An automated cleaning system and method

Abstract

The application discloses an automatic cleaning system and method, and belongs to the technical field of industrial cleaning. The application aims to solve the technical problem that the current single cleaning mode or simple combination cannot perform deep and thorough cleaning on precision parts. The automatic cleaning system comprises a continuous conveying device, an ultrasonic treatment area and a high-pressure fluid spraying area arranged along the conveying path of the continuous conveying device. The parts to be cleaned are first placed in the ultrasonic treatment area, and the ultrasonic waves in the liquid medium loosen the small attachments in the surface and pores; then, the parts are conveyed to the high-pressure fluid spraying area, and the high-pressure fluid sprayed from multiple angles is used to completely flush away the loosened pollutants and larger particles. The application combines the micro-peeling effect of ultrasonic waves with the macro-flushing effect of high-pressure fluid, and realizes efficient and deep cleaning of the precision parts, thereby significantly improving the cleaning degree and production efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of industrial cleaning technology, and more specifically to an automated cleaning system and method for precision parts. Background Technology

[0002] During the manufacturing and processing of metal parts, contaminants such as chips, oil, and dust inevitably remain on their surfaces and in their internal pores. These residual particles, especially when used in precision electronic and electrical products, can lead to serious quality problems such as short circuits and malfunctions, posing a significant threat to the reliability and performance of the products. Therefore, to ensure the quality of the final product, these parts must be thoroughly cleaned to completely eliminate functional impairments caused by residual particles.

[0003] Currently, cleaning methods for precision industrial parts mainly fall into two categories: ultrasonic cleaning and high-pressure spray cleaning. Ultrasonic cleaning relies on the cavitation effect of ultrasound waves in a liquid, creating countless tiny bubbles that implode and impact to remove minute contaminants from the part's surface. This method is effective at cleaning impurities in micro-crevices and micropores, but its drawback is weak fluid displacement. For large chips or thick oil stains inside deep blind holes or intersecting holes, ultrasonic cleaning struggles to effectively remove them, easily causing impurities to remain inside the holes. It also suffers from long cleaning cycles and secondary contamination caused by the re-settling of removed contaminants.

[0004] On the other hand, high-pressure spray cleaning technology, by using high-pressure fluid to powerfully impact and scour the surface of parts, can effectively remove large particulate contaminants and some oil stains, making it particularly suitable for parts with relatively simple structures. However, for parts with complex structures, deep holes, blind holes, or tiny gaps, high-pressure water flow has difficulty penetrating these areas and cannot effectively remove internal microparticles and stubborn deposits. Furthermore, some cleaning equipment on the market simply combines the two technologies, but this is usually just a simple addition of functions, lacking a systematic process design and failing to fundamentally address the limitations of each technology. Therefore, it also cannot meet the deep cleaning needs of high-precision parts.

[0005] In summary, existing technologies, whether employing a single cleaning method or a simple combination of methods, suffer from technical defects such as incomplete cleaning, low efficiency, or narrow applicability. They are unable to simultaneously achieve the dual removal effect on large particulate contaminants and tiny adhering substances, and cannot reliably meet the increasingly stringent cleanliness requirements of precision parts. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the technical problems of ineffective single cleaning methods and the inability of simple combination cleaning to achieve deep and thorough cleaning of precision parts in existing technologies, this invention provides an automated cleaning system and method. By organically combining ultrasonic treatment with high-pressure fluid jetting and optimizing the process, it achieves efficient and comprehensive cleaning results.

[0007] This invention provides an automated cleaning system, comprising a frame, a continuous conveying device mounted on the frame for transporting parts to be cleaned, and an ultrasonic treatment zone and a high-pressure fluid jetting zone sequentially mounted on the frame along the conveying path of the continuous conveying device. The ultrasonic treatment zone applies ultrasonic waves to the parts in a liquid medium to loosen and peel off small and stubborn deposits; the high-pressure fluid jetting zone sprays high-pressure fluid onto the parts passing through the ultrasonic treatment zone to flush away loosened deposits and larger particles. This structural design combines the "peeling" effect of ultrasound with the "flushing" effect of high-pressure fluid, achieving complementary advantages and enabling a more thorough cleaning of the parts.

