Cleaning device and cleaning method

Abstract

To provide a cleaning device which can prevent deterioration of cleaning capability of a cutting blade, and to provide a cleaning method.SOLUTION: A cleaning device EA includes: multiple cleaning members 10 each having a contact part 12A which contacts with a cutting blade 33C; and driving means 20 which rotates the multiple cleaning members 10 to clean the cutting blade 33C with the contact parts 12A. The driving means 20 rotates the multiple cleaning members 10 so that the contact parts 12A in the multiple cleaning members 10 rotate at speeds which are relatively different from each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cleaning device and a cleaning method. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A cleaning device that cleans a cutting blade with a cleaning member is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-44772 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the stock device (cleaning device) described in Patent Document 1, when the rotating brush 50 (cleaning member) repeatedly cleans the cutter blade 21 (cutting blade), foreign matter adheres to the cleaning member, which reduces the cleaning ability of the cutting blade.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device and a cleaning method capable of preventing a decrease in the cleaning ability of a cutting blade. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention employs the configurations set forth in the claims. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, the multiple cleaning members are rotated so that the contact portions of the multiple cleaning members rotate at relatively different speeds, so that foreign matter adhering to the cleaning members can be removed by the friction between the contact portions, and a decrease in the cleaning ability of the cutting blade can be prevented. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet sticking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 10A is an explanatory diagram of the operation of a sheet sticking device, and FIGS. 10B and 10C are explanatory diagrams of a sheet sticking device according to a modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis are mutually orthogonal, the X-axis and Y-axis are axes within a specified plane, and the Z-axis is an axis orthogonal to the specified plane. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the view from the front direction of Fig. 1 parallel to the Y-axis is used as a reference, and when indicating directions, "up" is the direction of the Z-axis arrow, "down" is the opposite direction, "left" is the direction of the X-axis arrow, "right" is the opposite direction, "front" is the direction of the Y-axis arrow, and "rear" is the opposite direction.

[0010] The cleaning device EA of the present invention comprises a plurality of cleaning members 10 having abutment portions 12A that abut against the cutting blade 33C, and a driving means 20 (see FIG. 2(A)) that rotates the plurality of cleaning members 10 and cleans the cutting blade 33C with the abutment portions 12A. A sheet application device EA1 is constituted by an application means 30 that applies an adhesive sheet base material AB to an adherend WK, and a support means 40 that supports the adherend WK.

[0011] The cleaning member 10 includes a pair of rotating shafts 11 extending in the front-rear direction, and a brush member 12 whose base is supported by each rotating shaft 11 and whose opposite end from the base serves as a contact portion 12A (see FIG. 2(A)).

[0012] The driving means 20 includes a case 21 having a through hole 21A for inserting the cutting blade 33C and a storage section 21B for storing the cleaning members 10, a rotary motor 22 as a driving device supported by the case 21 and supporting the left cleaning member 10 with an output shaft 22A, and a driving force transmission means 23 such as a gear or a belt for transmitting the rotational driving force of the rotary motor 22 from the output shaft 22A to the right cleaning member 10, and is configured to rotate the multiple cleaning members 10 so that the contact portions 12A of the multiple cleaning members 10 rotate at relatively different speeds. In this embodiment, the driving means 20 rotates the left cleaning member 10 in a clockwise direction at a predetermined speed and rotates the right cleaning member 10 in a counterclockwise direction at a predetermined speed different from that of the left cleaning member 10.

