JP7449809B2 - Workpiece dipping device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a workpiece dipping device and a workpiece dipping method.

BACKGROUND ART Processes such as inspection, testing, processing, modification, painting, and cleaning may be performed on a workpiece (for example, a small metal part) while immersed in a liquid. To do this, it is first necessary to immerse the workpiece in a liquid, but when the workpiece is immersed in the liquid, bubbles are sometimes generated on the surface of the workpiece. These bubbles may adhere to the workpiece or float in the liquid or on the liquid surface, thereby interfering with the processing of the workpiece. As a conventional technique to solve this problem, it is known to remove air bubbles by spraying liquid onto air bubbles attached to the workpiece or blowing gas onto air bubbles floating on the liquid surface (for example, patent (See References 1 to 7).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-100717 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-136576 JP2019-219234A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-53406 JP2009-291674A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-165910 Utility Model Publication No. 4-41659

Even if bubbles are removed as in the prior art, it is difficult to completely remove the large amount of bubbles that have already been generated. To solve this problem, it is effective to prevent the generation of bubbles as much as possible when the workpiece is immersed in liquid.

An object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece dipping device and a workpiece dipping method that can suppress the generation of bubbles.

a liquid storage part that stores a liquid; a gas discharge part that forms a slope on the surface of the liquid by discharging gas toward the surface of the liquid stored in the liquid storage part; a moving means for moving the workpiece relatively toward the liquid, the workpiece immersion device moving the workpiece into the liquid while bringing the surface of the workpiece into contact with the slope of the liquid. be.

A workpiece immersion device comprising a liquid removal section that causes the liquid to flow down and remove by contacting the liquid adhering to the workpiece taken out from the inside of the liquid accommodated in the liquid storage section. It's okay to have one.

The liquid removal section may be a workpiece immersion device that causes the liquid adhering to the workpiece to flow down inside the liquid storage section.

The liquid removal section is movable back and forth on a path connecting a first stop position that is a certain distance away from the workpiece and a second stop position that is in contact with the workpiece, and the path is such that the liquid removal section is connected to the liquid storage section. The workpiece immersion device may be disposed above the liquid contained in the workpiece.

a cylindrical part having one end into which the workpiece is inserted and the other end opposite thereto; the one end of the cylindrical part is disposed outside the liquid contained in the liquid storage part; The other end of the cylindrical portion may be a workpiece immersion device disposed inside the liquid contained in the liquid storage portion.

The cylindrical part may be a workpiece immersion device, wherein the cylindrical part has an intake port that is an opening that allows the gas discharged from the gas discharge part to pass toward the liquid stored inside the cylindrical part. good.

The cylindrical part may be a workpiece immersion device having an exhaust port that is an opening that allows the gas that has flowed into the cylindrical part through the intake port to pass from the inside to the outside of the cylindrical part. .

The workpiece immersion device may be such that the intake port and the exhaust port are opposed to each other.

A workpiece immersion method in which a slope is formed on the surface of the liquid by discharging gas toward the surface of the liquid, and the workpiece is moved into the liquid while bringing the surface of the workpiece into contact with the slope of the liquid. be.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a workpiece dipping device and a workpiece dipping method that can suppress the generation of bubbles.

