc. can be performed. At that time, it is desirable that dust and foreign matter are removed by air blow cleaning or the like in each step and sent to the next step. In FIGS. 1 to 3, a state in which the internal terminal is assembled to the lid 40a and the protruding portion 40b of the internal terminal protrudes upward of the lid 40a is schematically shown.

In the battery lid assembly 40 exemplified here, the lid 40a is formed with an assembly hole for assembling the electrode terminals. The internal terminal has a shaft-shaped protrusion 40b that protrudes upward. The protrusion 40b of the internal terminal is inserted into the assembly hole of the lid 40a from below (inner side surface side). As a result, the protruding portion 40b of the internal terminal is assembled so as to protrude above the lid 40a. An external terminal is assembled to the protruding portion 40b of the internal terminal. The protrusion 40b of the internal terminal is crimped after the external terminal is assembled and welded to the external terminal.

By the way, according to the study of the present inventor, when air is applied to the protruding portion 40b of the battery lid assembly 40 from one direction to remove dust and foreign matter, the dust and foreign matter adhering to the back side of the protruding portion 40b Tended to remain.

The cleaning device 10 proposed here is particularly suitable for cleaning the cleaning object 40 having the protruding cleaning target portion 41 by blowing air. As the cleaning object 40 having the protruding cleaning target portion 41, a battery lid assembly 40 in which an internal terminal is assembled to the lid 40a is exemplified here. In this case, as the projecting portion 41 of the object to be cleaned 40, the projecting portion 40b of the internal terminal protruding upward from the lid 40a is exemplified. Further, the jigs 11 are sequentially sent to the assembly area of each component along the transport line 60. Then, in the assembly area of each component, each component of the battery lid assembly 40 is assembled in order. In this case, the cleaning device 10 proposed here may be installed as needed in the assembly area of the transport line 60.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cleaning device 10 proposed here includes a jig 11, a nozzle 12, a reflector 13, a dust collector 14, and an assist plate 15.

The jig 11 is a member that holds the cleaning object 40 having the protruding cleaning target portion 41. The jig 11 is attached to the transport line 60 (here, the rail) in the form shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. Here, the cleaning device 10 is applied to a form in which the object to be cleaned 40 is conveyed along the transfer line 60, but the cleaning device 10 is not limited to such a form. The cleaning device 10 may be configured to individually attach the cleaning object 40 to the jig 11 for cleaning. Therefore, the jig 11 does not necessarily have to be attached to the transport line 60.

In the nozzle 12, with respect to the cleaning target 40 held by the jig 11, a part of the discharged gas hits the cleaning target portion 41, and the target position of the discharged gas deviates from the center of the cleaning target portion 41. It is arranged like this.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12. In this embodiment, the nozzle 12 has a vertically long substantially rectangular outlet 12a. According to the nozzle 12, the wind speed at the central portion in the vertical direction (direction along the direction in which the width of the outlet 12a is long) is likely to be maintained. Further, in the lateral direction of the nozzle (the direction along the direction in which the width of the outlet 12a is short), the airflow tends to have a speed difference. The air blown out from the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 is blown out toward the cleaning target portion 41 while maintaining a vertically long air flow. The velocity of the air discharged from the outlet 12a is maintained high at the center in the width direction and slows toward the end. Further, the air discharged from the outlet 12a gradually spreads in the width direction (vertical direction and horizontal direction) as the distance from the outlet 12a increases.

In this embodiment, with respect to the cleaning target 40 held by the jig 11, a part of the discharged gas hits the cleaning target portion 41, and the target position of the discharged gas is from the center of the cleaning target portion 41. It is arranged so that it shifts. That is, the nozzle is such that a part of the gas discharged to the outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion 40b as the cleaning target portion 41 hits and the center of the gas discharged from the outlet 12a deviates from the center of the protruding portion 40b. The height and orientation of the outlet 12a of 12 are adjusted. In this embodiment, the direction of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 is slightly deviated from the center of the protrusion 40b in the width direction of the outlet 12a. In this case, the airflow velocity of the air discharged from the outlet 12a is slower at the end than at the center in the width direction. Therefore, the Coanda effect is likely to be exhibited, and the airflow is likely to wrap around the protrusion 40b along the protrusion 40b. For this reason, dust and foreign matter adhering to the back side of the protruding portion 40b are blown away by air, and dust and foreign matter are unlikely to remain on the back side of the protruding portion 40b.

FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing how the airflow wraps around the back side of the protrusion 40b along the protrusion 40b due to the Coanda effect. Here, a state in which the air 12b discharged from the outlet 12a wraps around the back side of the protruding portion 40b is shown along the outer peripheral surface of the columnar protruding portion 40b.

