Chip recovery device

Abstract

The invention provides a chip recovery device which can efficiently discharge chips, eliminate faults caused by chip accumulation and cancel maintenance such as cleaning work. A chip recovery device (10) is provided with: a belt conveyor (2) that conveys chips to a chip discharge unit (2c); a conveyor frame (11) that receives chips falling from the belt conveyor (2) by means of a bottom plate (13) positioned below the belt conveyor (2); and a cleaning mechanism (12) that discharges a cleaning liquid for discharging the chips to the outside of the conveyor frame (11). The cross section of the bottom plate (13) of the conveyor frame (11) is set to be deeper toward the center. The cleaning mechanism (12) is provided with a bottom plate cleaning nozzle (14) which sprays cleaning liquid in a mode that chips received by the bottom plate (13) of the conveyor frame (11) tend to the chip discharging part (2c).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a chip recovery device for recovering chips generated by various machine tools. Background Art

[0002] Known chip recovery devices include those using a belt conveyor called a chip conveyor (for example, Patent Document 1) and those that recover chips using a chip recovery chute instead of a belt conveyor (for example, Patent Document 2).

[0003] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, a conventional chip recovery device (1) to which the present invention is directed includes a belt conveyor (2) and a conveyor frame (3) that accommodates the belt conveyor (2) therein.

[0004] The belt conveyor (2) is a conveyor for chip recovery called a chip conveyor, and is a crawler-type belt conveyor (2) formed by connecting a plurality of hinge plates (4).

[0005] A driving device (not shown) is provided on the left and right sides of the belt conveyor (2), and the belt conveyor (2) is driven by the driving device to perform an infinite loop inside the conveyor frame (3). Figure 3 As shown by the arrow, the belt conveyor (2) has a horizontal outward path (2a) that passes through the upper side to the left and reaches the outside of the equipment, and a horizontal return path (2b) that passes through the lower side to the right and returns to the equipment.

[0006] The belt conveyor (2) receives the chips falling from above together with the cutting coolant in the outward path (2a) and moves forward ( Figure 3 The conveyor moves to the left of the conveyor frame (3) and reaches the terminal of the outward path (2a), namely the chip discharge part (2c), and after the chips and cutting coolant fall and are discharged to the tray (5) arranged below the chip discharge part (2c), the conveyor moves backward (2b) along the bottom plate (3a) of the conveyor frame (3) in the return path (2b). Figure 3 The chips falling into the tray (5) are caught by the mesh bottom of the tray (5), and the cutting coolant passing through the mesh bottom is stored in a box (6) arranged below the tray (5).

[0007] Prior art literature

[0008] Patent Literature

[0009] Patent Document 1: Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 5-19229

[0010] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-185585 Summary of the Invention

[0011] In the above-mentioned chip recovery device (1), there is a situation where chips are attached to Figure 3 and Figure 4 The hinge plate (4) of the belt conveyor (2) shown in A in the middle and the chips will be accumulated on Figure 3 and Figure 4 The problem on the bottom plate (3a) portion of the conveyor frame (3) shown in B is that it is hoped that chips can be discharged efficiently, the failure caused by chip accumulation can be eliminated, and maintenance such as cleaning work can be reduced.

[0012] In the solution of patent document 1, in addition to providing a chip bucket for accumulating chips normally discharged from the chip conveyor, it is also necessary to provide a chip recovery box for recovering chips attached to the surface of the hinge plate. Moreover, if the chips do not enter the chip recovery box during cleaning, the chips will accumulate on the bottom plate of the chip conveyor. Therefore, there is a problem of increased maintenance such as cleaning work.

[0013] Furthermore, the solution of Patent Document 2 is a structure with only a chip recovery trough, without a belt conveyor. When large quantities of chips are generated and become entangled and clumped together, a large amount of cleaning fluid is required to discharge these clumped chips. This leads to the problem of large-scale pumps or tanks for supplying the cleaning fluid. Furthermore, in large-scale machines, the path required to discharge the chips is long, which creates the risk of chips remaining in the recovery trough, and also increases maintenance work such as cleaning.

[0014] The object of the present invention is to solve the problem of chips accumulating on the bottom plate portion of the conveyor frame and the problem of chips adhering to the hinge plate portion of the belt conveyor, thereby providing a chip recovery device that can avoid cleaning the interior of the conveyor equipment for many years.

[0015] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is constituted by the following means.

