External lip cleaner for air knife

Abstract

An external lip cleaner for an air knife including a guide unit and a cleaner unit is provided. The cleaner unit may include a moving body that is rotatable in a left-right direction along with the guide unit, first and second rotation links respectively provided at upper and lower portions of a front surface of the moving body, a swing body connected to both of front portions of the first and second rotation links, an elastic member moving the swing body rearwards, an attachment and detachment body attached and detached to the swing body, an auxiliary body attached and detached to the attachment and detachment body, and a cleaner tip provided a lower portion of auxiliary body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an external lip cleaner for an air knife, more particularly, to an external lip cleaner for an air knife, the external lip cleaner being configured to efficiently remove foreign substances remaining in an outlet of the air knife.Background Art

[0002] In a hot-dip plating process, an external lip cleaner for an air knife may be used for the purpose of removing foreign substances fixed or remaining on an outlet of the air knife which sprays a gas to control the amount of plating (thickness of metal plated such as zinc plating) of a plated steel sheet.

[0003] However, the related art has a problem in that a cleaner tip is not located in close contact with a front surface and an inner surface of an outlet (discharge hole) located between an upper lip and a lower lip of the air knife, so that foreign substances cannot be removed completely. Specifically, when efficient removal of foreign substances cannot be performed, gas spraying pressure of the air knife cannot be maintained uniformly and thus the production quality of the plated steel sheet may deteriorate.

[0004] Furthermore, the cleaner tip cannot be attached and detached quickly and easily, and the replacement efficiency of the cleaner tip is inevitably low, which is a problem.

[0005] As related patent documents, reference may be made to KR 10-1998-0047222 A (September 15, 1998), KR 10-2003-0093586 A (December 11, 2003), KR 10-2006-0055923 A (May 24, 2006), KR 10-2010-0051365 A (May 17, 2010), KR 10-1001707 B1 (December 15, 2010), KR 10-2012-0074642 A (July 06, 2012), KR 10-2017-0006956 A (January 18, 2017), and KR 10-2017-0029719 A (March 16, 2017).Disclosure Technical Problem

[0006] The present disclosure is intended to provide an external lip cleaner for an air knife, the external lip cleaner being capable of removing foreign substances with a cleaner tip brought into close contact with a front surface and an inner surface of the air knife.

[0007] The present disclosure is intended to provide an external lip cleaner for an air knife, the external lip cleaner being configured for an operator to easily and conveniently assemble and separate a cleaner tip.Technical Solution

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided an external lip cleaner for an air knife, and the external lip cleaner may include: a guide unit provided at an upper portion of an air knife extending in a left-right direction, and provided in a longitudinal direction of the air knife; and a cleaner unit configured to be moved along the guide unit to remove foreign substances from an outlet of the air knife, wherein the cleaner unit may include: a moving body configured to be movable in the left-right direction along the guide unit; a first rotation link provided at an upper portion of a front surface of the moving body; a second rotation link provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the moving body; a swing body connected to both of a fore end portion of the first rotation link and a fore end portion of the second rotation link to be moved forwards and rearwards in response to rotated directions of the first rotation link and the second rotation link; an elastic member configured to give the swing body an elastic force rearwards; an attachment and detachment body removably formed at a front portion or a lower portion of the swing body; an auxiliary body removably formed at a front portion of the attachment and detachment body; and a cleaner tip provided at a lower portion of the auxiliary body to enable contact with a front surface and an inner surface of the outlet.

[0009] The guide unit may include: a pair of supports provided at left and right portions of the upper portion of the air knife; a first guide member provided in the left-right direction at front portions of the pair of supports; and a second guide member provided in the left-right direction at rear portions of the pair of supports.

[0010] The external lip cleaner for an air knife may include: a rotary shaft formed in a horizontal direction in a gap formed by dividing the moving body in middle into two portions.

