Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to an apparatus which is
;: particularly suitable for cleaning large batches of parts or
continuously fed parts such as automobile heads~ manifolds,
etc.
Present methods most often used in blast high produc-
tion parts such as automobile heads, manifolds, etc., is -to
hang them on a monorail rotating hook. Another method commonly
used is conveyor fed machines that do not rotate the parts but
instead locate the blast wheel streams at various angles around
the parts to get full coverage. Both methods give inefficient
blast application. For example with the monorall method, blast
tlm0 is losk in going ~rom station to station. ~dditionally
only a portion of the total bla3t hits the part; the head stream
and tail stream o~ neces~it~ miss the part completely. With the
second method o~ locatlng the wheels around the part in an
incline machine, the head stream and tail stream are used but
there ls a disadvantage of requiring more wheels to cover the
part. Moreover since the part is not rotating, coverage in
recesses is not e~ective.
An ldeal method should meet the following condition~:
1) Eliminate the need to tra~el out o~ the blast
~tream in going ~rom one station to another.
2) Present the work to the blast stream in such a way
that all o~ the blast including both the head and tail streams
is continually hitting the work piece.
3) Rotate the work piece so that maximum sur~ace pre-
sentation to the blast stream and dumping of spent abrasive and
sand is obtained.
4) Maintain the work pieces as close together as
possible to minimize the gaps between the pieces.
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5) To control the rate of a single rotation or be able
to stop the rotation at any given spot. This would permit the
application of a greater amount of blast to( hard to clean areas.
This in turn would result ~n an increase in production on parts
that have areas requiring spot blast or on parts that have par-
~lal areas requiring more blast than;other areas, For ex~mple
automobile intake manifolds and heads require more blast into
the ports in order to clean the inside. Additionally sanitary
ware requires more blast on the surfaces to be enameled.
An ob~ect of this invention is to provide an apparatus
capable of fulfilling all of the aforementioned ideal conditions.
A further ob~ect is to provide such an apparatu~ which
i~ more ~daptable to automatic loadlng and unloading t,han a
conventional monorail type machine,
In accordance with this invention the work pieces are
fed in a lineal direction along the axis of a barrel which is
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~e~ed at both ends. The barrel is slotted or otherwise ,
incorporates openings to permit blast wheels to pro~ect the
blast streams against the axially movable work pieces. Addition-
ally the barrel is provided with a positive rotational controlwhereby the work pieces ~ay be disposed in the most advantageous
positlon to maximize the effectiveness o~ the blast streams~
Novel ~eatures and advantages of the present inventlon
will become more apparent to one skilled in the art by refer-
ence to the ~ollowing description and accompanying drawlngs
wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts and
in which:
Fig. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of this
invention;
Fig, 2 is a top view of the embodiment shown in Fig, l;
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Fig. 3 is an end view oE the embodiment shown in Figs.
1 and 2;
Fig. 4 is a view in the direction oE lines 4-4 of
Fig. 2;
Figs. 5 and 6 are views in the direction of the lines
5-5 and 6-6 respectively of Fig. 4;
Fig. 7 is a view in the direction of the lines 7-7 of
Fig. 5i
Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6 of a modified form
of this inven~ion;
Fig. 9 is a view in the direction of the lines 9-9 o
Fig. 4i
Flgs, 10 flnd 11 are schematlc vLews oE aLternate
hyclraul;Lc system~ usecl ln thL~ InventLon; and
Flgs. 12-15 are perspectives oE alternate arrangements
for the work pieces in accordance with this invention.
As best shown in Fig~re 2 the work pieces 10 are fed
by automatic feed means such as conveyors 12 to the open feed
end of rotatable barrel 14. The parts are pushed into the end
of barrel 14 by for example, an air or hydraulic cylinder 16.
One pflrt pushes against the preceding part. All oE the parts
10 ln the barrel 14 axlally aclvance one part length each time
a new part 10 is inserted. As a new part is Lnserted and pushed
forward, a cleaned part is discharged from the opposite end
of barrel 14. As indicated in Fig. 4, a positive discharge of
the part is attained by kick-out roller 17. The cleaned parts
are then conveyed for example on conveyor 18. A second piston
cylinder assembly 20 moves each part onto oscillator conveyor
22 for facilitating the removal of spent abrasive so that the
abrasive can later be reused by being conveyed to storage bin 24
(Fig. 1). The parts are then removed from the clea~ing area
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by conveyor 26.
While ~he parts are being advanced one part length~
barrel 14 is not rotating. As soon as the advance is completed
the barrel 14 makes one or more revolutions and then stops for
the next advance stroke. With parts that are circular or near-
ly circular in shape, the barrel 14 may continue rotating during
the forward advance stroke.
When the parts 10 are advanced with the rotation bein~
stopped, the blast wheels 28 (Figure 2) are located in a posl-
tion to hit the most critical cleanlng area. For example withintake mani~old~ the blast ls directed lnto the ports during
this ~orward advance.
The barrel rotatlon can be varled to elv~ a di~ferent
rate o~ rotation wlthln a revolution. Thls can be done e~fec-
tively by using a cam operated control system (Figs 4, 10, and
11) which utilizes a cam operated valve 30 to control the
hydraulic rotating actuator.