[0008] Furthermore, the ultrasonic treatment area includes an ultrasonic chemical cleaning station and an ultrasonic rinsing station located after the ultrasonic chemical cleaning station. The ultrasonic chemical cleaning station is used to apply ultrasonic waves to the parts in a cleaning agent to loosen the attached substances; the ultrasonic rinsing station is used to ultrasonically rinse the parts in a rinsing solution to remove residual cleaning agents. By distinguishing between the chemical cleaning and rinsing processes, not only can the removal effect on stubborn contaminants such as oil stains be enhanced with the help of chemical agents, but the subsequent rinsing process can also thoroughly remove agent residues, avoiding chemical corrosion or secondary pollution to the parts.

[0009] Optionally, the ultrasonic rinsing station includes at least two ultrasonic rinsing units arranged in series. This multi-stage rinsing design allows for counter-current rinsing or step-by-step purification, resulting in higher surface cleanliness and less residual chemicals on parts before they enter the next process, thus significantly improving the overall cleaning quality.

[0010] In one embodiment, the rinsing solution is filtered water or deionized water. Using filtered water or deionized water with higher purity as the rinsing solution can effectively prevent impurity ions in the water from forming water stains or residues on the surface of the parts, which is especially important for applications with extremely high cleanliness requirements.

[0011] Furthermore, the high-pressure fluid jetting zone includes a high-pressure spray station equipped with multiple nozzles for spraying high-pressure water jets onto the parts from multiple angles. This multi-angle spraying design ensures that the high-pressure water jets can cover all surfaces of the parts, including complex geometries and sidewalls, avoiding cleaning blind spots caused by a single spray angle, thereby effectively washing away various contaminants loosened in the ultrasonic treatment zone.

[0012] Optionally, the high-pressure spray station includes at least two high-pressure spray units connected in series. By setting up multiple spray units connected in series, the parts can be repeatedly and thoroughly rinsed, ensuring that contaminants vibrated by ultrasonic waves in deep holes or blind holes are completely removed, further improving the reliability and thoroughness of the cleaning.

[0013] Furthermore, following the high-pressure fluid jetting zone, a high-pressure air-cutting system is installed to jet high-pressure air to blow away any residual liquid on the surface of the parts. This design can quickly remove most of the surface moisture before the parts enter the subsequent drying process, which not only shortens the drying time and saves energy, but also effectively prevents watermarks or watermarks from being left on the surface of the parts due to natural evaporation, thus ensuring the appearance quality of the parts.

[0014] In addition, the system is equipped with wastewater recycling and reuse equipment to treat and reuse the wastewater generated during the cleaning process. This configuration not only reduces water consumption and wastewater discharge, meeting the environmental protection requirements of energy conservation and emission reduction, but also lowers the company's operating costs.

[0015] In one embodiment, the continuous conveying device is a tracked, chain-plate, or mesh belt conveyor. These types of conveying devices have mature structures and stable operation, can adapt to parts of different shapes and sizes, and ensure a smooth and continuous transition of parts between various processing areas, providing a reliable guarantee for achieving automated, assembly line operations.

