Separator cleaning device

Abstract

Provided is a separator cleaning device capable of efficiently cleaning a separator. This separator cleaning device (1) comprises: a water tank (2) that stores cleaning water; and a jig (30) that is disposed in the water tank (2) and that arranges a plurality of flat plate-shaped separators (10) at intervals from each other in an upright state. The separator cleaning device (1) is provided with a water supply pipe (20) which is piped along an arrangement direction A of the separators (10) obliquely below the jig (30), and which has injection holes (21) for injecting cleaning water W into gaps between the separators (10). The injection direction of the injection holes (21) is set to be parallel to the surfaces (11) of the separators (10) and obliquely upward.

Description

Separator cleaning device

[0001] The present invention relates to a separator cleaning device.

[0002] As a conventional separator cleaning device, there is known one that uses an ultrasonic cleaning method in which a separator is placed in a cleaning tank and cleaned with an ultrasonic cleaner. In such a device, in order to remove the dirt on the separator put into the cleaning tank, cleaning water is supplied horizontally from the side wall of the cleaning tank, and the cleaning water is circulated in the cleaning tank (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] JP-A-2004-342419

[0004] However, in the conventional cleaning device, the dirt dropped from the separator may stay in the cleaning tank and adhere to the separator again when the separator is taken out of the cleaning tank. Therefore, further improvement is required to improve the cleaning efficiency.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a separator cleaning device capable of efficiently cleaning a separator.

[0006] The separator cleaning device of the present invention includes a water tank for storing cleaning water, and a jig disposed in the water tank and arranged with a plurality of flat separators standing upright with a space therebetween. The separator cleaning device further includes a water supply pipe piped along the arrangement direction of the separators obliquely below the jig and having injection holes for injecting cleaning water into the gaps between the separators. The injection holes are parallel to the surface of the separator and are set to have an injection direction obliquely upward.

[0007] According to the present invention, there is provided a separator cleaning device capable of efficiently cleaning a separator.

[0008] It is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part by cutting out a part of a water tank in the separator cleaning device in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view showing a configuration of a water supply pipe. It is a cross-sectional view for explaining a configuration taken along line III-III in FIG. 1. It is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a jig used in the separator cleaning device. It is a cross-sectional view at a position corresponding to line IV-IV in FIG. 1 in the separator cleaning device 1 of the second embodiment.

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the separator cleaning device 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the following description, as shown in Figure 1, the width direction D will be defined as the left-right direction connecting the pair of water supply pipes 20, 20 provided on both sides, with reference to the arrangement direction A of the separators 10 arranged in the water tank 2.

[0010] The separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment includes a water tank 2 for storing cleaning water W, a jig 30 detachably arranged inside the water tank 2, and an ultrasonic oscillator 40 positioned below the jig 30 at the bottom of the water tank 2. In addition, a pair of water supply pipes 20 are provided inside the water tank 2 of the separator cleaning device 1.

[0011] The water supply pipe 20 is routed diagonally below the jig 30, along the arrangement direction A of the separators 10. In the first embodiment, each water supply pipe 20 is positioned at a predetermined distance in the width direction D from the left and right side walls of the ultrasonic oscillator 40, and is at the same height as the ultrasonic oscillator 40.

[0012] As shown in Figure 2, each water supply pipe 20 has a plurality of injection holes 21 in its pipe wall. The injection holes 21 are formed to penetrate the inside and outside of the pipe wall and inject cleaning water W, which is supplied from a pump (not shown), into the water tank 2. Each injection hole 21 is parallel to the surface 11 of the separator 10 and its injection direction is set to be diagonally upward, causing the cleaning water W to flow into the gaps between the separators 10.

[0013] In the first embodiment, as shown by the dashed lines L1 and L2 in Figure 4, the spray directions of the cleaning water W ejected from the left and right injection holes 21 are set to face each other at the same injection angle α diagonally upward. For example, the injection angle α of the water supply pipe 20 is set to be between 20 and 45 degrees, preferably 30 degrees, upward from the horizontal.

[0014] As shown in Figure 2, the injection holes 21 formed in the pipe wall of the water supply pipe 20 are set in terms of spacing, position, direction, and size. The injection angle α and degree of diffusion of the cleaning water W are determined by these settings. For example, if the discharge rate is about 20 cc / second, the diameter of the injection holes 21 is set to 2 to 3 mm, preferably around 2.5 mm. This results in an injection angle α of 30 degrees and a flow rate of about 4.3 m / second, providing a suitable amount of water for cleaning the separator 10. In the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment, the cleaning water W is injected so as to face the middle of the lower edge of the separator 10, centered on the dashed lines L1 and L2 in Figure 4. The cleaning water W is injected from each injection hole 21 while diffusing at a small angle, and intersects at the middle of the width direction D of the separator 10 without losing momentum.

