Dryer

Abstract

A dryer for increasing the dryness by fixing the inside of a bowl-shaped workpiece toward a rotating table side is provided. A dryer for drying an object includes a rotatable hollow cylindrical rotation shaft, a center shaft supported inside of the rotation shaft via a bearing and does not rotate, the center shaft having an inner blow passage therein extending along the center shaft, a rotation plate fixed to the first end of the rotation shaft; an inner fixed nozzle extending along the first end of the rotation shaft from the center shaft, a jig disposed on the rotation plate for fixing the object, a drive motor for rotating the rotation shaft, and a blower connected to the inner blow passage.

Claims

1. A dryer for drying an object, comprising: a hollow cylindrical rotation shaft configured to rotate; a center shaft supported inside of the rotation shaft via a bearing, the center shaft configured not to rotate, the center shaft having an inner blow passage therein extending along the center shaft; a rotation plate fixed to a first end of the rotation shaft; an inner fixed nozzle extending along the first end side of the rotation shaft from the center shaft; a jig disposed on the rotation plate for fixing the object; a drive motor configured to rotate the rotation shaft; a blower connected to the inner blow passage; a housing slidably fixed to an outer surface of the rotation shaft at a second end that is different from the first end; a compressed air source; an annular passage extending circumferentially between the housing and the rotation shaft; a first passage connecting the annular passage and the compressed air source; and a second passage extending inside the rotation shaft in a shaft direction, the second passage connecting to the annular passage, the second passage having an opening at the first end of the rotation shaft, wherein the jig includes a clamp having an air cylinder, and a third passage connecting the second passage and the air cylinder.

2. The dryer according to claim 1, wherein the inner fixed nozzle includes a cylindrical pipe-shaped body extending along the rotation shaft and having a closed end at one end, the inner fixed nozzle having a slit extending along the rotation shaft.

3. The dryer according to claim 2, wherein the slit extends from a basal end fixed to the center shaft to around a distal surface of the body.

4. The dryer according to claim 1, wherein the rotation shaft rotates at a rotational speed of 200 to 500 rpm.

5. The dryer according to claim 1, further comprising: an outer blow nozzle arranged outside a closed area occupied by rotating the rotation plate, the object and the jig, the outer blow nozzle facing the object.

6. The dryer according to claim 1, wherein the rotation plate has an opening exposing a blow object portion of the object from the rotation plate when the object is mounted on the rotation plate.

7. The dryer according to claim 1, further comprising: a drive toothed pulley; a driven toothed pulley; and an endless toothed belt stretched between the drive toothed pulley and the driven toothed pulley, wherein the drive motor is a servo motor.

8. The dryer according to claim 2, wherein the rotation shaft rotates at a rotational speed of 200 to 500 rpm.

9. The dryer according to claim 3, wherein the rotation shaft rotates at a rotational speed of 200 to 500 rpm.

10. The dryer according to claim 2, further comprising: an outer blow nozzle arranged outside a closed area occupied by rotating the rotation plate, the object and the jig, the outer blow nozzle facing the object.

11. The dryer according to claim 3, further comprising: an outer blow nozzle arranged outside a closed area occupied by rotating the rotation plate, the object and the jig, the outer blow nozzle facing the object.

12. The dryer according to claim 4, further comprising: an outer blow nozzle arranged outside a closed area occupied by rotating the rotation plate, the object and the jig, the outer blow nozzle facing the object.

13. The dryer according to claim 2, wherein the rotation plate has an opening exposing a blow object portion of the object from the rotation plate when the object is mounted on the rotation plate.

14. The dryer according to claim 3, wherein the rotation plate has an opening exposing a blow object portion of the object from the rotation plate when the object is mounted on the rotation plate.

15. The dryer according to claim 4, wherein the rotation plate has an opening exposing a blow object portion of the object from the rotation plate when the object is mounted on the rotation plate.

16. The dryer according to claim 5, wherein the rotation plate has an opening exposing a blow object portion of the object from the rotation plate when the object is mounted on the rotation plate.

17. The dryer according to claim 2, further comprising: a drive toothed pulley; a driven toothed pulley; and an endless toothed belt stretched between the drive toothed pulley and the driven toothed pulley, wherein the drive motor is a servo motor.

18. The dryer according to claim 3, further comprising: a drive toothed pulley; a driven toothed pulley; and an endless toothed belt stretched between the drive toothed pulley and the driven toothed pulley, wherein the drive motor is a servo motor.

19. The dryer according to claim 4, further comprising: a drive toothed pulley; a driven toothed pulley; and an endless toothed belt stretched between the drive toothed pulley and the driven toothed pulley, wherein the drive motor is a servo motor.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dryer according to an embodiment.

(2) FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along plane II of FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 3 shows a nozzle of the dryer of the embodiment.

