JP7794098B2 - Lubricant dripping device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a droplet dropping device, particularly one that drops lubricant onto the surface of a workpiece being pressed.

Patent Document 1 discloses a method for applying lubricant to a workpiece being pressed. Patent Document 2 discloses a device for spraying lubricant onto gears. This device includes a pipe with a row of outlet holes on its surface.

JP 2009-095772 A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-213285

In one aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for dripping lubricant in rows onto the surface of a workpiece being pressed.

[1] An apparatus for dripping a lubricant onto the surface of a workpiece to be pressed,
A pipe that is hung horizontally above the workpiece and has a plurality of holes formed along its extending direction;
a droplet generator disposed in each of the holes for converting lubricant flowing from within the pipe through the holes into droplets;
A lubricant dripping device comprising:

[2] The droplet generator is a nozzle protruding from the outer surface of the pipe.
[1] A device for dripping a lubricant.

[3] The droplet generator is a groove that starts at the hole, goes around the outer surface of the pipe, and returns to the hole;
The lubricant flows along the groove and falls as droplets at a position on the groove facing the workpiece,
The pipe rolls to change the position where the droplet falls on the groove.
[1] A device for dripping a lubricant.

In one aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for dripping lubricant in rows onto the surface of a workpiece being pressed.

The lower part is a perspective view of the dropping device, and the upper part is a cross-sectional view of the droplet generator. FIG. The top diagram is a perspective view of the dropping device, the middle diagram is a partial perspective view of the droplet generator, and the bottom diagram is a cross-sectional view of the droplet generator. The upper part is a partial perspective view of the droplet generator according to the embodiment, the middle part is a cross-sectional view of the wide side of the groove, and the lower part is a cross-sectional view of the narrow side of the groove.

The lower part of Figure 1 is a perspective view of the dripping device 10 according to Example 1. The dripping device 10 drips droplets Dp of lubricant onto the surface of the workpiece 15 being pressed. The workpiece 15 shown in Figure 1 is an example. In one example, droplets Dp are supplied to the workpiece 15 as it passes under a pipe 13. The droplets Dp that fall on the surface of the workpiece 15 form a coating film 17.

The dripping device 10 shown in the lower part of Figure 1 includes a pipe 13. The pipe 13 is suspended above the workpiece 15. A plurality of holes 11 are provided along the extension direction of the pipe 13. Both ends of the pipe 13 are connected to hoses 14 via couplings 16. Lubricant is supplied into the pipe 13 through the hoses 14. One of the ends of the pipe 13 may terminate without being connected to the hoses 14.

The dripping device 10 shown in the lower part of Figure 1 is equipped with multiple droplet generators 12. A droplet generator 12 is provided for each hole 11. The upper part of Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of the droplet generator 12. Lubricant Lb flows from inside the pipe 13 through the holes 11 and out of the pipe 13. Lubricant Lb may be oil-based or water-soluble. Lubricant Lb is also called press processing oil.

In the example shown in Figure 1, the droplet generator 12 is a nozzle that protrudes from the outer surface of the pipe 13. The flowing lubricant Lb forms a meniscus 18 at the tip of the droplet generator 12. The enlarged meniscus 18 turns into droplets Dp and falls onto the surface of the workpiece 15. In this way, the dripping device 10 drips the lubricant droplets Dp in a line onto the surface of the workpiece 15.

Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a dripping device 20 according to a comparative example. The dripping device 20 includes a pipe 23. The pipe 23 includes only a hole 21 and no droplet generator. The lubricant Lb flows out of the pipe 23 through the hole 21 and forms a meniscus 28 on the outer surface of the pipe 23. The meniscus 28 spills out of the hole 21, spreads around the hole 21, and then spreads onto the outer surface of the pipe 23. It is difficult for droplets of lubricant Lb to be generated directly below the hole 21. In contrast, the dripping device 10 shown in Figure 1 includes a droplet generator 12, allowing for efficient formation of droplets Dp.