[0013] The attachment means 30 comprises a payout means 31 which pays out an adhesive sheet base material AB, a pressing means 32 which presses the paid-out adhesive sheet base material AB against an adherend WK to attach it, and a cutting means 33 which provides a closed-loop slit penetrating the adhesive sheet base material AB attached to the adherend WK, forms an adhesive sheet AS (see Figure 1 (B)) inside the slit, and forms an unnecessary sheet US outside the slit. The unwinding means 31 includes a support roller 31A that supports an original roll RS having an adhesive sheet base material AB temporarily attached to one side of the release sheet RL, guide rollers 31B and 31C that guide the original roll RS, a linear motor 31F as a driving device that supports a pressing member 31D with an output shaft 31E that sandwiches the original roll RS between the guide roller 31B, a load cell 31G as a tension detection means that supports the guide roller 31C and is capable of measuring the tension of the adhesive sheet base material AB, a peeling plate 31J as a peeling member that folds back the release sheet RL at the peeling edge 31H and peels the adhesive sheet base material AB from the release sheet RL, a rotary motor 31L as a driving device that supports a drive roller 31K with an output shaft not shown, a pinch roller 31M that sandwiches the release sheet RL between the drive roller 31K, and a rotation motor 31L as a driving device that is supported by the output shaft of the driving device not shown, and while the sheet sticking device EA1 is automatically operated, a predetermined tension is always applied to the release sheet RL that exists between the pinch roller 31M and the release sheet RL, The device is equipped with a recovery roller 31N that recovers the peel-off sheet RL, a linear motor 31R as a driving device supported by a slider 31Q (see Figure 1 (B)) of a linear motor 31P as a driving device, a frame 31S supported by a slider (not shown) of the linear motor 31R and supporting each of the above-mentioned components constituting the pay-out means 31 other than the support roller 31A and the recovery roller 31N, a frame 31V supported by a slider 31U of the linear motor 31T as a driving device, a drive roller 31Y supported by an output shaft (not shown) of a rotary motor 31W as a driving device supported by the frame 31V and pinching the unnecessary sheet US between the pinch roller 31X, and a recovery roller 31Z supported by an output shaft of a driving device (not shown) supported by the frame 31V, and constantly applying a predetermined tension to the unnecessary sheet US present between the drive roller 31Y and the recovery roller 31Z while the sheet application device EA1 is operating automatically, thereby recovering the unnecessary sheet US. The pressing means 32 includes a linear motor 32C as a driving device supported on a slider 32A of a linear motor 31T via a bracket 32B, and a pressing roller 32F rotatably supported on an output shaft 32D of the linear motor 32C via a bracket 32E. The cutting means 33 includes an articulated robot 33A as a driving device, and a cutting blade 33C supported on a working arm 33B of the articulated robot 33A via a bracket 33D. The articulated robot 33A is a so-called six-axis robot that can displace the cutting blade 33C to any position and angle within its working range.

[0014] The support means 40 includes a linear motor 41 as a driving device, and a table 42 supported by an output shaft 41A of the linear motor 41 and having an adherend support surface 42A and a sheet support surface 42B that can be adsorbed and held by a pressure reduction means (holding means) such as a pressure reduction pump or a vacuum ejector (not shown).

[0015] The operation of the sheet sticking apparatus EA1 equipped with the above-mentioned cleaning apparatus EA will be described. First, a user of the sheet application apparatus EA1 (hereinafter simply referred to as "user") sets the original fabric RS on the sheet application apparatus EA1, in which each member is arranged in the initial position shown by the solid line in Fig. 1(A), as shown in the figure, and then inputs a signal to start automatic operation via an operation means such as an operation panel or a personal computer (not shown). Next, when the user or a conveying means (not shown) such as an articulated robot or a belt conveyer places the adherend WK at a predetermined position on the adherend support surface 42A as shown in Fig. 1(A), the support means 40 drives a pressure reducing means and a linear motor 41 (not shown) to start suction and holding the adherend WK on the adherend support surface 42A, and raises the table 42.

[0016] Thereafter, the bonding means 30 drives the linear motor 32C, and as shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 1(A), the pressure roller 32F is lowered to press the adhesive sheet base material AB against the sheet support surface 42B with a predetermined pressure. Next, the bonding means 30 drives the rotary motor 31L to wind up the release sheet RL and the adhesive sheet base material AB, and when the load cell 31G detects that the tension of the adhesive sheet base material AB located on the support means 40 has reached a predetermined value, the driving of the rotary motor 31L is stopped. Then, the bonding means 30 drives the linear motor 31F to sandwich the original web RS between the pressing member 31D and the guide roller 31B, and suppress the payout of the adhesive sheet base material AB. Next, the attachment means 30 drives the linear motors 31P, 31R, and 31T, and as shown in FIG. 1(B), moves the pressure roller 32F to the right while moving the frame 31S left and right and up and down so that the tension detected by the load cell 31G does not deviate from a predetermined value, and the adhesive sheet base material AB is pressed against the adherend WK and the sheet support surface 42B by the pressure roller 32F to attach them.