[0016] 1) A chip recovery device comprising: a belt conveyor arranged to be able to move in a circular manner and to transport chips to a chip discharge portion located in front; a conveyor frame that accommodates the belt conveyor inside and uses a bottom plate located below the belt conveyor to catch chips falling from the belt conveyor; and a cleaning mechanism that sprays a cleaning liquid for discharging the chips to the outside of the conveyor frame. The chip recovery device is characterized in that:

[0017] The bottom plate has a cross-section that becomes deeper toward the center, and the cleaning mechanism includes a bottom plate cleaning nozzle that sprays cleaning fluid so that chips caught by the bottom plate flow toward the chip discharge portion.

[0018] 2) The chip recovery device according to 1) above is characterized in that the cleaning mechanism further includes a conveyor cleaning nozzle that sprays cleaning liquid in such a manner that chips adhering to the surface of the belt conveyor fall toward the bottom plate.

[0019] 3) The chip recovery device according to 2) above is characterized in that cleaning by the bottom plate cleaning nozzle and cleaning by the conveyor cleaning nozzle are performed simultaneously.

[0020] 4) A chip recovery device comprising: a belt conveyor arranged to be able to move in a circular manner and to transport chips to a chip discharge portion located in front; a conveyor frame that accommodates the belt conveyor inside and uses a bottom plate located below the belt conveyor to catch chips falling from the belt conveyor; and a cleaning mechanism that sprays a cleaning liquid for discharging the chips to the outside of the conveyor frame. The chip recovery device is characterized in that:

[0021] The cleaning mechanism includes: a bottom plate cleaning nozzle, which sprays cleaning liquid in a manner that causes the chips received by the bottom plate to move toward the chip discharge portion; and a conveyor cleaning nozzle, which sprays cleaning liquid in a manner that causes the chips attached to the surface of the belt conveyor to fall toward the bottom plate. The cleaning based on the bottom plate cleaning nozzle and the cleaning based on the conveyor cleaning nozzle are performed simultaneously.

[0022] 5) The chip recovery device according to 3) or 4) above is characterized in that the base plate cleaning nozzle that sprays cleaning liquid in a horizontal direction and the conveyor cleaning nozzle that sprays cleaning liquid obliquely upward are arranged to branch from a cleaning liquid supply pipe that supplies cleaning liquid near the rear end of the base plate.

[0023] Effects of the Invention

[0024] According to the chip recovery device described in 1) above, chips generated within the equipment fall from above onto the belt conveyor along with the cutting coolant. The chips are caught by the belt conveyor and then reach the chip discharge section, where they fall from the belt conveyor under their own weight and are discharged. While relatively large chips are almost entirely discharged at the chip discharge section, relatively small chips include those that flow with the cutting coolant or fall from the belt conveyor under their own weight, accumulating on the bottom plate of the conveyor frame. Other chips do not fall from the belt conveyor at the chip discharge section and remain on the belt conveyor.

[0025] Therefore, in the chip recovery device mentioned in 1) above, in order to discharge the chips that fall from the belt conveyor and accumulate on the bottom plate of the conveyor frame, the shape of the bottom plate is set to an appropriate shape (a shape in which the cross section becomes deeper toward the center), and a bottom plate cleaning nozzle is provided to send the chips that fall on the bottom plate to the chip discharge part.

[0026] As a result, the chips falling from the belt conveyor roll down the inclined surface of the bottom plate, so they can be collected at the bottom of the valley (center) of the bottom plate. Moreover, by spraying cleaning fluid from the bottom plate cleaning nozzle toward the center of the bottom plate, the chips can be efficiently discharged to the tray (chip discharge unit). This solves the problem of chips accumulating on the bottom plate portion of the conveyor frame, thereby providing a chip recovery device that can be used for many years without cleaning the interior of the device.

[0027] According to the chip recovery device described in 2), a conveyor cleaning nozzle is added as a separate cleaning nozzle from the bottom plate cleaning nozzle to remove chips that accumulate on the belt conveyor rather than falling from it. This allows the conveyor cleaning nozzle to flush away chips adhering to the surface of the belt conveyor. These washed-away chips collect in the valleys of the bottom plate and are discharged through the bottom plate cleaning nozzle along with the chips that have fallen from the belt conveyor. This also solves another issue of chips adhering to the hinge plate portion of the belt conveyor, resulting in a chip recovery device that can be used for years without requiring cleaning of the interior of the device.

[0028] The bottom plate cleaning nozzle mentioned in 1) and the conveyor cleaning nozzle mentioned in 2) can of course be controlled independently, but according to the chip recovery device mentioned in 3), by simultaneously performing the cleaning of the belt conveyor surface and the cleaning of the bottom plate of the conveyor frame, the cleaning liquid that has cleaned the belt conveyor surface will flow down to the bottom of the valley of the bottom plate, which can increase the flow rate of the cleaning liquid cleaning the bottom of the valley of the bottom plate and can more efficiently discharge the chips accumulated on the bottom plate.