[0016] This invention also provides an automated cleaning method, comprising the following steps: conveying parts to be cleaned via a continuous conveying device; and sequentially passing the parts through an ultrasonic treatment step and a high-pressure fluid jetting step along the conveying path of the continuous conveying device. The ultrasonic treatment step applies ultrasonic waves to the parts in a liquid medium; the high-pressure fluid jetting step sprays high-pressure fluid onto the parts that have undergone the ultrasonic treatment step. This method, through a specific process sequence, first uses ultrasonic waves to loosen microscopic contaminants, and then uses high-pressure fluid to macroscopically remove them, achieving a highly efficient and coordinated cleaning process.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages: 1. Thorough cleaning effect and high cleanliness: This invention systematically combines the ability of ultrasound to peel off micro-particles with the ability of high-pressure fluid to flush macro-pollutants. It first "loosens" and then "flushes", working synergistically to effectively remove micro-particles and larger chips from the surface of parts and deep holes and blind holes at the same time. It solves the problem that a single technology cannot achieve both, and the cleaning cleanliness is far higher than that of existing technologies.

[0018] 2. High degree of automation and high production efficiency: The entire cleaning process is fully automated through a continuous conveyor system. From feeding to final drying, no manual intervention is required, achieving "one-stop" continuous operation, which greatly improves production efficiency and reduces labor costs.

[0019] 3. Optimized process flow to avoid secondary pollution: By setting up independent chemical cleaning, multi-stage rinsing, multi-stage spraying and air-drying processes, not only is the cleaning effect at each stage guaranteed, but also the chemical residue and water stains are effectively prevented, thus avoiding secondary pollution and ensuring the stability of product quality.

[0020] 4. Energy-saving and environmentally friendly, with wide applicability: The system is equipped with wastewater recycling and reuse equipment, saving water resources and reducing environmental pollution. This system and method are not limited to parts of specific materials or shapes and can be widely applied to the cleaning of various metal or non-metal precision parts, showing promising industrial application prospects. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an automated cleaning system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of an automated cleaning method according to one embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in these embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0024] Please see Figure 1 This invention provides an automated cleaning system. This system aims to solve the problems of low efficiency and poor results of existing single cleaning methods, especially for precision parts with micro-gaps and deep blind holes, enabling deep and efficient automated cleaning. The entire system is built on a frame (not shown in the figure), with all functional components securely mounted on the frame, forming an integrated, continuously operating cleaning line.

[0025] like Figure 1As shown, the automated cleaning system includes a core continuous conveyor device 10, which is mounted on the frame and runs through the entire system. This continuous conveyor device 10 carries and transports the parts to be cleaned, enabling them to automatically and smoothly pass through each cleaning station sequentially according to a preset path and rhythm. By adopting continuous conveying, traditional manual transfer or intermittent conveying is replaced, greatly improving production efficiency and realizing "one-stop" continuous cleaning operations.

[0026] Along the conveying path of the continuous conveying device 10, an ultrasonic treatment zone 20 and a high-pressure fluid jet zone 30 are sequentially arranged. This series arrangement is one of the core designs of this invention, organically combining two different physical cleaning principles. First, the parts enter the ultrasonic treatment zone 20, where the cavitation effect of ultrasound "loosens" the adhering substances from the surface and deep pores of the parts. Subsequently, the parts enter the high-pressure fluid jet zone 30, where the powerful impact force of the high-pressure fluid completely "peels" and washes away these loosened adhering substances. This synergistic effect of "loosening first, then peeling" solves the problems of weak fluid displacement capacity and difficulty in removing large particles in single ultrasonic cleaning, as well as the shortcomings of single high-pressure spraying in removing dirt fixed in micropores.

[0027] In one specific embodiment, the structure of the ultrasonic processing zone 20 was optimized to achieve a more thorough pretreatment effect. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the ultrasonic treatment zone 20 includes an ultrasonic chemical cleaning station 21 and an ultrasonic rinsing station located downstream of its transport path. The parts to be cleaned first enter the ultrasonic chemical cleaning station 21, where a specific cleaning agent is pre-added to the water tank. Ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic generator propagate in the liquid medium containing the cleaning agent, producing tens of thousands of tiny bubbles. These bubbles burst instantaneously on the surface of the parts, creating a powerful micro-impact force; this process is known as cavitation. Combined with the chemical dissolving and saponifying effects of the cleaning agent, stubborn oil stains, sintered oxide scale, and metal shavings on the surface and deep cavities of the parts can be efficiently loosened.