1A and 1B are a top view and an AA sectional view conceptually showing a work dipping device in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is (a) a top view and (b) a sectional view taken along the line AA, conceptually showing the operation (S1) of the workpiece dipping device in an embodiment of the present invention. They are (a) a top view and (b) a sectional view taken along line AA, conceptually showing the operation (S2) of the workpiece dipping device in an embodiment of the present invention. They are (a) a top view and (b) a sectional view taken along the line AA, conceptually showing the operation (S3) of the workpiece dipping device in one embodiment of the present invention. They are (a) a top view and (b) a sectional view taken along line AA, conceptually showing the operation (S4) of the workpiece dipping device in one embodiment of the present invention. They are (a) a top view and (b) a sectional view taken along the line AA, conceptually showing the operation (S5) of the workpiece immersion device in one embodiment of the present invention. They are (a) a top view and (b) a sectional view taken along line AA, conceptually showing the operation (S6) of the workpiece dipping device in one embodiment of the present invention. They are (a) a top view and (b) a sectional view taken along line AA, conceptually showing the operation (S7) of the workpiece dipping device in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is (a) a top view and (b) a sectional view taken along line AA, conceptually showing a work dipping device in another embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is (a) a top view and (b) a sectional view taken along the line AA, conceptually showing a work dipping device in an embodiment of the present invention. The workpiece immersion apparatus 1 in this embodiment (Example 1) includes a liquid storage section 3 that stores the liquid 2, a moving means 4 that relatively moves the workpiece W toward the surface of the liquid 2, and a surface of the liquid 2. It includes a gas discharge section 5 that discharges gas G toward the workpiece W, and a liquid removal section 6 that removes the liquid 2a (see FIG. 2-5) adhering to the workpiece W. The workpiece W is, for example, a cylindrical metal part having a substantially flat lower surface.

The liquid storage section 3 is, for example, a box-shaped container with an open top. A predetermined amount of liquid 2 is stored inside the liquid storage portion 3 . The liquid 2 is, for example, water or an organic solvent. Note that the type of liquid 2 is not limited to these, and can be selected as appropriate depending on the content of the process to be performed on the workpiece W.

The moving means 4 is, for example, a mechanism that can reciprocate in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction while gripping the workpiece W from both left and right sides. The moving means 4 moves the workpiece W toward the surface of the liquid 2 contained in the liquid storage part 3 fixed at a predetermined position by moving downward while holding the workpiece W. Note that the moving means 4 may be a mechanism that moves the liquid storage section 3 toward the workpiece W fixed at a predetermined position. In other words, the moving means 4 may be any mechanism as long as it moves the workpiece W relatively toward the surface of the liquid 2 contained in the liquid storage section 3.

The gas discharge section 5 is, for example, a cylindrical nozzle that discharges a gas such as air, and is connected to an arbitrary gas supply device (not shown). The gas discharge part 5 is supported via an arbitrary slide mechanism, and is capable of reciprocating between a predetermined stop position a certain distance away from the work W and a predetermined stop position closer to the work W. It is. The gas discharge section 5 is arranged at an angle to obliquely discharge gas onto the surface of the liquid 2 contained in the liquid storage section 3 . Note that the angle of the gas discharge portion 5 is not limited to this, and may be an angle that discharges gas perpendicularly to the surface of the liquid 2. The number of gas discharge parts 5 is not limited to one, and may be two or more.

The liquid removal part 6 is, for example, a thin flat plate extending downward along the side surface of the workpiece W. The liquid removal section 6 is made of a resin material such as PET, and has appropriate flexibility and a glossy and smooth surface. The liquid removal unit 6 is supported via an arbitrary slide mechanism, and has a predetermined stop position (first stop position) that is a certain distance away from the workpiece W, and a predetermined stop position (first stop position) that is in contact with the side surface of the workpiece W. It is possible to reciprocate between the two stopping positions. A moving path of the liquid removal section 6 that connects these two stop positions is arranged above the liquid 2 contained in the liquid storage section 3. Note that the number of liquid removal units 6 is not limited to one, and may be two or more.

FIGS. 2-1 to 2-7 are (a) a top view and (b) a sectional view taken along the line AA, conceptually showing the operations (S1 to S7) of the workpiece immersion device in an embodiment of the present invention. The workpiece dipping device 1 sequentially operates according to the following steps 1 to 7 (S1 to S7).