[0011] The external lip cleaner for an air knife may include: a first hinge pin formed such that a rear end portion of the first rotation link is coupled to the upper portion of the front surface of the moving body to be rotatable forwards and rearwards; a second hinge pin formed such that a rear end portion of the second rotation link may be coupled to the lower portion of the front surface of the moving body to be rotatable forwards and rearwards; a third hinge pin formed such that an upper portion of the first rotation link may be coupled to one side of an upper portion of the swing body to be rotatable forwards and rearwards; and a fourth hinge pin formed such that an upper portion of the second rotation link may be coupled to one side of a middle portion of the swing body to be rotatable forwards and rearwards.

[0012] The external lip cleaner for an air knife may include: a height adjusting groove formed with a predetermined vertical length at a front portion of the attachment and detachment body, and a fastener formed to penetrate an upper portion of the auxiliary body to fix the height adjusting groove.

[0013] The external lip cleaner for an air knife may include: an insertion groove formed at a lower portion of the swing body; a fixation protrusion formed at an upper portion of the attachment and detachment body to be inserted into the insertion groove to be fixable; a vertical moving groove formed by vertically penetrating the front portion of the attachment and detachment body; and an insertion protrusion formed at an upper portion of the auxiliary body to be inserted into the vertical moving groove.

[0014] The cleaner tip may include a pair of cleaner tips, and either of the pair of cleaner tips may be brought into close contact with a front surface and an inner surface of an upper lip at the outlet to remove foreign substances, and another one may be brought into close contact with a front surface and an inner surface of a lower lip at the outlet to remove foreign substances.Advantageous Effects

[0015] According to the present disclosure, the cleaner tip is configured to be brought into close contact with the front surface and the inner surface of the outlet of the air knife, so that foreign substances can be efficiently removed. Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, the cleaner tip can be more easily and conveniently assembled or separated, so that improved replacement efficiency of the cleaner tip can be secured.Description of Drawings

[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a structure of an external lip cleaner for an air knife according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the structure of the external lip cleaner for an air knife according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the structure of the external lip cleaner for an air knife according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of a cleaner unit of the external lip cleaner for an air knife according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a front view showing another example of the cleaner unit of the external lip cleaner for an air knife according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIGS. 6 and 7 are example views showing operation of the external lip cleaner for an air knife according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Mode for Invention

[0017] Hereinbelow, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to accompanying drawings.

[0018] According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, a structure, and the like of an external lip cleaner for an air knife are shown in FIGS. 1 to 7.

[0019] According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, an external lip cleaner 100 for an air knife includes: a guide unit 110 provided at an upper portion of an air knife 20 in a longitudinal direction of the air knife 20 to correspond to a left-right direction; and a cleaner unit 120 moved in the left-right direction along the guide unit 110 to remove foreign substances remaining in an outlet 21 of the air knife 20.

[0020] The cleaner unit 120 includes: a moving body 121 formed to be movable in the left-right direction along a first guide member 112 and a second guide member 113 of the guide unit 110; a first rotation link 123 formed at an upper portion of a front surface of the moving body 121; a second rotation link 124 formed at a lower portion of the front surface of the moving body 121; a swing body 125 formed at both of a front end portion of the first rotation link 123 and a front end portion of the second rotation link 124 that are located at an upper portion thereof to be movable in a front-rear direction; an elastic member 126 formed so that the swing body 125 is rotatable rearwards at all times; an attachment and detachment body 127 removably formed at a front side or a lower portion of the swing body 125; an auxiliary body 128 removably formed at a front side of the attachment and detachment body 127; and a cleaner tip 129 provided at a lower portion of the auxiliary body 128 to be in close contact with a front surface of a front surface and an inner surface of the outlet 21 to remove foreign substances.

[0021] The guide unit 110 serves to guide transverse movement of the cleaner unit 120 so that the cleaner unit 120 is precisely movable in the longitudinal direction of the air knife 20.

[0022] The guide unit 110 includes: a pair of supports 111 provided at left and right portions of the upper portion of the air knife 20; the first guide member 112 provided horizontally in the left-right direction at front portions of the pair of supports 111; and the second guide member 113 provided horizontally in the left-right direction at rear portions of the pair of supports 111.

[0023] The pair of supports 111 may support opposite ends of the first guide member 112 and opposite ends of the second guide member 113, respectively. Accordingly, both of the first guide member 112 and the second guide member 113 may be located between the pair of supports 111.