(4) FIG. 4 shows a variation of a nozzle of the dryer.

(5) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) Hereinafter, the dryer 10 of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The dryer 10 includes a rotation shaft 15, a center shaft 11, a rotation plate 31, an inner fixed nozzle (hereinafter referred to as “nozzle 39”), an inner blow passage (hereinafter referred to as “passage 12”), a jig 30, a drive motor (hereinafter referred to as “motor 29”), and a blower 32. Preferably, the dryer 10 has a blow pipe (hereinafter simply referred to as “pipe 53”), an outer blow nozzle (hereinafter simply referred to as “nozzle 55”), a back blow pipe (hereinafter simply referred to as “pipe 57”), a back blow nozzle (hereinafter simply referred to as “nozzle 59”), a housing 19, a base plate 21, a drive toothed pulley (hereinafter simply referred to as “pulley 25”), a driven toothed pulley (hereinafter simply referred to as “pulley 23”), an endless toothed belt (hereinafter simply referred to as “belt 27”), a compressed air source (hereinafter simply referred to as “air source 42”), a directional change valve (hereinafter simply referred to as “valve 49”), and a housing 43.

(7) In FIG. 2, the center shaft 11 extends in the vertical direction. In the following, an example in which the center shaft 11 extends in the vertical direction will be described in this embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the center shaft 11 may be arranged so as to extend in any direction. For example, the dryer 10 may be arranged laterally such that the center shaft 11 extends horizontally. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the upper direction in FIG. 2 is referred to as a “first direction” and the lower direction in FIG. 2 is referred to as a “second direction”.

(8) The object 5 is fixed to a rotation plate 31. The rotation plate 31 rotates together with the object 5, and flushes the cleaning liquid or the like adhering to the object 5 by centrifugal force. The nozzle 39 blows dry air to the inside of the object 5. The nozzle 55 blows dry air to the outside of the object 5. In this way, the dryer 10 dries the object 5.

(9) The base plate 21 is fixed to a frame (not shown) or the like. The base plate 21 has a cylindrical portion 21a. The housing 19 has a hollow cylindrical shape. The housing 19 is fitted to the cylindrical portion 21a. The housing 19 is fixed coaxially with the center shaft 11. Bearings 17 are inserted into both ends of the housing 19. The two bearings 17 are spaced apart. A seal 171 may be provided outside the bearing 17. The bearing 17 may be a sealed bearing. The rotation shaft 15 is supported by the bearing 17. The rotation shaft 15 passes through the housing 19. The rotation shaft 15 has a hollow cylindrical shape. The rotation shaft 15 is provided coaxially with the center shaft 11. The rotation plate 31 is fixed on one side of the rotation shaft 15 (upper part of FIG. 2). Bearings 13 are provided inside both ends of the rotation shaft 15. The two bearings 13 are spaced apart. A seal 131 may be provided outside the bearing 13. The bearing 13 may be a sealed bearing. The center shaft 11 is further provided inside the bearing 13. The center shaft 11 is fixed so as not to rotate. The center shaft 11 may be fixed to the base plate 21. The rotation shaft 15 is rotatably held between the center shaft 11 and the housing 19 via a bearing 17 and a bearing 13. The rotation plate 31 rotates integrally with the rotation shaft 15. The center shaft 11 has a passage 12 therein. The passage 12 extends along the center shaft of the center shaft H The passage 12 opens at both ends of the center shaft 11. The nozzle 39 is provided at the first end of the center shaft, above in FIG. 2. The other opening of the passage 12, below in FIG. 2, is connected to the blower 32 via a passage 65.

(10) The bearings 13 and the bearings 17 are, for example, radial bearings. The bearings 13 and the bearings 17 may be thrust bearings.

(11) The blower 32 blows off dry air. The dry air discharged by the blower 32 is ejected from the nozzles 39 and the nozzles 55 toward the object 5.

(12) Preferably, the motor 29 is a synchronous motor, such as a servo motor, a permanent magnet synchronous motor, or the like.

(13) The rotation shaft 15 is provided with a pulley 23. The pulley 23 is preferably provided on the lower side (second direction) of the housing 19. A pulley 25 is provided on the output shaft of the motor 29. A belt 27 is stretched between the pulley 23 and the pulley 25. The belt mechanism of the pulleys 23, 25 and the belt 27 reduces the rotational speed of the motor 29. The rotational speed of the rotation shaft 15 is desirably 200 to 500 rpm (including both ends). When the rotational speed becomes 200 rpm or more, the separation of the cleaning liquid adhering to the object 5 is promoted by the centrifugal force. On the other hand, a range of up to 500 rpm is easy to manufacture.

(14) Instead of the pulley 23, the pulley 25, and the belt 27, a gear mechanism may be provided. The gear mechanism is, for example, a helical gear mechanism, a double helical gear mechanism, or a spur gear mechanism.