In the study of the present inventor, when the nozzle 12 having the vertically long substantially rectangular outlet 12a is adopted, the aspect ratio of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 is, for example, 5 times or more and 30 times or less. Further, the distance A1 (see FIG. 1) from the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 to the cleaning target portion 41 is set to be 5 times or more the width (shorter width) of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12, and the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 It is preferably within 5 times the vertical width (longer width) of. The nozzle 12 is not limited to the above. For example, square or circular nozzles may be arranged in the vertical direction to form a vertically long air flow as a whole. In this embodiment, the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 is adjusted to have a vertical width of 40 mm and a horizontal width of about 5 mm.

Further, the aiming line L1 along the center of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 in the width direction is deviated from the center C1 of the protrusion 40b in the width direction. Here, the aiming line L1 can be defined, for example, by connecting points (or the center of the surface) where the discharged air is maintained at the fastest speed on the surfaces of the nozzles 12 having the same distance from the outlet 12a. .. As described above, in the case of the vertically long substantially rectangular outlet 12a, the aim line L1 is defined by the center of the vertical width of the outlet 12a and the line extending from the center of the horizontal width along the direction of the outlet 12a. You may.

The offset amount B1 may be adjusted so that the discharged air can wrap around to the back side of the cleaning target portion by the Coanda effect. That is, the airflow discharged from the nozzle 12 is on the back side of the protrusion 40b in consideration of factors such as the shape of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12, the speed of the air blown from the nozzle 12, and the cross-sectional shape of the protrusion 40b. It should be adjusted so that it wraps around. For example, the height and direction of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 are adjusted so that the aiming line L1 along the center of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 in the width direction comes into contact with the end surface of the cleaning target portion along the width direction. It is good to have. Specifically, when the protruding portion 40b as the cleaning target portion 41 is a cylinder, the offset amount B1 may be adjusted with reference to the radius thereof.

Further, the nozzle 12 may be set so that the air flow of air discharged to the back side of the protruding cleaning target portion 41 wraps around due to the Coanda effect.
Preferably, for example, the direction of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 may be directed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the protruding direction of the cleaning target portion 41 (or along a plane substantially orthogonal to the protrusion direction). In this case as well, it is preferable that the air flow of the discharged air efficiently wraps around the back side of the cleaning target portion 41 in which the air flow protrudes. Therefore, the direction of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 may be tilted by, for example, about 30 degrees with respect to the direction (or the plane orthogonal to) the protrusion direction of the cleaning target portion 41.
Further, the center of the vertical width of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 may be set to match the center of the height of the cleaning target portion 41 in the protruding direction. Also in this case, the center of the vertical width of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 is about 10 mm with respect to the center of the height in the protruding direction of the cleaning target portion 41, or with respect to the protruding amount of the cleaning target portion 41. It may be off by about 30%.

In this embodiment, the jig 11 that holds the battery lid assembly 40 as the object to be cleaned 40 is attached to the transport line 60. The battery lid assembly 40 is transported to a predetermined position in the assembly area set in the transport line 60, and a predetermined component is assembled. In such an assembly, for example, the parts can be assembled by a robot installed in the assembly area. The nozzle 12 discharges air to a predetermined cleaning target portion 41 at a predetermined timing in each assembly area. The air is discharged at a predetermined speed and pressure in a short time of, for example, about 0.3 to 0.5 seconds. The air velocity may be adjusted so that dust and foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target portion 41 can be removed. The air velocity may be adjusted to, for example, about 160 m / s.

The reflector 13 faces the nozzle 12 with the cleaning object 40 held by the jig 11 interposed therebetween. The reflector 13 is recessed when viewed from the side where the nozzle 12 is arranged. In this embodiment, the nozzle 12 is gently curved in the width direction. Further, it is preferable that the nozzle 12 extends to a position facing the target line L1 of the outlet 12a. The reflector 13 may have a function of repelling the air discharged from the outlet 12a. The reflector 13 repels air from the nozzle 12 at different angles. The direction in which the air is bounced is directed to the direction opposite to the nozzle 12 with reference to the cleaning target portion 41.

Dust and foreign matter blown off by the air discharged from the outlet 12a by the reflector 13 fly in the direction opposite to the nozzle 12 on the air flow rebounded by the reflector 13. In this embodiment, the reflector 13 is gently curved and recessed in the width direction of the nozzle 12. Therefore, the direction of the airflow bounced off by the reflector 13 is limited. Therefore, the installation width of the dust collector 14, which will be described later, can be reduced. In this embodiment, the distance A2 between the cleaning target portion 41 and the reflector 13 is adjusted to be about the same as the distance A1 between the nozzle 12 and the cleaning target portion 41. The distance A2 between the cleaning target portion 41 and the reflector 13 can be appropriately adjusted.