[0029] That is, by using the bottom plate cleaning nozzle and the conveyor cleaning nozzle together, the problem of not cleaning the inside of the device for a long time can be solved. However, if the cleaning liquid used to clean the surface of the belt conveyor is not used to clean the bottom plate of the conveyor frame, a large pump must be used or the number of pumps must be increased in order to ensure the flow rate required for cleaning, which poses a problem from the perspective of cost and energy consumption.

[0030] In this regard, according to the chip recovery device described in 3) above, by setting a structure in which the cleaning liquid used to clean the surface of the belt conveyor and the cleaning liquid used to clean the bottom plate of the conveyor frame converge, there is no need to enlarge the pump or increase the number of pumps, and the chips can be discharged efficiently while ensuring the flow rate of the cleaning liquid required for cleaning.

[0031] According to the chip recovery device described in 4) above, the surface of the belt conveyor and the bottom plate of the conveyor frame are cleaned simultaneously by the two cleaning nozzles, the bottom plate cleaning nozzle and the conveyor cleaning nozzle. Thus, regardless of the shape of the bottom plate of the conveyor frame, the problem of chips accumulating on the bottom plate portion of the conveyor frame and the problem of chips adhering to the belt conveyor can be solved at the same time, thereby obtaining a chip recovery device that does not require cleaning inside the device for many years.

[0032] According to the chip recovery device described in 5) above, only one cleaning liquid supply pipe is provided for supplying cleaning liquid. By changing the spraying direction of the two cleaning nozzles branching from the cleaning liquid supply pipe, the cleaning of the belt conveyor surface and the cleaning of the bottom plate can be performed simultaneously, thereby simplifying the structure of the device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 It is an explanatory diagram generally showing an embodiment of a chip recovery device according to the present invention.

[0034] Figure 2 is a simplified representation along Figure 1 Figure 1 is a cross-section of line II-II.

[0035] Figure 3 It is an explanatory diagram generally showing an embodiment of a conventional chip recovery device.

[0036] Figure 4 is a simplified representation along Figure 3 Diagram of a cross section of line IV-IV.

[0037] Description of Reference Numerals

[0038] (2) Belt conveyor

[0039] (2c): Chip discharge section

[0040] (10): Chip recovery device

[0041] (11): Conveyor frame

[0042] (12): Cleaning mechanism

[0043] (13): Bottom plate

[0044] (14): Bottom plate cleaning nozzle

[0045] (15): Conveyor cleaning nozzle

[0046] (16): Cleaning fluid supply pipe DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Below, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2Embodiments of the present invention will be described.

[0048] The chip collecting device 10 of this embodiment includes the belt conveyor 2 , a conveyor frame 11 that houses the belt conveyor 2 therein, a tray 5 , a box 6 , and a cleaning mechanism 12 .

[0049] The belt conveyor 2, the tray 5 and the box 6 are configured as follows Figure 3 and Figure 4 The conventional chip recovery device 1 shown is the same.

[0050] The differences from the conventional chip collecting device 1 are the shape of the bottom plate 13 of the conveyor frame 11 and the structure of the cleaning mechanism 12. The differences from the conventional device will be described in detail below.

[0051] The bottom plate 13 of the conveyor frame 11 is located below the belt conveyor 2 and catches the chips falling from the belt conveyor 2. Figure 2 As shown, the bottom plate 13 has a V-shaped cross section formed by left and right inclined portions 13 a and 13 b so that the cross section of the bottom plate 13 becomes deeper toward the center.

[0052] The cleaning mechanism 12 is provided at the terminal portion of the return path 2b ( Figure 1 Near the right end of the bottom plate 13, two types of nozzles 14 and 15 are arranged: a bottom plate cleaning nozzle 14 that sprays cleaning liquid horizontally toward the left and right center portions of the bottom plate 13 so that chips caught by the bottom plate 13 are directed forward (toward the chip discharge portion 2c); and a conveyor cleaning nozzle 15 that sprays cleaning liquid diagonally upward so that chips adhering to the surface of the belt conveyor 2 (the lower surface of the return path 2b) fall onto the bottom plate 13. These nozzles 14 and 15 are arranged to branch from a single cleaning liquid supply pipe 16 that supplies cleaning liquid near the rear end of the bottom plate 13.