(15) The jig 30 has a clamp 33. The jig 30 may include a seating pin 36 and a positioning pin, not shown. The jig 30 fixes the object 5 to the rotation plate 31. The seating pin 36 supports the object 5 at a position spaced apart from the rotation plate 31. The jig 30 has a plurality of seating pins 36. The clamp 33 has a cylinder 34 and a clamp arm 35. The arm 35 is opened and closed by the cylinder 34. In the figure, the arm 35 is provided directly on the piston rod of the cylinder 34, but a link may be provided between the cylinder 34 and the arm 35. The arm 35 presses the object 5 in the clamping position and releases the object 5 in the unclamped position. The cylinder 34 is, for example, a fluid cylinder such as an air cylinder.

(16) Next, the passage of the compressed air to the cylinder 34 will be described. Here, description will be made on the assumption that the cylinder 34 is a double-acting cylinder.

(17) The valve 49 is, for example, a four-port directional switching valve. The valve 49 is, for example, a solenoid valve. The air source 42 is, for example, a compressor or a supply port from the compressor. The air source 42 is connected to a supply port of a valve 49. The valve 49 supplies the supplied compressed air to one of the passage 63A and the passage 63B. The valve 49 opens the other of the passages 63A and 63B to the atmosphere.

(18) A fluid rotary joint (hereinafter referred to simply as a “fluid joint 48”) is provided at the second end (lower portion in FIG. 2) of the rotation shaft 15. The fluid joint 48 includes a housing 43, a rotation shaft 15, an annular passage 44, a seal 45, a first passage, and a second passage. The first and second passages are provided in the same number as the annular passages 44. The first passage (hereinafter simply referred to as “passage 63A” and “passage 63B”) and the second passage (hereinafter referred to as “passage 46A” and “passage 46B”) are connected to each other via an annular passage. Three annular passages 44 are shown in FIG. 2. For convenience of description, only two second passages 46A and 46B are shown in FIG. 2, but the third second passage is not shown.

(19) The housing 43 is provided at the second end of the rotation shaft 15. The housing 43 has a hollow cylindrical shape. The housing 43 has an inner surface 43a which is a cylindrical surface. The inner surface 43a slides in the rotation direction with the outer surface 15a of the rotation shaft. The housing 43 is fixed to the center shaft 11 or the base plate 21. The housing 43 does not rotate. An annular passage 44 and a seal 45 are provided on the inner surface 43a. The annular passage 44 extends circumferentially all the way around. The inner surface 43a is provided with one or more annular passages 44, three annular passages shown in FIG. 2. The plurality of annular passages 44 are provided side by side in the axial direction. Each annular passage 44 is sealed by a seal 45. The annular passage 44 may be provided on the outer surface 15a together with the inner surface 43a or instead of the inner surface 43a.

(20) The housing 43 is provided with passages 63A, 63B. Passages 63A and 63B connect to ports 49A and 49B of valve 49, respectively. The passages 63A and 63B are respectively connected to the annular passage 44.

(21) The rotation shaft 15 has a passage 46A and a passage 46B inside. The passages 46A and 46B extend in the axial direction of the rotation shaft 15. The rotation shaft 15 has a plurality of passages 46A, 46B, and the like. At this time, the passages 46A, 46B, and the like are formed at different positions in the circumferential direction.

(22) The ends of the passages 46A and 46B are connected to a third passage (hereinafter, simply referred to as “passage 47A” and “passage 47B”), The passages 47A and 47B connect with the ports 34A and 34B of the cylinder, respectively.

(23) The cylinder 34 may be a single-acting cylinder. At this time, the rotation shaft 15 may not have the passage 46B. The upper sides of the passages 46A and 46B, i.e., the first direction side, respectively open to the outer surface of the rotation shaft 15.

(24) The dryer 10 may include a seating sensor Si. In this case, the seating pin 36 has a seating nozzle (not shown) at a position in contact with the object 5. The seating sensor 51 is connected to the air source 42 via a passage 50. The seating sensor 51 is connected to the seating pin 36 via the fluid joint 48. The seating sensor 51 ejects compressed air from the seating pin 36. When the object 5 comes into close contact with the seating pin 36, the ejection of compressed air stops and the back pressure rises. The seating sensor 51 detects seating by increasing the back pressure.