[0024] Each of the first guide member 112 and the second guide member 113 may be shaped in a rod with a constant sectional area. The first guide member 112 and the second guide member 113 may have cross-sectional areas of a circular shape. The first guide member 112 and the second guide member 113 are disposed at a predetermined interval so as to be spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction when viewed from the upper side, and secure a supporting force so as to prevent the cleaner unit 120 from shaking in a leftward and rightward movement process.

[0025] Shock absorbing members 112a may be provided at opposite ends of the first guide member 112 or opposite ends of the second guide member 113, respectively. The shock absorbing members 112a may prevent the cleaner unit 120 from colliding with the supports 111 when the cleaner unit 120 is moved leftwards and rightwards, and may protect the cleaner unit 120 by absorbing shock. For example, each of the shock absorbing members 112a may be made of a material including an elastic material such as urethane.

[0026] The cleaner unit 120 is provided outside the air knife 20 as an external type and is moved leftwards and rightwards to remove foreign substances on the front surface and the inner surface of the outlet 21.

[0027] The cleaner unit 120 may be moved leftwards and rightwards with the first guide member 112 and the second guide member 113 penetrating through or seating on one side of a front portion and one side of a rear portion of the moving body 121, respectively.

[0028] A slipping means such as a bearing or a bush is formed at each of one side of the front portion and one side of the rear portion of the moving body 121 so that the cleaner unit 120 may be moved smoothly along the first guide member 112 and the second guide member 113.

[0029] Meanwhile, the present disclosure includes: a rotary shaft 121a formed horizontally in a gap formed by dividing the moving body 121 in middle into two portions. When a horizontal angle of the first guide member 112 and the second guide member 113 is twisted or changed due to an external shock or deformation, the front portion and the rear portion of the moving body 121 are respectively rotated on the rotary shaft 121a and thus the first guide member 112 and the second guide member 113 may correspond the horizontal angle.

[0030] Furthermore, the present disclosure may include a fastener 122 at one side of the upper portion of the moving body 121, and the fastener 122 is formed to fix a connection line 131 of a driving unit 130 to be described below, which is to move the moving body 121 leftwards and rightwards.

[0031] Furthermore, the first rotation link 123 and the second rotation link 124 are very important to induce the swing body 125 so that the swing body 125 is movable forwards and rearwards while maintaining a horizontal state thereof without changing an angle vertically.

[0032] At this point, the present disclosure includes: a first hinge pin 121b in the left-right direction, which is formed such that a rear end portion of the first rotation link 123 located at a lower side is coupled to the upper portion of the front surface of the moving body 121, thereby being rotated forwards and rearwards; a second hinge pin 121c in the left-right direction, which is formed such that a rear end portion of the second rotation link 124 located at a lower side is coupled to the lower portion of the front surface of the moving body 121, thereby being rotated forwards and rearwards; a third hinge pin 123a in the left-right direction, which is formed such that an upper portion of the first rotation link 123 is coupled to one side of an upper portion of the swing body 125, thereby being rotated forwards and rearwards; and a fourth hinge pin 124a in the left-right direction, which is formed such that an upper portion of the second rotation link 124 is coupled to one side of a middle portion of the swing body 125, thereby being rotated forwards and rearwards. Accordingly, according to a location where the cleaner tip 129 is brought into close contact with the front surface and the inner surface of the outlet 21, the first rotation link 123 and the second rotation link 124 are moved forwards and rearwards and may move the swing body 125 forwards and rearwards, at the same time.

[0033] The elastic member 126 generates an elastic force that is to move the swing body 125 rearwards at all times, so that the cleaner tip 129 is moved leftwards and rightwards in close contact with the front surface and the inner surface of the outlet 21, thereby removing foreign substances without remaining foreign substances.

[0034] At this point, the elastic member 126 is formed between the moving body 121 and the swing body 125 by using a spring with various shapes and sizes.

[0035] Meanwhile, the attachment and detachment body 127 is formed to be attachable and detachable at the front portion or the lower portion of the swing body 125 for maintenance or replacement by using a fastener 127a such as a bolt or a pin.

[0036] Furthermore, the auxiliary body 128 may serve to adjust a height at which the cleaner tip 129 may be brought into close contact with the front surface and the inner surface of the outlet 21.