Most parts 10 are shaped on their ends in such a way
that the ends can be cleaned. I~, however, space 1~ needed
between parts for end cleaning, lt can be obtained by ca3ting
lu~a 32 onto castings as shown in Fi~. 12. Alternatively ball
sphereæ 34 may be inserted between parts 10, 10 as shown in
Fig. 14, A further possibility i~ shown in Fig. 13 which
involves utilizing a nozzle 36 or other blast means to blast
the ends of parts 10 before they enter the cleaning cabiret 38.
Figure 15 shows an arrangement for parts that have
ends whlch are ~lat or irregular and will not push each other
if placed in the barrel in a horizontal posi-tion. As indicatcd
ln Fig, 15, the parts are inserted into the barrel at rigllt
angles to each other so that positive non-~amming thruæt Ls
lUb~ 7i~)
obtained. Fig. 8 shows the cross shaped basket or barrel for
accommodating these alternately disposed work pieces~ With
this arrangement it is necessary ~o rotate the barrel 270 or
450 each cycle in order to feed the parts horizontally and yet
orien'Gate them at right angles to each other. For example a
part ls fed horizontally into the barrel and the barrel is later
rotated so that when the next part is fed horizontally therein
the pre~ious part is arranged in a vertical position. A further
advantage of this feature is that the ends are more exposed for
end cleaning.
As can be appreciated the a~oredescribed invention
meets all of the desirable condition~ previously indicated.
For example the parts never leave the blast stream while in the
bla~t cabinet,. The blast wh~el~ 28 are located to blast along
the axial center line and the work travels along the same center
line. Thus all of the blast hits the work. Accordingly the
head and tail stream are fully utilized. Moreover the work is
rotated in each stop position (or continually) thereby present-
ing all surfaces to the blast. Additionally the work pieces
are close together frequently within one-half inch o~ each
other~ This results in no lost blast through gaps between the
work. The rotation can also be varied to apply optimum blast
to hard to clean areas.
The aforedescribed arrangement has other advantages,
For example automatic loading and unloading is simplified.
With this arrangement the barrel 14 is always in a predetcrmined
position when the parts are inserted and are e~ected. This is
advantageous because the parts can be fed to the machine by a
conveyor 12 or other convenlent means. This feeding is done
with the part orlentated as required by a previous operation.
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Likewise the parts are also orient~ted at e~ection. This gives
an inline flow of parts with the parts always being orientated
in a glven position for subsequent easy handling.
Moreover the positive rotational control afforded in
this arrangement is advantageous over conventional ~riction
rotational means because o~ the ~eature of enabling the rotating
to be stopped at any given point ~or effective blast and easy
orientated loading. Also to vary the rotational speed through
one revolution permits the proper rotation of parts that have
thelr center o~ gravity o~f the center line o~ the barrel.
The construction o~ barrel 14 may best be understood
by reference Figs. 4-8. As indicated therein, the barrel 14
compri~e~ a removable unit which includes ~ replaceable rlng
gcar 40 at both the feed end and th~ d~scharge end thereof. A
replaceable tire 42 is mounted ad~acent each ring gear 40 and
in a central portion thereo~. The tires 42 ride upon rollers
44. In thls manner the entire unit can be raised and lowered
into position by a holst. The barrel always assumes the correct
position by the seating of tires 42 upon rollers 44 with the
ring gears 40 meshing with pinions 46~ The barrel body itself
is slotted to permit blasting therethrough, and each barrel
assumes the desired cross-sectional con~iguration for the speci-
flc work piece. These desired configurations are obtained by
~oining a plurality of work guide bars 48 to plates 52 in end
supports 50 and central tire 52. For example as shown ir.
Figure 8, the work guide bars 48 create a slotted cross section-
al area which is especially adapted ~or accommodating the right
an~ularly arranged work pieces
Fig. 4 shows the drive means for rotating pinion 46.
This drive means includes the rotary actuator 54 which incl~des
~o~ o
a piston cylinder arrangement 56 for oscillating shaft 58 upon
which cams 30 are mounted. Cams 30 contact valves 60 which
feed the hydraulic ~luid to piston cyllnder arrangements 56 to
thereby control the speed or rate of rotation of sha~t 58, A
chain and sprocket drive 62 is mounted at each end of shaft 58
to drive pinion 46 (Fig. 5) and in turn rotate barrel 14.
Figure 10 shows a hydraulic system for operating rotary
actuator 54 wherein the same variable rotation is attained in
both ways. As indicated therein, the fluid is supplied by
source 64 through cam valve 30 and thence through piston
cylinder arrangement 56. Advanta~eously the samc system pro~
~ides the hydraulic means for drtvin~ piston cy:Llnder asse~ s
16 and 20 whlch are shown in Fig. 1.
Figure 11 shows a more sophis-ticated hydraulic system
which gives two variable rotations. This system includes a
pair of cam valves 30 and is otherwise generally the same as
the system shown in Fig. 10.
Another ~eature of this inventlon is the provision
kick-out roller 17 which provides a posttive discharge of the
work pieces 10. As indicated in Figure 4, kick-out rol~er 17
is vertically ad~usted by for example ~ack screw mechanism 66
to properly orientate the roller 17 ~or receiving the work piece
10. Figure 9 indicates the advantageous shape of roller 16
which includes tapered flanges 68 -to provide a convenient cradle
like seat for any shaped work piece such as work piece lG~.
Obviously, many modifications and variations o~' the
present invention are possible in the light of the above teach-
ings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope
of the appended claims the invention may be practiced othcrwise
than as specl~ically described.