(25) The pipe 53 is arranged on the side of the object 5. The pipe 53 is arranged on an installation plane II, which is a plane containing the axis of rotation of the object 5. The pipe 53 is arranged outside the outer surface of the cross-section according to the installation plane II of the rotating object 5, the jig 30 and the rotation plate 31. The pipe 53 may be bent so as to extend to the end face side of the object 5. At this time, the pipe 53 extends in the radial direction from the center shaft 11. The pipe 53 extends to the vicinity of the axial center of the center shaft 11. The pipe 53 has a nozzle 55. Preferably, the pipe 53 has a plurality of nozzles 55 along the edge of the object 5. Preferably, the nozzle 55 blows the entire surface of the object 5. The nozzle 55 is, for example, a pipe-shaped nozzle. The nozzle 55 is arranged towards the outer surface of the object 5. The nozzle 55 is arranged outside the outer surface of the cross-section according to the installation plane II of the rotating object 5, the jig 30 and the rotation plate 31. The pipe 53 and the nozzle 55 are arranged outside the closed area occupied by the rotation plate 31, the jig 30 and the object 5 as they rotate. The pipe 53 is fixed to a base plate, a frame, or the like. The pipe 53 is connected to the blower 32. The nozzle 55 ejects the dry air discharged from the blower 32 toward the object 5.

(26) When a part of the outer surface of the object 5 has a part where the cleaning liquid tends to remain, a blow nozzle may be separately provided toward the part where the cleaning liquid tends to remain. A blow nozzle provided separately may eject compressed air.

(27) As shown in FIG. 3, the nozzle 39 of the present embodiment has a body 38, a passage 40, and a slit 41. The body 38 is cylindrical. The passage 40 extends axially into the interior of the body 38. The passage 40 is open at one end and does not reach the tip at the other end. The slit 41 extends in the axial direction of the body 38 on a plane passing through the center shaft of the body 38. The slit 41 is provided at the center of the body 38. The length of the slit 41 is 60 to 90% of the length of the body 38. The slit 41 has a very narrow width. As shown in FIG. 2, the passage 40 connects with the passage 12. Preferably, passage 40 has the same inner diameter as passage 12.

(28) FIG. 4 shows a nozzle 139 which is a variation of the nozzle 39. The distal end of the body 138 is hemispherical. The distal end of the passage 140 is also hemispherical in shape. The distal end portion of the slit 141 wraps around to the distal end portion of the body 138, and reaches the center shaft of the body 138. The slit 141 may extend beyond the center shaft of the body 138. The distal end of the body 138 in FIG. 3 may be flat.

(29) As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, pipes 57 and nozzle 59 are located in the lower part (the second direction) of the rotation plate 31. The nozzle 59 is arranged opposite the object 5 with respect to the rotation plate 31. The nozzle 59 is arranged towards the object 5. The nozzle 59 ejects dry air toward the object 5. The pipe 57 and the blower 32 are connected by a passage 58. The passage 58 may connect the pipe 57 and the air source 42.

(30) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken from above along line V-V of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 5, the rotation plate 31 has an opening 71 which exposes the object 5 from the bottom (the second direction) side. That is, when viewed from the surface of the rotation plate 31 opposite to the surface to which the object 5 is fixed, a part of the object 5 is exposed from the rotation plate 31. The portion of the object 5 exposed from the rotation plate 31 when viewed from below the rotation plate 31, i.e., from the second direction side, is defined as the opening 71. Typically, the rotation plate 31 has a star shape in which several thin rod-shaped flat plates radiate from the rotation shaft 15. In the figure, the rotation plate 31 has a Y shape in which the plate extends in a rod shape from each apex of the triangular plate. The center of the center triangle is bored out in a circle. The rotation shaft 15 is fixed to the central hollow portion. A clamp 33, a seating pin 36, and/or a positioning pin (not shown) are provided at a distal end portion of the flat plate extending from the rotation shaft 15.

(31) The jig 30 of the present embodiment has three cylinders 34 and seating pins 36 on the outer circumference. Therefore, the rotation plate 31 is Y-shaped. When the bowl-shaped object 5 is fixed to the rotation plate 31 and viewed from below (second direction side), a part of the inner surface of the object 5 is exposed from the rotation plate 31.

(32) Object 5 has a blow object portion inside (hereinafter, it is simply called ‘portion 73’). The portion 73 is a portion where the washing liquid or the like tends to remain. The portion 73 is, for example, a female screw 73a, an oil hole 73b, a mating surface 73c, a through hole 73d, a pin hole 73e (not shown), or the like. When the object 5 is fixed to the rotation plate 31, the opening 71 exposes a portion 73 when viewed from the second direction side.

(33) When the object 5 fixed to the rotation plate 31 rotates, a closed region through which the portion 73 passes is defined as a trajectory 75. The nozzle 59 is disposed so as to face the trajectory 75. The nozzle 59 is positioned so as to aim at the portion 73 of the rotating object 5.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

(34) 5 Objects (dry objects) 10 Dryer 11 Center shaft 15 Rotation axis 29 Motor 31 Rotation plate 32 Blower 33 Clamp 39 Nozzle (inner fixed nozzle) 55 Nozzle (outer blow nozzle)