[0017] When the attachment of the adhesive sheet base material AB to the adherend WK is completed, the attachment means 30 drives the articulated robot 33A, and as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1(B), the cutting blade 33C pierces the adhesive sheet base material AB, and the cutting blade 33C moves along the outer periphery of the adherend WK. As a result, the adhesive sheet AS remains attached on the adherend WK, and an unnecessary sheet US is formed on the outer periphery of the adhesive sheet AS. After that, the attachment means 30 drives the linear motor 31T and the rotary motor 31W, and as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1(B), the frame 31V moves to the right while the unnecessary sheet US is collected by the collection roller 31Z. Next, the support means 40 stops driving the pressure reducing means (not shown), and releases the suction and holding of the adherend WK on the adherend support surface 42A. Then, when the user or a conveying means (not shown) conveys the adherend WK with the adhesive sheet AS attached to the next process, the attaching means 30 drives the linear motors 31F and 32C to release the original web RS from the clamping between the pressing member 31D and the guide roller 31B and raise the pressing roller 32F. Next, with the attaching means 30 stopping the driving of the rotary motor 31W, each means drives its respective driving device, returning each member to its initial position and feeding out the adhesive sheet base material AB onto the supporting means 40, and thereafter the same operations as above are repeated.

[0018] Here, when the above-mentioned similar operation is repeated a predetermined number of times, the attachment means 30 drives the articulated robot 33A, and as shown in FIG. 2(A), the cutting blade 33C is inserted into the through hole 21A of the cleaning device EA, and then the drive means 20 drives the rotation motor 22 to rotate the left and right cleaning members 10 and clean the cutting blade 33C with the brush member 12. Thereafter, the attachment means 30 drives the articulated robot 33A to return the cutting blade 33C to the initial position, and then the drive means 20 stops driving the rotation motor 22 after a predetermined time has elapsed. Since the cleaning members 10 rub against each other while the predetermined time has elapsed since the cutting blade 33C is removed, foreign matter that has adhered to the brush member 12 during cleaning of the cutting blade 33C is knocked off from the brush member 12.

[0019] According to the embodiment described above, the multiple cleaning members 10 are rotated so that the contact portions 12A of the multiple cleaning members 10 rotate at relatively different speeds, so that foreign matter adhering to the cleaning members 10 can be removed by the friction between the contact portions 12A, and the cleaning ability of the cutting blade 33C can be prevented from decreasing.

[0020] As described above, the best configuration, method, etc. for carrying out the present invention are disclosed in the above description, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the present invention is mainly illustrated and described with respect to a specific embodiment, but a person skilled in the art can make various modifications to the above-described embodiment in terms of shape, material, quantity, and other detailed configurations without departing from the scope of the technical idea and purpose of the present invention. In addition, the description of the shape, material, etc. disclosed above, which is limited, is illustratively described to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention, so that the description of the names of the members from which some or all of the limitations of the shape, material, etc. are removed is included in the present invention.

[0021] For example, the cleaning member 10 is not particularly limited in terms of the material, type, shape, etc. of the components used. For example, the material of the brush member 12 may be any material, such as rubber, resin, plastic, sponge, glass fiber, etc., or it may be a material other than the brush member 12, such as an abrasive material such as a grinder or whetstone, or a sheet material such as cloth or nonwoven fabric, or it may be a sphere, cylinder, polygonal prism such as a triangular prism or a square prism, or other shape, and there may be multiple of the same one, or there may be multiple different ones, such as a whetstone and brush member 12, or nonwoven fabric and sponge material, or there may be three or more.