The dust collector 14 faces the side of the cleaning target 40 held by the jig 11 on the same side as the side where the nozzle 12 is arranged, and the nozzle 12 faces the side opposite to the side deviated from the center of the cleaning target portion 41. A suction port 14a is provided. That is, the suction port 14a of the dust collector 14 is arranged on the side opposite to the side where the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 is displaced from the center of the cleaning target portion 41 in the width direction of the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12. The direction and position of the suction port 14a of the dust collector 14 may be appropriately adjusted so that the air bounced off by the reflector 13 and the dust and foreign matter flying on the bounced air are efficiently sucked in. .. The suction port 14a of the dust collector 14 is, for example, preferably maintained at a negative pressure at all times to suck air. As a result, a flow of air sucked into the dust collector 14 is constantly formed around the dust collector 14. Therefore, dust and foreign matter flying on the air are easily sucked into the suction port 14a of the dust collector 14.

The assist plate 15 may be arranged along the lower surface of the flow path of the air discharged from the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 from the nozzle 12 to the dust collector 14 described above. Since the assist plate 15 is provided, the air flow of the air discharged from the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 does not easily spread downward, so that the speed of the air flow can be easily maintained high. Therefore, it is easy to obtain the action of air blowing off dust and foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target portion 41. By attaching the assist plate 15, the air velocity can be easily maintained high. If the air does not have the assist plate 15 but has the effect of blowing off the dust and foreign matter adhering to the cleaning target portion 41 and the action of collecting the blown dust and foreign matter by the dust collector 14, the assist plate 15 can be obtained. May not be provided.

Here, it is preferable that the surface of the assist plate 15 is formed with irregularities for generating turbulent flow, for example. For example, it is preferable that the dimple processing is performed in which the dents are continuous. It may also be a mesh pattern or a wavy pattern. It is preferable that the Reynolds number is approximately 4000 or more with respect to the airflow discharged from the nozzle 12 so that turbulent flow is easily formed due to such unevenness. As a result, the air resistance on the surface of the assist plate 15 is reduced, and the velocity of the airflow discharged from the outlet 12a of the nozzle 12 is likely to be maintained high.

For example, the assist plate 15 may extend from the nozzle 12 to the cleaning target portion 41 toward the cleaning target object 40 along the lower surface of the nozzle 12. Thereby, the air flow path to the cleaning target portion 41 can be limited downward. Further, at a position farther from the cleaning target portion 41 when viewed from the nozzle 12, the position of the assist plate 15 may be lowered downward. As shown in FIG. 1, the assist plate 15 often covers the lower surface of the air flow path from the nozzle 12 through the cleaning target portion 41 to the dust collector 14. For example, the assist plate 15 may be provided with a step at a position past the cleaning target portion 41 (or the cleaning target object 40) as viewed from the nozzle 12, and the position of the assist plate 15 may be lowered downward. As a result, the space expands downward at a position past the cleaning target portion 41 (or the cleaning target object 40) as viewed from the nozzle 12, so that the air velocity decreases. When the air velocity drops after the cleaning target portion 41 (or the cleaning target object 40) as viewed from the nozzle 12, the force for flying foreign matter is weakened, and the foreign matter is easily collected by the dust collector.

In the above, various cleaning devices proposed here have been described. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments of the cleaning device mentioned here do not limit the present invention.

For example, the cleaning target of the cleaning device 10 exemplifies, but is not limited to, the battery lid assembly 40. Unless otherwise specified, the specific structures and shapes of the jig 11, the nozzle 12, the reflector 13, the dust collector 14, the assist plate 15 and the like of the cleaning device 10 are not limited to the above-described embodiments. Further, the gas discharged from the nozzle 12 is air, but the gas is not limited to air and may be a gas whose components are appropriately adjusted. For example, nitrogen or argon may be used as a gas other than air.

10 Cleaning device 11 Jig 12 Nozzle 12a Outlet 12b Air 13 Reflector 14 Dust collector 14a Suction port 15 Assist plate 40 Battery cover assembly (cleaning target)
40a Closure 40b Protruding part 41 Cleaning target part 60 Conveying line

Claims (2)

A jig that holds the object to be cleaned with a protruding part to be cleaned,
When the part to be cleaned held by the jig is viewed from the protruding direction,
A part of the discharged gas hits the outer peripheral surface of the protruding cleaning target portion of the cleaning target held by the jig, and the target position of the discharged gas is the cleaning target portion. Nozzles arranged so as to deviate from the center,
A reflector facing the nozzle with the object to be cleaned sandwiched by the jig sandwiched between the reflectors.
A suction port is provided on the same side as the side where the nozzle is arranged with respect to the cleaning object held by the jig, and on the side opposite to the side where the nozzle is deviated from the center of the cleaning target portion. A cleaning device equipped with a dust collector. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the reflector is curved so as to be recessed when viewed from the nozzle side when the cleaning target portion is viewed from a protruding direction.

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