[0028] After chemical cleaning, cleaning agents and partially removed contaminants remain on the surface and in the pores of the parts. To prevent these residues from interfering with subsequent processes or corroding the parts themselves, an ultrasonic rinsing station is installed. Parts are automatically conveyed into the ultrasonic rinsing station by a continuous conveyor 10, where they undergo ultrasonic rinsing in a rinsing solution. The ultrasonic waves here not only further remove contaminants, but more importantly, they utilize high-frequency vibration and cavitation effects to displace the cleaning agents that have penetrated deep into the micropores and crevices of the parts, achieving a deeper and faster cleaning effect than traditional immersion rinsing.

[0029] To further enhance the cleanliness of rinsing and prevent cross-contamination, the ultrasonic rinsing station can be designed as a multi-stage series structure. As a preferred embodiment, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the ultrasonic rinsing station includes at least two stages of ultrasonic rinsing units arranged in series, specifically a first ultrasonic rinsing unit 22 and a second ultrasonic rinsing unit 23. The parts pass through these two rinsing units sequentially, effectively undergoing two independent ultrasonic rinsing processes. This design ensures that most of the cleaning agent is removed in the first stage, while the second stage performs a fine rinsing in a cleaner liquid environment. This cascading approach reduces the concentration of residues on the surface of the parts to extremely low levels, ensuring that the parts entering the next process are in a highly clean state.

[0030] In the aforementioned multi-stage rinsing process, the choice of rinsing solution is crucial to the final cleaning quality, especially in the cleaning of electronic and electrical products. In one embodiment of the present invention, the rinsing solution is filtered water or deionized water. Using filtered water can remove suspended particles in the water, avoiding secondary particulate contamination on the surface of the parts. Using deionized water can eliminate various ions in the water, preventing watermarks or impact on the electrical properties (such as conductivity and insulation) of the product due to ion residue after the parts have dried. This is essential to ensure that the cleaned parts meet the stringent requirements of high-precision applications (e.g., avoiding short circuits).

[0031] After the parts have undergone sufficient treatment in the ultrasonic treatment zone 20, the attached substances have been loosened considerably, requiring a powerful means to completely remove them. For this purpose, the present invention provides the high-pressure fluid jet zone 30. This zone includes a high-pressure spray station. Unlike traditional spraying methods, the high-pressure spray station of the present invention is equipped with multiple nozzles. These nozzles are carefully positioned at different locations within the station, such as above, below, to the left, and to the right of the parts, thereby enabling the spraying of high-pressure water jets onto the parts during transport from multiple angles. This multi-point, multi-angle spraying design ensures that the high-pressure water jets can cover all outer surfaces and some through-holes of the parts without any blind spots. Through powerful kinetic energy impact, the particles, oil stains, and other contaminants loosened by the ultrasonic waves are thoroughly peeled off and washed away from the parts.

[0032] To ensure complete removal of even the most stubborn particles or those located deep within complex structures, the high-pressure spray station can also employ a multi-stage series design. In a preferred embodiment, such as Figure 1As shown, the high-pressure spray station includes at least two high-pressure spray units connected in series, specifically a first high-pressure spray unit 31 and a second high-pressure spray unit 32. When the parts pass through the first high-pressure spray unit 31, most of the loosened adhering substances are washed away; then they enter the second high-pressure spray unit 32 to receive another round of all-around high-pressure spraying. This secondary enhanced spraying not only removes any "escaped" substances from the previous stage, but also uses a relatively cleaner spray liquid for final rinsing, effectively preventing the washed-down contaminants from re-adhering to the parts within the cavity, thus ensuring extremely high particulate cleanliness.