[0022] The driving means 20 may be provided with a rotary motor as a driving device for each cleaning member 10, or may rotate the multiple cleaning members 10 in the same direction toward the cutting blade 33C or in different directions. When rotating the multiple cleaning members 10 in the same direction toward the cutting blade 33C, as shown in FIG. 2(B), multiple cleaning members 10 of different sizes may be rotated at the same speed so that the contact portions 12A of the multiple cleaning members 10 rotate at different speeds relative to each other. When rotating the multiple cleaning members 10 in different directions toward the cutting blade 33C, the multiple cleaning members 10 may be rotated at the same speed or at different speeds so that the contact portions 12A of the multiple cleaning members 10 rotate at different speeds relative to each other. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2(C), a rotary motor 24 as a driving device having an output shaft 24A in the left-right direction (thickness direction of the cutting blade 33C) may be used to rotate the multiple cleaning members 10 so that the contact portions 12A of the multiple cleaning members 10 rotate at different speeds relative to each other. The driving means 20 may be equipped with a cleaning member moving means such as a linear motor as a driving device for moving the multiple cleaning members 10 relative to each other so that the multiple cleaning members 10 approach and move away from each other, or a direct-acting motor as a driving device. For example, when cleaning the cutting blade 33C, the multiple cleaning members 10 may be separated to a position where their contact portions 12A do not contact each other, and when removing foreign matter from the cleaning members 10, the multiple cleaning members 10 may be brought close to a position where their contact portions 12A contact each other, or the multiple cleaning members 10 may be brought close to and away from each other so that the contact distance between the contact portions 12A can be increased or decreased while foreign matter is being removed from the cleaning members 10.

[0023] The attachment means 30 may be configured to attach a single adhesive sheet base material to the adherend WK; for example, a raw roll may be used in which a closed-loop or entire short-width cut is formed in a strip-shaped adhesive sheet base material AB temporarily attached to a release sheet RL, with a predetermined area partitioned off by the cut serving as a single adhesive sheet base material, and the single adhesive sheet base material may be peeled off from the release sheet RL and attached to the adherend WK; alternatively, the adhesive sheet base material AB that is not temporarily attached to the release sheet RL may be attached to the adherend WK; and this may or may not be provided in the cleaning apparatus EA or sheet attachment apparatus EA1 of the present invention. The pay-out means 31 may employ any tension detection means, such as a pressure sensor or regulator, as long as it is capable of detecting the tension of the adhesive sheet base material AB; instead of rollers such as the support roller 31A and the guide rollers 31B, 31C, a plate-shaped member or a shaft member may be used to support and guide the original roll RS and to collect the release sheet RL and the unnecessary sheets US; the original roll RS may be supported, for example, by folding it in a fan fold without being rolled up; the release sheet RL and the unnecessary sheets US may be folded, for example, in a fan fold without being rolled up, or may be collected by cutting them up with a shredder or the like; the release sheet RL and the unnecessary sheets US may be simply accumulated and collected without being rolled up or folded in a fan fold; the release sheet RL and the unnecessary sheets US may not be collected; or the frame 31S may be moved by a single driving device. The cutting means 33 may cut the adhesive sheet AS to be left attached to the adherend WK into a shape other than the same as the outer peripheral shape of the adherend WK, or into a different shape, or into a shape larger than the adherend WK, or into a shape smaller than the adherend WK.

[0024] The supporting means 40 may or may not be provided in the cleaning device EA or the sheet sticking device EA1 of the present invention.

[0025] The cleaning device EA may include suction means, such as a decompression pump or a vacuum ejector, that communicates with the space inside the case 21, and may suck up foreign matter inside the case 21 with the suction means. The timing for cleaning the cutting blade 33C with the cleaning device EA may be any timing, such as when the adhesive sheet base material AB has been cut for a predetermined number of adherends WK, such as 5 or 10, or when a predetermined time, such as 15 or 30 minutes, has elapsed, or when a detection means (not shown), such as an imaging means such as a camera or a projector, or various sensors such as an optical sensor or an ultrasonic sensor, detects that a foreign object has adhered to the cutting blade 33C.

[0026] The means and steps in the present invention are not limited in any way as long as they can perform the operations, functions, or steps described for those means and steps, and are not limited at all to the components and steps of a mere embodiment shown in the above embodiment. For example, the cleaning member may be any member that has a contact portion that contacts the cutting blade, and is not limited in any way as long as it is within the technical scope in light of the common general technical knowledge at the time of filing (the same applies to other means and steps).