[0053] According to the chip recovery device 10 of the above embodiment, as shown by the arrow, the chips generated in the equipment fall from above onto the belt conveyor 2 together with the cutting coolant, are caught by the outward path 2a of the belt conveyor 2 and reach the chip discharge part 2c, and most of them fall into the tray 5 due to their own weight and are recovered.

[0054] Here, almost all the chips with a relatively large dead weight are discharged at the chip discharge portion 2c, but among the chips with a relatively small dead weight, some chips flow together with the cutting coolant or fall from the belt conveyor due to their dead weight and reach the bottom plate 13 of the conveyor frame 11 and accumulate (see Figure 3 and Figure 4The portion shown in B, and the chips which do not fall from the belt conveyor 2 at the chip discharge portion 2c but remain attached to the lower surface of the return path 2b of the belt conveyor 2 and are accumulated on the surface of the surrounding belt conveyor 2 (refer to FIG. Figure 3 and Figure 4 The part shown in A).

[0055] The chips accumulated on the bottom plate 13 of the conveyor frame 11 and the surface of the belt conveyor 2 need to be cleaned (maintained), but according to the chip recovery device 10 of the above embodiment, the two nozzles of the cleaning mechanism 12 (the bottom plate cleaning nozzle 14 and the conveyor cleaning nozzle 15) can be used to clean the accumulated chips as follows.

[0056] First, the bottom plate cleaning nozzle 14 sprays the cleaning liquid toward the center of the bottom plate 13 , thereby sending the chips dropped on the bottom plate 13 to the tray 5 located below the chip discharge portion 2 c .

[0057] Furthermore, the conveyor cleaning nozzle 15 can cause the chips adhering to the surface of the belt conveyor 2 to fall onto the bottom plate 13 by spraying the cleaning liquid toward the surface of the belt conveyor 2 .

[0058] Here, since the cross section of the bottom plate 13 is formed to be deep toward the center, the chips dropped onto the bottom plate 13 of the conveyor frame 11 are concentrated on the center of the bottom plate 13 by their own weight together with the cutting coolant and the cleaning fluid from the conveyor cleaning nozzle 15. Figure 2 In this state, by using the bottom plate cleaning nozzle 14, all the chips that have fallen on the bottom plate 13 (including the chips that have adhered to the surface of the belt conveyor 2) are discharged into the tray 5 by the cleaning liquid from the bottom plate cleaning nozzle 14.

[0059] In this way, the cutting coolant used in the machining is also utilized to clean the base plate 11 .

[0060] As described above, according to the chip recovery device 10 of this embodiment, since smaller chips such as chips falling from the belt conveyor 2 and chips adhering to the hinge plate 4 are discharged without being accumulated, it is possible to simultaneously solve the two problems of chips adhering to the hinge plate 4 portion of the belt conveyor 2 and chips accumulating on the bottom plate 13 portion of the conveyor frame 11, thereby eliminating the need to clean the interior of the device for many years.

[0061] Furthermore, according to the chip recovery device 10, by changing the spray direction of the two cleaning nozzles (the bottom plate cleaning nozzle 14 and the conveyor cleaning nozzle 15) branching from a single cleaning liquid supply pipe 16, the surface of the belt conveyor 2 and the bottom plate 13 of the conveyor frame 11 are cleaned simultaneously. As a result, the cleaning liquid that has cleaned the surface of the belt conveyor 2 flows downward to the valley bottom of the bottom plate 13, thereby increasing the flow rate of the cleaning liquid cleaning the valley bottom of the bottom plate 13. This simplifies the structure of the chip recovery device 10 and enables more efficient discharge of chips accumulated on the bottom plate 13.

[0062] In the conventional recovery device 1, although not shown in the figure, the conveyor cleaning nozzle is provided at the chip discharge portion 2c (the terminal portion of the outward path 2a) so that the chips can be easily accommodated in the tray 5. The base plate cleaning nozzle 14 needs to be provided at the terminal portion of the return path 2b in order to achieve its purpose. In the chip recovery device 10 of the above embodiment, it can also be configured so that the conveyor cleaning nozzle 15 is moved to the terminal portion of the outward path 2a. Even with this other configuration (the base plate cleaning nozzle 14 is provided at the terminal portion of the return path 2b, and the conveyor cleaning nozzle 15 is provided at the terminal portion of the outward path 2a), the above two problems can be solved at the same time.