[0037] At this point, the present disclosure includes: a height adjusting groove 127b formed to have a vertically constant length at the front portion of the attachment and detachment body 127; and a fastener 128a formed by penetrating one side of an upper portion of the auxiliary body 128 to be fixed to the height adjusting groove 127b. Therefore, after adjusting the height of the auxiliary body 128, an operator can firmly fix the auxiliary body 128 by using the fastener 128a.

[0038] At this point, the fastener 128a is formed in various shapes such as a bolt or a clamp and the operator can detach and attach the cleaner tip 129 with the attachment and detachment body 127.

[0039] Specifically, the height adjusting groove 127b is formed to have a constant vertical length, and the length of the auxiliary body 128 is adjusted and then a fore end of the fastener 128a may be brought into close contact with an inner side of the height adjusting groove 127b to be fixed at a designated position.

[0040] Furthermore, the present disclosure may include: an insertion groove 125a formed at the lower portion of the swing body 125; a fixation protrusion 127c formed at an upper portion of the attachment and detachment body 127 to be inserted into the insertion groove 125a to be fixable; a vertical moving groove 127b formed by vertically penetrating the front portion of the attachment and detachment body 127; and an insertion protrusion 128b formed at an upper portion of the auxiliary body 128 to be inserted into the vertical moving groove 127b.

[0041] The insertion groove 125a is formed in various shapes so that the fixation protrusion 127c is inserted and caught therein, and the swing body 125 and the attachment and detachment body 127 may be coupled to and separated from each other.

[0042] Specifically, the vertical moving groove 127b is formed to have a constant area so as to be moved vertically in a coupling or separating process of the auxiliary body 128.

[0043] At this point, the vertical moving groove 127b and the insertion protrusion 128b may be formed in various shapes so that an engaged state between the vertical moving groove 127b and the insertion protrusion 128b may be maintained.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaner tip 129 may be formed to have various shapes and materials so that the cleaner tip 129 with one integrated shape is brought into close contact with the front surface and the inner surface of the outlet 21 outside the air knife 20 to remove foreign substances.

[0045] At this point, the cleaner tip 129 may be detached and attached to a lower surface of the auxiliary body 128 by using a fastener 129a such as a bolt, and the like.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 5, the cleaner tip 129 is formed in a pair of cleaner tips 129. Even when positions of front surfaces of upper lip and lower lip outlets 21 does not match with each other vertically, the pair of cleaner tips 129 is formed to be respectively moved forwards and rearwards and adjusted in positions thereof, thereby efficiently removing foreign substances .

[0047] Springs (not shown) are provided between the pair of cleaner tips 129 and the auxiliary body 128 so as to move the cleaner tips 129 forwards and rearwards.

[0048] Referring to FIG. 7, the cleaner unit 120 may be moved leftwards and rightwards by the driving unit 130. The driving unit 130 may be configured to move the cleaner unit 120 leftwards and rightwards by adopting different types of drive sources.

[0049] For example, the driving unit 130 may include a linear actuator, i.e., the drive source, the flexible connection line 131, and guide rollers for setting a moving path of the connection line 131. The linear actuator may include a linear movement member. The connection line 131 may be a rope, a wire, and the like. The connection line 131 is connected to the linear movement member and extends towards the opposite sides of a movement direction of the linear movement member, and then may be guided towards the cleaner unit 120 by the guide rollers. The cleaner unit 120 may be connected, at the fastener 122 as shown in FIG. 6, to the connection line 131. When the linear movement member of the linear actuator is moved, the connection line 131 may be moved along the movement path set by the guide rollers. At this point, the cleaner unit 120 may be moved leftwards and rightwards by a pulling force of the connection line 131.

[0050] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the reference numeral 111a is a direction switching member provided at each of upper portions of the pair of supports 111. The direction switching members 111a may be configured to set adopting position and angle of the connection line 131 into required states in order to prevent interference of the connection line 131 adopted towards the fastener 122 at left and right sides of the guide unit 110.