[0027] The material, type, shape, etc. of the adhesive sheet base material AB, the adhesive sheet AS, and the adherend WK are not particularly limited. For example, the adhesive sheet base material AB, the adhesive sheet AS, and the adherend WK may be circular, elliptical, polygonal such as triangular or rectangular, or other shapes, and the adhesive sheet base material AB may be pressure-sensitive adhesive, heat-sensitive adhesive, or other adhesive form. When a heat-sensitive adhesive is used, the adhesive sheet base material AB may be bonded by an appropriate method such as providing a heating means such as a heating side of a suitable coil heater or heat pipe that heats the adhesive sheet base material AB. In addition, the adhesive sheet substrate AB may be, for example, a single layer of only an adhesive layer, a substrate having an intermediate layer between the substrate and the adhesive layer, a substrate having three or more layers such as a cover layer on the upper surface of the substrate, or a so-called double-sided adhesive sheet in which the substrate can be peeled off from the adhesive layer, and the double-sided adhesive sheet may be a single layer or multiple layer substrate having an intermediate layer or a single layer or multiple layer substrate without an intermediate layer. In addition, the adherend WK may be, for example, a single object such as food, a resin container, a semiconductor wafer such as a silicon semiconductor wafer or a compound semiconductor wafer, a circuit board, an information recording substrate such as an optical disk, a glass plate, a steel plate, a ceramic, a wooden board, or a resin, or may be a composite formed of two or more of them, and may be a member or an article of any shape. In addition, the adhesive sheet substrate AB may be read in terms of function and use, and any sheet, film, tape, etc. of any shape such as an information label, a decorative label, a protective sheet, a dicing tape, a die attachment film, a die bonding tape, a recording layer-forming resin sheet, etc. may be attached to any adherend WK as described above.

[0028] The driving equipment in the above-described embodiments may be electric equipment such as a rotary motor, a linear motor, a single-axis robot, or a multi-joint robot having joints on two or more axes, or an actuator such as an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, a rodless cylinder, or a rotary cylinder, or a direct or indirect combination of these may also be used. In the above-described embodiment, when a rotating member such as a roller is used, a driving device for rotating the rotating member may be provided, the surface of the rotating member or the rotating member itself may be made of a deformable material such as rubber or resin, or the surface of the rotating member or the rotating member itself may be made of a non-deformable material, or other members such as a rotating or non-rotating shaft or blade may be used instead of the roller, and when a pressing means or pressing member such as a pressing roller or a pressing head that presses an object to be pressed is used, a roller, a round bar, a blade material, a brush-like member, or a member that blows air or gas may be used instead of or in combination with the above-described examples, or the pressing member may be made of a deformable material such as rubber, resin, sponge, etc. However, it may be made of a non-deformable material such as metal or resin, and if a peeling means or peeling member such as a peeling plate or peeling roller that peels off the object to be peeled is used, a plate-shaped member, a round bar, a roller, or other member may be used instead of or in combination with the above examples, and the peeling means may be made of a deformable material such as rubber or resin, or may be made of a non-deformable material, and if a supporting (holding) means or supporting (holding) member that supports (holds) the supported member (held member) is used, a configuration in which the supported member is supported (held) may be used by a gripping means such as a mechanical chuck or a chuck cylinder, Coulomb force, adhesive (adhesive sheet, adhesive tape), pressure sensitive adhesive (adhesive sheet, adhesive tape), magnetic force, Bernoulli adsorption, suction adsorption, a driving device, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] EA…Cleaning device 10. Cleaning materials 12A…Contact part 20...Drive means 33C…cutting blade

Claims

1. A plurality of cleaning members each having a contact portion that contacts the cutting blade; a driving means for rotating the plurality of cleaning members and cleaning the cutting blades with the contact portions, the driving means rotates the cleaning members for a predetermined time so that contact portions of the cleaning members abut against each other and rotate at relatively different speeds even after the cleaning of the cutting blade by the cleaning member is finished and the cutting blade is separated from the cleaning member, and stops the rotation of the cleaning members when the predetermined time has elapsed.

2. a contact step of contacting contact portions of the plurality of cleaning members with the cutting blade; a cleaning step of rotating the plurality of cleaning members so that contact portions of the plurality of cleaning members rotate at relatively different speeds to clean the cutting blade with the contact portions; and rotating the cleaning members for a predetermined time so that their contact portions abut against each other and rotate at relatively different speeds even after cleaning of the cutting blades by the cleaning members has been completed and the cutting blades have been separated from the cleaning members, and stopping the rotation of the cleaning members when the predetermined time has elapsed.

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