[0015] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, in the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment, imaginary lines L1 and L2 extending from the center of each of the left and right injection holes 21 in the direction of injection of the cleaning water W reach the lower edge 12 of the separator 10. The imaginary lines L1 and L2 do not interfere with the ultrasonic oscillator 40. As a result, the cleaning water W injected along the imaginary lines L1 and L2 intersect at an intermediate position in the width direction of the separator 10, and merge while colliding with each other. As a result, the cleaning water W can rise through the gaps between the separators 10, which are arranged with a gap between them in an upright position as shown in Figure 3, without losing momentum.

[0016] As shown in Figure 2, the water supply pipe 20 may be arranged in a staggered pattern with the injection holes 21 alternating in the length direction of the pipe, each with a different injection angle α. This allows the cleaning water W injected from the injection holes 21 to be further diffused around the imaginary lines L1 and L2 shown in Figure 4.

[0017] Furthermore, in the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment, the spacing (pitch) of the injection holes 21 in the arrangement direction A is set to be equal. In addition, the spacing (pitch) of the adjacent separators 10 shown in Figure 3 is set to be equal using the jig 30. And, in the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment, the spacing between the separators 10 is set to be narrower than the spacing between the injection holes 21.

[0018] Furthermore, the cleaning water W sprayed from the injection holes 21 diffuses radially with respect to the arrangement direction A, centered on the imaginary lines L1 and L2. Therefore, even if the distance between the injection holes 21 is greater than the distance between the separators 10, the amount of cleaning water W flowing between each adjacent separator 10 will be the desired amount. Consequently, the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment can clean a large number of separators 10 at once compared to the number of injection holes 21 formed in a single water supply pipe 20.

[0019] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1, the separator cleaning device 1 is equipped with a recovery channel 4 for collecting the cleaning water W that has flowed over the upper edge 3 of the water tank 2. The recovery channel 4 of the first embodiment has a receiving section with a roughly U-shaped cross-section that is open at the top. The receiving section is provided so as to surround the water tank 2 along the outside of the upper edge 3. The receiving section of the recovery channel 4 is connected to a pump via a purification device (not shown).

[0020] As shown in Figure 4, the jig 30 has a frame-shaped cage 31 that can be inserted into and removed from the top of the water tank 2. The cage 31 has side frames 32 that evenly arrange the side edges 13 located on the left and right sides of the separator 10. The cage 31 also has a lower frame 33 that is interposed between the lower edge 12 of the separator 10 and the bottom surface 22 of the water tank 2 when placed in the water tank 2. The side frames 32 and lower frame 33 in this embodiment are made of thin metal rods. Therefore, the jig 30 does not obstruct the flow of the washing water W in the water tank 2.

[0021] The side frame 32 is provided with a separator positioning member 34 having multiple grooves. The separators 10 are attached by inserting their respective side edges 13 into the locking grooves 35 of the separator positioning member 34. This allows the cage body 31 to be arranged with multiple flat separators 10 standing upright and spaced apart from each other.

[0022] In the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment configured as described above, a plurality of separators 10 are mounted on the cage body 31 of the jig 30 and placed in the water tank 2. Cleaning water W is supplied into the water tank 2 from a pump (not shown) via a pair of water supply pipes 20. As shown in Figure 1, the cleaning water W sprayed into the water tank 2 from the injection holes 21 of the pair of water supply pipes 20 enters the space between adjacent separators 10, 10 and rises while spreading diagonally upward along the surface 11 of each separator 10.

[0023] The dirt on the separator 10 is physically removed by the force of the cleaning water W flowing along the surface 11 and floats upward towards the water tank 2 along with the cleaning water W. As a result, dirt can be easily removed from the entire surface 11, improving the uniformity of the cleaning. In addition, as shown in Figure 1, the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment has an ultrasonic oscillator 40 positioned below the jig 30. The ultrasonic oscillator 40 emits ultrasonic waves when driven, causing the cleaning water W and the separator 10 to vibrate. This makes it easier to remove dirt adhering to the surface of the separator 10, allowing for more efficient cleaning.