<S1>
As shown in FIG. 2-1, the workpiece immersion device 1 moves the workpiece W above the liquid 2 stored in the liquid storage section 3 by operating the moving means 4, and stops the workpiece W at a predetermined position. . Next, the workpiece immersion device 1 moves the gas discharge part 5 toward the workpiece W and stops it at a predetermined position close to the workpiece W. Next, the workpiece immersion device 1 continuously discharges the gas G at a predetermined pressure from the gas discharge section 5 toward the surface of the liquid 2. Due to the wind pressure of the gas G, a generally hemispherical recess 7 having a curved slope 7a is formed on the surface of the liquid 2. Although the surface of the recess 7 is somewhat undulating due to the flow of the gas G and the liquid 2, the shape of the recess 7 is generally kept constant. Note that the shape of the recess 7 is not limited to this shape, and may be any other shape. Although the position of the recess 7 is near right below the workpiece W, the position is not limited thereto, and may be at any other position as long as the workpiece W is within the range where the recess 7 can come into contact. The opening width of the recess 7 is slightly smaller than the width of the lower surface of the workpiece W, but is not limited to this, and may have other sizes (for example, slightly larger than the width of the lower surface of the workpiece W). It's okay.

<S2>
As shown in FIG. 2-2, the workpiece immersion device 1 lowers the workpiece W toward the liquid 2 by operating the moving means 4, and brings a part of the lower surface of the workpiece W into contact with the surface of the liquid 2. . At this time, a portion of the lower surface of the workpiece 2 comes into contact with the substantially flat surface of the liquid 2 located around the recess 7 in approximately parallel manner. In other words, a portion of the lower surface of the workpiece W contacts the slope 7a of the recess 7 non-parallelly at the outer edge of the recess 7. On the other hand, the other portion of the lower surface of the workpiece W does not come into contact with the liquid 2 and is located away from the slope 7a of the recess 7 with a slight gap (recess 7) therebetween.

<S3>
As shown in FIG. 2-3, the workpiece immersion device 1 further lowers the workpiece W toward the liquid 2 by operating the moving means 4, and places a part of the lower surface of the workpiece W on the slope 7a of the recess 7. It is moved into the liquid 2 while being in non-parallel contact. At this time, the other part of the lower surface of the workpiece W does not come into contact with the liquid 2 and is placed at a position separated from the slope 7a of the recess 7 via a slight gap (recess 7). As a part of the lower surface of the workpiece W moves into the liquid 2, it gradually becomes smaller. In this process, the air present in the gap between the lower surface of the work W and the slope 7a of the recess 7 is gradually pushed out laterally while being sandwiched between the lower surface of the work W and the slope 7a of the recess 7, is gradually discharged to the outside.

<S4>
As shown in FIG. 2-4, the workpiece immersion device 1 operates the moving means 4 to further lower the workpiece W toward the liquid 2 and move the entire lower surface of the workpiece W into the liquid 2. . At this time, the gap between the lower surface of the work W and the slope 7a of the recess 7 gradually becomes smaller as the lower surface of the work W moves into the liquid 2, and eventually disappears. In this process, the air present in the gap between the lower surface of the work W and the slope 7a of the recess 7 is gradually pushed out laterally while being sandwiched between the lower surface of the work W and the slope 7a of the recess 7, and eventually completely discharged to the outside of 7. Such a process suppresses the generation of air bubbles on the lower surface of the workpiece W. In this state, a predetermined process (inspection, etc.) is performed on the lower part of the workpiece W immersed in the liquid 2. At this time, the workpiece immersion device 1 stops the discharge of the gas G from the gas discharge section 5 as necessary.

<S5>
As shown in FIG. 2-5, the workpiece immersion device 1 moves the gas discharge part 5 in a direction away from the workpiece W, and stops it at a predetermined position a certain distance away from the workpiece W. Further, the workpiece immersion device 1 raises the workpiece W by operating the moving means 4, and stops the workpiece W at a predetermined position where the lower surface of the workpiece W does not come into contact with the liquid 2. At this time, some liquid 2a adheres to the surface of the work W that has moved from the inside of the liquid 2 to the outside due to surface tension.