[0063] However, according to this other configuration, when compared with the configuration of the above-mentioned embodiment (the bottom plate cleaning nozzle 14 and the conveyor cleaning nozzle 15 are both arranged at the terminal end of the return path 2b, and are configured to simultaneously perform cleaning of the surface of the belt conveyor 2 and cleaning of the bottom plate 13), in order to ensure the flow rate required for cleaning, it is necessary to use a large pump or increase the number of pumps, which is problematic from the perspective of cost and energy consumption.

[0064] The chip recovery device 10 of the above embodiment has the following advantages compared to the other configurations mentioned above: by setting a structure in which the cleaning liquid used to clean the surface of the belt conveyor 2 and the cleaning liquid used to clean the bottom plate 13 of the conveyor frame 11 converge, there is no need to enlarge the pump or increase the number of pumps, and the chips can be discharged efficiently while ensuring the flow rate of the cleaning liquid required for cleaning.

[0065] In addition, according to the chip recovery device 10 of the above-mentioned embodiment, by forming the bottom plate 13 into a V-shaped cross-section, the chips and cutting coolant can be reliably concentrated in the central part C of the bottom plate 13 of the conveyor frame 11, and the liquid level of the cleaning liquid of the bottom plate 13 of the conveyor frame 11 can be raised (or the flow rate can be increased) to make the chips flow easily, thereby improving the chip recovery efficiency.

[0066] It should be noted that in the above embodiment, the base plate 13 has a V-shaped cross section formed by the left and right inclined portions 13a and 13b. However, the base plate 13 may not have a complete V-shape, but may have a shape in which the lower ends of the left and right inclined portions 13a and 13b are connected by a flat portion located in the left and right central portions. Alternatively, the base plate 13 may have a shape in which the lower ends of the left and right inclined portions 13a and 13b are connected by a downwardly protruding arc portion instead of a flat portion. Furthermore, instead of a V-shaped cross section, the entire base plate 13 may have a downwardly protruding arc shape in cross section. In short, the base plate 13 may have various shapes in which the cross section deepens toward the center, so that the chips are easily concentrated on the left and right central portions of the base plate 13 due to their own weight.

[0067] In addition, regarding the bottom plate cleaning nozzle 14, it is set to spray the cleaning liquid in the horizontal direction in the above description, but as long as it can clean the bottom plate 13 and make the cleaning liquid flow to the chip discharge part 2c, it is not limited to the horizontal direction, and the cleaning liquid can also be sprayed in a downward inclined direction.

Claims

1. A chip recovery device comprising: a belt conveyor arranged to be capable of circling movement and conveying chips to a chip discharge portion located in front; a conveyor frame that houses the belt conveyor inside and uses a bottom plate located below the belt conveyor to catch chips falling from the belt conveyor; and a cleaning mechanism that sprays a cleaning liquid for discharging the chips to the outside of the conveyor frame, wherein the chip recovery device is characterized in that: The bottom plate has a cross-section that becomes deeper toward the center, and the cleaning mechanism includes a bottom plate cleaning nozzle that sprays cleaning fluid so that chips caught by the bottom plate flow toward the chip discharge portion.

2. The chip recovery device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cleaning mechanism further includes a conveyor cleaning nozzle configured to spray a cleaning liquid so as to cause chips adhering to the surface of the belt conveyor to fall toward the bottom plate.

3. The chip recovery device according to claim 2, characterized in that: Cleaning by the bottom plate cleaning nozzle and cleaning by the conveyor cleaning nozzle are performed simultaneously.

4. A chip recovery device comprising: a belt conveyor arranged to be able to move in a circular manner and to transport chips to a chip discharge portion located in front; a conveyor frame that accommodates the belt conveyor inside and uses a bottom plate located below the belt conveyor to catch chips falling from the belt conveyor; and a cleaning mechanism that sprays a cleaning liquid for discharging the chips to the outside of the conveyor frame, wherein the chip recovery device is characterized in that: The cleaning mechanism includes: a bottom plate cleaning nozzle, which sprays cleaning liquid in a manner that causes the chips received by the bottom plate to move toward the chip discharge portion; and a conveyor cleaning nozzle, which sprays cleaning liquid in a manner that causes the chips attached to the surface of the belt conveyor to fall toward the bottom plate. The cleaning based on the bottom plate cleaning nozzle and the cleaning based on the conveyor cleaning nozzle are performed simultaneously.

5. The chip recovery device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The bottom plate cleaning nozzle that sprays cleaning liquid horizontally and the conveyor cleaning nozzle that sprays cleaning liquid obliquely upward are provided to branch from a cleaning liquid supply pipe that supplies cleaning liquid to the vicinity of the rear end portion of the bottom plate.

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