[0024] The dirt that floats to the top of the tank 2 along with the washing water W flows over the upper edge 3 of the tank 2 along with the washing water W and down into the receiving trough of the recovery channel 4 for collection. The washing water W collected in the receiving trough is sent to a purification device (not shown). The washing water W purified in the purification device is returned to the pump and can be used to wash the separator 10.

[0025] Furthermore, the washed separator 10, along with the jig 30, is removed from the water tank 2 and transferred to another water tank where the next washing or rinsing process takes place, while still attached to the cage body 31. This further improves the efficiency of the washing process.

[0026] Thus, in the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment, the dirt on the separator 10 floats to the surface of the cleaning water W in the water tank 2, and the dirt does not remain in the water tank 2 as in the conventional method. As a result, when the separator 10 is removed from the water tank 2, the dirt does not reattach to the separator 10, and the separator 10 can be cleaned efficiently.

[0027] Figure 5 shows a separator cleaning device 101 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Parts identical or equivalent to those of the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the differences will be the focus of the description. In the separator cleaning device 101 of the second embodiment, a jig 130 capable of arranging two rows of separators 10 is used instead of the jig 30 of the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment.

[0028] The separator cleaning device 101 of the second embodiment, configured in this way, can clean even more separators 10 at once, in addition to the effects and advantages of the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment. The other configurations and effects are the same as those of the separator cleaning device 101 of the first embodiment, so their explanation will be omitted.

[0029] As described above, the separator cleaning device 1 of the present invention comprises a water tank 2 for storing cleaning water W, and a jig 30 placed in the water tank 2 for arranging a plurality of flat plate-shaped separators 10 upright with spacing between them. The separator cleaning device 1 also comprises a water supply pipe 20 that is routed diagonally below the jig 30 along the arrangement direction A of the separators 10 and has injection holes 21 for spraying cleaning water W into the gaps between the separators 10. The injection holes 21 are parallel to the surface 11 of the separators 10 and the injection direction is set to be diagonally upward.

[0030] The separator cleaning device 1 of the present invention, configured in this way, can efficiently clean the separator 10. Specifically, the cleaning water W sprayed from the spray holes 21 enters the gaps between the separators 10 and rises diagonally upward while spreading along the surface 11 of the separators 10.

[0031] The dirt on each separator 10 is physically removed by the force of the cleaning water W flowing along its respective surface 11 and floats upward towards the top of the tank 2 along with the cleaning water W. As a result, dirt is easily removed evenly across the entire surface 11, improving the uniformity of the cleaning. Furthermore, the dirt that floats to the top of the tank 2 along with the cleaning water W can be easily removed along with the cleaning water W at the top. Therefore, dirt does not remain in the tank 2 as in conventional systems.

[0032] As a result, when the separator cleaning device 1 removes the separator 10 from the water tank 2, dirt will not adhere to the separator 10 again. Therefore, the separator cleaning device 1 can clean the separator 10 efficiently.

[0033] Furthermore, the water supply pipe 20 is configured such that, when viewed from the arrangement direction A, the injection direction of the water supply pipe 20 is set such that imaginary lines L1 and L2, which extend from the centers of the left and right injection holes 21 in the direction of water injection, intersect at the midpoint in the width direction of the separator 10.

[0034] As a result, the cleaning water W rises between the separators 10 from the intermediate position where the virtual lines L1 and L2 intersect, with the direction of the water flow directed upward, without losing momentum. Therefore, the dirt on the separators 10 can be effectively removed.

[0035] Furthermore, the spray direction of the spray holes 21 is set toward the lower edge 12 of the separator 10. This ensures that the water flow evenly hits the lower edge 12 of the separator 10, improving the uniformity of the cleaning. For example, as in the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment, by evenly applying the water flow to the lower edge 12 of the separator 10 from both the left and right sides, the difference between the left and right sides can be reduced, further improving the uniformity of the cleaning.

[0036] Furthermore, in the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment, the injection holes 21 are arranged in a so-called staggered pattern, with the injection angle α alternately changing in the direction of the pipe length. As a result, the water flow from both the left and right sides spreads further, improving the uniformity of cleaning. In addition, the separator cleaning device 1 can easily set the injection angle α of the cleaning water W that can efficiently clean the separator 10, regardless of the positional relationship between the separator 10 and the water supply pipe 20. For example, the separator cleaning device 1 can be adapted to various shapes of separators 10 by making the positions of the injection holes 21 formed in the left and right water supply pipes 20 different. Alternatively, the separator cleaning device 1 can be adapted to various shapes of separators 10 by adjusting the injection angle α of the injection holes 21, such as by rotating the water supply pipe 20 around its central axis.