<S6>
As shown in FIG. 2-6, the workpiece immersion device 1 moves the liquid removal unit 6 toward the workpiece W and stops it at a predetermined position (second stop position) where it contacts the side surface of the workpiece W. Thereby, the liquid removing section 6 comes into contact with the liquid 2a adhering to the surface of the workpiece W. The liquid 2a that has come into contact with the liquid removal section 6 flows down along the surface of the liquid removal section 6 while involving the surrounding liquid 2a due to surface tension, and falls into the inside of the liquid storage section 3. The fallen liquid 2a is reused as part of the liquid 2 contained in the liquid storage section 3. In this way, by removing the liquid 2a adhering to the surface of the workpiece W, the liquid 2a can be easily removed from the surface of the workpiece W, and the loss of the liquid 2 contained in the liquid storage section 3 is reduced. be able to. In addition, when it is necessary to dry or wash the workpiece W in the post-process, the amount of liquid 2a attached to the workpiece W is reduced in advance, so that the time required for the post-process can be shortened. can.

<S7>
As shown in FIG. 2-7, the workpiece immersion device 1 moves the liquid removal section 6 in a direction away from the workpiece W and stops it at a predetermined position (first stop position) above the liquid storage section 3. . In this process, even if the liquid 2a (not shown) adhering to the liquid removal part 6 falls, the fallen liquid 2a is stored inside the liquid storage part 3, so the surroundings of the liquid storage part 3 are There is no contamination with liquid 2a.

After S1 to S7 are completed, the workpiece W is replaced with a new workpiece W, and S1 to S7 are similarly performed on the new workpiece W, and the same operations are repeated thereafter.

FIG. 3 is (a) a top view and (b) a sectional view taken along line AA, conceptually showing a work dipping device in another embodiment of the present invention. The workpiece immersion apparatus 21 in this embodiment (Example 2) has the same configuration as the workpiece immersion apparatus 1 in Example 1, and includes a liquid storage section 3 that accommodates the liquid 2, and a workpiece W directed toward the surface of the liquid 2. A moving means 4 for relative movement, a gas discharge section 5 for discharging gas G toward the surface of the liquid 2, and a liquid removal section for removing the liquid 2a (see FIG. 2-5) adhering to the workpiece W. 6, and further includes a cylindrical portion 22 for accommodating the workpiece W, which is different from the workpiece dipping device 1 in the first embodiment.

The cylindrical portion 22 is a cylindrical pipe having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical work W. The upper end of the cylindrical portion 22 is disposed outside the liquid 2 contained in the liquid storage portion 3 and is opened upward as an insertion port for the workpiece W. The lower end of the cylindrical portion 22 is disposed inside the liquid 2 contained in the liquid storage portion 3 and is fixed to the bottom surface of the liquid storage portion 3 . Note that the shape of the cylindrical portion 22 is not limited to this, and may be other shapes (such as a rectangular tube shape).

At least one gap 23 is provided between the lower end of the cylindrical portion 22 and the bottom surface of the liquid storage portion 3. The liquid 2 contained in the liquid storage part 3 can freely flow between the inside and outside of the cylindrical part 22 via the gap 23. As a result, the height (liquid level) of the surface of the liquid 2 stored inside the cylindrical part 22 and the height (liquid level) of the surface of the liquid 2 stored outside the cylindrical part 22 are , are always kept equal to each other.

The cylindrical portion 22 has two opposing openings 22a and 22b located slightly upwardly away from the surface of the liquid 2. One opening 22a serves as an intake port for causing the gas G discharged from the gas discharge portion 5 to flow into the inside of the cylindrical portion 22, and the other opening 22b serves as an intake port for causing the gas G discharged from the gas discharge portion 5 to flow into the inside of the cylindrical portion 22. It serves as an exhaust port for discharging the gas G to the outside of the cylindrical portion 22.