[0033] After cleaning, a layer of water film usually adheres to the surface of the parts. If left to evaporate naturally or baked with hot air, water stains and marks can easily form on the surface, affecting appearance and even performance. To solve this problem, in one embodiment of the present invention, a high-pressure air-cutting system 40 is provided after the high-pressure fluid spray zone 30. This system sprays high-pressure, high-speed clean airflow onto the surface of the parts from different angles through multiple nozzles. This powerful airflow acts like an "air knife," instantly blowing away residual liquid (such as water droplets and water film) from the surface of the parts, achieving rapid and trace-free physical drying. The surface of the parts treated by high-pressure air-cutting is dry and can directly proceed to the next process without a long wait or additional baking equipment, further improving the overall production cycle.

[0034] Considering the requirements of environmental protection and sustainable production, the automated cleaning system of this invention can also integrate water treatment functions. In one embodiment, the system is also equipped with a wastewater recycling and reuse device (not shown in the figure). This device can collect wastewater from the ultrasonic rinsing station and the high-pressure spray station, and treat the wastewater through physical filtration, sedimentation, chemical neutralization, or more advanced purification technologies (such as reverse osmosis) to remove oil, particulate matter, and chemical agents. The treated clean water can be recycled for different stations in the system, depending on its purity, for example, for the initial stage of high-pressure spraying or for preparing solutions for ultrasonic chemical cleaning. This design not only significantly reduces the consumption of fresh water and wastewater discharge, meeting the environmental protection requirements of energy conservation and emission reduction, but also reduces the operating costs of enterprises.

[0035] The automated cleaning system of the present invention has good adaptability, and can be adapted to the cleaning needs of different types of parts by changing or adjusting the specific form of the continuous conveying device 10. In one specific embodiment, the continuous conveying device 10 can be a tracked conveyor, suitable for carrying parts of various shapes and sizes, and has strong versatility. As another option, when the parts to be cleaned are heavy or require very stable support, a chain conveyor can be used. When the parts are small, lightweight, or have a mesh structure and need to be exposed to the cleaning fluid and airflow to the maximum extent, a mesh belt conveyor can be used. This selectivity allows the system of the present invention to be widely used in the cleaning of metal or non-metal parts in different fields such as automobiles, electronics, hardware, and medical devices.

[0036] Accordingly, the present invention also provides an automated cleaning method, which can be executed by the automated cleaning system of any of the above embodiments. Please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 2 The flowchart illustrates the core steps of this method. First, in step S100, the parts to be cleaned are transported by a continuous conveyor, thus initiating the entire automated cleaning process.

[0037] Subsequently, in step S200, the parts are sequentially subjected to an ultrasonic treatment step along the conveying path of the continuous conveying device. In this step, the parts are immersed in a liquid medium and ultrasonic waves are applied to them. The core purpose of this step is to utilize the physical effects of ultrasonic waves to break the adhesion between contaminants and the surface of the parts.

[0038] As a preferred method of execution for step S200, this step can be further refined. For example... Figure 2 As shown, step S210 is executed first for ultrasonic chemical cleaning. This involves placing the parts into a tank containing a cleaning agent, where the combined chemical action of the agent and the physical action of the ultrasound effectively loosens stubborn deposits. Next, step S220 is executed for ultrasonic rinsing. The chemically cleaned parts are then placed into one or more tanks containing a rinsing solution (such as filtered water), where the ultrasound again thoroughly removes any remaining chemicals and loosened contaminants from every corner of the parts, especially from micropores.

[0039] After completing the ultrasonic treatment step, the method proceeds to step S300, which involves a high-pressure fluid jetting step. In this step, high-pressure fluid is jetted onto the parts that have undergone the ultrasonic treatment step. At this time, since the adhering substances on the surface of the parts have been sufficiently loosened, the powerful impact force of the high-pressure fluid can easily peel them off and wash them away from the surface of the parts, completing the final purification.