[0051] According to the embodiment of the present disclosure configured as described above, while the cleaner unit 120 reciprocates along the longitudinal direction of the air knife 20, the external lip cleaner 100 for an air knife can remove foreign substances on the front surface and the inner surface of the outlet 21 by the cleaner tip 129.

[0052] In this process, as shown in FIG. 6, the cleaner tip 129 may be in close contact with the front surface and the inner surface of the outlet 21, since the first rotation link 123 and the second rotation link 124 are moved rearwards while maintaining a horizontal state with each other by operation of the elastic member 126. Accordingly, removal of foreign substances from the front surface and the inner surface of the outlet 21 can be efficiently and precisely performed.

[0053] Although the present disclosure has been described as described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment and the accompanied drawings and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An external lip cleaner for an air knife, the external lip cleaner characterized in that it comprises: a guide unit (110) provided at an upper portion of an air knife (20) extending in a left-right direction, and provided in a longitudinal direction of the air knife (20); and a cleaner unit (120) configured to be moved along the guide unit (110) to remove foreign substances from an outlet (21) of the air knife (20), wherein the cleaner unit (120) comprises: a moving body (121) configured to be movable in the left-right direction along the guide unit (110); a first rotation link (123) provided at an upper portion of a front surface of the moving body (121); a second rotation link (124) provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the moving body (121); a swing body (125) connected to both of a fore end portion of the first rotation link (123) and a fore end portion of the second rotation link (124) to be moved forwards and rearwards in response to rotated directions of the first rotation link (123) and the second rotation link (124); an elastic member (126) configured to give the swing body (125) an elastic force rearwards; an attachment and detachment body (127) removably formed at a front portion or a lower portion of the swing body (125); an auxiliary body (128) removably formed at a front portion of the attachment and detachment body (127); and a cleaner tip (129) provided at a lower portion of the auxiliary body (128) to enable contact with a front surface and an inner surface of the outlet (21).

2. The external lip cleaner of claim 1, characterized in that the guide unit (110) comprises: a pair of supports (111) provided at left and right portions of the upper portion of the air knife (20); a first guide member (112) provided in the left-right direction at front portions of the pair of supports (111); and a second guide member (113) provided in the left-right direction at rear portions of the pair of supports (111).

3. The external lip cleaner of claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: a rotary shaft (121a) formed in a horizontal direction in a gap formed by dividing the moving body (121) in middle into two portions.

4. The external lip cleaner of claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: a first hinge pin (121b) formed such that a rear end portion of the first rotation link (123) is coupled to the upper portion of the front surface of the moving body (121) to be rotatable forwards and rearwards; a second hinge pin (121c) formed such that a rear end portion of the second rotation link (124) is coupled to the lower portion of the front surface of the moving body (121) to be rotatable forwards and rearwards; a third hinge pin (123a) formed such that an upper portion of the first rotation link (123) is coupled to one side of an upper portion of the swing body (125) to be rotatable forwards and rearwards; and a fourth hinge pin (124a) formed such that an upper portion of the second rotation link (124) is coupled to one side of a middle portion of the swing body (125) to be rotatable forwards and rearwards.

5. The external lip cleaner of claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: a height adjusting groove (127b) formed with a predetermined vertical length at a front portion of the attachment and detachment body (127), and a fastener (128a) formed to penetrate an upper portion of the auxiliary body (128) to fix the height adjusting groove (127b).

6. The external lip cleaner of claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: an insertion groove (125a) formed at a lower portion of the swing body (125); a fixation protrusion (127c) formed at an upper portion of the attachment and detachment body (127) to be inserted into the insertion groove (125a) to be fixable; a vertical moving groove (127b) formed by vertically penetrating the front portion of the attachment and detachment body (127); and an insertion protrusion (128b) formed at an upper portion of the auxiliary body (128) to be inserted into the vertical moving groove (127b).

7. The external lip cleaner of claim 1, characterized in that the cleaner tip (129) comprises a pair of cleaner tips, and either of the pair of cleaner tips (129) is brought into close contact with a front surface and an inner surface of an upper lip at the outlet (21) to remove foreign substances, and another one is brought into close contact with a front surface and an inner surface of a lower lip at the outlet (21) to remove foreign substances.

Images