The upper part of Figure 3 is a perspective view of a dripping device 30 according to another example. The dripping device 30 includes a pipe 33. A plurality of holes 31 are provided along the extension direction of the pipe 33. Both ends of the pipe 33 are connected to the hose 14 via couplings 36. Lubricant is supplied into the pipe 33 through the hose 14. One of the ends of the pipe 33 may terminate without being connected to the hose 14. The lubricant Lb flows from inside the pipe 33 through the holes 31 and out of the pipe 33.

The dropping device 30 shown in the upper part of Figure 3 has multiple droplet generators 32. A droplet generator 32 is provided for each of the holes 31. The middle part of Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of the droplet generator 32. The droplet generator 32 is a groove. This groove starts at each of the holes 31, goes around the outer surface of the pipe 33, and returns to the hole 31. The cross section of the groove of the droplet generator 32 has a V-shape or other shape. Holes other than the holes 31 may be opened on the groove of the droplet generator 32.

The lower part of Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the droplet generator 32. Lubricant Lb flowing from inside the pipe 33 into the groove of the droplet generator 32 forms a meniscus 38 at the bottom end of the droplet generator 32. The enlarged meniscus 38 turns into droplets Dp and falls down the pipe 33. The lubricant Lb flows along the groove of the droplet generator 32 and turns into droplets Dp at the bottom end of the groove, i.e., at a position facing the workpiece (not shown). In this way, the dripping device 30 drips droplets Dp of lubricant in a line.

The joint 36 shown in the upper part of Figure 3 rolls the pipe 33 around an axis parallel to the axis of the pipe 33. As the pipe 33 rolls, the position at which the droplets fall on the groove of the droplet generator 32 changes. The droplet generator may become dirty if the lubricant adheres to the droplet generator. However, in this example, by changing the position at which the droplets Dp start to fall, the droplet generator 32 can drop the droplets Dp from a clean area on the groove of the droplet generator 32.

The upper part of Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of a dripping device 40, which is a modified version of the dripping device 30 in Figure 3. The dripping device 40 comprises a pipe 43 and a droplet generator 42. The pipe 43 comprises a hole 41 similar to the hole 31 shown in Figure 3. The droplet generator 42 has a structure similar to the droplet generator 32 shown in Figure 3. The difference is that the groove of the droplet generator 42 gradually narrows and widens as it goes around the outer surface of the pipe 43.

The middle section of Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the wide side of the groove of droplet generator 42. When the wide side of the groove of droplet generator 42 reaches the lower end of pipe 43, the lubricant forms a large meniscus 48. The large meniscus 48 also generates large droplets. The bottom section of Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the narrow side of the groove of droplet generator 42. When the narrow side of the groove of droplet generator 42 reaches the lower end of pipe 43, the lubricant forms a small meniscus 49. The small meniscus 49 also generates small droplets. By rolling the pipe 43 shown in the top section of Figure 4 around an axis parallel to the axis of pipe 43, the width of the groove of droplet generator 42 at the lower end of pipe 43 can be arbitrarily changed. In this way, the size of the droplets formed by droplet generator 42 in drip device 40 can be arbitrarily changed.

10: Dropper, 11: Hole, 12: Droplet generator, 13: Pipe, 14: Hose, 15: Workpiece, 16: Joint, 17: Coating, 18: Meniscus, 20: Dropper, 21: Hole, 23: Pipe, 28: Meniscus, 30: Dropper, 31: Hole, 32: Droplet generator, 33: Pipe, 36: Joint, 38: Meniscus, 40: Dropper, 41: Hole, 42: Droplet generator, 43: Pipe, 48: Meniscus, 49: Meniscus, Dp: Droplet, Lb: Lubricant

Claims (1)

An apparatus for dripping lubricant onto the surface of a workpiece to be pressed,
A pipe that is hung horizontally above the workpiece and has a plurality of holes formed along its extending direction;
a droplet generator disposed in each of the holes for converting lubricant flowing from within the pipe through the holes into droplets ;
the droplet generator is a groove that starts at the hole, circles the outer surface of the pipe, and returns to the hole;
The lubricant flows along the groove and falls as droplets at a position on the groove facing the workpiece,
The pipe rolls to change the position where the droplet falls on the groove.
A device for dripping lubricant.