[0040] Finally, as an optional optimization step, such as Figure 2As shown in step S400, a high-pressure air-drying step can be performed on the parts. That is, after the high-pressure fluid jet is completed, high-pressure clean air is used to blow away the residual liquid on the surface of the parts to prevent water marks and allow the parts to quickly enter the subsequent packaging or assembly stages. The entire process perfectly combines the "softening" effect of ultrasound with the "strong attack" effect of high-pressure spraying, achieving efficient and deep automated cleaning.

[0041] To more vividly illustrate the technical effects of the present invention, a complete application example is described below. Assume the part to be cleaned is a precision metal electronic product casing with deep blind holes and complex internal cavities, which has become contaminated with cutting oil and tiny metal particles during manufacturing. First, the part is placed on a conveyor belt-type continuous transport device 10, and the system is started. The part is first fed into the ultrasonic chemical cleaning station 21, where it undergoes ultrasonic treatment in a tank containing cleaning agents, with a treatment time set to 30 seconds. During this process, the cavitation effect of the ultrasound penetrates deep into the blind holes, loosening the oil and metal particles from the substrate.

[0042] Subsequently, the parts are automatically conveyed by a conveyor belt to the first ultrasonic rinsing unit 22 and the second ultrasonic rinsing unit 23, where they undergo ultrasonic rinsing for 30 seconds each in two tanks filled with filtered water. This two-stage rinsing ensures that chemicals and most loosened contaminants are thoroughly removed. Next, the parts enter the high-pressure fluid jet zone 30, passing sequentially through the first high-pressure spray unit 31 and the second high-pressure spray unit 32. In each unit, the parts are sprayed with high-pressure water from multiple angles, with each unit's spray time set to 20 seconds. The powerful water flow thoroughly flushes out any loose metal particles from the deep blind holes. Finally, the parts are rapidly dried by high-pressure air through the high-pressure air cutting system 40. The particulate matter residue level on the surface of the parts cleaned through this process fully meets the stringent requirements for preventing short circuits and malfunctions in precision electronic products, demonstrating the superior performance and practical value of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automated cleaning system, characterized in that, include: One rack; A continuous conveying device is installed on the frame for conveying parts to be cleaned; as well as The following components are sequentially installed on the frame along the conveying path of the continuous conveying device: An ultrasonic treatment zone for applying ultrasonic waves to the part in a liquid medium; and A high-pressure fluid jetting zone is used to spray high-pressure fluid onto the parts that have passed through the ultrasonic treatment zone.

2. The automated cleaning system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ultrasonic processing area includes: An ultrasonic chemical cleaning station is used to apply ultrasonic waves to the parts in a cleaning agent to loosen adhering substances; and An ultrasonic rinsing station is set after the ultrasonic chemical cleaning station for ultrasonically rinsing the parts in a rinsing solution to remove residual cleaning agents.

3. The automated cleaning system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The ultrasonic rinsing station includes at least two ultrasonic rinsing units arranged in series.

4. The automated cleaning system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The high-pressure fluid jetting zone includes a high-pressure spraying station equipped with multiple nozzles for spraying high-pressure water jets onto the parts from multiple angles.

5. The automated cleaning system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The high-pressure spray station includes at least two high-pressure spray units connected in series.

6. The automated cleaning system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Following the high-pressure fluid injection zone, a high-pressure air cutting system is also provided to spray high-pressure air to blow away any residual liquid on the surface of the part.

7. The automated cleaning system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The system is also equipped with wastewater recycling and reuse equipment, which is used to treat and reuse the wastewater generated during the cleaning process.

8. The automated cleaning system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The continuous conveying device is a tracked, chain-plate, or mesh belt conveyor.

9. The automated cleaning system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The rinsing solution is filtered water or deionized water.

10. An automated cleaning method, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The parts to be cleaned are conveyed by a continuous conveyor; and The parts are sequentially passed along the conveying path of the continuous conveying device: An ultrasonic processing step involves applying ultrasonic waves to the part in a liquid medium; and A high-pressure fluid injection step involves injecting high-pressure fluid onto the parts that have undergone the ultrasonic treatment step.

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