The gas G discharged from the gas discharge section 5 is blown onto the surface of the liquid 2 through one opening 22a. As a result, a recess 7 (see FIG. 2-1) similar to that in Example 1 is formed on the surface of the liquid 2 housed inside the cylindrical portion 22. The gas G blown onto the surface of the liquid 2 is discharged to the outside of the cylindrical portion 22 through the other opening 22b. The gas G discharged from the gas discharge part 5 is accommodated inside the cylindrical part 22 in order to smoothly flow through one opening 22a, the surface of the liquid 2, and the other opening 22b in sequence. A stable-shaped recess 7 is formed on the surface of the liquid 2.

Although the two openings 22a and 22b do not have to face each other, it is preferable that they face each other in order to make the gas G discharged from the gas discharge part 5 flow smoothly. The shapes of the two openings 22a and 22b are, for example, circular, but may have other shapes. The other opening 22b is not essential and can be omitted, but is preferably provided in order to allow the gas G to flow smoothly.

In the workpiece immersion device 21 in the second embodiment, the workpiece W is housed inside the cylindrical portion 22, so that foreign objects flying from the outside may adhere to the workpiece W, and the liquid 2a attached to the workpiece W may This prevents it from scattering to the outside. Furthermore, the surface of the liquid 2 accommodated inside the cylindrical portion 22 is less likely to ripple than the surface of the liquid 2 accommodated on the outside of the cylindrical portion 22. A stable-shaped recess 7 is formed on the surface of the liquid 2.

The workpiece dipping device 21 in the second embodiment operates sequentially according to S1 to S7 described above, similarly to the workpiece dipping device 1 in the first embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may take various other forms.

The present invention can be suitably used when immersing small metal parts in liquid, but can also be used in other cases.

1 Workpiece immersion device (Example 1)
2 Liquid 2a Liquid 3 Liquid storage section 4 Moving means 5 Gas discharge section 6 Liquid removal section 7 Recessed section 7a Slope 21 Work immersion device (Example 2)
22 Cylindrical part 22a Opening part (intake port)
22b Opening (exhaust port)
23 Gap W Work G Gas

Claims (7)

a liquid storage section that stores liquid;
a gas discharge section that forms a slope on the surface of the liquid by discharging gas toward the surface of the liquid contained in the liquid storage section;
moving means for relatively moving a workpiece toward the liquid contained in the liquid storage section;
a liquid removal unit that causes the liquid to flow down and remove the liquid by contacting the liquid adhering to the workpiece taken out from the inside of the liquid contained in the liquid storage unit,
The moving means moves the workpiece into the liquid while bringing the surface of the workpiece into contact with the slope of the liquid.
A work dipping device characterized by: The workpiece immersion apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid removal section causes the liquid adhering to the workpiece to flow down inside the liquid storage section. The liquid removal section is movable back and forth on a path connecting a first stop position that is a certain distance away from the workpiece and a second stop position that is in contact with the workpiece, and the path is such that the liquid removal section is connected to the liquid storage section. The workpiece immersion apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the workpiece immersion apparatus is arranged above the liquid contained in the liquid. a liquid storage section that stores liquid;
a gas discharge section that forms a slope on the surface of the liquid by discharging gas toward the surface of the liquid contained in the liquid storage section;
moving means for relatively moving a workpiece toward the liquid contained in the liquid storage section;
a cylindrical part having one end into which the work is inserted and the other end opposite thereto ;
The one end of the cylindrical part is arranged outside the liquid contained in the liquid storage part,
The other end of the cylindrical part is arranged inside the liquid contained in the liquid storage part ,
The moving means moves the workpiece into the liquid while bringing the surface of the workpiece into contact with the slope of the liquid .
A work dipping device characterized by: Claim characterized in that the cylindrical part has an intake port that is an opening that allows the gas discharged from the gas discharge part to pass toward the liquid stored inside the cylindrical part. 4. The workpiece immersion device according to 4 . 5. The cylindrical part has an exhaust port that is an opening that allows the gas that has flowed into the cylindrical part through the intake port to pass from the inside to the outside of the cylindrical part. The workpiece immersion device described in . The workpiece immersion apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the intake port and the exhaust port are opposed to each other.

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