[0037] Furthermore, the separator cleaning device 1 is equipped with a recovery channel 4 for recovering the cleaning water W that has gone over the upper edge 3 of the water tank 2.

[0038] Therefore, the separator cleaning device 1 can efficiently recover cleaning water W containing oil and other contaminants from the top of the water tank 2 using the recovery channel 4. Furthermore, water can be saved by purifying and reusing the recovered cleaning water W.

[0039] Furthermore, the separator cleaning device 1 is equipped with an ultrasonic oscillator 40 positioned below the jig 30. Therefore, the ultrasonic oscillator 40 can dislodge and lift dirt adhering to the surface of the separator 10 by ultrasonic vibrations, enabling more efficient cleaning.

[0040] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, the jig 30 has a side frame 32 having a plurality of grooves that evenly arrange the side edges 13 located on the left and right sides of the separator 10. In addition, the jig 30 has a lower frame 33 that is interposed between the lower edge 12 of the separator 10 and the bottom surface 22 of the water tank 2 when the jig 30 is placed in the water tank 2. A separator height adjustment member 36 is provided between the lower frame 33 and the lower edge 12 to support the lower edge 12 from below and regulate the height position of the separator 10.

[0041] Therefore, the jig 30 can arrange the plurality of separators 10 at equal intervals in the water tank 2. Also, a gap is formed between the lower side portion 12 of the separator 10 and the bottom surface portion 22 of the water tank 2. Accordingly, the cleaning water W at the lower part in the water tank 2 can smoothly rise from below to above between the separators 10 together with the cleaning water W jetted from the jet holes 21, and can perform uniform cleaning in a wider range.

[0042] Furthermore, the jig 30 has a frame-shaped cage body 31 that can be taken in and out from the upper part of the water tank 2. For this reason, even in the cleaning process that is continuously performed using a plurality of water tanks 2, the plurality of separators 10 can be collectively moved to the next water tank 2 for cleaning. Thereby, in the process of manufacturing a large amount of separators 10, by applying the present invention, a practically beneficial effect that the separators 10 can be cleaned more efficiently is exhibited.

[0043] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. The above-described embodiments are examples for easily understanding and explaining the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Also, a part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can also be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Also, a part of the configuration of each embodiment can be deleted, or addition or replacement of other configurations is possible. Modifications possible for the above embodiments are, for example, as follows.

[0044] In the separator cleaning device 1 of the first embodiment, the jet holes 21 of the water supply pipe 20 are arranged in a staggered pattern in the pipe length direction. However, the arrangement of the jet holes 21 may be linear, or other shaped arrangements may be adopted.

[0045] Also, the interval (pitch) between the separators 10 is set to be equal intervals and narrower than the interval (pitch) between the jet holes 21 respectively. However, it is not particularly limited to this, and it may be the same as or different from the interval (pitch) between the adjacent separators 10 held by the jig 30.

[0046] Furthermore, the number of separators 10 housed in the cage 31 can be any number, and the quantity, shape, and material of the separators 10 are not particularly limited.

[0047] 1 Separator cleaning device 2 Water tank 10 Separator 11 Surface 20 Water supply pipe 21 Spray holes 30 Jig

Claims

1. A separator cleaning device comprising: a water tank for storing cleaning water; a jig placed in the water tank and arranging a plurality of flat plate-shaped separators in an upright position with spacing between them; and a water supply pipe that is routed diagonally below the jig along the direction of arrangement of the separators and has injection holes for spraying cleaning water into the gaps between the separators, wherein the injection holes are parallel to the surface of the separators and the injection direction is set to diagonally upward.

2. The separator cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that the spray direction of the water supply pipe is set such that, when viewed from the direction of arrangement, imaginary lines extending from the centers of the left and right spray holes in the direction of spraying the cleaning water intersect at an intermediate position in the width direction of the separator.

3. The separator cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the spraying direction of the spray holes is set toward the lower edge of the separator.

4. The separator cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by comprising a recovery channel for collecting the cleaning water that has flowed over the upper edge of the water tank.

5. The separator cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an ultrasonic oscillator positioned below the jig.

6. The separator cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the jig comprises a side frame having a plurality of grooves that evenly arrange the left and right side edges of the separator, and a lower frame interposed between the lower edge of the separator and the bottom surface of the water tank when placed in the water tank, and a separator height adjustment member is provided between the lower frame and the lower edge to support the lower edge from below and regulate the height position of the separator.

7. The separator cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the jig has a frame-shaped cage that can be inserted into and removed from the top of the water tank.

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